Blog Archives

2023-24 Outstanding Council of the Year!

5/20/2024

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁
𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗣𝗧𝗦𝗔 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯-𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗧𝗔!

We are excited to share that Northshore Council PTSA has been named the Outstanding Council of the Year by the Washington State PTA. This award was presented at the WSPTA 111th Annual Convention and Business Meeting which was held May 17-19, 2024. Our heartfelt thanks go out to our dedicated volunteers, educators, and community partners who have made this achievement possible. Together, we continue to strive for excellence in supporting our students and community.

In addition to this incredible honor, Northshore Council PTSA was also recognized with several other awards:

Platinum Award for Standards of Excellence
Gold Award for Outstanding Communication Strategies
Gold Award for Outstanding Website
Silver Award for Outstanding Newsletter

We are immensely proud of these achievements, which reflect our commitment to excellence in all areas of our work. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers and supporters who have made these successes possible!

Connect with Northshore Council PTSA

5/16/2024

Complete Council 2024-2025 Contact Form
Share this page or the link above and ask your incoming board to complete the form.

Council Wants to Stay Connected!
Council connects and supports Northshore PTA/PTSA leaders in various ways, including:

Twice monthly Council eNews (read past issues)
Event invitations
Open Office Hours
Timely information on specific programs (e.g., Advocacy, Reflections)
And more!

A key step to stay connected is ensuring your incoming board updates their contact information with the Council.

Please have each member of your 2024-2025 PTA/PTSA board complete the Council 2024-2025 Contact Form by July 1, 2024, they serve on or as they are elected/appointed to your board. This includes positions such as the executive committee (elected positions), board members, committee chairs, etc. If you serve on more than one PTA/PTSA, please complete one time for each one.

This information is used exclusively by Northshore Council PTSA.

Share with the Incoming Board All the Ways to Connect with Council:

Council 2024-2025 Contact Form
For local Northshore PTA leaders including executive committee (aka: elected positions), board members, committee chairs, etc.)
Council Email Contact List
Northshore Council Calendar
Northshore Council webpage
Northshore Council Facebook page
Northshore Council Instagram
Council Office Hours (see calendar)

Facebook Groups for local Northshore PTA Leaders:

Northshore Council PTSA Presidents (Current and Incoming 2024-2025 Presidents Only & Council)
Northshore Council PTSA: Local PTA Leaders Hub (All 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].

Wrapping up the YEAR!

5/16/2024

Here's some tips and reminders for local PTA leaders for wrapping up another successful school year.

At the Last Meetings...

Recognize and thank your volunteers.

Survey your members and review your goals.

Approve next year's budget and approve any changes to the standing rules.

New idea: Consider updating your budget to allow for 2024-2025 membership pre-sales so that members can renew or buy memberships over the summer!

Recruit candidates for non-elected board and chair positions.

Give your team a deadline for submitting their reimbursable expenses to the treasurer so books can be closed on June 30.

Appoint your Financial Review Team. (A financial review is required by your PTA insurance and should be completed soon after books close on June 30).

Bookkeeping!

Washington State PTA (WSPTA) is switching their reporting database beginning July 1st but until then...

Enter New Officer Information into memberplanet. Tutorial here.

Update Admins (if needed) into memberplanet.
Confirm your PTA is reporting the correct number of members into memberplanet.
Download a year-end member roster from Memberplanet for your PTA records. FAQ here. *scroll down the page to find the link
Register New leaders with Council. (complete form here).
Take training for WSPTA’s New Database - givebacks. More info here.

Planning for a NEW Team!

Hold transition meetings for outgoing and incoming board members.
Give new leaders access to digital or hard files (reset passwords on July 1st).
Set dates for your summer retreat.
Review and update policies. Check out Council’s policies here.
Plan your Fall membership drive.
Encourage new officers to take training over the Summer! There are basic online trainings on the Washington State PTA website.
Share all the ways the incoming board can connect with Council .
Plan for your NSD facility use requests for 2024-2025.
Designate one Board member as your PTA/PTSA contact for facilities and email [email protected] with the new contact information.

For additional information check out our PTA Summer Blog from last year.

Sending Our Appreciation to Northshore School District Staff

5/6/2024

Celebrating Staff Appreciation May 6th to May 10th!

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 Image to Play Video

YouTube link to share: https://youtu.be/ve4Z-cR3ME4

Share Your Local PTA/PTSA Recognition Award Recipients with Council

5/5/2024

Awards are a great way for PTAs to show their community how much they appreciate them and to celebrate the dedication of those who support your PTA's mission and goals!

We would love to shine the spotlight on your 2023-2024 PTA award winners!

Does your PTA give out a Golden Acorn award? Maybe an Outstanding Educator, or an Outstanding Advocate award? Or more? Please share with us this year's recipient(s) 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 Friday, May 31st so they can be celebrated in our last eNews of the school year!

Questions? Contact Jenn Snyder at [email protected].

Learn more about the WSPTA Volunteer Recognition Awards
WSPTA has a formal volunteer award recognition program allowing local PTAs to award honors for outstanding educator, advocate, student advocate, and volunteer (Golden Acorn), as well as the honorary life membership award.

Local PTAs should appoint an awards committee who will gather nominations, review them, and choose the award recipients. This can be done during a meeting or some PTAs even choose to have the previous year's award recipients chair this committee. Check your Standing Rules as it may say who is on the committee. When the awards committee advertises for nomination submissions, it can be done via social media, newsletters, website, email, or even school flyers. To make it even easier for members to submit nominations, the awards committee can create an online submission form using tools like Google Forms or Survey Monkey.

For recognizing the award recipients, your PTA can hold a volunteer recognition event or take time during a Membership Meeting to celebrate them. WSPTA offers a variety of items your PTA can order online to celebrate your award recipients including certificates, pins, plaques, and even yard signs!

Local PTAs may award the following within their local community:

Golden Acorn – presented to volunteer(s) in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth in your community.
Outstanding Advocate – Honors individuals for their continued and dedicated service to ALL children demonstrating a commitment to speaking up for children in the areas relating to health, welfare, safety, and education of children and youth.
Honorary Life Membership – Recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to a PTA at the local unit, council, or state level. This special award can be given by a PTA unit, council, or region.
Outstanding Student Advocate Award - Recognizes students who have made significant contributions through leadership and service in their school and community.
Outstanding Educator – Individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging.

More information is available on the WSPTA Volunteer Recognition Awards page.