Rho Tau Newsletter

Rho Tau Scholarship Policy for

SPICE 2002

Rho Tau Holds 3rd Annual Christmas Party

Break in the New Year Right...

Diet and Exercise!

"I Can't"... oh really?

Check in on ...

Tiffany's Toons

"Instant" Stress Relief

Definition: Funds set aside by or donated to Rho Tau designated for the purpose of aiding those financially unable to meet the cost of attending S.P.I.C.E.

Goal: Attendance at S.P.I.C.E. by person or persons unable to otherwise attend and who have demonstrated a need to attend.

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B. Application to be submitted to the Rho Tau president for consideration by the Rho Tau Board

A. The decision allocating funds will be based on the date of request received by the president.

B. Notification of scholarship award will be made by April 15 of the current year. At that time, the recipient has until April 30 to reply or the scholarship will be voided.

D. The Board shall review all applications and they will be held in strictest confidence. Any Board member guilty of revealing another members' financial status shall be removed from the board and will be dismissed from the chapter.

Rho Tau S.P.I.C.E. Scholarship Application Date:______________ Name:_______________________________________________________ Address:______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Phone: ( )___________________________________

Tri Ess Number :_______________________________ Expiration date:_____________ _____________________________________________________________

I do hereby state: (1) I am applying for assistance to attend S.P.I.C.E. do to financial need. (2) I have never attended S.P.I.C.E. previously (3) I am a member of Tri Ess and Rho Tau Signed:____________________________________Date:_____________ _____________________________________________________________ Received:__________________________ Date:______________________ Approved: ____Yes ______No Signature:__________________________ President Rho Tau Date of Acceptance by Candidate: _____________________ Date of Disbursement: ______________________________

A large crowd of girls in gorgeous dresses gathered in Williamsburg, Virginia on December 15 to celebrate Rho Tau's Third Annual Christmas Party. It was a joyous party which was enjoyed by all including the hotel staff who seemed to have as much fun at our party as we did.

Beautiful girls in beautful outfits was the order of the day. With so few opportunities these days to really dress "up" everyone took the opportunity to wear their finest and enjoy the evening. The party started about 5:30pm and lasted until almost 11pm. It seemed as though all the girls wanted the evening to last as long as possible.

Our irrepressible prez Bobbi Jean in a gorgeous red dress!

Angela (gold top), Jenny, and Pam .. that IS tea that Jenny is drinking

The room was beautifully decorated in keeping with the season. The tree was lovely and surrounded by presents. In order to receive a present you had to bring a present and everyone brought one! As each present was handed out and opened those at the party watched in appreciation. It was clear that a lot of thought had gone into the presents which had been placed under the tree. Every thing from sudsy shower soap, to pantyhose, to nail dryers were included in the array of gifts.

The door prizes that were in Catherine's Santa Claus sized bag were amazing! Each door prize was removed from its wrapping paper to the admiring oohs and ahhs of everyone. The variety of gift in the door prizes was astonishing.

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Jenny receives a gift every girl needs... a nail dryer!!!

The only regrettable thing about the evening was that it had to end. Everyone had a wonderful time and it was a fantastic celebration for Rho Tau in the holiday season. Already girls are planning what dresses and accessories they will need for the 2002 Rho Tau Christmas party!

I am neither a health food nut nor an exercise guru, but I am sure there will be many sagely written articles being about both from experts.

This will just be my own meandering thoughts about both and hopefully a few good ideas to carry through the New Year and possibly stick to to those resolutions.

Exercise is something that I have made fun to do and I know if my doctor beats me over the head to do it becomes un-fun. Therefore, every morning starts with the hard decision of what to wear; a sports bra or leotard to my session with the Aerobics tape. I choose the tapes because I did not like to run on cold/hot/rainy days and wanted something that was interactive. I have tried the exercise bikes and so forth and like the rest of America they have become Modern Art Coat racks.

It took me awhile to get going on the Aerobics; I spent the first couple of weeks before I was about to complete the Warm-up phase. I keep thinking how stupid I looked and laughed at myself thinking what someone would think seeing me trying to do the stretching exercises. But I finally figured it out and moved to phase 2 of humiliation; doing the actual aerobics. I discovered very quickly how uncoordinated I was and started a new round at laughing at myself. But with time I was able to complete the whole tape and the important thing was just having fun at doing it. ( Here is a good place to put in forewarning as I can guess that Catherine upon reading this is already planning an aerobics meeting.)

The second part of exercise is walking. Thanks to the invention of voice-mail, I do not have to be chained to my desk. I always find reasons to get up and walk and visit the other divisions at work. In fact my supervisor is in another building which I use as an excuse to go over everyday lighten up his day. In fact the first week of December with all the great weather outside, I do not think I even saw my desk. Because of this, I have become a big advocate of wireless technology and if my plan works; this summer will find me working outside from under the shade of a tree, enjoying the cool breeze. So after all of this exercise I now have Abs of Steel or more like soft lead, but it is still padded in front thanks to Budweiser which brings me to diets. I think I am the only person to put on 10 lbs in one week on Slimfast ( True story.)

Everyone seems to agree that water is good for you; I personally swore off all water after my time in Europe, but recently have become the waterboy at work. This sudden change was not because of the healthy benefits of water, but instead of a threat from my dentist. I have a bad habit of slowly sipping sodas all day which has lead to bad teeth, so under threat of the drill I have changed my ways.

As to the rest of my diet; recently at work a friend has been put on to a strict diet and this has given me an excuse to also eat healthy. We are discovering that it is possible to eat fast food that is actually healthy as long as you know what to look for. My first attempt at a salad was a good choice ( grilled chicken) but upon reading the nutritional information on the salad dressing I was amazed by the science that creates food. Here was a packet of about 56g which contained 31g of Fat. How they are able to do this is amazing. I have learned to request the low-fat or no-fat dressing which now thankfully have more taste than in the past. Another thing I learned was that Hardees and Burger King are definitely out, but Chick-fil-a is in. The trick is to order the bun with no butter which adds a lot of fat.

Of course all of this diet information sounds great and I should follow it, but once or twice a week I reward myself by having things that are not the diet. I do not believe in following diets strictly, we should be able to reward ourselves from time to time. Any way the Slimfast diet has the "sensible" meal everyday which may explain how I put on the 10 lbs that week.

After many years of research ( Actually the idea came from a marketing meeting last week), we are proud to introduce the Fem-Break straight from TG labs, the makers of the mental hug.

Find a quiet moment during the day; between metings or during lunch, and close your eyes.

Think back to the last time you were all dressed up and how you felt or think forward to what you may wear next. Or you can imagine a day in a 5 star spa being totally pampered and made over, followed by a session with famous designers as they fight with each other over whose clothes you will wear and then a glorious night out that seems to last forever.

When you are done, open your eyes and take a deep breath. It is amazing how the little stresses of the day build up and can be made to melt away.

Through this special offer, the Fem-Break is now available for only 5 easy payments. So call now, supplies are limited ( actually not, they are unlimited), but call now we will include the mental hug at no extra cost. Operators are standing by.

Donna's fourth-grade classroom looked like many others I had seen in the past. Students sat in five rows of six desks. The teacher's desk was in front and faced the students. The bulletin board featured student work. In most respects it appeared to be a typically traditional elementary classroom. Yet something seemed different that day I entered it for the first time. There seemed to be an undercurrent of excitement.

Donna was a veteran small-town Michigan school-teacher only two years away from retirement. In addition she was a volunteer participant in a country-wide staff development project I had organized and facilitated. The training focused on language arts ideas that would empower students to feel good about themselves and take charge of their lives. Donna's job was to attend training sessions and implement the concepts being presented. My job was to make classroom visitations and encourage implementation. I took an empty seat in the back of the room and watched.

All the students were working on a task, filling a sheet of notebook paper with thoughts and ideas. The ten-year-old student next to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts".

"I can't kick the soccer ball past second base."
"I can't do long division with more than three numerals."
"I can't get Debbie to like me."

Her page was half full and she showed no signs of letting up. She worked
on with determination and persistence. I walked down the row glancing
at student's papers. Everyone was writing sentences, describing things
they couldn't do.

"I can't do ten push-ups."
"I can't hit one over the left hand fence."
"I can't eat only one cookie."

By this time the activity engaged my curiosity, so I decided to check
with the teacher to see what was going on. As I approached her, I
noticed that she too was busy writing. I felt it best not to interrupt.

"I can't get John's mother to come for a teacher conference."
"I can't get my daughter to put gas in the car."
"I can't get Alan to use words instead of fists."

Thwarted in my efforts to determine why students and teacher were dwelling on the negative instead of writing the more positive "I Can" statements, I returned to my seat and continued my observations. Students wrote for another ten minutes. Most filled their page. Some started another. "Finish the one you're on and don't start a new one" were the instructions Donna used to signal the end of the activity. Students were then instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the
front. When the students reached their teacher's desk, they placed their
"I Can't" statements into an empty shoe box.

When all of the students papers were collected, Donna added hers. She put the lid on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door and down the hall. Students followed the teacher. I followed the students. Halfway down the hallway the procession stopped. Donna entered the custodian's room rummaged around and came out with a shovel. Shovel in one hand, shoe box in the other, Donna marched the students out to the school to the farthest corner of the playground. There they began to dig.

They were going to bury their "I Can'ts"! The digging took over ten minutes because most of the fourth graders wanted a turn. When the hole approached three feet deep, the digging ended. The box of "I Can'ts"was placed in a position at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt.

Thirty-one 10-and 11-year-olds stood around the freshly dug grave site. Each had at least one page full of "I Can'ts" in the shoe box, three feet under. So did their teacher. At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and bow your heads."

The students complied. They quickly formed a circle around the grave, creating a bond with their hands. They lowered their heads and waited. Donna delivered the eulogy.

"Friends, we gather here today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' While he was with us here on earth, he touched the lives or everyone, some more than others. His name, unfortunately, has been spoken in every public building - schools, city halls, state capitols, and yes, even the White House. "We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contained his epitaph. His is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can', 'I Will', and 'I'm Going to Right Away'. They are not as well known as their famous relative and are certainly not as strong and powerful yet. Perhaps some day, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world.

"May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen."

As I listened to the eulogy I realized that these students would never forget this day. The activity was symbolic, a metaphor for life. It was a right-brain experience that would stick in the unconscious and conscious mind forever. Writing "I Can'ts", burying them and hearing the eulogy. That was a major effort on this part of the teacher. And she wasn't done yet. At the conclusion of the eulogy she turned the students around, marched them back into the classroom and held a wake. They celebrated the passing of "I Can't" with cookies, popcorn and fruit juices.

As part of the celebration, Donna cut a large tombstone from butcher paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and put RIP in the middle. The date was added at the bottom. The paper tombstone hung in Donna's classroom for the remainder of the year. On those rare occasions when a student forgot and said, "I Can't", Donna simply pointed to the RIP sign. The student then remembered that "I Can't" was dead and chose to rephrase the statement.

I wasn't one of Donna's students. She was one of mine. Yet that day I learned an enduring lesson from her as years later, I still envision that fourth grade class laying to rest, "I Can't".