Hi everyone,
For those of you who went to CADA today, here are a few questions to debrief:
-What did you think went well with the conference? (Workshops you went to, speakers, etc.)
-What did you think could be improved?
-Would you recommend someone from your commission go next year?
-Suggestions for both the conference and Lynbrook ASB planning for the conference
Also, please note whether you were in the normal track or advanced track.
Thanks!
Amit
I think the best parts were the first motivational speaker and the swap shop. The first speaker had a really good balance between being lighthearted and emotional, while still teaching a really important lesson of making an impact. As a PR commissioner, the swap shop helped a lot with understanding what other schools do to increase student involvement and to promote their activities.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the other workshops or speakers were that great- I ended up in a rally commissioner workshop that wasn't really applicable to what I do at all and I thought the second speaker was pretty repetitive (and the music was really distracting :( ).
I would recommend PR to go simply for the swap shop- it was a lot more helpful than I thought it would be and compensated for anything that was lacking. It helped to start a dialogue between commissioners at other schools that I don't think would've ever happened without CADA. -Divyya
I thought the ASB Pres/VP track was a good addition to CADA. It was helpful to be able to talk to other school's presidents and VPs since most of us had a lot of experience with leadership and knowledge of the organization behind our events. Basically we had a 2 hour discussion with a small group of people where we identified the biggest problem(s) we saw at our school and brainstormed solutions with these groups by learning what others did to prevent this problem. One problem that seemed to keep coming up in general was the lack of participation from the student body/ASB class, and it was interesting to see our similar struggles and try to find a solution together. I did feel like we didn't have enough time to really get into some deeper conversations because we kept getting up to dance. Although it was fun, sometimes it interrupted our conversation and we kind of lost track of what we were discussing earlier.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Pres/VP track was a good change from the normal track, and our presenter was really engaging and energetic as well, so I would recommend this for those who haven't been through it.
I liked the first speaker, though I did think his speech a bit jumpy at some parts. I can't really say much for the second speaker, since we came in late and missed the whole intro part (oops).
An improvement to make: the lines for food (and even the line for photos in the morning) are always ridiculously choatic. We came really early this time, so we were able to avoid the long waits for the photo and breakfast in the morning. If they could find a way to make it a little more orderly to prevent all the pushing, that would be great.
(Normal Track)
ReplyDelete-I think the motivational speakers were really great and offered different perspectives on why people are leaders and what they could be doing as leader. I did not feel like motivational speakers overlapped each other in terms of content.
-I also liked how breakfast and lunch was included. We didn't have to worry about bringing our own food.
-I think the lunch line could be improved. It looked like a big mush of people and it didn't seem really orderly in the beginning.
-The DJ was also distracting during our last motivational speaker. I could hear the music from the quad in the pavilion, and it made it harder for me to focus on what our speaker was saying.
-Yes I would recommend next year's commissioners to go to the CADA conference.
I was in the ASB President/VP track with Julia, and I would agree with everything she stated previously. I think that the other major item I would bring up is how Lynbrook relates to a lot of schools at CADA -- when discussing, I found myself gravitating toward MV, Homestead, and Cupertino. For example, some of their challenges included trying to find a higher purpose for their ASB or serving the community, whereas the challenges I saw with other schools related back to spirit, school fun, and other typical ASB activities (not to degrade those activities, I just am pushing our ASB to find an impactful purpose behind those things). I also know that in other workshops they talked about gang violence and alcohol/drug problems, and while Lynbrook thankfully doesn't face those, we have more subtle academic/peer-induced stress challenges.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that CADA is making a database of Bay Area ASB Presidents/VPs for our future use, but I think I would have much rather spent my time talking with other FUHSD presidents/VPs. I know IDC has this purpose, but I think that a direct roundtable discussion with just us 10 would be much more effective than our meetings, because they become inundated with things like passing charities or IDC-run events like Fantastics.
I think the ASB President should absolutely go every year, because it at least is a time set aside for getting a perspective on what problems other schools in our region are facing. Though I can't say I got any actionable solutions out of the conference, I think that it brought me out of the "Lynbrook bubble" for some time.
(Normal Track)
ReplyDeleteI thought the best part of the conference was getting to meet other people from different schools and sharing idea and I also thought the first speaker was super inspirational and powerful.However the workshops weren't effective at all. The workshop I was supposed to go to (Stress Reduction) was canceled and I was kind of dissappointed because I feel like information from that could have applied to Lynbrook so I went into the "How to talk to your Administrator" workshop and that wasn't well done. It was basically a VP or something from Milpitas who asked us how out relationship was and instead of teaching us, I feel like it was more for her to gain ideas. Also it turned into a forum where people just complained about thier problems. The Rally games workshop wasn't that good either because it was all about games, and as Recognition, it didn't really apply to us.
I think someone from Recog should definitely go next year to be able to talk to other schools, and they should go to the swap shop and share ideas.
(Normal Track)
ReplyDeleteWhat went well
-I liked the speakers. Hearing someone who truly believes in what you do and what you stand for helps lift your spirit and soul. After leaving monday, I wasn't just happy with what knowledge I gained about leadership, but also just happy with my life and my emotions seemed more streamlined and in check.
What didn't go well
-I didn't like the workshops. The rally workshop wasn't beneficial to me because I don't plan on leading rallies (that is the spirit commissions job) and so although it was fun, none of the information given was useful.
-I went to the Building a Team workshop, which basically was about how to make ASB a better family. I was extremely disappointed in this because it was a junior and a senior telling the workshop about their class, and how awesome it is and how great it is, and I felt absolutely no interest/ attachment to it. I did get a couple good ideas from it! But I would've liked an adult to give a cohesive presentation. If i hadn't asked my question, I wouldn't have gotten anything from it. A large part of their class is run by their teacher, who plans huge scavenger hunts for a three-day epic bonding experience.
Improved:
Workshops. Workshops. Workshops.
The workshops need to be specialized for commission. Rally workshops don't help me. A workshop maybe on how to recognize sports teams would have been fantastic.
I would recommend anyone to go, because I did gain valuable information on how to be a better person and leader.
The one thing I took away from the Building a Team workshop is that we should do a "Accountability Circle" or a "Vulnerability Circle" in which we all sit on the floor and maybe take fault for things we are ashamed of and where we open up. The Vulnerability part is where you maybe open up about something else deeper. My only fear with these things is they get too personal. I've done these before at summer camp with 7th and 8th graders and they strengthen everyone's love for each other immensely. I strongly suggest we do this.
(Normal Track)
ReplyDeleteI was part of a group that didn't have specific workshops but rather, my group went to the swap shop and listened to various speakers. I thought that the swap shop would be really helpful because there would be so many new ideas but unfortunately, it was not too helpful since most of the kids in my group were hesitant to talk. Also, there was very little time to discuss all the topics so it felt very rushed. Of the ideas I got, only two were really interesting ones. First was a "Soccer Prom." The idea was to have soccer players dress up in tuxedos (except the pants would be cut off at the knees) and then they played a game in order to raise money. I thought the idea was pretty creative and they apparently had a good turnout! Second was Homecoming Emperor/Empress. It's essentially Homecoming King/Queen for teachers. Students would be able to vote for teachers and they would be crowned royalty as well. I thought this was a great idea because it honors the staff as well as the students.
Other than the Swap Shop, mostly we were listening to motivational speakers. Honestly, I loved the motivational speakers. Each one had a unique story and the morals and lessons of their stories really taught me a lot. After listening to their stories, it made me rethink my duties as both a leader and individual.
Overall, I enjoyed my day in CADA. There were definitely ups and downs but as a whole, it was fun. My only suggestion would be to improve the Swap Shop, since I am sure it would be really beneficial if it worked better. I would recommend someone from Recognition to go next year because CADA really does give you the opportunity to reflect and plan for the future.
(normal track)
ReplyDeleteI felt like the motivational speakers were really great and really opened my eyes as to what leadership really is. There was no overlapping of the speakers, which was good. Each had a unique story which opened my eyes and made me strive to be a better individual and leader.
With the individual workshops, I felt like the workshops weren't designated per commission as much as I would have hoped. Though it was great to learn how to improve school spirit overall, I would have liked to go to workshops that pertained to my specific commission more.
The lines for the food (both breakfast and lunch) were very hectic and unorganized. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, which could be improved and better regulated. However, it was great that they provided lunch and a breakfast snack bar!!
Overall, I enjoyed my day at CADA, and I would really recommend someone to go next year. Although, I did expect the workshops to be more motivational and not as superficial as discussing photo apps for smartphones, per se. Nevertheless, I still had a great experience overall that day!
Advanced track
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked: Ummmmm honestly there wasn't much. the first speaker was alright but other than that there wasn't much positive coming to me from the day because I found excessively uneccesary. Maybe I just felt this way because I went last year but I had really high expectations and the conference failed to live up to them. The most pointless thing in my opinion was the second guest speaker, kind of went to sleep whereas his job was supposed to be motivational. His MOJO wasnt working for me haha. One day to sum up my day would be unhelpful.
The only good thing I could draw from the day would possibly be the donut in the morning and maybe the cookie at lunch. No, but actually, the only good would probably be that I felt more involved by being in the same room for all three workshop sessions. The advanced leadership track was a lot more involving and interactive whereas I remember last year I was super frustrated with having to sit in 3 different room and being unable to take away anything from it. Wasn't able to take anything away this year either but it was nice to have more fun.
Overall, for me it kind of became a nice day off school rather than a chance to gain something from the conference. I might be exaggerating everything just a LITTLE but all in all if I would be in high school for another year, definitely would pass on the CADA train.
I was in the advanced leadership and I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. I thought it would be a very enriching day and that I wOuld learn a lot but to be honest I didn't learn much at long. We just learned about courage and taking risks, but nothing geared specifically towards us as LEADERS. Overall I'm not sure if I would go next year and I was pretty let down.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the rally workshop/guest speaker! He gave good game ideas but I am obviously biased because I am on ASB Spirit. That was probably the most beneficial workshop for me.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the workshops were quite drab and uninformative. The first speaker was funny, but his message was insignificant, while the last keynote was confusing and uninspiring.
The workshop I attended was the Hunger Games workshop, and it was run by a girl at some high school that put on a school wide event themed to the Hunger Games. However, the traditions/activities run parallel to Homecoming, so I am unsure if Lynbrook would like to pursue the same idea.
Overall, I did not find much use in CADA besides learning more rally games. I did not learn how to be a better leader, and I felt like a lot of the messages the speakers attempted to convey were irrelevant to Lynbrook students (Ex: gang violence). Our problems are more subtle, and I think CADA addressed different problems than those that Lynbrook encounters.
CADA was extremely disappointing for me. And this is coming from a spirit commissioner, where the one workshop everyone else thought was irrelevant actually applied to me. None of the workshops (except that one) were very interesting or relevant, and the ones that tried to be relevant were "obvious" or didn't apply to Lynbrook as a school. I'm not saying that Lynbrook doesn't have these problems and will never have these problems, but we're much more different than we are similar to most of these schools. The one workshop, reducing stress, that I actually wanted to attend was cancelled.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the entire environment kind of irritated me. The students that attended thought of it as an embarrassing way to dress up in too much glitter and tutus, when I expected a serious opportunity to learn more about being a leader. The DJ was really unnecessary, often cutting off or distracting the people who were listening to the second motivational guest speaker. I feel like if CADA wants people to take things seriously, they need to majorly step up their speakers, figure out what they're doing so workshops aren't cancelled, be more organized, and stop treating high school leadership students like we're brainless spirited children at a rave.
At least the first motivational speaker made me smile and we got to swoop a lot of bananas at lunch. The sandwiches weren't that bad either.
All in all, if I could be in high school one more year, I would definitely not go. In fact, other than a spirit commissioners and maybe a couple of other commissioners, I would strongly recommend people to not attend.
I was a first-year attendee and I took part in the advanced leadership track.
ReplyDeleteThe workshop started out well with each person writing their name and a characteristic they would like to be viewed as on a name tag; however, we ended up not really referring back to it for the rest of the day. After that, we participated in quite a few of what I felt were pointless activities: writing our names as quickly as possible, juggling balloons, trust exercises, and a human scavenger hunt. I did enjoy talking (although briefly) to students from other schools and one girl performed some pretty cool gymnastics.
Contrary to some of the other comments, I didn't mind the rally atmosphere. I don't really think it negatively impacted any of the activities and it was kind of fun I guess.
My favorite part by far was the first guest speaker. Not only was he funny and engaging, but I really liked his emphasis of making a difference OUTSIDE of CADA—pretty fitting considering how the rest of the conference went haha.
And I think my wallet was lifted at the conference :(
Normal Track.
ReplyDeleteI think CADA was disappointing for me just because the atmosphere there was very different from what I had envisioned. I was really looking forward to being rejuvenated by a conference that was about compassion and growth and outreach and by being surrounded by many other student leaders and being able to learn from them and be supportive in general. However, it ended up being a state wide rally and I felt like the people were there more to socialize and get "hyped" than try to learn or change. When I tried to give advice to some people, for example, they were just like "oh no ___ just sucks". I did enjoy the first keynote speaker though, and my parents were so happy when I brought home 2 bags of bananas, 4 bags of chips, and 4 Caprisuns!
I don't think it was a bad conference, just very different from my expectations and I think it's important that we make that more clear so people don't be so disillusioned. (I think the Spirit games are helpful for spirit commission though!!) I think Lynbrook is just very different from many other schools and our expectations and cultures clash in a disappointing way.
(Normal track)
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, CADA was pretty disappointing for me. I wanted to be inspired and reminded of what it was like to be and how to improve as a leader. I felt a little bit of that in the first keynote speaker, but I feel like the following workshops didn't relate to what I needed to work on. I attended workshops for rally commissioners and public relations--nothing related to my commission. Additionally, there weren't many workshops that Lynbrook as a school could have improved from. It was a good idea to have different schools come together and share their differences in school culture, but our schools are just so different that something that works for one school doesn't necessarily apply to another.
Overall, CADA didn't focus on building leader like I'd hoped. It was a very different experience than I'd expected, and I'm not entirely sure if I liked it or not. It wasn't a bad experience either, but I just didn't take much from the conference.
Normal track
ReplyDeleteThe first motivational speaker inspired me and got the conference started on a relatively good note. Even though some of the stats he rolled off weren't exactly completely applicable to Lynbrook, his overall speech definitely affected me as a person concerning my actions towards the people around me.
The workshops were a bit of a waste of time. I went to a team building workshop where two high schoolers told us about all the fun team building activities they did in their own leadership class. It sounded fun and we could definitely adopt a few ideas from them at least, but I feel like it'd be a lot more impacting if the workshop leader could instead demonstrate team building or a certain concept by somehow managing to bring the 20 or so attendees closer within the period itself.
I feel like some of the workshops could be a lot more beneficial to some commissions and not as much to others. For example, I heard some good things about the swap shop, but instead I went to a rally games workshop. Actually, I think it'd be pretty cool if CADA was more "swap-shop"oriented. With the huge number of leadership kids coming from all over the place, it's a perfect opportunity to network and talk to people to get some potentially great ideas.
I don't think I'd go to CADA again next year if I got the chance. I honestly wasn't expecting much out of the workshops this year but I was really looking forward to the motivational speakers, and even that was only a one out of two success.
Although I did not go to CADA this year, I did not hear any good feedback about the event. Moreover, I heard a lot of leadership students talking about how it was a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteThat should be something only discussed in the classroom. It's important to keep ASB's message in mind.