Marie Peppas
NJSSNA President

I am honored to begin my tenure as your new president, and I am humbled by the wisdom and dedication of the members of our executive board who volunteer their time and talent to serve our NJSSNA members.

When I think about the multitude of roles within the scope of our professional practice, it amazes me to think of what we accomplish every day. School nurses function in the role of nursing care provider, investigator, communicator, counselor, educator, child advocate, community liaison, recorder, and manager as well as handling whatever else crosses our paths throughout the day. We have a nursing specialty which sometimes can seem overwhelming in its scope, and we depend on each other for support and professional resource. NJSSNA and NASN are here for you, elevating the level of school nursing.

As we begin the new school year, we stand at a crossroads in our organization as we begin the process of implementing our new strategic plan. This plan was developed after many hours of work by our strategic planning committee looking at our organization’s goals and objectives as well as reviewing the many surveys which were sent back by members and non-members. We have a lot of work ahead of us as we evaluate our current status as an organization and look to expanding our sphere of influence within schools and communities around the State. We have invited County Presidents to share our committee information with County organization members, and we encourage you to look at our list of committees and think about joining one of them. This is YOUR organization and we value your input and expertise as we move forward.

Our Board meetings are held on the 3 rd Tuesday of every month at the NJEA on State Street in Trenton and we invite you to come to a meeting and find out what is happening in the practice of School Nursing in NJ. We would love to see you and hear what is happening in your county.

Have a good 2009-2010 School Year!