Welcome, Superstar Families 

Here you will find information about Ponderosa PTSA activities and ways of joining or being involved. Look for PTSA's upcoming Events posted to our calendar, as well as our 📢 Announcements section below.

📢 Announcements

Goodbye to 2025-26 from the PTSA Executive Board

As 2025-26 comes to an end, we look back on an unforgettable year for our school community. We kicked off the school year with Ponderosa’s 60th anniversary celebration and had so much fun hosting events such as Halloween Happening, International Night, and our stay-and-play ice cream Wednesdays.

Thank you to all of Ponderosa’s volunteers! Many hands make light work, and we couldn’t have made our events happen without the help of volunteers.

Thank you Principal Dr. Nathen Ramezane, Vice Principal Mrs. Michelle Odle, Secretary Ms. Amber Braz-Rivera, Custodian Steven Toribio, and to all of Ponderosa’s wonderful staff, for facilitating and assisting at our events and activities throughout the year. 

Finally, with deepest gratitude, thank you to Ponderosa students and families for your support, and for helping us build a strong and inclusive community, as we look forward to another year.

- 2025-26 Ponderosa PTSA Executive Board

Jenny Kim, President

Margarette Chan, 1st Vice President - Cultural Liaison

Diana Lee, 2nd Vice President - Volunteer Coordinator

Alicia Miao, 3rd Vice President - Community Events

Shweta Raghavan, Secretary

Margherita Lai, Treasurer

Paul Skelly, Financial Secretary

Wilfred Chui, Auditor

Bhavna Dixit, Parliamentarian

2026 Honorary Service Awards

Thank you to the Honorary Service Awards Committee for volunteering their time to review dozens of nominations for this year’s awards, and for helping us host the 2026 Awards Ceremony. We were thrilled to celebrate some of the many amazing Ponderosa parents and staff members who support our school community. 

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 Honorary Service Awards:

• Lynn Hayes - Golden Oak Service Award 

• Shawn Murphy - Outstanding Teacher Award

• Susan Lee - Outstanding Teacher Award

• Zaneta Zhu - Outstanding Teacher Award

• Michelle Odle - Continuing Service Award

• Kaushik Roy - Continuing Service Award

• Alicia Miao - Honorary Service Award

• Jessica Silberman - Very Special Person

• Bar Garburg - Very Special Person

Many thanks to the Honorary Service Awards Committee for volunteering their time over the course of several weeks to review dozens of nominations, and for helping us host the awards ceremony: Jenny Maehara, Meena Balaraman, Lucia Stinger, Holly McCullough, and Claudia Ramirez.

About Ponderosa PTSA 🏫

PTSA is our school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Membership in the PTSA is not required in order to participate in our events, but you can help support PTSA-sponsored activities by becoming a member for only $10 through our TOTEM site. 

The PTSA Executive Board is a group of volunteers that meets once per month to discuss and plan fundraisers and events at Ponderosa, such as Halloween Happening, Family Astronomy Night, and International Night. 

If you are interested in becoming more involved at our school, we have positions that are open on our 2026-27 Executive Board: 3rd Vice President - Community Events, Financial Secretary, Financial Reviewer, and Parliamentarian. Descriptions of each position are available here. Email us at ptsaponderosa@gmail.com to inquire about these roles. 

Announcing the 2026-27 PTSA Executive Board📋

The PTSA Executive Board is a group of volunteers that meets once per month to discuss and plan activities and fundraisers at Ponderosa. At the April 3 general association meeting, the following officers were elected to the 2026-27 PTSA Executive Board:

• President: Jenny Kim

• Executive Vice President: Alicia Miao

• 1st Vice President - Cultural Liaison: Margarette Chan

• 2nd Vice President - Volunteer Coordinator: Diana Lee

• Secretary: Anna Mitchell

• Treasurer: Paul Skelly

Ponderosa Parents Facebook Group 🖥️

There is a Ponderosa parent group on Facebook! Ponderosa Elementary School Families. If you would like to join this online parent community, please note that there are required membership questions, such as the name of your child’s teacher and classroom number, in order to keep the group secure and respect the privacy of our Ponderosa families.