 Our community is adapting to the stay-at-home-order, so there is lots going on with PTSA and our District community. The Washington State PTA Convention will be held May 11 – 21st with the Business Meeting on May 16th. Each PTA President should appoint their delegates by April 29th. Over the course of eleven days there will be roughly 35 professional development webinars and networking sessions held and none of them will overlap. The cost is only $60 to attend as many classes as you like. New boards are encouraged to send officers because this counts as the required training for next year. Every board needs at least one officer to take “PTA and the Law” which will only be 90 minutes this year. The membership unanimously elected the slate for 2020 -21 Northshore Council PTSA Executive Board. Congratulations to next year's elected officers:
Council Award nominations are due May 1st. Submit your nominations online. Elizabeth Meza, the Northshore School District (NSD) Director of Family Engagement and English Language Learners Support shared that the Northshore Schools Foundation (NSF) in partnership with the District have collected hundreds of books to share with families since libraries are closed and this is what families have requested. Please contact her at [email protected] if you are interested in donating books, volunteering to organize, or distribute books, or if you have families that you would like to connect to this program. Learn more about the book donation program on the NSF website. The NSF is also partnering with NSD to provide weekend meals and school supplies for families as needed. NSD Partnerships Coordinator, Natalie Campbell, shared that NSD staff are also working on virtual tours of schools for families transitioning to new schools. She also shared dates for a number of upcoming events, including:
The Northshore Schools Foundation is also working on Launch Day 2020 for high school Seniors, only this time it will be virtual and over the course of 3 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They hope to offer sessions in topics such as basic car maintenance, finance, interviewing, cyber-security and personal relationships. Typically, they enlist recent grads to help. If you know any recent grads who are interesting in volunteering, please direct them to this online form. The Council will continue to host Zoom Roundtables every Tuesday at noon. Part of this week’s discussion was PTA budgeting. Local PTAs are urged to budget conservatively for 2020-21 considering fundraising may be down significantly for spring and fall and beyond. Focus on free community-building events. Be mindful of your PTA’s purpose and what is sustainable for your community. Perhaps keep extra money in reserve. Our next General Membership meeting will be June 1, 2020 at 7pm.
Local PTAs may award the following within their local community:
Northshore Council PTSA Awards: Similar to how you celebrate outstanding service in your PTA community, Northshore Council PTSA also celebrates amazing people. Please help us and nominate someone who you feel has made a difference! Award nominations are due by May 1, 2020. To nominate, you can either fill out the online nomination form or email Jane Chiodo. Visit our Council Awards page to learn more about Council awards and past recipients.
 In 2018, about 4.3 million reports were made to child protective services concerning the safety and well-being of approximately 7.8 million children. Last year, an estimated 678,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse or neglect nationwide. School districts are one of our most important partners in keeping children safe. Teachers, counselors, paraeducators and other school staff build strong relationships with students and often are the trusted adults who are able to report suspected abuse and neglect and find help for a child in need. Law Enforcement throughout the nation rely upon our school partners to help us best serve at risk children. However, closures and social distancing efforts in response to COVID-19 have limited mandatory reporters’ access to children and youth, making it harder to detect abuse or neglect and leaving many children at risk. EVERYONE is encouraged to keep an eye out and report concerns about child welfare. Let's continue to come together and protect our children and communities! Washington State PTA is dedicated to the health, safety and welfare of children and youth. Resolution 2.14, Child Abuse Prevention Supports explicitly addresses its resolve to provide voice, advocacy and resources toward necessary services and resources to support and educate families and communities about child abuse prevention. Resources:
  Please join us for a special general membership meeting on Monday, April 20th at 700pm via Zoom. At this special meeting, we will be electing officers for 2020-2021. With self-nominations closed, the 2019-2020 Nominating Committee presents the final slate of candidates for the 2020-2021 year:
Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives-- but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. This is a great opportunity to connect with Council and local PTA/PTSA leaders as we work to support one another by asking questions, discussing challenges and sharing ideas. Topic: Northshore Council PTSA General Meeting Time: Apr 20, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/621990455?pwd=RytpUGdLSXA0cUMxQTVZTXpXVlJUQT09 Meeting ID: 621 990 455 Password: available upon request One tap mobile +16699009128,,621990455# US (San Jose) +13462487799,,621990455# US (Houston) Dial by your location +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US Meeting ID: 621 990 455 Password: 019838 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abIsmu6rb We look forward to seeing you there! If you have questions, please contact President Grace Jurado.
The submission process is now open!
Legislative issue submission title and short description due Friday, May 1, 2020. Resolution title and draft (for new and amended resolutions) due Friday, May 1, 2020. Completed proposal forms for issues, resolutions and legislative principles are due Monday, June 1, 2020. To assist you in the process, WSPTA has developed a series of four videos, "The Savvy Submitter's Guide to Issues, Resolutions, and Principles," to walk you through the required steps: The current legislative issue platform will be replaced at the 2020 Legislative Assembly in October 2020. Members will adopt a new Top 5 platform including the additional issues that will comprise the "also supported" list. Questions about submitting or about advocacy? Contact Northshore Council PTSA's co-VPs of Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown.
The Council is also currently taking nominations for Awards including Outstanding Educator, Outstanding Advocate, Outstanding Student Advocate, Golden Acorn and Honorary Life Member. It is important to continue honoring people even if the celebration and recognition will have to be different this year. We’re looking for creative new ways to do this virtually or at a safe physical distance. District Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell reported that the district continues to offer, food, childcare, and devices for families. Please go to nsd.org as things change regularly according to needs and conditions. Natalie has also put together a page of community resources for employment, food, health and wellness. Live Stream Cabinet Meetings are now at 8 am weekdays. Carmin Dalziel, Executive Director of the Northshore Schools Foudnation, shared that the Foundation canceled its big fundraiser and is accepting donations to focus solely on the Community and District Response Fund which is currently funding gaps in childcare. NSF also has a Basic Need Aid grant for $200 for groceries. School principals are able to nominate a family for this grant. See the NSF website for information on their Children's Book Drive. PTSA will continue to host Roundtables on Zoom every Tuesday at Noon to discuss the needs and ideas of local PTAs. Local PTAs should consider getting a Post Office box as the district may decide to stop allowing PTA mail to be delivered to schools. It is an old policy that may be enforced next year. Finally, PTAs need to adopt a new budget for next year and elect next year’s officers. In order to hold elections, PTAs must vote to amend the standing rules to allow for electronic voting (if there are not already provisions for doing so). Also, it would be a great idea to start thinking about creative ways to celebrate Staff Appreciation Week in May.
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Northshore Council PTSA is a welcoming organization that works to support our local PTAs and serve the children and youth of our community through advocacy, collaboration, education, engagement, leadership, and mentorship.