 The start of the 2019-20 school year is about a month away and it is time to start thinking about heading back to school! According to Huntington Bank's 13th Annual Backpack Index, the average back-to-school costs adds up to $1,017 for elementary students and over $1,600 for high school students for school supplies, extracurricular fees, and technology (this includes the cost of a laptop and internet access at home, which are often needed for school work). Thankfully, there are resources available for Northshore families who may need some support for preparing for back-to-school. Events: Northshore School District Back-to-School Fair - August 16, 2019 - 4-6:30pm - Canyon Park Middle School This is a FREE community event for children of all ages and includes children's ID cards, haircuts, activities, school and community resource information, entertainment and more.  Back2School Event - August 17, 2019 - 10am-3pm - Woodinville, WA Babies of Homelessness hosts this event which offers free school supplies, kids K-5 essentials, services and activities. Back2School was created to ease the heavy financial burden that back-to-school shopping creates for low income and homeless families. For the past 2 years, through the Back2School event, 170+ volunteers have equipped 783 students for success in school. Also, many Northshore schools and local PTA/PTSAs host welcome or back-to-school events for their school communities. These events often offer opportunities to meet teachers, connect with classmates, and learn about programs and resources available at each school site. Check the websites for your school and your PTA/PTSA for information about upcoming events. Community Resources: Northshore School Foundation Backpacks for Kids - Northshore families can request a backpack filled with school supplies using this link https://bit.ly/2GkFhmp. Backpacks & supplies will be available in your child's school office by August 27th. Students in grades 6-12 can pick up supplies at their offsite location - 22107 23rd Drive SE, Bothell, WA 98021- on August 23rd from 11am to 1pm and from 5-7pm. Threads & Treads - Threads & Treads is a free clothing store for families in the Northshore School District located at Located at Canyon Park Middle School. Families can choose 3 outfits for each family member each month. In the weeks leading up to the start of the new school year, there will be some special dates/times for families to shop, including 8/16, 8/21 and 8/28. More information... NSD Resources: Northshore School District School Supply Lists -
School supplies are requested but not required. If purchasing school supplies creates a financial hardship, please contact your school's office manager and supplies will be provided for you. Free and Reduced-Price Meals at School - Parents whose income falls within specified guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture should apply for free or reduced-price meals for their students. Families must re-apply every year for the school free and reduced-price meal program. Applications for Northshore School District for the 2019-20 school year are available on their website starting August 5, 2019.  At the beginning of June, Frank Love Elementary PTA shared photos on their Facebook page of a newly-installed bottle cap mural. The mural, which overlooks the campus entrance, serves as a colorful welcome to all who visit the school. Northshore Council contacted FLE PTA to learn more about the project and how their PTA was involved. The mural began as a 5th grade legacy project in 2017-18 in coordination with local artist, Stephanie Roman-Olvera. Parents, students, staff and community members collected and washed thousands of bottle caps which the artist used to create the colorful image. Then the 2018-19 5th Grade Class and Promotion Team partnered with Frank Love PTA, the artist, school administration and Northshore School District in order to bring the mural to completion. The PTA helped fund the mural project via its School Beautification budget. Frank Love Elementary PTA co-President Sara Lennerblom describes the mural so well: "This community mural is [a] beautiful reflection of our FLE Community and we are thankful to the many hands that provided time, talents, and bottle caps to make this legacy gift to our school a reality. It will have a lasting imprint on our campus for years to come!" It is so inspiring to hear stories about successful community-school partnerships such as this! Thank you so much, Frank Love Elementary PTA, for your part in making this beautiful mural happen and for sharing the story with Council! 
Nutritious free meals are available for children and teens, ages 18 and younger, at a number of locations in the Northshore area throughout the summer while school is out of session:
To find locations in other areas:
Other Food Resources:
Community Meals in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
Food Stability Resources & Food Banks in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
(ID and proof of residence required at all locations)
Northshore Nourishing Networks offers regularly updated printable lists for community meals and food stability resources (food banks) on their website: www.nourishingnetworks.net/networks/northshore/.
 The Northshore School District has established a consistent emergency Reunification methodology for all schools to ensure efficient and safe release of students to parents in the event of a crisis or emergency situation. It conducted a drill of the process in May 2019 that included district administrators, students, parents, and community members. As a part of the drill, students were bused from Woodinville High School to Pop Keeney Stadium and then were successfully reunited with their parents after a mock crisis/emergency. More drills are being planned for next year. Here is a list of things parents should know:
If you are interested in learning more about the process and methodology of parent-student reunification, here are a couple of resources: Northshore School District "Reunification Process" page: Standard Reunification Method handbook by The "I Love You Guys" Foundation:  Reunification drill organizers gathered outside of Pop Keeney stadium. (Photo courtesy of Robin McKenzie.)  Hollywood Hill PTA expanded the Art Docent program of their school to include an Artist in Residence program. For 2018-2019, the PTA partnered with Kevin Creekmore, owner of MoltenWorks and President of the Woodinville Arts Alliance, who helped students create some whimsical garden art using fused glass techniques.
Kudos to Hollywood Hill PTA for their work on enriching their docent program and for developing a wonderful bridge between school and community as well as between student work in the classroom and the work of a professional artist. It is a wonderful example of how a PTA can leverage community partnerships to help provide amazing experiences for students! #PTAProud To learn more about Kevin and MoltenWorks, you can visit his website at www.moltenworksglass.com. To learn more about the non-profit Woodinville Arts Alliance, go to www.woodinvilleartsalliance.com. Check out some examples of the glass pieces located throughout the Hollywood Hill campus in the photos below. Many thanks to Hollywood Hill PTA President Diana Christensen and their Artist in Residence Chair, Torrey Edwards, for sharing information about their Artist in Residence program with us!
 ArtSpring is an Art Festival designed for Northshore middle and high school students who are supported by the Functional Skills & Academics (FSA) program. This year's event was an experience in community and creativity as students, teachers, paras and peers from 7 Northshore Schools came together at Brightwater Center on May 2, 2019. Students unloaded from their yellow buses and found their way into ArtSpring to participate in the art projects that were designed just for them: crayon rubbings, printmaking, watercolor hearts, sensory bags, jelly fish sculptures, and more! The kids loved sitting for caricatures and face painting and petting the gentle support dogs. And the teachers loved seeing their students having such a great time with their peer mentors and the artists. All students went home with wonderful art projects in their Safeway grocery bags. We thank Safeway & Albertson’s foundation for their support of ArtSpring through the Educator grant they awarded to Kenmore Middle School and the Northshore School District. We appreciate and acknowledge the importance of the grants received from Inglemoor High PTSA, Bothell High PTSA, Kenmore Middle PTSA, and Skyview Middle PTSA. We could not do it without the enthusiastic support communicated through these grants! Look for ArtSpring installations in your schools soon and get ready for more specially designed art events in the years to come embracing students of all abilities. More information about ArtSpring can be found on NSD's website: www1.nsd.org/artspring Below are some photos that capture the joy of art and community for our kids at ArtSpring! Many thanks to NSD art instructor JoAnn Grambush for her contributions to this article!
 Community Serve Day is a collaborative effort between local churches, school districts, PTSA’s, non-profits, and businesses that mobilize as one for our community. For one day we come together to help schools get ready for the new school year, preparing classrooms and school grounds to become a premier learning environment for our kids. Projects include helping teachers set up classrooms, as well as improving the campuses through painting, repairs, beautification, and more. Community Serve Day 2019 will take place on Sunday, August 25th, from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Community members and families are encouraged to volunteer to help in this effort and all ages are welcome! Sign up at communityserveday.org starting in early April. Once registered, volunteers will receive information and instructions regarding their selected site projects via email. Three new schools will be participating in this year's event: Sunrise Elementary, Wellington Elementary and Inglemoor High School. The graphic below lists all of the participating schools and site leaders. Community Serve Day 2019 Participating Northshore Schools  Note: site leaders are still needed for schools that do not have one listed. The Site Leader's role is to plan and coordinate with the principal and NSD Facilities, plan/place volunteers on various projects, and serve as the contact for questions specific to one's school. If you have suggestions for someone who may be a great site leader, contact Tim King (Northshore Community Church). PTAs/PTSAs are encouraged to support Community Serve Day in a number of different ways:
PTA/PTSA timeline for this year's event:
For more information about Community Serve Day and to sign up to volunteer, visit: communityserveday.org. Questions? Project contacts:
 On March 19, 2019, the Northshore Community Kitchen closed its doors after nearly seven years of serving its local community. The Northshore Community Kitchen, a partnership between Northshore Council PTSA and the Northshore YMCA, served as a wonderful resource for in-need families in our community since April 2012. Over the years, the program prepared packs and distributed around 45-50 ready-to-eat meals-to-go every Wednesday, year-round. Thanks to continuing support from some local businesses, PTAs, individual community members, and a terrific group of volunteers, they served a total of 14,023 meals! In addition, the Kitchen also supplied the Kenmore Library "Study Zone" program and Skyview Middle School's "Kitchen Table" homework club with snacks each week. Northshore Community Kitchen worked to raise awareness about the food insecurity issues facing many of our neighbors and also took positive steps to do something about it. Thank you to everyone who made the program such a success:
Great gratitude as well to volunteer Sue Freeman, who organized and managed Northshore Community Kitchen operations on behalf of Northshore Council PTSA, dedicating years of service and care toward the program, its volunteers and those it served.  At Northshore Council PTSA's March 18, 2019 General Membership Meeting, vollunteer Sue Freeman was recognized for her many years of dedication and service managing the Northshore Community Kitchen! Pictured (from Left): Northshore Council co-President Grace Jurado, Sue Freeman, Northshore School District Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid, Northshore Council co-President Carrie McKenzie. And a special thanks from Sue Freeman, "Most importantly, thank you to all the families who allowed us into their lives and trusted us to cook for them."
 Technology and social media are capturing the time and attention of our children. Families need to keep pace with the cyber world in order to keep our kids safe! Parents/guardians and community members are invited to attend a FREE presentation by Stefanie Thomas, "Child Internet Safety," on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 from 6:30-7:30pm at the Woodmoor Elementary Library. Ms. Thomas worked 6 years on the Internet Task Force for the Seattle Police Department working both internet crime against children and the commercial sexual exploitation of children as a victim advocate. She uses this experience to education parents about internet safety. Topics of discussion include:
FREE childcare provided by YMCA by reservation. Please RSVP for childcare to woodmoorptsachair@gmail.com. This event is co-sponsored by Woodmoor PTSA and Northshore Council PTSA. 
 Imagine you woke up this morning and had trouble seeing. Over the next few months your vision kept fading away… Students, families and community members are invited to come hear the inspiring true story of Clark Roberts, who lost his sight at 24 but gained a new outlook on life. Join us on Thursday, March 21, 2019, at 7:00pm at Bothell High School Commons for this amazing, unique evening. This event is FREE! Refreshments will be provided. And of course…come meet his service dog! This event is co-sponsored by Bothell High School PTSA and Northshore Council PTSA. Clark Roberts is the founder of Ultimate Vision, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire others to see in new ways, educating and motivating all ages to celebrate their differences, reach beyond their limitations, learn to overcome challenges or adversity to live a life that is full and rewarding, inspiring others to do the same. Download the flyer:
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