Let's go Shopping!

I've been getting lots of opportunities to buy stuff for PTA lately so I thought I'd share.

PTA Store: http://www.captastore.com/
The PTA Store should always be your first stop when looking for items you PTA needs. From pins to Reflections awards to gifts, they are stocked up. In the meeting section, you can find signs to advertise your meetings as well as official Secretary and Treasurer's books and even a gavel. In the Pins section you can find all the official PTA officer pins and some fun ones, too. And, if you're looking for gifts to give your board at the end of the school year, check out the gift, mugs and wearables sections. All this and more at your PTA Store!

Gavels: www.gavelstore.com
Want more choices for gavels, check this site out.

Auction time - just in time for Christmas! http://www.pta.cmarket.com/
National PTA is hosting a nation-wide auction, starting October 31st.
Check out the auction catalog for great items at bargain level prices.
Proceeds from the auction help PTA further its Mission of being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child. Auction categories may include the following and more:

• Electronics
• Toys
• Jewelry
• Trips & Vacation Getaways
• Gift Cards
• Books
• Education Items
• And much more!

Donate: If you have valuable merchandise, rare collectibles, business or personal services, or access to unique events, we need your contribution today.

Tell Your Friends: Do you know someone who would be interested in supporting our cause? Please share the news of the online auction with your friends so they can be part of the excitement. Refer a friend to the auction so they can get involved.
So tell you friends, family, and community to get ready to point, click and bid on quality items at bargain level prices. The auction begins October 31, 2007 at 6:00 a.m. EST.

Updated OMDR Batch Uploads

I have great news from National. They have developed a new way to do a batch upload in OMDR that allows for uploads directly from an Excel spreadsheet...and the new feature is live today!

With this new way, users must use the formatted template or it can be found in the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen for users to download. Users can input their information into the template, save it to their computer, and then upload it into OMDR. Please note that the header row has to remain in this format and in the file.

Here are instructions on creating Excel files for upload. These instructions are additionally found on the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen.

Users who do not have Excel can continue to use the upload feature by changing the file into a csv and then txt file. Instructions for uploading ASCII/test files are also on the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen.

The live webinars do reflect the new upload feature and National will be archiving a new webinar soon. Please go to http://registration.intercall.com/go/nationalpta.
The following are the local unit OMDR webinars that are scheduled for the rest of the month and for November. Please encourage your local unit officers to attend a webinar if they are new to OMDR.

All times listed are Central time.
Oct. 22, 11:00 am
Oct. 30, 1:00 pm
Nov. 7, 3:00 pm
Nov. 16, 10:00 am
Thank you in advance for helping us to spread the good news about batch uploads!

Got Members? Have You Invited Everyone To Join?

Here are some simple tips to help:
1. Make sure you have a PTA poster at the entrance to your school inviting everyone to join.
2. Invite every student, teacher, and administrator to become a member.
3. Solicit business sponsorships to show community involvement.
4. Take a look at areas of your community that are not represented and create a plan to welcome them to PTA. If dads are not represented, focus on getting more dads involved.
5. Plan an evening or weekend father/child activity and don’t forget to set up a membership enrollment table.

How are your PTA association meetings going? Does everyone feel free to participate in the discussions? Here are some tips to help you run effective and efficient meetings:
1. Prepare an agenda and make sure everyone gets a copy.
To help keep the meeting on track, list the approximate times for agenda items.
2. Help members understand and follow basic meeting rules.
This assures that everyone is treated with courtesy, all viewpoints are heard, and the majority makes decisions.
3. Ask chairmen to prepare written reports, in place of lengthy oral reports, unless action must be taken at the meeting.
Written reports may be sent to members via email prior to the meeting.
4. Be sure members stick to the agenda item.
Bring the discussion to a conclusion when it becomes too lengthy or repetitive. Details for events, fundraisers, or programs should be decided in committee, not at association meetings.
5. Make sure members understand what they are voting on by repeating the motion
before taking a vote.

Need help?
We’ve put together ideas and resources you need to get started:

OMDR Webinars
Learn how your unit can use the Online Membership Data Reporting system to maintain officer and membership lists, communicate with members, and more!
http://tinyurl.com/yt9xwq

Membership Ideas
http://tinyurl.com/2v89ye

Membership Brochures
http://tinyurl.com/2ddfe8

Sample Meeting Agenda
http://tinyurl.com/3dhky4

Be a Good President from the Start
http://tinyurl.com/3dxxf2

PTA Meetings
http://tinyurl.com/2jmvpu

Collaboration and Decision Making
http://tinyurl.com/2fs794

Looking for more ideas?
Visit the Great Idea Bank to learn what other PTAs are doing to help welcome parents to their PTA.
http://www.pta.org/local_leader/idea

Reflections Art Program

From: Bettina McBee Hohmann
Reflections Chair -20th District
PTA President – Marina del Mar Elementary

I invite you to encourage your students and children to participate in a great art program!
It is called REFLECTIONS. Participation and appreciation of the arts is the goal of the Reflections Program. This program encourages ALL children across the nation to express themselves artistically and creatively. The Reflections Program also gives children the joy of receiving positive recognition for their original works of art inspired in 6 fantastic areas.

Students are asked to submit an entry in one of the following categories:

• Visual arts
• Photography
• Literature
• Dance Choreography
• Film/video production
• Musical composition

The theme of this year’s competition is “I can make a difference by….”. Please encourage your child or any child from preschool to grade 12 to submit an entry. Winners will have their art displayed at the national convention. Please support your child’s artistic expression. The excitement and enthusiasm that the program generates for children, parents, schools and communities is unmatched.

Deadline for entries to me on or before: January 9, 2008
Deadline for entries in the State PTA office on or before: January 18, 2008

*** Theme Search deadline for NEXT year is November 1st** http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/downloads/ReflectionsThemeSearch2009-2010.pdf

To learn more about the Reflections Program, please visit http://pta.browsermedia.com/cs/about_reflections
For more rules, marketing resources and entry forms, please visit
http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/reflections.cfm

Please feel free to contact me: mcbeebettina@comcast.net
3089 Lake Drive
Marina, CA 93933
**********************************************************
For general information about art advocacy resources feel free to visit
Americans for the Arts, http://www.amercansforthearts.org/
Support Music, http://www.supoortmusic.com/
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, http://www.nasaarts.org/
The Arts Education Partnership, http://www.aep-arts.org/

Fundraising ideas - share yours!

This week, I thought we'd share fundraising ideas. Below are a few that we at the district have heard of and we encourage you to add comments to this post to share your PTA's fundraising ideas. Remember we are not endorsing any of the for-profit companies. These are simply ideas for you to explore.


Escrip - If your school is not using escrip, this is an easy way for your parents to earn funds for your PTA just by doing their normal grocery shopping. They spend no extra money, grocery stores will donate based on the groceries parents buy. Check it out at http://www.escrip.com/.


KidFit Connections - healthy cookbooks:

KidFIT Connections will give $4.00 to school/district fundraisers for each nutrition education based Cooking With MyPyramid cookbook ordered by your parents, school staff, or community members. The book can also be used with your staff wellness program or as an incentive for completing goals. Included in the book is a MyPyramid 25 Stars Challenge to encourage parents or staff to prepare meals, use healthy ingredients, and be active. The book is based on MyPyramid - the USDA food guidance system that teachers use in the classroom to teach nutrition. All the recipes list food group amounts from MyPyramid and each recipe encourages the messages from MyPyramid.gov - increase whole grains, eat colored vegetables, sweeten with fruit, use healthy oils, make protein low-fat and get calcium with low-fat dairy. The cookbook is a nutrition education tool for teachers and parents that enhances the classroom nutrition education lesson.
Each book comes with a slide guide to help teachers, staff, parents, and students determine their daily food group recommendations from MyPyramid (based on their activity) and a Healthy Snack wheel that can be used by students, parents, staff and foodservice to select healthy snacks at the store and school that fit within the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Copy and paste http://www.cookingwithmypyramid.com/ in your web browser for more information, and look at the fundraising section. Also look at the IDEAS for fundraising that promote good nutrition and physical activity. Don't hesitate to email or call with any questions.

Susan Patton MS RD LDDirector, KidFIT Connections CookingWithMyPyramid.com or KidFITConnections.com
http://us.f522.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Susan@kidfitconnections.com
614-204-1663


MerMan Productions/Entertainment That Educates (fundraiser or assemblies)
James McCubbin - http://us.f522.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mer-man@mindspring.com http://www.bebullyfree.com/ http://www.mermansmagic.com/
PO BOX 14121 Norfolk VA 23518 toll free 1-800-815-0364
Home of:
"The Bully In All of Us" (adult workshop)
"Bully You Bully Me Learn to be Bully Free" (assemblies)
"The YAM Show -You Are Magic" (character ed show)
"The Magic of Being Bully Free" ( Family night on character ed)
"MerMan's Comedy and Illusion Show" (fund-raiser, family night)
"MerMan's Magical Mania" (assemblies, special events)
"MerMan's Magical Pirate Adventure" (Dinner & Show)

We are running some specials until Oct 15th. We have one date left for Oct and two dates left for Jan. and will be offering great discounts. Please let us know if you are interested.