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In This Issue
Seattle Public Schools Seeks Input for BEX IV Capital Levy Project
City Council to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Library Levy
Family and Parent Meeting on MAP Testing
SCPTSA Nominating Committee Seeks New Board Members
Volunteers Needed for WA State PTA Convention
Seattle Council PTSA Wants to Give Your PTA Money
Two Opportunities to Serve on Behalf of Washington State PTA
ZinZanni Institute for Circus Arts is Offering K-12 Opportunities for PTA's, Schools and Educators

Important Dates:  

April 3:

Community BEX IV Meeting, Eckstein MS, Seattle

 

April 4:

MAP Testing Meeting, JSCEE, Seattle

 

April 5:

Community BEX IV Meeting, Denny International MS, Seattle

 

April 10:

Community BEX IV Meeting, Mercer MS, Seattle

 

April 30:

SCPTSA General Meeting, JSCEE, Seattle

 

May 4-6:

WSPTA Convention, Doubletree Hotel, SeaTac

 

More Information 

 (206) 364-7430 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear PTA and PTSA Leaders,

 

This week and next, SPS will be hosting meetings to gather community feedback on four proposals for the Building Excellence (BEX) IV Levy.  The Building Excellence levies are on the ballet once every six years. They fund the remodeling of existing buildings, as well as the building of new ones.  Given the steady increase in enrollment in SPS for the past few years, this levy will help address capacity issues across the city.  Please encourage families in your community to attend.  See the article below for more information.

 

The Seattle Council PTSA will be holding its General Meeting on April 30 at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. We will be discussing how to navigate SPS. Ron McGlone, the new SPS Ombudsman, will be there, along with other district staff.

 

Please feel free to share this information with your school community.

 

Sincerely,

Lauren McGuire

President, Seattle Council PTSA

 

Seattle Public Schools Seeks Input for

Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy Project Options

-From SPS

 

Seattle Public Schools will host three community meetings on April 3, 5 and 10, to share information, and ask for feedback about options for possible building construction projects to be included in the Building Excellence IV (BEX IV) Capital Levy package. Once final, this list of construction projects will be in front of Seattle voters in February 2013.

 

The community meetings will be held:

Tuesday, April 3, 6:30-8:00pm at Eckstein Middle School

Thursday, April 5, 6:30-8:00pm at Denny International Middle School

Tuesday, April 10, 6:30-8:00pm at Mercer Middle School

 

Each meeting will include presentations by Capital Projects and Planning staff members, followed by a question and answer period with community attendees. Comments from the community will be collected, recorded, reviewed, considered and included in considering the Building Excellence IV Capital Levy projects package.

 

The public can also send their comments and feedback anytime to [email protected]

 

The capital levy is part of Seattle Public Schools' long-range plan to upgrade and renovate aging school facilities on a planned and predictable timetable. BEX III was approved by Seattle voters in 2007 and included the  major renovation of Chief Sealth International High School, Hamilton International Middle School, Ingraham High School, Nathan Hale High School and Rainier Beach High School, as well as the new school construction of South Shore Pre k-8 and Denny International Middle School.

 

For further information, please contact Tom Redman, Capital Communications Manager

Email: [email protected] Phone: 206-252-0655. 

City Council to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Library Levy

-From Seattle City Council

Tuesday, April 3

5:30pm in the Council Chambers, Floor 2, Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave., Seattle

 

As a result of continued fiscal challenges and cuts to The Seattle Public Library funding, the Seattle City Council is considering placing a Library levy on the August 7, 2012, ballot to supplement city funding. 

The City Council will hold a public hearing to receive community input on this proposed levy. Everyone is welcome to attend and address the City Council. 

 

For more information on the proposed levy, please go to "Libraries for All."

Family and Parent Meeting on MAP Testing

-From SPS

Wednesday, April 4

5-6pm in room 2700 at the John Stanford Center, 2445 3rd Ave. S., Seattle, 98134

 

On April 4, staff from SPS, including Mark Teoh from Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REA) and Bob Vaughan from Advanced Learning, will be joined by John Cronin from the Northwest Evaluation Association (the makers of the MAP assessment) to talk with families and parents about the 2011 re-norming of their children's MAP test as well as address other questions related to MAP testing.  This open meeting will be held at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence in room 2700 from 5 to 6pm, prior to the school board meeting.  For questions about this event, please contact the REA department at [email protected].

SCPTSA Nominating Committee Seeks New Board Members for the 2012-2013 School Year

 

Are you interested in helping to serve kids in all of the Seattle Public Schools? We'd love to welcome you to Seattle Council PTSA! To find out more, please contact our Nominating Committee, Andrea Bown, Monica Mace and Caroline Webster, at [email protected].

Volunteers Needed for WA State PTA Convention

 

The WA State PTA Convention is quickly approaching.  Registration information was mailed to your Council and Local Unit Presidents last week and the information is currently up and running on the state website.  This year's theme is "Celebrating Diversity - Envision, Empower, Encourage".  There are a number of great workshops offered along with exciting main speakers. 
 
If you would like to attend convention and can contribute a few hours each day, you and your members can attend convention at no charge.  This is a great opportunity to attend convention workshops while providing valuable volunteer time.  Registration forms can be found online.  If you are interested in volunteering, please download the Registration form and submit to the WA State PTA Office.  Positions are filled on a "first come, first served basis".  So, register quickly.  
 
If you would like more information, please contact Andrea Bown, Convention Worker Liaison at [email protected]

Seattle Council PTSA Wants to Give Your PTA Money


 
Did you know that SCPTSA has some funds set aside specifically for our PTAs?  Grants in support of new PTA startups, Leadership, and Family Engagement are available starting now. To find out more about grant due dates and details, see the applications available online under Grants at www.seattlecouncilptsa.org. Contact us at [email protected] to ask questions or for help in completing the very simple forms!

Two Opportunities to Serve on Behalf of Washington State PTA

-From WA State PTA

 

Washington State PTA has been invited by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to nominate parents to serve on a legislatively mandated work group to make recommendations for the implementation of the Washington Kindergarten Assessment of Developing Skills, known informally as WaKIDS.  Desirable qualifications include familiarity with and implementation of WaKIDS.  The work group will meet approximately 4-5 times between late-April and December 2012. The meetings are likely to be half a day in the Olympia and SeaTac areas.  OSPI will reimburse travel costs for members. If you are interested in serving in this volunteer capacity please send an email outlining your background in this area and the basis for your interest to [email protected]. Because we have to submit our recommendations by April 5 we need your letters of interest by 8am on Wednesday, April 4.

Interested Washington State PTA members are invited to participate on a new collaborative committee to help in the development of a statewide arts education handbook.  This effort, led by ArtsEd Washington in partnership with Washington State PTA, will serve to provide additional educational communications tools to parents of students in grades K-12.  The goal of the project is to develop a parental guidance resource which will include information and tools on how to engage in, support, and advocate for arts education in school. The primary role of committee participants will be to review drafts of the initial handbook, as well as identify pilot districts and strategies for distribution.  Working meetings will be limited and conducted via phone and some in-person through June 2012. To express your interest in working on this project, please send an email outlining your background and interest to [email protected]
 by noon on Monday, April 9, 2012.

ZinZanni Institute for Circus Arts (ZICA) is offering K-12 Opportunities for PTA's, Schools and Educators

 

ZICA is dedicated to the preservation, development and enhancement of ancient and contemporary circus arts, including Juggling, Clowning, Magic and Acrobatics with an emphasis on all aspects of performance and production. ZICA has worked with SPS and can align a program with your school physical education curriculum. Workshops, outreach and residencies, and summer programs are available. Special rates for PTA's may apply; and PTA's can also apply for an Arts Grant from SCPTSA. For more information contact ZICA