April 2008

Don't forget to "bookmark" the council website to get current information about training, meetings, announcements etc. www.lisdpta.org You can also access Area 16, Texas PTA and National PTA websites through our "partners" page.

A Message From Your Council President

Reflections article pictures

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope this newsletter finds you uplifted as the PTA year is winding down. Elections are being held, budgets will soon be planned, and audits taking place. Make plans now for a smooth transition of procedure books and materials for new board members. Encourage attendance at Area 16 Spring Conference hosted by Carrollton-Farmers Branch Council to ensure everyone has proper training for their positions. (Don't forget to include funds in your budget planning for training!)

The council remains active planning our annual Vendor Fair on April 19^th! Be sure to stop by and encourage your neighbors, scout troop, church or booster club friends to check it out. We will provide a Leader Orientation Training in May along with some other specialized workshops. Stay tuned for more info via email and in the May newsletter.

Our March 12^th Regular meeting included the election of officers for the 2008 - 2009 LISD Council and also approving motions to support both Propositions for the LISD Bond Election in May. Click here for additional bond information. We also heard about the free program 'Dignity Memorial Escape School' to help prevent child abduction. If you are interested in receiving their e-newsletter or requesting the program for your PTA, click here to visit their website.

Independence Elementary will be opening this fall, and meetings are set to begin the process of forming a new PTA. An Informational Meeting scheduled for Monday, April 21st - 7 p.m. at Castle Hills Elementary will begin the process. The bylaws committee and nominating committee will be formed at this meeting. Click here for details.

The PTA will be officially organized on Tuesday, May 20th, 7 p.m. at Castle Hills. Bylaws will be approved, membership dues collected, and election of officers will be held at this Organizational Meeting. Click here for an informational flier. Please mark your calendars for both meetings, and help spread the word!

We will be 64 PTAs strong next year! Now is the time to recruit strong leaders and equip them with the tools to succeed in their positions. What a wonderful service to provide your local unit and its continued growth.

Learning something new each day!

Kris Vaughn

President, LISD Council of PTAs

president@lisdpta.org

214.513.8359

p.s. Memberships received after March 15^th will be included for next school year.

April Program - The Sue Weaver CAUSE

Lucia Bone, founder of The Sue Weaver CAUSE that promotes Consumer Awareness of Unsafe Service Employment, will be the program speaker for Council's April General Meeting. CAUSE, a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization brings awareness and education to consumers and employers regarding the necessity of criminal background checks on all service employees, contractors, and subcontractors hired to work in clients' homes.

August 27, 2001, Sue Weaver was brutally raped and beaten to death by a twice-convicted sex-offender hired to do service work in her home. A major company sent two convicted felons into Sue's home to clean her air ducts. That company did not conduct background checks on its independent subcontractors. Sue's life is over, but had a criminal background check been done, Sue might still be alive today. While nothing will bring Sue back, those involved with CAUSE strive to build public awareness and prompt legislation that will protect others.

http://www.sueweavercause.org

Friends - When our kids pick ones we don't like

Rather than fighting a losing battle over who our kids choose as friends, we're far wiser to focus on upping the odds that our youngsters will make good decisions, even when their buddies don't. Listed below are three quick tips:

Send strength messages.

"Hanging around Joe is going to get you in trouble," sends the message that your child is too weak to think for himself.

"It's a good thing that Joe has a friend like you who makes good decisions," tells your child that he can think for himself.

Talk about the friend's behavior rather than the friend.

Talking with your child about how "bad" a friend is implies that your child is bad for choosing them.

Wiser parents talk about the types of sad consequences a friend's irresponsible behavior might bring about.

Allow your child to use you as the "bad guy."

Experiment with saying:
If your friends ever pressure you to do something you don't think is right, feel free to blame me for your not going along with them. You might just say, "My dad is so crazy, you never know what he will do."

article by:

Dr. Charles Fay

The Love and Logic Institute, Inc.
2207 Jackson St.Suite 102
Golden, Colorado 80401-2300
(303) 278-7552

Council Regular Meeting Date

Our next Regular Meeting Date is Wednesday, April 9, 2008

See you there!!

Councils provide opportunities for local units to meet and share knowledge and information, receive training and coordinate efforts. A council is the key link in communication among state, area and the local units. Councils provide support and guidance to the local units, while serving as a role-model to their membership.

Texas PTA Council Presidents' Supplement, 2007

2008 - 2009 LISD Council Officers

The following 2008 - 2009 officers were elected

at our regular meeting on March 12^th.

President: Kris Vaughn

1st VP - Programs: Jan Picardi

2nd VP - Membership: Scott Brown

3rd VP - Budget & Finance: Debbie Watson

4th VP - Leadership Development: Karen Pynes

Treasurer: Karen Barger

Secretary: Michelle McDaniel

Call to Serve on Council Board 2008 - 2009

Council Logo

If you are interested in serving on the Council Board
during the 2008 - 2009 year,
please contact Kris Vaughn (214) 513-8359 or
president@lisdpta.org.

Vendor Fair

LISD Council of PTAs Vendor Fair

Saturday, April 19th

9 a.m. - Noon

LHS Killough North

Open to Public - Group with most attendees receives $100

Click here for a flyer with details.

Carrollton Early Childhood PTA

The Carrollton Early Childhood PTA

is celebrating 50 years of family and fun!

Please join us Friday, April 11 from 9:30-11:30 at Holy Covenant Methodist Church in Carrollton for a brunch to celebrate our 50^th anniversary!

1901 E. Peters Colony

Carrollton 75007

Visit www.cecpta.org for further information

Around the Corner

· April 9, Council Regular Meeting, 9:30 am

· April 11, Carrollton ECPTA 50 year Celebration, 9:30 am

· April 12 - Deadline to pre-register for Area 16 Spring Conference

· April 19 - LISD Council Vendor Fair, Killough North LHS www.lisdpta.org

· April 21 - Informational Meeting for Independence PTA. Click here for flier.

· April 25/26 - Area 16 Spring Conference, Ranchview High School, Irving www.area16pta.org

· May 3 - Community Garage Sale benefiting LISD Adult & Comm. Ed, 8 - 2 p.m., Lewisville HS Parking Lot arincon@cityoflewisville.com

· May 17 - Communities in Schools North Texas (CISNT) Celebrating Successes Gala www.cisnt.org

· May 20 - Organizational Meeting for Independence PTA. Click here for a flier

See council website for more details on calendar

Planning Ahead

June 20-22, National PTA Convention, San Diego, CA
July 25-27, Texas PTA Summer Leadership Seminar, Austin
February 26 - Legislative Day at the Capitol, Austin
February 27 - March 1 - Centennial Texas PTA Convention, Austin

Getting to know your council board

Jan Picardi, Dressed to Learn

born and raised in Watertown, Massachusetts
grew up a die hard Sox fan. Went to Fenway Park often with Dad as a kid.
Associates Degree in Law Enforcement and BA in Textile Science from Framingham State College
Customer Service Manager for BayBanks in Boston for several years
married to Albert for 21 years
4 children - Jill, 18; Mary 16; Kelly 14; Kevin 11
Al and I attend tons of club and high school soccer, band concerts and baseball games
I currently work as a field marketer part time - perfect for school hours
members of St. Francis of Assisi in Grapevine
love spending time in Galveston on the beach
When we met, Albert and I started a list of MLB ball parks we visit - it may take us many years to finish but we love it!

Tracie Owens, Bowling for Scholars

Born in Birmingham, Alabama
Computer-brat, instead of an Army-brat. My dad started in high-tech in Hunstville, AL with CSC as a consultant for NASA, then lived in Massachusetts, Northern & Southern California
15 years ago I started at CSC... which I didn't even realize my Dad had worked for until I got the job!
Cal-State Long Beach College - Communications/Public Relations Degree
Post College - Paralegal Certification
Work full-time, telecommute from home 98% of the time
Married to Ed for 24 years
Three kids - ages 14, 15 and 17
Pets - many, I love them (2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 bird)
Hobbies - READING! I love reading historical fiction, biographies, detective stories, and fiction (including trashy Summer fiction). Hate love stores. Don't give me The Thornbirds to read
Love the beach, hanging with girlfriends, antique stores, garage sales, museums.... just get me out of the house!
Favorite Movie - The Princess Bride. I know it's a love story but it's not syrupy like The Thornbirds.
Do not enjoy - folding clothes, bananas and homework

Lewisville Council of PTA's Goals

· Educate local units about council support and resources

· Provide training and exposure for all PTA leaders and volunteers

· Actively include and encourage all local units to be involved with Council activities

Communicate

Advocate

Rejuvenate

Educate

LISD School Board Meetings

Board of Trustees

LISD Board of Trustees meetings

are held in the Board Room of the William T. Bolin Administrative Center, 1565 W. Main St., Lewisville, at 7 p.m.

April 14, 2008
May 19, 2008
June 16, 2008
July 14, 2008
August 11, 2008
September 8, 2008

___________________________________________________________________

Area 16 PTA Annual Meeting

2008 Area 16 PTA
Annual Meeting & Spring Conference

Destination PTA

April 25 & 26
(Pre-register by April 12!)
www.area16pta.org

Scrapbook and E-Scrapbook Award Entry Guidelines

The Area 16 deadline to submit scrapbooks for judging is April 18. All PTAs are encouraged to participate in the Historian Scrapbook evaluation. Scrapbooks will be returned at the Area 16 Spring Conference. They are a record of the activities and achievements of your PTA. The cover should be of a durable material. Official binders are available from Texas PTA, but not required nor will extra points be given if used. You don't have to be a scrapbooker to create a great history of your PTA. Questions? Sandi Dreer, Area 16 Historian at 214.507.3315 or historian@area16pta.org. See www.area16pta.org for official entry forms.

National PTA Convention June 20 - 23 in San Diego, CA

National PTA Logo How about attending the 2008 National PTA Convention in San Diego this summer? It is informative and invigorating to see PTA leaders from all across the country.

Maya Angelou is one of the keynote speakers. Click here for registration details:

Texas PTA News

The Voice

The Voice is now available for viewing online. Please go to www.txpta.org, log in to the member site, and enjoy the new March edition and archived issues back to 2004!

Feel free to reprint any articles, and please remember to cite where it came from.

(i.e- "Reprinted from the March 2008 Texas PTA The Voice").

CIS - Celebrating Successes Gala, 2008

Celebrating Successes Gala, 2008

LISD PTAs opportunity to support CISNT!

Communities In Schools of North Texas (CISNT) is proud to announce that "Celebrating Successes 2008" will be held on Saturday, May 17^th at 7pm at the luxurious Omni Hotel at Park West. This unforgettable evening will be a departure from traditional fundraising programs and will feature an exclusive VIP pre-event reception and a fun "cocktail party" event atmosphere including casino games, live music, dinner, the CISNT gallery of success, silent auction and toasts throughout the evening to celebrate the year's accomplishments. Look for more information soon on purchasing tickets for this event.

LISD PTAs, they need your support to make this event great!

The Council of PTAs has supported this event the past few years through the donation of wonderful silent auction baskets valued at $50 or greater. In 2006 and 2007, the PTA baskets have contributed over 10% of the total dollars collected from the silent auction and most brought close to or greater than their market value!

Since this is an annual event, many PTAs have created a line item in their annual budget for this item. PTAs are able to fund this because CISNT, like PTA, is a 501c(3) organization.

Please bring your basket or auction item valued at $50 to the March 12^th or April 9th Council Regular Meeting. Be sure to label your donation with your PTA's name and estimated market value.

Celebrating Successes is an annual fundraising gala celebrating the achievements of students and volunteers who participate in programs offered by CISNT. For more information about CISNT's programs, go to www.cisnt.org.

For more information regarding the silent auction, please contact:

Julie Rael, Celebrating Successes Auction Chair

julie.rael@verizon.net

(972) 539-9314