Plano ISD Council of PTAs http://www.planopta.org/ en Copyright 2008 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:59:46 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Officer & Chairman Training at Sockwell Center on Tuesday, May 20. The training gives officers and chairs in all Plano PTAs the opportunity to learn their roles and get resources to make their jobs easier.]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/officer_chairman_training/ http://www.planopta.org/news/officer_chairman_training/ News Fri, 09 May 2008 08:59:46 -0600 Publicity Contact chair: publicity [at] planopta.org * Media Contacts and Publicity Guidelines [pdf file] * Public Relations Guide [pdf file] * PISD Publicity Guidelines [pdf file] * neighborsgo Guidelines [pdf file] * Press Release Related Examples]]> http://www.planopta.org/publicity/publicity/ http://www.planopta.org/publicity/publicity/ Publicity Fri, 02 May 2008 12:22:19 -0600 Leadership Orientation Training 6:00-8:30 pm Training
Plano ISD Administration Building
2700 W. 15th Street
Plano, Texas 75075
Room 311 Training on May 16, 2008 8:30-9:00 am Registration
9:00-11:30 am Training
Plano ISD Administration Building
2700 W. 15th Street
Plano, Texas 75075
Room 311 Please R.S.V.P. to Janet Kelly
aide@planopta.org
  • Leadership Orientation Training is mandatory for all Executive Board Members to complete once in their PTA careers
  • The Texas State PTA requires all Executive Board Members to have completed this Training by October 15
  • Space is limited- please RSVP early
  • Latecomers can not be seated
  • You must complete the entire class to receive your credit
]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/leadership_orientation_trainin/ http://www.planopta.org/news/leadership_orientation_trainin/ News Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:30:25 -0600 Newsletter Contact chair: newsletter [at] planopta.org Resources: * Newsletter Chair Training Guide [pdf file] * Newsletter Award Form [pdf file] * Convert PDF and other file formats: You may need to share files with others who don't have the application where the file originated. Since PDF has a free viewer, most people convert documents to this format. Here are several applications that will convert files to various formats: - Media Convert, a Web-based application - PDF Online, a Web-based application - PrimoPDF, a software application you download and install on your PC * Council News - April/May - February - November - October - August - April - March - January/February * 2006-07 Texas PTA News - September (requires ID and password: back of membership card) ]]> http://www.planopta.org/newsletter/newsletter/ http://www.planopta.org/newsletter/newsletter/ Newsletter Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:04:51 -0600 Ways and Means Contact chair: waysandmeans [at] planopta.org National PTA Fundraising information

Vendor Fair

BubbleShare: Share photos - Powered by BubbleShare Vendor Fair Information and Testimonials Missed the Plano ISD Council of PTAs 13th annual Vendor and Program Fair on Saturday, April 5, 2008? This fair is for fundraising, service, and program vendors and is advertised to all the PTAs, PTOs, Booster Clubs, Scouting, sport, and church organizations in the Plano area along with school districts in Allen, McKinney, Frisco, etc. You can still contact the vendors as here is a list of the vendors in attendance along with their contact information. The Vendor Fair, held at Jasper High School, was a success. We have photos coming. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, nonprofits, PTAs, the whole gamut attended the fair to get fresh ideas for the upcoming school year from the two gyms filled with vendors. Vendors offered fundraising ideas, programs, and services. This Vendor Fair Map from 2008 [pdf file] gives you an idea of the gym layout. If your business or organization would like to come to the Vendor Fair next year, please email waysandmeans [at] planopta.org so we can keep you in the loop. If you would like to attend, just subscribe to receive Plano PTA updates and you'll receive updates from the Web site. Vendors in attendance said that Plano ISD Council of PTAs knows how to do it right. Several said that Plano knows how to put on a great fair and they wish the other fairs were as good as ours. They all said they'd be back next year. Several vendors said they appreciated the way Plano PTA treated them. "That [Plano PTA Vendor Fair] was one of the best fairs I have done as far as traffic is concerned." -- Larry Wallace, Director of Fundraising Sales for Wrap It Up! "Thanks for getting the message to the decision-makers at the local schools." "You guys already have great attendance for a vendor fair. I say keep up what you are doing." "This is a great event - look forward to it every year!" "Always my favorite vendor fair! You are all awesome!!!" Vendor Fair Setup Photos (Click to view larger) Vendor%20Fair%20Setup%20Big%20Gym-9.jpg Vendor%20Fair%20Setup%20Small%20Gym-9.jpg Attendees were blown away by the resources and ideas that received from the fair. "I was so impressed and had no idea how many great resources there were for us." -- incoming president at a elementary school PTA.]]> http://www.planopta.org/ways_means/ways_and_means/ http://www.planopta.org/ways_means/ways_and_means/ Ways & Means Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:42:01 -0600 2008 Bond Overview / Perspectiva General de los Bonos 2008 Bond Overview / Perspectiva General de los Bonos [pdf file]]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/2008_bond_overview_perspectiva/ http://www.planopta.org/news/2008_bond_overview_perspectiva/ News Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:53:59 -0600 Summer Leadership Seminar Summer Leadership Seminar flyer has more information.]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/summer_leadership_seminar/ http://www.planopta.org/news/summer_leadership_seminar/ News Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:59:24 -0600 Webmaster Contact chair: webmaster [at] planopta.org

Free Web Sites for All Texas PTAs!

Texas PTA is now offering free websites to every PTA in Texas. To get started go to http://ptanetwork.txpta.org. For security purposes, the initial login and password will only be e-mailed to your PTA President. Local, Council, and Area level organizations can all use this service. [ More info ... and FAQs ]

Resources:

* PTA Webmaster Overview [pdf file] Overview -- the best place to start) * See Directory of Plano PTAs for other PTA web sites. * Top Ten Web Hosting: External web site. Start your search for a website host. * Plano ISD School Web Page Guidelines * Lunarpages K-12 Program Web Hosting Program * **Books** - Learning Web Design for absolute beginners. - Web Design in a Nutshell -- a little more advanced than Learning Web Design. * **Web Design Applications** - Microsoft Front Page has been replaced by Expression Web (currently in beta and available for free). - Macromedia Contribute lets everyone in an organization publish to websites and bring them alive with up-to-date content and information. Free trial download available. - Macromedia Dreamweaver and Studio 8. Free trial download available. - Open Source CMS lists many free content management tools available for use. You can try them out on the web site without going through the trouble of installing the application. * PISD School Webpage Guidelines Guidelines for PISD not PTA, but important to understand especially "Links to "non-official" PISD related sites that are hosted on remote/external (non-district) web servers - Examples: athletic booster pages, PTA pages, teacher created classroom pages, etc." PISD school web sites can include the PTA web site's URL in text without a link like this: http://www.pta.org/. * Online resources for academic priced software: - Academic Superstore - JourneyED

Podcasting PTA Meetings

The Dallas Morning News shared Highland Park ISD PTA's podcasting experience. As a result, the webmaster contacted HPISD PTA and asked about the process for sharing audio recordings of PTA meetings. [More podcasting information]

Suggestions of items to include on a PTA web site

* news * PTA board members and contact information * Links to: - National PTA (www.pta.org) - Texas PTA (www.txpta.org) - Area 15 PTA (www.area15.txpta.net) - Plano Council PTA (www.planopta.org) - Plano ISD (www.pisd.edu) - School's Plano ISD site (see elementary or secondary list for school and its link) - Staff email addresses (go to elementary or secondary list and select your school, click Staff Email and use that URL) * Calendar (site's and Plano ISD) * Contact * About (info on the school and PTA) * Newsletters * Forms * Volunteer information * PTA board members * PTA meetings schedule * PTA goals * photos of school, PTA board, etc. * Practical Parenting classes

More Podcasting Information

he following outlines the steps they use to record and publish audio. 1. They use iPods with MemoMics (lapel mic) and MicroMemos. The person speaking holds the iPod and wears the lapel mic while speaking. The lapel mic attaches to the MicroMemo. This provides good sound quality. It also uses software the record and play back audio from the meeting or lecture. 2. After the meeting, sync the iPod with iTunes, the free music player software from Apple. Edit the file in another application (they use Audacity) and convert it to MP3 since everyone can play MP3 on most players. 3. They have an Apple server that our tech department purchased this year. They load the files on that server. It has a website for each file that is loaded and they link that web URL on their school's website so parents can open the file on their computer of save the target on their computer for placing on their MP3 devices. Step 3 is a matter of uploading the file to a web server -- wherever the PTA hosts their Web site -- and linking to that file. Also, we strongly advise publishing audio from the meetings in a members' only area of a PTA Web site. Since TXPTX.org requires login to the members only area and changes yearly, you can use the same ID / password that appears on the back of the membership card. Most Web servers let you protect a directory. Create a "members" directory and protect that with the PTA ID / password. Another option: Recording meetings with a laptop An MP3 player involves more because they're not made to record. So if someone is willing to loan a laptop with recording software and the PTA invests in a decent microphone, it should be easier to record meetings using a laptop. Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) is a free sound editor and recorder. It should work for recording and editing audio. No catch -- a benefit of open source software. http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-micline1.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/480163-REG/Zoom_H2_H2_Ultra_Portable_Digital.html#goto_itemInfo http://www.wikihow.com/Record-on-an-iPod-for-Free

Free Web Sites for Texas PTAs

Texas PTA is now offering free websites to every PTA in Texas. To get started go to http://ptanetwork.txpta.org. For security purposes, the initial login and password will only be e-mailed to your PTA President. Local, Council, and Area level organizations can all use this service. Far North Dallas Early Childhood PTA uses this resource for its Web site. If your PTA is using this resource, please let us know so we can share this information and let others see how the site looks. Q. What's the rush? A. Site URL addresses are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Make sure you get .txpta.org before someone else does! Q. Who is responsible for this? A. Flowers For Kids, a not for profit organization that offers a unique fresh flower fundraiser, is our sponsor for rollout activities like this e-mail and training. To view their newsletter, click here. The websites are a brand new project of the Texas PTA and we are proud to be the first state PTA to offer such a service. We are also pleased to work with Parent Teacher Network (PTN) who created the software, hosts the sites, and will work with the Texas PTA to provide continuous improvements. Q. What's the catch? A. No catch. Texas PTA conducted an exhaustive search to find the best, simplest to use, and most powerful web building and hosting tool available and then found a way to provide this solution to all Texas member PTAs at no cost to them. Nobody has a better tool for building powerful PTA sites as easily. Q. Why is it so good? A. It was built by the "brainiacs" at PTN specifically and exclusively for parent teacher groups, and then it was made better and better over 3 years. Q. Are there any bugs? A. For the moment there are a couple of bugs that have been identified. A major update on Monday, August 20th should resolve many of them, and the rest will be fixed soon after. Q. Will there be any training? A. This product was chosen in large part because it's very self-explanatory and intuitive. There are help videos in each section that show you how to use the site-building tools in case they're needed. However, additional training will be offered for those that want it. Expect to see more information about that soon. Q. What about sponsors? A. Any PTA that chooses to may post on their site whatever sponsor info and receive whatever remuneration they like (subject to the usual guidelines regarding advertising vs. sponsorship as found in your Treasurer's Handbook, of course). There will also be official site sponsors carefully selected by Texas PTA. Revenue from sponsors is what makes these sites possible. Sponsor recognition will always be tasteful and unobtrusive. If a PTA prefers not to have site sponsors they can pay $350 to remove the sponsors annually. That is the amount PTN normally charges for their tool and hosting. Q. How is this different than any other site building and hosting tool? A. In addition to the myriad easy-to-use tools and features designed specifically to help a PTA set up and maintain the best site possible, these sites will all be connected to each other via the PTA Network. That means it will be easy for PTA leaders and regular members across the state to share ideas, find neighboring PTAs and associated Council, Region, and Area sites, and network. In addition, all sites will automatically be updated with the most current member benefits from Texas and National PTA. Finally, each site will ultimately be linked to the Texas PTA database which will make sending in forms, lists, applications and other data that much easier. Q. What does it do? A. A lot. First of all, it does everything in the easiest and most intuitive way possible. In short: * Customize the look of the site to fit your group with custom colors, logo, pictures, etc. * Upload and share files, newsletters, forms, etc. * Powerful and secure member-directory lets the PTA keep in touch * Member-only, board-only, you-name-it-only areas * Calendars (Truly great calendars. Create calendar events that allow members to easily schedule themselves to volunteer, more amazing functionality coming soon) * Principle's page, Teachers' pages, Board Member Pages, etc. * Password protected user profiles * Broadcast e-mail with pictures, fonts, attachments, etc * Just about anything else you can think of, and more functionality is coming! Did we mention it's all completely free? Visit http://ptanetwork.txpta.org for more info and to sign up today! ]]> http://www.planopta.org/webmaster/webmaster/ http://www.planopta.org/webmaster/webmaster/ Webmaster Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:14:19 -0600 Plano PTA RoughRider Day Deadline extended to April 7. There's still time to join us! Plano ISD Council of PTAs is pleased to once again invite the families of Plano ISD to an afternoon with the RoughRiders on Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 pm. Reserve your tickets NOW to sit with your school as the stadium is filled with Plano ISD friends and families for an afternoon enjoying America’s favorite past time! Tickets are $12.50 and include a RoughRider limited edition baseball cap, a PlayBall game program featuring Plano PTAs' Reflection Program and much more. To reserve your tickets complete the form [pdf file] and mail it with your payment (checks made payable to Plano ISD Council of PTAs) to Plano ISD Council of PTAs 2700 W. 15th Street, Plano, TX 75075. Flyers will be distributed to all elementary schools for each student. Flyers will also be available at all secondary school front offices. Contact reflections@planopta.org for more information.]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_pta_roughrider_day/ http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_pta_roughrider_day/ News Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:02:24 -0600 Pull New Tricks out of an Old Hat When: Tuesday, April 15 at 6:30pm Where: Richardson Administration Building Auditorium (400 S. Greenville, Richardson, 75091) Please come with a laundry list of programs: * that were a hit and those that weren't * for large and small audiences * for big and small budgets * for local unit crowds or the entire council Please share what your members liked and didn't like, good sources for program ideas, and anything else you've pulled out of your hat. Contact Karen Schultz at president@planopta.org]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/pull_new_tricks_out_of_an_old/ http://www.planopta.org/news/pull_new_tricks_out_of_an_old/ News Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:04:57 -0600 Local Unit Awards Deadlines list of all of the local unit award deadlines [pdf file].]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/local_unit_awards_deadlines/ http://www.planopta.org/news/local_unit_awards_deadlines/ News Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:46:32 -0600 Plano ISD Raptor Security System FAQs
  • Will volunteer background checks still be needed? Background checks will have to be done each year with notary forms at each school where you actively volunteer. Basically, no change in volunteer process.
    • Will office volunteers be trained about the system? If volunteers will be using the new system, which is a campus by campus decision, they will need a generic PISD username, and would be trained by their school’s secretary or office manager.
    • Will office volunteers be trained about safety procedures? Yes
    • What if the visitor doesn't have a driver's license? The current system (signing the affidavit affirming that he/she is not a sex offender) would be utilized. A valid Texas ID is also acceptable and can be purchased from the DMV. *See Mark Hinshaw's e-mail regarding this issue below.
    • Will a visitor/volunteer need to swipe their license every time? Once a person has had his/her license swiped, they are "in the system" for that particular campus. The license must be swiped at each campus where you visit or volunteer. However, the best practice would be to have your license with you at all times.
    ]]>     http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_isd_raptor_security_syst/ http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_isd_raptor_security_syst/ News Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:16:31 -0600     Life Membership Banquet Honors See the slideshow and names of the honorees.]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/life_membership_banquet_honors/ http://www.planopta.org/news/life_membership_banquet_honors/ News Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:54:13 -0600 Plano PTA Directory Early Childhood Schools (PreK / PPCD)

    Elementary Schools (Grades K - 5)



    Middle Schools (Grades 6 - 8)



    High Schools (Grades 9 - 10)


    Senior High Schools (Grades 11 - 12)



    Please submit PTA web site address changes to webmaster [at] planopta.org]]>     http://www.planopta.org/directory_of_plano_ptas/directory/ http://www.planopta.org/directory_of_plano_ptas/directory/ Directory of Plano PTAs Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:27:16 -0600     Plano PTA at Douglass Community Center Health Fair ]]> http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_pta_at_douglass_communit/ http://www.planopta.org/news/plano_pta_at_douglass_communit/ News Sun, 20 Jan 2008 12:46:11 -0600