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TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED IN CONVENTION:
- Get a copy of the NEW Student Convention Guidelines.
- print FREE directly from the website (see links in the right-hand column of this page).
- order a book (item 449 only $24.95) from A.C.E. Customer Service (on-line or by telephone - 1.800.925.7777).
- Talk to another school in your area that has been before.
- Read through the entire Guidelines, so you can answer students' questions.
- Copy event list and distribute to students.
- Have a Parents' Meeting early in the school year to explain the details about Convention and the estimated costs.
- Find qualified people who can advise and assist in different areas of competition.
- Meet with all convention-aged students. Have them make a preliminary list of events they would like to participate in at convention. Go over the lists individually with them, giving guidance. (Be sure to compare their lists with the Number of Entry limitations on page I-2 of the Guidelines.)
- Set deadlines for written work, photography, sewing, and art. These events can be completed early in the school year, giving you the winter and spring to prepare music and platform events. (Please note the entries which are to be submitted by mail prior to International Student Convention, page I-5.)
- Make practice schedules for music and platform events. Be sure that all students participating in these categories receive the needed attention from staff, to assure that their entries are memorized and "polished." Afternoons are best for practice time, leaving the mornings for academics.
- Have students perform for chapel, special Parents' Nights, local churches, and any other opportunities you can find. This will help them with their stage presence, and get them past the initial "jitters" prior to competition.
ABOVE ALL ELSE: PRAY, ENCOURAGE, EXHORT, PRAISE, and LOVE them through the entire process. It is worth all the work…there are eternal dividends!
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