Region Director’s Message

Inside this

issue:

Membership 2

Bylaws 2

Treasury Tips 4

PARP 6

Reflections 6

Know Your AD 8

Calendar 2013-

2014

11

NASSAU REGION PTA

E-Leader Special Points

Of Interest

President’s Rap

Fall Conference

NYS PTA

Convention

Resolution/

Advocacy

Workshop

FALL 2013 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

www.nassaupta.org

facebook.com/nassaupta

Dear Presidents,

It is trying times for PTA presidents, no doubt about it. The Common Core Standards

(CCS) has become quite the hot button issue, evoking a very strong, passionate and

thought provoking response from parents and the school community alike. Are you

feeling the pressure from your members and community to stand up for our children?

Where is the PTA message getting lost? We have not backed down from advocating

for every child regarding the CCS. PTA has heard and conveyed repeatedly to the SED

that the implementation and assessment piece needs to be evaluated in response to

parent concerns for their children’s well-being, the need to address teacher

assessments, over testing and what is perceived as the corporate takeover of our public

schools.

What other child advocacy organization has had more access to the Commissioner and

the State Education Department, has sent out a survey, blogged, written weekly

newsletters, met with the governor’s representatives, and written collaborative

statements with numerous education stakeholders including the NY School Boards

Association (NYSSBA), School Administrators of NYS (SAANYS) and NYS United

Teachers (NYSUT) who all endorse what is good about the CCS and oppose what is

not?

There is also no doubt that there are legitimate concerns regarding the testing of

students, implementation and assessment pieces of the Common Core Standards. PTA

is doing everything in its power to see that those concerns are being addressed and

action taken in response to those concerns.

No one, especially very dedicated and hardworking volunteer PTA members, want to

see their children, anyone’s children, in distress over testing or want our teachers to be

demoralized. Nassau takes great pride in the success of its schools and in no small

measure owes that to parent engagement. We believe in public education and support

our teachers and administrators. Most importantly, we believe in the right of every

child to a sound basic education. Now is not the time to be divided, for that only

makes us weaker and less able to be advocates of change. The health and well being of

every student is paramount in all we do and all that we stand for.

We cannot let the Common Core Standards polarize us or become an obstacle to

continued growth in membership or in all that we want to accomplish. Let’s take a

breath, let the lesson learned from all of this be that there is incredible strength in

numbers, strength and numbers that can be put to good use, the best use, advocating

for our children.

Respectfully,,

Laurie

Membership By: Sheryl Haigh, Nassau Region Membership Chair

CALLING ALL PRESIDENTS! Please join us at Presidents’ Rap

Monday, October 28, 2013

Nassau BOCES

71 Clinton Road, Garden City, Garden City, NY 11530 7:00PM

Registration at the door begins at 6:30PM Cost: $15.00

Pre registration: $10:00

The Presidents’ Rap is the best place to get answers to your Questions! Come to this important and informative meeting just

for Presidents. Meet other presidents and Nassau Region’s Assistant and Associate Directors. Great ideas tips, and answers

to FAQ!

Come ready to chat about any issues that are of concern to you or your unit. Nassau Region’s top-notch team of Assistant

Directors will be ready to answer any questions and help you brainstorm and problem solve.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and getting excited about the next

school year. My name is Sheryl Haigh and I am the Nassau Region

Membership Chair. My role is to facilitate your unit’s connection with Nassau

Region and the NYS PTA and I'm looking forward to working with all of you.

Membership is basically a two part job, the first part is procedures and record-keeping, and the

second is marketing and recruiting, so I’ll cover some quick notes on each to help you all reach your

unit goals this year.

As far as business goes, the membership cards have been mailed out from NYS PTA in Albany to

all units in good standing and should have arrived at the unit president’s address by now. If you

have NOT received a membership packet, please contact your AD as soon as possible. If you

HAVE received your membership packet, you need to go online to nyspta.org to confirm receipt

and enter your membership chair information. The cards are blank, so we have posted a template

on our website (nassaupta.org). I will keep you updated about membership deadlines as the year

goes on, and if you have any specific questions about membership procedures, please let me know.

The second part of our job is recruitment, and in order to achieve success, it is important to set unit

goals and aim high. Develop a plan and set a theme. Think outside the box, and remember . . .

membership is everyone’s job. You may want to ask people to support, rather than join, the PTA.

Some people do shy away from “joining” for fear of a time commitment. If we all work together

promoting the mission of PTA, we can easily reach our goals. Remember, the more voices we have,

the more attention we are given by school administrators, school boards, and legislators. I

encourage you to call me for membership recruitment strategies, and please don’t hesitate to share

ideas that worked in your unit! Together we can make this a very successful membership year.

Please remember that I am here to help you along the way, answer your questions, and give you

whatever support you may need. My e-mail address is membership@nassaupta.org and my number

is 516-795-7148.

Sheryl Haigh

Page 2 E-LEADER

Thank you to

following board

members for their

time and

commitment to

Nassau Region PTA

Gloria Parlatore

Jill Bamberger

Pam LaMonda-Jaffie

Marjorie Young

Rich Kuntzler

Your service was

truly appreciated!

All units and councils must have PTA bylaws under which they operate. Bylaws must be updated every 3 years to keep your unit or council in good standing with the State and National PTA. Bylaws provide the structure and rules of your association. If your bylaws expire this year, or they have already expired, please join us at Fall Confer-ence where we be conducting a workshop “How to Use By-laws EZ, the NYS PTA’s By-laws Wizard”. The Bylaws EZ process is more efficient and user friendly than in the past

and takes less than 15 min-utes to complete. No more hand written changes, mail-ing 7 copies and waiting up to 90 days to see if they are ap-proved. link. To get started, please visit www.nyspta.org and click on the Bylaws EZ link.

After your membership vote, you will only need to send in the completed bylaws cover page, signed by the president and secretary and dated with the Membership Adoption date. The cover sheet is then mailed to your Region Bylaws

Chair (RBC) who will review them and forward them electronically to the NYS PTA bylaws chair for approval.

Once approved, you will receive 2 hard copies of your bylaws along with an electronic copy in PDF format. This will enable you to share the approved bylaws with all of your members. All paid members are entitled to view the unit’s bylaws.

If you have questions about your bylaws, please contact your Assistant Director or the Nassau Region Bylaws Chairman at: bylaws@nassaupta.org.

We are now at the midpoint of the fall semester of the school year. The Legislation Resolutions workshop was presented in September and I thank all of you who were able to attend. I appreciate all the positive feedback that I received and I am equally grateful for your suggestions as I plan for next year’s workshop. By this time each PTA unit should have already selected their delegates for the New York State PTA Convention and they should have already pre-registered by the October 5th deadline. As we review the resolutions packet and prepare to vote on them, let us also decide which resolutions we are going to take action on. For example, if you are concerned about antibiotic use in food ani-mals, maybe it’s time to call your local legislator and tell them about it. If your child has to cross Sun-rise Highway to get to school each day, did you know that an update to the NYSDOT child safety zones could make you eligible for bus service? Maybe it’s time to voice your opinion. These are ex-amples of just two new resolutions that will be voted on at convention. Remember, voting is just the beginning of the Legislation Chairs role. Once we agree that this is what PTA wants to support, then it’s time to plan our course of action. Have you considered what you want to support this academic year? Do you know how? Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I hope to see all of you at convention. Happy Advocacy!

Bylaws Update By: Dan Batik, Nassau Region Bylaws Chair

Shop the Nassau Region PTA Boutique

Kimberly Bell, Nassau Region PTA Boutique Chair

Come and stop by the PTA Boutique that is available at many of our workshops and conferences. We are proud to offer a wide selection of pins and other PTA merchandise for every type of PTA position or event including but not limited to Reflections, PARP, Board Members, SEPTA, PTSA, Officers, Teachers, Principals and Students. Most pins are only $4. PTA pins are perfect for installation ceremonies, awards dinners, to honor someone special and to give as gifts to thank those who volunteer during the year.

You can order pins by mail! Information is on our website: www.nassaupta.org under PTA downloads or contact our Boutique Chair Kimberly Bell at 516- 223-4756 or send an email to boutique@nassaupta.org.

Page 3 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

The ABC’s of Resolutions:

Retention:

A resolution that already exists and that PTA wants to continue

to advocate for. Retentions may not be

changed.

Rescission: A resolution that will be removed

because it’s purpose has

been achieved.

Update: A resolution

that is still needed, but whose wording

needs to be changed.

New:

A new position on an issue on which PTA

delegates are asked to vote whether or not to support

its advocacy.

All existing resolutions are

reviewed every 7 years.

You can read all the current resolutions

of NYS PTA in “Where We Stand”

at nyspta.org under “Advocacy”

Resolutions/Advocacy Workshop

Jerilyn Lews, Nassau Region PTA Resolutions Chair

opportunity to spend a special

evening in a relaxed atmosphere

with your administrators and to

network with other PTA

presidents from across Nassau

County.

Please save the date and make sure

to include this outstanding event

in your budget. Remember to

Our annual Presidents/Principals

Dinner is one of our most

successful events. All PTA units

that are in good standing are

invited to join us as we celebrate

our 54th annual Presidents/

Principals Dinner at the Crest

Hollow Country Club on Monday,

November 25, 2013. This

dinner is traditionally an

inform your superintendent,

building principal, board of

education president, and

teacher’s union president so

they may plan to attend.

We look forward to sharing

this very special evening with

you.

Treasury Tips By: Jeanette Meoli, Nassau Region Treasurer

you have any questions about

your status.

▪ Begin your membership

campaign and plan your

calendar for executive board

and general membership

meetings if you have not

already done so. Do not

forget to present your

proposed budget to your

executive board for approval

before presenting it to the

general membership for

adoption at your first General

Membership meeting.

▪ Review the convention

packet and resolutions with your

membership so that delegates can

truly represent your PTA at

convention. Vote to send

representatives to the NYS PTA

Convention being held this year

in Saratoga Springs, NY from

November 15-17, 2013.

Be sure to visit our website

regularly at www.nassaupta.org.

All flyers, registration forms, and

conference brochures are

available for downloading. Please

share the site address with your

members.

Reminders for Unit/Council Presidents

Your unit must be a unit in

good standing in order to

participate in local and state

functions such as the

Reflections Program and the

Presidents/Principals Dinner.

If your unit is not in

compliance by November 1, all

dinner checks will be returned.

Please keep this information in

mind before you invite your

principal or superintendent.

Your insurance must be paid;

your first membership payment

must be sent by November 1,

2013 and your bylaws must be

current. Please call your AD if

Page 4 E-LEADER

Important Reminders

for Treasurers

Know your unit code

number, Federal ID

number and tax-

exempt number.

All checks must have

two signatures.

Never give out a

blank check.

Pay all bills by check,

not cash.

A reconciliation of

the checkbook must

be done monthly by

someone not

authorized to sign

checks.

Be sure your bank

signature card is kept

up to date.

It’s A-B-C Time for Treasury!

A is for AUDIT …. Make certain that your annual audit is performed and reported to the general membership. Your audit committee should consist of three members who are NOT signatories on the bank accounts, or a professional outside auditor (if your membership has voted to spend the funds).

B is for BUDGET …. Prepare your budget for the 2013-14 school year. Present it to the membership at the first meeting where it will be voted on and adopted. This gives your PTA permission to spend the money as allocated in the budget. (Come to the new budget preparation workshop on August 21 for everything you need to know about budgets!)

C is for CHECKBOOK …. If there are new officers in your unit, then signatures need to be changed at the bank. All PTA checks require TWO signatures.

For questions regarding treasury procedures, contact your AD or Jeanette Meoli at Treasurer@nassaupta.org.

Presidents/Principals Dinner By: Veronica Goldberg & Barbara Reynolds, Presidents & Principals Dinner Chairs

Nassau Region’s Fall Conference will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at Syosset High School - 70 South Woods Road, Syosset.

There is a workshop for everyone; Treasurers, Bylaws, Reflections, PARP, SEPTA, Health & Wellness chairs, and anyone interested in the work of PTA. Learn about drug abuse prevention, how to effectively partner with your principal, the Importance of family engagement in student success, leadership development, the special education diploma, and overview of the Annual Professional Performance Review -APPR.

Send a member of your unit to each workshop and you will come away with a wealth of information to share with all of your members. The better informed you are, the greater the success of your unit. Look for the Fall Conference brochure in the mail and on our website at:

www.nassaupta.org. Join us!

Pre-register for $10.00 (postmarked by October 8th) and get an information packet! 6:45 pm Registration at the door $15.00.

Nassau Region PTA Fall Conference There is no greater investment in your PTA than training!

Page 5 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

Keep every board member informed with up to date information, calendar, and issues for every level of PTA.

For extra subscriptions to the Nassau Region PTA’s Newsletter - LEADER please go to nassaupta.org, Click on “PTA downloads” then on “Leader Subscriptions" download the

order form and instructions.

Family Engagement in Education Act: On July 11, 2013, the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2013 (S. 1291 / H.R. 2662) was introduced by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (RI), Christopher Coons (DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), and Representatives Glenn Thompson (PA) and Carolyn McCarthy (NY). As you all know, research demonstrates that family engagement in a child’s education increases student achievement, improves attendance and reduces dropout rates. The Family Engagement in Education Act of 2013 seeks to target capacity-building and technical assistance for effective family engagement strategies by promoting district flexibility to identify programming that works best for individual communities. The proposed language is intended to inform comprehensive reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization: On July 19, 2013, the House of Representatives passed the Student Success Act (H.R 5) – legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – No Child Left Behind (ESEA – NCLB). National PTA did not take a position on H.R. 5, but communicated concerns regarding fundamental flaws in the proposal, including: Lack of retention for state and local education funding requirements

Lack of codification of the cap on alternate assessment for students with disabilities Shortcomings in not providing universal

access to high quality instruction

The next step in the ESEA – NCLB reauthorization process is for the Senate to consider their version on the full Senate floor.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed their version of ESEA reauthorization in June.

If and when that bill passes the Senate, the House and Senate would need to meet to reconcile and agree to the differences

between the two bills, prior to sending it to the president for his signature.

Maria Fletcher, NYS PTA Immediate Past President, Federal Legislation Chair :

receive positive recognition for

their efforts. Every year the

Reflections Program challenges

children from preschool through

12th grade to create art inspired

by a specific theme.

How to begin?

Students submit their original

artwork through a local PTA

unit in any of the six arts areas:

National PTA has a cultural

arts program promoting student

success. Does your PTA participate?

National PTA began the Reflections

Program more than 40 years ago to

stress the importance of arts in

education. This program is designed to

enhance a quality arts education by

providing an opportunity for students

to explore their artistic talents and

dance choreography, film production,

literature, musical composition,

photography, and visual arts using this

year’s theme, “Believe, Dream, Inspire”.

For more information go to www.nassaupta.org click

Reflections or contact Nassau Region’s Reflections Chairs

Kathy Paulis: reflectionscoordinator@nassaupta.org

Kim Caminiti: reflectionsmanager@nassaupta.org

Parents As Reading Partners By: Natalie Culpeper-Brown, Nassau Region PARP Chair

Congratulations to the 2013 Nassau Region PTA Winner and NYS PTA Honorable Mention Winner:

Dutch Broadway Elementary School PTA (Elmont, NY)!

Their program, inspired by the Olympics, was entitled “Let the Games Begin!” It was a huge success with

students, parents and teachers alike. Their four-week program kicked off with a daytime ceremony taking

the children through an Olympic Opening experience. Each grade represented a different region of the

world, and each class a different country. As each class entered the gymnasium, the country was announced on the microphone

and the students cheered and waved their flags with enthusiasm and pride. Students were introduced to the program by a

slideshow presentation prepared by the PARP committee to describe the program’s purpose, participation rules and the

incentives. Students recorded daily minutes spent reading in school and at home on a reading log.

Each week, students who brought back completed reading logs signed by parents were eligible to receive a small individual prize

as a reward. Classes also competed as a group to achieve the highest percentage of participation in each grade to earn a special

class prize. With the help of 5th and 6th grade volunteers, the PARP committee checked participation levels in each grade.

Student volunteers collected the class tracking reports from the teachers to be placed in a PARP bin in the office; the student

volunteers also delivered the prizes to each class. PARP committee volunteers tabulated the minutes each week. To foster the

spirit of healthy competition and motivation, the minutes were displayed on the PARP bulletin board in the main hallway of the

school on a tracking chart to show the participation progress by class.

The children visited the board often. The majority of classes in each grade amazingly kept up 100% participation for the full

period. The PARP committee used Scholastic dollars earned from past book fairs to provide grade appropriate books about

countries around the world. Additional theme related programs were incorporated into the PTA meetings including Postcard

Creation and Exchange, Ice Cream Social and Special Guest Reader Visits. The committee also created a bulletin board to display

post cards created by students and received from around the world. In the end, the committee had quantifiable data, which helped

them to document their program and make improvements for the future. Their winning entry has been submitted to NYS for

statewide judging.

Is your school planning on doing a PARP program this year? If so, please check the PARP section of the Nassau Region website

for the PARP Toolkit which offers helpful hints and ideas. Maybe your school will be the featured winner next year! It’s not too

early to start planning your PARP program.

To help you get started, join us at the Nassau Region Fall Conference on October 17, 2013 for a very informative PARP

Workshop -- How to Run a Successful PARP Program. We hope to see you there. If you have any questions about PARP or

how to plan your PARP program, please contact Natalie Culpeper-Brown, Nassau Region PTA PARP Chair, at

Page 6 E-LEADER

Reflections 2013-2014 PTA Reflections Theme : "Believe, Dream, Inspire"

National PTA is looking for the 2015-2016 Reflections Program Theme. Is your PTA challenging students to submit ideas to the National PTA

Theme Search Contest? Deadline: October 18, 2013. Go to nyspta.org/yourpta/reflections for the entry form and instructions.

Understanding the New School Lunch Program

For information concerning the new school lunch program please visit www.fns.gov; search box type

“National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern, click on link. This will give you three easy to read pages for you

to look at and compare your lunch program to the National Standard program. Also, www.usda.gov; search box

“smart snacks in school, click on “smart snacks link, scroll down click on: Smart Snacks in school USDA, “All Food Sold in School”

Standard, which will give you another, very easy to read and informative two pages. Both websites have a wealth of other information

as well.

Plan your Health and Wellness Year

Use the NYS PTA Wellness Toolkit found on the NYS PTA website, under Advocacy. This is a very well done and great resource

for units, council and regions to help plan programs, advocacy and fundraising efforts. There is also a monthly calendar related to all

areas of health, wellness, safety and environment. Each month connects you to events and websites where you can gather informa-

tion for activities or even use for research for articles. You can also use this site for research on a particular health or wellness issue

you may have within your school or community, for example “Alcohol, Tobacco and other drugs”. It will give you the associated

resolution, associated position papers, associated resources, basic policy and legislative directives that pertain to it.

The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)

New York State Education Law seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and suppor-

tive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or

at a school function. The Dignity Act was signed into law on September 13, 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2012. Amendments to

the act are effective as of July 1, 2013, including an awareness and sensitivity in the relations of people, including but not limited to,

different races, weights, national origins, ethnic groups, religions, religious practices, mental or physical abilities, sexual orientations,

gender identity, and sexes. Cyber bullying was also added, which will be defined as harassment or bullying by any form of electronic

communication, and include incidents occurring off school property that create or would forseeably create a risk of substantial dis-

ruption within the school environment. School Boards of Education are required to include language addressing The Dignity Act in

their codes of conduct, Additionally, under the Dignity Act, schools will be responsible for collecting and reporting data regarding

incidents of discrimination and harassment. This pertains to Teacher/Teacher; Teacher/Student; Student/ Teacher; Student/ Stu-

dent; Teacher/Principal; Parent/ Teacher. Boards of Education are responsible to see that every employee in the district (including

private bus companies that transport your children) are trained in DASA. Every public school is required to have a compliance Dig-

nity Act Coordinator and that person should be trained in human relations and development, decision making and positive behavior,

which best fits a Social Worker, Guidance Counselor or Psychologist. This person should do student counseling, parents programs,

assembly programs and be the contact person for the school. DASA strengthens the Code of Conduct in each school. For more in-

formation and printable brochure go to: www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact.

NYSED is looking for public comment about the change to the Regulation of the Commissioner regarding the

additional parent member on the CPSE. Comments must be submitted by October 28, 2013. The Board of

Regents is expected to take action on this at their November 18-19, 2013 meeting. The effective date would be

December 4, 2013. To let your voice be heard on this important issue, click the link below for additional

information and to submit comments:www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/comment/announce-chap213.htm.

Health and Wellness Mary Ward, Nassau Region Health and Wellness Chair

Page 7 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

Special Education Updates Joyce Cattani, NYS PTA Special Education Specialist

Page 8 E-LEADER

Know Your AD: Your Link to Nassau Region Section Districts in Section AD Name E-Mail Address Telephone

1 Hewlett/Woodmere,

Island Park, Lawrence, Long

Beach & Oceanside Susan Contino ADSection1@nassaupta.org 516-921-2753

2 Baldwin, East Rockaway,

Lynbrook, Rockville Centre

& Roosevelt Barbara Reynolds

ADSection2@nassaupta.org

516 437-1565

3

Hempstead, Malverne,

Queens Community, Valley

Stream -#13, #24, #30 &

CHSD & West Hempstead

Tiffany Capers

ADSection3@nassaupta.org

516-220-7330

4

Carle Place, Garden City,

Hicksville, Jericho, Westbury,

LI Gay PTSA Kathy Volpe

ADSection4@nassaupta.org

516-735-2953

5

Bethpage, East Meadow,

Island Trees, Levittown,

Nassau BOCES Early

Childhood & Nassau BOCES

Middle School

Patty Farrell ADSection5@nassaupta.org

516-680-8790

6

Elmont, Floral Park/

Bellerose, Franklin Square,

New Hyde Park/Garden City

Park, Sewanhaka CHSD &

Uniondale

Tricia Barbato ADSection6@nassaupta.org

516-695-8377

7

Glen Cove, Henry Viscardi,

Manhasset, Mineola, Port

Washington & Roslyn

Marie Smith

ADSection7@nassaupta.org 516-997-1809

8

Center for Community

Adjustment, Farmingdale,

Massapequa, Nassau BOCES

Carmen Road, Plainedge,

Seaford & Wantagh

Susan Parker ADSection8@nassaupta.org

516-364-2401

9

Locust Valley/Bayville, North

Shore, Oyster Bay/E.

Norwich, Plainview/Old

Bethpage & Syosset

Susan Landini ADSection9@nassaupta.org

516-822–6019

10 Bellmore, Bellmore-Merrick

CHSD, Children’s Readiness

Center, Freeport, Merrick,

Nassau BOCES Elementary,

N. Bellmore, N. Merrick &

Rosemary Kennedy Ctr

Tracy Allred-Pulice ADSection10@nassaupta.org

516-794-6975

See You In Saratoga Springs!

This year The New York State PTA 117th

Annual Convention will be held

November 15-17, 2013 at The Saratoga

Hilton Hotel-Saratoga Springs City Center

in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Registration packets have been mailed out

to all Presidents and registration is

underway.

Guest speakers this year include Ken

Wagner, Deputy Commissioner for

curriculum, assessment and education

technology, NYS Department of

Education.. Jacy Good , board member

for the national non-profit organization for

cell-free roads, FocusDriven and Greg Ahlquist,

Webster City School District., New York State

Teacher of the Year.

We hope that with the Convention being held in

Saratoga Springs this year, we will see an increase

in the number of convention delegates attending.

The theme for the 2013 Convention is Reflect the

Past, Transform Today, Inspire Tomorrow which

adheres to the belief of the PTA’s mission for

children and recognizes the talents and

collaborative works of today’s educational partners

and members that will ignite ideas, effect positive

change and inspire others!

Join us in Saratoga Springs; we look forward to

seeing you there!

Name your newsletter! Every newsletter needs a name to distinguish it from the

other publications at school.

Come up with a great design that is simple to format and easy to read. Use 2

fonts or less, it’s easier on the eyes and less confusing to the reader.

Create a simple graphic calendar of upcoming events. The best place to put it is

on the back page because the front and back pages of the newsletter are the most

widely read.

Less is more, less words in an article, less pictures and keep clipart balanced with

information.

Make sure if you are printing pictures of students, that

you have written consent from their parents to use

their image, including group shots.

New York State PTA Annual Convention

PTA Newsletter Tips

Links to New York State PTA, National PTA and other

important websites.

Region calendar, Boutique forms, Award applications

and more!

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please

send them to: webmaster@nassaupta.org.

Website Information

Nassau Region PTA has an easy to navigate website! Please

visit us at www.nassaupta.org to help you with all your PTA

needs. Check on upcoming events; find important forms,

flyers, articles and links to important PTA information:

Officers, ADs & other Region Board members’ contact

information.

Conference and workshop information.

Page 9 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

Market your PTA

Create a PTA Board

List one

accomplishment

List one goal; List one

benefit!

Incorporate community

and education updates.

Is Your Unit in Good Standing?

A unit in good standing is one whose:

• First dues payment to the New York State PTA is in the state

office by November 1.

• Insurance premium has been paid to the New York State PTA

office by June 1.

• Bylaws have been approved by New York State PTA within the

past three (3) years.

Page 10 LEADER

Recognize the outstanding members of your unit.

October is Healthy Literacy Month!

PTA units and individuals can plan this month to promote the importance of understandable

health information.

Read and discover a new recipes for the whole family to cook together

Visit www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org

New York State PTA offers many awards and ways to recognize outstanding people and programs. Listed

below are just a few:

Advocate in Action Award - Acknowledge the involvement of PTA members in their child’s educa-

tion as well as in their PTA.

Honorary Life Award - recognize individuals for their contributions to the welfare of children and

youth.

The Golden Oak and Diamond Awards - special way to honor your most dedicated volunteers.

Parents as Reading Partners Award - recognize your units efforts to encourage cooperative reading or

literacy activities

For additional information, applications and eligibility requirements visit nassaupta.org under awards/

scholarships or nyspta.org click on Your PTA and awards and recognitions.

Every Child in Focus is a National PTA campaign to reinforce the mission to advocate for every child—with one voice—so

all families feel invited and welcomed within PTA.

The focus of the campaign is to strengthen Family Engagement in Schools.

Celebrate achievements and discuss similarities and differences within diverse populations.

Sharing resources and advocacy tools to help understand the needs of every child.

Each month the National PTA will highlight the educational challenges and achievements surrounding a particular group,

and focus on ways to strengthen Family-School Partnerships.

For additional information View our video about this campaign on our National PTA YouTube Channel.

To follow the Every Child Focus calendar visit www.pta.org and click on “for parent” then “Every Child Focus Campaign”.

Every Child in Focus National PTA www.pta.org

Page 11 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 1

October 2013 17th - Fall Conference 7:30PM 28th - Presidents’ Rap 7:00PM

November 2013

15th-17th - NYS PTA Convention 25th - Presidents/Principals Dinner

December 2013

Recess

January 2014 7th & 8th - Reflections Drop off

23rd - Nominations & Elections & President’s Rap II 27 - Reflections Pick up - LMEC

February 2014

14 - PTA Founders Day

March 2014 1st & 2nd - NYS PTA Legislation/Education Conference

8th - Nassau Region Legislation Round Table

Nassau Region PTA ® 2013-2014 Calendar

April 2014 7th - Arts-in-Education Showcase

23rd - Reflections Reception

May 2014 12th - Spring Conference/Ways & Means Expo

June 2014

16th - Officers’ Training 7:00pm - New Date!

Were on the web

www.nassaupta.org

and facebook

Facebook/nassaupta.org