Tips for the Beginning of the School Year

Hey, everybody!

For most people classes started a few weeks ago, and we are finally beginning to settle into some sort of a rhythm when it comes to our schedules. What most people forget is that the beginning of the semester sets the tone/rhythm for the rest of the semester, so it is important that we are smart about what choices what we are making. It is very hard to dig yourself out of a hole later in the semester, so adhere to these tips to make sure you are on top of everything!

1) KEEP A SCHEDULE. This could be a planner, the calendar on your phone, or something online, but it is ESSENTIAL to keep a schedule somewhere! True, you may not need to look at it everyday, but it will come in handy when you forget the start time of an important meeting.

2) WRITE DOWN YOUR ASSIGNMENTS. Writing down any assignments you have will not only remind you to complete them, but it will also give you the specifics that are required to receive a good grade. If you trust your memory for every assignment, you will eventually forget something and negatively affect your grade.

3) DO YOUR HOMEWORK... I really don't think I need to talk about this one.

4) GO TO CLASS. For some people this can be very hard... especially when it is a morning class. I understand the feeling you get when your alarm goes off. It is a winged demon from hell that wants nothing more to ruin your day! However, you have to vanquish that demon and get out of bed.

5) HAVE FUN. Part of going to college is socializing with your peers. HOWEVER, this should be done in a safe and responsible manner. Hang out with your friends and come up with some fun activities to do. Everyone needs to unwind from a stressful day. This being said, make sure you have done your homework before you do anything else!

If you follow these five simple steps I can guarantee that you will be starting your semester off right!

Now, I know that there are times during each semester where things get exceedingly difficult or something happens in your life that affects your life at school. As I like to say, "life happens." Realize that you have resources that can help you along your way! For example you have friends, family, sisters, university staff/counseling services... the list is ongoing! There are a great deal of people who care about you and how well you succeed in school. So, when things get hard, don't be afraid to ask for help!

Have a great week everyone :)

Señor Anthony

Changes

Well this post is being done a lot later than I had hoped it would, but better late than never. Here's a little update on my hectic life seeing as though I haven't posted in a while. I have officially accepted a part-time teaching position at a high school where I have 3 classes, one of them is just students that I have on my case-load and the other two are classes that I co-teach in the subject area of History. Who knew that in a few short weeks I'd go from working at Walgreen's to finally doing what I've been dreaming of, teaching, and not only teaching Special Education, but I also get to teach History (my favorite subject in school!). I am also going to be substitute teaching when needed so woo extra money.

These past few weeks have been full of change for me and it has made me ponder a few things. Some of the changes I have been thinking of are the changes that I want to make in my own personal life (moving out of my parents house, which seems like it will never happen), what relationships I need to start rethinking and moving on with, and what changes I can bring to the NCD this year.

When some people talk about making changes there can be some hesitation, or some resistance from others. Trust me I know change can be scary, some changes scare me half to death, but then I think that change is something that we all will have to deal with in some point in our lives. When I talk about "changes" to the NCD, I'm not talking about making these drastic changes, I just mean some changes to how we fund-raise and ways to get us closer to being out of the red than we are right now. I have been given some great ideas that we are going to pursue this year, but I know there are a lot more ideas out there that some people have and they may not know how to bring them up or even who to tell. Well if you have any ideas for the District level you can feel free to email me at jane.koch89@gmail.com. If you need some help coming up with ideas for your chapter feel free to contact me as well. When I was at BG we did some pretty good fundraisers and they may have been simple, but they helped us out a lot.

So you may have noticed that I have yet to say what these fundraisers are, well here you go:

1. We will be raffling off a breakfast with the District Officers at District Convention! Haven't you always wondered what the officers are like in a one-on-one setting? Well you can win a breakfast for you and your chapter for the Saturday of District Convention. 
2. We will be raffling off ONE table for your chapter at Convention as well! This will take place at District Convention only. 
3. We will do a Penny Wars at all District Events this year and the winner BEFORE District Convention will win enough seats for their ENTIRE chapter. 
4. Per usual, we will be doing our regular Penny Wars at District Convention and I am going to come up with a surprise prize for the winning chapter. 
5. Do you remember those old District Tees? Well those are being turned into pillows that you can buy for the low price of $5! Those will be available at MER and all other events until they are sold out! 
6. We will also still be selling the TBS stickers for your car, or whatever your heart desires to stick them on (of course being appropriate!) 
7. The final, and biggest one that I will need help from EVERY CHAPTER with is making a District Blanket. This will be raffled off at District Convention. How can you help since I need it? Please bring a T-Shirt from either your chapter, or school to ANY District event and it shall be ready by District Convention! I will be emailing presidents about this within the next few days since MER is a month away! 

If you have any idea's or questions don't hesitate to contact me at the email listed above. I hope everyone is enjoying the start of school!! 

MLITB,

Jane