Fallon Middle School Students Attend CADA / CASL Leadership Camp

Fallon Middle School Students at the Middle School Leadership Camp Opening Festival

Leadership is a valuable skill in any career and leadership opportunities start in school.  At the June 21 DUSD School Board Meeting, 6 Fallon Middle School students were approved to attend the CADA / CASL Middle School Leadership Camp in Santa Barbara.  The California Association of Student Leaders (CASL), part of the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA), runs leadership summer camps for student leaders from across California.  Through a variety of group activities, workshops and guest speakers, Middle School Leadership Camps seek to provide students with valuable skills and experiences in leadership.

Fallon Middle School incoming Student Body Vice President Juliette Chabot shares her experiences at this summer’s Middle School Leadership Camp which ran July 22-24, 2010:

“I attended the 2010 CADA / CASL Middle School Leadership Camp, in Santa Barbara, representing Fallon Middle School. The first day, after checking in and getting our room and assignments, we met in our councils and got to know the people in them a little better by playing a few ice breakers. After our first council, we listened to a speaker named Mike Smith. He was very entertaining and it was a really interesting experience. Next we attended our first rotations.  The two rotations we did the first day were “The Art of Listening” and “Fear Factor”. “The Art of Listening” taught us about how to focus when you’re listening to someone. “Fear Factor” showed us different activities we could use at rallies back at school.  The games were for different types of students that were interested in different things.

Leadership Camp Spirit Jamboree

“Day Two started off with two more rotations. The first one we went to was called “Crazy 8s of Leadership”. There, we learned about what kind of leaders we are. After that we went to “The Spirit of Ohana” and learned that not everyone is how they seem on the outside. When we finished our rotations we went to a council team building challenge where we had to work as a team to get through different obstacles. After lunch, we had a Spirit Jamboree where we played a bunch of games (that you could do at rallies too!) and had a little competition between the twelve councils. Next we went to SWAPS. I went  with the president / vice president group because next year I’m going to be the Student Body Vice President at Fallon Middle School.  At the meeting, I learned how to help my President (Sereena Patel) and Fallon School. For dinner that night we walked down to Goleta Beach for a BBQ dinner. Later, when we walked back, we went to our sixth council meeting to prepare for the mock-rock concert taking place later that night. My council’s theme was sports, so we made a small routine to “We Will Rock You”. After our mock-rock performance there was a ‘dance party’ and it was loads of fun!!

“On the last day we went to interest sessions. I chose to go to “Involving Invisible Students” and “Let’s Hear it for SPIRIT!”. They were interesting and I enjoyed them a lot. At “Involving Invisible Students”, we learned about getting everyone involved, so that everyone feels a part of the school. At the second mini meeting, I learned about more ways to be able to create school spirit such as making up our own traditions. After that, we had our last council meetin before heading back home to Fallon.

“What I’d like to bring back to Fallon most are the ice breakers, so that everyone can get to know each other, as well as organizing the awesome spirit days and games that I learned about.”

– Juliette Chabot – incoming Student Council Vice President and 8th Grade Student, Fallon Middle School

Fallon Middle School Leadership Camp Delegation