SAVE THE DATE:
2024 Reflections Reception Thursday, March 14, 2024 More Details to Follow Questions? Contact Council's Reflections Co-Chairs at reflections@northshorecouncilptsa.org. 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 president@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Save the Date - View calendar of future meeting dates. Wondering how you can make a difference in school funding? Join Council's Co-VPs of Advocacy, Terra Droney and Holly Muenchow to learn about Focus Week (Jan. 15-19) and discuss how to advocate for school funding at the state level. Join Us for Focus on Advocacy Day - Monday, January 15, 2024 in Olympia! Register and find more information here.
Questions? Email Council's Co-VPs of Advocacy, Terra Droney and Holly Muenchow at advocacy@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Actions You Can Do Now:
SAVE THE DATE:
WSPTA members and students are invited to put on their "PTA Blue" and join us IN PERSON in Olympia to advocate for children and schools with elected officials. Gather in the Columbia room with us to network and hear speakers. We will also be offering docent-led tours of the Capitol grounds. The event is from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm. The agenda with speakers listed will be added here in Eventbrite and in the Focus on Advocacy newsletter when it is available. More details and information can be found on the Focus on Advocacy webpage. More on Advocacy:
We're thrilled to announce that Northshore Council PTSA and its members have voted to endorse the Innovation Lab High School (ILHS) Climate Action Club Resolution: W.A.D.E. (Washington State Declaring The Climate Emergency).
Read ILHS Climate Action Club's Proposal and Resolution: W.A.D.E. (Washington State Declaring The Climate Emergency) on the club's webpage.
Join the Northshore Council Executive Team and make a difference in your community! Now is your chance to take your involvement to the next level and become a leader in the Northshore Council PTSA. Northshore Council PTSA is made up of volunteers from our Local PTAs and community that have chosen to use their skills to assist our community. The Nominating Committee is seeking interested candidates for Northshore Council PTSA's 2024-2025 Executive team. Positions include:
Learn more about the job description for each position as well as qualification requirements below. Nominate Yourself or Someone passionate about education, dedicated to our community today!
Nominations are due by January 31, 2024. Questions? Contact Council's Nominating Committee at nomcom@northshorecouncilptsa.org Qualification Requirements Per the 2023-2024 Council Standing Rules: All Candidates:
Brief Job Descriptions of Council Positions For a more detailed job description, click here. President: The President has many important jobs including serving as the official contact, communicator and representative of Council. They oversee and coordinate the work of the executive board, preside over meetings, are ex-officio members of all committees (except Nominating Committee) and are designated as an authorized signer for checks, contracts and authorizations for payment. But, most importantly, they work to connect PTAs which in turn helps them support families, schools and the community to work towards overall student success. 1st VP: Must be familiar with the Council president’s duties and responsibilities. Act as an aide to the president and perform the duties of the president in his or her absence. Is in charge of advertising and organizing the Council Grant Program and yearly Awards. Treasurer: Is the authorized custodian of the funds of the association and receives and disburses all monies in accordance with the budget as approved by the membership. Secretary: Keeps an accurate record of meetings, which become part of the permanent history of the PTA. Also responsible for taking attendance and monitoring quorum at meetings. VP of Events: Plans and coordinates Councils yearly events including Presidents and Principals Brunch, Reflections Celebration and Spring Recognition Event. VP of Communications: Works to facilitate Northshore Council PTSA communications in order to inform, engage, educate and inspire local PTAs and beyond. VP of Advocacy: Help to educate local PTA's and disseminate information about current WSPTA and National PTA legislative priorities. VP of Elementary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local elementary PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's. VP of Secondary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local secondary (high school and middle school) PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's. Questions? Contact Council's Nominating Committee at nomcom@northshorecouncilptsa.org
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 vpevents@northshorecouncilptsa.org 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
A yearly financial review completed in July is necessary to ensure that the board has engaged in responsible fiscal oversight and that good financial practices have been followed. It is a formal examination of the financial books and records of your PTA and serves to certify that receipts and expenditures, as authorized in the minutes, conform with bylaws, standing rules, and budget limitations. The annual financial review is also a PTA/PTSA insurance requirement. Additionally, completing a mid-year review in January can make the year-end review easier to process and allows your PTA to catch any problems early on so that they are addressed as soon as possible. As a treasurer, you want to make sure your review committee can easily access all documents. As the review committee, you want to stay organized and have a good system for including all committee members in the process. Did you know that financial reviews can be done in person or virtually over a video call? Offering a digital option allows for more flexibility in how volunteers meet and can even make it more accessible with tools such as closed captioning during video calls. Below, you will find pointers for both treasurers and financial review committees on how to organize, prepare, and complete an online financial review. Following the guidance below will help treasurers feel confident when handing over the books for review and help empower the financial committee members to fulfill their duties. Who Can Serve on the Finanical Review Committee: The financial review committee shall consist of no fewer than three members appointed by the president. The financial review committee shall not include officers with signatory authority or individuals living within the same household as those authorized to sign on the bank account for the period being reviewed. Further information about financial reviews may be found in the Managing Your Nonprofit PTA Handbook. TREASURERS
You want to make sure you are continuing to maintain your physical binder while also putting together a digital binder. The entire review committee will need access to the digital binder, but it’s recommended that at least one member of the review committee be given access to the physical binder as well. Note: Before you hand over your binder, remove anything you store in it that shouldn’t be shared, such as passwords. Also, if it is at all possible, give at least one person on your review team viewing access to your financial software. Steps to creating a simple and easy-to-use online binder:
FINANCIAL REVIEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS If you’ve volunteered to be a part of your PTA’s Financial Review Committee and are not sure where to begin, check out these 3 steps:
IMPORTANT REMINDER: The annual Financial Review is a requirement of your PTA/PTSA’s insurance. It is also a helpful tool meant to assist the treasurer and the rest of the board of directors in establishing and refining best practices. During a Financial Review, the policies and procedures are reviewed, and the committee’s feedback is important in providing guidance on those policies. If you still have questions about preparing for or completing a Financial Review, contact Council Treasurer, Brenae Brix. If you have ever asked someone to support your PTA by becoming a member, volunteering at an event, or attending a meeting, then you’ve probably been asked this one simple question: “Why?” And likely you’ve responded with a list of events your PTA hosts or the different ways your PTA provides funding for your school. Both are great things to share, but there is one aspect that is often overlooked: the value being part of PTA has given to you as a volunteer. PTA is rewarding for those involved and it’s great to highlight this to your members. It not only demonstrates another way your PTA brings value, but also showcases that additional value, which can inspire other families to support your PTA. Looking for an idea of how to do this? Look no further! Northshore Council PTSA recently held our annual Presidents and Principals Luncheon and used this opportunity to highlight why different Council board members have gotten involved in PTA and what they have gained along the way. As this year’s P&P event was road trip themed, we framed our answers as a “PTA Journey” – showing where we started, what we gathered at pit stops along the way, and sharing our favorite PTA road trip memories. You can view Council’s PTA Journey in the video and slides below. Bonus Tip: Having members of your board create something similar to showcase their PTA Journey not only shows the value of your PTA, but also helps to introduce your board members to the community! If you are interested in making your own slides/video and would like help, reach out to Council President, Rachel Fitzgerald, by emailing president@northshorecouncilptsa.org. View Council's Video on Northshore Council's YouTube channel! |
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