Each year, Washington State PTA recognizes the work of individuals, PTAs, and Councils across the state via a variety of awards, including Leadership Academy and the Awards of Excellence Program. Cottage Lake Elementary and Council submitted applications and were recognized for their efforts at the WSPTA 2023 Spring Training Conference held on May 6th and 7th. Awards work to celebrate the efforts of local PTAs and Councils in a variety of different areas. The criteria reflect a strong knowledge and application of best practices and the submission process can be rigorous. These awards are truly reflective of the dedication and strength of these PTAs and the powerful contributions they make to their communities. This year's recipients included: 2022 - 2023 WSPTA Awards Recipients
Congratulations! Learn more about the WSPTA Standards of Excellence Awards and Leadership Awards and apply for your PTA next year.
On March 20th, 2023, Northshore Council PTSA held a virtual General Membership Meeting. We would like to say thank you to all of the local leaders from across the Northshore School District, as well as community and school partners for taking the time to join us!
Continue reading below for a recap of the meeting. District and Community Partners:
We welcomed NSD’s Director of Food Services Juliana Fisher as our guest speaker. Ms. Fisher shared with us that about 2500 NSD students qualify for Free and Reduced rate breakfasts and lunches, but unfortunately only a fraction of them are currently enrolled in the program. As a result, Food Services is partnering with schools to make sure that all families are aware of the benefits and services to their students, and to encourage them to sign up if they qualify for the program. Ms. Fisher also shared with us that Food Services has faced some recent challenges due to the COVID pandemic and the impact that it had on providing meals at all schools. The main challenges have been a decrease in staffing, as well as supply chain issues. These issues have impacted the capacity for menu varieties, scratch cooking, cultural access, increasing vegetarian/vegan options, and cultural/linguistic/emotional access. Recently, Food Services created and implemented a picture food menu for our schools, which has been a hit with some of our students! Thank you, Ms. Fisher, for joining us and sharing with us how NSD Food Services continues to feed our students in our schools! Council Business: Council Treasurer Serena Xu presented the February Financial Report for review and approval, as well as the proposed Council budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Many thanks to the Council Budget committee (Mary Khouzam, Rachel Fitzgerald, Serena Xu, Brenae Brix, and Melissa Kline) for all of your hard work in helping create and proposing the new Council budget! Serena also shared with us that the Standard of Affiliation (SOA) is complete, and all elected Council officers have completed all of their required training, including PTA and the Law. Speaking of the SOA, Council Board member Diana Christiansen shared that 6 NSD schools participated in our SOA Raffle Drawing. The participating schools were Lockwood Elementary, Innovation Lab High School, Woodin Elementary, Frank Love Elementary, Cottage Lake Elementary, and Canyon Creek Elementary. The winner of the SOA Raffle Drawing is Lockwood Elementary! Congratulations, Lockwood! Council Nominating Committee member Cherry Holmes presented nominees for Council Executive Officers, and a vote was taken to approve the nominations. Our new Council Executive Board for the 2023-2024 school year are as follows: President - Rachel Fitzgerald Vice President - Grace Jurado Treasurer - Brenae Brix Co-VP of Advocacy - Holly Muenchow Co-VP of Advocacy - Terra Droney VP of Communications - Jennifer Snyder VP of Elementary Support - Diana Christiansen VP of Secondary Support - Jennifer Drury Congratulations, new Executive Board members! We currently have two Executive Board positions that we need to fill. Those positions are Secretary and VP of Events. If you like keeping accurate records and creating meeting minutes and newsletters, or if you love throwing parties or events, please consider throwing your name in the hat for one of these roles. Council will continue to seek volunteers for the OPEN positions of Secretary and VP of Events with the goal of holding an election at our General Membership Meeting on May 15, 2023. Advocacy Chair Jen Drury gave thanks to all of those involved in advocating for the best superintendent candidates, and thanks, also, to all of those who spent time during this last Washington State Legislative Session advocating for the Special Education bill, which passed in the Senate. Thank you, advocates! Half a dozen of advocates, including parents, spent much time in Zoom meetings with our legislators, and 2 dozen NSD parents, students, Superintendent Tolley, NSD school staff, and school board members traveled to Olympia on February 20th to meet with our state legislators and shared their voices in advocating for things that impact our students and our schools. Thank you for all of your advocacy! On behalf of the Grant Committee Chair (Grace Jurado, who as unable to join us), Mary Khouzam shared that another round for grant application submissions was open until March 24th, and the Council Awards Nominations form will be available soon. Reflections Chair Jasmine Fry shared that online showcasing is now available on Council’s website, and several NSD students did well! Carissa P. from Leota Middle School is advancing to National Reflections for Videography. Congratulations, Carissa! After several other committee updates, including info for an upcoming Mental Health Fair on May 23rd at Skyview Middle School, and a reminder that the Washington State PTA Convention will be held in May at the Bellevue Hilton, Co-Chair President, Mary Khouzam, brought our meeting to a close by reminding us that planning for Council’s Spring Recognition Even is underway, and details will be shared shortly. To help determine the time of day that works best for attendance, Mary shared a link to a poll asking us if a morning event time or an afternoon event time works best for each of us. Thank you to everyone who took time to join us! What to Plan for Your Summer Retreat
What goes on the Retreat Agenda? Create your calendar as best you can. Get down your meetings and some of your bigger events. Review the Budget and Standing Rules. Discuss your team’s communication norms and individual expectations. Brainstorm new ideas for Membership, Advocacy, Diversity, and Engagement. There are more resources available. Check out PTA Year-End Board Transition: Nuts and Bolts and Summer Board Retreat - Northshore Council PTSA 6.10 for previous year’s ideas from Council.
Thank you to our hardworking Nominating Committee, Jane Chiodo, Cherry Holmes, and Laura Staneff, for putting together the slate of candidates! At our March 20, 2023 General Meeting our 2023-2024 slate of officers were elected. Congratulations to Our Incoming 2023-2024 Officers!! For the Office of President: Rachel Fitzgerald For the Office of First Vice President: Grace Jurado For the Office of Secretary: OPEN For the Office of Treasurer: Brenae Brix For the Office of VP of Events: OPEN For the Office of Co-VP of Advocacy: Holly Muenchow For the Office of Co-VP of Advocacy: Terra Droney For the Office of VP of Communications: Jennifer Snyder For the Office of VP of Elementary Support: Diana Christiansen For the Office of VP of Secondary Support: Jennifer Drury Council will continue to seek volunteers for the OPEN positions of Secretary and VP of Events with the goal of holding an election at our General Membership Meeting on May 15, 2023. Click link below to learn more about the open positions and consider self nominating to join the 2023-2024 Executive Board.
Brief Description VP of Events: Plans and coordinates Council's yearly events including Presidents and Principals Brunch, Reflections Celebration, and Spring Recognition Event. Council will continue to seek volunteers for this position with the goal of holding an election at a future General Membership Meeting. Qualification Requirements Per the 2022-2023 Council Standing Rules: All Candidates:
Questions? Contact Council Co-Presidents, Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam for more information. Other Open Board Position - SecretaryDo you like to keep records and take notes? Do you have good attention to detail? Learn more about the Secretary role.
Slate of Candidates: In the 2023 Nominating Committee Report, the following slate of candidates were put forward for 2023-2024:
Qualification Requirements: Per the 2022-2023 Council Standing Rules: All Candidates:
Candidates for the office of President and First Vice President shall also:
Candidates for the offices of VP of Elementary Support and VP of Secondary Support shall also:
Each of the slated candidates meets all qualification requirements. Election Information: As there is only one candidate per position, the election will be conducted via voice vote at the next General Membership Meeting, on Monday, March 20, 2023. For positions that are listed as "OPEN", no candidate has come forth. Council will continue to seek volunteers for this position with the goal of holding an election at a future General Membership Meeting. Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85481338083? Meeting ID: 886 6563 4062 Passcode: *Available upon request. Information about Northshore Council PTSA online elections procedures is available in its Electronic Voting (E-Voting) Policy. *A meeting password is required to join. It will be sent to local leaders via email. You can also request the password by emailing Council PTSA VP of Communications, Jenn Snyder. Questions? Please contact Northshore Council PTSA Co-Presidents Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam. Northshore Council PTSA will be holding its 2023-2024 elections online. Since “nominations from the floor” can’t work as they normally would at an in-person meeting, Northshore Council PTSA is opening up the floor virtually by using an online submission form. If you are interested in joining the 2023-2024 Northshore Council PTSA Executive Board, now is the time to self declare! Self Nominations can be done for any elected Council position, but we are especially looking for leaders interested in serving in the following role:
Anyone who would like to nominate themselves for an elected position on Northshore Council PTSA for 2023-2024 can do so at: Self Declare Nomination Form (click above link for form) Deadline for submission is no later than midnight, Friday, March 10th, 2023 Election Information: At the close of the self-nomination period, if there is any contested position we will send out an electronic voting method to Northshore PTA/PTSA presidents and vice-presidents. If no position is contested, we will hold the election by voice vote during our next General Meeting, on Monday, March 20, 2023. Slate of Candidates: In the 2023 Nominating Committee Report, the following slate of candidates were put forward for 2023-2024:
Qualification Requirements Anyone self declaring for a 2023-2024 Northshore Council Elected Board Position must meet the following qualification requirements. Per the 2022-2023 Council Standing Rules: All Candidates:
Candidates for the office of President and First Vice President shall also:
Candidates for the offices of VP of Elementary Support and VP of Secondary Support shall also:
Brief Job Descriptions of Council Positions For a more detailed job description, click here. President: The President has many important jobs including serving as the official contact, communicator and representative of Council. They oversee and coordinate the work of the executive board, preside over meetings, are ex-officio members of all committees (except Nominating Committee) and are designated as an authorized signer for checks, contracts and authorizations for payment. But, most importantly, they work to connect PTAs which in turn helps them support families, schools and the community to work towards overall student success. 1st VP: Must be familiar with the Council president’s duties and responsibilities. Act as an aide to the president and perform the duties of the president in his or her absence. Is in charge of advertising and organizing the Council Grant Program and yearly Awards. Treasurer: Is the authorized custodian of the funds of the association and receives and disburses all monies in accordance with the budget as approved by the membership. Secretary: Keeps an accurate record of meetings, which become part of the permanent history of the PTA. Also responsible for taking attendance and monitoring quorum at meetings. VP of Events: Plans and coordinates Councils yearly events including Presidents and Principals Brunch, Reflections Celebration and Spring Recognition Event. VP of Communications: Works to facilitate Northshore Council PTSA communications in order to inform, engage, educate and inspire local PTAs and beyond. VP of Advocacy: Help to educate local PTA's and disseminate information about current WSPTA and National PTA legislative priorities. VP of Elementary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local elementary PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's. VP of Secondary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local secondary (high school and middle school) PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's. Questions about Self Declaring or Virtual Elections? Contact Council Co-Presidents, Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam. Below, please find the report from the Northshore Council PTSA Nominating Committee which lists the nominees for each of the officer positions for the 2023-2024 Executive Committee. The election will take place during the Northshore Council PTSA Membership Meeting on Monday, March 20, 2023. WSPTA Bylaws permit the nomination of candidates from the floor* at the meeting before the vote takes place. *Since meetings are currently held virtually, "nominations from the floor" will be done using an online submission form prior to the meeting. See our post on Self Declaring for 2023-2024 Elected Board Positions for more information. Slate of Candidates:
In the 2023 Nominating Committee Report, the following slate of candidates were put forward for 2023-2024:
Northshore Council is Looking for Awesome Leaders! |
Northshore Council PTSA's 2022-2023 Nominating Committee elections will be taking place electronically. We are currently accepting self-nominations for the three (3) Nominating Committee positions. Interested candidates can self-nominate by emailing Co-Presidents, Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam by Friday, December 16th. |
If there are only three candidates, the election will be held at the January 19th General Membership Meeting via Zoom. If there are more than three candidates, the election will be conducted by electronic ballot and detailed information will be available within the January 9th eNews.
Learn more about serving on the Nominating Committee, eligibility requirements, and more information on what makes an effective NomCom Candidate on our blog.
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