President: Bridget White • Newsletter Editor: MaryAnne Shults

October 2004

by Bridget White,

Fall is approaching and there is a chilly crispness to the air. The Halloween goblins will soon be knocking on our doors, and the holidays will be fast approaching. Whew, and the PTA will still be moving along. By now you should have a good start on your membership drives. I remind you to bring in your member remittance as you continually collect it. On October 28 the Chairman's Club Award for 50 memberships will be due at our Council meeting.

Superintendent's Forum

I look forward to our first Superintendent's Forum with Dr. Gross. It is on Wednesday, October 20, at 9:30 a.m. in the district board conference room. The topic for discussion is about the Strategic Planning Workshop held on September 27-28 by the District. It will be informative for those of us who participated and for those of us who did not. I look forward to hearing about the outcome and what the district will do with all the recommendations. I have high hopes that what came out of the brainstorming that went on to take our good school district to a greater level in the future. Remember if you cannot attend to send someone in your place, it will be interesting to see where the future of the school district is heading.

Don't Forget to Vote!

Remember to get your legislative representatives involved. Election Day is coming fast; November 2 to be exact. There are some interesting propositions on the ballot. The California State PTA has taken a position on many of them. Three of them are:

• Support - Prop. 61-The Children's Hospital Bond Act
• Support - Prop. 63 - Mental Health Services Act
• Oppose - Prop 68 - Non-Tribal Commercial Gambling Expansion

SVUSD Hazardous Mitigation Plan

At our next meeting we will be have a speaker. Mr. Frank Manzo, Director of Business Services, who serves as the District Safety Officer, will be discussing the SVUSD Hazardous Mitigation Plan. He will give us a brief introduction of the draft plan, which describes how the District will respond in the event of a hazardous situation (i.e., wildfires, flooding, and earthquake). It is important to get community input on the prioritization of needs identified by the plan. Mr. Manzo will present the draft plan and then request input from us on how to prioritize needs. This will help prepare the District for applying for federal funds from FEMA when grants become available. In the past, this type of advanced planning allowed SVUSD to receive $8 million for earthquake preparedness.

I would like to have a small roundtable-style discussion about how your school is reacting to the decrease of flyers allowed to go home with the children and being available on the District website instead. So, have your thinking caps on when you come to our next meeting.

NEXT MEETING - OCTOBER 28, 2004: 7:30 P.M., SVUSD Board Room

ITEMS TO BRING TO THE MEETING:

• Submit dues for 15 members to receive "Chairmans Club" award. (Treasurer's folder - submit with Unit Remittance Form available at www.svpta.org/forms)
• One (1) copy of your unit newsletter; original format as distributed to your membership (President's Folder)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS...

• Tuesday, Oct. 19 - MEET THE CANDIDATES, 7:00 PM, SVUSD Board Room
• Wednesday, Oct. 20 - Superintendent's Forum, 9:30 AM, SVUSD Conference Room
• Thursday, Oct. 28 - Unit Presidents' Meeting, 7:30 PM, SVUSD Board Room
• Monday, November 1 - NO SCHOOL (District In-service)
• Tuesday, November 9 - School Board Meeting, 7:00 PM, SVUSD Board Room
• Thurs-Fri, November 11-12 - NO SCHOOL (Veteran's Day)
• Thursday, November 18 - Unit Presidents' Meeting, Rancho Canada Elem., 10:00 AM
• Elementary Schools have Parent Conferences November 15-19 & 22 - MIN. DAYS

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On September 23 we had a workshop for parliamentarians at Rancho Canada Elementary prior to the council meeting. We spent most of our time discussing bylaws and parliamentarian procedure. Units without respresentation at the workshop had training materials and a parliamentarian procedure booklet sent through district mail. Presidents, please see that your parliamentarians get these handouts. One of the most important points discussed was that any units revising bylaws must submit revisions on the new version which is blue. I have extra copies for anyone who may need them.

On Tuesday, November 16, we will be holding a Nominating Committee Workshop at the district board conference room from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Please RSVP by Monday, November 15.

It is very important that EVERY unit have respresentation at this workshop. This is an area where many units experience difficulty simply due to lack of training and understanding of the process. You can make this a smooth, simple process for your unit by getting your folks trained to do it right the first time. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

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1. I have been corresponding directly with the membership chairs from each school via email, however I would like to reiterate what I have told them:
2. To qualify for the Chairman's Club your unit needs to submit $3.85 per member to council by October 28th for 50 PTA members.
3. If your unit has not paid remittance for any members, the first remittance is due on November 18, 2004 with the final on February 24, 2005.
4. Please forward membership payment to council using the remittance form found on the web site under www.svpta.org.
5. If your unit needs more of the Legoland coupons, please let me know prior to the October 28 meeting. We have a limited supply left so first come, first served.

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Resides:

Rancho Santa Margarita

PTA Unit:

Robinson Elementary

How many years have you been a PTA member?

4 Years

How were you introduced to the PTA?

Through fellow parents

What leadership positions have you held (within the PTA) and at what level (unit/council/district, etc.)

I am Treasurer of my unit and Jog-A-Thon Co-Chair. I am also President of the Saddleback Valley Educational Foundation.

Tell us about your family.

My wife, Sandy, and I have been married for 16 years with two wonderful (and challenging!) children, Paige and William.

Tell a little about your career and/or education, memberships of professional organizations.

My background is Marketing and Business Development. I graduated from Miami University (in Ohio) with a degree in Finance and Economics. Currently, I am a domestic procurement engineer, transportation coordinator and Childcare Specialist (I am an at-home Dad).

Any other quotatable comments you have regarding your passion for the goals and objectives of the PTA? What particular area of the PTA are you most supportive?

PTA's grand mission is to assist parents and teachers in the education of the children of the community. I can think of no better way than to help our legislators make informed and educated decisions about education.

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Business people increasingly are expressing interest in getting involved with the education of children, and when done properly it makes sense. Members of the community, whether businessmen, professionals or shift workers, can do so much for education just by being involved. Bringing the business community into the schools as an outside learning source and source of support for students and parents creates a needed bridge.

The whole idea of getting the business community involved with the school community is good childcare, and education is part of childcare. It makes especially good sense when the outcome means low-income students stay in school and develop some attention for the community outside school.

The key to the projects might just lie in the parents. Inside every school are hosts of business people, in the form of parents, who are talented enough to offer a lot to the regular education of their children and educators shouldn't be afraid to ask.

Whenever children take their first steps into the education community, parents should not be too far behind. Getting parents involved and keeping them involved is a good principle of business that should be welcomed at any school. By opening the schoolhouse doors, schools turn on a light and link education with the rest of the community.

The first and primary goal of any school or learning institution must become its families. Families have a lot to offer the school community. They are, after all, the lost treasure of the institution of education. For too many years, too many parents have felt shut out of education. If parents are lost or feel isolated or rebuffed, the whole idea of education fails. If education fails the family, it has little to offer the child.

(Judy Lyden operates a pre-school in Evansville, Ind. Write to her c/o The Evansville Courier, P.O. Box 268, Evansville, IN 47702, or e-mail her at jlyden@evansville.net.)

(c) 2000 Scripps Howard News Service. All Rights Reserved.

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Are you a bargain hunter who likes the convenience of online shopping? Do you enjoy supporting great causes while getting some holiday shopping done, too? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, then check out National PTA's Holiday Auction, November 1-December 3, 2004.

Many great items will be up for grabs at bargain prices. Items up for auction include vacation getaways, collectables, toys, electronics, gift cards, sporting event tickets, and much more! Many items are available for previewing now. Be sure to keep checking back as new items are added.

National PTA will be featuring Hot Watch Items on the auction homepage at and in several e-mail alerts that will be distributed between now and the end of the auction. To receive updates, visit the auction homepage and select Sign Our Guestbook.

National PTA is still accepting donations for the auction. To make a donation, visit the auction homepage and select Donate an Item.

In order for the auction to be a success, National PTA needs your assistance in spreading the word. Here's how you can help:

• Pass along the above information to PTA members, parents, educators, friends, family, and others who may want to bid on items.
• Include information about the auction in newsletters and other communications.
• Provide a link from your PTA or school website to (there's no "www" in the link).
• Use the Refer Your Friends and Email this Page options on the auction website to tell friends and family about items that may be of interest to them.
• Start bidding on fabulous items beginning November 1, 2004.

National PTA would like to thank our Proud Sponsor of the Holiday Auction, Charity for You, for its generous support!