 The Region 6 Winter Conference has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday, February 2, 2019 at Dearborn Park International Elementary School (2820 South Orcas Street, Seattle, WA 98108). The event is 10:00am - 3:30pm and includes classes (including PTA & the Law), roundtable discussions, and more! This FREE training and leadership development event is for all PTA leaders! Come learn, network with your fellow PTA leaders, and meet part of your PTA support team. Learn more and register online...
 Many thanks to all who attended our General Membership Meeting on January 7, 2019! It was wonderful to see so many Northshore leaders in attendance this month. Also great gratitude to our featured presenters, Dr. Charla Griffy-Brown and Janice Kutzera. In addition to reviewing the November minutes as well as the November and December financial reports, we heard from a number of Council leaders regarding upcoming events. First VP Cindy Jensen encouraged all to attend the Reflections Celebration on January 12th (details available here). Council Advocacy VP Nancy Chamberlain invited everyone to participate in Focus Day on February 11th, noting that Council will again be providing free transportation to Olympia for any interested Northshore PTA/PTSA members (details available here). She also passed out postcards that local leaders could use and/or take back to their PTAs that their members can use to write to their legislators. She noted that completed postcards can be returned to Council via the district's interdepartmental mail and we will hand deliver them to legislators on Focus Day. Printable postcards are available on the WSPTA's Focus Day event page (scroll down to "Resources" at the bottom of the page). Advocacy Week will be February 11-14 and all are encouraged to sign-up for WSPTA Action Alerts to facilitate contacting legislators about WSPTA's current platform issues (details available here). Sue Freeman then shared information about the Nominating Committee and encouraged people to ask questions and to nominate potential candidates for next year's Executive Board roles. She noted that the hope is to have a full slate by March 2nd (details available here). Finally, Cindy Jensen stepped up to encourage local PTAs to participate in this year's WSPTA Awards of Excellence program, noting that applications are due March 1 (details available here). District Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell shared a number of upcoming district events and also announced availability of an updated PTSA/PTA District Resource Guide, now available online. She noted that the Resource Guide is an ongoing effort and will be added-to over time as needed. Local PTA leaders will be able to find information there regarding facilities, communications, district policies relevant to PTAs, and more. Download a copy by clicking on the blue "PTA/PTSA Resource Guide" button on the PTA & PTSA page on the NSD website. Carmin Dalziel of the Northshore School Foundation introduced their new crowdfunding program, Northshore Gives, noting that they are piloting the program with a number of different funding opportunities. She also invited all to consider attending the upcoming All in for Kids Luncheon on April 4, 2019. Guest speaker, Dr. Charla Griffy-Brown, joined the meeting virtually and gave an informative presentation on "Cybersecurity 101: for Non-Profits." WSPTA Finance Officer Janice Kutzera followed with a talk about electronic banking safeguards and online financial safety for PTAs. There are many resources available on the Leadership Guides page of the WSPTA website (note: login/password is available via WSPTA's Leadership News). Then a local leader came forward and shared a powerful story about their personal experience in dealing with fraud. During the Q&A session, it was noted that there will be an upcoming in-person PTA & the Law training on February 7, 2019 at Woodinville Fire Station #31 from 6-9pm (details available here). Our PTA Spotlight this month highlighted Hollywood Hill PTA. Their PTA's Special Ed. Representative, Denise Need, joined us to share their "sensory box." The large storage tote lives between their school gym and music room, and is accessible to anyone during school assemblies and evening events. The box includes items such as headphones, ear plugs, a teddy bear, bumpy seat pad, activity books and crayons, fidget spinners and other items for kids of all ages. Directions are simply to use as needed to ease discomfort of any child then return items, wiped down, to the box when done. It is such wonderful idea that works to help create an inclusive and welcoming environment at events at their school. Great job Hollywood Hill PTA! Finally, we closed the meeting with some awesome doorprize drawings. We hope you will join us for our next general membership meeting on Monday, March 18, 2019!
 At our November 5, 2018 General Membership Meeting, we heard an informative and inspiring call to action from speaker JMarie Johnson-Cola regarding Family & Community Engagement (FACE). Each child must be supported by, not only parents and teachers, but extended families, school districts, neighbors and community members to help them realize their full potential. Handouts included an example of a Family Engagement Action Plan Template as well as a quote from the Carnegie Corporation of New York regarding what it takes to meet the challenge of FACE:
In her talk, JMarie mentioned a number of resources to help inform Family and Community Engagement best practices. Here are a few of the ones she mentioned: Books & Articles:
Reports:
Websites:
Course Modules for FACE:
PowerPoint Presentation:
 Thank you to all who made time to attend Northshore Council PTSA's general meeting on November 5, 2018. It was an informative and inspiring meeting! We are pleased to announce our 2019 Nominating Committee!
Northshore Council has awarded Educational Speaker and Event Grants to five local PTAs so far. Congratulations to Leota, Woodmoor, Canyon Park, Skyview and Bothell High. The next deadline for receiving grant applications is November 26, 2018. Please visit the Speaker and Event Grants page for details and to download the application. Sue Freeman shared an update on the Northshore Community Kitchen project. This program will be evolving over the next year as facilities go offline at Carol Edwards Center and new partnerships are forged in the community. They will continue preparing meals for families in our community through March. Jane Chiodo delivered an update on Threads and Treads, a district-wide clothing bank for Northshore families that is operated out of Canyon Park Middle School. There are currently about 200 families using this service. Threads and Treads is looking for a new program leader. Visit their website for additional information and volunteer opportunities. We heard reports from district leaders, including School Board Director Amy Cast, NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Campbell, and Northshore Schools Foundation Executive Director Carmin Dalziel. Each shared information, updates and answered questions about recent projects and current initiatives. Sam Ames and Aileen Hammar presented an update on the work of the NSD Dyslexia Committee. The committee is charged to develop a model for proactively identifying, instructing, and assessing all students learning to read, which will reduce the number of students needing additional supports and structures not inclusive of general education. They shared an informative TED Talk presentation, "What is Dyslexia", that offered background about the learning disorder. They followed that up with a PowerPoint presentation that was shared with the School Board at its October 8th meeting. For more information about NSD's Dyslexia Committee, visit their page on the district website. Finally, we heard an informative and inspiring call to action from speaker JMarie Johnson-Cola regarding Family & Community Engagement (FACE). Each child must be supported by, not only parents and teachers, but extended families, school districts, neighbors and community members to help them realize their full potential. For more information about FACE and PTA, check out WSPTA's website. Council meetings are a great way to network with other PTA leaders and learn about what is happening in the district, the state and the PTA. We hope you'll join us at our next general membership meeting on: Monday, January 7, 2019 NSD Administration Bldg. Meet & Greet: 6:30 pm Call to Order: 7:00 pm ANNOUNCEMENTS:
 The next Northshore Council General Membership Meeting will be on Monday, November 5, 2018. Note that the meeting place has changed! We will be meeting at Woodinville Fire Station 31 (17718 Woodinville Snohomish Rd, Woodinville, WA 98072). The meeting will begin at 7:00pm. Come a little early to meet with Council and local PTA leaders and enjoy a snack!
We have some great speakers lined up for this meeting:
Questions? Contact Carrie McKenzie.  Many thanks to all who made time to attend Northshore Council PTSA's first general meeting of 2018-19 on September 17th. We had 43 attendees signed in at the meeting last week, representing 10 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 3 high schools, including:
Elementary: Canyon Creek, Kenmore, Cottage Lake, Crystal Springs, Kokanee, Woodin, Bear Creek, Sorenson, Woodmoor, Fernwood. Middle: Kenmore, Canyon Park, Skyview, Timbercrest HS: Inglemoor, Bothell, North Creek. It was an eventful meeting! Nominations were taken from the floor and four new Council officers were elected:
Thanks to each of them for stepping up to help lead Northshore Council PTSA! In addition to elections, members voted on a revised mission statement, approved goals and updated Standing Rules for 2018-19 (link coming soon!), and approved an updated budget. And Carrie McKenzie announced the new Educational Speaker and Event Grant program offered by Council. We also heard from district leaders, including NSD Superintendent Michelle Reid, School Board Director Amy Cast, and NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Campbell, each of whom shared information, updates and answered questions about recent projects and current initiatives. Northshore YMCA Assistant Teen Program Director, Andrea Stanley, shared information about their new Northshore Middle School youth program and openings on their Teen Leadership Board. The Teen Leadership Board is a free program for area teens, though spots are very limited (online application). For additional details about these and other YMCA programs, contact Andrea by email: astanley@seattleymca.org. Council meetings are a great way to network with other PTA leaders and learn about what is happening in the district and PTA. We hope you'll join us at our next general membership meeting on Monday, November 5th!  The 40th annual WSPTA Legislative Assembly will take place October 20-21, 2018 at Green River College, Auburn, WA. PTA delegates from across the state will come together to set a new platform of legislative priorities for the 2018-2020 legislative session 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 that were brought forth by the members through the grassroots submission process late last spring. In addition, the assembly will vote on new short-term platform issues that WSPTA will focus on in the upcoming legislative session.
The Guide to Proposed Legislative Principles, Legislative Issues and Resolutions, also known as the WSPTA Legislative Assembly Voter Guide, contains information needed to familiarize yourself with these proposals. If you are interested in attending Legislative Assembly as a delegate for your local PTA, contact your local PTA president. Registration for Legislative Assembly is now open! Get all the details: https://www.wastatepta.org/events-programs/legislative-assembly/.  Each school's PTA/PTSA Emergency-Preparedness Chair or delegate is invited to attend our first Emergency Preparedness (E-Prep) and Safety meeting of this year! We are excited to be joined by Henry Simon, NSD Director of Safety and Security, who will share an overview of his plans for this up-coming school year.
Date: Thursday, September 20th, 2018 Time: 1:00PM to 2:30PM Location: Northshore School District Administration Building Room AC-204 (3330 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothell, WA 98021) Agenda 1:00 – 1:10 PM Introductions 1:10 – 1:55 PM Henry Simon, NSD Director of Safety & Security Presentation 1:55 – 2:30 PM Round Table open discussion Plans, Activities, and any Issues for the up-coming year 2:30 PM Close meeting Questions? Email Robin McKenzie.  The first Northshore Council PTSA General Membership meeting is on Monday, September 17th at Woodinville High School. There will be a meet and greet at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. We'll be electing a President, voting on a 2018-19 budget, and more! Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives-- but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend.
Immediately after the meeting, beginning at 8:00 p.m., we will also be offering training for PTA officers, board members, committee chairs and interested members. Classes will include:
We hope you join us for a great evening of networking and learning! |
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