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! ​

Check out our 2020-2021 Reflections Virtual Art Showcase!

This is a multi-media Showcase event! Guests are able to view the dance and film pieces, listen to the music composition, read the literature pieces, and view the photography and visual arts pieces.

All 229 Northshore PTSA Council Qualifier student artworks are on display and we've listed the State Qualifiers and Judge's Choice Award recipients in each arts category.
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We wish we could be with you all in person but have great hopes for the in person Art Celebration next year! For now, visit the Virtual Art Showcase link so you can enjoy and marvel at the courage and creativity of our Northshore student artists!

Please note, the Virtual Art Showcase will be available for viewing for one week only: Friday, February 26th through Friday, March 5th.

Thank you to all that attended our 3rd membership meeting of the school year and our first meeting in 2021!
Each meeting provides us with an opportunity to connect with our wonderful local PTA leaders.

Council Business and Reports
Our meeting started off with an update from one of our Emergency Prep Co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch. We learned that NSD is monitoring zooms for welfare checks. They are working on protocols regarding locations of students because many are traveling with family while attending classes. Reminder that if you see something strange going in the background during a classroom zoom to call 911. If you see a problem, call or email NSD Safety and Security.

The PTSA E-Prep committee has been meeting with district rep, Clarke Combs, about various E-Prep items. From those discussions it was decided that there is a need for each school to have at least 2 Stop the Bleed kits on campus. Click here to learn more about Stop the Bleed Kits. A motion was passed to add funds to the E-Prep budget to cover the purchase of 2 Stop the Bleed kits per school. With support from local PTAs/PTSAs, this is a great start to reach the goal of having a kit at each school’s AED, rather than only at the nurse’s office.

After approving the minutes from the November membership meeting, we moved on to the Treasurer’s reports for November and December. Our Treasurer, Liz Nord, reported that we were receiving council program fees as well as additional membership fees via memberplanet. Liz concluded her report by sharing that the virtual mid-year financial review had been completed and detailed suggestions provided by the financial review team.

Next on the agenda was a report from our VP of Advocacy, Diana Christiansen. Diana shared with everyone that WSPTA Advocacy Week began on 1/18 and will conclude on 1/22. Each day had a different advocacy topic and Diana urged local leaders to visit the Northshore Council Blog for more information regarding Focus on Advocacy Week.

Then Grace Jurado and Liz Nord from our Nominating Committee reported that they have been in talks with current council leaders regarding who will be interested in staying on in their positions next year. They also put out a request for nominations and reminded everyone that there is a link in both the newsletter and the website for those interested in nominating. Learn more here.

Our Reflections Chair, Rachel Northquist, shared the exciting news that 55 submissions will be moving on to State! She is also currently working on a method to share and display the submissions and will keep council updated with the plan.

Melissa Kline, Membership Chair, reported that we currently have 4485 members and that we are at 77% of last years membership. She also reminded local leaders to think of your PTA as a brand and to share the good work that your PTA has been doing for your school and community.

Next on the agenda was a Family and Community Engagement (F.A.C.E.) report from Lauren Lewis. She offered some important reminders with regards to planning events for your community including attempt to reach everyone – not just your members. (School directories are available. Please send requests to our Council Secretary, Kimberly Ortiz.) Lauren also shared the importance of consulting the NPTA Multicultural Calendar when planning meetings or events.  Lauren is working on applications for the WSPTA FACE Awards and would also love to hear from anyone regarding how they think that Northshore Council is succeeding in Family and Community Engagement. You can email her directly at familyengagement@northshorecouncilptsa.org.

Jane Chiodo gave an update on the Educational Speakers & Community Events Grants Program. She stated that the round 3
applications were due January 22nd . These funds are available for local PTA’s to apply for if they would like to host parent education events.

Concluding the council business and reports agenda was a reminder from Grace Jurado regarding WSPTA Awards. Grace shared that awards applications are due March 15th but you can contact them now in order to receive a dropbox link so your PTA can start collecting items for submission. She also reminded leaders that awards can often help with branding your PTA as well. If you have never applied for an award before she suggested that the Standards of Excellence award is the most general award but that there are also different categories choose to from. One recommendation was the F.A.C.E. award as it
doesn’t seem to receive as many applications as the others do. There was also a brief discussion regarding equity of the awards and the membership agreed that there may be a need to vocalize more prominently that awards are available for everyone to apply for as they are about your PTAs/PTSAs personal achievements, not comparing them to other PTAs (multiple PTAs can win the same award). Learn more about WSPTA Awards here.

District and Community Reports
School Board Director, David Cogan, presented an update regarding Northshore School District that included but was not limited to:

• Playgrounds now being open to the community
• New guidelines regarding vaccine schedules that will allow school employees and teachers to be immunized more quickly
• King County has  determined that March 1st is the date for opening of athletic fields
• NSD was recognized by GFOA and the district budget was awarded the distinguished budget presentation
• Dr. Reid was named WA State Superintendent of the Year
• ELA pilots in place in K-8 and the district is working hard to ensure that reading metrics are working for all students learning to read
• Due to campus closures, the district has been able to expedite the modern lock, fencing and camera upgrades
• Inglemoor Concert Hall is making great progress and has a lot of the steel up.

NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator, Natalie Campbell, reported the following:

• Applications for Innovation Lab High School are currently open
• There is a new Chinese language program at Sunrise Elementary
• Wall of Honor applications are open
• The Community Resource pages are continually being updated
• NSD has continued its partnership with 6 Crickets which provides a fee-based database of afterschool programs
• Volunteer applications are now available and can be submitted online

Carmin Dalziel, representing the Northshore School Foundation, shared that each school has scholarship money set aside in Care Teams. If someone needs a scholarship individually send them to a Care Team. It was also noted that the Basic Needs Fund is for a crisis, a one-time event that a family needs help with. Carmin also reminded us that there are many Northshore Gives campaigns that need donations. If there are any PTAs/PTSAs that would like to donate, please contact NSF. Lastly, the All in For Kids Virtual Fundraiser Event will be held 4/8/2021 and she encouraged people to enroll in groups.

Guest Speaker
Cherry Holmes, Region 6 DEI Chair, WSPTA FACE Committee and WSPTA DEI Chair, presented on and discussed WSPTA DEI resources that local leaders can use within their own units. By advancing diversity, equity and inclusion there will be better outcomes for families and students. The DEI presentation shared that diversity is the representation and respect for people from different backgrounds and identities. Equity provides fairness in resources, opportunities, and outcomes. Inclusion is actions and social norms that ensure ALL PEOPLE feel that they are safe, welcomed, and that they belong. The presentation asked PTAs/PTSAs to take a deeper look at what is happening in their local unit - that they may be colorblind or on autopilot with business as usual. It’s important to build membership and leadership from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Improvements for PTAs/PTSAs requires measurements. Know your school’s demographics and statistics; this info can be found on the OSPI school report card site. Know your school and community – does it represent your PTA/PTSA? Identify barriers in your community, including culture, socio economic, policies, and relevancy. Cherry’s DEI presentation will be shared in the meeting Dropbox so members can have access to the slide presentation to take back to discuss with their PTAs/PTSAs.

Our next membership meeting will be held on Monday, March 15th. We hope to see you there!

​Join us for a special Monday Night Roundtable focusing on Reflections!

​This roundtable is designed to support our local PTA/PTSA leaders as with any questions they may have about the Reflections Program. 

Date: Monday, October 26th
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Online via Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99257796923
Meeting ID: 992 5779 6923
Passcode: *Available upon request

Due to our extraordinary circumstances, the 2020 Reflections program is going Virtual! 

Even though parts of the Reflections Program will feel a little different this year, there are many aspects of the program that have not changed - especially the parts that are student facing. Students will still fill out their entry form, write their artists statement, choose a category and create their work of art using the theme "I Matter Because..."!

New for 2020! Online Submissions:

• Council & WSPTA will only accept online submissions for 2020-21. Each Local PTA President and Reflections Chair will receive a specific link and instructions for online submission to Council in a couple weeks. 
  • Try to submit high quality scans or digital photos as all artworks will be judged digitally at Council and State levels.​
  • When uploading to Council, please use the following file name format so we can attribute the artwork to the correct student: Student First Name and Last Name - Arts Category - Form or Artwork. Note: There should be two submissions for each student, the entry form and the artwork.
• Each local PTA can choose to accept submissions online, in person, or a combination of both. Make sure to set a due date that allows time to judge the submitted pieces in order to determine which 20 (+6 Special Artist) you will advance to Council.
  • Please do not submit pieces to council that are not in compliance with the guidelines for each category found in the "Student Entry Packets".
  • IMPORTANT: Encourage participants to read and follow all rules for submission for each category as if they would be submitting their actual pieces in person. Any submission that WSPTA sends to the National PTA for judging will need to be sent physically.
• Once pieces have been judged, local Reflections Chairs will need to upload any pieces they are submitting to Council into the National PTA student entry portal AND upload the entry form and digital version of the art piece to Council by December 2nd, 2020.
• Once you have submitted your 20 (+6 ) pieces:
  • Council will judge the pieces to determine which will advance to WSPTA
  • Council will share which pieces are advancing to WSPTA with Reflection Chairs and Presidents
  • All pieces submitted to Council will be displayed at the Celebration Open House and/or Digital Showcase on January 9, 2021. We will announce details about this event to the best of our ability by end of November, but please note that an in person event is subject to district and county safety requirements.
  • Council will digitally submit all pieces advancing to WSPTA.
    • WSPTA will judge and announce which pieces are advancing to National PTA.
    • Council will contact Reflections Chairs and Presidents who have pieces advancing to National PTA. As of right now, National PTA is requiring that state PTAs submit physical art pieces.

Below are some resources to help support your Reflections program:

• Register for your Reflections program with the National PTA. 
• Promote Reflections in your community. 
• Entry forms can be filled out online. (Contact reflections@northshorecouncilptsa.org if you need assistance finding your National PTA number.)
• Please sign up for our Northshore Council PTSA Reflections newsletter here. The newsletter and website are the primary sources of information for Reflections this year.
• Our Northshore Council PTSA Reflections Facebook page is here and is a resource for you to exchange information and best practices.
• The WSPTA Reflections Facebook page is another great resource!

Still have questions? Please contact Council's Reflections Chair, Rachel Northquist, at reflections@northshorecouncilptsa.org or call/text (425) 319-0016.

​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.

This year's Reflections Theme is "I Matter Because..."

The Reflections Program is a National PTA and WSPTA cultural arts competition. The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students to use their creative talents by expressing themselves through their own original works for the theme of "I Matter Because...".

Reflections is so much more than "just an art contest."  It helps kids take risks, be inspired, think creatively, receive positive recognition and be celebrated for their works of art.  It also allows our community to celebrate our students' creativity!
Encourage art by offering Reflections at your PTA!

Council is here to help make it easy! Check the Reflections page on for regular updates, join the Northsore Council PTSA Reflections and Art Docent Chairs Facebook group and be sure to sign up for our "almost weekly" Reflections communications.

Dates to Note:

• December 1 & 2, 2020 - Turn In Dates
• January 9, 2021 - Council Celebration Open House

Please stay tuned for more information on turn-in methods and our Celebration Open House that will follow district and county public health requirements.

Questions? Contact Council's Reflections Chair, Rachel Northquist.

Congratulations again to our 67 Northshore students who qualified for state-level judging in this year's Reflections competition! The results from Washington State PTA are in and we have nine students who placed at the state level:

Washington State PTA finalists who receive an “Outstanding Interpretation” award will advance to the National PTA round. We want to offer special congratulations to Anthony Schmidt, whose photography entry, titled "Stuck in the Mud," will be continuing on to the National level! The 2019-2020 national winners will be announced May 1, 2020. Best of luck to our National qualifier!

Congratulations to the 27 Northshore PTAs 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 at our open house on January 11, 2020 at Leota Middle School where we had more than 350 pieces on display.

Judging Results: There are 67 State Qualifiers (SQ) who will continue on to Washington State PTA for further judging.  There were also 54 pieces that received the honorable Judges Choice Award (JC).  Congrats to all the students who made it to the Council Level for judging. 

During the event, attendees had an opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces. The Votes Are In... Here are the People's Choice Pieces:

Northshore Council PTSA invites you to join us in celebrating our amazing student artists who participated in this year's Reflections program. More than 350 pieces by students from across Northshore will be featured and on display Saturday, January 11, 2020, from 2:30 – 5:00pm at the Leota Middle School Cafeteria (19301 168th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072). Any artists needing a quieter environment to look at art may arrive early for a quiet viewing time from 2:00 – 2:30pm.

We will need a number of helping hands for this event. Saturday morning we will need help setting up the art panels and displays and then help is needed after the event to take everything down and clean up. Please consider signing up to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f084babaf28a4fc1-2020

Questions? Please reach out to Jane Chiodo at vp@northshorecouncilptsa.org.