Category Archives: News & Events

April 2017 – Agenda Notes

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April Agenda

March Draft Minutes
March Treasurer Report

Election Slate – Revised
May Luncheon Invitation

REMINDERS

LOCATION REMINDER – This month we are in the Eagle Room at the Issaquah Police Station on Sunset.

Outreach Donation Ask for Council meeting:  Small monetary donation (see Outreach Notes below for more information).

TREASURER

Budget Reminder: This is the time to get your 2017-2018 budget committee together and work on your budget for next year. Survey your program chairs and officers to see if they need/want adjustments to their budgets. Council Dues and fees should likely stay the same.  Your interim budget must be approved by your General Membership before the end of the school year. Let Laila know if you need any help.

AWARDS

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ADVOCACY

Contacts:
5th Leg. District
Sen. Mark Mullet – Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Paul Graves – PaulGraves@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jay Rodne – JayRodne@leg.wa.gov
41st Leg. District
Sen. Lisa Wellman – Lisa.Wellman@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Judy Clibborn – JudyClibborn@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tana Senn – Tana.Senn@leg.wa.gov
Thank you again for your dedication! 😊

ART IN THE SCHOOLS
Kiln upkeep is NOT an action item, just an FYI.
Looking for a Conference Manager for next fall.

BEST PRACTICES

Best Practices Checklist

Council Transition Checklist

FACE/Family And Community Engagement

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HEALTHY YOUTH NETWORK

State of Mind Conferences. Flyers: JPG | PDF

 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

 

ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

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MEMBERSHIP

Washington State PTA Membership Leadership Guide

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OUTREACH

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

This month’s Outreach Ask for Council meeting:    

Please consider a small monetary donation to support two schools who do not have PTAs/PTSAs to support their Staff Appreciation events.  Each year the Council provides a Staff Appreciation event for Echo Glen (the school at Youth Detention Facility in Snoqualmie) and the Academy for Community Transition (ISD program for 18-21 year-olds with qualifying disabilities).  It is incredibly difficult to collect food donations for this purpose across the district.  Funds collected will be used to supplement the small budget provided for these events.  Thank you!

 

FREE SAT practice exam at the Issaquah Library on May 20th. FLYER.

PARENTWISER (formerly Parent Education)

Presidents – the following communications for ParentWiser went out to your Parent Ed Reps and Communication Chairs on April 6th.

Please ensure these get updated in your school ENews, we are still seeing most schools running the March info, which is outdated.  Note the location change to the Debrief book Discussion from IMS Library to Swedish Issaquah’s Café 1910. Revised flyers are also attached.

2)      Still seeking volunteers to help at both 10am and 7pm events on April 25th.  Signup here!

 

For Enews:

ParentWiser asks…

What do YOU do when your child makes mistakes or fails?

How you answer this question can change your relationship with your child and your child’s motivation and resilience. Join us for an exciting series of events this April as we host the NY Times bestselling author Jessica Lahey and her book: The Gift Of Failure. What to do next:

 

1. Read the Book: Get your copy of The Gift of Failure ASAP so you can read it over spring break. Issaquah Barnes & Noble has copies waiting for you.

 

2. Don’t miss Jessica Lahey’s talk: REGISTER to join us at 10am or 7pm on April 25th to hear Ms. Lahey’s potentially life-changing message. You will not want to miss it! (ALMOST SOLD OUT .Walk-ins welcome if space available.)

 

3. Debrief Discussion: Join us on May 22nd  at 7pm in the IMS Library Swedish Issaquah Café 1910 to debrief your key takeaways from the book and/or her talk. See you then!

 

ParentWiser’s district-wide parent ed in an ongoing success this year!  Thank you for your continued support!

  1. For 2017-18, please continue your budget for at least $250 Council fees for ParentWiser/Parent Ed (same as current year).
  2. Keep a Parent Ed Rep on your committee reports.  The Parent Ed Rep is your liaison between your specific school community and ParentWiser.  We rely on the input and volunteer help of parent ed reps at each school to run our speaker program.

Here is our recommended job description for Parent Ed Rep at your local PTSA:

  • Advertize all parent ed offerings forwarded to you by Parentwiser (Issaquah PTSA Council) at your school via flyers, school ENews, PTSA news, and any social media accounts linked to your school and/or PTSA), approx monthly
  • Use FEDEX PTSA discount code for printed materials:  052 088 2103
  • Attend quarterly ParentWiser committee meetings to provide input/planning for future speakers/events.
  • Act as liaison between your local school community and ParentWiser at the district level
  • Volunteer to assist at least 1 ParentWiser event per year, SignupGenius for pre/post-event volunteer needs go out 1-2 weeks prior to each event.
  • Organize/host any additional local speaker(s) at your school community, if desired by your PTSA.
  1. If open to other parents in the district, please forward details at least 3 weeks prior to parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org
  2. For suggestions for local speakers/topics, contact parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org
  3. Turn-in receipts/expenses to your local PTSA unit for reimbursement
  • Encourage your school community to attend parent ed events or watch online at http://ParentWiser.org
  • ParentWiser parent education is FREE for Issaquah School District PTSA members only, non-members pay $. Encourage your PTSA membership with this tangible benefit!
  1. Below are the communications for March events.  This was sent to presidents, parent ed reps, and communications chairs on March 6th.  Please ensure they are advertized at your school.

 

For ENews:

ParentWiser presents…

 

April 25th The Gift of Failure: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation and Resilience in Kids by national keynote and author, Jessica Lahey, motivational talk and book signing at 10am or 7pm!  In today’s culture, do we coddle our kids enough?  Too much?  Jessica Lahey summarizes the current research on autonomy-supportive parenting and teaching, competence, rewards, praise, and failure, and gives us advice on how to allow students to succeed over the long term.  Join our community book read of Gift of Failure to prepare for a cultural change!  For parents of K-12. FLYER.

New – WATCH ONLINE!  Did you miss Amy Lang’s talk on Birds+Bees+Kids?  That event, plus 28 additional high caliber online parent ed talks from NextGenEd,  are now available on ParentWiser.org/watch-online! With a click, enjoy parent ed on a variety of current topics from the convenience of your home, anytime.  Audio downloads are included to listen on-the-go.  ParentWiser is thrilled to offer these FREE with your PTSA membership to any Issaquah district school.  Enjoy!

ParentWiser Logo.

REFLECTIONS
ICYMI:  State Winners

STAR/SPECIAL EDUCATION
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VICE PRESIDENTS

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VOLUNTEERS FOR ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS (VIS)

Call for Levy Committee Community Members 

Every four years, the Issaquah School District asks local voters to approve levies to pay for educational essentials that the state does not fund, including school buses, classroom technology, and about 20 percent of the operations budget. Because our current levies expire next year, the District is forming a community committee now to help plan the renewal levy measures. If you are interested in representing the community at large on the committee, please contact Lisa White (425-837-7024) for an application. Committee members will consider the overall need, proposed content, total cost, and tax impacts of the ballot measures and present a final recommendation to the Superintendent. The commitment is several Wednesday evening meetings in May and June. 

WEBMASTER/DIRECTORY

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Other

WSPTA Convention April 27-30, 2017 SeaTac Hilton

2017-2018 Nominating Committee Report

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Nominating Committee Report

Date:  March 9, 2017

The 2016-2017 Issaquah PTSA Council Nominating Committee hereby places the following names in nomination.

For the office of President: Becky Gordon and Leslie Kahler

For the office of VP High Schools: Ina Ghangurde

For the office of VP Middle Schools: Laila Collins

For the office of VP Elementary North: Care Maree Harper

For the office of VP Elementary Central: Kimberly Nocco

For the office of VP Elementary South: Korista Smith-Barney

For the office of Treasurer: Erin Eaton

For the office of Secretary: Erin Thacker

The Nominating Committee has confirmed that each nominee has been a member of a PTA for at least 30 days prior to the election and meets other requirements as stated in the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws.

Respectfully submitted:

Ina Ghangurde
Leslie Kahler
Heidi Fuhs
Valerie Yanni

Advocacy News for March 8th. SB 5023 & SB 5070

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Two major events happened in the legislature on March 8th! 

  1. SB 5023 was brought to the floor of the Senate (this is the Senate version of the bill that would delay the levy cliff, and companion bill to HB 1059). The Senate voted and passed the bill! It will be sent to the House for consideration tomorrow
  2. The Senate passed a Para-educator Bill! This bill (SB 5070) will require standards for para-educators, professional development, a career ladder, a more accessible path to teacher certification, and training for teachers who supervise para-educators. This aligns with one of the Top 5 priorities on this year’s WSPTA legislative platform.

March 2017 – Agenda Notes

Posted on by

March Agenda
February Draft Minutes
February Treasurer Report
Golden Acorn Reception Invitation

REMINDERS

Outreach Donation Ask for Council meeting:  New or gently used books for Lunch for the Break.

 

 

TREASURER

This is the time to get your 2017-2018 budget committee together and work on your budget for next year. Survey your program chairs and officers to see if they need/want adjustments to their budgets. Council Dues and fees should likely stay the same.  Your interim budget must be approved by your General Membership before the end of the school year. Let Laila know if you need any help.

 

AWARDS

The Issaquah PTSA Council will be awarding the Council Golden Acorn and Outstanding Advocate Awards at this meeting. Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners for the 2016-2017 school year. What an outstanding bunch of volunteers we have here in Issaquah!  The PTSA Council district reception honoring all of the Award winners will be Tuesday, April 4th 6:30-7:30pm at Issaquah Middle School. Paper invitations will be handed out to PTA Presidents to distribute to their PTA Award winners and Principal.

 

ADVOCACY

Two major events happened in the legislature on March 8th! 

  1. SB 5023 was brought to the floor of the Senate (this is the Senate version of the bill that would delay the levy cliff, and companion bill to HB 1059). The Senate voted and passed the bill! It will be sent to the House for consideration tomorrow.
  2. The Senate passed a Para-educator Bill! This bill (SB 5070) will require standards for para-educators, professional development, a career ladder, a more accessible path to teacher certification, and training for teachers who supervise para-educators. This aligns with one of the Top 5 priorities on this year’s WSPTA legislative platform.

 

March Action Items:

Below are 3 action items for this month. Email addresses for your local legislators are listed at the bottom of this email. So many of you have already sent in emails and blue postcards. Please keep them coming! Thank you all so much for all you do!

1. Contact your Senator re: bringing House Bill 1059 (Levy Cliff Extension Bill) to a vote. 
The House passed the levy cliff delay bill nearly a month ago and the Senate has rejected two attempts to bring it to the floor for a vote. This is top priority for Issaquah!
Sample subject line: Urgent – Please Pass the Levy Cliff Extension bill HB 1059
Sample email: I urge you to support HB 1059. Students are counting on you to keep teachers in classrooms next year. Our schools are trying to devise an operating budget for next year before April 1st. They are faced with the stress of uncertainty, and the possibility of having to RIF teachers. Levy dollars are voter approved. We cannot afford to lose teachers or funding in our schools. Thank you for taking care of our students and voting to pass HB 1059. (Please give your name and address in the body of the email.)
 
2. Ask your Representatives to identify new progressive revenue sources to amply fund public education.
The House passed the Democrats’ Education Plan (HB 1843), but they have not yet announced how the state would pay for it.
3. Attend the Education Funding Forum for the 5th and 41st Legislative Districts! 
Join local legislators in a conversation about education funding.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
1:00-3:00pm
Tyee Middle School in Bellevue
Contacts:
5th Leg. District
Sen. Mark Mullet – Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Paul Graves – PaulGraves@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jay Rodne – JayRodne@leg.wa.gov
41st Leg. District
Sen. Lisa Wellman – Lisa.Wellman@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Judy Clibborn – JudyClibborn@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tana Senn – Tana.Senn@leg.wa.gov
Thank you again for your dedication! 😊
Portions of the above are from the Washington’s Paramount Duty website. 

ART IN THE SCHOOLS
  • March updates
    • Drawing the Face with Priyanka Misra March 3, 2017
    • Docents never having drawn a face before all succeeded!
  • Needed:
    • Coordinate facility rental, food, volunteers and marketing before event
    • Manage food, volunteers and registration day of event (mid October)
    • Work with Juliette Ripley-Dunkelberger
    • Contact Juliette at www.Juliette@isfdn.org
    • 2 to 4 people
    • Re-write and format collected art docent lessons
    • Paid position
    • Contact Juliette at www.Juliette@isfdn.org
    • Art Docent Conference Coordinator
    • Lesson Re-format/Writers
  • Upcoming events & Works in progress
    • Goal – to complete 20 lessons by end of school year
    • Have teachers assign GLE’s to them over summer
    • Have them available online by September 2017
    • Curriculum Development Project
    • Trainings funded by Schools Foundation Fine Arts Fund held at Art East

BEST PRACTICES

Best Practices Checklist

FACE/Family And Community Engagement

x

HEALTHY YOUTH NETWORK

State of Mind Conferences. Flyers: JPG | PDF

  • Saturday, March 11, Liberty High School in Renton | PROGRAM
  • Saturday, April 29, Issaquah High School in Issaquah

All Events will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Influence the Choice Video Contest is up and running. Deadline to submit is March 10th at 5pm.

High School Flyer: JPG | PDF
Middle School Flyer: JPG | PDF

JUDGES NEEDED! Flyer
Judging for the Influence the Choice video contest will take place on Monday, April 3. Middle and high school students, parents and community members are eligible. Each judge reviews a set of inspiring student videos and then meets with other judges on April 3rd to make final award decisions.  To volunteer, contact John Carney at john@isfdn.org.

 

Hidden In Plain Sight

Influence the Choice, with the support of seven community organizations, is hosting the first “Hidden In Plain Sight” parents-only event on Tuesday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. at Liberty High School.  This event helps parents spot signs of at-risk behaviors using an interactive display of a teenager’s bedroom. After walking through the display, participants will learn more about adolescent development and common signs of substance use provided by professionals in treatment, law enforcement, substance abuse prevention and other parents.  Event Flyer

Suicide Prevention Forums

Healthy Youth Initiative, in partnership with Friends of Youth, will present a Youth Suicide Prevention Forum on Thursday, March 30, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Issaquah Police Station Eagle Room.  The event is free, and open to middle school and high school students, parents, school staff and community members.  A second forum will be held on Thursday, April 13, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Beaver Lake Lodge in Sammamish.  Join us for a candid conversation about youth suicide, including warning signs, at-risk factors, prevention strategies, and tips on supporting teen healthy mental health development.  Event Flyer.

 

ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

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MEMBERSHIP

Washington State PTA Membership Leadership Guide

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OUTREACH

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

This month’s Outreach Ask for Council meeting:    New or gently used books for Lunch for the Break. Thank you!

Lunch for the Break seeking donations and volunteers.

Congratulations to the Lunch for the Break crew, who delivered 415 boxes of food to Issaquah School District students in need for the mid-winter break.  As of this year, Lunch for the Break is serving every school in the district.  A special thanks goes to Rebecca Rayner, Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank, for her leadership.  The next, and final, Lunch for the Break collection and distribution dates are Wednesday, April 5 and Thursday, April 6.  Donations and volunteers are always welcome.  To learn more, go to https://www.lunchforthebreak.com/.

FREE SAT practice exam at the Issaquah Library on May 20th. FLYER.

PARENTWISER (formerly Parent Education)

ParentWiser’s district-wide parent ed in an ongoing success this year!  Thank you for your continued support!

  1. For 2017-18, please continue your budget for at least $250 Council fees for ParentWiser/Parent Ed (same as current year).
  2. Keep a Parent Ed Rep on your committee reports.  The Parent Ed Rep is your liaison between your specific school community and ParentWiser.  We rely on the input and volunteer help of parent ed reps at each school to run our speaker program.

Here is our recommended job description for Parent Ed Rep at your local PTSA:

  • Advertize all parent ed offerings forwarded to you by Parentwiser (Issaquah PTSA Council) at your school via flyers, school ENews, PTSA news, and any social media accounts linked to your school and/or PTSA), approx monthly
  • Use FEDEX PTSA discount code for printed materials:  052 088 2103
  • Attend quarterly ParentWiser committee meetings to provide input/planning for future speakers/events.
  • Act as liaison between your local school community and ParentWiser at the district level
  • Volunteer to assist at least 1 ParentWiser event per year, SignupGenius for pre/post-event volunteer needs go out 1-2 weeks prior to each event.
  • Organize/host any additional local speaker(s) at your school community, if desired by your PTSA.
  1. If open to other parents in the district, please forward details at least 3 weeks prior to parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org
  2. For suggestions for local speakers/topics, contact parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org
  3. Turn-in receipts/expenses to your local PTSA unit for reimbursement
  • Encourage your school community to attend parent ed events or watch online at http://ParentWiser.org
  • ParentWiser parent education is FREE for Issaquah School District PTSA members only, non-members pay $. Encourage your PTSA membership with this tangible benefit!
  1. Below are the communications for March events.  This was sent to presidents, parent ed reps, and communications chairs on March 6th.  Please ensure they are advertized at your school.

 

For ENews:

ParentWiser presents…

March 15th Disciplina Positiva para Padres (Positive Discipline, in Spanish), 6-8pm at Issaquah Valley Elementary.  A special invitation for our Spanish-speaking families, join parent educator Lupita Zamora for an informative 6-class series in positive discipline, in your native Spanish language.  This first session is FREE, where you can sign up for the 5 remaining classes at $40 per person. For parents of K-12, childcare provided if needed.

 

March 28th Hidden in Plain Sight, 6:30-8:30pm at Liberty High School Commons.   Come to a “Hidden in Plain Sight” exhibit of a youth bedroom, and learn what signs of substance use to look for, and what to do if you find something.  Includes expert Q&A forum, and a brief professional talk on communicating with youth about at-risk behavior.  This is a PARENT ONLY event.

 

April 25th The Gift of Failure: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation and Resilience in Kids by national keynote and author, Jessica Lahey, motivational talk and book signing at 10am or 7pm!  In today’s culture, do we coddle our kids enough?  Too much?  Jessica Lahey summarizes the current research on autonomy-supportive parenting and teaching, competence, rewards, praise, and failure, and gives us advice on how to allow students to succeed over the long term.  Join our community book read of Gift of Failure to prepare for a cultural change!  For parents of K-12. FLYER.

 

New – WATCH ONLINE!  Did you miss Amy Lang’s talk on Birds+Bees+Kids?  That event, plus 28 additional high caliber online parent ed talks from NextGenEd,  are now available on ParentWiser.org/watch-online! With a click, enjoy parent ed on a variety of current topics from the convenience of your home, anytime.  Audio downloads are included to listen on-the-go.  ParentWiser is thrilled to offer these FREE with your PTSA membership to any Issaquah district school.  Enjoy!

 

We value your input for ParentWiser!  Please take a moment before March 22nd to help select parent ed speakers or topics for next year that are relevant to your parenting needs. Thank you!

ParentWiser Logo.

REFLECTIONS

STAR/SPECIAL EDUCATION
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VICE PRESIDENTS

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VOLUNTEERS FOR ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS (VIS)
Dawn will be handing out letters to all Presidents explaining why it is important to keep the Volunteers for Issaquah Schools donation as a line item in your budget. You will also find your PTA’s past 3 years donation amount listed at the bottom of the letter. If you notice that you haven’t had a chance to mail a check for your donation this year, it is not too late. Please use this letter as your donation confirmation and we will also mail you a letter of receipt for your financial records. We are anticipating running a Levy Campaign for 2018, so now is the time that we are saving to finance the campaign. We are very grateful for all of our PTAs’ historic strong support of our Issaquah Bonds and Levies. Thank you very much for your continued support and donations!
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WEBMASTER/DIRECTORY

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Other

 The 2016-2017 district-wide PTA/PTSA Awards Reception:

April 4th
7-8:30pm
Issaquah Middle School Commons

This reception is to honor all Golden Acorn and Outstanding Advocate Award Winners from all of our schools in the Issaquah School District.

March Action Items for Presidents and Legislative/Advocacy Reps.

Posted on by

Hello Council Members!

Below are 3 action items for this month. Email addresses for your local legislators are listed at the bottom of this email. So many of you have already sent in emails and blue postcards. Please keep them coming! Thank you all so much for all you do!

1. Contact your Senator re: bringing House Bill 1059 (Levy Cliff Extension Bill) to a vote. 
The House passed the levy cliff delay bill nearly a month ago and the Senate has rejected two attempts to bring it to the floor for a vote. This is top priority for Issaquah!
Sample subject line: Urgent – Please Pass the Levy Cliff Extension bill HB 1059
Sample email: I urge you to support HB 1059. Students are counting on you to keep teachers in classrooms next year. Our schools are trying to devise an operating budget for next year before April 1st. They are faced with the stress of uncertainty, and the possibility of having to RIF teachers. Levy dollars are voter approved. We cannot afford to lose teachers or funding in our schools. Thank you for taking care of our students and voting to pass HB 1059. (Please give your name and address in the body of the email.)
 
2. Ask your Representatives to identify new progressive revenue sources to amply fund public education.
The House passed the Democrats’ Education Plan (HB 1843), but they have not yet announced how the state would pay for it.
3. Attend the Education Funding Forum for the 5th and 41st Legislative Districts! 
Join local legislators in a conversation about education funding.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
1:00-3:00pm
Tyee Middle School in Bellevue
Contacts:
5th Leg. District
Sen. Mark Mullet – Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Paul Graves – PaulGraves@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jay Rodne – JayRodne@leg.wa.gov
41st Leg. District
Sen. Lisa Wellman – Lisa.Wellman@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Judy Clibborn – JudyClibborn@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tana Senn – Tana.Senn@leg.wa.gov
Thank you again for your dedication! 😊
 
Portions of this email are from the Washington’s Paramount Duty website. 

How to Receive Advocacy Updates

Posted on by

You can sign up to receive email updates, newsletters or blog posts in your email for each of these organizations:

Washington State Legislature http://leg.wa.gov/
Washington State PTA Advocacy page http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/index.html
Washington State PTA – Advocacy Blog http://wsptagrassroots.blogspot.com/
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction http://www.k12.wa.us/
Network in Excellence for Washington Schools http://waschoolexcellence.org/
Washington’s Paramount Duty http://paramountduty.org/
Washington’s Paramount Duty – Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/ParamountDuty/
League of Education Voters http://educationvoters.org/
Washington Association of School Administrators (Legislative Updates page) http://wasa-oly.org/WASA/wasa/4_0_Government_Relations/This_Week_in_Olympia_-_TWIO/TWIO.aspx
Washington State School Directors’ Association (legislative updates page) http://www.wssda.org/Legislative/LegislativeUpdates.aspx

 

February 2017 – Agenda Notes

Posted on by

February Agenda
January Draft Minutes
January Treasurer Report
Council Awards Information
K12 Funding Side by Side Comparision
Local Levies – Frequently Asked Questions
VIS Levy Information Flyer
Membership Report (updated post-meeting, 2/9/17)

REMINDERS

Outreach Donation Ask for Council meeting:   Books for all ages, especially older kids to add to Lunch for the Break boxes. Thank you!

Council Award Nominations are being accepted now through February 15th: http://www.issaquahptsa.org/council-awards

 

TREASURER

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ADVOCACY

FOCUS DAY

WSPTA Focus Day had an amazing turnout – around 6,500 people came to Olympia to advocate for education! Issaquah was well-represented by parents, teachers and students, as well as Superintendent Thiele, School Board President Lisa Callan, and Director Anne Moore. We had the opportunity to meet privately with legislators to talk about priority issues for Issaquah students. THANK YOU to all who filled out about 250 blue postcards with comments to legislators! Please keep them coming! This legislative session is just beginning and Olympia needs to hear from us. No doubt, our legislators are feeling the weight of great responsibility during this session. They also appreciate hearing “thank you” for a job well done. 😊

HB 1059 – Delaying revisions to the school levy lid

This bill would allow a 12 month reprieve from the “levy cliff”. If it passes, this would give legislators another year to figure out how to fully fund education without relying on levies. In 2010, school districts were given authority to temporarily increase property tax levies by 4%. That allowance will expire at the beginning of 2018, in the middle of the next school year. That would mean a loss of about $7.5M to Issaquah schools next year. The good news is that the House has already voted to pass HB 1059. However, the Senate has not yet voted and there are some Senators that are expected to vote against this bill. They are listed below along with contact information. If you have friends or family in their districts, please urge them to contact these legislators!

Sample Letter:

I urge you to support HB 1059. Students are counting on you to keep teachers in classrooms next year. Our schools are trying to devise an operating budget for next year before April 1st. They are faced with the stress of uncertainty, and the possibility of having to RIF teachers. Levy dollars are voter approved. We cannot afford to lose teachers or funding in our schools. Thank you for taking care of our students by voting to pass HB 1059.

Email your Legislatures by on clicking your district:
41st District (link includes Lisa Wellman, Judy Clibborn, Tana Senn)

5th District (link includes Mark Mullet, Jay Rodne, Paul Graves)

 

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ART IN THE SCHOOLS

BEST PRACTICES

Best Practices Checklist

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FACE/Family And Community Engagement

Family partnership and Cultural Bridges are going to support the Kindergarten registration event at Apollo, Issaquah Valley Elementary School and Clark.  We will provide volunteers to translate flyers, help ELL families fill out the Kindergarten registration forms, answer questions.  We will make robo-calls to remind the families about the event and anything else the schools need to welcome the new families.     

We are also going to provide the same help for Issaquah Middle School at the transition event on March 6th.

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HEALTHY YOUTH NETWORK

State of Mind Conferences (remaining). Flyers: JPG | PDF

  • Saturday, March 11, Liberty High School in Renton
  • Saturday, April 29, Issaquah High School in Issaquah

All Events will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Influence the Choice Video Contest is up and running. Deadline to submit is March 10th at 5pm.

High School Flyer: JPG | PDF
Middle School Flyer: JPG | PDF
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ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

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MEMBERSHIP

Washington State PTA Membership Leadership Guide

Membership Report

OUTREACH

Outreach Notes -UPDATED.  Please click the link to read the Outreach page. 

This month’s Outreach Ask for Council meeting:  new or gently used books, especially for older students, to add to Lunch for the Break boxes.  Thank you!

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PARENTWISER (formerly Parent Education)

The following message was sent out to all parent ed reps, communication chairs, and copied to presidents on 1/31st.

Please ensure it is advertised in YOUR school ENews and PTSA news in February.

For ENews:

ParentWiser presents…

Feb 28th Creating a High Performing Mindset in our Kids by John O’Sullivan, 6:30pm  at Issaquah High School Theater.  Hear from the author of Changing the Game how to motivate kids to take ownership; to help, not hinder their performance by things parents say and do;  and how to give your child a healthy competitive edge.  For parents of K-12.  FLYERS: DOC | PDF

April 25th The Gift of Failure: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation and Resilience in Kids by national keynote and author, Jessica Lahey, 7pm at Issaquah High School Theater.  In today’s culture, do we coddle our kids enough?  Too much?  Jessica Lahey summarizes the current research on autonomy-supportive parenting and teaching, competence, rewards, praise, and failure, and gives us advice on how to allow students to succeed over the long term.  Join our community book read, and help bring about this cultural change! For parents of K-12. FLYERS: PDF 

Register for these and future events at http://ParentWiser.org.
These ParentWiser events are FREE for Issaquah school district PTSA members, donations requested for non-members at registration or at the door; sponsored by Issaquah PTSA Council, Issaquah Schools Foundation and Swedish Medical of Issaquah.

 

Quarterly ParentWiser Committee Meeting (attn Parent Ed Reps!)

Our next quarterly Parent Ed Rep committee meeting is  Thurs Feb 9th 6:30-7:30pm at the big Starbucks on Gilman Blvd (in QFC/Meadows Shopping Center).   We rely on your participation to continually improve to meet your school community needs.  Agenda for this meeting will be feedback/value of current offerings, and suggestions for next year. We also seek a few volunteers: Social Media, Marketing Communications, Grant Writer, and Events.  Please reply to parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org if you are interested.

ParentWiser Logo.

REFLECTIONS
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STAR/SPECIAL EDUCATION
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VICE PRESIDENTS

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VOLUNTEERS FOR ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS (VIS)
Here is an informational flyer which shares the basic information about levies – what is a levy, what is a levy rate, what is a levy cliff, etc. to share with your membership. Volunteers for Issaquah Schools will handout a paper copy of this flyer at the Council meeting on Thursday. FLYER
Want even MORE information about our Local Levies and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions? Please refer to this document that was put together by the League of Education Voters:  http://educationvoters.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2017-Levy-FAQs.pdf
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WEBMASTER/DIRECTORY

SURVEYS – Surveys are great for many things, including collecting nominations for awards! Contact Cindy to set yours up.

Other

Council Awards

Every year the Issaquah PTSA Council awards those in the community that show extraordinary commitment to ensuring every student in our district gets an outstanding education.
Click HERE to submit your award nomination online. Award Nominations must be submitted by Wednesday, February 15th by Midnight. Entries will be submitted to the Awards Committee.
Award Guidelines and Award Rubric can be found HERE.

The 2016-2017 district-wide PTA/PTSA Awards Reception:

April 4th
7-8:30pm
Issaquah Middle School Commons

This reception is to honor all Golden Acorn and Outstanding Advocate Award Winners from all of our schools in the Issaquah School District.

Mid-Winter Conference Webinar Training:

Money Matters – Feb 11th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/region-2-money-matters-webinar-tickets-30891767107

*There is a 100 participant limit statewide for each of the webinars.

ESSA CONSOLIDATED PLAN TO BE SUBMITTED IN SEPTEMBER

State Superintendent, Chris Reykdal, announced on January 10 that Washington State’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Consolidated Plan will not be submitted to the Federal Department of Education until September 18, 2017.  Public comment on the plan can be submitted here; closes February 13.

Community Values Survey Presentation

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Presentation of the Community Values Survey will be made to the ISD School Board, the Superintendent and other district administrators, and representatives from the Issaquah Education Association on:

Wednesday, February 15th
4:00pm
IMS Art Room

This is open to the public.

*If you haven’t had a chance to take the survey, it is open through February 6, 2017 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2017CommunityValues.