February 2014 Delegates Assembly 
What a winter! Assuming no snow/sleet/freezing rain-induced school closure, our next Delegates Assembly will be held Tuesday, February 25, in the Carver Auditorium. Please note that we are BACK to our normal 7:30pm start time for this meeting.  The County Council recently scheduled a public hearing coinciding with our long-planned Operating Budget Forum, rendering councilmembers unavailable to attend. We now plan instead to send questions to the Council and County Executive--and candidates for those offices--on the recommended MCPS operating budget, and will post and circulate their responses.  

And I'm sure you've seen and heard this multiple times already, so forgive the repetition here, but please make a note about the new date for Maryland PTA Night in Annapolis, Thursday, March 6th.  If you were planning to attend, I hope you can still join us; if the previous date didn't work for you, I hope the new date will. Thanks for all you do for our students and schools!

Janette Gilman
President, Montgomery County Council of PTAs
Featured Business
At this session, we expect to get updated on MCCPTA advocacy work and plans, including the status of efforts to cancel MSA testing and secure additional state construction funding for our schools, get an update from our Nominating Committee, hear from the Awards and Presidents & Principals Dinner committees, get a tour of our MCCPTA website, see how close we are to 50,000 members, and vote to fill the vacancy in our Vice President for Educational Issues position through the end of the current term (May 1, 2014).
MCCPTA Committees:  
Meet Our Chairs, Learn Our Work
Did you know that MCCPTA has many active committees engaged in a broad range of work? Again this month, MCCPTA committee chairs will introduce themselves and the work of their committees:
MCCPTA works on a broad range of issues and programs through our committees; we hope one will be a match for your interest or maybe the interests of members of your PTA or PTSA. You may be surprised by all that's happening here in PTA in Montgomery County!
 
And speaking of our committee chairs.  Please join us in congratulating MCCPTA Gifted Child Committee Co-Chair Michelle Gluck, recently named winner of a 2014 Business and Community Leadership in Gifted Education Award by the Maryland State Advisory Council for Gifted and Talented Education and the Maryland State Department of Education!  
Delegate Cards
MCCPTA delegate cards will be required to vote at the February Delegates Assembly (DA); sorry, there are no exceptions.  Cards have been sent via the Pony to PTAs and PTSAs at their school for all units from which MCCPTA membership dues for a minimum of 25 members were received; this is all but a handful of schools at this point. Membership dues are sent separately to both Maryland PTA for state and national dues, and to MCCPTA for county dues.  
 
Delegates: If you do not yet have a card, check with your president and treasurer, and make sure they sent in dues to MCCPTA. If unsure, contact Pam Loebach, our MCCPTA office administrator, to check.  If dues to MCCPTA have been paid, cards were sent; please ask them for yours.  Thanks!
MCCPTA Membership Challenge #4
We're still waiting for the check that will put MCCPTA's membership over the 50,000 member mark.  If your school has members for whom county dues have not yet been remitted, send them in!  The PTA or PTSA that is responsible for putting us over the top will get two FREE tickets to our annual gala celebration, the MCCPTA Presidents & Principals Dinner, once again to be held at the North Bethesda Marriott and Conference Center, on Thursday, May 1, 2014.
 
We need to be over 50,000 strong.  We are almost there.  Urge your school to push membership just one more time and help do it!   You might even enjoy dinner on us.  Thanks!
Annapolis, We're Coming Back!

We are. Really, we are!  PTA and MCCPTA leaders, members, and many of their students, as well as County Executive Ike Leggett and many members of the Board of Education and County Council were poised to hit the road on February 13 for Maryland PTA Night in Annapolis. And then, what else, snow.

 

We will not be deterred!  And that is why, on Thursday evening, March 6th, we are asking every one of you to join us--and to bring your friends, neighbors, grandparents, and students--when we go to the rescheduled, Winter weather-free, Maryland PTA Night in Annapolis. You are welcome to meet us there OR to take one of the five (5) school buses MCCPTA is sending from points throughout Montgomery County; CLICK HERE for details and links to register to ride FREE from Bethesda, Germantown, Poolesville, Rockville, or Silver Spring. Register soon, seats are filling up!
 
  father-son-schoolbus.jpg

 

SSL hours will be granted to middle and high school students who come prepared to tell delegates and senators why our schools need their support; students must be accompanied by their parent or guardian. SSL forms will be provided by MCCPTA in Annapolis. CLICK HERE for additional information.

 

Please remember that due to security in the State buildings, ALL ADULTS MUST BRING A PICTURE ID TO ANNAPOLIS. 
MCCPTA Annual Achievement and Special Education Awards Nominations Now Open
Nominations are open for 2013-2014 MCCPTA Achievement Awards and our MCCPTA Special Education Awards for the special volunteers, educators, community partners, students, and/or staff members in your community.  MCCPTA Achievement Award information can be FOUND HERE on our MCCPTA website; our Awards Toolkit is one of many resources to be found under "Tools" on the menu bar. MCCPTA Special Education Award information and nomination form can be FOUND HERE.   
 
Don't delay; the deadline for MCCPTA Achievement Award nominations is March 7, 2014; the deadline for the MCCPTA Special Education Awards is March 9, 2014.  The MCCPTA Achievement Awards will be announced at our Presidents & Principals Dinner on May 1, 2014, at the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.  Our 26th Annual MCCPTA Special Education Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday, May 12, 2014, at Rockville High School.  

Governor Opposing MSA Waiver
Although 22 of 24 Maryland district school superintendents, including MCPS Superintendent Starr, teachers and their unions, many legislators in the Maryland General Assembly, and PTA councils and parents, including thMCCPTA and the PTA Council of Howard County, have taken a firm stand against testing our students on the no longer relevant Maryland School Assessment (MSA) this year, Governor Martin O'Malley opposes the cancellation of the testing.
 
Some argue the state might lose Federal money. Would you force your child, ever, to do something just because you might lose money if they didn't?  Think about that.
 
And with all the snow days, wouldn't it make good sense to spend March teaching our kids the material they've missed, rather than having them sit for a test that covers material no longer taught?Please call Governor Martin O'Malley, 410-974-3901, and let him know what you think; if the office is closed, leave a message. And, while you're at it, CLICK HERE and send him an email with your thoughts.  Even if the US Department of Education won't do the right thing, Maryland can. 
MCCPTA Officers    

President
 
Janette Gilman

VP for Educational Issues 
Vacant

Vice President for Administration 
Frances Frost

Vice President for Programs  
Paul Geller

Vice President for Legislation
Lynne Harris

Treasurer  
Susan Burkinshaw

Recording Secretary -
Board of Directors 
Karen Collishaw

Recording Secretary - Delegates Assembly 
Kellie Schoolar-Reynolds
 
MCCPTA Office 
301.208.0111
[email protected] 


Upcoming Dates

MCCPTA Student Service Learning (SSL) Night
Wednesday, February 19
7:30-9pm
Cafeteria, Carver Educational Services Center

MCCPTA Parents Engaged for Academic Success Workshop
Thursday, February 20
5:30-8:30pm
Einstein High School
 
The State of Black Montgomery
Co-Hosted by MCCPTA
Saturday, February 22
10:30-1pm 
Silver Spring

February Delegates Assembly
Tuesday, February 25
7:30-9:00pm
NOTE WE ARE BACK TO OUR REGULAR TIME 
Auditorium, Carver Educational Services Center
 
MCCPTA Operating Budget Forum - CANCELED
Tuesday, February 25

 

Maryland PTA Night in Annapolis (NEW DATE)
Thursday, March 6
5-9pm

 

MCCPTA-MCPS Literacy Curriculum Night
Wednesday, March 12
7:30-9:15pm
Location TBD
 
MCCPTA Parents Engaged for Academic Success Workshop
Thursday, March 13
5:30-8:30pm
Einstein High School
 
MCCPTA Presents!
Tuesday, March 25
6:30-7:25pm
Auditorium, Carver Educational Services Center

 

March Delegates Assembly
Tuesday, March 25
7:30-9:30pm
Auditorium, Carver Educational Services Center

 

MCCPTA 3rd Annual Performing Arts Festival
Saturday, April 5 @ Rockville Town Center
Sunday, April 6 @ Downtown Silver Spring

 

MCCPTA Presents!
Tuesday, April 22
6:30-7:25pm
Auditorium, Carver Educational Services Center

 

April Delegates Assembly
Annual Meeting 
Tuesday, April 22
7:30-9:30pm
Auditorium, Carver Educational Services Center

 

MCCPTA-MCPS Math Curriculum Night
Thursday, April 24
7:30-9:15pm
Location TBD 

MCCPTA Presidents and Principals Dinner
Thursday, May 1
6:00-9:00pm
North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Conference Center

 

MCCPTA 26th Annual Special Education Awards Ceremony
Monday, May 12
7:00-9:00pm
Rockville High School

 

  

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