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Season's Greetings PTA Family, We hope that your holiday season has started off great with a wonderful time of family and fellowship at Thanksgiving and will continue throughout the Christmas season and beyond. The mission of the Wake County PTA Council is to unify, strengthen and promote PTA units in Wake County. We strive to fulfill this mission so that we can all ultimately fulfill the mission of the national PTA, which is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for ALL children. We want to support you all to the best of our abilities. The only way we can accomplish this is if you let us know that you are having issues and for us to work collaboratively. When reaching out, please consider a couple of things: 1) we are supporting the largest school district in NC, as well as, the 15th largest in the country; 2) we, too, are volunteers and many of us also work a full-time job. The response may not be immediate, but we will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you for all that you do to make the mission statement become a reality .. for your dedicated unwavering commitment to the students, parents and teachers of Wake County public schools. You all are valuable, appreciated and just AWESOME! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!! Advocating always, Kassandra L. Watson Upcoming Events PTA Live Every Wednesday 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM (est) Join National PTA LIVE every week on FB for the latest PTA news Advocacy Awards Submissions Open October 16th - December 14, 2018 Nominate a person or PTA unit for their outstanding advocacy work. Take Your Family to School Week February 10 -17, 2019 Mark TYFTSW 2019 on your calendars! More information to come. 2019 National PTA Legislative Conference Arlington, Virginia March 12 - 14, 2019 Join us the 2019 National PTA Legislative Conference (LegCon) March 12 – 14, 2019. Teacher Appreciation Week May 6 - 10, 2019 2019 National PTA Convention and Expo Columbus, Ohio June 20 - 23, 2019 Join us the 2019 National PTA Convention and Expo June 20 – 23, 2019 in Columbus, OH! ADVOCACYAs the largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the nation, National PTA is the conscience of the country for children and youth issues. Through advocacy, as well as family and community education, National PTA has established programs and called for legislation that improves our children’s lives, such as:
For more informationemail Lisa Mead at Advocacy@wakepta.org. FINANCETreasurers We are approaching the mid-point of the school year, make sure these items are complete.
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS UPCOMING SCREENING Thursday, December 6, 2018 6 PM- 8PM Crossroads II, 110 Corning Road, Cary, NC Room 1400 The screening is co-hosted by the WCPSS Office of Equity Affairs & Office of Counseling and Student Services, the Wake NCAE, the Wake PTA Council, and Public Schools First NC. This limited release documentary examines how abuse, neglect and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect children's development & health outcomes in adulthood. Research shows ACEs are common, they affect all income levels, and their impact on health and well-being is significant. "The child may not remember, but the body remembers." Schools have a critical role to play in promoting the great childhoods that children deserve. One great takeaway from Resilience is that there is always hope! Science shows the effects of ACEs do not have to be permanent. The film highlights how communities working together can build resilience in kids to overcome the impact of ACEs. Come see this highly acclaimed film to learn more about ACEs, how they increase the likelihood of disease and illness, and how together we as a community can mitigate the impact of ACEs for Wake County children. There will be short commentary/discussion following the film. Come and learn what Wake Co. Public School System is doing to help create trauma-informed school environments and to help our students build social and emotional learning skills to help them be successful in school and in life. THIS FILM IS INTENDED FOR ADULT AUDIENCES. This powerful movie is a conversation-starter and a perspective-changer. THIS IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Tickets are not required. RSVPs are appreciated at info@publicschoolsfirstnc.org. You can find more information on ACEs at Advocates for Health in Action, and resilience related resources at Public Schools First. E-Cigerettes Although traditional cigarette smoking is on the decline, electronic cigarette use is on the rise. Electronic cigarettes, often referred to as, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, or vapes, are electronic devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine and special flavors to produce an aerosol that is breathed into the lungs. The aerosol can also be inhaled by bystanders. They come in lots of shapes and sizes. Testing on long-term health effects are still being conducted, however we already know that e-cigarettes are not safe, contain cancer causing chemicals, and are harmful on the adolescent developing brain. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the same addictive drug found in traditional cigarettes. For more information on electronic cigarettes and teens, download the Talk with Your Teens About E-cigarettes: A Tip Sheet for Parents provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health. Questions about the impacts of nicotine on adolescents? Questions about effects of e-cigarettes? Contact the WCPTA Health And Wellness Committee to schedule a program for your PTA. Healthy and Fast Family Fun Recipe of the Month: Spinach and Feta Pita Bake Upcoming Health and Wellness Events Promote a health and wellness lifestyle by celebrating these days in your schools, with your families, and in your communities. For creative ideas on how to incorporate any of these special days in your school, please contact the WCPTA Health and Wellness Committee. December is Safe Toys and Gifts Month December 2nd - 8th: Handwashing Awareness Week December 2nd-9th: National Influenza Vaccination Week NCPTA NCPTA Lunch and Learn - "NEW" Math for Parents December 11th, 12:00 - 1:00 NCPTA Headquarters 3501 Glenwood Avenue Raleigh, NC 27612 Tickets $20 - includes lunch What's up with "common core math"?!? It's not as complicated as you think! Math teachers today are striving for understanding, not memorizing. "Numerical fluency" is the starting point for building fundamental math skills before middle school. We will talk about this shift in approach and what parents can do to help their children. Apply for an NCPTA Healthy Schools Grant! Interested in making your school a healthier place for kids to learn and grow? Apply for an NCPTA Healthy Schools Grant! NCPTA will be giving five PTA units $1000 to improve health at their school! Deadline to apply – December 31, 2018 Grant winners will be notified by January 31, 2019 Final Grant Reports due June 30, 2019 Apply now! REFLECTIONSThank you for all the Reflection entries submitted to the Wake County Council for judging. We received 701 entries from 63 PTA units.The deadline for submissions closed on November 30th. The submissions are amazing! Our students came up incredible stories to share based on the theme "Heroes Around Us". Thank you the Reflection Chairs who work tirelessly to make this year's program a success in their schools. Winners will be announced on January 3rd on the WCPTA website and through the Reflections Memberhub and Reflections Chair email distribution list. Don't wait...Start making plans for your PTA to participate in the Reflections program next school year. WAKE SEICSEIC is a committee of the Wake PTA Council that promotes awareness and inclusion of students with special needs.
GOAL #1 Support PTA Programs: Offer ideas that facilitate the inclusion of students with special needs. EXAMPLE: Moore Square Magnet Middle School wanted to send off their athletes to Special Olympics but knew that loud cheering would be too overwhelming. They accommodated by holding up signs, giving high fives and doing a silent cheer. Watch and see: Moore Square Magnet Middle GOAL #2 Provide Information: Serve as a link to special education and related community services. TIP: SEIC has its own Facebook page. If your PTA uses Facebook as a communication tool, you can share events directly from this page. Facebook: Wake-SEIC EXAMPLES: Sensory Friendly Holiday Events. These provide accommodations such as reduced sound, adjusted lighting, support materials, smaller groups.
FB POST WITH GREATEST REACH THIS MONTH: This post connected strongly with our audience. High School PTA’s: please share this with your community. ImaginAbility: Sat, Feb 23 (9:30 am-5 pm)-Raleigh An empowering, educational one-day conference on adult transition and community living for teens and adults with autism, I / DD, and/or special needs and their families / supports and interested community members. |
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