All The Ways The PTSA Supports BHS in 2020-21!
PTSA efforts during the School Year 20-21 | General Meeting
● supporting the Ballard Cares fundraising effort, with the Ballard Foundation, for families severely affected by the COVID-19 virus,
● a City Council online elections race forum,
● Back to School Teacher Q&A event,
● Direct Appeal donations leading to helpful grants distributions to boost online teaching
capabilities,
● weekly newsletter support and a cool new PTSA Instagram Account,
● Bucky’s Home for the Holidays gift card distribution,
● a winter online wellness event featuring our awesome health care professionals and
school counselor Sonja Petersen,
● seasonal teacher appreciation events,
● membership support efforts and more.
● Yearbooks for our Ballard Cares families.
● We co-hosted DEI speaker Erin Jones last Tuesday for a thought provoking discussion on
Creating a Welcoming Environment in North Seattle Schools.
● A group of motivated senior parents have even coordinated a SPREE event and I hope you
have seen the PTSA provided graduation yard signs around the community.
PTSA Volunteers | Making Senior Year Special for Class of 2021
Thank You to all the PTSA Volunteers that. helped make this year special for our Seniors and families Class of 2021.
Senior Celebration Committee and Yard Sign helpers! Sarah Kopf, Becky Godshall Moore, Shana Nielsen, Heather Madsen Cooper, Danielle Steele (and her 30 member SPREE volunteer team), and Erin Hermanson Pedersen! Yard sign organizer Marcie Guthrie and her delivery team of Shelley Rousseau, Chuck Fuller, Diane Taylor and Mary Conzatti. Thanks also to Cindy Peterson (BHS Office) for helping coordinate Yard Sign distribution for in-person students. Also can’t forget the Communications Team of Kimball Mullins and Chuck Fuller and our Awesome Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Visser 💞 Class of ‘21!
BHS Auction | BASH | Postponed To Spring 2022
Greetings from your Auction Committee!
It’s been quite a ride and our super enthusiastic auction team, along with our PTSA, made the very challenging decision to forego the auction for the 20-21 school year but look forward to Spring of 2022!
Want to join the auction team?
Email info@bhsauction.com. Read More.
PTSA Winter General Meeting Recap | Feb 2021
SPEAKERS | BHS Health Team and supporting student health. The Ballard Teen Health Center (BTHC) is a partnership between Swedish and BHS, providing students with medical and mental health services virtually and at our school campus.
At our Winter General Meeting, BTHC staff answered pre-selected parent questions and shared helpful resources for these challenging times. Contact PTSA President Gloria Kruzner if you have any questions or ideas for future speakers.
Speakers: BTHC staff, Mental Health Counselor Chelsea Clark, MSW, LICSW and Karen Boudour, ARNP. The evening also included an introduction to new BHS School Nurse Laurie Tirtanadi, RN, MS, ARNP who shared thoughts on stress reduction for the community as a whole.
One of the BHS School Counselors Sonja Petersen also shared her expertise and how the Counseling Center is often a student's first step to reaching out for help when they're needing assistance.
General Meeting Recap & Video Speaker Resources For Families
PTSA Fall General Meeting Recap | Oct 2020
PANEL | Teacher Q & A highlights PTSA Fall General Meeting | Thank you to teachers Laura McGinty, Marie Lassley, Eileen Yardley, Gordon Macdougall, Robin Dowdy, Scott Gross, Anntara Lozen, Counselor Sonja Petersen and Principal/moderator Keven Wynkoop for fielding online learning questions on Teams!
The staff members discussed the brave new world they and our students face through this altered educational landscape and how they as educators collaborate and use their creativity to support learning. Teachers spoke to asynchronous learning (great for small groups and catching up on school work ... but super busy for teachers!), the value of being able to see their students -- even if it's only via video during the building closure -- the virtual role of a BHS Counselor, and the importance of involvement through clubs and outside open-season sports.
Thank you to the families who joined us and shared spirited comments via Teams chat, bringing up pertinent points for how online learning is going in their own homes; as well as thanking teachers for their efforts and fortitude. It felt like community even if only via screen.
Helpful links related to discussion:
Teacher & Staff Appreciation
The BHS PTSA sponsors the Teacher & Staff Appreciation activities and events during the school year to thank our wonderful teachers & staff even during remote learning!
Thank You BHS Teachers & Staff!
Feb 2021 | Thanks to our amazing BHS teachers and staff for an inspired 20-21 school year so far! Check out the PTSA Thank You Valentine on Feb 14 that was delivered via staff email, which was signed by numerous grateful BHS families. #AG2BB!
PTSA Staff & Teacher Appreciation Card >
Oct 2020, due to remote learning, the PTSA mailed hand-written thank you notes and latte tokens donated from the Byen Bakeri. Thank you as well to the coordination and support from Volunteer Staff Appreciation Phyllis Rosen.
PTSA Weekly Newsletter & Social Media!
The PTSA Communication Team: Gloria Kruzner, Kimball Mullins, Chuck Fuller and Diane Taylor help get information out in various ways to the BHS Community.
The BHS PTSA Weekly Newsletter is a PTSA member volunteer run informational Newsletter that is emailed to subscribed families with important information for families and students as well, including sports, clubs, performing arts, community news and more! View past PTSA Newsletters.
Subscribe via the online sign up form or please email ballardhighnews@gmail.com (include students grade & name).
PTSA Social Media | Follow on Friends of Ballard HS FB, Class of 2021 FB, PTSA Instagram and Twitter too!
BHS PTSA Membership
Jan 2021 | Join the BHS PTSA, become a partner in your student’s education.
The PTSA is you, me and all of the parents/guardians, students and staff dedicated to the educational development and success of all students.
The PTSA membership is open to anyone concerned about the education, health, and welfare of our youth and is a way to show your commitment to working with teachers and the school administration to build a better future for the next generation.
- We help families stay informed and connected to the school community.
- We plan school-wide celebrations, parent education and staff appreciation events.
- We raise much needed grant money for academic, enrichment and extracurricular activities.
- To Join visit our BHS PTSA Membership page.
Warm Regards, PTSA Membership Chair, Lisa Vanderford-Anderson
PTSA Volunteer Coordinator School Support
In addition to becoming a BHS PTSA Member, volunteering is a great way to support your student, don't forget to sign up to be a BHS
Volunteer!
We are always looking for volunteers and every contribution is appreciated whether at the beginning of the school year with First Day Packets or helping out with covering library books (BHS Volunteer Linda) or at our Curbside at the Library during remote learning we need and appreciate you!
If you have any questions or need more info, contact Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Visser at Volunteers.ballardhs@gmail.com who is discovering ways we can still help our community even when we are not in the building!
Teacher Support Grants
BHS PTSA grants include helpful online tool Mentimeter Subscription | Thank you!
Dec 2020 | Grants Chair Kelly Norton: To date, your PTSA has approved requests for more than $12,000 to support teacher and staff needs in this year's remote learning environment.
In one case, we've partnered with BHS administrators to purchase a 50-user subscription for Mentimeter, an online tool that uses live polls, word clouds, quizzes, and Q&As to promote student engagement during class and provide real time feedback for teachers.
Requested by many teachers in varied disciplines, the subscription is available to every academic department and is actively used in multiple classes.
Teacher feedback has been positive; comments include:
"Mentimeter allows me to make my classes engaging and interactive,
and it is so easy to create presentations that I have way more time
to spend with my students!"
"It has allowed me to complete a quick anonymous temperature check
to see if students understand a concept, if they feel comfortable
about a topic, or even things like which application they
prefer to use for an assignment."
"I used it as a word cloud, feedback exit ticket to a group activity ...
It is a great way to give a voice to everyone without having students see each other's answers. I like the anonymous part and the fact that it downloads results immediately. And students can see the results immediately.
And in a nod to the realities of teaching to a screen full of initials rather than faces, since the majority of students do not turn on their cameras and do not participate in chat discussions, it has provided a way for me to receive student input."
Your PTSA and Grants Committee and BHS PTSA Treasurer, Carolyn Stalter will continue to solicit applications and collaborations to enhance digital learning in all departments at BHS as the school year continues.
THANK YOU to all teachers and staff for your herculean efforts! For more information, contact Kelly Norton on the Grants Committee, bhsgrants@gmail.com
Direct Appeal
Sept/Oct 2020 | In the fall, historically the PTSA does a direct mail campaign for your dollars, The Direct Appeal, with which we really put a focus on “Money For Academics”. We are ran a different kind of Direct Appeal for 20-21 during October.
Visit the Direct Appeal recap for more details. Update | Oct 2020! Thank you! Thanks for supporting Direct Appeal! with your help we raised more than $25,000 to support online academics! ~ Heather Bioren Direct Appeal Fundraising, BHS PTSA
Grants
Sept 2020 | The BHS PTSA launched a first-ever early round of Grant funding. With distance learning environment requiring online subscriptions, printer, ink, etc., the committee welcomed a broader range of requests and encouraged ways to support and enhance digital learning needs on the educator side of the screen.
The round closed with approving $6,200 among 17 requests.
➢ Multiple grants for printers/scanners/ink/webcams/connectors - World Languages, Math, Counseling, Science, ELA, Music, and CTA/Maritime departments.
➢ Wide selection of LGBTQ+ titles for the new Pride Book Club - Library.
➢ Subscriptions to digital tools such as Mentimeter and Padlet - World Language and Social Studies departments (soon to be expanded by BHS campus wide license for 99 users; PTSA will help fund this year’s subscription).
➢ Grant for a guest instructor to prepare and deliver collaborative singing and performances for students - World Languages department.
➢ Copies of "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson - core ELA, 12 classes.
➢ Science kits - AP Environmental Science students.
Thank you for supporting your PTSA. We couldn't do it without you!