Local Unit Spotlight: For The Love of Literacy
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Aviano PTA has partnered with the Early Childhood Education department to bring meaningful literacy experiences home for all 45 students enrolled in the Sure Start and PSCD programs. After home visits at the beginning of the school year demonstrated an apparent lack of children’s literature in our modern day, technology driven family environments the ECE team collaboratively came to one conclusion. “We need to get more tangible, developmentally appropriate reading materials in our student’s home.”
Our local PTA unit has been continuously supportive within our programs, it was believed they were the best place to find the support needed to implement the For the Love of Literacy Program. A Funds Request was approved for $1,500 to take this idea from a thought to reality. Together with our Scholastic Chair we were able to thriftily purchase 20 set titles to teach and then give to our students throughout the year. Each child created a book box out of recycled cereal boxes and an image of each upcoming title was pasted on the outside of their box, along with their name and their own little personal library was born. Parents were invited to our “Program Kick-Off” to pick up their child’s book box along with their first two titles, were they revisited the importance of not only the educational, but social-emotional impacts of reading with your child daily. Each parent and child signed a reading pledge, along with their classroom teachers and they all hit the ground running towards reading success.
Throughout the school year each title is taught for approximately one week to create confidence and excitement with the anticipation of bringing the title home to share with their family and adding to their book box. The inside cover of each book is labeled with a “supported by Aviano PTA” sticker with the student’s name along with a current photo before being sent home. At the end of the school year we will host a free Preschool Book Fair where each student will choose 2 titles on their own to add to and complete their book box. That is a total of 22 titles per student, 45 students for a total of 990 titles that our PTA will supply to our Aviano Preschool families the 2018-19 school year. That's a lot of Love! That's a lot of Literacy!
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2019 EPTA Convention Registration Is Now Open!
The 61st Annual European PTA Convention
will take place on May 17-19 in Stuttgart, Germany, and it's a must-see event for both new and returning PTA leaders.
It is an amazing opportunity to learn more about your PTA Board position and responsibilities. You can celebrate the year's successes, collaborate and share ideas, and receive valuable training and information to bring back to your Local Unit. You will also have the opportunity to meet vendors and connect with other PTA leaders at the local, state, and national levels.
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Convention will give your Board Members the opportunity to receive their
mandatory officer training
, as well as the tools necessary to conduct proper business meetings, take care of financial business, and so much more! The Annual European PTA Convention is also the
only
opportunity for our Local Units to come together and conduct the official business of our association, as required per our bylaws, so it is very important that Local Units send at least one representative in order to establish a quorum.
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Be sure to
register
by March 31st
to lock in the $120 Advance Convention Registration rate!
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2019 EPTA Regional Spelling Bee
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Mummers. Colloquialism. Divvy. These are just a few of the words that competitors were asked to spell at the 2019
EPTA Regional Spelling Bee
. Twenty-five champion spellers traveled to Ramstein Air Base from DoDEA schools in Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kindgom, the Netherlands, and Turkey on Saturday, February 23rd to compete for this year's EPTA Spelling Bee title. It was an intense morning, as spellers showed off their hard work and dedication by spelling hundreds of words over 31 rounds and approximately three hours of competition. In the end, it all came down to one championship word, 'quaff'
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Congratulations to our 2019 EPTA Champion,
Robert Louis Rasmussen III
, a 7th grade student at Netzaberg Middle School on U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria! This year's competition was Robert's third appearance in the EPTA Regional Spelling Bee, representing first Grafenwoehr ES and then Netzaberg MS, and he clinched victory by correctly spelling the word 'quaff'. Now he'll be moving forward to represent DoDEA-Europe and European PTA at the
Scripps National Spelling Bee
on May 26-30 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland!
In addition to his Champion's medal, Robert will receive several prizes, including a 2019 US Mint Proof Set, a one year subscription to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopaedia Britannica, and a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition). Robert will also receive travel and lodging expenses from European PTA for himself and a parent at the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee and a one year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, which will come in very handy, because that's his study list for the national level of competition!
We'd also like to congratulate our local spelling bee champions on an impressive performance in this year's Bee. It was obvious to all in attendance that you worked very hard to prepare for the competition, and you truly are the best of the best! This year's EPTA Regional Spelling Bee featured the following competitors:
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David L. Thomas, Jr.
AFNORTH International School
Dustin J. Trimer
Alconbury Elementary School
Damia Anura Binti Azlan
Ankara Elementary/High School
Kendall Witcher
Ansbach Elementary School
Catalina Campos
Garmisch Elementary/Middle School
Madeline Sword
Grafenwoehr Elementary School
Khalista Abbey Talingdan
Hohenfels Elementary School
Gina Wilcox
Kaiserslautern Elementary School
Kieran Roundy
*
Kaiserslautern Middle School
Nicholas Biega
*
Landstuhl Elementary/Middle School
Arianna-Leigh Cade
Liberty Intermediate School
Caleb Schmaeling
Naples Elementary School
Gabriela Sassé
Naples Middle/High School
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Connor Knazovich
Netzaberg Elementary School
Robert Louis Rasmussen III
*
Netzaberg Middle School
Marie-Noelle Hanul Medlin
Patch Elementary School
Alan Whitlock
Patch Middle School
Taylor A. Dougal
Ramstein Intermediate School
Jonnen Blaiz Messer
**
Ramstein Middle School
Shelby June
Robinson Barracks Elementary School
Angel Contreras Ramos
Rota Elementary School
Kiel Dapiaoen
Sigonella Elementary School
Benjamin Richard
Spangdahlem Elementary School
Pita C. Forsblade
Stuttgart Elementary School
Asenath Wetzel
*
Vicenza
Middle School
* This speller is a returning EPTA Regional Bee competitor
** This speller is a past EPTA Regional Spelling Bee Champion
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Thank you to all of the PTA volunteers, parents, teachers, and staff members who supported this year's EPTA Spelling Bee program by coordinating their local bees, practicing spelling words, and cheering their students on to victory! We'd also like to say thank you to our 2019
corporate sponsors, GEICO and Community Bank, and for generous community welfare grants from the Kaiserslautern Landstuhl Spouses' Association (KLSA), the Ramstein Officers' Spouses' Club,(ROSC) and the Ramstein Enlisted Spouses' Association (RESA). Finally, thank you to our hosts at Ramstein Elementary School and to the volunteers from the RES PTA and the EPTA Board of Directors who helped to make this year's event a success.
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PTA LEADERS:
Have your membership numbers slowed down to a post-season membership slump? It’s time to shake off the mid-winter doldrums and get back our collective energy!
EPTA IS CHALLENGING ALL LOCAL UNITS
to build their membership numbers during the month of March as a part of our 5th annual
March Membership Madness
competition. The Local Unit with the most new members submitted from March 1-25, 2019 will be awarded the coveted March Membership Madness trophy at the 61st annual EPTA Convention, which will take place on May 17-19, 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany.
AS AN EXTRA INCENTIVE
, your Local Unit will receive one entry for every five members reported in March for a drawing to win a FREE Convention registration!
CONTEST RULES:
- All new members for March must be listed on your Local Unit’s March 2019 EPTA membership report.
- Your membership report must be submitted ON TIME, no later than March 25, 2019.
NEED MEMBERSHIP INFO?
Click the Membership tab at
EuropeanPTA.org
for information on March Membership Madness, Membership Reporting, Member Benefits, Membership Milestones, and more!
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EUROPEAN PTA NEEDS YOU!!!
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European PTA is seeking dedicated PTA members to fill positions on the 2019-2020 EPTA Board! We're now accepting self-nominations to fill the following positions:
- Vice President for Legislation
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Director of Membership and Communications
- Committee Chairs
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE POSITIONS
, please download and review the 2019-2020
Nominations Guide
. Self-nominations must be submitted via the
online form
by
April 1, 2019
.
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Time's Running Out To Submit Your EPTA Award Applications!
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Do you have an outstanding
PTA UNIT
that you would like everyone to know about? An amazing
READING PROGRAM
in your school? A
VOLUNTEER
who goes above and beyond? An
EDUCATOR
who deserves to be recognized?
European PTA presents four awards annually to recognize the people who work to support our students, our schools, and our communities, and who help to make every child's potential a reality:
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Volunteer of the Year
Unit of the Year
Educator of the Year
The Linda S. Resch Reading Award
Award applications must be submitted via email by
MARCH 17, 2019
. Visit the
Awards
page on the PTA website for more information and to download award applications. This could be your year to shine! We want to celebrate YOU at the 2019 EPTA Convention!
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Are You Doing Great Things To Build Diversity?
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The
Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award
recognizes PTAs that best demonstrate outstanding achievement in the areas of diversity and inclusion, as well as efforts to end discriminatory practices. This award will be presented to one state PTA, one district/council/region PTA and one local PTA at the
2019
National PTA Convention & Expo
on June 20-23 in Columbus, Ohio. Award Benefits:
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- Winners are honored at the Diversity & Inclusion Breakfast at the 2019 National PTA Convention & Expo
- Winners are honored at the Awards Program at the 2019 National PTA Convention & Expo
- 2 tickets to the Diversity & Inclusion Breakfast at 2019 National PTA Convention & Expo
- 2 tickets to the Awards Dinner at 2019 National PTA Convention & Expo (One person recognized on stage and individuals must be the same as those attending the breakfast)
- Potential opportunity to be a speaker at the Diversity & Inclusion Breakfast at the 2019 National PTA Convention & Expo
- Certificates for PTA members named in the application
Submit your application online via the link below through March 31 at 8 p.m. EST
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