On January 16, 2024, 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. Announcements
After the meeting was adjourned, membership was invited to join Co-VP's of Advocacy Terra Droney & Holly Muenchow to discuss how to continue the advocating momentum after Focus Day. We hope to see you at our next March 18, 2024 at 7PM via Zoom. Register for Zoom meeting link. Join us in making a positive impact on our PTSA community! Northshore Council PTSA is seeking two or more local PTA/PTSA leaders to collaborate in researching and crafting a new Council grant focused on promoting equity within PTAs across the district. This grant will be in addition to our current grant program. Council's Co-VP of Advocacy, Holly M. will be leading the committee. Council would like to appoint members of the committee at its next board meeting on February 05, 2024. If you are interested in learning more or ready to sign up, please contact Council President, Rachel Fitzgerald. Northshore Council PTSA is proud to announce the latest round of recipients of Educational Speakers & Community Events Grants for 2023-2024!
Canyon Park Middle School PTSA Celebration of Cultures Event North Creek High School PTSA UW Forefront Suicide Prevention for Skyview Middle & North Creek Spanish-Speaking Parents and Caregivers Local PTAs/PTSAs interested in partnering with Northshore Council PTSA to host speakers or events are invited to apply for a Northshore Council PTSA Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant. 2023-2024 grants are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and applications are reviewed by the Northshore Council PTSA. The submission deadline for the next round of Educational Speakers & Community Events Grants is Friday, January 26, 2024.
For more information about the grants program, visit our Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program page. The Great PTA Sign-Up Day is January 31, 2024! Northshore Council's goal is to grow our membership by 100 members in a single day!Invite your local community (local business leaders, community members, school board members, alumni of your school, and of course, your school’s family members) to join your PTA. By joining a local PTA (find yours here), a member becomes part of the Washington State PTA, the largest volunteer and child advocacy organization in the state. Our future leaders, innovators, and citizens are our children, and our children are given their best chances to succeed when we all work together. Members of the PTA provide a powerful and effective voice for all children. Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime, can join PTA! Additional Membership Resources: Council's Membership page - Find more tips and links to past articles. WSPTA Membership page - Membership resources and leadership guides available. Questions? Contact Council's Membership Co-Chairs, Kimberly Ortiz and Allison Torgesen ParentSquare and School Newsletter Communication
District's Disclaimer on Flyers
Flyers must include the District's disclaimer printed on the top of the flyer in 10 pt. font:
Please join us at our next General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives - but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
Questions? Email Council President, Rachel Fitzgerald at [email protected]. Save the Date - View calendar of future meeting dates. Reflections Update: Save Entries, Join the Reception Planning Committee, and Theme Winners Announced12/5/2023
![]() Important Notice: Save Your Entries Thank you for submitting all the entries! We loved witnessing the beautiful interpretations of the theme from the students. Please take note that we will be hosting an in-person celebration on March 14, 2024, and we kindly request participants save all their entries. This is especially crucial for visual art and photography submissions. More details about the mounting of the artwork and printing requirements will be shared soon to ensure we can display all the wonderful creations. Stay tuned for further information! * Save the Date: Reflections Reception * Thursday, March 14, 2024 - In-Person Celebration! Join our Reflections Reception Planning Committee (Meetings will start in January 2024) Be part of the excitement - our first Reflections Reception in person since 2019! We'll need lots of hands in organizing this very special event to honor our Northshore School District Artists. Email Council's VP of Events, Melissa Quinonez Bennett, at [email protected] to be included in the Zoom meeting email. Message from WSPTA Reflections WSPTA Reflections Theme Search Winners This year WSPTA had over 45 Reflections theme search entries. The judges selected the following students' theme ideas to advance to the National level for a chance at being the winner of the 2025-26 Reflections theme.
Resources:
Northshore Council PTSA Reflections Co-Chairs: Jasmine Lee Fry and Foram Shah
![]() The Nominating Committee is a special committee that holds the key to a successful PTSA. It is responsible for presenting the best-qualified candidates to serve as the elected officers who will lead your PTA next school year. What is a Nominating Committee?
The nominating committee is a group of three (3) PTA members who are elected for the purpose of finding enthusiastic and qualified volunteers to serve on the PTA’s executive committee! The Nominating Committee members must be elected at a general membership meeting at least 30 days before the officer elections. Members of the committee cannot be appointed by the PTA President or the Board of Directors. The PTA president nor the principal may serve on the committee or participate in the committee deliberations. Why Do We Need a Nominating Committee? Depending on the length of term for your executive committee that is laid out in your Standing Rules (your PTA can choose to have officers serve for a 1-year or 2-year term), there is the possibility that executive committee roles on local PTAs will be elected each year. Having a nominating committee is the best way to make sure that each volunteer is qualified, excited, and ready to serve. The goal of the committee is to seek the most qualified candidates for each elected position for the next school year (beginning July 1). It is a vital committee because it has the power to shape the nature of your PTA and to set you up for future success. Remember! Electing a nominating committee is also a part of your Standards of Affiliation Agreement with WSPTA and is a key marker in remaining in good standing during the fiscal year! ![]() Who Should Be On The Nominating Committee? Nominating committee members should:
When Should We Elect Our Nominating Committee? Elect the committee early in the school year so they have time to locate the best candidates! State guidance suggests that the Nominating Committee be elected at the first meeting of the school year. If you have not done that yet, make it a goal to elect the committee at your next General Membership meeting. The nominating committee is discharged from service after the executive officers are declared elected.
During the School Year - While serving on the nominating committee, members:
At the Meeting Where Election of Officers Will Take Place: The chair (or another member) of the nominating committee reports the committees’ recommendations to the membership during a membership meeting. A script can be found in the Washington State PTA Nominating Committee Handbook (found under Board Resources/Nominating, Elections and Voting). Who Can Be Nominated for an Elected Position: The candidate should be the person the committee thinks will best fill the role! Additionally, the candidate must:
Additional Things to Consider: * Candidates who wish to have co-officer positions can be considered together if both candidates agree to prior to the election. * Individuals should not be nominated by the committee just because someone is interested in or has volunteered for a position. The nominating committee should only nominate candidates whom they believe would be qualified candidates as described above. * Current officers should be evaluated just as you would any candidate. If the committee finds a more qualified candidate, the committee should nominate the more qualified person. People are not guaranteed a nomination the second year. What Is A Nominating Committee Report?
Can a Member of the Nominating Committee Run for a Position? Yes! But the member should recuse themselves from all discussion about their nominations and discussion of other potential nominees for that same position. What If You Cannot Find a Candidate for a Position? The committee can leave the position vacant by writing "Open" on the report. Someone may self-nominate during the election or during the self-nomination period. Additionally, your PTA may appoint a person to fill in until a long-term candidate can be elected. Here are a couple of ideas to broaden your reach when searching for candidates:
What if you STILL can’t find a candidate for a position?
More Questions? Contact...... VP of Secondary Support: [email protected] VP of Elementary Support: [email protected] *updated article in 01/2025*
![]() Our first presentation included a short video by North Creek High School student Blue G. about the Period Peeps project which started in the summer of 2020. This project was initiated by Blue, her older sister Syndey, and their mom Susan Griner. High school students from across the district volunteered to collect supplies and make period kits for those with limited resources. Council VP of Events, Melissa Bennett shared the project's history and its future plans. The Period Peeps project is a great example of community collaboration. What started out as an idea from one Northshore family soon became a much needed resource for those experiencing period poverty with the support of student volunteers & district leadership, flexibility of school administration, and communications & grants from PTSAs. Period Peeps hopes to see this project continue to grow and be able to provide even more period kits by expanding to middle school participation as well. If you are interested in finding out how you can help, email [email protected]. The room was beautifully decorated to kickstart the journey, with road maps placed at each table and markers of inspiration. ![]() Council President, Rachel Fitzgerald shared a sample of student projects across Northshore schools including the Ruby Bridges Elementary's Peer Program, Canyon Creek Elementary's S.O.A.R. (Students Organized Against Racism), Northshore Middle's Watch D.O.G.S., North Creek High /Skyview Middle Food Pantry, and Woodinville High's Latinos Unidos. Rachel also shared about the Northshore School District’s new Family Engagement and Resource Center and the Art Docent Program. If you have a PTA program, you would like to share with Council, please give a shout-out by completing this form: https://bit.ly/PTAProud2023. We want to hear what you are doing and celebrate it. Attendees at the event engaged in an interactive activity throughout the event and had time to share their ideas. Council members, Holly Muenchow and Allison Torgesen, facilitated the sharing portion of our event (and gave out lots of treats while doing so!). You can download the Activities Worksheets and use them when planning your PTA programs with your board. Once the ideas were flowing amongst guests, Council Vice President, Grace Jurado presented about the Northshore Council PTSA Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program available to PTAs to obtain assistance in funding their projects. This program is a great way for Northshore PTAs to collaborate with each other and our Council in order to bring programming to the local community. The next grant cycle closes on Friday, December 08. Visit our website to learn more and submit your application. Many thanks to the PTA leaders, Northshore School District staff, and School Board for attending. We hope you found the event inspiring and relevant to your work in our schools. We also want to thank Council VP of Events, Melissa Bennett who chaired the event and our Presidents and Principals committee members, Angela Dawson, Rachel Fitzgerald, Anna Jensen, Mary Khouzam, and Jenn Snyder. It was a day filled with inspiration and collaboration! Your Feedback is Important to Us!
We want to continue to improve this annual event and make sure it's both accessible and meaningful to those who attend. We kindly request a few moments of your time to complete this survey. Your responses will remain anonymous. Your input, whether you attended or not, will aid us in shaping future events. Please complete the survey by Friday, November 10th. Click to play Council Members' PTA Journey.
This is a busy time of year for PTA Leaders with so many things to get done in order to run your PTA, plan programming for students, and provide support to your school community. Here at Council, we want to make sure a few key "to-do" items don't get overlooked so we've created the checklist below. We've included links and resources for these items, but remember, Council is always here to help and support our local Northshore PTA Leaders! Visit our Contact Page to connect with a Council officer. PTA Back-to-School Checklist for 2023-2024
Complete Council’s Contact Form
Update Leaders in memberplanet
Enter 25 Members into memberplanet by October 31, 2023
Update your PTA’s Website
Hold a General Membership Meeting
Connect with Council
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Northshore Council PTSA is a welcoming organization that works to support our Local PTAs and serve the children and youth of our community through advocacy, collaboration, education, engagement, leadership, and mentorship.