Category: Council Programs

Emergency Preparedness Wrap-up, 2019-20

6/22/2020

The following is a summary of 2019/2020 Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) activities.

We want to recognize and thank the following individuals for contributions to Emergency Preparedness, the Northshore School District, and our students:

Julie Beard (East Ridge PTA)

E-Prep Advocate: Supported our meetings with Northshore School District Superintendent Dr. Reid ensuring an E-Prep focus and she worked to bring attention to preventing child abuse and neglect; our community cares deeply about children and we know that school districts are one of our most important partners in keeping children safe. In 2019 she was a key participant in the Safe Schools Advisory Committee. Read the report.

Jennifer Blasi PTSA (Moorlands PTA)

E-Prep Advocate: Organized parents and lead regular meetings with district Superintendent Dr. Reid to ensure the focus on E-Prep including funding for food and water supplies, continued staff focused support, and mental health of our students.

Robyn Sims (Bear Creek PTA & Timbercrest PTSA)

E-Prep Leadership: Worked with PTA E-Prep chairs. Established feeder pattern working groups to share issues and resources to help each other. Helped identify common issues across feeder groups to focus efforts.

Graphic featuring awards certificates for each of the E-prep award recipients, incluindg Julie Beard, 2019-20 Emergency Preparedness Advocate; Jennifer Blasi, 2019-2020 Emergency Preparedness Advocate; and Robyn Sims, 2019-2020 Emergency Preparedness Leadership

Many thanks to our NSD team that has supported every Emergency-Preparedness (E-Prep) monthly meeting with updates and for giving PTSA parents a forum to vocalize both suggestions and concerns. We would like to specifically thank Clark Combs E-Prep TOSA, Bill Brooks, Security, and Henry Simon, Director Safety and Security, for their continued focus on the safety of our students and staff, security, and preparedness. Here are a few of the key things achieved this school year:

Tuff Shed for E-Prep supplies storage at Ruby Bridges elementary school will improve the storage environment for supplies.
Plastic bins have been delivered to every school for use in e-prep containers to store supplies and keep them safe.
20% of the food and water emergency supplies has been delivered to each school. A five-year plan has been established to rotate the food and water supplies in the E-prep containers.
Medical Emergency Trauma Kits went out to 21 sites, Pre-K to grade 5. All NSD sites have updated kits.
Fernwood Elementary held a reunification drill with students and parents. A large reunification with parents at an off-site location scheduled for the end of March had to be postponed due to COVID-19, hopefully it can be rescheduled for next year.
Each school now has a NSD-provided reunification kit that is customized by each school to fit their population needs.
E-Prep items delivered to schools included: hard hats, vests, safety glasses, gloves, solar chargers, bleed kits, large backpacks, headlamps, crowbars, knee pads, bull horns, and radios.
Woodinville High School is offering a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) elective course starting next year which will give our students training in disaster preparedness, leadership, teamwork, safety, first aid, CPR/AED, search and rescue, fire suppression, psychology and team organization.
Replaced existing mortise classroom locks with more secure functionality; installation of thumb turn locks with indicators in every classroom, is nearly complete.
Five visitor management pilot systems were obtained and NSD legal is working to ensure security of personal information.
Continuation of the NSD E-Prep TOSA position in 2020-21.
ACT (Antidote, CPR/AED, Tourniquet) to save a life training was provided to our PTSA e-prep group. ACT To Save a Life is a one hour first aid class that focuses on three skills you can use to save a life in the first few minutes of an emergency: Antidote for suspected opiate overdoses, CPR and AED training for cardiac arrest, tourniquet for severe bleeding control. Clark Combs is now prepared to do on-line or live training for our teachers in August before start of school.
During our COVID-19 event, NSD donated face masks, gloves, and gowns from school E-prep containers to a local hospital.
Northshore Council PTSA has donated funds towards 40 face shields for all NSD school nurses to use next year.

The Northshore Council PTSA E-Prep team is looking forward to next year’s opportunities to continue to help improve each school’s emergency preparedness and we will also be focusing on our family preparedness for emergencies and disasters. Next year you will also see an improved NS Council PTSA E-Prep webpage, on-line E-Prep meetings, meeting recordings and on-line training. One example is online CERT (Community Emergency Response Training), which will provide access to those who may have had trouble getting it and allow volunteers to acquire the CERT credential at their own pace. CLICK HERE for more info.

Have a wonderful and safe summer,

Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch
Emergency Preparedness Co-chairs
Northshore Council PTSA 6.10
A Culture of Preparedness in our Community

Council Award Recipients - 2019-2020

6/5/2020

Each year, Northshore Council PTSA recognizes a few special people who have gone above and beyond in service to our community and who promote the well-being and education of children in our district and beyond. This year, Council was proud to recognize seven amazing individuals.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Oustanding Educator Award recipient, Gary Keeler

Outstanding Educator - Gary Keeler
The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging.

Mr. Keeler was the principal at Bear Creek Elementary for quite a few years before moving over to lead Lockwood Elementary, where he retired. He came out of retirement this year to guide the Bear Creek community in its transition to a home for the Northshore Family Partnership. His community overwhelmingly expressed their gratitude and love for this “one of a kind” principal. They talked about his “kind and gentle leadership style”, his ability to listen and to be a problem solver and, most of all, about his compassion for his staff, families and students. Over his years of work in Northshore, he has worked tirelessly to put the needs of his students first and foremost in every decision he has made. One of his famous sayings is, "Folks, the kids are the heart of everything we do!"

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Outstanding Advocate Award recipient, Mayela Martinez

Outstanding Advocate - Mayela Martinez
The Outstanding Advocate Award 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.

Mayela has been a dedicated educator and advocate all of her life. She has been with the Northshore School District for over 20 years working in the dual language program, as an interpreter, with the ELL program and as a Family Outreach Liaison. Mayela goes above and beyond the call of duty for her students and their families making sure that needs are met, no matter where she has to look for the support that a student might need. She has provided invaluable outreach that is needed to communicate and engage the parents of our English learners. She has championed the Natural Leaders program at multiple schools and created a pipeline of engaged parents in grades K-12. Mayela was recently selected as the Regional Classified School Employee of the Year for Puget Sound ESD 121 by Office of Educator Growth and Development in the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and is a finalist for the Washington State Classified School Employee of the Year.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Outstanding Student Advocate Award recipient, Julia Gonzalez

Outstanding Student Advocate - Julia Gonzalez
The Outstanding Student Advocate Award recognizes students who have made significant contributions through leadership and service in their school and community.

Julia Gonzalez has been an advocate all of her life. She has been involved with WE Day events, has won the C.P. & Dorothy Johnson Humanitarian award, been asked by WSPTA to testify in Olympia on mental health and school advocacy, and was a keynote speaker at our 2019 Presidents and Principals luncheon. In 2018, she created the "ME Space" program at Northshore Middle School. "ME" stands for "Mental Emotional" or "Mind Escape" and the space is a dedicated room for students struggling with anxiety or overwhelming emotions to visit during the day when they need a mental health break. The program continues to serve 25-30 students every week, providing them with a safe space to reset and recharge so that they are able to re-focus on learning. Julia's program has inspired other schools within the district to create “ME Spaces” of their own.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Golden Acorn Award recipient, Jane Chiodo

Golden Acorn - Jane Chiodo
The Golden Acorn Award is presented to a Northshore Council PTSA volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth.

In Jane’s first year serving on Council, she not only embraced her role as First VP, she quickly became an integral part across many aspects of Council, taking on projects such as editing and drafting existing and new standing rules and policies, spearheading the Speaker & Events Grant program, chairing this year’s Nominating Committee, planning and organizing our Reflections celebration, coordinating Awards and more. If there was a need-- Jane was there to help with grace, humor and an awesome ability to get things done. Her dedication and willingness to lead and serve have enriched Northshore Council beyond measure.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Golden Acorn Award recipient, Michele Holowachuk

Golden Acorn - Michele Holowachuk
The Golden Acorn Award is presented to a Northshore Council PTSA volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth.

Michele is the Special Education Representative for Council (she also holds that position at BHS PTSA as well). Over the three years she has been on Council, Michele has done a great job connecting with the Special Education parent community at every school, working to ensure that each local PTA has a representative and gathering them together to share issues, concerns and how they can help and support each other. Michele also works to bring in presenters and education events showcasing relevant topics for the Special Education families in our district. She has also been working towards the creation of a Special Education resource fair. Her dedication to the Special Education community is phenomenal and she has helped to magnify their voice.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award recipient, Grace Jurado

Honorary Lifetime Membership - Grace Jurado
The Honorary Life Membership recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to a PTA at the local unit, council, or state level.

Grace has worked at many levels of PTA including local, council and region. She has served in many roles over the years including elected positions, chairs of events and as a volunteer. She is always ready to help, even when she is running out the door to go to work, her kids dance competition and sports. In her current role as Council president, Grace has created opportunities for our local units to connect and share information about how to work through the current COVID-19 crisis. Her leadership has been invaluable.

Northshore Council PTSA 2019-20 Outstanding Service Award recipient, Nancy Chamberlain

Outstanding Service - Nancy Chamberlain
The Outstanding Service Award is the highest volunteer award given by the Washington State PTA. It is awarded to someone who has gone beyond his or her own school community, job, or PTA in order to give dedicated volunteer service to children.

Nancy has been taking on leadership positions for 12 years. She has volunteered tens of thousands of hours in our school, council and state PTAs as well as in our communities in various positions. She has received multiple PTA awards including Golden Acorn, Outstanding Advocate at the school, council and just this year at the state level as well as earning the Crystal Level in the WSPTA Leadership Academy. During all that, she also served on at least eight time consuming education coalitions and workshops as well as co-moderated a NSD Discussion group on Facebook. Nancy is a true PTA professional and her work supporting students and families at the school, district and state level is incalculable.

Congratulations to this year's winners!

Northshore Council PTSA recognized its 2019-2020 award recipients at its general membership meeting on June 1, 2020 which was held online.

April 20th Meeting Recap

4/27/2020

Our community is adapting to the stay-at-home-order, so there is lots going on with PTSA and our District community. The Washington State PTA Convention will be held May 11 – 21st with the Business Meeting on May 16th. Each PTA President should appoint their delegates by April 29th. Over the course of eleven days there will be roughly 35 professional development webinars and networking sessions held and none of them will overlap. The cost is only $60 to attend as many classes as you like. New boards are encouraged to send officers because this counts as the required training for next year. Every board needs at least one officer to take “PTA and the Law” which will only be 90 minutes this year.

The membership unanimously elected the slate for 2020 -21 Northshore Council PTSA Executive Board. Congratulations to next year's elected officers:

President: Robin Zaback
First Vice President: Jane Chiodo
Secretary: Jennifer Drury
Treasurer: Liz Nord
Co-VP of Events: Karrie Palis
Co-VP of Events: Mary Khouzam
VP of Advocacy: OPEN
VP of Communications: Rachel Fitzgerald
VP of Elementary Support: Grace Jurado
VP of Secondary Support: Nancy Chamberlain

Council Award nominations are due May 1st. Submit your nominations online.

Elizabeth Meza, the Northshore School District (NSD) Director of Family Engagement and English Language Learners Support shared that the Northshore Schools Foundation (NSF) in partnership with the District have collected hundreds of books to share with families since libraries are closed and this is what families have requested. Please contact her at emeza@nsd.org if you are interested in donating books, volunteering to organize, or distribute books, or if you have families that you would like to connect to this program. Learn more about the book donation program on the NSF website. The NSF is also partnering with NSD to provide weekend meals and school supplies for families as needed.

NSD Partnerships Coordinator, Natalie Campbell, shared that NSD staff are also working on virtual tours of schools for families transitioning to new schools. She also shared dates for a number of upcoming events, including:

Northshore Speaks - April 29th (virtual),
CP & Dorothy Johnson Humanitarian Award - May 14th (virtual),
Back to School Fair - August 22nd, and
Community Serve Day - August 23rd.

The Northshore Schools Foundation is also working on Launch Day 2020 for high school Seniors, only this time it will be virtual and over the course of 3 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They hope to offer sessions in topics such as basic car maintenance, finance, interviewing, cyber-security and personal relationships. Typically, they enlist recent grads to help. If you know any recent grads who are interesting in volunteering, please direct them to this online form.

The Council will continue to host Zoom Roundtables every Tuesday at noon. Part of this week’s discussion was PTA budgeting. Local PTAs are urged to budget conservatively for 2020-21 considering fundraising may be down significantly for spring and fall and beyond. Focus on free community-building events. Be mindful of your PTA’s purpose and what is sustainable for your community. Perhaps keep extra money in reserve.

Our next General Membership meeting will be June 1, 2020 at 7pm.

Celebrate People in Your PTA!

4/20/2020

While it may seem a bit weird to keep conducting PTA business with school being virtual, make sure you are still recognizing and celebrating your volunteers! Now, more than ever, it is important to celebrate the dedication and care of those who support our mission and goals. 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. Ask for submissions via your social media or electronic newsletter. You can even create an online survey form for people to complete to nominate folks using tools like Google Forms or Survey Monkey. You can order your WSPTA awards online.

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.

Northshore Council PTSA Awards:

Similar to how you celebrate outstanding service in your PTA community, Northshore Council PTSA also celebrates amazing people. Please help us and nominate someone who you feel has made a difference! Award nominations are due by May 1, 2020. To nominate, you can either fill out the online nomination form or email Jane Chiodo.

Visit our Council Awards page to learn more about Council awards and past recipients.

Northshore Council PTSA Recognition Awards 2020

2/2/2020

Northshore Council PTSA Council Recognition Awards 2020

We all know people within our community who give a little extra, work a little harder, or who are always volunteering!

Now you can help us recognize these people by nominating them for a Northshore Council PTSA Recognition Award!

Every year, we look for nominations for the following awards:

Outstanding Educator – individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging.
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.
Outstanding Service - this is the highest volunteer award given by the Washington State PTA. It is awarded to someone who has gone beyond his or her own school community, job, or PTA in order to give dedicated volunteer service to children.
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.
Golden Acorn – A Golden Acorn Award is presented to a school or community volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth (Note: this award will be presented at the Northshore Council PTSA May Membership Meeting)

Awards will be presented at our Council Membership Meeting in May.

Fill out an online nomination form TODAY!

Nominations are due by Friday, May 1, 2020!

Remember, multiple forms can be completed for multiple nominees!!!

Learn more about Council Awards and see previous recipients.

January Meeting Recap

2/2/2020

At the January 23, 2020 Northshore Council PTSA Membership meeting, local PTA leaders, school district representatives and community leaders were in attendance.

The first part of the meeting focused on PTSA business and updates, including review of minutes and finances and a membership update. Local PTAs were encouraged to participate in the Washington State PTA Membership Contest through February 14th. PTAs simply need to keep adding in new members. Each PTA which reaches a minimum threshold (on average 5 new members) will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card. Our current Council Goal is 8400 members. We currently have 7392.

School Board Director McGourty shared that at a Roundtable Event with students and U.S. Representative del Bene there was discussion about the relevance of the SBAC exam, funding school programs that are fee-based like summer music programs and mental health programs for students.

Sue Freeman of Northshore Nourishing Networks invited people to visit their website and Facebook page to find resources for feeding our communities like “How to Start Your Own Foodbank” and the new Hopelink Mobile Foodbank.

District Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell shared information about upcoming events, including a district-sponsored presentation and discussion of the film, "Never Alone," noting that though tickets were sold out, they had started a waitlist.

Northshore Council PTSA's Nominating Committee is still taking recommendations for Executive Committee for 2020-21. Visit the website for more information.

The Reflections Celebration on January 11 was a big success with 27 PTAs participating and great turn-out at the reception. We had 67 state qualifiers and 54 pieces received Judges Choice. The Leota Staff were very welcoming and helpful.

At Washington State PTA Focus Day in Olympia on January 20, a group of Northshore PTA members met with nine of the legislators who represent our school district to encourage them to support our PTA priorities. Please subscribe to the WSPTA Action Network (linked on the Advocacy Page of WSPTA's website). There will be an Advocacy Week with a writing campaign, February 24-28.

The Council has awarded the rest of the budgeted grant money for the year to Kenmore Middle School for Artspring, Kenmore Elementary PTA for a screening of Angst, Inglemoor PTSA for “Top Three Parenting Hacks to Help Your Teen Manage Emotions” and Bothell PTSA for “Diversity Night”. There will be more funds available next year!

The meeting concluded with an overview of the 2020 Census by representatives of the U. S. Census bureau.

Please join us at our next General Membership Meeting on
March 16, 2020 at the NSD Admin Building at 7pm!

Hidden in Plain Sight - 2/26

1/19/2020

Hidden in Plain Sight - Would you see the signs of youth alcohol or drug use in your home? A parent only event sponsored by Northshore Middle School PTSA, Woodmoor PTSA and Northshore Council PTSA on Wedneday, February 26, 2020 at Northshore Middle School from 6:30-8:30pm.

Parents and caregivers are invited to participate in the "Hidden in Plain Sight" experience on Wednesday, February 26th from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Northshore Middle School (12101 NE 160th St, Bothell, WA 98011). Space is limited, so reserve your FREE ticket today!

The “Hidden In Plain Sight” initiative helps parents spot signs of at-risk behaviors, using an interactive display of a teenager's bedroom. After walking through the display, participants will learn more about adolescent development and common signs of substance use provided by professionals in treatment, law enforcement, substance abuse prevention and other parents.

This exhibit educates and empowers parents to communicate with their children about at-risk behavior that could lead to substance use disorders. A strong parent-teen relationship is the most effective tool to prevent youth substance use.

Looks can be very deceiving -
Especially if you don’t know what to look for.
Come to a “Hidden in Plain Sight” exhibit and learn what
to look for and what to do if you do find something.

Sponsored by Northshore Middle School PTSA, Woodmoor PTSA, and Northshore Council PTSA.

Please consider sharing this event with your PTA/PTSA community!

Eventbrite: hips-nms-2020.eventbrite.com
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/events/481846335737421/

Download the event flyer:

hips-flyer.pdf
File Size:	327 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Angst: Screening & Discussion - 2/11

1/19/2020

Angst: Anxiety disorders are real, common and treatable. Free film screening and discussion on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 from 6-8pm at Kenmore Elementary Gym. Graphic of a young competitive swimmer.

Kenmore Elementary PTA and Northshore Council PTSA are working together to present the movie "Angst." This movie is for parents and caregivers to help us navigate anxiety in our students and ourselves. It provides hope and help!

This FREE film screening and discussion event will be on Tuesday, February 11th, from 6 – 8 p.m. in the Kenmore Elementary Gym (19121 71st Ave NE, Kenmore, WA 98028). The movie is 55 minutes and will be followed by a moderated panel discussion afterwards. The YMCA will be providing child care on campus for children ages 3 and up.

If you are interested in attending, please reserve your tickets through Eventbrite to help us plan (please include a note in your reservation if childcare is needed):

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/angst-movie-screening-tickets-88561470743

To learn more about the movie, visit: https://angstmovie.com/

Please consider sharing this event with your PTA/PTSA community!

Kenmore Elementary PTA Event Info: kenmorepta.org/free-angst-film-screening-and-discussion-february-11th/
Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/events/577550536166745
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/angst-movie-screening-tickets-88561470743

Reflections 2020 - Gratitude

1/16/2020

Look Within Reflections Celebration Thank You graphic

Congratulations to the 27 Northshore PTAs that participated in this year's Reflections program and to the artists who made it to Council-level judging!!! It was fun celebrating you all at our open house on January 11, 2020 at Leota Middle School where we had more than 350 pieces on display.

Judging Results: There are 67 State Qualifiers (SQ) who will continue on to Washington State PTA for further judging. There were also 54 pieces that received the honorable Judges Choice Award (JC). Congrats to all the students who made it to the Council Level for judging.

Over All Results Results by PTA (same data - different view) List of Only State Winners

During the event, attendees had an opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces. The Votes Are In... Here are the People's Choice Pieces:

With Gratitude...

Many thanks to all of the awesome volunteers (students, community members, Council board members, and more!) who made this event possible-- signage, transport of displays, to construction, set-up, helping and greeting at the event, take-down, clean-up and more-- Northshore Council PTSA is SO GRATEFUL for your help!!!
Great gratitude to Leota Middle School's administration and custodial staff for their support and for sharing their space with us for this event. It was a great venue!
Thank you to this year's Council-level Reflections judges, including Kathy Greisen, Michael McMinnes, Ashley Jensen, Karen Oie, Susan Jackson, Erin Young and Jill Enright, all of whom generously spent many hours during the busy holiday season to judge all of the pieces.
A big thank you to the Arts of Kenmore for use of their display panels for the event.
And a huge shout out to Council Reflections Chair Cindy Jensen for organizing this year's Reflections program and to First VP Jane Chiodo for planning and organizing the celebration event.

Slideshow of pictures from the Northshore Council PTSA Reflections Celebration, January 11, 2020:

Visit our Reflections Page to learn more about the program and find relevant resources!

Round 2: Speaker & Event Grants

1/5/2020

Northshore Council PTSA is proud to announce the recipients in our second (and final) round of Speaker & Event Grants for 2019-2020!

Northshore Council PTSA/Kenmore Middle School - ArtSpring Arts Festival - April 23, 2020
Kenmore Elementary PTA - "Angst" film screening and discussion - Feb 11, 2020
Bothell High School PTSA - "Diversity Fair" event - May 27, 2020 (tentative date)
Inglemoor PTSA - "Managing Feelings of Anxiety & Depression" & "Raising Self Reliant Teens" events - Jan 20, 2020 and March 16 2020

Each of these events will be open to the Northshore community. Be on the lookout for announcements with detailed event information in the coming months!

Local PTAs/PTSAs interested in partnering with Northshore Council PTSA to host speakers or events had an opportunity to apply for a Northshore Council PTSA Educational Speakers and Events Grant. 2019-2020 grants were offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and applications were reviewed by the Northshore Council PTSA until the Council Programs budget was used in its entirety. This second round of grants used the remaining available funds for 2019-2020 so applications are now closed.

For more information about the Northshore Council PTSA Educational Speakers and Events Grant program, visit our Educational Speaker & Events Grants Program page.

<<Previous