Message from the Region Director

I hope that you all enjoyed your summer vacation and are ready to start back to school again.  This means back to meetings and projects and fund raisers again.

In July, our district only had two members attend Summer Experience. Lynn Jock, Associate Director and President of the Morristown PTSA and myself. There were wonderful workshops, good food and fun times. We interacted with PTA members from all over the state. Our region provides scholarships for members to attend from the North Country. I really recommend attending Summer Experience to everyone. Our region won its membership challenge against Southwestern Region.

An exciting year is ahead of us. Fall conference for East and West is being planned now. We are going to Elizabethtown for Fall Conference East and looking into Colton-Pierrepont to sponsor Fall Conference West.

Convention will be held in Albany November 16-18.  The Region will offer scholarships to help pay the registration costs. Each unit president will receive an information booklet. 

Membership: Your first payment for 2007-2008 must reach the State office by November 1, and membership can be sold all year round. Your Region Membership Chairperson is Patti Dean, 185 Porter Lynch Road, Norwood, New York 13668,
(315) 384-4232 deanpml28@usadatanet.net.

The PARP (Parents As Reading Partners) and Reflections programs are continuing this year.  The Reflections theme this year is “I can make a difference by …” Please send me the name of and how to contact your Reflections Committee Chairperson. Please pass on information to your members at meetings or through committees.

Each unit should present and adopt a budget. Additional expenses or changes may be voted on at any regular meeting or at a special meeting called for that purpose. For sample budgets, audit reports and monthly treasurer’s reports, please look in the National PTA Resource Guide in the Treasurer’s Section.

National PTA Reflections Program, 2007-2008. As the new school year begins, please consider sponsoring a Reflections program in your school!  This is not only a fun and interesting thing to do; research shows that children who are involved with music and the arts also do better academically!  If you have not held a Reflections program in the past and would like some more information and "know-how" please feel free to contact me by phone (315-212-2946, 315-265-4268) or email (egalo@stlawu.edu) and I will be happy to talk with you and, if desired, meet with your PTA/PTSA or Reflections committee in the very near future!

My own involvement with PTA began with my daughter's winning a Reflections award; the next year I was asked to help with the organizing, and decided this was a most worthwhile activity.  It is such a joy to see what young folks come up with, in terms of variety, thoughtfulness and inspiration.  Whether you have 10 entries or 100, those students who are involved will benefit, as will other students who perhaps will see their participation and be moved to try out their own skills and talents.  ALL entries earn a certificate of participation: we try to downplay the competitive aspect.  Yet, it's also beneficial to those who win recognition locally to be able to compete in the larger North Country Region.  Last year only 2 PTA units participated, so there is lots of room for growth!

There is a detailed description, calendar and instructions with entry forms, available on the NYS PTA website.  Go to the homepage, find the "drop-down" menu under "PROGRAMS AND AWARDS", click on "Reflections", and then, to the right of the heading "INITIATING A REFLECTIONS PROGRAM", click on *New!  2007-2008 REFLECTIONS PACKET".  

It's a good idea to make a couple copies of ONLY the pages with the General Rules, and the 6 category pages:  Music, Literature, Visual Arts, Photography, Film/Video, and Dance choreography (the last two categories are fairly new, and we have not received entries in these categories yet but will be prepared with judges). 

You will need to set a submission date that will allow you to have the entries judged, and an exhibit/reception held, before sending on your best entries to me (Reflections Chair for North Country PTA Region 20) by January 14, 2008.  You can send 3 entries in each category (also 3 overall for Special Ed entries, if you have some).  Be careful to follow the included instructions and guidelines, and please call or email if you have ANY.

Please consider starting up this program in your schools - you will not regret it!  Only one warning: you might become even more involved in PTA in the future

Carla Ingram