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Council Connection Newsletter |
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Council Connection
Lewisville Council of PTAs
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Jan. 2007
- Vol 1, Issue 4
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It’s time at your PTA for nominating committees to
form and start looking for candidates for next
year’s officers. Always consult your bylaws to see
in what month your elections are held. For example,
if your bylaws say your election is to be held at
your March general meeting, your nominating
committee will need to be formed at least 30 days
before that, and the slate of nominees announced at
least seven days before the election. For councils,
the nominating committee needs to be formed at least
60 days before the election, and the slate needs to
be announced 15 days prior to the election.
It is a good idea to announce in a newsletter or
flyer that the nominating committee will be elected
at the next general meeting and the procedures for
getting on the committee – that is, have someone
nominate you to be on the committee! Council
presidents, if your council is large, it is a good
idea to encourage representation from all areas or
school feeder patterns. The nominating committee is
elected by the general membership at a general
meeting. Consult your bylaws to see the number of
people needed for the committee and the number of
alternates.
Things to remember:
- The president does not serve on this
committee!
- Board members can serve on the committee, but
please encourage participation from your general
members. The nominating committee needs to be
formed and elected at the general meeting – not
the board meeting!
- What if you have more people wanting to be on
the committee than you have spots? Then you will
need to have a runoff by ballot vote
- Can I be on the nominating committee if I am
interested in a position? Yes, but you should
leave the room while the committee discusses your
qualifications.
Once the nominating committee has been elected,
they will need to immediately meet following the
general meeting to choose their chairman and decide
when they will meet. The nominating committee needs
to advertise through newsletter, email, flyer, etc
that they are accepting nominations for the offices
of (As specified in your bylaws). All discussion in
the nominating committee is confidential. The
nominating committee must choose one candidate per
office. If a candidate cannot be found for a
particular office, nominations will have to be taken
from the floor at the election meeting. The
committee members sign the report, thus signifying
that they agree with the slate of nominees. The
slate is then made public through your PTA’s regular
communication channels.
Be sure to contact your Council board if you have
questions.
Coming next month: Conducting Elections!
For more information, please consult “Frequently
Asked Questions” and “You’re
the President! Let’s Get Started” sections of
your Texas PTA Handbook.
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It’s time to get those contests started!!! All
entries will be due to council on Friday, March
2nd. They will need to be brought to
Donald Elementary between 10AM and 12PM.
Remember, only one entry per category per grade may
advance, but you may give as many awards as you wish
at your level. You do not need to do an intent to
enter form this year, but if your campus is
participating and will have entries advancing,
please e-mail me and let me know so I make sure I
get your entries. Also, please remind parents of
entries that are advancing that if their entry makes
it past the Council level, it will not be returned
to them so they might want to make a copy or take a
picture of it.
If you did not receive your forms and FAQ’s from
your council delegate at the beginning of the year,
don’t sweat. I will be sending an e-mail with all
forms attached to the presidents this week (and any
of your e-mails I have) or you can find all of them
at
txpta.org.
Thanks and if you have any questions, please feel
free to call or e-mail me.
Environmental
Patti
Pollok
972-539-5177
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Congratulations to all the children who participated
in the National PTA Reflections Program. The PTAs in
our school district collected 3575 entries! Wow! Our
sincere thanks go out to all the hard-working
Reflections chairmen for handling all those entries,
and to the parents for encouraging their children to
participate in the program.
Over 760 entries were received and judged at the
Council level. Council members and Reflections
committee members were very busy over the holidays
getting everything ready for the Council’s Annual
Reflections Reception at Flower Mound High School.
The reception was well-attended and featured
heartwarming opening remarks by Assistant
Superintendent Dr. Penny Reddell. Roughly 140 pieces
are being sent from Council on to Area 16 PTA where
they will be judged along with entries from
surrounding school districts.
If you have not done so already, be sure to take a
moment to recognize the children who participated in
Reflections at your campus and encourage them to
keep participating in years to come. Watch the Texas
PTA website for details about next year’s theme for
the PTA Reflections Program.
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If your team is still depressed over missing the
deadline - it's not too late! Due to an overwhelming
response to our Bowling for Scholars Tournament, we
have added an extra bowling time! Additional lanes
are now available at 2:30 on Saturday, January
20th. All registrations must be received by
12:00 Noon on Wednesday, January 17th. Visit
www.lisdpta.org to download a registration form
or contact Heather Deputy.
Bowling For Scholars
Heather Deputy
469-384-1590
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Communities in Schools of North Texas is gearing
up for its annual Celebrating Successes Gala
which includes the very popular Silent Auction. Once
again, your help is needed!
The baskets donated by your PTA are a tremendous
component of the auction and contribute to the
evening’s overall success. Communities in Schools of
North Texas depends on this event to operate its
programs at the campuses in our school district.
Please consider donating a basket from your PTA to
the Silent Auction. Remember, as a donation from one
501c3 organization to another, the donation can be
approved line item on your PTA budget.
All baskets must be received by March 16.
Please contact Jan Picardi for more information.
Thank you again for your support!
Dressed To Learn
Jan
Picardi
972-539-7643
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The Texas State Legislature is back in session and
they will consider many bills that affect children.
Here are some ways you can make a difference:
1. Visit
www.capitol.st ate.tx.us to learn all the latest
news. Contact information for your state Senator and
state Representative, bill information and session
news is on the site. During the session, I or Texas
PTA will ask the membership to voluntarily contact
their legislators about an issue. Find the contact
information on this site.
2.
Register with Texas PTA to receive e-mail
updates and action requests concerning bills. Sign
in with the password from your membership card. You
can also send your name and e-mail to:
communications@txpta.org. I will send local
presidents a separate e-mail with this information
to encourage your local membership to register and
become an advocate for children.
3. Texas PTA has
5 Legislative Priorities for this session. They
are: Improve indoor air quality of school busses,
Strengthen child passenger restraint laws, Expand
the smoking cessation and prevention programs
statewide, Promote improved school nutrition laws,
and Oppose vouchers. Stay informed through websites,
mailings and the newspaper on bills concerning these
issues.
February 28, 2007 is Texas PTA Day at the
Capitol. Details are
here. Although Council is not sponsoring an
official delegation from LISD, if a group from your
school is interested in going, I will be glad to
help you make plans. This is an exciting day on
which hundreds of PTA members visit legislators and
hear speakers.
Legislative
Jeanell
Spearman
972-662-1622
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Flower Mound High School invites you to the
Jaguar Auction on February 23, 2007. This
event benefits academic recognition of our students.
Mark your calendars now!
The Jaguar Auction is an exciting opportunity to
possibly win great prizes! Envelopes of numbered
tickets will be sold that evening at the door and
throughout the event. After previewing all of the
prizes available, you can deposit as many of your
tickets as you desire into the collection bags of
the prizes you wish to win. Beginning at 7:00 pm,
each prize, in order, will be awarded by drawing out
someone's lucky tickets. Preview starts at 6:30
pm.
The Jaguar Auction is held in the FMHS cafeteria.
Admission is $5, which includes your first envelope
of 12 numbered tickets. Additional envelopes of 12
tickets are available for $3 The more tickets you
"spend" on the prizes you want, the better your
chances of winning that prize. We will also have
raffles and a small silent auction.
We will be collecting prizes right up to the date of
the event and would appreciate any donations of
goods or services for the Jaguar Auction!
As of 1/10/07 we have over $15,000 in donations.
Companies/Individuals we have received donations
from as of 12/12/06 are:
Southwest Airlines, LaBuena Winery, Baibrook
McDonald's, Palio's Pizza, Dallas Symphony
Orchestra, Dallas Marriott Solona, Ft. Worth Museum
of Science and History, Sixth Floor Museum, US Chung
Ryong Taekwondo, Gameworks, Scarborough Renaissance
Festival, Lantana Golf Club, East Ocean Restaurant,
Ft. Worth Stockyards Championship Rodeo, Natural
Bridge Caverns, Omni Hotels, Texas Tornado, Dallas
Stars, Zero Gravity, Frisco Roughriders, Hilton DFW
Lakes Conference Center, Cheesecake Factory, The
Anne Lakusta Team, Gandy Ink, Beneficial Massage,
Headpress Novels, Dr. Billie Means, Hawaiian Falls,
Fish City Grill, American Concepts, Billy Bob's,
Coats Orthodontics, Dallas Summer Musicals,
Interskate, NRH20, Texas Rangers, Main Street Car
Wash, Town of Flower Mound, Tony's Wine Warehouse
and Texas Motor Speedway and there are numerous
other items.
E-mail Shelley
LeRoy or call her at 972-539-2804 with donations
or questions.
Bring your family and friends on Friday, February
23 2007!
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Sponsored by the LISD Community Ed Advisory Council
Rent a Booth—Sell Your Stuff—Keep Your Cash!
Who? All PTAs, Booster Clubs, Youth Groups and
Businesses
When? Sat., March 31 (rain date April 21);
8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Where? North Parking Lot at Lewisville High School
How Much? $20 for non-profits (PTAs, Booster Clubs,
Youth Groups, etc.); $35 for individuals/businesses.
Booths are approximately 18 x 20 ft (two parking
spaces).
What Else? Booth space assigned on first come first
served basis. Rental fee is for space only—tables
not included. Event publicity to be provided by
Advisory Council. Click
here for booth rental and payment information.
Checks should be made payable to Community Ed
Advisory Council.
Questions? Email
Amber Fulton,
or phone 972-625-5416.
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Up for a different kind of diet this new year? Put
the whole family on a healthy media diet! It makes
sense when you consider that your kids will probably
spend more time with media this year than they will
with you or in school. Here are six resolutions you
can make to help your kids think critically,
establish their own boundaries, and use media well
(rather than having media use them).
1. "I will know before they go." Take a moment to do
some homework and find out what's in that movie or
video game or on that Web site before letting your
kids see, play, or surf.
2. "I will talk with my kids about the media they
consume." What better way to inject your values than
to have an open discussion about the messages your
kids receive from what they watch and listen to? As
our kids age, we can't cover their eyes, but we can
help them to see. Talking with your kids helps them
be savvy about media content and to be aware of the
commercial and social messages they're seeing and
hearing. The goal is to help them be able to make up
their own minds about what they see, hear, play, and
read.
3. "I will help my kids connect the dots." It does
help to tell kids that media affects their
emotional, social, and physical lives. They need to
know that everything they see advertised won't make
them thinner, stronger, or richer. They need to
understand that too much screen time will lower
their grades or cause weight gain. Point out that --
like it or not -- studies prove that violent video
games raise aggression levels and lower empathy and
social skills. Remind them that all the underage
drinking and smoking shown in movies results in more
kids doing both activities. And all that hot, steamy
sex? Where's the birth control? Even if it makes you
feel like the most humorless parent in the world,
it's still important to point out racist,
commercial, sexist, and misogynistic messages. Never
hesitate to inject your values into a music video.
Your kids may look like they're ignoring you, but
they're actually listening to what you have to say.
4. "I will say 'no.'" We hate being the heavies and
denying our kids something they crave. But our kids
need boundaries in all things -- and media is no
different. Give your kids reasons, too. That way
they can internalize your decision-making criteria.
5. "I will watch my own media habits." After a long
day, who doesn't love to plop down in front of the
TV and watch 101 Law & Order reruns? But it's
important to remember that we're modeling behavior
for our kids.
6. "I will be very clear about what is and isn't
safe, responsible, or acceptable." Most parents
trust their kids and believe they're aware and
smart. But kids do need to be reminded about codes
of conduct and safety concerns. Reminding our kids
about Internet safety, cyber-bullying, and what to
do if someone invades their privacy with a cell
phone picture helps them control their media life.
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“The work will wait while you
show the child the rainbow; but the rainbow won’t wait
while you do the work.”
~Patricia Clafford
Newsletter Chairperson Needed
Lewisville Council of PTAs
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