Council News Online
Saddleback Valley PTA Council Newsletter
Saddleback Valley PTA Council
25631 Peter A. Hartman Way • Mission Viejo, CA 92691 • www.svpta.org
President: Dolores Winchell • Newsletter Editor: MaryAnne Shults
May 2004
President's Message
by Dolores Winchell,
PTA in California - Outreach Issue
Check your mailboxes as if you have not already, you will soon be receiving a special publication called the "Outreach Issue" of PTA in California. This is an issue you should immediately duplicate and place in the same binder as your PTA Toolkit. Wow! This one of the most succinct, well written pieces I have ever seen published which speaks to the "benefits" of PTA. My plea to outgoing presidents is "Please make sure you give a copy of this to your successor!" It will make their job so much easier.
Roster Round-Up
If you haven't yet submitted your board roster for 04-05, please make it your number one priority. We have to submit those rosters through channels so that your new unit president and officers will get appropriate and timely mailings and email communications. If you are an outgoing president, feel free to delegate this to the incoming president, just please get it done promptly.
Convention Info and Resolutions
For those of you who were unable to attend convention, or missed all the resolutions, here's the scoop: All four resolutions were adopted with amendments from the floor. They were, Resolution A - Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis in Schools, Resolution B - Healthy Lifestyles for Children, Resolution C - School Transportation: Equitable Funding, and Resolution D - Youth Involvement. These resolutions will go on to the National PTA convention for their consideration. Last year National PTA adopted one of our resolutions, "The Importance of Physical Education in Our Schools." We have some work to do in our own district on Resolution B for next year.
PTA Bank Accounts
Every PTA council has been directed to collect from every unit all bank account information for all PTA accounts. For checking accounts you may provide a copy of a voided check. If you have savings accounts or certificates of deposit, the most recent statements will suffice. If it would be easier to complete the attached form, feel free to do so. We need the account name, account number and address and phone number of the financial institution for every PTA account your unit has. (This needs to be submitted at the May 20 meeting.)
So you ask, what is going to be done with this information? It is simply going to be placed on file, with the hope that it will never have to be accessed. As I have shared with you throughout the year, there are units (none of which have been in this council) that have been the victim of embezzlement and fraud committed by their very own trusted volunteers. Having this information on file will allow council and 4th District PTAs to act promptly and without delay should a unit become a victim of this crime.
Superintendent's Forum
The final Superintendent's Forum of the year is scheduled for Wednesday, May 26 beginning at 9:30 AM at the district board room. This one is an absolute don't miss!
The topic of this forum will be the "School Budget." Mark your calendar because this is an excellent opportunity to get the straight facts on this very complex and often misunderstood topic. Please be reminded that space availability is one representative per unit.
End of the Year Dinner
By now you should have all gotten in your reservations for the end of the year dinner at Dave and Busters in the Irvine Spectrum. Continuing presidents should be bringing another board officer while outgoing presidents should be bringing their president-elects. This dinner is going to be a smashing event, so be there or be square!
Workshops , Workshops, Workshops
Just when you thought you could wind down and take a siesta, it is time to rally the troops and get them to our annual workshops. The Saddleback Council PTA is sponsoring workshops for Presidents, Executive Vice-Presidents, Membership, Historians, Financial Officers: Treasurer, Auditor, Financial Secretary, Recording Secretaries, Reflections, Parliamentarians, Ways and Means, Communications and Legislation. We encourage all presidents to attend our workshop, as we will be discussing how things are done in our council. Although we would like each unit to bring folks for all of these workshops, we appreciate that folks may have conflicts. Please do give your board members ample notice about these workshops so they may make arrangements to attend one of the 4th District sponsored workshops on May 26 or May 27, if they are unable to attend Saddleback's. Watch for a flyer out soon requesting RSVPs. Our workshops will begin at 6:00 on Thursday, June 3 and will include dinner (courtesy of El Ranchito and Karen Edwards) for all attendees, and it's free!
Update and Pass on Procedure Books, Please
It is time to ask your board members to update and prepare to pass on their procedure books to their successors. This is important even if there is currently no successor for a position. One may be recruited over the summer or in the fall, so always assume that another individual will need this year's information. Presidents, please oh please remember that the PTA Toolkit is the property of your PTA, not your personal property. Since the new toolkits will not be mailed until September 1, it is imperative that you pass the toolkit along with your updated files to your successor no later than June 30. Many of you can do this after your last PTA meeting in June. We don't want to get phone calls at council from incoming presidents who didn't get those toolkits.
Installations and Celebrations
This year Fourth District PTA was selling installation cds for $5 at the convention, and they are probably still available at the office. These cds have lots of creative installation ideas and scripts. That last meeting of the year should be a celebration, so find an installation that works, get the props to deliver it, and have fun! This is the perfect opportunity to also recognize and thank all of your PTA volunteers for their contributions to the success of your unit this year.
Volunteeers Needed
As a reminder, Fourth District PTA is still searching for volunteers to work at the National PTA Convention which will be held from June 26 through June 28 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Please contact Barbara Paxton at 4th District PTA if you or any of your unit folks are interested in volunteering.
And That's' All Folks
Since this is probably my last newsletter, I need to do the happy dance, the wave and sign off. It was been an awesome two years serving as your council president. I have learned so much and feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with so many dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic PTA volunteers. Your creativity is never-ending and your commitment to PTA is admirable. You are amazing, wonderful folks!
Thanks for allowing me to be the leader of such an exemplary council. And kudos to all the folks on the council board, without them, there wouldn't be a Saddleback Council leadership team. What a pleasure and an honor it has been to meet, collaborate with, and further the PTA mission with these fine folks from other units. You should know that every member of this board has continued to volunteer in other unit and community leadership roles, while serving in their role at council. They have truly been my dream team!
And last but not least, my hat is off to Dr. Kathy Dick, Dr. Gross the district staff and all of our wonderful principals and school staff for their support and respect of the PTA mission and dedicated parent volunteers who serve as the foundation and driving force of PTA in SVUSD. Without them, we could not achieve the success we are so proud of.
Keep up the good work, and remember we represent every child with one voice.
MAY 20 , 2004 COUNCIL MEETING:
DAVE & BUSTERS, IRVINE, CA ITEMS TO BRING TO THE MEETING:
DAVE & BUSTERS, IRVINE, CA ITEMS TO BRING TO THE MEETING:
- Registration Form/RVSP for June 3 Workshop (attached to this issue)
(Treasurer's Folder) - Requested Bank Account copies or complete form
(President's Folder) - 2004-2005 Executive Board Roster
(President's Folder - email copy to M. Shults - see page 2)
UPCOMING EVENTS - MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
- Thurs., May 20 PTA Council End of Year Dinner, 6:00 PM - Dave & Busters, Irvine Spectrum
- Wed., May 26 Superintendent's Forum, 9:30 AM, SVUSD
- Wed., May 26 4th District PTA Training Workshops, 9:00 AM - National University, Costa Mesa
- Thurs., May 27 4th District PTA Training Workshops, 6:00 PM - Revere Elementary, Anaheim
- Thurs., May 27 OPEN HOUSE - SVUSD Elementary Schools
- Mon., May 31 Memorial Day Holiday - SCHOOLS CLOSED
- Wed., June 2 SVUSD Volunteer Dinner
- Thurs., June 3 PTA Council Training Workshops & Dinner, 6:00 PM - SVUSD Board Room
- Tues., June 8 School Board Meeting, 7:00 PM - SVUSD Board Room
- Thurs., June 17 Last Day of School
- June 26-28 National PTA Convention - Anaheim Convention Center
New Officer Lists... again
To provide an easier and more reliable way to compile data for next year's Saddleback Valley Council directory, please submit a copy of next year's officers and any executive board appointments to MaryAnne Shults. There are electronic templates available for MS Word and MS Excel for you to use for your data input. You may also submit as a text file with tabs between each field of information (e.g., title, name, address, etc.). See sample form attached to this newsletter (PDF version only). Forms will be emailed to you, or you can download from the website at www.svpta.org/forms.html#misc.
The form in the back of the May issue of "Orange Leaves" is for the Fourth District PTA's records and can be handwritten. For Council, please submit electronic file only.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Thanks to Trabuco Mesa, Robinson, Montevideo, Melinda Hts and Portola Hills for sending your lists so promptly. If you're not mentioned here, I didn't get your form yet!
NOTE: To save any of these templates to your hard drive, right click on the link and use the "save as" function.
-- MaryAnne Shults, Communications Chairman
All Children Are Our Children
By Patti Ingle
You are heroes of children
Loyal and true
Passionate in all you do
If everyone would only act like you
We'd have a society that honors children.
True heroes of children never rest,
Improving their condition is your quest
Every single day you give your best.
It is a privilege to serve our children.
And so you fight for education
And children's rights throughout the nation,
You truly are my inspiration.
You are the village that raises children.
The fire in your heart burns so bright
Sometimes it keeps up at night.
Never give up the valiant fight
Making the work worthy of its children.
In our hearts, hope will stay.
The children's future is today.
Keep working with the PTA
Where all children are our children.
An Ode to Mothers (In honor of Mother's Day)
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here." Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T. This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars...And then when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say,"Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to,but just couldn't find the words. This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat. For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time." This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot. This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home - or even away at college. This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them. For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
This is for all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt,all at the same time? Or is it in her heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers...Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us...Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.
