December 2016 – Agenda Notes

Posted on by

December Agenda
11/10/16 Draft Minutes
November Treasurer Report
Making Gifts to the Issaquah School District

REMINDERS

Outreach Donation Ask for Council meeting:   New or gently used books to be distributed with the Lunch for the Break boxes. Thank you!

 

PRESIDENT

Running a Successful After School Enrichment Program Training Handout

 

TREASURER

Once you receive your new Certificate of Insurance, please a copy to Laila.
REMINDER: Without a current insurance certificate on file with ISD, you are unable to hold PTA activities in ISD buildings.

 

ADVOCACY

Register here for FOCUS DAY: http://www.wastatepta.org/meetings/focus_day/index.html

Download and print POSTCARDS!  

Find your district: http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

Plan ahead to attend FOCUS DAY on January 16th, 9:00am-1:00pm in Olympia! This WSPTA event is an impactful day for advocates of education. You will be able to rally on the steps of the state capitol with other advocates, and will have a chance to greet your legislators face to face! Since January 16th is a “no school” day, it is also an opportunity to involve your children in speaking up for education. Our legislators love to hear from kids!

The Lake Washington school district will be chartering a bus to Focus Day, which will be open to all of Region 2. Information on registering to ride the bus will be emailed to Presidents and Advocacy Reps. when available, along with detailed information about what to expect on Focus Day.

ART IN THE SCHOOLS
  • November updates
    • 90 attendees to the October Art Docent Conference
      • Wonderfully successful
      • Lots of positive feedback from docents about feeling more confident about teaching in the classroom after attending the event
      • Art lessons taught at the conference are showing up on the walls of the schools
    • 35 signups for monthly classes this fall
      • Need to do more marketing to get the word out
      • How to solve the sign up and don’t show up problem?
    • NEW One Drive link (latest version) Please update any links you may have to our One Drive with the Art Docent Lessons.  Microsoft changed it again.
  • Upcoming events & Works in progress
    • Trainings funded by Schools Foundation Fine Arts Fund
    • Issaquah Schools Foundation Grant   
    • Art Docent Curriculum development project
      • Angie Warren, from Issaquah Valley Elementary is our project manager
        • She is finalizing the staff to write, edit, compile and reformat the lessons we are using
      • Liz St.Andre is our tech lead – she will be insuring that our lessons are formatted and saved in a way that will work with our Schools Foundation web site.  She and I met with Schools Foundation staff to make sure we are all on the same page.
      • Volunteers have met three times to sort through and assign lessons to their respective subjects & grades.  Those will be processed as we move forward.
      • Lessons that have been taught at our Docent Conference’s and/or paid for by Schools Foundation grants have been tagged. Most of those will find a home in our curriculum.
      • We will be asking for more lessons to fill holes we will have in the New Year.
BEST PRACTICES

Best Practices Checklist

December 2016 Top Checklist Items

  • Start promoting the WSPTA’s Men Making A Difference” student essay contest. This is a great opportunity for students to write essays about an important male role model. 2016-17 Essay Entry must be postmarked by 3/1/17. For SoE app: Print example of how you promoted the contest to your members(e.g., eNews/FB/website/etc.).  A great activity for students to do during Winter Break!
  • Continue asking for volunteers to serve on your PTSA/ PTA’s Nominating Committee.  If slated, consider electing your Nominating Committee during your December GM Meeting.
  • Share an article or information from Council, Region 2, WSTPA and/or National PTA with members (at GM meeting, in eNews, on Facebook, etc.). Print examples for each using two different communication methods you regularly use to communicate with members. For Facebook, you will need to provide multiple posts from varying months to demonstrate regular communications. Information shared can be from a Council or Region training or meeting, WSPTA or National PTA websites.

Here are a few quick links to articles to copy and paste: 

Why Bad Moms Need PTA

Why I Volunteer

Tips To Keep Kids Safe Online

Webinar-  Safe Drinking Water in Schools

On the Radar for January 2017:

o   Hold a mid-year retreat or meeting with your Board to discuss and evaluate your PTA’s achievements thus far and review what you need to do for the balance of the year to meet the goals and needs of your PTA. What is your PTA’s process to evaluate current year’s goals, programs and activities? (Surveys, suggestion box, post event evaluations, GM open forum, etc.).

o   Promote Focus Day (scheduled for Monday, Jan. 16, 2017) and encourage Board/members to attend. For SoE app: Print copy of all attendees’ registrations – up to 3 people for maximum SoE app points). For SoE Platinum Level: Print example of how you shared Focus Day info with members (e.g., minutes, newsletter, website, etc.)  Register Here for 2017 Focus Day

o   Consider electing your Nominating Committee at your January GM Meeting. Review Article 5, Section 5 of the WSPTA 2016-17 Uniform Bylaws regarding election procedures. For SoE app: Make copy of GM minutes showing election of Nominating Committee.

FACE/Family And Community Engagement

.

HEALTHY YOUTH NETWORK

No Report.

ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

 

MEMBERSHIP

Washington State PTA Membership Leadership Guide

 

OUTREACH

No Report. 

Outreach Notes – This page is kept current as needs or programs change.

PARENTWISER (formerly Parent Education)

A lot of new, fantastic parent ed events are coming to Issaquah schools!

In January,

Many of your PTSA websites are still posting OLD past events/info.  PLEASE update monthly with our proposed communications below.  If you can’t keep up, just send parents  to http://ParentWiser.org.  Contact parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org  if you need another logo/button.

(Our surveys show that attending parents are aware of our events mostly through PTSA, Facebook.  We have to PUSH the information in multiple channels, multiple times. How will you reach your non-PTSA parents? We ask for registrations, but we always have room for walk-ins!  Please advertise widely throughout your school communities, especially:

Send in school ENews

Send in PTA/PTSA ENews/Website/Email to membership

Post dates on school and/or PTSA calendars (even though it may be held at a different school location!)

Post on school and/or PTSA Facebook/Twitter

Post flyers (attached!) on school/PTSA bulletin boards

If your school is hosting an event, add it to your reader board out front!

For printing & services  use Fedex WA State PTA discount code:  052 088 2103 . 

Announce these events with a flyer at PTSA Board & General Membership Meetings!

 

For ENews (cut/paste for your school population below):

————————————————————————————

ParentWiser presents…

Jan 12th  Birds & Bees Talks for the 21st Century: Raising Kids in the Age of Technology, by Amy Lang at 7-8:30pm at Cascade Ridge Elementary on how and when talk about the birds and the bees and simple tips for handling all the yucky stuff tech can bring into kids’ lives.   For parents of grades K-5.   FLYER DOC | FLYER PDF

Jan 17th Teen Kindness Advocate, Houston Kraft speaks to parents 6:30-7:30pm at Issaquah Middle School on what young people today NEED to be successful and kind.  For parents of grades 6-12.  FLYER DOC | FLYER PDF

Register for these and future events at http://ParentWiser.org.  Walk-in are also welcome!

We will also be attending your January or February General Membership Meetings to help build awareness for our February and April keynote authors/speakers:

  1. John O’Sullivan on 2/28th on “Changing the Game”
  2. Jessica Lahey on 4/25th on “Gift of Failure – How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed”

Please contact parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org if you are interested in joining our parent ed committee to provide ideas for topics, speakers, venues, or can volunteer for Social Media Manager of Facebook/Twitter pages.  Also contact us if your PTSA is looking for recommended local/lower cost speakers/topics to attract parents to your PTSA General Membership Meetings.

Thank you!

Heidi Fuhs & Debbie Steinberg Kuntz

ParentWiser

Issaquah PTSA Council

parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org

http://ParentWiser.org

 

REFLECTIONS

We received a total of 264 entries from 23 schools. Gibson Ek did not send in any entries.

We are currently judging the entries. We are able to send a total of 53 to State plus the one Special Artist entry we received.

The Reflections Chairs from each school were given invitations to the Reception, when they dropped off their submissions on November 21st.

The District Reception is on TUESDAY January 10th 2017 at IHS from 6.30-8.00pm.

The finalists moving on to State will only be notified on January 10th.

STAR/SPECIAL EDUCATION
No Report.
VICE PRESIDENTS

.

VOLUNTEERS FOR ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS (VIS)

 The Issaquah School District Capital Projects department has been working to complete construction projects on our schools that have been financed through the passage of our bonds. The most recent bond was passed in April 2016 (thank you to our community!!!!) They have been working on managing land acquisition, planning and design, construction, renovation of schools and district facilities.

Please click on this link to look at the projects that have been completed from the passage of the 2012 bond and the projects in the works from the 2016 bond here: http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/departments/CapProjects

Click here to see the latest news and construction timeline on the Pine Lake Middle School Rebuild:  http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/departments/CapProjects/Projects/pine-lake-middle-school-rebuild

Please visit the Volunteers for Issaquah Schools webpage here for information:  www.visvote.org
and don’t forget to “Like” Volunteers for Issaquah Schools Facebook page for periodic updates on your newsfeed.
WEBMASTER/DIRECTORY

Directories will be distributed at this meeting.

Other

Highlights from the ParentWiser Run, Hide, Fight presentation.
       – Kimberly Nocco

The following suggestions are mostly for adults and are relevant in many settings: office, theater, public gathering. The message that has been given to most younger students in the district is simply “Listen to your teacher/an adult in charge.”

If possible, RUN. Make sure your hands are EMPTY and held where police can see them. As a demonstration, one officer held a black phone while swinging her arms running – it really looked like it could be a firearm. If you take your phone or car keys, put them in your pocket or bra (seriously, he said that) and DON’T reach for them unexpectedly, you’ll get yourself shot.

If you can’t run, HIDE. Take cover – the spots recommended were behind large electrical boxes (contain copper, can stop bullets), behind a large concrete pillar, behind the FRONT end of a car near the tire (bullets go through the trunk area). If indoors, lock/barricade the door, turn off phones/vibration (your family will call you and give away your hiding spot! And this goes the other way, don’t keep calling loved ones if they might be hiding).

Finally, if no other option, FIGHT. Work together. Be committed to incapacitate the attacker. Look for resources, even if unconventional – fire extinguishers, hot coffee, belt, chair…

Always FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS of first responders/SWAT, even if they seem unusual. They have a tactical reason for every request and don’t have time to be polite. As an example, the officer pushed a victim towards the center of the room to prevent injury from stray bullets bouncing off walls. The first responders are there to neutralize the threat, not help you, stay out of their way. When they arrive on the scene, they have a lot of information to take in quickly and decide who is the threat – don’t give them any reason to suspect you.

Attached is one of the best summaries of Run, Hide, Fight that I’ve seen. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/national/activeshooter/

And this is the official video shown in the presentation: https://youtu.be/5VcSwejU2D0