Livonia PTSA Council Courier

It has been another busy month for our units, but this is a fun month! Many of you hold some type of Fall Festival or Halloween Event and we know how much LPS families look forward to these events! We also know how much work they can be! We are proud of our units and the amazing events they put on for families. We can't wait to see all the pictures! Be sure to upload them to the Founder's Day photo album! Don't forget, sending a couple photos with an article to this newsletter will get you PEP points!

We wish you all a Happy Halloween and good luck with your events!

Thank you to everyone who came to the Meet and Greet on October 7th! We are grateful to our LPS leaders for taking time out of their schedules to introduce themselves and give descriptions of their important roles in LPS. Thank you to the unit representatives who came and participated in the discussions. We hope everyone left with a better understanding of the goals of LPS this year and the people you can contact to achieve yours!

The 6th Annual Chili Cook Off is coming up soon! Council is hard at work planning this fun event. As always, we encourage all units to have participants from their school! This event was designed to encourage male involvement in PTA and showcase it's importance. However, all Dads and Designated SuperStars (D.A.D.S.) who are members of their local unit are welcome to participate and enter their chili! The 1st place winner will receive a prize package and a $500 grant for their home school courtesy of the Livonia Kiwanis Early Risers! Flyers and entry forms were sent to all unit Presidents, so get them in!

Founders Day will be held on February 12 at Schoolcraft's Vis Ta Tech Center. We will again use the Reflections theme as our theme which is 'Look Within.' Start brainstorming about those centerpieces now! There are prizes!

We will follow the same format with each unit nominating one staff volunteer and one parent/grandparent/guardian volunteer to honor who has made an impact in their school through their work with PTA. Middle school and high school units will also nominate one student volunteer to be honored. Presidents have received the honoree forms. I will need these prior to the Christmas break to have time to put the printed program together so it is never to early to get them submitted.

For those who may be new to PTA and Founders Day, it is our chance to celebrate PTA and everything you do for our schools and students. It involves dinner (and dessert!) and a program honoring the volunteers that are nominated by each unit as mentioned above. Each unit purchases one or more tables to allow the unit's executive board, principal(s) and honored guests to attend and there is a centerpiece contest with prizes. Units may purchase as many tables as they would like.

We hope to again do a slideshow highlighting all of the amazing events put on by our units so make sure you are taking pictures at your events and submitting them!

If you have questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Debbie Pline, Founders Day Chairperson

rdpline91@gmail.com or 734-788-4009

Debbie Pline & myself are chairing Youth Making a Difference this year. If your school has a chairperson, please let me know as soon as possible. This will help us get information out to the schools & to the current chairpersons. Forms were emailed by Kellie Dummer to all PTA Presidents & Vice-Presidents. The forms are also on MemberHub under files. Thank you!

Council YMAD Chair,

Nicole Watson

nikki.watson@livoniaptsacouncil.org

With over 125 crafters, a free raffle, delicious bake sale, and our Craft Show Cafe for lunch, Frost Middle School in Livonia is the perfect place to start your holiday shopping!

Please join us at Frost Middle School's 43rd Annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Show on Saturday, November 2nd from 10-4.

Get a start on your holiday shopping and support our students and local artists!!!

$3.00 entry fee, free raffle, easy access off 96, donation-based bake sale and a lunch cafe! See you there!

Sorry, no strollers allowed!

Nankin Mills Interpretive Center offers Public Programs for families, Scout Badge Workshops, and seasonal Field Trips and Outreach Programs for schools, home school students, and other organized groups. The Interpretive Center and interpretive programs are designed to enhance understanding of the natural and cultural history of the Rouge River watershed in fun and informative ways, using hands-on activities, games, hikes and crafts. This brochure lists topics available to schools and other organized groups, either as a Field Trip or Visiting Naturalist Outreach program.

We encourage you to share this with your school staff! You can find more information at http://nankinmills.org/

Jeni Gohl, an agent and representative of Dwellings by Rudy & Hall is interested in helping local units with baskets for raffles or getting involved with events! Living in the Livonia area with children who attend LPS, she is looking to help give back to the community. If you are interested, please contact her by email at jeni@dwellingsmi.com

We are reaching out to you from Westland and Dearborn Bulk Foods & Smoothies about a fun fundraising opportunity program. Our two locations, conveniently located in Dearborn (on Michigan & Outer Drive in Westborn Mall next to Staples) and in Westland (Ridgeview Plaza on Wayne & Warren next to Petco, Party City, & Burlington Coat Factory) have over 1,000 bins of candy , nuts, spices, teas, coffees, protein smoothies,along with featuring Hershey Ice Cream.

Our program involves setting up a shopping day for your organization, and then giving back 20% of the sales back directly to you from your groups purchases. With hundreds of fun, family friendly products to choose from, there's something for everyone in our stores.

Please visit our Facebook pages: Westland Bulk Foods & Smoothie OR Dearborn Bulk Foods to see what we can offer and look at other schools/churches/groups who have already taken advantage of our efforts to give back to our community.

If you are interested in setting up a date with us for your group, please call me at 313-721-2144 or email me at dearbornbulkfooods@gmail.com. Simply select your date, notify me, fill out the flyer, and make copies to pass out to your organization. It's that simple!

Sincerely Yours,

Alex Hallani

Dearborn & Westland Bulk Foods Owner

The PEP Program is underway! Your PEP guide has all the important dates!

Due November 1st: Submission of Policies and Procedures (or Standing Rules) to Council. Also due by November 15th is submission of your completed 990. Be sure to not only upload it to Memberhub, but also send a copy to Council. As always, be sure to submit your Membership Dues to Council by the 28th of each month! Psst….THAT'S TODAY!!

* Indicates change ** Indicates update

2019

11/20 Workshop - Diversity and Inclusion | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Frost Middle School

12/1 Standards of Affiliation (SOA) Deadline

2020

1/15 LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | TBD

1/15 Workshop - PTA Half Time Tailgate | 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | TBD

**1/18 LPTSA Council Chili Cook Off | 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Franklin High School

**1/30 Reflections Ceremony | 6:30 p.m. Gallery, 7:00 p.m. Ceremony| Stevenson High School

2/12 Founders Day | 6:00 p.m. | Vis Ta Tech Center

3/18 LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | TBD

3/18 Workshop - TBD | 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | TBD

4/15 LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | BOE - Conference Room A

4/15 LPTSA General Membership Meeting - Elections | 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. | BOE - Room A

*4/16 Youth Making A Difference Ceremony | 6:00 p.m. | Churchill High School

5/20 LPTSA Council Officer Training | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | Churchill High School Library

6/17 LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. | TBD

7/15 Council Audit Party | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. | BOE Board Room - Basement

Please join us on Wednesday, November 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the community room at Frost Middle School for our diversity and inclusion workshop. We will use this time to share ideas for how our units can better serve our diverse student population and plan for our events to be more inclusive.

We would like each unit to have at least one board member attend. This event will include a round table discussion, so that you can share your inclusive ideas that are already working in your schools.

Thanks,
Debbie Yates
Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair

The deadline for students to turn in their Reflections projects is November 15th, unless a unit chair has set an earlier date for their school.

If you need more information about the program and how to participate, we have all of that information on the council website at https://livoniaptsacouncil.org/work/reflections-arts-awards-competition/. There are downloadable documents there that explain the process. The entry form is also available on that page as part of the student package.

The district Reflections celebration is on January 30th at Stevenson High School.

Did you know?
Donations to the PTA are generally tax deductible. If your employer offers a ‘Match Program’ for donations that you make, likely it includes donations to the PTA. Some Companies also offer a ‘Volunteer Match Program’ – they will donate funds to an organization based on the amount of time an employee volunteered. These are both easy ways to better support your PTA and School. Recently my employer donated $100 to my PTA because I volunteered 10hrs at the School. The best part was that I would have volunteered those hours anyway – my employer’s additional contribution was a bonus. I was unaware of this program until recently; please check to see what your employer offers.
Mike Testa, Hoover Elementary Advocacy Chair

School Funding is important. In recent years, Lansing has not made it a priority to adequately fund our schools. This past March, I attended Michigan PTA Advocacy Day in Lansing; Members from across the State had meetings with Legislators to discuss improving School Funding - adequate and equitable. I recommend attending this event in the future if you can.
The Michigan State House and Senate approved the 2019-2020 School Aid Budget - it includes increased Funding for our Schools; an increase compared to last year. This is a step in the right direction, however, it does not fix the overall problem. I would like to encourage community members to consider contacting Lansing - request them to continue working together on long-term solutions.
For your convenience, the following is key contact information:

The Speaker of the House:
Lee Chatfield (517-373-2629), LeeChatfield@house.mi.gov

The Senate Majority Leader:
Mike Shirkey (517-373-5932), https://www.senatormikeshirkey.com/contact/

Find your House Rep:
http://www.house.michigan.gov/mhrpublic/frmFindARep.aspx

Find your Senator:
http://senate.michigan.gov/fysbyaddress.html

It is also important to let the Education Committee know how you feel, even if they are not your representative.
Senate Education Committee:
http://www.senate.michigan.gov/committee/education.html

House Education Committee:
http://house.michigan.gov/mhrpublic/CommitteeInfo.aspx

Mike Testa, Hoover Elementary Advocacy Chair

Don't forget to submit photos! Mandy Gerstenbrand has already created the Founders Day album for your units to submit photos from your events as you go instead of trying to do it all at once! Thanks Mandy! You can submit them to https://photos.app.goo.gl/zwt6aj6kaigf2xBV9

Please be sure to label your photos with your unit and the name of the event in each picture!

If you are a PTA officer or committee chair, please make sure to join our page for important information, discussions, and more! A lot of great info is shared on this closed group page. It's also a great way to network with other units, share ideas, and ask for help.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/541318689333449/

The Livonia PTSA Council is a group of 22 local PTA/PTSA Units within the Livonia Public Schools District. The Council is organized under the authority of the Michigan PTA for the purpose of promoting conferences, communications, leadership development and coordination of the efforts of the local units.

Interested in joining Council? There are chair opportunities available! Contact President Kellie Dummer at kellie.dummer@livoniaptsacouncil.org

Email: newsletter@livoniaptsacouncil.org
Website: www.livoniaptsacouncil.org
Location: 15125 Farmington Road, Livonia, MI, USA
Phone: .
Facebook: facebook.com/LivoniaPTSACouncil
Twitter: @LivoniaPTSAC