 PTAs Need YOU! PTAs all across Northshore School District are in need of volunteers. Volunteers for your school's PTA/PTSA are the ones responsible for all the amazing things PTAs accomplish throughout the year including things like:
Currently, NSD PTAs are in the process of electing officers for next school year. Without elected officers, PTAs are not able to fund programs and are even at risk of closing. Contact your school's PTA/PTSA to find out how you can help & encourage others to do the same! No experience necessary to become a volunteer. In fact, Northshore Council PTSA & WA State PTA provide support and training for PTA leaders all throughout the year.
Click on images to download and share on your PTA's social media or newsletter.
Myth: Volunteering for PTA is only for stay-at-home moms. Fact: Anyone can be a PTA Volunteer! A parent with a full time job who is only available in the evenings or weekends, a grandpa who wants to stay active during retirement, an auntie who wants to teach a fun hip-hop class after school, a neighbor from down the street who wants to give back to their community - all of these people and so many more make great volunteers! Myth: PTAs only need volunteers in elementary school. Fact: PTAs in our Middle Schools & High Schools need volunteers as well, but it may look a bit different than it did in elementary. Many of the volunteers at the secondary level are "behind the scenes" helping to coordinate teacher grants, planning end of the year grad celebrations, or working with the ASB to increase resources. And, of course, all levels of PTAs need volunteers to fill the role of their executive board which includes positions such as President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Myth: The same people volunteer every year; I'm not needed. Fact: While it's great to have dedicated volunteers return each year, PTAs welcome and need new volunteers each year! There are term limits for elected volunteers, events that are growing in attendance, and new program ideas being suggested - all of which benefit from an increase in new volunteers.
 Northshore Council PTSA has many volunteer opportunities for people with all skill sets and variable amounts of "free" time. Check out the various Council programs on our website to see what committee interests you. We'd love to have you part of our team next year! Co-Chairs are welcome for any of the positions. Open Elected Positions Open Appointed Positions
Interested in learning more about any of these Council volunteer opportunities? Contact Co-Presidents at [email protected].
Congratulations to our Northshore PTA/PTSAs that have earned WSPTA Membership Awards in 2022-2023!! Membership Achievement Awards
Membership Growth Awards: To highlight the importance of membership growth, Washington State PTA recognizes local PTAs for enrolling more members than they did in the previous year. As PTAs achieve incremental increases in membership growth, they are recognized for each milestone they reach.
 Membership Growth Awards given to Northshore PTAs. Click image to view full list. Membership Growth Awards
Questions? Contact Council's Membership Chair, Kim Ortiz. Visit Northshore Council Membership Page   Each year, Washington State PTA recognizes the work of individuals, PTAs, and Councils across the state via a variety of awards, including Leadership Academy and the Awards of Excellence Program. Cottage Lake Elementary and Council submitted applications and were recognized for their efforts at the WSPTA 2023 Spring Training Conference held on May 6th and 7th. Awards work to celebrate the efforts of local PTAs and Councils in a variety of different areas. The criteria reflect a strong knowledge and application of best practices and the submission process can be rigorous. These awards are truly reflective of the dedication and strength of these PTAs and the powerful contributions they make to their communities. This year's recipients included: 2022 - 2023 WSPTA Awards Recipients
Congratulations! Learn more about the WSPTA Standards of Excellence Awards and Leadership Awards and apply for your PTA next year.
 On March 20th, 2023, Northshore Council PTSA held a virtual General Membership Meeting. We would like to say thank you to all of the local leaders from across the Northshore School District, as well as community and school partners for taking the time to join us!
Continue reading below for a recap of the meeting. District and Community Partners:
We welcomed NSD’s Director of Food Services Juliana Fisher as our guest speaker. Ms. Fisher shared with us that about 2500 NSD students qualify for Free and Reduced rate breakfasts and lunches, but unfortunately only a fraction of them are currently enrolled in the program. As a result, Food Services is partnering with schools to make sure that all families are aware of the benefits and services to their students, and to encourage them to sign up if they qualify for the program. Ms. Fisher also shared with us that Food Services has faced some recent challenges due to the COVID pandemic and the impact that it had on providing meals at all schools. The main challenges have been a decrease in staffing, as well as supply chain issues. These issues have impacted the capacity for menu varieties, scratch cooking, cultural access, increasing vegetarian/vegan options, and cultural/linguistic/emotional access. Recently, Food Services created and implemented a picture food menu for our schools, which has been a hit with some of our students! Thank you, Ms. Fisher, for joining us and sharing with us how NSD Food Services continues to feed our students in our schools! Council Business: Council Treasurer Serena Xu presented the February Financial Report for review and approval, as well as the proposed Council budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Many thanks to the Council Budget committee (Mary Khouzam, Rachel Fitzgerald, Serena Xu, Brenae Brix, and Melissa Kline) for all of your hard work in helping create and proposing the new Council budget! Serena also shared with us that the Standard of Affiliation (SOA) is complete, and all elected Council officers have completed all of their required training, including PTA and the Law. Speaking of the SOA, Council Board member Diana Christiansen shared that 6 NSD schools participated in our SOA Raffle Drawing. The participating schools were Lockwood Elementary, Innovation Lab High School, Woodin Elementary, Frank Love Elementary, Cottage Lake Elementary, and Canyon Creek Elementary. The winner of the SOA Raffle Drawing is Lockwood Elementary! Congratulations, Lockwood! Council Nominating Committee member Cherry Holmes presented nominees for Council Executive Officers, and a vote was taken to approve the nominations. Our new Council Executive Board for the 2023-2024 school year are as follows: President - Rachel Fitzgerald Vice President - Grace Jurado Treasurer - Brenae Brix Co-VP of Advocacy - Holly Muenchow Co-VP of Advocacy - Terra Droney VP of Communications - Jennifer Snyder VP of Elementary Support - Diana Christiansen VP of Secondary Support - Jennifer Drury Congratulations, new Executive Board members! We currently have two Executive Board positions that we need to fill. Those positions are Secretary and VP of Events. If you like keeping accurate records and creating meeting minutes and newsletters, or if you love throwing parties or events, please consider throwing your name in the hat for one of these roles. Council will continue to seek volunteers for the OPEN positions of Secretary and VP of Events with the goal of holding an election at our General Membership Meeting on May 15, 2023. Advocacy Chair Jen Drury gave thanks to all of those involved in advocating for the best superintendent candidates, and thanks, also, to all of those who spent time during this last Washington State Legislative Session advocating for the Special Education bill, which passed in the Senate. Thank you, advocates! Half a dozen of advocates, including parents, spent much time in Zoom meetings with our legislators, and 2 dozen NSD parents, students, Superintendent Tolley, NSD school staff, and school board members traveled to Olympia on February 20th to meet with our state legislators and shared their voices in advocating for things that impact our students and our schools. Thank you for all of your advocacy! On behalf of the Grant Committee Chair (Grace Jurado, who as unable to join us), Mary Khouzam shared that another round for grant application submissions was open until March 24th, and the Council Awards Nominations form will be available soon. Reflections Chair Jasmine Fry shared that online showcasing is now available on Council’s website, and several NSD students did well! Carissa P. from Leota Middle School is advancing to National Reflections for Videography. Congratulations, Carissa! After several other committee updates, including info for an upcoming Mental Health Fair on May 23rd at Skyview Middle School, and a reminder that the Washington State PTA Convention will be held in May at the Bellevue Hilton, Co-Chair President, Mary Khouzam, brought our meeting to a close by reminding us that planning for Council’s Spring Recognition Even is underway, and details will be shared shortly. To help determine the time of day that works best for attendance, Mary shared a link to a poll asking us if a morning event time or an afternoon event time works best for each of us. Thank you to everyone who took time to join us! Complete Council 2023-2024 Contact Form Share this page or the link above and ask your incoming board to complete the form.  Council Wants to Stay Connected! Now is the perfect time to start the process of preparing for your transition to your 2023-2024 PTA Leaders. One key step to that process is connecting your incoming board with Council and having everyone on the incoming board update their contact information with Council. Please have each member of your 2023-2024 PTA/PTSA board complete the Council 2023-2024 Contact form by July, 01, 2023 or as they are elected/appointed to your board. This includes positions such as the executive committee (aka: elected positions), board members, committee chairs, etc. Council gathers this information in order to support all Northshore Local PTA/PTSA Leaders. Contact information is used to connect with leaders including receiving our twice a month eNews, sending invites to Council events, relaying important and timely information about program specific areas (such as Advocacy or Reflections), and more! Share with the Incoming Board All the Ways to Connect with Council:
Facebook Groups for local Northshore PTA Leaders:
If you have questions about how to update contact information or how to connect with Council on Social Media, please contact our VP of Communications at [email protected].
What to Plan for Your Summer Retreat
 What goes on the Retreat Agenda? Create your calendar as best you can. Get down your meetings and some of your bigger events. Review the Budget and Standing Rules. Discuss your team’s communication norms and individual expectations. Brainstorm new ideas for Membership, Advocacy, Diversity, and Engagement. There are more resources available. Check out PTA Year-End Board Transition: Nuts and Bolts and Summer Board Retreat - Northshore Council PTSA 6.10 for previous year’s ideas from Council.
We will begin our meeting with a special 30-minute parent education presentation: Community & Technical College: Preparing Students for Their Future. Come learn about high-quality, affordable educational opportunities that can launch your student into a meaningful job and career path. The presenters will be Lake Washington Institute of Technology and Cascadia College. This presentation is appropriate for parents of all (freshman-senior) high school students. Immediately following the presentation, we will conduct our regular PTA business including holding an election for VP of Events. 
Request passcode by emailing [email protected] before meeting. Questions? Please email Brenae Brix, VP Secondary Support at [email protected].
Northshore School District Staff Appreciation Week is May 8th to May 12th. Northshore Council PTSA wants to show just how much we and families all across the district appreciate ALL Northshore District Staff. The video below is filled with messages from PTA Leaders, Volunteers, and Families.  Click to Play Video Link to share Canva video. No sign in required: https://bit.ly/41mjemk (4:30)
Does your PTA give out a Golden Acorn award? Maybe an Outstanding Educator, or an Outstanding Advocate award? Or more? Please let us know by completing this form.
We would like to create a list of all of our local PTA award winners to share with the community. These volunteers deserve to be celebrated!!! If possible, please let us know your award winners by Thursday, June 1st so they can be celebrated in our last eNews for this school year! Learn more about local PTA/PTSA awards. Questions? Email Jenn Snyder at [email protected]. |
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Northshore Council PTSA is a welcoming organization that works to support our Local PTAs and serve the children and youth of our community through advocacy, collaboration, education, engagement, leadership, and mentorship.