![]() Council is so proud of the work our Northshore PTAs/PTSAs are doing to support and engage our community, especially during these challenging times and we can't wait to see what you have to offer in 2021! As a reminder, we are keeping an ongoing list of events our local PTAs are hosting. This is a great resource to help connect with each other on events or inspire one for your PTA to host. If you have an event to include, particularly if it's available to members of other PTA/PTSAs, please share with our larger membership community by completing this Google form. To view a list of upcoming events, click here. To help connect further with other local leaders, check out our new FACE/DEI Facebook Group which is open to anyone interested in engaging and learning more about Family & Community Engagement and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. We would love to have you join us! Finally, as you plan activities for 2021, please consider planning inclusive events. National PTA has put together a comprehensive Multicultural Calendar to highlight and celebrate the diversity of our PTAs and school communities. You can view this calendar below or click here to print the PDF. It was great to see so many local PTA leaders in attendance for our 2nd meeting of the 20-21 school year!
The meeting kicked off with a Q and A led by our Superintendent, Dr. Michelle Reid. In addition to mentioning that the current plan with online schooling is to stay the course, she also answered many questions regarding topics such as homework, updates on the NSD curriculum resource web page, communication strategies for teachers and parents and building access for PTA’s. There was also a discussion regarding ideas for the district to provide some morale boosting activities for students and families to help with community building while we are still isolating at home for online learning. Dr. Reid welcomed ideas from the group and will investigate how to best provide some community building activities in the district. During the Council Business portion of the meeting, the membership elected Grace Jurado, Liz Nord and Jane Chiodo as the 20-21 Nominating Committee. Next on the agenda was a financial report given by Council Treasurer, Liz Nord. Her report included the Treasurer’s Reports for both September and October, presentation of the newly adopted money handling policy and an update regarding the fulfillment of the Standards of Affiliation. Liz noted that any PTA that needs to create or update their current money handling policy is welcome to use the council’s as a template found here. Lastly, there was an update regarding council goals which involved renaming the goal previously called Leading and Developing our Northshore PTAs and Leaders to Communicating with our Northshore Local PTAs and Leaders. Grace Jurado, Nancy Chamberlain and Melissa Kline worked together to create a new title and verbiage surrounding the elements of the action items in effort to create goals that are concrete and attainable. The membership unanimously voted to update the proposed changes to the council goals as presented. During this meeting we also heard from Northshore Nourishing Network (NNN) Director Sue Freeman. She shared information and tips for PTAs looking to start a successful food drive for their local units. Sue noted that the Northshore Senior Center needs canned vegetables, tuna and chicken for those looking to donate. It was suggested by a member that coordination for a food drive combined with school supply pick up days or porch pick up to gather food donations. Sue also shared that she has created helpful documents for suggested items to donate as well as how to start a free pantry. Learn more about NNN here. We then heard from community leaders including School Board Director Jacqueline McGourty, NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Campbell and the Northshore Schools Foundation Executive Director Carmin Dalziel.
Lastly on the agenda was Council updates on Advocacy, Membership and F.A.C.E. as well as an update from our First Vice President, Jane Chiodo, regarding the WSPTA awards and the Speaker and Events Grants.
Council meetings are a great way to reach other PTA leaders and learn about what is happening in the district and PTA. We hope you will join us for our next general membership meeting on Thursday, January 21st! Join us virtually on October 21st at 6:30PM for this upcoming Parent Education event: Parenting on the Same Page! Guest Speakers, Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer, co-founders of Future Focused Parenting, aim to support parents and caregivers doing the best they can to create a safe loving environment for their children, where everyone works together as a team. This presentation is for any parent or caregiver that wants to thrive rather than just survive throughout their parenting journey. This session helps families get on the same page with their parenting partner or other adults in their children’s lives. Learn strategies for communication, preparing for parenting curveballs, and how to parent with unity even when you disagree. Presentation includes a Q&A for attendees. Talking points of this presentation include:
Register to attend at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parenting-on-the-same-page-registration-123364748283 Zoom link will be emailed to those who have registered before the event. Note: A Spanish translator will be available during the presentation. Email mayna@closetfly.com if you would like to utilize this service so we can connect you with the translator before the presentation begins, or if you would like to request translation in another language. Acompañenos por Zoom para nuestro primer evento de KEPTA Parent Education, organizado junto con Northshore Council PTSA! Nuestros oradores invitados desean apoyar a padres y guardianes que quieren crear un ambiente seguro y cariñoso para sus hijos, en el cual todos trabajan como un equipo unido. Parenting on the Same Page (Criando Niños Juntos) Miercoles, el 21 de Octubre de 6:30pm a 8:00pm (incluyendo preguntas y respuestas) https://www.eventbrite.com/x/parenting-on-the-same-page-tickets-123364748283?utm_term=eventname_text Antes del evento, conozcan a nuestros oradores: Kira Dorrian, CHt, HBCE y Deana Thayer, M.Ed. https://futurefocusedparenting.com/ El enlace de Zoom se enviará antes del evento. Un traductor de español estará presente durante el evento. Por favor envíe un correo electronico antes del evento si le gustaría estar asignado al traductor para el evento. Si su PTA está interesada en compartir con su comunidad la grabación de esta presentación, por favor comuníquese con este correo electrónico para obtener una licencia. This event is co-sponsored by Northshore Council PTSA and Kenmore Elementary PTA. ![]()
As we move into a new school year with continued distance learning and public health concerns limiting in-person meetings, Northshore Council is hoping to promote collaboration between our local PTAs/PTSAs in developing opportunities for Parent Education and Community Connection to our members.
Please let us know what activities your PTA/PTSA is interested in planning to help parents learn, connect, and successfully support students in 2020-21 by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/HhvohMFnif1mZFGh7 Deadline to complete this form is September 23, 2020. If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Lewis, Northshore Council's F.A.C.E. Chair. Join us for ‘Northshore PTAs Connect’ – an online roundtable discussion for PTA/PTSA leaders to ask questions, share ideas and connect with one another. Offered two times a month—once in the evening (7pm) and once at midday (noon)— this series of roundtable events is designed to support our local PTA/PTSA leaders as we navigate membership, programs and managing our organizations in an uncertain and ever-changing landscape. Each roundtable event will feature a focus topic, but it is an open discussion and there is always opportunity to ask questions and tackle emerging or ongoing areas of interest or concern.
You may choose to attend the topics or times that work best for you, or attend them all!
We hope to see you there!!! If you have questions or suggested topics you would like to see addressed in the discussion, please email Council PTSA President, Robin Zaback. *Topic was changed/updated as of 11/25/2020 to better meet the needs of our PTA Leaders & Community. Click here to take our Family and Community Engagement Survey
Our Family and Community Engagement (F.A.C.E.) team is committed to increasing awareness of the importance of
In order to determine how we can best serve our PTA/PTSAs, we have developed a short survey. We encourage you to take this important survey and also share it with your Board and General Members. Our goal is to learn more about community engagement and inclusive practices in Northshore PTA/PTSAs and use this information to explore how Northshore Council PTSA can provide stronger service in these areas. This short survey should only take 5 - 10 minutes. Please complete the survey by Monday, August 24th. We will monitor this year's progress with another survey in late Spring 2021. Special Thanks to Northshore HiCap Parents Council for use of the survey tool! On behalf of our team, our sincere thanks! Lauren Lewis - Council PTSA Family & Community Engagement (F.A.C.E.) Chair Michele Holowachuk - Northshore Council PTSA Special Education Representative Mary Khouzam - Northshore Council PTSA Co-Vice President of Events Core to every PTA's mission is the overarching vision to make every child's potential a reality. Every child has needs that extend beyond the classroom and sometimes families might need additional supports in order to meet those needs. Helping to connect families with resources available in their community can be a wonderful way for local PTAs to offer their support. ![]() Crystal Springs PTA has taken this idea to heart and developed a great tool for their families. It is a brochure titled, "Emergency Food & Housing Resources." They have compiled a listing of community resources that families can reference in times of need and have put it all together in a handy brochure. Included are food stability resources, emergency housing options, and more, with details and contact information for each. Crystal Springs PTA printed the brochure and then partnered with their school office to ensure that the brochures are available and can be shared with interested families. The brochure they have created is available for download below. In addition, Crystal Springs PTA has shared the original MS Publisher file. It is editable so that your PTA can easily customize it for use in your community.
This is a wonderful way to help families who may be in need! Crystal Springs PTA's thoughtful approach to serving their community and their sharing spirit are great examples of what makes us #PTAProud!
![]() Threads & Treads provides Northshore families free, quality donated clothing for school age youth, teens, young adults and parents. Clothing items include: school-appropriate clothing for the school day and special events, sportswear, shoes, and accessories. All NSD families in need of clothing assistance are welcome to shop each month for 3 outfits and school event attire. They are open weekly each Wednesday afternoon from 3-6pm. **NEW in 2019-2020** Starting Saturday, October 5th, Threads & Treads will also be open one Saturday a month from 9-12pm. Please consider helping to spread the word about this Northshore community resource via your PTA communication channels! Download a poster or suggested write-ups that you can share via social media and/or your website. Or consider printing a poster that you can hang at your school (check with your office administration regarding poster guidelines at your school).
Threads & Treads Needs Donations!
Threads & Treads Needs Volunteers! Visit this link to sign-up today: https://cpptsa.org/ways-to-help/volunteer-sign-ups/
Threads & Treads donation wishes:
If you have any questions or would like information to provide to your school, please feel free to contact Kelly Hennessey. Thank you for your help in supporting this vital community resource! THIS PROGRAM IS COORDINATED AND SUPPORTED BY CANYON PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA.
Earlier this month, Arrowhead Elementary worked on a school-wide project called "Kindness Connects Us." The goal of the project was to celebrate acts of kindness that happen every day. Teachers and students worked together to nominate each other for kindness 'links' which were then connected to create chains in each classroom. On June 13th, a school assembly was held to combine all of the links-- creating a giant chain that gave a visible representation of how far their kind acts had reached. Arrowhead Elementary PTA provided Otter Pops and organized a group of parent volunteers to help pass those out and assist during a special celebratory all-school recess. The Kindness Connects Us project was created by Arrowhead staff as a way to positively reinforce the ongoing work of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)-- the district-wide framework being used to improve school climate and provide integrated supports for improving social, emotional and academic outcomes for all students. The result of collaboration by Arrowhead's MTSS/PBIS and Equity & Diversity teams, Kindness Connects Us worked to build on the theme of Kindness that the school had been focusing on throughout the year. They also coordinated with Arrowhead PTA to help spread the word to families and organize the culminating celebration-- turning it into a wonderful opportunity for family and community engagement as well. The project was kicked off by having each student create an "Identity Link" to show kindness to ourselves and to celebrate their individual and unique identities. Each class picked from one of three identity link options. Teacher Jessica-Lynn Tompkins (also a project organizer) described this first step, "The identity links are included in our kindness chain to ensure that everyone (staff and student) had a link right away and to symbolize that even though we are different, we are one community." For two weeks, teachers gave out kindness links that included the student's name and a place to mark if they were kind to themselves, to others, or to the school. Each class had a goal of 100 links. Students received links at recess, in their classrooms, and could even nominate peers for links during class meetings. Every student in school wrote messages of how to demonstrate kindness throughout their daily lives. Then they ended the project with an all-school assembly where they connected all of the links and enjoyed some music. Together, the links of paper formed a gigantic chain across the school’s campus! The day of celebration was capped off with a special all-school recess and sweet treats from Arrowhead PTA. This Kindness Connects Us project involved the entire school community and offered an incredible visual reminder of the power of kindness and how kindness can connect us all. Many thanks to Arrowhead PTA co-President Kristie Johnson and Arrowhead teacher Jessica-Lynn Tompkins for sharing information about Kindness Connects Us with Council (and for providing some wonderful photos!). We hope that Arrowhead Elementary's project can serve as an inspiration for more collaborative community efforts in our schools! 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:
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