All The Ways The PTSA Supports BHS!
Senior Journal
To honor the Ballard High School Class of 2020 some seniors are putting together a Senior Journal!
All seniors were invited to submit pictures, art, and writing to remember their years at BHS. Parents/educators were also invited to submit a note. Visit the BHS Class of 2022 website for more details. Journals should be available to for the Class of 2020 to pick up with diplomas in late Fall. Photo Credit: RolandPhoto.com
Thanks to the generous funding from the PTSA, the journals are free to Seniors 19-20.
SENIOR YARD SIGNS! Delivered To Seniors Doors!
Thank you to the BHS PTSA for the purchasing and ordering of the Senior Yard signs for every Ballard High School Senior.
Thank you as well to BHS Senior Parent Della Chen for her coordination of this project and BHS Senior Parent Nancy Knoll theknolls@mac.com who is the contact for additional questions. A grateful thank you to BHS Sophomore Parent Jeff Peffer of Juice Marketing for the sign design and for getting them printed so quickly!
And a BIG SHOUT OUT to all of the BHS Volunteers who helped out by offering their time and resources in the distribution of the signs to the doorstep of every Ballard HS Senior!
Family And Community Engagement (FACE)
The FACE Committee coordinated and brought in speakers this year with topics relevant to our parents, such as understanding our students' coping with stress and anxiety, or helping them be prepared for college in general life skills.
The PTSA has hosted evenings on drug awareness and teenage suicide prevention in the past.
In February 2020 the PTSA FACE co-chairs selected and hosted speaker Jody McVittie, MD, CPDLT.
She spoke at the PTSA General Meeting on the topic Life After Graduation - Are Your Students Ready?
MORE FACE UPDATES
The FACE committee coordinated BHS’s 2019 Bucky’s Holiday Giving Program which assisted our families who may not have the financial stability to enjoy the holiday season. Working closely withe BHS Counselors, Gift cards were collected and distributed in festive Bucky Gift bags privately to over 30 families in the Teen Health Center.
During the COVID19 crisis, FACE volunteers made and donated fabric face masks for students and families who may not have access to them.
In addition, FACE volunteers continue to help facilitate and coordinate the
Weekend Food For Kids program, sponsored by the Ballard Food Bank. This program helps ensure our families in need have sufficient food on weekends.
PTSA Supporting Students/Staff In and Out of Building with Teacher Grants
The BHS PTSA promotes and supports the social, emotional, and academic well-being of all
students . We raise funds to run programs that provide academic opportunities, teacher and staff support, and backing for student activities.
Even before screen supplemental learning became the new norm due to the COVID-19 school closure, funds raised through the PTSA Direct Appeal Drive brought technological tools to the classroom.
"I love having the SMART interactive board in my classroom!" noted Ballard Math Teacher Janine Logsdon during last winter's Direct Appeal campaign. "The best feature is the smart ink, which means that anything that I write on the board or the students write on the board can be saved and referenced again later. With this, I’m able to upload marked-up class lesson files to Schoology for student access. "I’m very grateful to the BHS PTSA for providing these resources for my classroom!" she added.
UPDATE: The BHS PTSA is now funding a supplemental round of grants to help teachers and staff better serve BHS students' needs while working from home. For instance, counselors are now printing transcripts and other materials for students from their home printers, so the PTSA is helping cover the cost of ink cartridges and printer paper for those staff members. The PTSA also recently purchased a large whiteboard for a teacher to use during online class instruction.
PTSA Weekly Newsletter!
The BHS PTSA Weekly News is a PTSA member volunteer run informational Newsletter that is emailed to subscribed families with important upcoming information for families and students as well as sports, clubs, performing arts, community news and more! View the Current PTSA Weekly Newsletter.
To subscribe: Visit the PTSA Newsletter sign up page and complete the information.
Or email: ballardhighnews@gmail.com please include students grade & name.
Computer Numeric Control (CNC) Capabilities to the Shop Program at BHS
Funds raised through the BHS PTSA Direct Appeal have real-world benefits for Ballard High School students learning about trades.
Direct Appeal funds were used to add Computer Numeric Control (CNC) capabilities to the Shop Program at BHS. These tools have given students the opportunity to develop the skills necessary for working in the field of MechaTronics, a quickly growing technology that combines electronics and mechanical engineering and a focus of our local community colleges, noted ~ BHS Teacher John Foster.
"We have been working to upgrade the Woods and Metal shop classes, and in particular to add CNC capabilities to our shop program," he said.
"With the addition of the CNC wood router, Wood Shop students are able to customize their projects with their own designs, adding a layer of complexity.
"In particular, Woods II students have been able to router their message on their small bench, a standard wood shop project," Foster explained.
"In Metal shop, students will be able to use the CNC plasma cutter to cut out identical pieces for their projects."
Thank you, BHS PTSA for supporting real time learning at ALL times!
Teacher & Staff Appreciation
The BHS PTSA helps to support the Teacher & Staff
Appreciation events with some funding as well as parents/guardians donations of lunch items and treats during the school year to show appreciation to the BHS staff.
These events are much appreciated and welcomed by the Ballard HS Teachers & Staff!
Thank you to everyone that helped to support these events!
Also thank you to all of the Ballard Beaver families who were able to support the Staff with sending them emails during Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week May 4 - 8, 2020 during the School Closure!
Thank you as well to Phyllis Rosen for her distribution of the lovely with reusable shopping gift bags containing donations of sunglasses and pens from Home Street Bank; BHS test tube teas from B. Fuller's Tea Shop in Fremont; and hand sanitizer from Fremont Mischief Distillery.
Ballard Cares
Ballard Cares is a partnership between the Ballard High School Foundation, the Ballard High School PTSA and Ballard High School in support of BHS community members severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The generosity of the Ballard HS community shines and BHS families are continuing to receive help through this partnership, and as a result of your generous donations. If your family is in need of assistance, please contact your student’s counselor or an administrator to let us know what we can do to help.
Additional information is available on the Ballard Cares Information and Updates news post.