Daily Leadership Tips for Everyone Provided by the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement

1. TIP Leadership-A-Day Calendar Daily Leadership Tips for Everyone Provided by the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement 2010

2. TIP Leadership-A-Day Calendar How can I use this calendar? Whether you are a student, teacher, extra-curricular advisor, or administrator, these simple activities and resources can be incorporated, where appropriate, into curriculum, meetings, or events. Leaders are everywhere. Use these tips to help develop them in the classroom, on the playing field, in our community… EVERYWHERE!

3. Tuesday April 6, 2010 Get online with student leadership! Are you interested in student leadership? Do you want to know about student leadership opportunities in Anne Arundel County? Visit the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils’ (CRASC) website http://www.crasc-online.org for information about student leadership in Anne Arundel County. CRASC is a student led, student driven organization made up of representatives from all middle and high schools in Anne Arundel County. Students have the opportunity to engage in monthly business meetings, attend leadership workshops, lobby the Board of Education and the Maryland General Assembly, and network with student leaders from all over the county.

4. Wednesday April 7, 2010 The Flag of Leadership • Try this engaging lesson to help students understand the process of project planning and teamwork: • The day before the activity, provide participants with red, white, and blue paper. Instruct participants to trace their hands on the paper as many times as possible and to cut out the hands before the next day. • On the activity day, have participants lay out all their cut-out hands and provide tape. • Give the following instructions: “ You have 15 minutes to create the American flag on one wall of the classroom using these hands. Go!” • When the activity is complete, process the event using the following questions: • -Who took charge and why? • -How did your flag turn out? • -How did you develop a plan? • -What would you do differently? Adapted from Ann Bolzenius, Leadership Lessons: Lessons to Lead By

5. Thursday April 8, 2010 DO SOMETHING! Tap into the technology age by using Do Something.org (http://www.dosomething.org/ ) to access a searchable database of organizations and activities that students can become involved with. Simply enter your zip code and a custom list of opportunities is generated. Do Something.org also awards $500 grants for student service projects. Be sure to check out the Action Matrix for project ideas and guides.

6. Friday April 9, 2010 Leadership Grab Bag • Create a Leadership Grab Bag of Tricks to help students define leadership: • Pass around a bag and have each participant contribute an item (i.e. pencil, sticker, paper, etc.) • Once all items have been collected, pass the bag around again and have each participant select an item. • Each participant should describe how that item relates to leadership. • Example- a pencil because leaders get to the point of an issue • Make a list of the responses as participants provide them. • Process the activity by having participants: • -Rank which characteristics are most important • for leaders. • -Identify characteristics which participants would • like to further develop as leaders. Adapted from John L. Waters Leadership Lessons: Lessons to Lead By

7. Sat/Sun April 10/11, 2010 Break the Ice Looking for a great ice breaker? How about an energizer for a long lesson or meeting? Need something to refocus a group’s attention? The Association of Washington School Principals’ The Art of Icebreakers: Learn, Laugh, and Lead (http://tinyurl.com/awspicebreakers ) is an online resource containing 50 example icebreakers and energizers. These quick activities are designed to increase energy, refocus attention, and increase comfort level within a group. Why not try one today?

8. Monday April 12, 2010 Teaching Tolerance Developing accepting and inclusive environments are an important part of any society or group. Check out Tolerance.org (www.tolerance.org) from the Southern Poverty Law Center for : -resources -a searchable list of classroom activities for PreK-12 -information about the Mix It Up Program/Mix It Up Lunch Day -AND MORE

9. Tuesday April 13, 2010 It’s as Easy as PIE! Planning a event. Doing homework. Organizing your schedule. If you are a student or an adult, time management and planning are an important part of your day. Through time management and effective planning, you can reduce stress and successfully accomplish your goals. Try this easy method to planning: P- Planning- Decide what steps need to be taken to accomplish your goal. Prioritize what is important. I- Implementation- Put your plan into action. E- Evaluation- Decide how effective your plan was in accomplishing your goals. What worked well? What would you do differently?

10. Wednesday April 14, 2010 Band-Aids Adapted from Jane Suberg More Leadership Lessons Here is a quick activity to help students understand what creates barriers between groups of people and how they can be proactive in creating a inclusive group: Divide students into groups and give each group a set of paper doll cut-outs. Instruct groups to write something that they see as a barrier to harmony/unity in groups of students on each doll. For example: “clothes students wear,” “culture,” “language,” etc. Once each group has written words on their dolls, tell the students that the only way to break down these barriers is to use “healing” actions or words. Provide each group with a handful of band-aids. Ask them to write on the band-aids all the ways they could break down the barriers they identified. Have students join their paper dolls together in a chain using the band-aids to connect each doll. Discuss how the “healing” actions or words written on the band-aids can help create unity in a group, school, or community.

11. Thursday April 15, 2010 Become More Efficient • Try these simple tips to increase your efficiency each day: • Arrange work (homework, projects, activities, etc.) in the order of priority. Work on the highest priority task first. When it is completed, move on to the next highest priority. • Eliminate wasted motion. Collect all the materials for a given task before you begin to eliminate having to stop and retrieve items while working. • Set aside specific times of the day to accomplish tasks. • Focus on the given task and eliminate distractions such • as phone calls, email, visitors, etc. • Get enough sleep. Sleep is important to our body’s • ability to function effectively. Adapted from Survival Guide for Class and Club Advisers by Joanne Laird

12. Friday April 16, 2010 Student Leadership Resources Looking for quick leadership activities, workshops, or ideas? Visit the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Office of Student Leadership and Involvement’s Student Leadership Resources page. -Go to http://www.aacps.org -Click on Students. -Click on CRASC/Student Leadership. -On the left hand menu, select Student Leadership Resources. -Browse resources by category -Click on a resource to download to your computer. -Submit your own resource for inclusion!

13. Monday April 19, 2010 National Student Leadership Week This week is National Student Leadership Week (April 18-24)! All around the country, schools and communities will honor student leaders making a difference in our world. This year, the theme is Step Up to Safety: Student Leaders Working for Safe Schools and Communities. In honor of National Student Leadership Week, the National Association of Student Councils (NASC) has compiled a list of resources to include: -suggested activities -certificates of appreciation for student leaders -an assembly/event planning kit -posters -safety information and resources Visit the NASC website: www.nasc.us for more information.

14. Tuesday April 20, 2010 Statewide Student Leaders Looking for ways to get involved with student leadership in Maryland? Visit the Maryland Association of Student Councils’ (MASC) website http://mdstudentcouncils.com/ MASC provides opportunities at the state level for: -leadership development conferences -lobbying state legislators -electing the State Student Member on the Board of Education -charity events/initiatives

15. Wednesday April 21, 2010 Big Rocks First • Here’s a visual activity to teach students about time management and prioritizing: • Show students a wide-mouthed empty jar and place as many big rocks as possible in the jar. Ask the students if the jar is full. • Next, add smaller rocks to the jar, shaking the jar so the rocks fit in between the larger rocks. Ask the students if the jar is full. • Finally, add water to the jar. Ask the students if the jar is full. • Engage students in a discussion about what this demonstrated: • How is the jar like your schedule? • Even though you thought the jar was full, we kept adding to it. What does this tell us about our time management? • What do you think the big rocks represent? Why were they put in first? (They represent the most important things; highest priority) • What did this teach you about time management and prioritizing?

16. Thursday April 22, 2010 Go Green for Earth Day! Students can be an active part of efforts to “green” our schools and communities. Here are some quick tips for students who want to be “green” role models for their peers: -Limit water consumption by turning off the faucet when brushing teeth and by taking shorter showers. -Turn off the lights when exiting a room. -Recycle bottles, cans, paper, and other appropriate materials. -Use reusable shopping bags and lunch bags.

17. Friday April 23, 2010 Bag Your Stress Here’s a quick activity to help students identify the causes of stress and effectively deal with it: Divide students into groups. Have each group brainstorm causes of stress in their lives. Next, have each group narrow down the list to the top five stressors. Have each group share out their top five stressors and discuss those stressors that the groups had in common. Lastly, have each student write down his or her top five stressors on strips of paper and place it in a paper bag. Have each student blow up the paper bag and pop it to symbolize each student’s power to overcome stress. Discuss with students positive ways that they can overcome and “destroy” stress in their lives. Adapted from Diane Warren Leadership Lessons: Lessons to Lead By

18. Monday April 26, 2010 Leadership Relay Get students up and moving in this kinesthetic approach to identifying different leadership styles: Divide the students into groups and have each group line up. Inform the students that each person in the group will have a chance to serve as the leader for a specific task. The first person in the group will receive a task for the group to complete. When that task is completed, the next person in line will receive another task. This process will continue until every team member has had the chance to serve as the leader for a task. Tasks can be anything: have your team build a human pyramid; come up with 10 uses for a “spork;” arrange your group according to shoe size, etc. After each group has completed all tasks, have a discussion about what types of leadership styles students used. Did everyone lead the same way? What made the leaders successful? What challenges did the group encounter?

19. Tuesday April 27, 2010 Let’s Make a List Looking for a great student activity , program, or contest? Stop all your web searches and download the 69th Annual National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities http://tinyurl.com/leaderlists The purpose of the National Advisory Listis to provide information to assist principals, teachers, parents, and students in making decisions regarding participation in a wide variety of program opportunities. It is approved by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The National Committee on Student Contests and Activities reviews all programs based on: educational value , financial support, organizational structure, promotional accuracy, fairness, and appropriate adjudication.

20. Wednesday April 28, 2010 Puzzling Puzzles • Try this activity to help students learn to overcome challenges and work together as a team: • Break students into groups. Provide each group with a different 50 or 100 piece puzzle. • Prior to the activity, remove one piece from each puzzle and place it in the bag or box of another puzzle, so that each puzzle is missing a piece. • Tell each group that their goal is to put the puzzle together as quickly as possible. DO NOT TELL THEM A PIECE IS MISSING. • Once students figure out they have a missing piece, observe how each group handles the situation- Do they try and figure out where the piece went? Do they trade or negotiate with other groups? • Lead the students in a discussion about the activity: • What did your group do when you found that you were missing a piece? • How did you solve your problem? • What skills did your team need to complete the activity? Adapted from Larry/Joanne Laird Leadership for Student Activities, March 2006

21. Thursday April 29, 2010 The Student Stand Help students get involved with the state legislative process by visiting: http://thestudentstand.org Sponsored by the Maryland Association of Student Councils and designed by an Anne Arundel County Public School student, this website provides students with the chance to: -view/track current bills before the General Assembly -virtually lobby their legislators -tracking hearing dates

22. Friday April 30, 2010 Where Do We Go? Thank you for viewing the 2010 Leadership Tip-A-Day Calendar. We hope that you have gained valuable resources and ideas regarding student leadership. As a culminating and reflective activity: -Visit the website http://tinyurl.com/LeaderTIP and fill out the survey to tell us how you used the calendar. -Submit your own or have students submit a favorite student leadership resource for next year’s calendar by emailing hjenkins@aacps.org -Share this calendar with family, friends, students, etc.