| PTA Leaders, Members, Colleagues and Supporters,
Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year! PTA continues to be the oldest, largest, child advocacy association in this country, providing history and a milestone of accomplishments that support the connection to effective engagement and academic achievement for all children.
There are many issues and challenges our students and families face today, and this is our moment to make a difference in their lives. To be successful, we must work as a team, and become equipped as leaders and attend training, utilize resources and strengthen communications with one another. To ensure every child's potential is a reality, it is vital that we collaborate with local school communities. This is the heart of PTA.
The work we are charged to do is best summarized in the Vision and Mission of PTA, and captured in this year's Georgia PTA Theme and Membership Theme:
Theme: Stand together. Power up. Reach out.
Membership Theme: Join Us!
Thank you for this opportunity to serve you, students, families and educators. There is no better time than now to be a leader, and to advocate for education on behalf of all children and youth in Georgia. Your continued support is greatly appreciated; encourage others and invite them to Join Us!
Donna Kosicki
President, Georgia PTA
2011 - 2013 |
| Reflections Update | |
 Reflections is off and running with this year's theme "Diversity means..." A few changes have been made for this year. Be sure all entries have a TITLE and ARTIST STATEMENT. This program focuses on the entrant's interpretation of the theme, so these are most important.
We hope to have all active Councils participate. The state deadline is December 2, when each Council will turn in their top two (2) winners in each grade for each of the six categories. Please check with your Council Reflections Chair for their deadline. Good luck and please visit www.georgiapta.org for more information.
Reflections Entries on Display at the High
Don't miss the outstanding collection of art submitted for Reflections 2010-2011 by our young artists. The collection is on display through October 27 in the Green Family Education Center, lower level of the Stent building, near the café. |
| Grow Your Membership with Just Between Friends | |
Just Between Friends, the official PTA communications and membership management system, can help your unit grow membership and engage parents in your school community to be more involved in your unit's activities. It's easy - use Just Between Friends to communicate with your entire school community; earn revenue share; and manage your membership. And, Just Between Friends is a FREE, private, secure system!
Read more... |
| Cultural Competency - It All Begins with Understanding | |
 Cultural competence is a popular catch phrase you have probably heard lately. But beyond the trendiness of the phrase is an important concept that's actually the key to the understanding we need. Cultural competence is the ability of a person or organization to interact effectively with people of different cultures. In the context of our schools and PTAs, this means understanding the students we serve; what cultures they represent, what norms and behaviors they might bring to the classroom, how their families view and interact with schools and teachers, etc. If our teachers and PTA leaders understand the cultures of our school community, they have the tools they need to ensure every, child and their classes as a whole, have the best chance for success.
Read more...
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| Health & Wellness Resources | |
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools
www.saladbars2schools.org
The CDC is working with Publix Supermarket/Produce Department in a five (5) state region (Georgia is one of the states) with funders willing to fund salad bars. Visit the site above for more information and applications.
October Is National Farm to School Month www.farmtoschoolmonth.org/
The Georgia Farm to School Summit will be in conjunction with the Georgia Organics Conference in Columbus, GA on February 24-25. There will be workshops and information for all audiences - school food service staff, teachers, parents, and farmers. There will also be a Farm to School track on Saturday.
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| Left Alone to Die - Heat Related Car Deaths |
In the past 10 years over 400 children have died in hot cars in the US. Georgia ranks 6th for the most deaths.
Besides the risk of hyperthermia, (heat related death), children also are killed or injured due to back-overs, rollaways, trunk even power window strangulation.
Heat related fatalities are especially common during the summer but can happen at any time during the year.
Read more...
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| PTA Members Save 10% at OfficeMax® | |
Save 10% on your next purchase at OfficeMax-including supplies, furniture, ink & toner and Print Center services.
As a PTA member, you now receive exclusive savings at OfficeMax all year long. That means you can stock up on school supplies for the kids, organization essentials and furniture for your home or office, and ink and toner for all your printing needs.
Saving is simple: click here, print the coupon and bring it to any OfficeMax location nationwide. Or, log on to the PTA Member Benefits Page and get your online coupon code for purchase on www.officemax.com.
And, be sure to pass along this great offer to all the PTA members you know. Savings will be available throughout the year and always accessible on the PTA Member Benefits Page.
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| Announcements - Click on titles below to read more... | |
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| Parent Resources | | Countdown to School Success |
Advice, tools, and online resources you'll need to help your children have a school year packed with fun and learning. These resources were developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, National PTA and Parenting magazine.
For the full online collection of resources, go to Parenting.com's Countdown to School Success hub. You can also download a month-by-month PDF guide with tips from the Department of Education and National PTA. |
| Diversity Resources | |
The Diversity committee is compiling a library of diversity activities, exercises, presentations and web resources to enhance diversity programming in Georgia. Check out the Diversity page to find some great resources for your district, council, and local unit. Please contact Diversity Chair Wendy Stewart (wstewart@georgiapta.org) with any questions or for additional information. | |
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| Board Members | |
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Officers
Donna Kosicki, President
Rita Erves, President Elect
Sonia Scott, 1st VP
Carolyn Briner, 2nd VP
Cheryl White, Secretary
Richard Jones, Treasurer
*Laura Dobbs, Parliamentarian
District Directors
Tom Graves, Jr., 4th District
Georgette Backman, 6th District
Cyd Cox, 7th District
Bill Good, 8th District
Lori Sweet, 9th District
Sandra Perrino, 10th District
Deirdre Pierce, 11th District
Debbie Rabjohn, 13th District
Committee Chairs
Barbara Thomas, Bylaws
Wendy Stewart, Diversity
Patty Yohn, Family Engagement
Isabel Sance, Hispanic Outreach
Karen Hallacy, State Legislative
Lisa-Marie Haygood, Membership
Cindy Austin, Reflections
Lisa Richardson, Technology
Chanda Cardwell, Youth Service
Consultants (Non-voting)
Sally FitzGerald, Education
Eve Neumesiter, Environmental
Michelle Sandrock, GA DOE
Sam Shehane, Hospitality
Barbara Costello, Fed. Leg.
Arjun Sahgal, Student Rep.
Sally Markham, Surveys
National PTA from GA
Otha Thornton, President Elect
*Leslie Cushman, Board Member
*Valerie Martin, Leadership
*GA PTA Past Presidents |
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