![]() Legislative Assembly is over and Focus week is not until mid January… so what now? Well, it is time to cuddle up with a warm cup of coffee (tea or cocoa also work!) and write a story. A story? Yes. It is time to look around and think deeply about what your students need, why they need it, and to develop your persuasive story about these needs to share with principals, school board members, and our state elected leaders. How can you find inspiration? First, go back to your members and ASK what needs their children and families have and what their stories are. You can create an online member survey or even schedule an online chat to gather feedback. Once you have that feedback, you will want to check in with Washington State PTA’s new Legislative Platform which was voted and approved by members at Legislative Assembly in November. Do any of these issues speak to you and your PTA's needs? Once inspiration has struck, build your pitch to legislators. WA State PTA has provided a document to help you do just that! Click here to download. Don't forget to visit our Advocacy Page for more resources to help with developing your PTA story including signing up for Action Alerts from Washington State PTA which will keep you aware of upcoming issues in Olympia this coming year. Questions about Advocacy? Contact Council's VP of Advocacy, Diana Christiansen. It was great to see so many local PTA leaders in attendance for our 2nd meeting of the 20-21 school year!
The meeting kicked off with a Q and A led by our Superintendent, Dr. Michelle Reid. In addition to mentioning that the current plan with online schooling is to stay the course, she also answered many questions regarding topics such as homework, updates on the NSD curriculum resource web page, communication strategies for teachers and parents and building access for PTA’s. There was also a discussion regarding ideas for the district to provide some morale boosting activities for students and families to help with community building while we are still isolating at home for online learning. Dr. Reid welcomed ideas from the group and will investigate how to best provide some community building activities in the district. During the Council Business portion of the meeting, the membership elected Grace Jurado, Liz Nord and Jane Chiodo as the 20-21 Nominating Committee. Next on the agenda was a financial report given by Council Treasurer, Liz Nord. Her report included the Treasurer’s Reports for both September and October, presentation of the newly adopted money handling policy and an update regarding the fulfillment of the Standards of Affiliation. Liz noted that any PTA that needs to create or update their current money handling policy is welcome to use the council’s as a template found here. Lastly, there was an update regarding council goals which involved renaming the goal previously called Leading and Developing our Northshore PTAs and Leaders to Communicating with our Northshore Local PTAs and Leaders. Grace Jurado, Nancy Chamberlain and Melissa Kline worked together to create a new title and verbiage surrounding the elements of the action items in effort to create goals that are concrete and attainable. The membership unanimously voted to update the proposed changes to the council goals as presented. During this meeting we also heard from Northshore Nourishing Network (NNN) Director Sue Freeman. She shared information and tips for PTAs looking to start a successful food drive for their local units. Sue noted that the Northshore Senior Center needs canned vegetables, tuna and chicken for those looking to donate. It was suggested by a member that coordination for a food drive combined with school supply pick up days or porch pick up to gather food donations. Sue also shared that she has created helpful documents for suggested items to donate as well as how to start a free pantry. Learn more about NNN here. We then heard from community leaders including School Board Director Jacqueline McGourty, NSD Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Campbell and the Northshore Schools Foundation Executive Director Carmin Dalziel.
Lastly on the agenda was Council updates on Advocacy, Membership and F.A.C.E. as well as an update from our First Vice President, Jane Chiodo, regarding the WSPTA awards and the Speaker and Events Grants.
Council meetings are a great way to reach other PTA leaders and learn about what is happening in the district and PTA. We hope you will join us for our next general membership meeting on Thursday, January 21st! ![]() The Northshore Nourishing Network (NNN) is a network of partner organizations and individuals. They work to gather information about local and even hyper-local food security resources across Northshore. Their organization aims to not only be a place to find food security resources for those in need, but also a place to find ways to help contribute by volunteering or donating. NNN has put together the documents below as handy reference guides for donating to food banks and little free pantries as well as a list of suggested food bank donation items that most needed. For more information and resources the NNN has put together, visit their website at http://www.nourishingnetworks.net/networks/northshore/
Join us virtually on October 21st at 6:30PM for this upcoming Parent Education event: Parenting on the Same Page! Guest Speakers, Kira Dorrian and Deana Thayer, co-founders of Future Focused Parenting, aim to support parents and caregivers doing the best they can to create a safe loving environment for their children, where everyone works together as a team. This presentation is for any parent or caregiver that wants to thrive rather than just survive throughout their parenting journey. This session helps families get on the same page with their parenting partner or other adults in their children’s lives. Learn strategies for communication, preparing for parenting curveballs, and how to parent with unity even when you disagree. Presentation includes a Q&A for attendees. Talking points of this presentation include:
Register to attend at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parenting-on-the-same-page-registration-123364748283 Zoom link will be emailed to those who have registered before the event. Note: A Spanish translator will be available during the presentation. Email mayna@closetfly.com if you would like to utilize this service so we can connect you with the translator before the presentation begins, or if you would like to request translation in another language. Acompañenos por Zoom para nuestro primer evento de KEPTA Parent Education, organizado junto con Northshore Council PTSA! Nuestros oradores invitados desean apoyar a padres y guardianes que quieren crear un ambiente seguro y cariñoso para sus hijos, en el cual todos trabajan como un equipo unido. Parenting on the Same Page (Criando Niños Juntos) Miercoles, el 21 de Octubre de 6:30pm a 8:00pm (incluyendo preguntas y respuestas) https://www.eventbrite.com/x/parenting-on-the-same-page-tickets-123364748283?utm_term=eventname_text Antes del evento, conozcan a nuestros oradores: Kira Dorrian, CHt, HBCE y Deana Thayer, M.Ed. https://futurefocusedparenting.com/ El enlace de Zoom se enviará antes del evento. Un traductor de español estará presente durante el evento. Por favor envíe un correo electronico antes del evento si le gustaría estar asignado al traductor para el evento. Si su PTA está interesada en compartir con su comunidad la grabación de esta presentación, por favor comuníquese con este correo electrónico para obtener una licencia. This event is co-sponsored by Northshore Council PTSA and Kenmore Elementary PTA. ![]()
![]() Mental health issues related to our lockdown and pandemic are difficult for everyone but especially hard for people with depression or who suffer from drug or alcohol abuse. According to an article by the American Medical Association, there has been an increase in drug overdoses during this period. The CDC reported that symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder increased considerably in the United States during April–June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Below you will find articles with additional information and resources to help if you or someone you know are struggling. Article from HCP Live: Covid-10 Lockdown Having an Impact on Adolescent Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): Covid-19 Information & Resources (including NAMI Crisis Helpline) Mental Health Coping Strategies during Coronavirus Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Article on Coping During Community Unrest 24/7 Online Chat & Phone Numbers Crisis Text Line Be #HealthyAtHome with Tips from the World Health Organization (WHO) Resources from Northshore School District including Mental Health Providers in both King & Snohomish counties. ![]() Threads & Treads provides Northshore families free, quality donated clothing for school age youth, teens, young adults and parents. Clothing items include: school-appropriate clothing for the school day and special events, sportswear, shoes, and accessories. All NSD families in need of clothing assistance are welcome to shop each month for 3 outfits and school event attire. They are open weekly each Wednesday afternoon from 3-6pm. Click here for shopping guidelines to accommodate social distancing protocols. Please consider helping to spread the word about this Northshore community resource via your PTA communication channels! Threads & Treads Needs Volunteers! They can only have adult volunteers at this time. Visit this link to sign-up today: https://cpptsa.org/ways-to-help/volunteer-sign-ups/
Threads & Treads Needs Donations!
Threads & Treads Donation Wishes:
If you have any questions or would like information to provide to your school, please feel free to contact Kelly Hennessey at tandt@cpptsa.org. Thank you for your help in supporting this vital community resource! THIS PROGRAM IS COORDINATED AND SUPPORTED BY CANYON PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA. The Washington State PTA Standards of Affiliation Agreement Checklist 2020-2021 is now available! This checklist is a tool to help your PTA keep up with its legal requirements, both as a non-profit and as a PTA. The requirements come from the IRS, the State of Washington, your insurance company, and WSPTA. What your PTA needs to do:
There have been a few updates this year to make the SOA even better, including an introduction page that has clear instructions, calls out what’s new to the checklists in 2020-21, and offers a number of resources to answer questions and give more detail on all requirements. This video from WSPTA offers a great overview of SOA and what it means for your PTA: In addition, WSPTA offers a number of tools to help support your PTA in completing the SOA checklist, including:
Remember that sharing the progress of your SOA with your members also lets others know about how your PTA operates and shows the work that goes on, often behind the scenes, to keep your PTA legal, safe and operating within the very best practices of our state. Questions? Council is here to help!
Get help buying groceries while schools are closed.
The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is coming up on the deadline for families to apply for the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program. The deadline to apply is September 11th at 5PM. This program provides families whose children are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals a food benefit that allows them to buy groceries while schools are remote. It is estimated that King County has about 41,000 families that are eligible for this, but have yet to apply. Apply online at: www.WashingtonConnection.org or call 877–501–2233 (interpreter services available). To learn more about P-EBT, visit http://ow.ly/4VzB50B63or. Northshore Council is providing a new service for local PTAs/PTSAs: Online Meeting Hosting!
This can be used by any local PTA/PTSA that wants Council to host a Zoom meeting for them. Here is how it will work:
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. |
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