On April 8 – 10, Tallwood’s very own Family, Career and Community Leadership of America team participated in the FCCLA State Leadership & Recognition Conference. The agenda consisted of a full day of competition on Friday, April 8, followed by an opening ceremony that night. The following Saturday morning consisted of a business session to elect officers, a community service session, and a team building session. The night came to end with a gala and Sunday morning began with the awards ceremony.

About involvement in FCCLA Mrs. Brooks Holuka, coach, stated, “FCCLA is a co-curricular club within the department of Family and Consumer Sciences. FCCLA provides many opportunities for active student participation at local, state and national levels.”

FCCLA, Family, Career and Community Leadership of America is the culminating element for what is taught in Family and Consumer Sciences education. It is under the umbrella of the Career and Technical Education program. According to the Association for Career and Technical Education, “Today’s cutting-edge, rigorous and relevant career and technical education prepares youth and adults for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers.”

The FCCLA competition applies what has been taught in courses offered such Introduction to Child Occupations I and II, Introduction to Culinary Occupations I and II, and Introduction to Interior Design I and II. In regards to the regime, Sayuri Harris, member of the “Focus on Children” team states, “It’s the ultimate leadership experience.”

Points are awarded for successful check-in, visual presentation, oral presentation, portfolio and interview. Ranks are split into three categories of Gold, Silver and Bronze. Gold mandates a score of 90 to 100 and silver stipulates scores of 80 to 89.

Of Tallwood’s 30+ members, 3 teams of 3 competed and all are advancing to nationals. 1 team belonged to the category “Focus on Children,” with a topic of “Bully Prevention in ages 5 – 13.”Another of the 3 chose “Entrepreneurship.” The 3rd team was responsible for the Interior Design category. The Interior design team placed 1st, gold category with a score of 95.9. The “Focus on Children” team placed 2nd, gold with a score of 91.66. The “Entrepreneurship” team placed 3rd, silver with a score of 83.

Regardless of the scores, the students were grateful for the opportunity to educate others. Breon Moseley, member of the “Focus on Children” team, states “It was a great experience to teach grown and young people about bullying.”

As a member of the “Focus on Children” team, Ashley Cowheard refers thoughtfully to her participation and collaboration with others in the conference. She states, “Although our team faced many obstacles, we enjoyed being a part of the state conference. We did our best to provide as much information as possible to teach those who had or are having trouble being bullied or handling bullies without physical violence. The overall experience of the trip was phenomenal and I would recommend people join FCCLA to compete.”

Students interested in joining FCCLA should see Mrs. Holuka in room 108.