Livonia PTSA Council Courier
January 2022
And just like that, it's 2022!
The Livonia PTSA Council would like to wish you all a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing all the great PTA/PTSA events happening in 2022. Next month – Founders' Day!
Laura Ulaszek
Council Newsletter Chair
And Speaking of Founders' Day ...
Just a reminder, Founders' Day RSVPs and payments are due January 26th. Those forms were emailed out to officers early December and a copy was also mailed or delivered to each unit.
If anyone has questions about who they should or shouldn't pay for, please let me know.
Each unit is also asked to design a centerpiece for their table based off the Reflections theme of "I Will Change the World By." Here are a few examples of centerpieces from past years. There will be a prize for the top two tables.
Any Founders Day questions, please email Kellie Dummer: kdummer@sbcglobal.net
WHO'S READY FOR A MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE?!
Livonia PTSA Council held a Membership Challenge to increase membership between Thanksgiving and Christmas. While several units increased their membership during that time period, there was one unit that had the highest percentage of increase.
Congratulations goes to ...
GRANT ELEMENTARY PTA!!!
You have increased your members by 11% and earned a handful of Livonia PTSA Council members to help with one of your events between the months of January and March.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
As a friendly reminder, please remember to submit your Michigan PTA dues for all new PTA members by the 28th of every month.
Sara Bennett
Livonia PTSA Council, Membership Chair
LPS Education Foundation Competitive Edge Program
Please remind parents of current kindergartners to sign up for the Competitive Edge program. If parents have any questions, they can visit the foundation website: lpsfoundation.org
PEP ~ Who Wants More Points?!
Happy 2022!!!
Can you believe it's already the new year?! You're probably already starting to think about the rest of this year and the end of the year. You may even be thinking there's no way to be able to boost your PEP score. But there is! There are still so many ways you can boost your PEP score before the end of April. How you may ask? It's easy! Did your unit do something this month you would like to share? Write a newsletter article, CC PEP, and receive 100 points every month for an article submission! Having a PTA/PTSA meeting? Invite your Livonia PTSA Council liaison to your meetings, CC PEP, and receive another 100 points per monthly invite! Attending Founders' Day? That's 100 points per attendee! Creating a centerpiece for Founders' Day for your table? That's another 50 points! Did you gain more PTA members this month? If you achieve last year's numbers, that's 250 points! It's another 100 points for every 50 members above last year's total! And lots more! For more ways to earn PEP points, please see the checklist below or on our website, to see how.
The year isn't over yet! Good luck and have fun earning more PEP points!
Sara Bennett
Livonia PTSA Council PEP Chair
Keep Sending Those Pictures in of All the Great Events!
Founders' Day Photo Gallery Link
COUNCIL'S UNIT SPOTLIGHT
Cleveland Elementary
Check in at the office, first thing in the morning. Stop by a few classrooms to say “hello.” Read a holiday story to students in Mrs. Magoulick’s class. Don’t forget to carry the Walkie-Talkie with you At. All. Times. And, be sure to be on time for your 10 a.m. meeting with the LPS Communications Department staff who have come to interview you. Make sure that all of the playground equipment has been properly and neatly returned after recess. Pop outside to make sure the other recess is going well. Stop to chat with staff members for a minute. See what’s going on in the Music Room with Mr. Rautio. Notice the students who are doing an extra great job walking quietly down the hall. Give them a Soar Buck for being great role models.
It’s all in a morning’s work for 7-year-old “Principal” Lucy Trotter, who earned the chance to be the Principal for the Day at Cleveland Elementary.
Shadowing the adult Principal Rob Witherspoon, Miss Trotter made the rounds at Cleveland and experienced first-hand what it’s like to be the leader of the school.
“I like seeing all of the classrooms,” she said, while sitting in the Principal’s Office.
Miss Trotter earned this special opportunity after being a top earner in the school’s Fun(d) Run, raising $1,000 for her school. She said her family members all contributed to her donation requests.
So, after experiencing the role of principal, does Miss Trotter want to someday be a principal of a school?
“Ummm, I kind of want to be a baker, too,” she said, adding that she really enjoys baking cookies, cupcakes and brownies.
Follow Lucy in her adventures with the pictures and video below!
Kennedy Elementary
A Gift for Each Student for the Holidays
Kennedy PTA gifted each student a book to enjoy over the holidays! Due to the success of our fall fundraiser, Kennedy PTA was able to purchase a variety of books, including chapter books for the 3rd and 4th graders, for each of our 420+ students. We all know how important reading is and we also know that an increasing number of our students are unable to buy or check out books for reading enjoyment, so we were very excited to purchase the books as a holiday gift. On the inside of each cover, we placed a label that read "Happy Holidays! ~Kennedy PTA." Then, one of our board members wrapped each class set of books and dressed up as an elf to deliver the packages. It was such a fun way to spread joy to the students!
Webster Elementary
Webster Elementary's PTA spent an entire week in the first part of December running the Holiday Shop. This is an event that the students and parent volunteers look forward to every year. We were so glad to be able to bring this back this year. Our chairperson has been doing this event for years and she has perfected it. Even with many volunteers having to cancel suddenly due to sickness, this event went on without a hitch! This is not a money maker, but rather, a nice way to allow students to learn about money, budgeting and giving versus receiving.
Early in December, we compiled a list of each staff member's favorite things such as gift cards, snacks, drinks, restaurants, as well as wish lists for their class. This was then made available for parents for holiday gift ideas if they so desired.
We also received tons of positive feedback from staff about the thankful notes the students could fill out for any staff member. Everyone really seemed to enjoy that activity. Such a great community building free activity.
DATES FOR 2022! PUT THESE ON YOUR CALENDAR!
Please note that these dates and times could be subject to change due to any change in COVID-19 regulations. We will inform all units of any updates or changes as soon as possible.
2022
1/19 - LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6 - 7 p.m. | TBD
1/19 - LPTSA Council General Meeting | 7 - 8 p.m. | TBD
TBD - Reflections Celebration | TBD | TBD
2/16 - Founders' Day Celebration | 6 p.m. | St. Mary's Cultural Center
TBD - Bus Driver Appreciation Event
3/16 - LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6 - 7 p.m. | TBD
3/16 - LPTSA Council Workshop | 7 - 8 p.m. | TBD
4/20 - LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6 - 7 p.m. | TBD
4/20 - LPTSA Council General Meeting (Elections) | 7 - 8 p.m. | TBD
TBD - YMAD Celebration | TBD | TBD
5/18 - LPTSA Council Officer's Training | 6 - 8 p.m. | TBD
6/15 - LPTSA Council Executive Board Meeting | 6 - 7 p.m. | TBD
7/20 - LPTSA Council Audit Party | 6 - 8 p.m. | TBD
Have You Joined Us On Facebook?
If you are a PTA/PTSA officer or committee chair, please make sure to join our group for important information, discussions, and more! A lot of great information 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/
Also, like our Livonia PTSA Council Page: https://www.facebook.com/LivoniaPTSACouncil
Getting Connected to Michigan PTA and National PTA
Michigan PTA Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/everychildonevoice
National PTA Website : https://www.pta.org/
National PTA Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/ParentTeacherAssociation
National PTA Blog: https://onevoice.pta.org/
About us...
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 Mandy Gerstenbrand at mandy.gerstenbrand@livoniaptsacouncil.org
Email: newsletter@livoniaptsacouncil.org
Website: www.livoniaptsacouncil.org
Location: 15125 Farmington Road, Livonia, MI, USA
Phone: .
Facebook: facebook.com/LivoniaPTSACouncil
Twitter: @LivoniaPTSAC