 Join us at The Hangar in Kenmore (6728 Northeast 181st Street, Kenmore, WA 98028) for another Coffee with Council event on Friday, November 9th from 1-2:30pm. VP West Marcilla Proudfit will be hosting this casual meet-up which offers the opportunity for local PTA leaders to meet with each other and with Northshore Council PTSA leaders.
This is a great time to ask questions, get clarification, review procedures, brainstorm ideas, and talk about anything else of interest or concern to you and your PTA. Or just come by and enjoy an afternoon beverage and say hello! We'd love to see you. :) Questions? Email Marcilla at: [email protected]  Parents, students, school staff and community members are invited to attend an educational presentation titled, "Tobacco use is changing, are you keeping up?" on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at the Northshore Performing Arts Center (18125 92nd Ave NE, Bothell, WA 98011) from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Come learn about the changing face of tobacco products, how they are affecting youth and what you need to know to educate and protect our children from what the FDA has called an epidemic among teens. Speaker Lora Mednick, Health Promotions Coordinator at the American Lung Association in Washington, supports tobacco prevention and tobacco cessation programs and resource-sharing for youth and adults. She will be sharing information and answering questions regarding vaping, electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS), and more. This event is co-sponsored by Northshore Council PTSA, Northshore School District, and the American Lung Association. Questions? Contact Rebecca Cavanaugh, [email protected].  
 The next Northshore Council General Membership Meeting will be on Monday, November 5, 2018. Note that the meeting place has changed! We will be meeting at Woodinville Fire Station 31 (17718 Woodinville Snohomish Rd, Woodinville, WA 98072). The meeting will begin at 7:00pm. Come a little early to meet with Council and local PTA leaders and enjoy a snack!
We have some great speakers lined up for this meeting:
Questions? Contact Carrie McKenzie. At Washington State PTA's 40th annual Legislative Assembly, October 20-21 at Green River College in Auburn, WA, PTA delegates from around the state gathered together for presentations, education, debate and decision-making surrounding advocacy and building the new WSPTA legislative platform. Many thanks to all of the delegates from Northshore PTAs/PTSAs who participated in the process, as well as Northshore Council delegates Carrie McKenzie, Robin McKenzie, and Marcilla Proudfit. Delegates approved three new legislative principles, four new resolutions as well as one amended resolution. In addition, a new two-year legislative platform was approved and the top five issues decided: Top Five Issues:
Also Supported Issues include:
Be on the lookout for more details and supporting handouts on these issues in the coming weeks. For more information on these issues and to find out how you can get involved and support WSPTA advocacy efforts, visit the WSPTA Advocacy page. During the Washington State Legislative Sessions, WSPTA will send action alerts and informational broadcasts to WSPTA members who have subscribed to WSPTA's Action Network Group. These action alerts are quick, easy ways to communicate with our legislators on topics they are actively working on that relate to WSPTA's legislative platform. You can sign up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-to-wsptas-action-network-group. If you are interested in learning more about how you and/or your PTA can use these platform issues to advocate at a local level, you can also reach out to Northshore Council's Advocacy VPs, Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown.  Some of the issue, resolution and principle submitters who participated in Legislative Assembly 2018 posed for a photo with WSPTA President, Michelle Nims (second from right).  October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Bullying can happen anywhere-- wherever kids gather in the community-- and cyber-bullying occurs on cell phones and online. Bullying Prevention Month works to encourage communities to work together to stop bullying and cyber-bullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on all children of all ages.
Washington State PTA's Legislative Principles regarding Safe and Nurturing Environments for Children and Youth explicitly support anti-bullying and anti-harassment. Additionally, a number of resolutions specifically address bullying, including:
Additional resources:  Feeling overwhelmed keeping up with membership? Need a little help with PT Avenue? There is a wealth of resources on the Washington State PTA website available to you and your team!
Visit Leadership Guides (use the login and password info sent via WSPTA's Leadership News) and then scroll down to the "Membership Database" section to find training guides, specific information on how to enter members in the database, manage reports and so much more! There is even a video to help you learn how to import data. Remember that you can ask for help entering data into the database. Make it a team effort. Membership is everyone’s responsibility! Questions? Council's Membership Chairs are here to support you as well and they are only an email away: Mary Khouzam and Sherry Rudolph.  The Washington Great Shake Out is coming on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 10:18a.m.! It is the largest statewide earthquake drill and tsunami siren test. There are many ways for individuals, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, community groups, government agencies, and others to participate in the Shake Out, to get prepared for earthquakes, and to share what you're doing with others so they can do the same.
Federal, State, and Local Emergency Management experts and other official preparedness organizations all agree that "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" is the appropriate action to reduce injury and death during earthquakes (here's why). The Washington Great Shake Out is our opportunity to practice how to protect ourselves during earthquakes. Resources:
 The Reflections Program is a National PTA and WSPTA cultural arts competition. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students to use their creative talents by expressing themselves through their own original works for the theme of "Heroes Around Me."
Reflections is so much more than "just an art contest." For fifty years, the program has helped kids take risks, be inspired, think creatively and receive positive recognition and be celebrated for their works of art. It also allows our community to celebrate creativity in our students! Studies have shown there is the relationship between the arts and health and well-being across one’s lifespan. Thank you for encouraging art by doing Reflections at your PTA! Check out our Reflections page to learn more about the program, find resources, and more! Also, don't forget to sign up to receive Northshore Council PTSA's weekly Reflections newsletter-- it includes tips, reminders, and everything you need to know for your PTA/PTSA to run a successful Reflections program. Turn in dates for local PTAs/PTSAs to submit Reflections entries for judging at Council-level are November 28-29, 2018. Entries can be dropped off at the Kenmore Starbucks (by the bowling alley) from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Questions about Reflections? Contact our Council Reflections Chair, Cindy Jenson.  2018 Candidates Forum participants - (top row, from left): Derek Stanford, Dale Fonk, Michael Curtis, Roger Goodman, David Frockt, Javier Valdez. (seated, from left): Debra Blodgett, Manka Dhingra, Shelley Kloba, Amber Krabach, Beth Daranciang, and Gerry Pollet. (not pictured: Larry Springer) On Monday, October 1, 2018, Northshore Council PTSA sponsored a Candidates Forum featuring candidates vying for state legislative positions in the 1st, 45th and 46th districts. Candidates introduced themselves and then the forum began with questions that were solicited from the community and pre-selected in advance. All candidates were asked the same question, but the order was evenly rotated so that candidates took turns being the first to answer a question. Each candidate was allowed one minute to respond. Then there was a "lightning round" wherein each candidate was allowed 20 seconds to respond to each question. The evening ended with questions from the forum audience. Many thanks to the 14 candidates who participated in the forum, including Derek Stanford, Debra Blodgett, Shelley Kloba, Manka Dhingra, Dale Fonk, Michael Curtis, Roger Goodman, Amber Krabach, Larry Springer, Beth Daranciang, David Frockt, Gerry Pollet, and Javier Valdez, as well as to the community members who made time to attend the event. For those who were unable to attend in person, we are excited to be able to offer a recording of the event: If the above plug-in does not work, access the recording via YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F0_0vwm9L8 Gratitude to forum organizers Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown, as well as to all of the volunteers who helped make this a successful event:
 If you have looked at Council's 2018-19 calendar, you may have noticed that we have included information about awareness months throughout the year. We hope that these may be helpful for you as you think about advocacy, meeting or parent education topics and more!
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, working to raise awareness about the learning disorder that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters and other symbols. In Washington state, nearly 1 in 5 students, or about 20% of the population, is impacted by by language-based learning disorders such as dyslexia. Last year, the Washington State Legislature passed SB 6162, defining dyslexia and mandating development and implementation of screening processes and appropriate interventions in schools over the next few years. Washington State PTA Resolution 18.32 supports early screening for signs and symptoms of language processing disorders including but not limited to dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, with parental notification; and supports legislation for funding to support training of parents, teachers and other school personnel in early identification of language processing disorders and use of evidence based programs that provide explicit instruction including Multi-sensory Structured Language Teaching, with appropriate accommodations to provide students with equitable access to the general education curriculum. Additional resources:
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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.