 We invite you to join us on Thursday, January 16, 2020, for a special FREE screening of the documentary “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety” at the North Creek High School Theater at 7:00 p.m. The event will feature a viewing of the film (presented in English with Spanish subtitles), followed by a moderated discussion. The film is 55 minutes long and appropriate for ages 10 and up. "Angst" producers, Scilla Andreen and Karin Gornick, have one goal: to start a global conversation and raise awareness around anxiety. Through candid interviews, they utilize the power of film to tell the stories of many kids and teens who discuss their anxiety and its impacts on their lives and relationships, as well as how they’ve found solutions and hope. The film also includes a special interview with Michael Phelps, a mental health advocate and one of the greatest athletes of all-time. In addition, the documentary provides discussions with mental health experts about the causes of anxiety and its sociological effects, along with the help, resources and tools available to address the condition. Tickets are not required, but they help us plan and guarantee entry. Reserve your ticket at: This event is co-sponsored by North Creek High School PTSA, Skyview Middle School PTSA and Northshore Council PTSA.  Please consider sharing this event with your PTA/PTSA community!
 We are grateful to all who were able to attend our General Membership Meeting on Monday, November 18, 2019. News of interest from the November 18th PTSA General Meeting included Dr. Reid’s report that the innovation lab high school located in Canyon Park will open next fall. Peter Schurke is the planning principal and registration will likely coincide with that for Northshore’s other high schools. Also, EAP Placement sites should be announced the week of November 25th. Northshore Schools Foundation is partnering with NSD for Hour of Code again this year, December 9 – 16, with activities for families and awards for participation. NSD Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell reported that the district is partnering with local PTAs to bring the Northwest Art Project, a tour which includes eight original works of Northwest artists and supporting curriculum, to twice as many schools as last year. Reflections Entries are due by November 26. Cindy Jensen will be collecting pieces at the Starbucks by Kenmore Lanes November 25 and 26th from 7 – 8:30pm. Council's co-VP of Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain, gave a brief summary on Washington State PTA's Legislative Assembly (October 26-27, 2019), noting that delegates adopted Family and Community Engagement as a new principal as well as four new Resolutions including: the Vital Impact of Membership on PTAs Sustainability, Mission-Focused Fundraising, Equitable Education Opportunities to Close Gaps Across the Achievement Spectrum, and Gun Violence Prevention and Safety. She urges all members to sign up for Advocacy Action Alerts and to mark calendars for Focus Day in Olympia on January 20, 2020. Kids are welcome! Sign up for free Focus Day transportation to Olympia with Council. During the Emergency Preparedness Presentation, Council's E-Prep co-Chair, Robin McKenzie, urged families to make sure their contact information is correct in ParentVue, develop an emergency plan at home, and sign-up for King County/Snohomish County Alerts. He suggested PTAs engage with their school on the Reunification Process plan. He noted that the District will be doing a Reunification Exercise in March. The Council also approved new goals, elected a Nominating Committee (many thanks to Jane Chiodo, Carmin Dalziel, and Tricia Woods for serving on the committee!), celebrated our 6840 members and discussed ways to boost membership. We are also thrilled to report that Tricia Woods has decided to continue on as our Treasurer. (Note: we are still seeking interested candidates to serve in other key roles, including VP of Events and Membership Chair. Contact Grace Jurado if you would like to learn more!) After the meeting adjourned, members could choose between four training class options including: ✔️ Lining Up Your Leaders: How to Have a Successful Nominating Committee and Election ✔️ How to Use WSPTA Positions for Local Advocacy ✔️ Keep Your A$$ets Out of Trouble: Managing a Non-Profit ✔️ Emergency Preparedness: What Your PTA Needs to Know Many thanks to Stacey Meyer, Nancy Chamberlain, Grace Jurado and Robin McKenzie for leading the classes and sharing their knowledge and experience with attendees. The next General Membership meeting will be January 23, 2020 at the NSD Administration Building. Meet and Greet at 6:30 pm. Call to order at 7pm. We hope you will join us!
 Join us on Monday, December 9, 2019, in the Northshore Middle School Library starting at 7pm for a special presentation that will help you navigate and understand your student's special education rights. Scott Raub, Special Education Parent & Community Liaison, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), will present and then answer questions about the "Notice of Special Education Procedural Safeguards for Students & Families"—a document provided to families at IEP meetings. This event is for parents/guardians and interested community members. If there are questions you know you want answered, please submit them ahead of time to specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org so we can be sure they are addressed. You are encouraged to bring your copy of "Notice of Special Education Procedural Safeguards for Students & Families" (the booklet given at IEP meetings). The booklet is also available for download on the OSPI website and is available in multiple languages (including Arabic, Chinese, Khmer, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukranian, and Vietnamese): Note: no childcare is available; children who can work/play quietly are welcome. For questions, accommodations or translator contact specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Download the flier below: 
This event is brought to you by the Northshore Special Education Representatives and Northshore Council PTSA. Please consider sharing this event with your PTA's community!  Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/277254799866921/
Dyslexia – 6:45 – 7:30pm Local experts and advocates, Sam Ames and Aileen Hammar, will give an overview of dyslexia and provide an update on the work of the NSD Dyslexia Committee. Best Buddies – 7:35 – 8:30pm Student Taylor King and staff advisor Jessica Lorenz will share information about the Best Buddies one-to-one program for students with and without disabilities at North Creek High School. Attend one or both presentations! We look forward to seeing you there! If you have questions or need special accommodations, please contact specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Download the flyer:
 Join us for a unique opportunity for all Northshore School District parents/guardians – an evening with the highly sought after local speaker, Dr. Laura Kastner, as she presents a talk on "Purposeful Parenting: Creating Balance & Calm through Student Changes & Pressures." The presentation will be on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, from 7:00pm - 9:00pm at the Woodinville High School Theater (19819 136th Avenue Northeast, Woodinville, WA 98072). Dr. Laura is a clinical psychologist and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. This lecture will discuss positive parenting techniques on how to help our children create balance amongst school and life changes. She believes that students can be resilient and successfully face anxiety, stress, pressures, and challenges with balance and support from their parents. Parents can learn to build skills for their own well-being as well as that of their students! Please refer to www.laurakastnerphd.com for links on her articles and news interviews and TV appearances (she’s appeared on the Today Show!), books, and lectures. Download the event flyer below:
Event co-sponsored by Bear Creek PTA, East Ridge PTA and Northshore Council PTSA. Please consider sharing this event with your PTA's community!
 Washington State PTA held its 41st Annual Legislative Assembly October 26-27th at Bellevue College. The theme was “Superheroes of Advocacy”, and Northshore advocacy heroes made up more than 10% of the total attendees statewide! A Focus on Mental Health
Additional workshops, panels and classes to help legislative assembly attendees become better superhero advocates included:
New this year was a student track of classes and workshops:
Updates to the WSPTA Legislative Platform The “work” of legislative assembly is to adopt new public policy positions for WSPTA and its local PTAs, councils and members to advocate on. These include both short-term legislative issues, which are actionable in Olympia, and long-term positions which can be used at any level of decision-making: school, school district, city, county, state and nationally. Since the WSPTA Legislative Platform runs on a two-year cycle, this year delegates only had one new issue to adopt for the 2020 platform: Equitable Identification of Highly Capable Students. Delegates also amended the top 5 issue Prevent Gun Violence. The new and revised issues can be found on the 2020 WSPTA Legislative Platform (be on the lookout for new and updated one-pagers for each of the issues coming soon). Delegates also adopted a new permanent legislative principle on Family and Community Engagement, and four new permanent resolutions. Three of the new resolutions are fundamental to how PTAs should address their mission, outlook on membership, and fundraising. The titles of the new resolutions are:
In addition, delegates also amended fifteen existing resolutions with updates to ensure their continued relevance for ongoing advocacy work. The list of all WSPTA resolutions can be found on the WSPTA Resolutions webpage (updated text for all of the new and updated resolutions will be available soon!). Stay engaged in PTA advocacy!
 At its annual Presidents & Principals Luncheon on October 29, 2019, Northshore Council PTSA brought together PTA leaders, school principals, and district administrators from across Northshore.  Student advocate Julia Gonzalez was the keynote speaker at this year's luncheon. After enjoying a lunch catered by Lombardi's (Mill Creek), keynote speaker Julia Gonzalez (now a freshman at Inglemoor High School) shared her story about developing 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, started in 2018, continues to serve 25-30 students every week, providing them with a safe space to reset and recharge so that they are are able to re-focus on learning. Julia's presentation and the success of her student-centered program inspired some wonderful discussion around opportunities for school-PTA partnerships and collaboration in supporting Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Many thanks to all who were able to attend as well as to event organizers Grace Jurado, Stacey Meyer and Carrie McKenzie. Gratitude to Evergreen Church for sharing their beautiful space with us for the event as well as to Lombardi's Mill Creek for providing a tasty lunch. A few photos from the event:  Northshore Council PTSA is proud to announce the recipients in our first round of Speaker & Event Grants for 2019-2020!
Each of these six 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 may apply for a Northshore Council PTSA Educational Speakers and Events Grant. 2019-2020 grants are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and applications will be reviewed by the Northshore Council PTSA until the Council Programs budget is used in its entirety. The submission deadline for the next round of Speaker & Event Grants is December 6, 2019. For more information about the program and to download the application, visit our Educational Speaker & Events Grants Program page.
 Cottage Lake Elementary PTA and Northshore Council PTSA are thrilled to present "SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age." When: Friday, November 15, 2019 at 6:30pm Where: Cottage Lake Elementary Gym Cost: FREE RSVP*: www.eventcombo.com/e/screenagers-film-presented-by-cottage-lake-elementary-pta-36674 SCREENAGERS addresses the most pervasive parenting issue of our time head on—depicting teen struggles over social media, video games and internet addiction. The film empowers kids to best navigate the digital world and provides practical resources to help them do it. Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that happening with her own kids and began a quest to uncover how it might impact their development. As with her other two award-winning documentaries on mental health, Ruston takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and also offers solutions on how adults can empower their kids to best navigate the digital world to find balance. SCREENAGERS is recommended for ages 10 and older. Parent discretion is advised if bringing younger children. Children who can sit and watch a movie quietly are welcome. No drop offs & no childcare.  Download and share the event flyer:
 Registration is now open for this year's WSPTA Legislative Assembly on October 26-27, 2019 at Bellevue College, Bellevue, WA! PTA delegates from across the state will come together to update our WSPTA legislative platform in support of our vision of "Making every child's potential a reality." Delegates will have the opportunity to debate, amend, and vote on long-term resolutions and principles as well as new and amended short-term platform issues that will guide WSPTA's advocacy efforts in the upcoming legislative session. The WSPTA Legislative Assembly 2019 Voter's Guide, contains information needed to familiarize yourself with these proposals. This year's delegates will be voting on one new legislative principle and one amended legislative principle, one new legislative issue and one amended legislative issue, four new resolutions and 15 amendments to existing resolutions. As a complement to the Voter's Guide, there is also a downloadable survey available that PTAs can use to gather input from the members of your local PTA or council that can help inform your delegates voting on the proposed issues, resolutions and principles. Be a part of the process and help direct the course for WSPTA advocacy by serving as a delegate for your PTA! If you are interested in attending Legislative Assembly as a delegate for your local PTA, contact your local PTA president. Get all the details for this year's Legislative Assembly on the WSPTA website:
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