WCPTA November News

Message from the President

Greetings PTA Family: 

I hope that everyone is doing well and your PTA is functioning and operating in full force. 
We have had a busy first quarter of this PTA year. There are several units that are struggling and in need of assistance. We all struggle with finding enough volunteers. So if you have an awesome way of recruiting volunteers for your PTA, PLEASE SHARE!! Send your ideas and strategies to our WCPTA FB page and to MemberHub so that all can benefit!! 

In addition, we ask you to join the Council so that we can offer much more than just the summer leadership conference. A strong council helps maintain strong units. If you have questions with regards to membership in the council, fees, etc., please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Send an email to president@wakepta.organd copy treasurer@wakepta.org. Please remember if you are sending in your membership dues, to include your invoice with all pertinent information, as well as, your check with TWO (2) signatures. 

Sadly, we have noticed that many of our units are not following the NCPTA Uniform Bylaws and many are just “winging” it. PLEASE DO NOT jeopardize your 501 (c) 3 status by not being compliant and not following the simple bylaws. If you have any questions or concerns PLEASEreach out to us, that is why we are here. We want ALL of our units to be successful!! Whether you are struggling with operational issues, financial issues, board issues, whatever, PLEASEdo not hesitate to reach out. Do NOT wait until it gets worse. We are a small team, but we will do all that we can to assist you.   COMMUNICATION IS KEY!!

PHISHING EMAIL SCAM: 
There has been a rash of phishing email scams. Please be diligent when reading emails that seem to be from someone you know. Often times the scammer will have a generic greeting and will ask for an account number or a payment. Before you even respond, contact the person that it claims to be from to verify.  REMEMBER, according to the NCPTA Uniform Bylaws: 

Section 11.5 – Checks. All bills of this local PTA shall be paid by check. Checks must be signed by two of no more than four officers authorized by the board of directors to sign checks, except that none of these officers so authorized shall be related, and at least one of these authorized officers shall be the Treasurer. The signing of blank checks is prohibited.

Section 11.6 – Expenditures and fund availability. All expenditures of this local PTA must be consistent with the approved budget and based on actual fund availability. All reimbursements for expenditures will be contingent upon actual fund availability.

Also, you should have documentation to justify why you are dispersing funds. Most banks do not require two (2) signatures; however, PTA DOES REQUIRE THIS!! To be compliant, I would suggest that each unit add a caveat to their standing rules to indicate that “regardless to the bank rules, we must comply with NCPTA bylaws and require two (2) signatures on all checks” (or however you want to word it). For further information on phishing, please go to the Federal Trade Commission’s website: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 
National PTA website is home to a lot of useful resources for units. If you have not yet registered for the PTA Boot Camp, register at www.PTAKit.org. Once you are registered, your PTA Boot Camp will be launched. As a PTA Boot Camp member, you will be invited to join  NEW “PTA Leaders Only” closed group on Facebook. It is a great page with a variety of topics posted by units from across the country/world. Try it….

Thanks again for all that you do to advocate on behalf of children everywhere. At the end of the day, remember “why you PTA”! I close with this Facebook post from Stacy Bateman, a regional 9 Director at the Utah PTA and a member representative of the National PTA Board of Directors: 
“PTA has a wide range of leaders. Some have been involved longer than I have been alive, others have been around for 20 years and some are just starting. Wherever you are in your journey, you matter and you make a difference. Today I want to reach out to those of you who may be in a new or different role than you are used to. In the last month I have talked to so many people who are finding their footing in new positions or at a different level. Some feel lost, some are unsure and it may even feel like a little bit of an identity crisis. One volunteer told me she feels like everything she did and worked so hard for is being undone. She asked if I ever felt like that. I told her I understood better than she knew. It is hard to work for years and then watch things change. Especially when you know things you and your board did were successful and loved. It’s also hard to be in a new school or new position when you gave so much of yourself to one place. If this is you right now, I feel you and I get it. Transition is hard. Especially in this organization where we give so much of our time and heart. I chose this picture (courtesy of Google) because it’s a great temperature check for me. No matter where I am or what capacity I serve in, I want to always remember my why. So if you find yourself in this odd space of transition and aren’t sure whether to hold on or step away, remember your why. Think about all the kids who need an advocate. Think about all the places your talents and skills can be utilized. Find someone to mentor who could use your knowledge and experience. Build them so they can build others. Then remember one of the best things this organization has to offer… you belong to one of the biggest and most supportive families in the world.” 

So when you begin to get frustrated or want to give up and walk away, “ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR WHY”!!

Advocating always, 

Kassandra 

ADVOCACY

The November 14th WCPTA Advocacy Committee meeting will focus on vaping.

​Join us to hear guest speaker, Michelle Mulvihill, Public Health Educator/Tobacco Prevention and Control Manager from the Wake County Health Department.  You can learn about Michelle's work here. 
She will be talking about vaping, specifically what we can do as advocates to address policy issues that can make an impact and parent messaging.  The meeting space is being donated by a church in Cary, and if you need to bring children, it is a large enough room where they could read/screen time/etc without being an issue.  Because this is a hot topic, especially among high schools, if parents or other PTA folks outside of Advocacy are interested in joining, that would be fine.  To view the National PTA stance on vaping, please go here.
Wake PTA Advocacy Meeting
November 14th at 7:00 pm
Location:
Good Shepherd UCC
1050 NW Maynard Road
Cary NC 27519
(Near the Corner of Maynard and High House)

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Building Resilience in Your Children/Having a Trauma-Informed PTA
November 14th 7:00 - 8:30 PM
Crossroads II
110 Corning Road, Cary
Room 1400
This 90 minute session is based on the film Resilience about toxic stress and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how children can survive stress by learning to be resilient. This workshop is designed for those who have seen the film and want to take the next step by implementing trauma-informed strategies in their school, classroom, or home. 

Designed for parents/guardians and PTA members, this presentation is grounded in research on strategies that help build Resilience in children. When kids have the skills and the confidence to confront and work through their problems, they can learn that they have what it takes to confront difficult issues. 

Includes discussion about how parents can work to ensure that programs and policies implemented by PTAs support a trauma-informed learning environment for all students. Thoughtful, empathetic volunteers are a vital link between home and school and should be using trauma-informed/sensitive guidelines in their policies, programs, and when communicating with parents or guardians. 

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NCPTA

NCPTAPTA President-Leading Your PTA: 
November 4, 2019 
7:30 p.m.
You have been elected PTA President – now what? Join NCPTA as we discuss the role and responsibility of PTA President. Register here 
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