 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!  Council is gathering gratitudes to share with the many Northshore School District Administrators and Staff who work behind the scenes every week to make NSD the great district that it is! Fill out this form to leave a message to let NSD Staff know how much you appreciate them and all that they do for our district. Messages will be shared by Council PTSA with NSD Staff. Please make sure to submit your messages no later than Thursday, April 22nd.  Join us for ‘Northshore PTAs Connect’ – an online roundtable discussion for PTA/PTSA leaders to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with one another.
Northshore PTAs Connect Roundtables are designed to support our local PTA/PTSA leaders as we navigate membership, programs, and managing our organizations in an uncertain and ever-changing landscape. This noon (12pm) roundtable will be an open discussion in order to give our Local Leaders the opportunity to ask questions and tackle emerging or ongoing areas of interest or concern. Date: Thursday, April 22nd Time: 12:00PM Location: Online via Zoom Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97945642459 Meeting ID: 979 4564 2459 Passcode: *Available upon request  During our March 25th roundtable, PTA leaders discussed the upcoming return to classrooms and how to support students, teachers, and staff during this transition. We've included a list of the ideas that were discussed below. We want to remind each PTA that every school is different and that it is essential to check with your school administration before planning anything to get their okay. Also, we urge each PTA to keep in mind students choosing to stay 100% remote when planning events or celebrations so that they can be included as well.
💡 Helpful Tip: Shop PTA offers many options for signs, banners, goodie bag items, etc. for PTAs to purchase. Questions about how to make these or other PTA ideas happen for your school? Council is here to help! VP of Secondary Support - Nancy Chamberlain VP of Elementary Support - Grace Jurado Is your PTA/PTSA planning a Welcome Back Event or showing your support for your school in a way not listed above? Let us know!  Congratulations to the 30 Northshore PTAs/PTSAs that participated in this year's Reflections program and to the artists who made it to Council-level judging!! It was fun celebrating you all on our 2020-2021 Reflections Virtual Art Showcase website where we displayed 229 pieces of artwork! We hope you were able to share this with friends and family! The Virtual Art Showcase will be available until March 31st, 2021 for viewing. Judging Results: There were 55 State Qualifiers (SQ) who continued on to Washington State PTA for further judging. There were also 59 pieces that received the honorable Judge's Choice Award (JC). Congrats to all the students who made it to the Council Level for judging! We'd also like to honor and congratulate the following six (6) artists for their awards at the state level. The three (3) Outstanding Interpretation winners will advance to the National PTA for the final round of judging!   With Gratitude...
 Please visit the Reflections Showcase here. Viewing extended through the end of March 2021.
 Does someone in your PTA deserve a shout out? WSPTA has a formal volunteer award recognition program allowing local PTAs to award honors for outstanding educator, advocate, student advocate, and volunteer (Golden Acorn), as well as the honorary life membership award. Awards are a great way for PTAs to show their community how much they appreciate them and to celebrate the dedication of those who support your PTA's mission and goals! Local PTAs should appoint an awards committee who will gather nominations, review them, and choose the award recipients. This can be done during a meeting or some PTAs even choose to have the previous year's award recipients chair this committee. When the awards committee advertises for nomination submissions, it can be done via social media, newsletters, website, email, or even school flyers. To make it even easier for members to submit nominations, the awards committee can create an online submission form using tools like Google Forms or Survey Monkey. For recognizing the award recipients, your PTA can hold a volunteer recognition event or take time during a Membership Meeting to celebrate them. WSPTA offers a variety of items your PTA can order online to celebrate your award recipients including certificates, pins, plaques, and even yard signs!  Local PTAs may award the following within their local community:
Click to learn more: WSPTA Volunteer Recognition Awards
 As a Council, one of our main jobs is to support our local PTAs/PTSAs. We can do this in many ways, such as informing of best practices, giving advice, answering questions, providing leadership training, building connections, and encouraging local leaders.
Please let us know what we can do to help YOU & YOUR PTA! Is there something that your PTA is struggling with? Do you have any burning questions or concerns? Answer the questions in this survey to let us know. As always, remember that Council is here to help. You can always reach out to Council members at any time. Click here for Council Contact Information. Deadline to complete the survey is Friday, March 19, 2021.  Join us for ‘Northshore PTAs Connect’ – an online roundtable discussion for PTA/PTSA leaders to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with one another.
Northshore PTAs Connect Roundtables are designed to support our local PTA/PTSA leaders as we navigate membership, programs, and managing our organizations in an uncertain and ever-changing landscape. This noon (12pm) roundtable will be an open discussion in order to give our Local Leaders the opportunity to ask questions and tackle emerging or ongoing areas of interest or concern. Date: Thursday, March 25th Time: 12:00PM Location: Online via Zoom Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/97945642459 Meeting ID: 979 4564 2459 Passcode: *Available upon request  PTA Advocacy is still going strong! Read below to hear about some of the things that have been happening recently and find out how you can still get involved at both the State and National levels! PTA Supports Clean Drinking Water in Our Schools. WSPTA supports House Bill 1139, which would pay for and require testing for lead and remediation of public-school outlets that have elevated levels of lead (above 5 ppb). We encourage you to ask questions, educate your parents, and advocate where necessary for clean drinking water. Read this Seattle Times article for more information on the proposed bill. View the bill itself here to find out more and even comment directly on the bill by clicking the “comment” button on the upper right. PTA Call to Action: Addressing Firearm Safety Measures to Increase Public Safety We have the opportunity to restrict the access of these most deadly weapons in SSB 5078, which would limit the sale and transfer of high-capacity magazines over 17 rounds. This common-sense legislation was requested by our Attorney General’s office. PTA Advocates can write their legislators and encourage their friends and community members to take a few minutes for the safety of our kids. Add your personal request or story into the accompanying message provided in the Action Network link. Legislators have told us that hearing your personal touch makes a huge impact! Reopening School Buildings - Role of PTAs PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy organization in the United States. Washington State PTA and all its affiliated PTAs have the mission to advocate for the health, safety, well-being, and education of the 1.1 million K-12 students across all of Washington state. The role of PTA in advocacy regarding students returning to learning in school buildings is complicated and you may find yourself asking "What CAN PTA leaders do?". WSPTA has put together this resource to help local leaders navigate this unprecedented time. Washington state legislators are well into their session. Some highlights of what they have done so far:
To see current bills and their progress check out WSPTA's Week 8 Bill Status Report.  Don't forget about National PTA LegCon 2021 which starts next week! There's still time to join NPTA March 9-11 for their first virtual Legislative Conference! You can now register up until the last day of the conference. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with other PTA leaders and learn how to advocate for every child. Check out the full schedule of events and workshops. Read about the benefits of attending LegCon and be sure to register today! Ways to Continue PTA Advocacy Education for You & Your Members
 Washington State PTA gives out two types of PTA Membership Awards:
Membership Growth Awards Levels Bronze: Recognizes local PTAs, in good standing, for enrolling at least one more member than their previous year’s total membership. Silver: Recognizes local PTAs, in good standing, for enrolling PTA members equaling at least 105% of their previous year’s total membership. Gold: Recognizes local PTAs, in good standing, for enrolling PTA members equaling at least 110% of their previous year’s total membership. Platinum: Recognizes local PTAs, in good standing, for enrolling PTA members equaling at least 120% of their previous year’s total membership. Membership Achievement Awards 100% Staff Membership Award: Recognizes local PTAs that have at least as many school staff members enrolled in their PTA as there are full-time, certificated staff members employed at the school associated with that PTA. Check out our previous blog for to learn about achieving 100% Staff Membership – it’s easier than you think! 100% PTA Membership Award: Presented to local PTAs that enroll at least as many members as there are full-time enrolled students at the school associated with that PTA. Our very own Sunrise Elementary PTA earned this award in 2019-2020! Membership Achievement Awards require a local PTA to complete a simple form (available here), get it signed by the principal of the school associated with that PTA, and submit it to WSPTA by March 15. Submissions can be done by mail or scanned and sent via email. |
Archives
April 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed