Fall Greetings,
By now you have all had your first unit meeting and approved your operating budget of the year. I was really pleased with the great turnout we had at the September meeting at Rancho Cañada. It was also refreshing to see that several units took advantage of the mini-workshops offered prior to the meeting. We are here to train you and your board, so please take advantage of all of these training opportunities. It will ultimately make your job easier and smoother.
I apologize for the mix-up with the “Meet the Candidates Night.” Although we now need to reschedule the training workshops we had scheduled for October 24, I am particularly pleased that we were able to schedule it on an evening you all already had on your calendar. PLEASE REMEMBER TO COME AT 6:00 PM. Your RSVP to Karen Schroeder, Council Secretary @ Kschroe521@aol.com by Monday, October 21 will ensure that we have enough food to feed everyone dinner. As a reminder, this would not be a good evening to invite a guest to the council meeting, because we will be holding our meeting next door to the board room in the board conference room where seating will be cozy. Do send a representative in your place should you be unable to attend.
Regarding the “Meet the Candidates Night” on October 24 at 7:00 PM, please promote this event and invite your school community to come out and listen and ask questions. This forum is designed to educate our community so each and every one of them can make an informed decision on election day in November. Having attended the last one I can tell you it will undoubtedly be an enlightening evening. You’ll receive a chance for every individual from your unit who attends for the November drawing. Trust me, it’s a great prize!
Please keep those membership dues flowing in. These are pass-through funds that do not require a motion by your board or association to release the check.
Finally, you should have all received your invitation to the Superintendent’s Forum on Wednesday, October 16 at 9:30 AM in the district board conference room. Dr. Gross will be discussing the budget, so save the date and send a representative if you cannot attend.
Happy October!
Dolores Winchell,
ITEMS TO BRING TO THE OCTOBER MEETING:
- Appetite for 6:00 PM Dinner Meeting
- Two (2) copies of adopted unit audit for Council Auditor, Luis Alvarado
- Copies of items for Incentive Chart for Council VP, Karen Edwards
- Membership Dues (not submitted by the 10th) for Treasurer, Linda Ball
- Guests, board members, parents, teachers at 7:00 to ‘Meet the Candidates’
MARK YOUR CALENDARS (UPCOMING EVENTS)
| Oct. 16 |  | Ed Council Meeting, District Office |
| Oct. 17 | 7:00 PM - Bylaws Review Workshop, District Office | |
| Oct. 23-29 | Red Ribbon Week | |
| Oct. 24 | 6:00 PM – PTA Council Meeting, District Board Conference Room (last night to turn in 50+ per capita memberships to qualify for the Chairman’s Club) | |
| Oct. 24 | 7:00 PM – Meet the Candidates Night, District Board Room | |
| Oct. 26 | 10:00 – 12:00 – Asthma 101, Mission Hospital Conference Center | |
| Nov. 1 | District Staff Development Day – No School | |
| Nov. 5 | Election Day | |
| Nov. 12 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM – Asthma 101, Ole Hanson Elementary School | |
| Nov. 12 | 7:00 PM – School Board Meeting, District Board Room | |
| Nov. 13 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM – Asthma Tools ‘n Triggers, San Joaquin Elementary School | |
| Nov. 20 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM – Asthma Medicines, San Joaquin Elementary School | |
| Nov. 20 | 9:15 AM – Nominating Committee Workshop, Rancho Cañada Elementary School | |
| Nov. 20 | 10:00 AM – PTA Council Meeting, Rancho Cañada Elementary School (note: THIS IS A WEDNESDAY, NOT THURSDAY) | |
| Nov. 23 | 10:00 – 12:00 – Asthma 101, CUSD Family Resource Center |
NOTE: If your unit has upcoming events that you would like to put on the Council’s website, please send all information to MaryAnne Shults at communications@svpta.org or call 768-2609 (days). Include name of event, short description, date/times and contact information.
DO YOUR BYLAWS NEED TO BE UPDATED?
The California State PTA has issued the latest version of bylaws, which are dated June 2002. The Bylaws for Local PTA/PTSA Units have a lavender cover. The unit president should have received this latest version with their summer mailing containing the California State PTA Toolkit. Presidents please forward the lavender copy to your parliamentarian, if you haven’t already done so. Only bylaws that have the dates December 2001 (green cover) or June 2002 (lavender cover) will be accepted from units. Any other dated versions will not be accepted.
Does your unit need to update the bylaws? These are the steps to follow:
- The president appoints a committee (3 - 5 people) to review the bylaws. The parliamentarian is the chairman of this committee.
- Using the “Instructions for Completing the Standard Bylaws” (page ii) the committee reviews the bylaws to see if any changes are necessary and then completes a set of the most current edition of Bylaws.
- If needed, the parliamentarian should consult the council or district parliamentarian in completing a section or making desired changes.
- The committee prepares a detailed list of proposed amendments.
- The committee presents to the executive board the recommendation that “no changes” be made, or presents the list of proposed amendments.
- The executive board votes and the outcome is recorded in the minutes.
- The parliamentarian makes a copy of the updated bylaws for reference.
- The parliamentarian prepares the transmittal form detailing the proposed amendments and submits this along with five (5) sets (the original and four (4) copies) of bylaws to the council parliamentarian for review (make a copy to keep for yourself).
- After the council has reviewed, the bylaws are forwarded to the district parliamentarian for review.
- After the district has reviewed, the bylaws are forwarded to the California State PTA parliamentarian for approval and signature.
- After the bylaws have been signed and returned, an association meeting is scheduled to adopt the amendments to the bylaws. Members must be notified of the meeting at least 30 days in advance and a list of proposed amendments must be included with the notice.
NOTE: If the only change is to update to the most current edition of bylaws, a vote by the association is not necessary but the return of the signed bylaws from the California State PTA parliamentarian is noted in the minutes of the next executive board meeting. - A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the association membership is required to adopt the amendments.
- After the association adopts the amendments, the secretary signs and dates the three (3) master copies of the bylaws, which are kept by the president, secretary, and parliamentarian.
- Additional copies of the bylaws are made for the procedure books of each member of the executive board, including the principal.
Note: Standing Rules should include a detail description of your family or business memberships. Please remember if your unit accepts family or business memberships, only one member may hold a membership card. “One member, One Vote” The unit sets the membership fee and forwards the required per capita dues to the council for each member. For example if you have a family membership that is two members of a family, both members get a membership form and you must send the council the capita dues for each member being $3.85 each. So the total for that family membership that you will send to council will be $7.70. This is confusing and I will be going over this in more detail at the Parliamentarian workshop on October 17, 2002.
PARLIAMENTARIAN WORKSHOPS OFFERED
At our November Council meeting I will hold a workshop for the Nominating Committee. Unit Parliamentarians please plan on attending. The meeting will start at 9:15 AM at Rancho Canada Elementary.
I also will be having a Bylaw Review Workshop on October 17, at 7pm at the district offices. We will be in the board conference room. Please bring your recent approved bylaws, procedure book, and lavender copy of the newest version of the Unit Bylaws. This is a mandatory workshop and all Units must be represented.
Please feel free to email me with any concerns or questions.
Evamarie (Evie) Bauer
SVPTA Council Parliamentarian
(949) 589-3026, parliamentarian@svpta.org
SENDING EFFECTIVE EMAIL
1) Be concise. As with all email communications, the best messages are those that are concise and to-the-point. The goal of email is to improve communication effectiveness and efficiency. Before you send a message, ask yourself: Have I said what I want to say in the most effective way? Will the recipient find this information valuable? Another good rule is to try to keep everything on one "page". In most cases, this means twenty-five lines of text.
2) Use descriptive "headers." The subject header of your email message (called the "header") should provide the reader with a clear indication about what the message contains. A subject line that pertains clearly to the email body is a good way to get people in the right context to receive your message. It should be brief (as many mailers will truncate long subject lines), does not need to be a complete sentence, and should pertain to the subject.
3) Use discretion when quoting documents. If you are replying to previous email, you should explicitly quote that document to provide context. Be cautious about quoting, however. Only quote lines in the email that are relevant to your response. 4) Be polite and respectful. In all your emails, remember that even though you are communicating via computer, there are people on the receiving end of your message. Unlike speech, it is very difficult to convey the specific tone of your message using email. Because of the lack of vocal inflection, gestures, and shared environment, email is not as rich a communication method as a face-to-face or telephone conversation.
6) Be swift. You must be quick to communicate effectively. Fortunately it's easy to respond quickly to email. There's almost always a reply option in your email program that takes care of all of the addressing for you. Try to make it a rule to answer your email as soon as you get it. If you don't have the full answer right then, let the other person know that you'll be getting back to them.
7) Continue to network by other means. Again, email is only one communication tool available to you; it is by no means a substitute for most of the communication you need to do to be effective in your work. Many people find that regular email communication with a small group of people actually leads to greater personal interaction (in-person, by phone, etc.), and you should encourage this.
8) Other email etiquette tips:
- If you receive a message that seems out of character for the sender, double-check before taking it seriously. If you ever receive a message that makes you angry, do not under any circumstances respond immediately! Wait awhile to cool off, and if possible, meet and talk face-to-face.
- Email can be misdirected, even when you are careful. Do not put something in an email message that you would not want read by everybody. And if you get someone else's message, let the sender know.
- Email is easily forwarded to someone else. Although this is convenient, it is not always appropriate. If you are unsure, ask the sender before forwarding the message.
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
November 5th - Election Day
Please remember to vote on November 5th. Although the PTA does not indorse individual candidates, it does support issues that affect children. This year there are two propositions on the ballot that the CA PTA is asking you to approve. Please vote yes on Prop 47 and 45.
PROPOSITION 47 - www.yesprop47.com - The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2002 will help build some of the 46,000 new classrooms we need to accommodate nearly one million new students and relieve overcrowding. Prop. 47 will also deliver overdue safety improvements and repair old, deteriorating schools. School construction and renovation projects will be subject to strict accountability requirements, including mandatory audits. Voters who have already approved or will soon approve their own local school bond have a double incentive to vote “yes” on Prop. 47 because most locally approved projects cannot be completed without Prop. 47 matching funds.
PROPOSITION 49 - www.joinarnold.com - The goal of the proposition is to create a safe, educationally-enriching and fun after school environment at all of California’s public elementary and middle schools. Providing a supervised and structured after school haven for our most vulnerable youth not only protects our school children, it keeps our neighborhoods safe. The initiative provides more than $400 million dollars a year in new funding to provide these grants. This money will come from incremental growth in state revenues — not new taxes — beginning in 2004 or later. Waiting until 2004 will allow California’s economy and state revenues to recover.
Questions to ask at a Parent/Teacher Conference:
