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| In This Issue |
| TSA's Strategic Plan, by Jack Crawford, National TSA President |
| Fundraising for Conferences, by Zac Quinby, National TSA Vice President |
| Seniors: It's Not Yet Time to Say Farewell, by Erin Sullivan, National TSA Secretary |
| Important Dates and Resources, by Javonate Williams, National TSA Treasurer |
| LEAP Resumes at the National TSA Conference, by Aala Nasir, National TSA Reporter |
| Simple Competitive Event Tips, by Lauren Kim, National TSA Sergeant-at-Arms |
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TSA's Strategic Plan
By Jack Crawford, National TSA President
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This past fall I was honored as national TSA president to represent the TSA membership and the national officer team at the TSA Inc., Board of Directors meeting in Reston, Virginia.
Over the course of the meeting we discussed the budget, bylaws, and the implementation of a new three-year strategic plan. According to Business Directory, a strategic plan is "a systematic process of envisioning a desired future and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them. In contrast to long-term planning which begins with the current plan and lays down a path to meet estimated future needs, strategic planning begins with the desired-end and works backward to the current status." Essentially, a strategic plan is an extended plan of work.
Over the two meeting days we analyzed the needs of our organization and eventually compiled a strategic plan best suited to help our organization grow and strengthen. The plan has three major goals -- Enhancing Our Member Experience, Telling Our TSA Story, and Planning Our Future.
Enhancing Our Member Experience
focuses on two main objectives - our new leadership program, LEAP, and possibly developing a TEAMS elementary level program.
Telling Our TSA Story
ranges from marketing and promoting TSA, to having college admission officers and high school guidance counselors become more aware of TSA, to enriching the organization via technology.
Planning Our Future
has three objectives. These include continuing to manage our existing partnerships, securing participation in TEAMS and TSA through collaborative efforts, and purchasing a national headquarters facility.
We are excited to enter this new stage of TSA development and growth and look forward to seeing it come to fruition by June 2019.
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Fundraising for Conferences
By Zac Quinby, National TSA Vice President
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We are always looking for fun ways to raise money for our chapter. Luckily, there are all kinds of fundraising options like selling cookie dough or even thermal cups. But has your chapter ever held a bowling tournament? We hadn't either until just this past year. A bowling tournament is not only good for making money, but also perfect for helping your community and getting TSA's name out there!
In order to hold a successful bowling tournament, first, share the idea with your TSA advisor and school principal. If the idea is approved, talk to your local bowling center. See if they will let you rent the center for a night at a low price to help support your organization. When a night is set, type up a letter to recruit sponsors for your fundraiser. The goal is to have each lane sponsored at $300 each. A gold sponsor would sponsor an entire lane and would have their company's name listed above one of the lanes as well as on the back of the event t-shirts. A silver sponsor would sponsor half a lane sharing with another silver sponsor, each only donating $150. Lanes can be sponsored until you reach capacity, and you can even have four sponsors to a lane if necessary.
Now comes the part of filling the lanes. Go out and find bowing teams. Each team would consist of about five people per team per lane, and each person pays a $25 entry fee. Make sure to remember that you have to pay for the t-shirts (one for everyone who participates in the tournament) and your rental fee of the bowling alley.
This makes for a wonderful fundraiser raising awareness of TSA and your community sponsors. Have fun with it and pay your way to your next conference.
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Seniors: It's Not Yet Time to Say Farewell
By Erin Sullivan, National TSA Secretary
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For those of us who have been so lucky to be a member of TSA since the 6th grade or for those of us who joined as a high school student, our goodbye will be anything but easy. We are closing a chapter in our lives. A chapter that contains trophies, officer positions, friends, and memories.
I never thought the day would come that I would have to leave TSA as a competing member, yet in less than 70 days the national TSA conference will have adjourned and we will have said our final farewell to TSA. Or, will we? Why should we have to say goodbye now?
There is a bright side to graduating high school. Graduating seniors, we will be eligible to come back as a member of the National TSA Alumni Association. We can help advise chapters, judge competitions, and assist at conferences. The National TSA Alumni Association will be different from competing against students from across the country and Germany and Turkey. Instead of focusing on projects, we will be able to focus on bettering our association. Take this farewell from TSA as a chance to say hello to the National TSA Alumni Association. What are you waiting for? Step up and join today!
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Important Dates and Resources
By Javonate Williams, National TSA Treasurer
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As the school year comes to a close and the national TSA conference approaches the national TSA officers would like to remind you of important dates and resources.
If you are running for national TSA office make sure your application is submitted to the national TSA office by May 5, 2017. Learn more about submitting your application
here.
If you are participating in the Technology Honor Society or Achievement programs, learn more
here.
Remember that all high school competitive events require LEAP resumes. Information about LEAP resumes is available
here.
Sign up
here to receive important updates regarding the 2017 national TSA conference, taking place June 21-25 in Orlando, Florida.
To stay up to date on all things TSA,
sign up here to receive monthly issues of
TSA Today.
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LEAP Resumes at the National TSA Conference
By Aala Nasir, National TSA Reporter
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The national TSA conference is less than three months away, and one of the biggest changes will be the incorporation of LEAP into all high school competitions. In order to compete in a high school competition at the national TSA conference, you must submit a LEAP resume. If you do not submit a LEAP resume for a competition, your entry will be disqualified.
Tips for completing your LEAP resumes for both individual and team events can be found here:
More information on LEAP resumes can be found
here.
Professional on-site LEAP training sessions will also be held at the national TSA conference. Two middle school and two high school sessions will be offered free of charge, and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. One session for advisors will also be offered. Advisors should pre-register participants for the LEAP sessions during conference registration. LEAP session details are below.
Middle School Sessions
Friday, June 23rd,
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Saturday, June 24th,
8:30 AM - 9:45 AM
High School Sessions
Friday, June 23rd, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Saturday, June 24th, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Advisor Session
Saturday, June 24th, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
A LEAP student forum will also be held on Friday, June 23rd, from 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM. Please see the conference program for more details.
More information on professional on-site LEAP training at the national conference can be found here.
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Simple Competitive Events Tips
By Lauren Kim, National TSA Sergeant-at-Arms
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As TSA members we always strive for excellence. To complete this goal we constantly search for ways to better our events. Competitiveness increases as members advance to succeeding conferences. It's important to remember that no matter how you placed in your regional or state competitions there is always room for improvement.
Small changes such as asking teachers or peers to review portfolios for stylistic or grammatical errors can be extremely helpful; different people can provide unique perspectives. Having the correct documentation can be the difference between a first place and a second place. Furthermore, teams should practice and drill their semi-finalist presentations. As the old saying goes, "It is always better to be prepared than sorry." Even though teams cannot be guaranteed an interview or presentation unless they qualify, those teams who do have a presentation prepared are typically less anxious, allowing them to perform better.
Moreover, if a state provides judges' feedback form, it is strongly encouraged that members look over the comments. Although competitors do not need to drastically change their projects according to the suggestions they should consider the judges' advice for the upcoming conference. Accepting constructive criticism can be hard at times but the best teams are those that can learn from mistakes.
Last but not least, reading the competitive event guidelines will be the most important resource throughout project completion. Total TSA has everything that an individual or team would need; if a teammate is ever in doubt he or she should refer to the rules. The rubrics are also a helpful tool. Judges use these rubrics when they grade competitive events. Following the rubric will allow teams to construct a creative product that adheres to guidelines.
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The Technology Student Association fosters personal growth, leadership, and opportunities in technology, innovation, design, and engineering. Members apply and integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts through co-curricular activities, competitive events, and related programs.
School Scene (ISSN 1066-341X) is published three times a year by the Technology Student Association, 1914 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1540. Telephone: 703-860-9000; Fax: 703-758-4852. Web site: www.tsaweb.org.
Copyright © 2008 TSA.
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