 You are invited to join Council's next Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Chair meeting!
Anyone in PTA/PTSA is welcome to attend our meetings, and we encourage all local PTA/PTSA E-Prep chairs to attend as well as PTA/PTSA Presidents and/or Vice Presidents or delegates. In this meeting we share and obtain updates from the NSD Safety team and discuss opportunities where the PTA can provide support to our schools in the areas of emergency preparedness, safety, and security. Date: Tuesday, February 1st Time: 11:00 AM to Noon, Pacific Time (US and Canada) Zoom Link & Passcode: Available upon request If you would like the zoom link and passcode in order to attend this meeting, or have questions concerning Emergency Preparedness, please email Council's E-Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch & Robin McKenzie. We look forward to seeing you!  You are invited to join Council's next Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Chair meeting!
Anyone in PTA/PTSA is welcome to attend our meetings, and we encourage all local PTA/PTSA E-Prep chairs to attend as well as PTA/PTSA Presidents and/or Vice Presidents or delegates. In this meeting we share and obtain updates from the NSD Safety team and discuss opportunities where the PTA can provide support to our schools in the areas of emergency preparedness, safety, and security. Date: Tuesday, December 7th Time: 11:00 AM to Noon, Pacific Time (US and Canada) Zoom Link & Passcode: Available upon request If you would like the zoom link and passcode in order to attend this meeting, or have questions concerning Emergency Preparedness, please email Council's E-Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch & Robin McKenzie. We look forward to seeing you!  You are invited to join Council's next Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Chair meeting!
Anyone in PTA/PTSA is welcome to attend our meetings, and we encourage all local PTA/PTSA E-Prep chairs to attend as well as PTA/PTSA Presidents and/or Vice Presidents or delegates. In this meeting we share and obtain updates from the NSD Safety team and discuss opportunities where the PTA can provide support to our schools in the areas of emergency preparedness, safety, and security. Date: Tuesday, November 2nd Time: 11:00 AM to Noon, Pacific Time (US and Canada) Zoom Link & Passcode: Available upon request If you would like the zoom link and passcode in order to attend this meeting, or have questions concerning Emergency Preparedness, please email Council's E-Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch & Robin McKenzie. We look forward to seeing you!  Don't miss out on our upcoming Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) Trainings!
Council's E-Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie, will be hosting two (2) E-Prep Chair Trainings on Tuesday, October 19th - one at 11am and one at 7pm. Both will be held online via Zoom. Topics to be covered during these trainings:
These trainings are open to all Northshore PTA/PTSA E-Prep Chairs (new or returning), Presidents or Vice-Presidents, and active members interested in Emergency Preparedness & Safety. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86754289292 Meeting ID: 867 5428 9292 Passcode: *Available upon request Please Note: This training is not an official WSPTA Approved Training and therefore cannot be used towards the training requirement listed in the SOA.  Thank you to all that attended our fourth membership meeting of the school year! Each general meeting provides us with an opportunity to connect with our wonderful local PTA leaders and community partners and learn more about the great things happening across our district.
A little bit of fun: We started off our meeting with a 30 minute “social” time. We invited all to join us to chat with Council and other local PTA leaders. We had great conversations and learned that “Flight” was the most desired superhero power in our fun poll! Guest Speaker: Our guest speaker this month was Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid who graciously answered questions regarding the upcoming shift to hybrid learning in NSD. A great range of questions were asked including but not limited to: how PTAs can support the return to classrooms, the thinking behind the hybrid model, vaccination progress for teachers, when the learning model will be decided for Fall, what hybrid will look like for those 100% remote, and the latest updates on SBAC testing. We thank Dr. Reid for taking the time to join us during such a busy and stressful time. Council Business: After approving our minutes from our January general meeting, we moved on to hearing the Treasurer Report for the month of February. We then moved on to learning about our 2021-2022 preliminary budget. Our budget committee worked along with our Treasurer, Liz Nord, to evaluate what our needs would be for next year taking into consideration the decrease in memberships that we had experienced in 2020-2021 possibly continuing next year. A few changes were recommended, such as lowering our income expectations and cutting costs where we could (obtaining a smaller PO Box, lowering line items such as hospitality, grants, office supplies, etc.). We also added line items for our new DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) position and our new Mental Health committee. The preliminary 2021-2022 budget was approved by a unanimous voice vote. Next up on the agenda was electing our 2021-2022 officers! Thank you to our hardworking Nominating Committee, Grace Jurado and Liz Nord, for putting together a rocking slate for next year! Liz Nord read the Nominating Report. The self-nomination period was held with no others submitting their names for nomination. The election script was followed with a reading from the WSPTA bylaws. A motion was cast to accept the slate as presented, seconded, and unanimously approved by a voice vote. Congratulations to our incoming 2021-2022 officers!!
Council Reports: Tracy Jokisch, our Emergency Prep and Safety Co-Chair, gave us an update regarding the bulk purchase of Stop the Bleed kits for district schools. There will most likely be over 500 kits ordered in total, which will include 2 kits per school contributed by Council. In conjunction with the Stop the Bleed effort, Clark Combs, district Eprep specialist on the district Safety and Security team, has been offering virtual ACT training to staff. Diana Christiansen, our Council Vice President of Advocacy, gave us an update regarding the exceptional attendance by WA State PTA members at this years National PTA Legislative Conference. It was great to see big representation especially at “Hill Day” when attendees met directly with legislators and their staffers. Check out our NPTA LegCon recap here! We got an update on the Reflections program. 55 pieces were forwarded to the state competition and we were waiting to hear results. (Results now in - check them out here!) The Council Reflections Celebration website was a big hit allowing many families – as well as family and friends around the country! - to experience all the works of art from artists all over the district. Next year’s theme was announced as, “I Will Change the World By…”. Diana Christiansen and Karrie Palis announced that our Council Recognition Awards Nominations were open. They are looking for nominations for the following awards: Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Advocate, Outstanding Student Advocate, Outstanding Service, Golden Acorn, Honorary Life Membership. They are also looking for members to join their committee to review nominations and select winners. Melissa Kline gave an update regarding membership. Three (3) PTAs had reached 100% staff membership and, in total, we have reached 4,826 members which is 62% of last year’s number. Melissa also gave an update about the newly formed Mental Health Committee. The committee had their first meeting recently, at which they discussed goals and things they would like to work on which included communicating about mental health awareness programs. Lauren Lewis, our Council F.A.C.E. (Family and Community Engagement) Chair, talked about the Equity Inventory Committee, which was established to assess where our Council stood in regards to equity and diversity. The goal of the committee was to look at all facets of our operation through a DEI lens and then to make suggestions on areas that we could improve on. Lauren was also working on finding a presentation about how to navigate the US high school system that could be offered to families in our district that speak other languages or who have moved here from other countries. Natalie Campbell, the District Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, said that we could partner with her and Elizabeth Meza to bring something like this to the district. It was also noted that through the Council Educational Speaker and Community Events Grants program, Woodin Elementary was offering "Guide to Helping Your Children Succeed in Elementary and Beyond", presented by Sistema Escolar, USA, to district parents. District and Community Reports: School Board Director David Cogan presented an update in regards to Northshore School District that included, but was not limited to:
Natalie Campbell, NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, reported the following:
Carmin Dalziel of the Northshore Schools Foundation gave updates regarding her organization and their work to support NSD:
Our last guest was Patsy Treece of the Citizens for Northshore Schools group to talk about Bond and Levy support. Her group’s purpose is to give citizens information about the bond and levies on the ballot and to urge them to vote. Bond and levy votes only happen every four years. Bonds need 60% to pass and levies need 50%. She was looking for volunteers to serve the group and was particularly interested in adding diversity so that all voices could be heard. She also asked if PTAs could add a line item to their budgets to help support the Citizens group. Learn more about Citizens for Northshore School here. Our next membership meeting will be held on Monday, June 7th. We hope to see you there!  Northshore School District Bulk Purchase of Stop The Bleed Kits Council PTSA E-Prep committee will be reaching out to each PTA/PTSA in the district to ask if they would like to participate in a one time buy to add additional Stop the Bleed Kits to their school. The recommended coverage is 1 per every classroom, but each PTA/PTSA could fund more or less than that amount. cost is $45.00/kit.  Stop the Bleed Kits are designed to help stop traumatic, life-threatening bleeding. To save a life, kits are important to have during the first 2 to 5 minutes before first responders arrive. Each kit contains the following:
Each kit comes vacuum sealed for long life and no maintenance. For more information, visit this link. Northshore Council PTSA is contributing $3500.00 to provide 2 of these kits per school to be located at the AEDs ensuring every school has a Stop the Bleed Kit.
In addition, Northshore School District (NSD), in partnership with Northshore Council PTSA E-Prep chairs, is offering a one-time bulk purchase of Stop the Bleed Kits to all PTAs/PTSAs. Each local PTA/PTSA can grant funds to their school by March 30th so that NSD can place orders for kits by April 30th. The E-Prep Committee is also requesting staff at each school attend a 1-hour A.C.T. Save a Life Training. For more information, contact Robin McKenzie & Tracy Jokisch, Council Emergency Preparedness Co-Chairs.  Thank you to all that attended our 3rd membership meeting of the school year and our first meeting in 2021!
Each meeting provides us with an opportunity to connect with our wonderful local PTA leaders. Council Business and Reports Our meeting started off with an update from one of our Emergency Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch. We learned that NSD is monitoring zooms for welfare checks. They are working on protocols regarding locations of students because many are traveling with family while attending classes. Reminder that if you see something strange going in the background during a classroom zoom to call 911. If you see a problem, call or email NSD Safety and Security. The PTSA E-Prep committee has been meeting with district rep, Clarke Combs, about various E-Prep items. From those discussions it was decided that there is a need for each school to have at least 2 Stop the Bleed kits on campus. Click here to learn more about Stop the Bleed Kits. A motion was passed to add funds to the E-Prep budget to cover the purchase of 2 Stop the Bleed kits per school. With support from local PTAs/PTSAs, this is a great start to reach the goal of having a kit at each school’s AED, rather than only at the nurse’s office. After approving the minutes from the November membership meeting, we moved on to the Treasurer’s reports for November and December. Our Treasurer, Liz Nord, reported that we were receiving council program fees as well as additional membership fees via memberplanet. Liz concluded her report by sharing that the virtual mid-year financial review had been completed and detailed suggestions provided by the financial review team. Next on the agenda was a report from our VP of Advocacy, Diana Christiansen. Diana shared with everyone that WSPTA Advocacy Week began on 1/18 and will conclude on 1/22. Each day had a different advocacy topic and Diana urged local leaders to visit the Northshore Council Blog for more information regarding Focus on Advocacy Week. Then Grace Jurado and Liz Nord from our Nominating Committee reported that they have been in talks with current council leaders regarding who will be interested in staying on in their positions next year. They also put out a request for nominations and reminded everyone that there is a link in both the newsletter and the website for those interested in nominating. Learn more here. Our Reflections Chair, Rachel Northquist, shared the exciting news that 55 submissions will be moving on to State! She is also currently working on a method to share and display the submissions and will keep council updated with the plan. Melissa Kline, Membership Chair, reported that we currently have 4485 members and that we are at 77% of last years membership. She also reminded local leaders to think of your PTA as a brand and to share the good work that your PTA has been doing for your school and community. Next on the agenda was a Family and Community Engagement (F.A.C.E.) report from Lauren Lewis. She offered some important reminders with regards to planning events for your community including attempt to reach everyone – not just your members. (School directories are available. Please send requests to our Council Secretary, Kimberly Ortiz.) Lauren also shared the importance of consulting the NPTA Multicultural Calendar when planning meetings or events. Lauren is working on applications for the WSPTA FACE Awards and would also love to hear from anyone regarding how they think that Northshore Council is succeeding in Family and Community Engagement. You can email her directly at familyengagement@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Jane Chiodo gave an update on the Educational Speakers & Community Events Grants Program. She stated that the round 3 applications were due January 22nd . These funds are available for local PTA’s to apply for if they would like to host parent education events. Concluding the council business and reports agenda was a reminder from Grace Jurado regarding WSPTA Awards. Grace shared that awards applications are due March 15th but you can contact them now in order to receive a dropbox link so your PTA can start collecting items for submission. She also reminded leaders that awards can often help with branding your PTA as well. If you have never applied for an award before she suggested that the Standards of Excellence award is the most general award but that there are also different categories choose to from. One recommendation was the F.A.C.E. award as it doesn’t seem to receive as many applications as the others do. There was also a brief discussion regarding equity of the awards and the membership agreed that there may be a need to vocalize more prominently that awards are available for everyone to apply for as they are about your PTAs/PTSAs personal achievements, not comparing them to other PTAs (multiple PTAs can win the same award). Learn more about WSPTA Awards here. District and Community Reports School Board Director, David Cogan, presented an update regarding Northshore School District that included but was not limited to:
NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, Natalie Campbell, reported the following:
Carmin Dalziel, representing the Northshore School Foundation, shared that each school has scholarship money set aside in Care Teams. If someone needs a scholarship individually send them to a Care Team. It was also noted that the Basic Needs Fund is for a crisis, a one-time event that a family needs help with. Carmin also reminded us that there are many Northshore Gives campaigns that need donations. If there are any PTAs/PTSAs that would like to donate, please contact NSF. Lastly, the All in For Kids Virtual Fundraiser Event will be held 4/8/2021 and she encouraged people to enroll in groups. Guest Speaker Cherry Holmes, Region 6 DEI Chair, WSPTA FACE Committee and WSPTA DEI Chair, presented on and discussed WSPTA DEI resources that local leaders can use within their own units. By advancing diversity, equity and inclusion there will be better outcomes for families and students. The DEI presentation shared that diversity is the representation and respect for people from different backgrounds and identities. Equity provides fairness in resources, opportunities, and outcomes. Inclusion is actions and social norms that ensure ALL PEOPLE feel that they are safe, welcomed, and that they belong. The presentation asked PTAs/PTSAs to take a deeper look at what is happening in their local unit - that they may be colorblind or on autopilot with business as usual. It’s important to build membership and leadership from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Improvements for PTAs/PTSAs requires measurements. Know your school’s demographics and statistics; this info can be found on the OSPI school report card site. Know your school and community – does it represent your PTA/PTSA? Identify barriers in your community, including culture, socio economic, policies, and relevancy. Cherry’s DEI presentation will be shared in the meeting Dropbox so members can have access to the slide presentation to take back to discuss with their PTAs/PTSAs. Our next membership meeting will be held on Monday, March 15th. We hope to see you there!  Mental health issues related to our lockdown and pandemic are difficult for everyone but especially hard for people with depression or who suffer from drug or alcohol abuse. According to an article by the American Medical Association, there has been an increase in drug overdoses during this period. The CDC reported that symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder increased considerably in the United States during April–June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Below you will find articles with additional information and resources to help if you or someone you know are struggling. Article from HCP Live: Covid-10 Lockdown Having an Impact on Adolescent Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Covid-19 Information & Resources (including NAMI Crisis Helpline) Mental Health Coping Strategies during Coronavirus Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Article on Coping During Community Unrest 24/7 Online Chat & Phone Numbers Crisis Text Line Be #HealthyAtHome with Tips from the World Health Organization (WHO) Resources from Northshore School District including Mental Health Providers in both King & Snohomish counties.  Attention all Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) PTA Chairs
Join Council's E-Prep & Safety Co-Chairs, Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch, for online training* on Oct. 6th @ 10am and Oct. 22nd @ 7pm. Topics to be covered during these trainings:
These trainings are open to all Northshore PTA/PTSA E-Prep Chairs (new or returning), Presidents or Vice-Presidents, and active members interested in Emergency Preparedness & Safety. Join the Zoom for Oct. 6th @ 10am. (Passcode is available upon request.) Join the Zoom for Oct. 22nd @ 7pm. (Passcode is available upon request.) *Note: This training is not an official WSPTA Approved Training and therefore cannot be used towards the training requirement listed in the SOA.  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:
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:
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 |
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