​Outstanding Educator Award
​The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging.
Northshore Council PTSA’s Outstanding Educator this year goes to Renee Nicholas from Frank Love Elementary.
Renee teaches with passion, competency and empathy. During covid she routinely drove to students’ homes to leave off supplies and little gifts, building a beautiful connection with kids even when they could not be in person, remembering their siblings too. Thoughtful is an under exaggeration when it comes to describe Renee, she is loving, kind, caring and a true mentor for her students. When it comes to giving positive encouragement, I am amazed how she does it even when kids can have 'bumps' as she describes. Renee has been known to write 3-page letters for multiple students’ reports detailing their strengths, accomplishments and positive supportive feedback. She is truly exceptional. She has been teaching at Frank Love Elementary School since it opened and has trained many staff and administrators to be successful in their roles. Even in her last few weeks of school she is all in, guiding students to do their best academically and socially. She truly believes in helping kids be the best version of themselves.
Three words to describe her are exceptional, dedicated and patient.
Congratulations, ​Renee!

Outstanding Educator Award
Our second Outstanding Educator award goes to a teacher nominated for his exceptional work as a music educator. The learning environment he has created is second to none, he has a magnetic personality and is a teacher extraordinaire, which shows in every way possible but especially in the way that the students look up to and respect him while they work hard for their common goal of creating a great music experience. This teacher instills confidence in his students and empowers them to explore their passion and to expand their skills under his thoughtful guidance and encouragement. He is the kind of teacher which some of us are lucky enough to encounter in our formative school years and later will recognize and think of as the one teacher that truly made a difference for our growth and willingness to do our very best. He enables a safe, respectful, supportive and highly productive learning environment, goes the extra mile in class, during concert performances and in giving all students opportunities to showcase their talents. This teacher doesn’t just rock his job during the school day, but he comes to school early to teach jazz band before school starts and the students willingly show up at school at 7 am to spend time learning from and with him because they see the potential in what comes of this kind of respectful and giving student-teacher relationship.
Three words to describe this person are dedicated, impactful, and cherished by his students.
Our second Outstanding Educator Award goes to Cole Van Gerpen of Canyon Park Middle School. Congratulations!

Outstanding Student Advocate Award
The Outstanding Student Advocate Award recognizes students who have made significant contributions through leadership and service in their school and community.
Our recipient of this award this year has been involved in ASB the past few years, but her advocacy goes beyond work in student government. This student was also actively involved in advocating for youth mental health the past few years, having written a book on the subject, created “Emotion” cards and hosted Mental Health fairs. This student is currently partnering with the Northshore School District on the Mental Health projects, one of which is the launch of Nexus, an online platform that provides self-support to students using vetted strategies and peer talks, available 24/7 to all NSD students.
Three words to describe this student are good-hearted, ambitious, well-meaning.
Our Outstanding Student Advocate this year is Taanvi Arekapudi. Congratulations!

Golden Acorn Award 
The Golden Acorn Award is presented to a Northshore Council PTSA volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth. This year’s recipient has been involved in local PTAs at all levels, as well as Council. She is also involved with and supports local community organizations. In addition to her role on Council she frequently volunteers for committees and puts a lot of time into events such as Spring Recognition and the Presidents and Principals event. She is always willing to lend a hand when someone needs a graphic or flyer or tech help. Her work on Council directly resulted in at least two of the awards Council received from WSPTA last month. As if putting out a bi-weekly newsletter wasn’t already a lot for a volunteer position, imagine how un-fun that must be when people constantly forget to send her material for the newsletter despite her very clear communication of deadlines :P. Our community has benefited from her work as she is constantly finding resources, parent education classes, and community events to share about in our communications. As the VP of Communications, she not only creates and publishes our newsletter, but also manages our website and social media accounts. She is a Communications Rock Star.
Three words that describe this person are dependable, creative, and knowledgeable
This year’s recipient of the Golden Acorn award from Northshore Council PTSA is Jennifer Snyder. ​Congratulations!

Honorary Life Membership Award​
The Honorary Life Membership Award recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to a PTA at the local unit, council, or state level.
This year’s recipient of the Honorary Life Membership Award has served at every local level of PTA, in addition to her four years on Council and two years at the Region level. She can be seen at almost every Council event, and frequently volunteers for various committees. She has been a wonderful resource to our PTAs, willing to jump in and support new Presidents in their roles. If she doesn’t have the answer to a question, she will find an answer for people. In her first Council position, she stepped into giant shoes to fill, as the previous VP of Communications had set a high bar. This person raised the bar. She is always so thorough, well-organized and knowledgeable in her communications. In her current role as Council President, this person has brought a lot of energy to Council meetings and events. She also strives to ensure that all perspectives are heard and understood before moving on to a vote. She has challenged Northshore Council board members to look at additional ways we can serve our local PTAs, as well as gathering resources and information from not only PTA sources, but also from the district and the community. Under this person’s leadership, Northshore Council PTSA recently received the Outstanding PTA of the Year award from Washington State PTA.
Three words to describe this person are energetic, knowledgeable, and motivating.
This year’s recipient of Honorary Life Membership Award from Northshore Council PTSA is Rachel Fitzgerald. Congratulations!​

Outstanding Advocate Award
Northshore Council PTSA’s Outstanding Advocate this year is Terra Droney. The Outstanding Advocate Award honors individuals for their continued and dedicated service to ALL children demonstrating a commitment to speaking up for children in the areas relating to health, welfare, safety, and education of children and youth. Terra has had a district-wide reach in their advocacy this year. She was a founding member of the NSEC PTSA, serving as Co-President in its inaugural year. She also does a lot of work with the Nourishing Networks organization to build connections with NSD to combat food insecurity, as well as advocated in the community for affordable housing and other supports to those in need. In her role as Co-VP of Advocacy for Council, this person further supported our community by helping to organize the Candidate Forum and Focus Day.
Three words to describe this person are committed, involved, and compassionate.
Congratulations, Terra!

,Outstanding Service Award
The Outstanding Service Award is the highest volunteer award given by the Washington State PTA. It is awarded to someone who has gone beyond his or her own school community, job, or PTA in order to give dedicated volunteer service to children.
This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Service Award has been very involved in PTA and Booster groups at their children’s school and has served on NSD task forces for Student Safety and Wellness as well as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, but what she is most known for is her desire to help students and families with disabilities. After spending a couple years as the Special Ed Representative/Liaison on Council, this person saw a bigger way that she could help students with disabilities and their families. She was the driving force of getting the NSEC PTSA chartered and has spent a lot of time to make sure that this new PTSA is set up for success both as a PTSA and as a resource to help families and students who need it. She has established a connection with district administration (especially with those who oversee Special Education services), and has set up monthly meetings (starting over 2 years ago) with the current administrator in charge of Special Education to better understand district plans for serving Special Education students, and to act as a communication bridge between the district and families concerning policies and procedures, etc. While this person may seem soft spoken, she is an outstanding advocate who has given countless hours to help make a better Northshore community for our students.
Three words to describe this person are dedicated, determined and effective.
Northshore Council PTSA’s 2024 Outstanding Service Award recipient is Laura Staneff. ​Congratulations!

Does your PTA give out a Golden Acorn award? Maybe an Outstanding Educator, or an Outstanding Advocate award? Or more? Please share with us this year's recipient(s) by completing this form. 
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We would like to create a list of all of our local PTA award winners to share with the community. These volunteers deserve to be celebrated!!!

If possible, please let us know your award winners by Friday, May 31st so they can be celebrated in our last eNews of the school year! 

Questions? Contact Jenn Snyder at [email protected].

​​​We all know people within our community who give a little extra, work a little harder, and who are always volunteering!

​Now YOU can help us recognize these people by nominating them for a Northshore Council PTSA Recognition Award!

Outstanding Advocate - Amelie Fry
​The Outstanding Student Advocate Award recognizes students who have made significant contributions through leadership and service in their school and community. Northshore Council PTSA’s 2023 Outstanding Student Advocate is Amelie Fry. Amelie has served on Northshore School District’s student board for three years, organized voter registration drives and worked hard to get youth involved in local politics. She has also been in attendance at several School Board meetings, even getting up to speak at some—not an easy task for a teenager to do these days. Amelie has worked with Northshore Council’s mental health and DEI committees, recently presenting at Council’s RARE event. She is also passionate about the arts, having participated in Council’s Reflections program, both as a contestant and for two years as a volunteer judge. This student is dedicated to helping others. Congratulations, Amelie!
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Outstanding Service - Kelly Hennessey
The Outstanding Service Award is the highest volunteer award given by the Washington State PTA. It is awarded to someone who has gone beyond his or her own school community, job, or PTA in order to give dedicated volunteer service to children. This year, the Outstanding Service Award was presented to Kelly Hennessey. Like many other PTA volunteers, Kelly balances a career and family with volunteer work on her local PTA boards as well as other youth sports boards, and does an amazing job in those roles alone. However, there is another role Kelly occupies that has had a major impact on families across the district. For several years, she has been the driving force behind Threads and Treads, a free clothing bank for families in the Northshore School District. Her time is not limited to looking for grants or setting up clothing donation drives; she also coordinates a core group of adult volunteers and organizes youth volunteers throughout the school year to provide a space for students and their families to come “shop” for clothing. The environment she has created has helped families feel welcome and relaxed, it provides a space where people not only shop for clothes but also feel part of a community. Congratulations, Kelly!

​Outstanding Advocate - Juliana Fisher
The Outstanding Advocate Award honors individuals for their continued and dedicated service to ALL children demonstrating a commitment to speaking up for children in the areas relating to health, welfare, safety, and education of children and youth. Northshore Council PTSA’s 2023 Outstanding Advocate is Juliana Fisher, Northshore School District’s Director of Food Services. Juliana has seen firsthand the benefits of the free lunch for all program last school year for Northshore students and has advocated in Olympia for increased funding. She has also worked to create more varied communication of school lunch menus, including social media and a visual menu that makes the menu more accessible to elementary students and students with disabilities. In addition to her work behind the scenes, Juliana has presented at local PTAs as well as Council to help educate families, provide resources and talk about current legislation in Washington state related to school meals. Congratulations, Juliana!​

Golden Acorn - Mary Khouzam
The Golden Acorn Award is presented to a Northshore Council PTSA volunteer in recognition of their dedication and service to children and youth. This year's Golden Acorn was presented to Mary Khouzam. The Nominators’ words to describe Mary include compassionate, dedicated, professional and inspiring. Mary has been a staple on the boards of many local PTAs over the years, as well as on Northshore Council PTSA’s board the past three years. She frequently volunteers to be on committees, asking balanced questions and bringing up a fresh perspective to make sure all angles are considered. Mary has created subcommittees to work on proposals put before Council, looking first for perspective or background on the issue at hand and then holding productive, task-based meetings to keep things on point. This year, with no VP of Events, Mary  stepped in to ensure that Council could put on two major events in person for the first time in three years. Congratulations, Mary!

​Outstanding Educator - Cheryl Klemz
The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial, and challenging. One of two Outstanding Educator Awards was presented to Cheryl Klemz of Canyon Park Middle School. Cheryl has been teaching secondary school in the Northshore School District for 20 years. She is well-respected by their fellow staff members, having served on several school committees including SDLT, Climate and Culture Committee and more. Cheryl has created a classroom environment where all students feel welcome to share their talents and ideas without ridicule or judgement. Her classroom is a safe space for middle school students to be themselves, with many opting to hang out there during lunch time to hang out, be silly or just to connect with her. Perhaps the best way to summarize her impact is in the words of current and past students. “She is an engaging and enthusiastic teacher. She always told stories and her love of drama made me and others love drama. She was always aware of the students and would pull in anyone who was off by themselves. She let me be myself.” “She is so fun and outgoing! She makes acting on stage so interactive and I never feel anxious with her there!” “She is a truly amazing teacher! Not only does she put up with rowdy middle schoolers but she instructs them and guides them to create fully fledged productions. She inspires and empowers her students to work hard and explore their talents. She wants everyone to get their chance to shine, so much so that she goes through the trouble of managing not one but sometimes more than six different casts for a single show!” Congratulations, Cheryl!  

Outstanding Educator - Christy Lipke
The Outstanding Educator Award honors individuals who go beyond the normal expectations of their jobs to make the learning environment fun, beneficial and challenging. Northshore Council PTSA’s Outstanding Educator Award was also given to Christy Lipke of Woodin Elementary. Christy has been teaching in the Northshore School District for several years. She teaches our youngest learners and creates an experience for these students and their families that welcomes and includes all of them into the school community as well as fosters a love of learning. She utilizes several different communication tools to create a bridge from school to home where everyone feels connected, informed and equipped to help students succeed. Visitors to her kindergarten classroom note that the students are engaged, learning continuously, and are genuinely loved by their teacher. Christy's commitment to her students does not end at the classroom door. She also is active in the school’s PTA, can be seen helping at PTA events, has served as the PTA’s staff liaison and has personally recruited her kindergarten parents involved in PTA leadership. Three words to describe her as a teacher are caring, fun, and dedicated. Congratulations, Christy!