Thank You

How do you say Thank You for the extraordinary amount of time and effort people take out of their lives to make a difference for our students, staff and community? The below is just a minor fraction of some of the many people who deserve thanks from PTSA Council!
Interested in Volunteering with Council? - Check Out Our Volunteer Page.

Showing Our Appreciation during the 2022-2023 School Year

SHOUT OUT to Rachel Fitzgerald and Claudine Miller for attending the WSPTA Council Summit this past week.
MANY THANKS to Rachel Fitzgerald for representing Northshore Council at the recent school board meeting.
KUDOS to Robin McKenzie for providing training to the E-Prep Chairs. HIGH FIVES to the PTA leaders who attended the training.
THREE CHEERS to our Council leaders for all their hard work during the first half of the school year. We hope each of them and all the leaders across the district use the upcoming Winter Break to rest, spend time with loved ones, and reenergize as we head into 2023.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Heather Hart and Grace Jurado for providing training, in their role as WSPTA Region 6 Co-Directors, to our Council and local PTA leaders after our general membership meeting. SHOUT OUT to all the leaders who attended. Trainings help build better leaders to serve our community.
SPECIAL THANKS to Jennifer Drury, Calin Garcia, and Claudine Miller for meeting with Director Cast and Interim Superintendent Tolley to share WSPTA Legislative priorities and how they align with the priorities of Northshore families.
SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to Jennifer Drury for attending the school board meeting and highlighting the latest happenings in Council and our local PTAs.
MUCH GRATITUDE to our committee volunteers Cherry Holmes, Laura Staneff, Rachel Fitzgerald, and Mary Khouzam for organizing the return of the in-person Presidents & Principals Luncheon which provided an opportunity for community leaders to formulate goals for the benefit of NSD children. And a SHOUT OUT to Jenn Snyder for creating the creative graphics and ensuring communication was sent to local PTAs!
MANY THANKS to Brenae Brix, Diana Christiansen, Jennifer Drury, Melissa Kline, Claudine Miller, and Serena Xu for their help with set-up, greeting guests, and clean-up at the Presidents & Principals Luncheon.
APPRECIATION to Jennifer Drury for hosting two Advocacy Coffee events and continuing the conversation and work after Legislative Assembly.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Jennifer Drury, Cherry Holmes, and Kim Ortiz who attended the WSPTA 2022 Legislative Assembly this past weekend as Council delegates! And a BIG SHOUTOUT to all our Northshore PTA/PTSA delegates who attended virtually and in person.
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Carrie Aull, Melissa Kline, and Pauline Wray for hosting the first Mental Health Committee meeting this school year. If you would like to join the next committee meeting or learn more about it, please email the committee.
KUDOS to Rachel Fitzgerald for organizing Be Smart - a parent education webinar about gun safety for our Northshore community. Interested in bringing this presentation to your school community or another topic for parent education? View a list of past presentations for ideas. Contact Council for more information.
MANY THANKS to Diana Christiansen, Rachel Fitzgerald, Kim Ortiz, and Leota Middle School student volunteers Ronan F. and Rory F. for picking up the Join PTA Yard Signs at all the Northshore schools. If there is still a sign at your school, please email membership@northshorecouncilptsa.org for pick up.
GRATITUDE to Cherry Holmes for speaking at the Northshore School District Board meeting on October 10 on behalf of the Council.
SHOUT OUT to Robin McKenzie for hosting E-Prep Training on Oct. 11. E-Prep Chairs meets monthly and the next meeting is on November 15. Learn more about E-Prep and how you can get involved.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Jasmine Lee Fry for hosting two Reflections Roundtables. Visit our Reflections webpage to learn more about the program or reach out to Jasmine with your questions.
GRATITUDE to Laura Staneff for bringing the Parent Education webinar Special Education Basics: IEPs and 504 Plans to our community.
PROPS to Robin McKenzie for hosting the first of monthly E-Prep Chair meetings. The October meeting will be on Oct. 18th at 11am with E-Prep training scheduled for Oct. 11.
WELCOME BACK to Anna A. Jensen who will be serving as Council's Special Education Co-Representative!
CONGRATULATIONS to our new Northshore Council PTSA Secretary, Claudine Miller, who was elected by membership at our General Meeting on Monday, September 19th.
MUCH GRATITUDE to Liz Nord for doing our installation of officers with an added special touch.
SPECIAL THANKS to Melissa Kline for speaking at the September 12th School Board meeting about Mental Health Awareness.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Brenae Brix and Cherry Holmes for hosting the 2nd PTA Back-to-School Leader Meet Up. If you missed the meet up, but would like to pick up some Stay Healthy posters and stickers for your school, please reach out to the VPs of Support, Brenae Brix or Diana Christiansen.
SHOUT OUT to all the council members and local leaders who spent their weekend attending the WSPTA Autumn Leadership Launch (ALL) in order to be better prepared to serve this school year.
KUDOS to Brenae Brix and Diana Christiansen for planning and organizing our first Back-to-School PTA Leaders Meet Up at Miner's Corner. And MANY THANKS to Cherry Holmes for co-hosting and welcoming our PTA leaders with Brenae.
SHOUT OUT Melissa Kline and North Creek High School students, Carter K. and Chase K. for placing Join PTA yard signs at all schools across our district.
MANY THANKS to Rachel Fitzgerald, Mary Khouzam, and Melissa Kline for serving on our Year End Financial Review Committee. And CHEERS to Serena Xu who organized all the financials to make the committee's job easier.
GRATITUDE to 2022- 2023 Budget Committee Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Rachel Fitzgerald, Tracy Jokisch, Melissa Kline, and Serena Xu for preparing the budget for this school year that has been presented to Council's Board of Directors and will be voted on at our upcoming September general membership meeting.
APPRECIATION to Rachel Fitzgerald, Mary Khouzam, Claudine Miller, and Laura Staneff for promoting PTA at the NSD Back to School Resource Fair on August 11th. And HOORAYS to Jen Drury for organizing voter registration information to have available at the Fair.

Volunteers: Gratitude, Kindness, Care, and Appreciation

Showing Our Appreciation during the 2021-2022 School Year

THANK YOU to all the 2021-2022 Council PTSA board & committee members for their service to our Northshore PTAs this school year. We are so excited to have so many of our dedicated volunteers continuing on with Council next year as well, whether it be in a returning or new role.
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS to our outgoing Northshore Council PTSA board & committee members, including Hanisha Bakshani, Jane Chiodo, Cheri Hardin, and Tracy Jokisch. Our Council has been enriched by your care, knowledge and thoughtful leadership. We are so grateful for your dedication and service. All the best to each of you on your continuing adventures!
MANY THANKS to this year's Council Awards Committee Chair, Mary Khouzam, and her fellow committee members Jane Chiodo, Jennifer Drury, and Claudine Miller for their work reviewing nominations, selecting recipients, and recognizing this year's award winners during our Spring Recognition Event.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Rachel Fitzgerald for her work on the slides and video presentations used during our Spring Recognition Event.
THANK YOU to our current and incoming Northshore Council leaders who participated in this year's WSPTA Convention, May 20th-22nd, including: Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, Jennifer Drury, Rachel Fitzgerald, Cherry Holmes, Melissa Kline, Claudine Miller, Jennifer Snyder, and Laura Staneff.
IMMENSE APPRECIATION to Council's Mental Health Committee Members who helped provided mental health posters to each of our secondary schools in order to bring awareness and resources to the communities. SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to Melissa Kline and Pauline Wray who collaborated with NSD counselors to create these posters.
MANY THANKS to Cheri Hardin and Pauline Wray who have been doing a fantastic job all year long taking notes for our PTSA meetings. The duties of your PTA Secretary are incredibly important as the minutes become a permanent history of your PTA.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to our newly elected 2022-2023 Council Officers! We appreciate each of you for stepping up to serve next school year and look forward to all the work you will accomplish.
SHOUT OUT to Jane Chiodo, Rachel Fitzgerald, and Claudine Miller who attended the most recent WA State PTA Council Summit. WSPTA will have one additional opportunity this term for council leaders to meet, ask questions, and learn from one another during the upcoming 109th Annual Convention and your Northshore Council Leaders look forward to attending!
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to the Council Leaders who helped organize various parent education events this past month: Melissa Kline & Pauline Wray for the event on Digital Safety; Brenae Brix for the event on College Preparedness; and Laura Staneff for the event on Special Education Support. Check out our Community Resource section for upcoming parent education events!
AMAZING WORK was done by our Reflections Chair, Jasmine Lee Fry, to put together our Virtual Artist Showcase. Click here to check it out and celebrate all 267 talented student artists from across Northshore who qualified for Council this year!
MUCH GRATITUDE to the members of our Grants Committee who's service this year helped connect local PTAs with funding for speakers and community events: Tracy Jokisch, Mary Khouzam, Melissa Kline, Pauline Wray, and Serena Xu. To learn more about our grants program, click here.
AMAZING JOB to Council's Mental Health Committee. This committee has continued to advocate for mental health resources in our district including organizing today's Digital Safety webinar. SPECIAL SHOUT OUT to committee member, Carrie Aull, who has been playing a key role as the main contributor for the various mental health awareness articles the committee has published this year.
MANY THANKS to Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie for their continued work supporting Emergency Preparedness across our district. Not only do they meet with PTA E-Prep Chairs monthly, but also with members of Northshore School District's safety and security team in order to best serve the families of NSD!
GRATITUDE to Jennifer Drury for her testimony at the February 14th School Board Meeting. She spoke about PTA Advocacy and how anyone can get involved with action alerts, National PTA's 125th Anniversary, and Council's 3 upcoming parent education events.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Diana Christiansen, Jasmine Lee Fry, and Cherry Holmes for their ongoing effort as our Nominating Committee. They will be presenting their current slate of candidates at the upcoming March 21st General Meeting.
MANY THANKS to Rachel Fitzgerald, Mary Khouzam, and Melissa Kline for completing Council's 2021-2022 Mid-Year Financial Review!
MUCH GRATITUDE to the members of Council's Budget Committee, Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Rachel Fitzgerald, Tracy Jokisch, Melissa Kline, and Serena Xu, who spent time developing a budget for the 2022-2023 year which will be presented at the next General Meeting on March 21st.
WELCOME to our newest Council board member, Laura Staneff, who will be serving as Council's Special Education Representative! Laura would love to connect with your PTA's SpEd Rep. Have them email her at specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org.
SHOUT OUT to Jane Chiodo for speaking at the January 10th school board meeting. Governor Jay Inslee recently proclaimed January as School Board Recognition Month and Jane took time to thank the members of NSD's school board for all the hard work they do and their partnership with PTAs.
GRATITUDE to Diana Christiansen and Jennifer Drury for also speaking at the January 10th school board meeting where they invited the NSD community and school board to take part in 2022 Focus Week by emailing or meeting with Washington State Legislators about Washington State PTAs top 5 Legislative Issues.
AMAZING WORK was done by Council Leaders, Local PTA Leaders and PTA Members all across Northshore during the recent Focus Day. Their attendance and testimony showed the strong support we have in our district for PTA Advocacy. Additionally, HUGE THANKS go out to Diana Christiansen and Jennifer Drury who organized and led all the online meetings that took place with our Senators and Representatives.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Jasmine Lee Fry for her work in organizing the Reflections submissions sent in to Council, coordinating the judging of all the art work, and submitting state qualifiers to WSPTA. Check out Council's Judging Results.
MAJOR PROPS to our VP of Secondary Support, Brenae Brix, and our VP of Elementary Support, Grace Jurado, for being a constant resource and source of knowledge for our local PTAs/PTSAs. If you or your PTA/PTSA is ever in need of support, please reach out - they are here to help!
HUGE SHOUT OUT to all our Council leaders for making it through 2021. Each of you have put in a lot of effort and work so far this school year and we can't wait to see what awesome ways you continue to support our local PTA leaders in 2022!
MANY THANKS to Cherry Holmes for hosting a roundtable this past week focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). PTA leaders in attendance were able to have a great conversation focusing on DEI and how to bring it to the forefront of our work.
GRATITUDE to Council's Mental Health Committee for bringing the recent Parent Education presentation, Identifying & Addressing Youth Anxiety, to our community. This presentation was recorded for anyone who wasn't able to attend. Learn more...
THANK YOU to Serena Xu for renewing Council's AIM Insurance. Don't forget to renew the coverage for your PTA before the end of November. Click here to learn more about AIM renewal.
SHOUT OUT to Jasmine Lee Fry who hosted not one, but TWO Council Roundtables focused on Reflections. Council's deadline to submit is coming up in less than a month, so if you have questions, now's the perfect time to ask by emailing reflections@northshorecouncilptsa.org.
GRATITUDE to Melissa Kline and Pauline Wray who met with Rick Ferrell, Northshore School District's Director of Student Supports, about the work being done by Council's Mental Health Committee and how PTA can collaborate with the district to bring more mental health resources directly to students and families.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Council's Special Education Representative, Anna Jensen, who successfully advocated for families in our district to have virtual access to a Coffee with the Superintendent for Families Receiving Special Education Services.
MANY THANKS to Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, and Jennifer Drury who attended the WA State PTA 2021 Legislative Assembly this past weekend as Council delegates!
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Melissa Kline for advocating for mental health resources and the need to destigmatize talking about suicide by presenting Suicide Awareness information at the September 27th school board meeting. You can hear Melissa speak to the school board at the 9:30 mark of the recorded meeting.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE to the team of volunteers that came together in order to make our School Board Candidate Forum a success! From organization, communication, set-up & clean up, time keeping, greeting those who attended, producing the recorded video, and all the additional support along the way, this forum wouldn't have been possible without help from Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, Jennifer Drury, Rachel Fitzgerald, Cherry Holmes, Jasmine Lee Fry, and Serena Xu.
WELCOME to our newest Council board member, Anna Jensen, who will be serving as Council's Special Education Representative! Anna would love to connect with your PTA's SpEd Rep. Have them email her at specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org.
SHOUT OUT to Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, and Grace Jurado for hosting breakout rooms during our General Membership Meeting last week! We hope our local leaders who attended were able to take away ideas and more from their conversations.
ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Rachel Fitzgerald and Melissa Kline for their work in creating our PTA Checklist Postcards! Learn more about this important tool for PTAs by clicking here.
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Council's Mental Health Committee for their continued work to bring the topic of mental health to the forefront of conversations. Learn more about the committee's work including their latest article on suicide prevention.
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Amanda Cabana, WSPTA Membership Lead, for providing a memberplanet training for our local leaders last week. Bonus SHOUT OUT to all the local PTA leaders who were in attendance. We hope you found the info helpful and are able to take back your new found knowledge to your PTA!
MANY THANKS to Melissa Kline who has been working hard to make sure all Northshore PTAs are in good standing! She has been reaching out to make sure all PTAs have officers entered into memberplanet. If your PTA is still struggling to meet this requirement, please reach out to Council - we are here to help!
SHOUT OUT to Hanisha Bakshani and Melissa Kline for helping to launch & support membership campaigns for our local PTAs. Not only have they been reaching out to local membership chairs, but they also hosted a membership Roundtable and placed Join PTA yard signs at all schools across our district.
MAJOR GRATITUDE to Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, Rachel Fitzgerald, and Claudine Miller for attending the NSD Back to School Fair and representing all Northshore PTAs/PTSAs. And SPECIAL THANKS to Melissa Kline for putting together the tri-fold board used as display during the fair. So many families learned about the value of PTA and many even signed up for membership during the fair!
MANY THANKS to Mary Khouzam, Karrie Palis, and Serena Xu for serving on Council's End-of-Year Financial Review Committee for 2020-2021! We appreciate each of you for taking the time for this important and required step in making sure our financials are all in order.
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Diana Christiansen and Jennifer Drury for all their work in organizing our School Board Candidate Q&A over the summer, to Jane Chiodo for her leadership when the format of the forum had to change last minute, and to Rachel Fitzgerald for her work in putting together the slides for each candidate. The forum was quite the team effort!!
SHOUT OUT to all our 2021-2022 Council board members who have taken time this summer to attend NPTA's convention, WSPTA's leadership conference, and our board retreats in order to prepare for the year ahead and be ready to support all our local leaders!

Some thanks from the 2020 - 2021 School Year

VERY SPECIAL THANKS to our outgoing Northshore Council PTSA board & committee members, including Nancy Chamberlain, Michelle Holowachuck, Lauren Lewis, Liz Nord, Rachel Northquist, and Kimberly Ortiz. Our Council has been enriched by your care, knowledge and thoughtful leadership. We are so grateful for your dedication and service. All the best to each of you on your continuing adventures!
MANY THANKS to this year's Council Awards Committee members Diana Christiansen, Rachel Fitzgerald and Karrie Palis, for their work reviewing nominations, selecting recipients, and recognizing this year's award winners during our Spring Recognition Event.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Mary Khouzam and Karrie Palis for their work organizing and hosting this year's Spring Recognition Event.
THANK YOU to Rachel Fitzgerald, Council's VP of Communications, for her efforts throughout the year communicating all the things to our local PTAs.
MUCH GRATITUDE to Council President, Jane Chiodo, for all the support and leadership she has offered this year to not only Council board members, but to all of Northshore's local PTA leaders.
GRATITUDE to this year's Council delegation to the WSPTA Convention, including Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Jennifer Drury, and Rachel Fitzgerald.
MANY THANKS to Rachel Fitzgerald and Lauren Lewis for their time and effort to submit Northshore Council's applications to WSPTA's Awards of Excellence Program, earning Council four (4) awards!
SPECIAL SHOUT OUT to Northshore Council leaders Nancy Chamberlain and Liz Nord on their election to the WSPTA Board of Directors! Nancy was elected as our new WSPTA President and Liz as our Area A Vice President!
CONGRATULATIONS to Northshore PTA leader Carrie McKenzie (Leota Middle School PTSA)! She received recognition in this year's WSPTA Leadership Academy Program which recognizes and acknowledges leadership skills attained by PTA leaders throughout all levels of the association.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Rachel Fitzgerald for organizing and putting together the NSD Staff Appreciation video! And THANK YOU to everyone who sent in messages to be included in the video. Click here to watch the video.
MANY THANKS to Liz Nord for hosting a training earlier this month for both new and returning Council board members! The information presented is sure to help Council better serve and support our Local Leaders and their PTAs/PTSAs.
MUCH APPRECIATION to Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie who organized the district wide purchase of Stop the Bleed Kits! With a donation from Council, each school will be receiving two (2) kits, but with PTAs opting to buy more for their individual schools, we have ordered 745 kits in total district wide – WOW!!
HUGE SHOUT OUT to Hanisha Bakshani, Sue Freeman, and Melissa Kline who volunteered at the recent i-CERV food drive sorting and distributing food. The food drive not only benefited 3 NSD Food Pantries (at Frank Love Elementary, Ruby Bridges Elementary, and Skyview Middle School), but it also benefited Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts! The event also included partnership from NSD's Partnership & Volunteer Coordinator Natalie Campbell, i-CERV, the YMCA, Kelly Hennessey from Threads & Treads, and members of the community. Together, the efforts of all involved, brought food & essential items to many families and made a huge impact on our community - THANK YOU!!
LOTS OF GRATITUDE to Melissa Kline and Lauren Lewis for the committee work they've recently done. Lauren chaired an Equity Inventory Committee which helped Council understand how we're doing in terms of equity, diversity, and inclusion and provided recommendations for improvement to the board. Melissa is chairing a Mental Health Committee in order to promote mental health awareness and partner to bring relevant trainings, events, and resources to our community. We look forward to the improvements, programming, resources and more that come out of each of these two important committees!
SPECIAL THANKS to all the Career Day Committee Volunteers who served on behalf of their middle school PTSAs. The work they did brought Career Day to over 5000 middle school students throughout NSD! We also would like to thank Mary Drews, School Board member Sandy Hayes, and the Northshore Schools Foundation for all the time and effort they each contributed in order to make this a successful event for all students!
SHOUT OUT to all the Northshore PTA Advocates who attended National PTA LegCon 2021, including Council board members Nancy Chamberlain, Diana Christiansen, and Rachel Fitzgerald. To learn more about what happened at this year's virtual LegCon, click here.
MUCH GRATITUDE to the members of Council's Budget Committee, Jane Chiodo, Mary Khouzam, Liz Nord, and Kimberly Ortiz, who spent time developing a budget for the 2021-2022 year and presented it at the 3/15 General Membership Meeting.
SHOUT OUT to Rachel Northquist for her amazing work putting together the Reflections Virtual Art Showcase website in order to celebrate the creativity of Northshore student artists!
HUGE HOORAYS to this year's Northshore Council Nominating Committee members, Grace Jurado and Liz Nord, for their work seeking out and recruiting qualified candidates for next year's executive committee.
THANK YOU Grace Jurado, Mary Khouzam, Melissa Kline, and Liz Nord who served as the Council Grant Committee, reviewing submissions for Round 3 of this year’s Educational Speaker and Community Events Grants program! (Check out our Round 3 Grant Recipients Announcement here!)
SHOUT OUT to Melissa Kline for her membership support, encouraging our local PTAs to continue to seek out members in this difficult time, and her efforts to share ideas between PTAs so that others can succeed!
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Nancy Chamberlain and Melissa Kline who spent time this past month testifying at our state legislature! Nancy testified on Closing the Digital Divide while Melissa spoke about Increased Access to Mental Health Resources - both of these topics being part of WSPTA's Top 5 Legislative Priorities!
IMMENSE GRATITUDE to Robin Zaback for her 2½ years of dedicated service to Northshore Council PTSA! Over the years, Robin has served Council as both the VP of Communication and as President. At the start of January she stepped down from her role as President. We will miss her and wish her all the best!
THANK YOU to our 9 amazing judges for the time and expertise they put into judging the 229 Reflections entries this year! And a SPECIAL SHOUT OUT to the 217 students from 30 schools who shared their many artistic talents with us by participating in this year's Reflections Program!
MANY THANKS to Diana Christiansen, Mary Khouzam, Melissa Kline, and Karrie Palis for completing Council's 2020-2021 Mid-Year Financial Review!
GRATITUDE to Council Grant Committee Chair Jane Chiodo, as well as committee members, Grace Jurado, Melissa Kline, Mary Khouzam, and Robin Zaback, for their efforts in reviewing the second round of submissions for this year's Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program Program.
MANY THANKS to Rachel Northquist for all the support she has given to our Local PTA/PTSA Leaders this year to make the National PTA Reflections Program happen and for organizing the virtual turn in of entries from around our district.
MANY THANKS to our new Nominating Committee members, Jane Chiodo, Grace Jurado, and Liz Nord, for taking on the important work of recruiting leaders for our 2021-2022 Northshore Council executive team.
A BIG THANK YOU to Rachel Northquist for hosting our Reflections Roundtable in order to help support our local PTA Reflection Chairs as they adjust to the changing needs of the program going virtual!
MANY THANKS to Michele Holowachuk for advocating for our Special Education students and families by organizing an online chat with Dr. Reid for their community!
MUCH APPRECIATION to the 103 local leaders, from PTAs and the district, who took the time to join us at this year's Presidents & Principals Workshop on November 5th. GRATITUDE to the NSD Racial & Educational Justice Department team, including Dr. Chris Bigelow, Ayva Thomas, Dr. Srinivas Khedam, and Ranna Harb, for their powerful and thought-provoking presentation on building more equitable approaches to family engagement. THANK YOU to Rachel Fitzgerald for her support around communications for this event. And a HUGE SHOUT OUT to Mary Khouzam and Karrie Palis for their work creating and distributing toolkits (both physical and virtual!) for attendees.
MANY THANKS to Diana Christiansen for putting together our Northshore Council PTSA Candidate Spotlight Forum resource!
MUCH APPRECIATION to Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie who organized and held two E-Prep Chair Trainings this past month!
A BIG THANK YOU to Lauren Lewis for hosting two F.A.C.E. planning meetings last week and working with attendees in developing stronger collaboration across our district!
And TONS OF GRATITUDE to Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, Liz Nord, and Robin Zaback who attended WSPTA 2020 Legislative Assembly this past weekend on behalf of Council!
GRATITUDE to Council Grant Committee Chair Jane Chiodo, as well as committee members, Grace Jurado, Melissa Kline, Mary Khouzam, Liz Nord and Robin Zaback, for their efforts in reviewing the first round of submissions for this year's Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program Program.
CONGRATULATIONS to our newly elected Northshore Council PTSA officers, Diana Christiansen, Vice President of Advocacy, and Kimberly Ortiz, Secretary! They were elected by membership at our general meeting on Monday, 9/21.
THANK YOU to Lauren Lewis, Council's Family and Community Engagement Chair, for her work compiling and sharing the results of our recent F.A.C.E. survey. We are excited to apply the findings of this survey toward offering stronger support to our local PTAs.
SPECIAL THANKS to Melissa Kline & Robin Zaback who spent time putting up "PTA for Your Child - Join Today" yard signs to help promote PTA at all Northshore Schools. To see pictures of some of the many signs that were placed around our district, check out Council's Facebook Album.
A BIG SHOUT OUT to our Council leaders who attended this year’s virtual National PTA Convention in July and August including Nancy Chamberlain, Grace Jurado, Liz Nord, Rachel Northquist, Kimberly Ortiz and Robin Zaback.
MANY THANKS to our Council leaders who participated in the 2020 WSPTA Leadership Conference on August 1, including Nancy Chamberlain, Jane Chiodo, Grace Jurado, Liz Nord, Kimberly Ortiz and Robin Zaback.
MANY THANKS to Cindy Jenson, Liz Nord, and Robin Zaback for serving on Council's End-of-Year Financial Review Committee for 2019-2020! We appreciate each of you for taking the time for this important and required step in making sure our financials are all in order.
SPECIAL THANKS to Diana Christiansen and Kimberly Ortiz for joining our Council leadership team! At its July retreat, the Council Board of Directors appointed Diana as Vice President of Advocacy and Kimberly as Secretary until elections can be held at the first general meeting on September 21st. We are so grateful for their willingness to share their knowledge and talents by serving on Council!

Some thanks from the 2019 - 2020 School Year

THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for our Webinar Week training sessions and for helping to make this series a big success. We hope the classes were helpful and that the information shared will serve your efforts as you head into a new PTA year!
A BIG SHOUTOUT to Melissa Goss-Halbert and Katie Nicoara for taking time to attend every class we offered, and to Hanisha Bakshani, Cherry Holmes, and Kimberly Ortiz for near-perfect attendance! Thank you for your dedication to growing your knowledge of PTA and leadership!
GRATITUDE to our Webinar Week presenters and moderators: Nancy Chamberlain, Grace Jurado, Carrie McKenzie, Liz Nord, Tricia Woods and Robin Zaback. This event would not have been possible without you!
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Grace Jurado for her work organizing our first-ever Webinar Week online training event (and for being a part of every class to ensure they went off without a hitch!).
MANY THANKS to NSD Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell and Sue Freeman of Northshore Nourishing Networks for taking the time to join us at many of our Weekly Online Roundtables. We truly value your willingness to answer questions and share your knowledge about district and community resources!
CONGRATULATIONS to Robyn Sims, Jennifer Blasi, and Julie Beard, each of whom received special recognition for their contributions this year to Emergency Preparedness, Northshore, and our students. Council E-Prep co-Chairs Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch presented these individuals with certificates at the final Northshore Council E-Prep meeting of the year on Friday, May 29th.
GRATITUDE to this year's Council delegation to WSPTA Convention, including Jane Chiodo, Grace Jurado, Liz Nord and Robin Zaback.
MANY THANKS to this year's Council Awards Committee members Jane Chiodo, Cindy Jensen and Melissa Kline, for their work reviewing nominations and selecting and recognizing this year's award recipients.
MANY THANKS to Melissa Kline for her work organizing Council's staff appreciation project.
THANK YOU Grace Jurado and Melissa Kline for working to bring 8th grade party chairs across Northshore together for a discussion about end-of-year celebrations.
CONGRATULATIONS to Northshore PTA leaders Liz Nord and Robin Zaback! They both received recognition in this year's WSPTA Leadership Academy Program which recognizes and acknowledges leadership skills attained by PTA leaders throughout all levels of the association.
SHOUT OUT to Northshore leader Carrie McKenzie on her election to the WSPTA Board of Directors as Area A Vice President!
MANY THANKS to Cindy Jensen and Melissa Kline, who continue to reach out and offer support to our elementary and secondary PTAs!
GRATITUDE to Jane Chiodo, Tricia Woods and Robin Zaback for their work developing and drafting Northshore Council PTSA's Electronic Voting Policy.
GRATITUDE to Council President Grace Jurado for her work managing and responding to countless media requests and serving as an awesome representative of PTA.
MANY THANKS to all the Northshore PTA Leaders who have attended our recent online roundtable discussions, making them a valuable forum for information sharing, ideas and support.
THANK YOU to Robin Zaback, Council's VP of Communications, for attending the February 24, 2020 School Board meeting and sharing information about upcoming events.
HIGH FIVES to President Quinn Wyatt and the Moorlands PTA leaders who spoke at the February 24, 2020 School Board meeting and advocated for much-needed maintenance of their school building. They provided facts, details and powerful testimony on how their aging campus has had impacted the school learning environment and students.
GRATITUDE to Nancy Chamberlain, Council's co-VP of Advocacy, for representing PTSA in a recent meeting hosted by Dr. Reid to engage on how parents might help with the success of NSD's Classroom to Cloud transition.
GRATITUDE to our Advocacy VPs, Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown, for their work organizing Northshore's presence at Focus Day on January 20.
MANY THANKS to the Northshore PTA advocates, including Nancy Chamberlain, Jennifer Drury, Sandy Hayes, Carrie and Emily McKenzie, and Robin Zaback, who traveled to Olympia to meet with area legislators on Focus Day. Find a recap of the event on our website.
HUGE HOORAYS to Holly and Ben Batstone (Frank Love PTA) for sharing their Memberplanet experiences and knowledge during the Communications Roundtable discussion after our general meeting on January 23.
THANK YOU to Council Secretary, Jennifer Drury, for representing Northshore Council PTSA at the January 27, 2020 school board meeting.
SPECIAL THANKS to Stacey Meyer for her many years of dedicated service to Northshore Council PTSA. In mid-January, she stepped down from her role as co-President. We will miss her and wish her all the best!
THANK YOU to the Northshore PTA leaders who presented classes at the Region 6 Winter Conference in early February, including Grace Jurado, Liz Nord, Tricia Woods and Robin Zaback.
HUGE HOORAYS to this year's Northshore Council Nominating Committee members, Jane Chiodo, Carmin Dalziel, and Tricia Woods, for their work seeking out and recruiting qualified candidates for next year's executive board.
We have so much gratitude for those who supported our Council Reflections program this year and who helped us put on an amazing Reflections Celebration:
- MANY THANKS to all of the awesome volunteers (students, community members, Council board members, and more!) who made this event possible-- signage, transport of displays, to construction, set-up, helping and greeting at the event, take-down, clean-up and more-- Northshore Council PTSA is SO GRATEFUL for your help!!!
- GREAT GRATITUDE to Leota Middle School's administration and custodial staff for their support and for sharing their space with us for this event. It was a great venue!
- THANK YOU to this year's Council-level Reflections judges, including Kathy Greisen, Michael McMinnes, Ashley Jensen, Karen Oie, Susan Jackson, Erin Young and Jill Enright, all of whom generously spent many hours during the busy holiday season to judge all of the pieces.
- A BIG THANK YOU to the Arts of Kenmore for use of their display panels for the event.
- A HUGE SHOUT OUT to Council Reflections Chair Cindy Jensen for organizing this year's Reflections program and to First VP Jane Chiodo for planning and organizing the celebration event.
GRATITUDE to Jane Chiodo for chairing the 2019-2020 Educational Speakers & Events Grant Program as well as to Grace Jurado, Melissa Kline and Robin Zaback for their assistance in reviewing the Round 2 applications.
MANY THANKS to Stacey Meyer for her work hosting an amazing holiday-themed Council board meeting and social event at her home in December.
Gratitude to Council's Special Education Representative, Michele Holowachuk, and the Northshore Special Education Rep. team for their work planning and hosting speaker Scott Raub from OSPI at an event on December 9th.
HUGE HOORAYS to Jane Chiodo for stepping up to organize our Reflections Celebration in January! We are thrilled to be able to continue this wonderful event that celebrates our amazing student artists across Northshore!
MANY THANKS to our new Nominating Committee members, Jane Chiodo, Carmin Dalziel, and Tricia Woods, for taking on the important work of recruiting leaders for our 2020-2021 Northshore Council executive team.
GRATITUDE to Nancy Chamberlain, Grace Jurado, Robin McKenzie and Stacey Meyer for presenting at our November meeting and training and sharing their knowledge and experience with attendees.
THANK YOU to Michele Holowachuk and the Northshore Special Education Representatives for their work in organizing the November 19th event featuring presentations on Dyslexia and the Best Buddies program.
THANK YOU to Nancy Chamberlain, Council's co-VP of Advocacy, for representing our Northshore PTAs at the October 28, 2019 school board meeting. Her update included a Legislative Assembly wrap-up wherein she highlighted the strong Northshore PTA/PTSA presence at the event as well as the newly adopted legislative issue submitted by Northshore advocate Austina De Bonte, "Equitable Identification of Highly Capable Students."
GREAT GRATITUDE to all who attended our 2019 Presidents & Principals Luncheon, with a special thank you to our keynote speaker, Julia Gonzalez. We are also grateful to Evergreen Church for the wonderful venue, to Lombardi's Mill Creek for providing the tasty lunch. Many thanks to our Council VP of Events, Carrie McKenzie, for organizing this year's event, and to Council co-Presidents, Grace Jurado and Stacey Meyer, for their work developing and presenting the event program. Read the full event recap and enjoy some photos!
MANY THANKS to Carrie McKenzie, Northshore Council PTSA's VP of Events, for representing our Northshore PTAs at the October 14, 2019 school board meeting.
GRATITUDE to Council Grant Committee Chair Jane Chiodo, as well as committee members, Grace Jurado, Melissa Kline, Amber Rosenquist, and Robin Zaback, for their efforts in reviewing the first round of submissions for this year's Educational Speaker and Event Grant Program. (Be on the lookout for an announcement of grant recipients soon!)
MANY THANKS to the dedicated PTA representatives who attended Council's E-Prep Chair Training event on Friday, October 4th, including Jen Blasi (Moorlands), Yvonne Wren (Woodin), Robyn Sims (Bear Creek/Timbercrest), Carrie Stelzer and Rea Yates (Woodmoor), and Melanie McKenzie (Canyon Creek). Also a shout-out to our Council E-Prep co-Chairs, Tracy Jokisch and Robin McKenzie, and NSD E-Prep Coordinator Clark Combs for planning this learning opportunity!
GREAT GRATITUDE to all of the Northshore PTA/PTSA leaders who attended the Council Fall Training on Monday, September 16th, with a special SHOUT OUT to our class presenters, including Nancy Chamberlain, Carrie McKenzie, Stacey Meyer, and Robin Zaback.
THANK YOU to Council co-President Grace Jurado for representing our Northshore PTAs at the August 26, 2019, school board meeting. She introduced Northshore Council PTSA, recapped some recent events and invited school board members to attend our upcoming meeting.
GRATITUDE to Region 6 co-Directors Tricia Woods and Rebecca Britto, as well as their Service Delivery Team, for hosting a Region 6 Fall Conference in Bothell on August 24, 2019. And MANY THANKS to the many Northshore PTA leaders who made time to attend! It was a wonderful day of learning and networking!
MANY THANKS to Grace Jurado and Robin Zaback for representing our Northshore PTAs at the NSD Back to School Fair on August 16th!
Many thanks to Nancy Chamberlain, Rachel Northquist, and Robin Zaback for serving on Council's 2018-2019 End-of-Year Financial Review Committee!
Gratitude to our Council leaders who took time to attend this year's WSPTA Leadership Conference on August 3rd, including Nancy Chamberlain, Carrie McKenzie, Stacey Meyer, Tricia Woods, and Robin Zaback.

At Northshore Council PTSA's March 18, 2019 General Membership Meeting, vollunteer Sue Freeman was recognized for her many years of dedication and service managing the Northshore Community Kitchen! Pictured (from Left): Northshore Council co-President Grace Jurado, Sue Freeman, Northshore School District Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid, Northshore Council co-President Carrie McKenzie.

Some thanks from the 2018 - 2019 School Year

VERY SPECIAL THANKS...

...to our outgoing Northshore Council PTSA board members, including Rachel Northquist, Tricia Woods, Marcilla Proudfit, Sherry Rudolph, and Mary Khouzam as well as to Sue Freeman, who served as our Northshore Community Kitchen Chair.

In your service with Council, each of you brought a wealth of knowledge, care and dedication to your roles that made a strong impact on Council and our work serving our local PTAs and our community. We are so grateful for your service and wish you all the best in your continued adventures!!!
BIG HOORAYS to Council co-President Carrie McKenzie and E-Prep Chair Robin McKenzie for attending the June 10th school board meeting and presenting on behalf of Northshore PTAs. Carrie shared information about recent Council events, including the Spring Recognition Breakfast, and shared information about our recent Council award recipients and the work of Hollywood Hill PTA and their Artist-in-Residence Program. Then Robin recapped a strong year of e-prep work also recognizing recent E-Prep award recipients.
MANY THANKS to Cindy Jensen, Stacey Meyer, and Sherry Rudolph, Northshore Council leaders who traveled to Columbus, OH to serve as Washington State PTA delegates at the 2019 National PTA Convention.
HUGE HOORAYS to all of the amazing volunteers who made this year's Spring Recognition Breakfast possible (truly, it takes a village!), with special thanks to Council's VP Events Stacey Meyer for her work planning and organizing it all. It was a wonderful event!
MANY THANKS to Cindy Jensen for her work chairing and presenting this year's Council Awards.
THANK YOU to Council co-VP Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain, and PTA member and parent advocate, Corina Pfeil, for speaking on behalf of Northshore PTAs at the May 13, 2019 school board meeting.** Nancy shared information about recent and upcoming events and a legislative update, noting the passage of 16 bills related to WSPTA legislative priorities, and 12 bills related to National and WSPTA resolutions, highlighting the passage of SSB 5689, concerning harassment, intimidation, bullying, and discrimination in public schools, that was signed into law on April 29, 2019. Nancy also thanked the board for their leadership in crafting diversity and gender equity policies and for working to support all students, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, noting that PTA will also continue to advocate for safety and full inclusion in all aspects of schools and community. Corina then noted that PTA stands with all members of our community and thanked the district for its ongoing partnership with PTA and community members, encouraging continued work based on our shared values.
THANK YOU to Nancy Chamberlain, Sue Freeman, Grace Jurado, and Janice Kutzera for leading some awesome leadership training classes at our May Council meeting!
MANY THANKS to Carrie McKenzie for attending the April 22, 2019 school board meeting and presenting on behalf of Northshore PTAs. She shared a number of upcoming events and celebrated the successes of our district's platinum-level membership growth award recipients.
GRATITUDE to Council's VP Events, Stacey Meyer, for her work in planning and organizing a dinner for our Northshore PTA members who attended WSPTA Convention on Friday, April 26th. And many thanks to all who were able to stop by and share a meal!
THANK YOU to our current and incoming Northshore Council leaders who participated in this year's WSPTA Convention, April 26-28, 2019, including: Nancy Chamberlain, Jane Chiodo, Jennifer Drury, Sue Freeman, Grace Jurado, Carrie McKenzie, Robin McKenzie, Stacey Meyer, Sherry Rudolph, Tricia Woods, and Robin Zaback.
HOORAY for the amazing Northshore PTA/PTSA leaders and delegates who attended this year's WSPTA Convention for training, decision-making, and more. Your dedication and service to PTA are greatly appreciated!
GREAT GRATITUDE to Sue Freeman, who organized and managed Northshore Community Kitchen operations on behalf of Northshore Council PTSA, dedicating years of service and care toward the program, its volunteers and those it served.
MANY THANKS to local PTA leaders Jane Chiodo (co-President, Canyon Park PTSA) and Amber Rosenquist (President, Sorenson PTA) for presenting at the 3/18 Council meeting and sharing secrets of their PTAs' ongoing membership success.
HUGE HOORAYS to Council Nominating Committee members, Sue Freeman, Nancy Chamberlain and Stacey Meyer, for their efforts finding and vetting prospective board members. We are so grateful for your work!
THANK YOU to co-President Carrie McKenzie for for speaking on behalf of our Northshore PTSAs at the February 25th school board meeting. She gave shout outs to some local PTAs and shared information about upcoming parent education events.
SHOUT OUT to VP East Melissa Kline for hosting the March 1, 2019, Coffee with Council event.
HUGE HOORAYS to the awesome Northshore advocates, including Corina Pfeil, and Robin Zaback, who have testified in Olympia on behalf of Washington State PTA in support of bills aligned with WSPTA platform issues. (Learn more on the WSPTA blog !)
MANY THANKS to Nancy Chamberlain and Robin Zaback for their work putting together WSPTA awards submissions on behalf of Northshore Council.
THANK YOU to all of our amazing Northshore PTAs/PTSAs that have demonstrated such great flexibility and positivity through all of the crazy weather, school closures and delays in February. It has been awesome to see the many ways our local PTAs are working to be strong resources in their communities-- sharing information, organizing work parties to shovel snow, serving meals, and more! #PTAProud

HUGE HOORAYS to the awesome Northshore advocates, including Nancy Chamberlain, Corina Pfeil, Sherry Rudolph, and Robin Zaback, who have testified in Olympia on behalf of Washington State PTA in support of bills aligned with WSPTA platform issues. (Learn more on the WSPTA blog!)
MANY THANKS to Carrie McKenzie, Tricia Woods, Sherry Rudolph, Nancy Chamberlain, Marcilla Proudfit, Grace Jurado, and Robin McKenzie for speaking on behalf of our Northshore PTSAs at NSD School Board meetings this year.

MANY THANKS to Council E-Prep Chair Robin McKenzie for his ongoing work to educate and advocate for the importance of emergency preparedness! He regularly hosts E-Prep meetings for PTA chairs across Northshore, he speaks at local PTA events and meetings to help educate community members, he is heavily involved with local organizations, and he is very active advocating for improved safety and security with the school district and beyond. In December, the Northshore Emergency Management Coalition awarded Robin the "Volunteer of the Year" award for his grassroots efforts to connect emergency management managers across regions and organizations to increase cooperation. Congratulations, Robin!
GREAT GRATITUDE to this year's Council-level Reflections judges, including Kathy Greisen, Dru Solberg, Karen Oie, Susan Jackson, Erin Young, and Jill Enright, who put in many hours during the busy holiday season to judge all of the pieces. Also a big thank you to the Arts of Kenmore for use of their display panels during the Reflections Celebration event.

THANK YOU to local PTA leaders Jen Moreau-Cook (Woodin PTA) and Denise Needs (Hollywood Hill PTA) for sharing their experiences and ideas at our January 7th meeting. It is so wonderful to be able to learn from each other!
HUGE HOORAYS to Cindy Jensen and Stacey Meyer for planning, organizing and hosting an amazing Reflections Celebration for 270 Northshore student artists on January 12th. And GRATITUDE to the team of wonderful volunteers who helped make it an awesome event!

THANK YOU to Melissa Kline for organizing and facilitating a networking event for Northshore middle school PTA leaders in November.
MANY THANKS to Stacey Meyer for graciously hosting a wonderful holiday gathering for Council board members.

A BIG SHOUT OUT to Reflections Chairs across Northshore. Your job as a Reflections Chair is big and often thankless -- but know you are supporting students who are often never celebrated for their creativity. You are making a difference!!!

THANK YOU to Marcilla Proudfit for organizing and hosting the most recent Coffee with Council event on 11/9 and facilitating some great discussion with local leaders about FACE, fundraising and more.
MANY THANKS to Sue Freeman and Michele Holowachuk for representing Council at a regional Family and Community Engagement (FACE) leadership meeting on 11/14 and working to strengthen our ongoing commitment to connecting with all families.

GREAT GRATITUDE to all who attended the Presidents & Principals Luncheon on November 1st! Special thanks to event organizers Grace Jurado, Carrie McKenzie, and Stacey Meyer, the many volunteers who helped set-up and clean-up, as well as to Bothell High School's Culinary Arts students for preparing a tasty lunch, and featured speakers Jen Hirman and Cristina Marquez.

BIG HOORAYS to ALL of our awesome Northshore PTA/PTSA delegates who attended Legislative Assembly, including Council delegates Carrie McKenzie, Robin McKenzie and Marcilla Proudfit. We are so grateful for your work on updates and additions to our legislative platform and for advocating for all children!

MANY THANKS to Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown for organizing the Candidates Forum on October 1.
THANK YOU to the many volunteers who helped make the Candidates Forum a success, including Michele Holowachuk and her son for set-up, Susie Krost for greeting, Carrie McKenzie for guidance with logistics, Robin McKenzie and his daughter for filming, Rachel Northquist for greeting, Marcilla Proudfit for timekeeping, and Robin Zaback for communications and helping with questions from audience. - submitted by Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown
CHEERS to Marcilla Proudfit for organizing and leading our first Coffee with Council event on October 4.
Much gratitude to Aaron Moreau-Cook for his service with Northshore Council PTSA over the last year as Area VP East. Due to family and career commitments, he has resigned. He will be missed at Council and we wish him all the best for the future.
Many thanks to the Region 6 Service Delivery Team and WSPTA leaders who provided training for Northshore PTA leaders after the general meeting on 9/17, including Sue Freeman, Cindy Jenson, Grace Jurado, Janice Kutzera, Monika Scotti, and Robin Zaback.
Thank you to Council Vice-President Carrie McKenzie for representing Northshore Council and our local PTAs at the NSD School Board meeting on August 27th and for raising awareness about immunizations.
Gratitude to Marcilla Proudfit and Robin Zaback who represented Northshore Council and our local PTAs at the NSD Back-to-School Fair on August 15th!
Many thanks to Rachel Northquist, Tricia Wood and Robin Zaback for serving on Council's End-of-Year Financial Review Committee!

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