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, June 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, May 10th
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, April 5th
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, March 8th
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!

Please note, the original posting for this event listed the date as March 1st. This has now been changed to March 8th.

Council Business:

• November 15th, 2021 meeting minutes were accepted as presented.
• Serena Xu, Northshore Council PTSA Treasurer, reported that the mid year financial review will take place on Monday January 24th.
• The Nominating Committee was elected and includes: Diana Christiansen, Jasmine Fry, and Cherry Holmes. Click here to learn more about serving on Council in the 2022-2023 school year or to make a nomination.

Bond & Levies Support/Opposition Vote:
Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot.
During this meeting, both the pro and con positions on the issue were presented before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies. Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously. Learn more...

District Updates:

• We heard form NSD Partnerships & Volunteer Coordinator Marco Garcia who discussed how he organized a COVID testing clinic and food donations packages.
• NSD School Board Updates were provided by Director Amy Cast which included reviewing the monitoring report and the budget.

Council Committee Reports:

• Advocacy: Diana Christiansen & Jen Drury provided updates regarding the recent Focus on Advocacy Week as well as information on signing up for the action alerts which can be found here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-to-wsptas-action-network-group
• Educational Speakers and Community Events Grants Program: Mary Khouzam, Grants Committee Chair, reminded us that there was still time to submit grant applications for the Jan 21st deadline. She also announced that the date may be pushed but that this decision is still pending. If you have further questions, please reach out to the Grants Committee.
• Reflections: Jasmine Lee Fry, Reflections Chair, reported that the online showcase will be up and running at a later date as it is still be worked on. Council's Reflections Results now available!
• Mental Health Committee: Melissa Kline, Co-Chair for the Mental Health Committee, provided an update regarding what the committee has been working on including advocating for more resources, putting out articles, and working with counselors on flyers and communication materials. The committee also put out a call for action - asking local PTA leaders to check how accessible mental health resources were at their school. Learn more about that here.
• Membership: Co-Chairs, Hanisha Bakshani and Melissa Kline, provided an update that we have 5181 members across the district with many of our local PTAs already earning a WSPTA Membership Growth Award. The more members we have the stronger our voice is in the district!
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: DEI Chair, Cherry Holmes, hosted a DEI roundtable meeting early in the school year. Cherry asked for feedback on "What does DEI mean in your PTSA/School?" - send your response here.
• PTA Support: VP of Elementary Support, Grace Jurado, asked that you please reach out with any questions or concerns or if you need any help. VP of Secondary Support, Brenae Brix, discussed that families are looking for more information on preparing around college and a local parent has volunteered to provide this information. This parent is partnering with Council to provide an info night on March 16th about preparing for college. More information will be coming soon. Middle school career days are being worked on at several middle schools. It will be a half day and presented within the students classroom.
• Emergency Preparedness: Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie, reported to us that an additional 117 Stop the Bleed! kits were obtained this round. That is a total of 862 kits in the district. The next meeting for E-Prep is Feb 1st at 11am and the guest speaker will be Deb Fuller. Learn more...
• Special Education: Laura Staneff will soon be joining council as our new Special Education Chair.

We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on March 21st, 2022 @ 7pm.
For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar.

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!

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:

• Recap of the E-Prep Mission, Goals, Values
• Overview E-Prep Chair Role and School E-Coordinator, Vice-Principal Role
• Overview of Preparedness Advocacy
• How to Create a Culture of Preparedness
• Council E-Prep Website Resources
• How to Connect with other E-Prep Chairs
• Tips and Q&A Time

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!!

• For the Office of President: Jane Chiodo
• For the Office of First Vice President: Mary Khouzam
• For the Office of Co-Secretary: Pauline Wray
• For the Office of Co-Secretary: Cheri Hardin
• For the Office of Treasurer: Serena Xu
• For the Office of VP of Events: Karrie Palis
• For the Office of Co-VP of Advocacy: Diana Christiansen
• For the Office of Co-VP of Advocacy: Jennifer Drury
• For the Office of VP of Communications: Rachel Fitzgerald
• For the Office of VP of Elementary Support: Grace Jurado
• For the Office of VP of Secondary Support: Brenae Brix

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:

• NSD would be live streaming athletic games so all could watch from home
• The lock update project at all schools was complete
• A district Math program was adopted
• The Capital Bonds Planning Task Force is underway

Natalie Campbell, NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, reported the following:

• Following up on the Mental Health Committee Update, Natalie said that the district was drafting a mental health webpage that was more robust and easier to navigate
• She had been working on childcare options for families during hybrid learning
• She reminded us to check out the Safety Protocol document as well as the English/Spanish videos on the district website
• As of right now, volunteers are not allowed on school campuses

Carmin Dalziel of the Northshore Schools Foundation gave updates regarding her organization and their work to support NSD:

• Each school in the district has a “Care Team” to help families that have helped at least 261 families since October
• Because kids will be returning to school, backpacks will start to be provided for those that need them
• NSF and volunteers have found homes for some 18,000 donated books!
• NSF was partnering with all district middle school PTA’s to bring a Career Day to all middle schools
• The Foundation’s “All In For Kids” fundraising event was be moving forward as a virtual event

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!