Welcome to the Briarcrest PTA Newsletter!
Hello Briarcrest Bulldogs!
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We, the PTA Board, are continuing to work hard to serve our families by providing resources to families, advocating for our children, supporting teachers and staff, and creating community.
Who should our 2021-2022 PTA Leaders be?
Have questions? Learn more about the positions from the current President, VP, and Secretary on a Zoom Q&A: Tuesday, Feb 9, at 5:30pm.
Kindness is Contagious! “Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give." Take our Kindness Challenge and see how many kind things you can do this month.
Check out our webpage for our bingo board and padlet. Then share some of the kind things you've done on our padlet because "Kindness is contagious!" We want to be inspired by how awesome you are!
After the challenge Mr. Dalasta will dress up as a bulldog to spread some kindness and he will eat a spicy pepper for every 10 students who get a bingo!
Celebrate Briarcrest’s Diversity! Briarcrest PTA is teaming up with Briarcrest Elementary staff and Cafecitos to celebrate the cultural diversity of our Bulldog families!Save the Date for our Virtual Heritage Night, Thursday March 25th. Details to follow!
Briarcrest Supports BLM at School
Last summer, the Shoreline School Board passed Resolution 2020-12, which asserted a commitment to implement Ethnic Studies curriculum at all school levels and included a mandate that all schools participate in the Black Lives Matter at School week of action that occurs annually in the first week of February. All PTA members are encouraged to consider ways to participate in and support the Black Lives Matter at School week of action and participate in the Black Voices events.
The Briarcrest PTA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and improving our anti-racist practices. We value the guidance of the District's Department of Equity & Family Engagement to help inspire our programs and policies to be supportive of all students and families. Additionally, let's remember the mission of the National PTA - To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
Briarcrest PTA fully supports the goals of BLM at Schools and the programs and events of the District's yearlong Black Voices programs and activities as a key part of advocating for anti-racist practices in our PTA. We encourage families to support and participate in the many opportunities presented by both of these programs. There is much more we can do, and we will continue to seek ways we can be better anti-racists in how we do this work.
Are you interested in advocating for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our school? The PTA is still looking for individuals to help us focus on creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive presence at our school. If you would like to hear more about how to be included in this important work, please contact Danielle Werner at bcpresident@briarcrestpta.org.
Additionally, the District has created this great resource for pre-recorded read alouds that families can use to easily acces books related to the BLM movement. BLM Instructional Library - Google Slides
Meet the Briarcrest Teachers and Staff
Each month we are going to introduce our community to our staff through a few fun questions!
Tell our Legislators what you think about the state of our schools!
This year, COVID has reminded us the importance of knowing what our State and Local governments are doing to support our kids, educate them and keep them safe. The PTA has always worked to ensure family and student voices and concerns are heard and incorporated into legislation. If you’re interested in helping the PTA stay up to date with developments that affect our children and schools, please consider joining our Advocacy team by contacting us at bcpresident@briarcrestpta.org. You can also get involved by following the links below.
Join the WSPTA Advocacy Network:
Subscribe to WSPTA's Action Network Group - Action Network
Focus on Advocacy: Focus on Advocacy (wastatepta.org)
Opportunities to Help and for Support!
Can you help support Briarcrest families in need? The PTA has been made aware of Briarcrest families that are struggling and would benefit from food support. You can help provide the support they need by making a donation on the PTA webpage. Any donations received will be used to purchase grocery gift cards to support Briarcrest families in need..
Briarcrest has adopted the Little Free Pantry at 14511 25th Ave. NE in front of the Shoreline United Methodist Church!
The following grades will focus on stocking the LFP during these months:
Kindergarten and 1st grade - February
2nd and 3rd grade - March
4th grade - April
5th grade - May
All grades - June
Although certain grades are assigned particular months, please feel free to drop off non-perishable items at the pantry ANY time you are able to. You can also drop off items with the PTA at Thursday book pick-up. Thank you for contributing what you can to help our community.
Additional resources can be found at SHORELINE PTA COUNCIL 6.12 - Home (Scroll down to find information about community food, clothing, and emergency support.)
Resources for Mental Health Support Parenting is hard enough, let alone during a pandemic! To support you during this challenging time, the PTA has purchased access to the parenting course, Anchored Families, for all Briarcrest families. Joining the Anchored Families community means more joy and connection for you as a parent and for your kiddo/s, which is absolutely possible even during tricky life stuff. Learn more and register for the course at www.anchoredsel.com/briarcrest. Use the code Briarcrest to receive your 100% discount. The Virtual Calming Room, provided by the district, offers tools for managing stress, processing emotions, and taking a moment to experience some calm. Our school administrators, teachers and counselors want your Bulldogs feeling as strong, supported and as engaged in their school experience as possible. If you feel your child needs that extra break or zen time, guide them to this virtual space for assistance:
https://sites.google.com/k12.shorelineschools.org/calmingroom/home
Opportunities to support our Families
For our PTA to be able to support students, families, teachers, staff and our community it takes a group of people to come together and share the work. This year it is difficult to carve out our time and find the energy to volunteer. However, any small amount of help would lessen the burden on those that are shouldering the majority of the PTA tasks. Please read through this list and contact us if you are able to help in any way. - Race and equity team to provide input, guidance, insight and suggestions for action
- Helping to coordinate PTA presence at Thursday book pickups (send reminders, maintain signs, sync w/ school activities & holidays)
- Help to design and procure PTA Swag (magnets, bookmarks, etc.)
- Pay attention to legislative and district level developments and help to inform the Board and our families
- Help to brainstorm and implement activities to appreciate our teachers and staff
- Help to brainstorm and implement fun activities to show appreciation for our volunteers
- Pick up donated food for our sponsored Little Free Pantry and drop it off
- Input and send emails to families via MemberPlanet
- Upload and schedule .pdfs to be sent out via PeachJar
- Help Classroom Reps run social Zooms for kids on Wednesday afternoons (charades, scavenger hunt, games, etc.)
Anyone can join the PTA by making a $15 donation (scholarships available). Membership in the PTA provides you a voice and vote on how raised funds are spent. - Joining the PTA allows you to stay up to date on PTA news and events
- Allows you to vote during meetings
- Contributes funds to our PTA and the District Council and State PTA
- Gives you member benefits at participating businesses
- Helps improve the educational experience for all children!
The PTA will send out information as we receive it so that you can stay in the know about specific school information, as well as important PTA related information and events. Stay connected with us through Facebook and our PTA website!
Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/briarcrestbulldogs
Got PeachJar? All parents are automatically registered for PeachJar with the emails they provided to their children's schools. If you are not receiving flyers from Briarcrest or any other school please check out PeachJar.com to manage your subscription. |
