Northwest District Attends Fall Workshop
at Byron Middle School

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BYRON, IL. On Saturday, November 18th, six IAJHSC member schools and one potential new member school attended the Northwest District Fall Leadership Workshop, hosted by the Byron Middle School Student Council. Altogether there were seventy-four students and ten adult advisors/chaperons in attendance. Schools that attended were Byron Middle School, Chadwick Junior High School, David L. Rahn Junior High School, Geneseo Middle School, Galena Middle School, Sycamore Middle School, and Central Junior High School.

The group arrived excited and ready to experience new leadership skills as they began to “Ride the Leadership Roller Coaster,” which is this year’s state theme. The workshop began with a welcome and opening by members of the Byron Student Council and the IAJHSC Northwest District Representative, Luke Murphy. Following the opening and introductions, delegates divided into three groups which were named after well known amusement park rollercoaster rides. While in their groups, the delegates participated in activities that were designed to point out important leadership skills that are needed by an effective student council member. Skills such as working together, helping each other, listening, choosing a qualified leader, and commitment to getting the job done were emphasized.

After a wonderful lunch served by parent volunteers from Byron Middle School, delegates returned to one final session of leadership activities. In this session, what they had learned in the morning sessions was really put to the test. They had about ten minutes to practice getting their smaller groups to all be able to stand up at the same time. Once each group had accomplished that task, all 74 delegates formed one large group, chose qualified leaders, and attempted to get the entire group to stand up together. Believe it or not, they were successful on the very first try! Then the Byron Middle School student council members put on a special skit in order to encourage delegates to attend the IAJHSC Summer Leadership Camp which will be held from June 24-30, 2007.

The workshop closed with some parting thoughts from the IAJHSC Executive Director, Mr. Small, and the presentation of participation ribbons and certificates by District Representative Luke Murphy. Before they left for home, all agreed that they had a terrific day, learned many important leadership skills, got lots of new ideas, and made many new friends. All are looking forward to meeting again at the state convention in Springfield on April 20 and 21, 2007!

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