New meeting

Several of us has expressed interest in setting up another meeting. How about August 10th - 1 pm - at calistoga by the mall.

Meeting

If you are open to arranging another meeting, please post your interest.

Summary of Meeting

Paula, This is what i have us discussing the day we met.

• We decided the best way to do the sorting is to leave it to admin.

The first day

Each house will choose a name and create flags (we can start looking for the materials for the flags) . The flags can be hung around the garden circle which is in front of the boy and girls bathroom. Brackets will have to be purchased.

It may be time for lunch after they are done with name choosing and flag designing.

After lunch we will start working on the dog house. I will contact Nekka and ask what supplies we will be needing for the anticipated construction of the dog houses.

We also discussed houses and the seperation of advisories. We could meet as houses on Tuesday and Thursdays

We also discussed different activities for the month of September. We discussed the planning for only the month of september, the houses will plan the other months of the school year.

September competition/activity

We discussed activities such as a Wii tennis competition and also a tricyle race. These competitions can be posted by the high school office at the beginning of each month. Once the winner of the competition is announced a cermony will take place for all fellow house members to attend.

It was suggested that perhaps a pledge should be done by all and the raising of the winning house's flag can be raised and posted by the office.

These activities will be hosted on the third Thursday of each month.

Comments? Thoughts?

Meeting Called to Order

It was suggested that we arrange a get together this Thursday, July 9th and discuss the House. We will be meeting at

Calistoga Bakery
Cafe1860 Tamiami Trl N
Naples

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=26.169413,-81.799340&q=26.169413,-81.799340

1pm

Will you attend?

Sorting Process

After we decided how many houses we will have, we will have to discuss our sorting process. Following our "Harry Potter" theme, I have found the following: (HA HA!!!)


18" Talking Sorting Hat
Every year new students come to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly they will have to be sorted into their houses by the sorting hat. Now you too can be sorted. Own your own Talking Sorting Hat!
Speaks the following phrases:


Gryffindor!
Slytherin!
I know… Hufflepuff!
I know just what to do with you!
Hmmmm… Difficult, very difficult.
Plenty of courage I see. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh yes, and a thirst to prove yourself… But where to put you?






Ok, really...what is our sorting process going to look like?

First Day Activities

It seems from the blog that some of you are not too keen on the dog house idea. We must decide what our day will look like. I researched some quick links for "ice breaking" activities. Here is what I found so far:

Who Wants to Win a Candy Bar: Based on the popular game show “Who wants to be a millionaire”

This game uses pop culture trivia questions and easy props. You can tailor your questions to be relevant to a holiday or theme. You start the game by asking a question that everyone should be able to answer. The person who is able to answer the question first and correctly becomes the contestant. From there you ask a series of increasingly difficult questions. This is where you can tailor the game for your purpose. You can make up questions on just about anything: pop culture, general trivia, a presentation that you are giving or any other themes. The contestant has all the same lifelines as in the original show (ask the audience, phone a friend, and 50/50). You can make easy props (a cardboard phone, foam poll the audience sign, etc). After each correct question the contestant is given a small piece of candy, from there they have a choice to keep their candy and quit or risk their candy for the big prize (a large candy bar). The teens love the cheesy props and really get into the questions. This is a fun game that is popular with everyone. This game can be modified.

Here is another one:

Commonalities and Uniquities
Form groups of five to eight people and give them two sheets of paper and a pencil or pen. The first part of the activity is Commonalities, where each subgroup compiles a list of the things they have in common. In order for it to make the list, it must apply to everyone in the subgroup. You want to avoid writing things that people can see (e.g. “everyone has hair,” or “we are all wearing clothes”). Try to get them to dig deeper. After about 5 minutes, have a spokesperson from each subgroup read their list.
Then, depending on your goals for the session, you can have half of each subgroup rotate to another group for Uniquities or you can leave everyone in the same group. On the second sheet of paper have them record uniquities, meaning that each item applies to only one person in the group. The group tries to find at least 2 uniquities for each person. After 5-7 minutes, you can have each person say one of their uniquities or have a person read them one by one, having others try to guess who it was. (Again, you want to go beyond the superficial, avoiding those things that people can readily see). This is an excellent team-building activity because it promotes unity, gets people to realize that they have more in common than they first might realize. The awareness of their own unique characteristics is also beneficial in that people can feel empowered to offer the group something unique.
(Contributed by Amy R.)

http://www.group-games.com/team-building/commonalities-and-uniquities.html

Here is another: Pulse Game

Summary: An action oriented icebreaker that works especially well with large groups of people. A game of quick reflexes and passing on the pulse!
Ages: All. Recommended # of People: At least 40 people. Messiness Factor: Might break a small sweat. Materials Required: A coin, a chair, and any small object like a tennis ball. Recommended Setting: Indoors.

The Pulse Game (also known as the Electric Current Game or the Electricity Game) is a great way to break the ice, especially if you have a large group people. In a fast paced action game, two long lines of humans resemble a fast moving electric current!
Setup
To set up the Pulse Game, you need to form two teams of equal size. The easiest way to do this is probably to have each player pair off with another person. When you’ve divided the group evenly, have each team member face the same direction, and have each team facing each other. Instruct each team to hold hands to form two long human chains. At the end of the two lines, place a chair with a small object (e.g. a tennis ball) on it. The referee stands at the front (see picture below).

Playing the Pulse Game
To play the pulse game, have the two players at the front of the line watch the referee. Have everyone else close their eyes and face downward. Instruct everyone to be silent. For each round, the referee does the following: Flip a coin and quietly show it only to the first two players at the front of each team. Whenever the coin shows ”Heads,” the two people at the front of the line must squeeze the hand of the next person in line as quickly as possible. Whenever that player’s hand gets squeezed, he or she quickly continues to “pass the electric current” by squeezing the next person’s hand, and so on. As the “electric current” transfers along the line, the goal of the game is to be the first team to grab the object (the ball) on the chair. If heads was flipped and a team successfully grabs the ball, that team wins a point. On the other hand, if the team grabs the ball but heads was not flipped, then the point goes to the other team. After each coin flip, wait several seconds and then flip again. Keep flipping until the coin shows “Heads.” For a short game, the winner is the first team to score 10 points. For a longer game, you can increase the number of points.
Have fun playing this fast paced, quick reflex action game

http://www.group-games.com/action-games/pulse-game.html





Ok, three SUGGESTIONS. What are your thoughts? Do you have some suggestions?

Leadership Positions

We have been discussing leader positions in the house. According to our poll it looks like we voted to have 1 government representative per house. We also have the Head of House. Two positions so far, do we feel the need to have another position in the house? What position(s) do you recommend?

Something to keep in mind: in middle school, the student government has a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Do we want our houses to resemble this hierarchy? I think a secretary might be necessary to document meetings. I'll wait to hear from you and then post a poll.