Join us this Wednesday, March 11th at 7pm for an online discussion about PTAs and Coronavirus: How to Deal. We want to bring Northshore PTA leaders together to share ideas and innovations, ask questions and voice concerns, and work together to find ways to better serve our school communities (and beyond!) through the COVID-19 crisis. Let's support each other! Did you miss this online roundtable? Listen to the audio recording of the 3/11 discussion on Soundcloud. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/597074496?pwd=ZGR1eDRLWU1vUkphVUM2RHEvM1FaUT09 Meeting ID: 597 074 496 Password: 531283 One tap mobile +16699009128,,597074496# US (San Jose) +16465588656,,597074496# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 597 074 496 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abIsmu6rb If you have questions or suggested topics you would like to see addressed in the discussion, email Grace Jurado. We hope to see you there!
The March 16 General Membership Meeting is cancelled. We will postpone the election of next year's PTSA board until our next general meeting on May 18th. Thank you for your understanding!
The March 16 General Membership Meeting is cancelled. We will postpone the election of next year's PTSA board until our next general meeting on May 18th. Thank you for your understanding! Mark your calendars for our next Northshore Council PTSA General Membership Meeting on Monday, March 16th at the NSD Admin Building. We'll be hosting a meet and greet starting at 6:30pm and the meeting will begin at 7pm. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives-- but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. In addition to all of the normal updates and information sharing, we'll also be electing our 2020-2021 Executive Board! We hope you join us! Questions? Contact President Grace Jurado.
At the January 23, 2020 Northshore Council PTSA Membership meeting, local PTA leaders, school district representatives and community leaders were in attendance. The first part of the meeting focused on PTSA business and updates, including review of minutes and finances and a membership update. Local PTAs were encouraged to participate in the Washington State PTA Membership Contest through February 14th. PTAs simply need to keep adding in new members. Each PTA which reaches a minimum threshold (on average 5 new members) will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card. Our current Council Goal is 8400 members. We currently have 7392. School Board Director McGourty shared that at a Roundtable Event with students and U.S. Representative del Bene there was discussion about the relevance of the SBAC exam, funding school programs that are fee-based like summer music programs and mental health programs for students. Sue Freeman of Northshore Nourishing Networks invited people to visit their website and Facebook page to find resources for feeding our communities like “How to Start Your Own Foodbank” and the new Hopelink Mobile Foodbank. District Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell shared information about upcoming events, including a district-sponsored presentation and discussion of the film, "Never Alone," noting that though tickets were sold out, they had started a waitlist. Northshore Council PTSA's Nominating Committee is still taking recommendations for Executive Committee for 2020-21. Visit the website for more information. The Reflections Celebration on January 11 was a big success with 27 PTAs participating and great turn-out at the reception. We had 67 state qualifiers and 54 pieces received Judges Choice. The Leota Staff were very welcoming and helpful. At Washington State PTA Focus Day in Olympia on January 20, a group of Northshore PTA members met with nine of the legislators who represent our school district to encourage them to support our PTA priorities. Please subscribe to the WSPTA Action Network (linked on the Advocacy Page of WSPTA's website). There will be an Advocacy Week with a writing campaign, February 24-28. The Council has awarded the rest of the budgeted grant money for the year to Kenmore Middle School for Artspring, Kenmore Elementary PTA for a screening of Angst, Inglemoor PTSA for “Top Three Parenting Hacks to Help Your Teen Manage Emotions” and Bothell PTSA for “Diversity Night”. There will be more funds available next year! The meeting concluded with an overview of the 2020 Census by representatives of the U. S. Census bureau. Please join us at our next General Membership Meeting on
March 16, 2020 at the NSD Admin Building at 7pm! Mark your calendars for the first Northshore Council PTSA General Meetings of the new year on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at the NSD Administration Building. The evening will start with a Meet & Greet beginning at 6:30pm followed by the official Call to Order at 7:00pm. At our January meeting, we'll be joined by a representative from the U.S. Census who will be sharing information about the importance of the census count. In addition, we will be hosting a special roundtable discussion about website options! Is your PTA in the market for a new web platform? Or perhaps you just want to explore some of the available options? Please join us-- bring your website questions and let's talk! Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. We look forward to seeing you there! Questions? Please contact Council co-President Grace Jurado.
We are grateful to all who were able to attend our General Membership Meeting on Monday, November 18, 2019. News of interest from the November 18th PTSA General Meeting included Dr. Reid’s report that the innovation lab high school located in Canyon Park will open next fall. Peter Schurke is the planning principal and registration will likely coincide with that for Northshore’s other high schools. Also, EAP Placement sites should be announced the week of November 25th. Northshore Schools Foundation is partnering with NSD for Hour of Code again this year, December 9 – 16, with activities for families and awards for participation. NSD Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell reported that the district is partnering with local PTAs to bring the Northwest Art Project, a tour which includes eight original works of Northwest artists and supporting curriculum, to twice as many schools as last year. Reflections Entries are due by November 26. Cindy Jensen will be collecting pieces at the Starbucks by Kenmore Lanes November 25 and 26th from 7 – 8:30pm. Council's co-VP of Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain, gave a brief summary on Washington State PTA's Legislative Assembly (October 26-27, 2019), noting that delegates adopted Family and Community Engagement as a new principal as well as four new Resolutions including: the Vital Impact of Membership on PTAs Sustainability, Mission-Focused Fundraising, Equitable Education Opportunities to Close Gaps Across the Achievement Spectrum, and Gun Violence Prevention and Safety. She urges all members to sign up for Advocacy Action Alerts and to mark calendars for Focus Day in Olympia on January 20, 2020. Kids are welcome! Sign up for free Focus Day transportation to Olympia with Council. During the Emergency Preparedness Presentation, Council's E-Prep co-Chair, Robin McKenzie, urged families to make sure their contact information is correct in ParentVue, develop an emergency plan at home, and sign-up for King County/Snohomish County Alerts. He suggested PTAs engage with their school on the Reunification Process plan. He noted that the District will be doing a Reunification Exercise in March. The Council also approved new goals, elected a Nominating Committee (many thanks to Jane Chiodo, Carmin Dalziel, and Tricia Woods for serving on the committee!), celebrated our 6840 members and discussed ways to boost membership. We are also thrilled to report that Tricia Woods has decided to continue on as our Treasurer. (Note: we are still seeking interested candidates to serve in other key roles, including VP of Events and Membership Chair. Contact Grace Jurado if you would like to learn more!) After the meeting adjourned, members could choose between four training class options including: ✔️ Lining Up Your Leaders: How to Have a Successful Nominating Committee and Election ✔️ How to Use WSPTA Positions for Local Advocacy ✔️ Keep Your A$$ets Out of Trouble: Managing a Non-Profit ✔️ Emergency Preparedness: What Your PTA Needs to Know Many thanks to Stacey Meyer, Nancy Chamberlain, Grace Jurado and Robin McKenzie for leading the classes and sharing their knowledge and experience with attendees. The next General Membership meeting will be January 23, 2020 at the NSD Administration Building. Meet and Greet at 6:30 pm. Call to order at 7pm. We hope you will join us!
Please join us at our next Northshore Council PTSA General Membership meeting on Monday, November 18th at the Northshore School District Administration Building. There will be a meet and greet at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. We will be electing a Nominating Committee, hear from district and community leaders, and there will be a special presentation from Council E-Prep Chair Robin McKenzie about emergency preparedness. Beginning at 8:00 p.m., we will also be offering some awesome training opportunities for our Northshore PTAs, including: ✔️ Lining Up Your Leaders: How to Have a Successful Nominating Committee and Election ✔️ How to Use WSPTA Positions for Local Advocacy ✔️ Keep Your A$$ets Out of Trouble: Managing a Non-Profit ✔️ Emergency Preparedness: What Your PTA Needs to Know The training is open to officers, board members, committee chairs and interested PTA/PTSA members. We really hope that each Northshore PTA will send at least one representative to the meeting. But ALL are welcome. We'd love to have more PTA voices from across our district in attendance! We look forward to seeing you there!!! Questions? Contact Grace Jurado & Stacey Meyer.
Northshore Council PTSA held its first general meeting of the 2019-2020 on Monday, September 16, 2019 at the NSD Administration Building. Co-Presidents Grace Jurado and Stacey Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and took a few moments to introduce this year's Council board members before diving into the agenda. Council business included a review of the minutes from the May meeting, updating Council's Standing Rules for 2019-2020 (link available soon!) and a review of the end-of-year financial report for 2018-2019 as well as financial reports from July and August. Vice-President Jane Chiodo encouraged local PTAs to apply for an Educational Speaker and Event Grant (the first application deadline is coming up on October 11th!). Cindy Jensen, our Council Reflections Chair, then spoke briefly about the Reflections program and the value of sharing this opportunity in our local PTAs that encourages students to express themselves creatively through this national arts recognition program. Co-VP of Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain, took some time to promote the upcoming WSPTA Legislative Assembly, taking place October 26-27 at Bellevue College. Then the floor was opened for nominations for the Council Treasurer position, but there were no takers. We are grateful to Tricia Woods for continuing to serve in the role as we work to find a new Treasurer (contact Grace Jurado and Stacey Meyer if you are interested in learning more). We also heard from district leaders, including School Board Director Jackie McGourty and NSD Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell, each of whom shared information, updates and answered questions about recent projects and current initiatives. The last part of the meeting was focused on outreach and advocacy. Kelly Hennessey is the Coordinator of Threads & Treads, a clothing resource for Northshore families that is operated by Canyon Park Middle School PTSA. She came forward to share information about the work they are doing to serve the community and asked for the support of Northshore PTAs as they work to expand their outreach to include Saturday hours. An exciting moment came as Northshore Schools Foundation (NSDF) Executive Director Carmin Dalziel committed the foundation's financial support to help ensure those Saturday hours through the end of the school year! Thank you NSDF!!! Finally, the membership of Northshore Council PTSA voted to adopt a Furniture Tip-Over Prevention Resolution. The idea to make this a PTA resolution came from Moorlands PTA member (and librarian) Crystal Ellis. Crystal lost her two-year old son to a tragic accident involving an unsafe dresser. She has turned her grief into action, founding Parents Against Tip-Overs and advocating with members of Congress for legislation that would lead to safer furniture. Northshore Council PTSA will now submit the Furniture Tip-Over Prevention Resolution for adoption at the National PTA Convention in 2020. The meeting closed with some fun door prize drawings followed by Fall Training classes on a variety of topics, including Treasurer Basics, How to Be a Membership Chair, Volunteers: Find Them and Keep Them, as well as Secretary: More than Just Minutes. Council meetings are a great way to network with other PTA leaders and learn about what is happening in the district and PTA. We hope you'll join us at our next general membership meeting on Monday, November 18th!
The first Northshore Council PTSA General Membership meeting for 2019-2020 is on Monday, September 16th at the Northshore School District Administration Building. There will be a meet and greet at 6:30 and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. We'll discuss and vote on standing rules, goals, a budget, and a resolution on furniture tip-over accident prevention (see below for more details). Note: this meeting isn't just for presidents-- ALL are welcome. We'd love to have more PTA voices from across our district in attendance! Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives-- but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. Immediately after the meeting, beginning at 8:00 p.m., we will be offering training for PTA officers, board members, committee chairs and interested members. Many thanks to all who offered feedback regarding which classes should be offered! As a result of your input, classes will include:
Furniture Tip-over Prevention Resolution Northshore Council PTSA membership will be considering the adoption of a Furniture Tip-Over Resolution at the membership meeting on Monday, September 16 at 7pm. The idea to make this a PTA resolution comes from Moorlands PTA member (and librarian) Crystal Ellis. Crystal lost her two-year old son to a tragic accident involving an unsafe dresser. She has turned her grief into action, founding Parents Against Tip-Overs and advocating with members of Congress for legislation that would lead to safer furniture. Furniture tip-overs are killing children in the U.S. at the rate of one child every 11 days. One child visits the ER every 37 minutes for a tip-over related injury. Currently, there is proposed national legislation that will work to stop the problem with newly manufactured clothing storage units. It is called the STURDY Act. It has been proposed in both the House and the Senate. There is also a State law recently passed in New York that requires public facilities that are responsible for the care of children, such as foster care facilities, daycares, and schools, that requires them to anchor any heavy furniture and televisions, to prevent the deaths and injuries of children from furniture tip-over incidents. PTA can help solve the furniture tip-over problem by speaking out and supporting first, the STURDY Act, secondly the creation of State by State legislation to require anchoring of furniture in public facilities to protect children in their care and, finally, educating local leaders to share information with their schools and communities about anchoring the furniture in their own homes. The proposed resolution is available for download below.
If Northshore Council PTSA members adopt this resolution, it will officially be submitted by Northshore Council for consideration by National PTA at the National PTA Convention in 2020. If you would like to learn more about this resolution or have questions, Crystal Ellis will be available at the meet & greet before the meeting, from 6:30 - 7:00pm. We hope you join us for a great evening of networking and learning! Questions? Contact Council co-Presidents Grace Jurado & Stacey Meyer.
Our final Council Membership Meeting of the year took place on May 6, 2019 at Woodinville High School! It was a lively meeting full of great energy and information. After co-Presidents Carrie McKenzie and Grace Jurado called the meeting to order, we welcomed incoming Washington State PTA President, Janice Kutzera, who, with humor and grace, led the ceremonial installation of our incoming 2019-20 Northshore Council Officers. Northshore Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid took some time to address 'suburban legends, ' including questions about implementation of the new 7-period day in the high schools (starting Fall 2019) and study hall, start times, NSD's commitment to mental health supports in our schools, 5th grade camp, the district budget outlook and more. Fun fact: Dr. Reid was this year's recipient of Washington State PTA's Outstanding Educator Award, which was presented to her at the WSPTA Convention in April! Council business included Treasurer Tricia Woods's review of recent budget reports as well as a vote to approve the proposed 2019-20 Council budget. Financial Review Committee member Nancy Chamberlain reported the results of the completed mid-year financial review. Then our VP of Communications Robin Zaback, encouraged local leaders to take our Council Survey-- please let us know how we are doing by taking the survey before Friday, May 17th! She also reported on the upcoming membership database change to memberplanet, encouraging PTAs to be sure to enter their incoming officers into PT Avenue in order to help facilitate the transition. If you want to share your feedback regarding National PTA's proposed dues increase, be sure to respond to WSPTA's survey before May 15th. School Board Director Jackie McGourty shared some updates regarding the recently completed NSD audit, end-of-year district events, as well as a few legislative updates. This led into a brief legislative update from a PTA perspective from Council's co-VP of Advocacy, Nancy Chamberlain. The Art Docent program is celebrating 50 years in Northshore and NSD Partnerships Coordinator Natalie Campbell shared some of the exciting updates they are making to the program. You can learn more about the changes on the Art Docent Program 50th Anniversary Update page on the NSD website. New materials are password protected, but interested leaders and art docents can email [email protected] to request access. Natalie also shared some exciting upcoming district events including:
Northshore Schools Foundation Director Carmen Dalziel encouraged us to spread the word about their upcoming Family Fun Day on June 8th-- a free, family friendly event with activities, music and more! She was also excited to announce that they are also currently reviewing grants submitted in their Spring Classroom Grant cycle-- be on the lookout for announcements of grant recipients soon! To cap off the final meeting of the year, Council First VP Cindy Jensen and co-President Carrie McKenzie presented this year's Golden Acorn awards to Robin Zaback and Robin McKenzie. Both of this year’s awardees raised the bar for their positions. Their engagement and impact can be seen and felt across the entire district and beyond, and still they are extremely active in their local units. They are an inspiration to all of us! Congratulations to Robin and Robin!!! ;) After the meeting adjourned, local leaders broke up into groups to attend spring training classes, including:
Many thanks to all who attended our final Council meeting of 2018-19. And thank you to our instructors as well as to the local leaders who took the time to join us for Spring training! We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting in the Fall!
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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.