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.
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​​Showing Our Appreciation during the 2023-2024 School Year 
  • KUDOS to Council VPs of Support, Diana Christiansen and Jennifer Drury. They have been busy supporting our local leaders with start of the year questions. Come meet Diana and Jennifer tomorrow, September 12, at Miner's Corner at our first of two Back to School PTA Leaders Meetups. 
  • ​MANY THANKS to the Council Budget Committee Brenae Brix, Rachel Fitzgerald, Mary Khouzam, Melissa Kline, and Serena Xu for all of your hard work in helping create the new Council budget will be presented and voted on at the September General Membership Meeting.
  • THREE CHEERS to Brenae Brix, Diana Christiansen, Angela Dawson, Terra Droney, Cherry Holmes, Laura Staneff and local leaders for attending WSPTA's Autumn Leadership Launch on August 25 and 26 to strengthen their leadership skills for the upcoming school year. 
  • SHOUT OUT to Terra Droney for giving the Council Report at the August 14th School Board Meeting and updating them on the latest Council and local PTA/PTSA happenings. 
  • GRATITUDE to Melissa Bennett, Rachel Fitzgerald, Riley Fitzgerald, and Jenn Snyder for promoting the value of PTA, membership, and voter registration at the NSD Back to School Resource Fair on August 10th. Several families joined their local PTA that day and many more were interested in connecting with their school's PTA - so make sure your website & online join link is updated for this year.
  • SHOUTOUT to Council's National PTA Convention Delegates Jane Chiodo, Angela Dawson, Rachel Fitzgerald, Holly Muenchow, and Liz Wong who represented WSPTA at National Convention. Read more about the resolutions that were voted on during the 2023 Convention. 
    MANY THANKS to Melissa Bennett for hosting Council's Summer Retreat and to Council leaders for taking time during the summer to start preparing for the upcoming year.
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to our Year End Financial Review Committee members Brenae Brix, Diana Christiansen, and Melissa Kline. And SPECIAL THANKS to Serena Xu for finalizing all the financials and having it organized and ready for the review. 
  • THREE CHEERS to Terra Droney & Holly Muenchow for organizing and hosting the Northshore School Board Candidates Meet and Greet over the summer to help voters get a chance to talk with the candidates prior to voting in the primary election. Look for information coming soon about an upcoming candidate forum being held before the November election. ​
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​Showing Our Appreciation during the 2022-2023 School Year
  • GRATITUDE to our outgoing Northshore Council PTSA board members Melissa Kline, Mary Khouzam, Pauline Wray, and Serena Xu. Your thoughtful leadership, knowledge, and dedication has been invaluable to helping us fulfill our mission in serving the children and youth in our community each year.
  • HATS OFF to Kim Ortiz, Council's Membership Chair who supported our local PTAs membership efforts this past year. Membership across Northshore PTAs topped last year!
    MUCH APPRECIATION to 2023 Council Awards Committee members Grace Jurado and Melissa Kline for their work reviewing nominations and selecting recipients to be recognized at this year's award winners during our Spring Recognition Brunch tomorrow.
  • SPECIAL SHOUTOUT to Rachel Fitzgerald for speaking to the school board on behalf of Northshore PTAs during public comments on May 22, 2023. Rachel shared how PTAs across Northshore need volunteers. You can listen to Rachel's comments to the board. (Rachel's comments begin at 23:40). 
    KUDOS to Brenae Brix, Jennifer Drury, Rachel Fitzgerald, Mary Khouzam, and Claudine Miller for reviewing the eNews before it was published this year. Your time and extra set of eyes has been very appreciated. 
  • THREE CHEERS to everyone on Northshore Council PTSA Board who jumped in and helped plan the Spring Recognition Brunch. Without a VP of Events this year it was all hands on deck to make this a successful event tomorrow.
    ​ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Jennifer Drury for serving as VP of Advocacy. We are grateful for your voice and your support of Northshore PTAs' advocacy efforts.
  • SPECIAL THANKS to Brenae Brix and Diana Christiansen for supporting our elementary and secondary PTAs this year. This year has been a challenging year and your support and knowledge helped PTAs fulfill their missions and goals.
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to Jenn Snyder for organizing and putting together the NSD Staff Appreciation video earlier this month! And THANK YOU to everyone who sent in messages to be included in the video. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, its available on our blog.
  • KUDOS to Brenae Brix for organizing a parent education for high school families at our May membership meeting. The Community & Technical Colleges: Preparing Students for their Future presentation was well attended and provided some valuable information to families. 
  • THREE CHEERS to Rachel Fitzgerald and Jenn Snyder for submitting applications to WSPTA Awards of Excellence. SHOUT OUT to Northshore Council PTSA leaders as we were awarded gold level awards for Standards of Excellence, Outstanding Communication, Outstanding Newsletter, and Outstanding Website. Learn more about WSPTA Awards and how you can submit your PTA for next year. 
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to Cherry Holmes for organizing a panel discussion on race and equity in the Northshore community which featured student voices as well as educators and administrators. 
  • SPECIAL THANKS to Terra Droney, Cherry Holmes, and Claudine Miller for representing Northshore Council PTSA as delegates at the WSPTA Annual Business Meeting.
  • ​SHOUT OUT to our current and incoming Northshore Council leaders Brenae Brix, Diana Christiansen, Terra Droney, Jennifer Drury, Rachel Fitzgerald, Anna Jensen, Holly Muenchow, and Laura Staneff, who participated in this year's WSPTA Spring Training Conference over this past weekend where they received valuable training, networked with PTA leaders from across Washington state, and celebrated PTA and this past year's achievements. 
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to Anna Jensen & Laura Staneff for their continued advocacy this year for Special Education. They have connected the local PTA Special Education Representatives through regular meetings and a Facebook group and opened the lines of communication by meeting regularly with district staff. 
  • MANY THANKS to Robin McKenzie for his continued work supporting Emergency Preparedness across our district. He meets monthly with our local PTA E-Prep Chairs and with members of Northshore School District's safety and security team.
  • SHOUT OUT to our Treasurer, Serena Xu, for always keeping our accounting organized and supporting our local PTA treasurers when they have questions. 
  • THANK YOU to our hardworking Nominating Committee Jane Chiodo, Cherry Holmes, and Laura Staneff for putting together the slate of candidates which were elected at our March 20, 2023 General Membership Meeting!
  • 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.
    ​KUDOS to Diana Christiansen for organizing Donut Forget - to Complete Your SOA Contest for local PTAs.
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to our 2022-2023 Grants Committee, Grace Jurado, Mary Khouzam, Melissa Kline, Pauline Wray, and Serena Xu who helped connect our local PTAs with funding bring educational speakers to the community. Learn more about the grant program.
  • VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Brenae Brix, Jane Chiodo, Diana Christiansen, Terra Droney, Jennifer Drury, Rachel Fitzgerald, Jasmine Lee Fry, Anna Jensen, Grace Jurado, Melissa Kline, Holly Muenchow, Liz Nord, Jenn Snyder for spending a morning at the NSD Superintendent Focus Group and providing thoughtful feedback on the three Superintendent candidates last week.
  • KUDOS to all the local PTA & Council leaders who attended Region 6 Spring Training Conference in order to strengthen their PTA knowledge and better serve their communities.
  • THANK YOU to Jenn Snyder who has been going all out on communications to keep us all in the know. She has helped to create graphics and promote a variety of PTA programs and district events including, but not limited to parent education, the superintendent town hall, meetings, and trainings.
  • SHOUT OUT to all Northshore PTA advocates that participated in virtual meetings with local legislators and responded to Action Alerts for Focus on Advocacy Week.
  • SPECIAL THANKS to Cherry Holmes, Rachel Fitzgerald, Interim Superintendent Mike Tolley, School Board Director Sandy Hayes, local PTA advocates, and student advocates for going to Olympia and meeting with legislators for Focus on Advocacy Day. 
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to Jennifer Drury for organizing in-person and virtual meetings with our legislators and for all her work leading up to the Focus on Advocacy events. 
  • KUDOS to Rachel Fitzgerald, Claudine Miller, Kim Ortiz, and Jenn Snyder for attending WSPTA's first Council Summit of 2023. It was a great opportunity to share feedback and collaborate with other local Council leaders. 
  • THANK YOU to this year's Council level judges Greg Fry, Oceana Dunsire, Colleen Robson, Kali Robson, Amanda Rice and especially our student judges, Amelie F., Joyin A., Evelyn L., and Meagan M., from Woodinville High School. 
  • A HUGE SHOUT OUT out to all our Northshore PTAs/PTSAs Reflections Chairs for running your programs and celebrating student artists!
  • MANY THANKS to Council Reflections Chair, Jasmine Lee Fry, for organizing this year's Reflections program, and supporting our local Reflections Chairs.
  • MUCH GRATITUDE to our Mental Health Committee Members, Carrie Aull, Melissa Kline, and Pauline Wray for their work and providing relevant articles to our community on the topic of mental health. 
  • ​SHOUT OUT to our mid-year Financial Review Committee members Diana Christiansen, Melissa Kline, and Laura Staneff for reviewing our financials and providing your valuable feedback. And THANKS to Serena Xu for having the financials organized and ready for the committee to review. 
  • APPRECIATION to Brenae Brix for her collaboration with Northshore School District staff in bringing the first Virtual College and Career Fair to the Northshore community.  
  • ROUND OF APPLAUSE to Jane Chiodo, Cherry Holmes, and Laura Staneff for being elected to our Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is responsible for presenting the best-qualified candidates to serve as the elected officers who will lead Northshore Council PTSA in 2023-2024. Learn more about electing a Nominating Committee for your PTA at an upcoming WSPTA training, Nominating Committee: Why it is important and how it works on February 03. Looking to get involved with Council next year? Email ​nomcom@northshorecouncilptsa.org.
  • KUDOS to Jennifer Drury for attending the Northshore School District School Board meeting on behalf of the Council for National School Board Appreciation Month. Jennifer expressed MUCH APPRECIATION to our elected School Board Directors for their commitment and service to our community.
  • MUCH APPRECIATION to Brenae Brix, Rachel Fitzgerald, Anna Jensen, Mary Khouzam, Jenn Snyder, and Laura Staneff for participating in the Superintendent Search Focus Group. MUCH GRATITUDE to the Council members who were not able to attend, but submitted feedback to be shared with the recruiting firm. There's still an opportunity to participate in a Town Hall on January 10 at Northshore Middle School's Library.   
  • SHOUT OUT to Laura Staneff for attending the December 12 School Board meeting and presenting a report on what our local PTAs are doing at their schools.
  • MANY THANKS to Director Amy Cast for serving as our School Board/PTSA liaison and attending Council meetings this past year. We look forward to having Director Bob Swain as our new School Board/PTSA liaison. Council is very appreciative of our partnership with the School Board. 
  • KUDOS to all the local PTA Reflections Chairs who submitted students' artwork to Council. Stay tuned for Reflections results and which students' artwork moves on to the state level. 
  • 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.
Read Thank You's from 2018 - 2022.
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At Northshore Council PTSA's March 18, 2019 General Membership Meeting, volunteer 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.
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