Creeker Communications
West Creek Hills Elementary School
Weekly Newsletter January 17th
Upcoming Dates
1/17/22
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School
1/18/22
Cycle Week 4
Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm (Last Learning Lab)
Science Explorers (LGI): 3:30-4:30
End of the 2nd Marking Period
1/19/22
Cycle Week 4
1/20/22
Cycle Week 4
School Board Meeting, 7pm (Location: East Pennsboro Elementary School LGI)
1/21/22
Cycle Week 4
January:
- 1/25- Science Explorers (LGI): 3:30-4:30 (Last Science Explorers)
- 1/25- Report Cards Issued
- 1/28- Early Dismissal, 1:20pm
February:
- 2/1- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/3- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/3- School Board Meeting, 7pm (Location: East Pennsboro Elementary School LGI)
- 2/8- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/8- EPASD Elementary PTO Meeting, 7pm (Location: West Creek Hills Elementary School)
- 2/9- Mobile Dentist
- 2/10- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/15- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/17- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/17- School Board Meeting, 7pm (Location: East Pennsboro Elementary School LGI)
- 2/22- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
- 2/24- Learning Lab 3:40-4:30pm
WCH Monday Motto
Deeper Meaning in the West Creek Hills Monday Motto!
Ms. Young’s 5th grade class wanted to find a deeper meaning in the West Creek Hills Monday Motto. They also wanted to find a way to collaborate and build relationships with different classmates. Students partnered up with another classmate to analyze one line of the WCH Monday Motto. They used their different strengths to represent the motto using pictures and words to show the meaning. Finally, the class put all of their work in a Google Slideshow to share with the school community and will display their project in the hallway.
Please check out the Google Slideshow below:
Way to go Ms. Young’s 5th graders!
WCH School Wide Mission
Our school wide mission this week will to "Objects, Hands, and Feet to Myself" (the O in our CANDO expectations). Please remind your students about this week's specific mission that also will be included in our school announcements each day.
Staff will be focusing on this mission as they look for more CANDO Creekers to add to our list. If you still aren't familiar with our CANDO expectations, please ask your student. Look at all those Creeker Card recipients that are in our newsletter this week!
We wanted to send out a shout out to our school community for their continued support with our school wide missions. Thank you so much for your help! There has been a noticeable difference since we started these missions in all areas of the school building.
Many Thanks,
Creekers
Creeker 200 Club Weekly Winners
Congratulations to all of the award winners. Can’t wait to see all of the award winners next week. Way to go Creekers!!!
Kids Heart Challenge
Join in the fun, West Creek Hills families!
We want each of our students to pledge to take care of their hearts – and minds. Information was sent home yesterday after our Kids Heart Challenge kickoff assemblies, where students learned all about how we can help others that have special hearts. Every class will get to participate in special activities during their PE week (January 24-February 17) to remind us that we have to keep our hearts strong by being active.
Along with the fun activities in school, we are encouraging our students to get donations that will go to the American Heart Association and they can earn fun prizes along the way. Any money collected can be turned in to their classroom teachers anytime before February 17, but we are also encouraging as many online donations as possible. See the attached link to view West Creek Hills' progress so far.
https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?pg=company&fr_id=6321&company_id=326824
Panther Pack Food Drive
Artist Alley
GIANT's Feeding School Kids Program
Girls On The Run
We’re desperately seeking a coach or two to help keep this program alive. The season is just 8 weeks, from March to mid-May. It would be offered to girls in 3rd – 5th grade.
Practice 3:30 – 5:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, when school is in session.
If you are interested please reach out to Tamara Beckenbaugh at tbeckenbaugh@caiu.org and/or WCH Admin: mpietropola@epasd.org / jjahoda@epasd.org
Thanks for considering!
Lost and Found
- Do you recognize anything in the pictures below?
- Please make sure your child's name is on everything so that our collection doesn't continue to grow.
Thank you very much, we want to make sure these items get back to their home.
Update to Car Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures
Update to our Car Drop-Off Procedures:
* We are going to mirror our Car Pick-Up procedures moving forward for Car Drop-Off for more consistency. Please remember to pull up all the way to the first cone at the end of the sidewalk to ensure safety and to help speed up the lines for Car Drop-Off.
Car Drop-Off and Car Pick-Up:
· Two lanes of cars starting at the beginning of the parking lot right off Erford Rd
· Cones will divide the lanes the entire way
· There will be a K-2nd Grade Lane and 3rd-5th Grade Lane
· If you have students in multiple grade levels, please use the K-2nd Lane
· K-2nd Grade Lane will be closest to the school building (Left lane)
· 3rd-5th Grade Lane will be the (Right lane)
· There will be signs for each lane
· Students will be using the crosswalk to get to the second lane
· Additional staff for safety
· Please stay in cars to help with safety and efficiency
· Please practice buckling seat belts with your students
· Pull up closely to the car in front creating minimal space for safety and room for more cars
· Please have Car Tags ready and visible to help with safety and efficiency
· Understand and Patience will go a long way
Times:
Parent drop-off begins at 8:25am. Students must be in the building by 8:50am.
Parent pick-up times run from 3:20-3:40pm
Attached to this procedure is a visual aid to help explain this process. Our main goal is to ensure safety and efficiency throughout this process. Thank you so much for understanding and flexibility.
EPASD Elementary PTO
MISSION STATEMENT:
The East Pennsboro Area School District Elementary PTO, in cooperation with parents and teachers, unites home, school, and community to positively impact the educational process of all children.
P.T.O. stands for Parent Teacher Organization. It is made up of parents and teachers from our two elementary schools. Everyone is invited to become a member. Funds raised by the P.T.O. are used to supplement taxpayer dollars and support the vision and mission of the school district. The P.T.O. helps to underwrite the cost of learning activities, field trips, equipment, assemblies, resources, and other materials used to provide an outstanding academic program for all of our world-class performers and productive citizens in our elementary schools. Please join us in support of our students and staff members. For current PTO news, check your child’s monthly newsletter from school.
2021 – 2022 EXECUTIVE BOARD:
Marisa Allen, EPE President
Melanie Weaver, EPE Vice President
Kathy Geissler, WCH President
Meghan DeRoy, WCH Vice President
Melissa Robinson, Treasurer
Mallory Cecere, Secretary
EPE Representatives: Angela Hadley, Karli Hatten, Stephanie Budzyn
WCH Representatives: Helene Betz, Tami Beckenbaugh, Heather Henry
Teacher Representatives: WCH – Kelley Ritter and Melissa Umbrell; EPE – Kim Trason and Amanda Wolfe
CONTACT INFO:
Join the PTO Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1721373894746765/
WAYS TO SUPPORT THE PTO:
AMAZON SMILE - Do you shop on Amazon? If you do, there is a simple way you can help support the EPASD Elementary PTO through AmazonSmile!! There is NO cost to you and AmazonSmile will donate .5% of all your eligible purchases to the PTO!
All you have to do is visit smile.amazon.com and sign in with your Amazon credentials and choose EPASD Elementary PTO as your charity! If you use the Amazon app on your phone, go into the app and go to “settings” in the main menu and click on “AmazonSmile” and follow the instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone. It is that easy!
VOLUNTEER - PTO sponsored events would not be possible without volunteers like you. Each year, we host a number of family friendly events that spread awareness about our organization and give back to our teachers and students.
To be included on our volunteer/donation list, please send an email to epasdelempto@outlook.com with your name and phone number. Each time there is an opportunity to volunteer, you will get an email with various time slots and donation items needed for that event through a “Time to Sign Up” link.
ATTEND MONTHLY MEETINGS – The PTO meets on a monthly basis beginning at 7PM at either East Pennsboro Elementary School (EPE) or West Creek Hills Elementary School (WCH). Here are the meeting dates for the 2021-2022 school year:
Next PTO Meeting:
January 11 – EPE
PTO Meeting Coming Up:
February 8 – WCH
March 8 – EPE
April 12 – WCH
May 10 – EPE
2021-2022 School Year Calendar
https://3.files.edl.io/a46e/21/07/12/193153-0662518b-7b67-41b7-9b1b-05072d4992b6.png
EPASD Attendance Procedures
We would like to remind you of our school attendance procedures as we begin a new school year. To remain consistent with regards to attendance, we ask that you review and adhere to these policies if your child needs to be absent from school.
Excused Absences:
When a child is enrolled in the district’s educational program, the student is subject to the
Pennsylvania State Attendance Laws. The Board considers the following conditions to constitute an excused absence from school:
1. Illness
2. Quarantine
3. Student required court attendance
4. Prearranged doctor and dentist appointment for time of appointment and appropriate travel time only
5. Authorized school activities
6. Pre-approved educational tours and trips, not school sponsored
7. Other urgent reasons, including funerals, that apply to the child and approved by the building administrator
Parents/guardians are expected to telephone the school when students are absent for any reason. In addition, a written and/or emailed excuse from a parent/guardian is required for each absence.
General Attendance Process:
WCH accepts attendance notifications (excuse cards, absence notes, etc.) via email. Parents can email wchattendance@epasd.org as a means of reporting your child’s absence. Paper notes will still be accepted as well. Reminder that all excuse notifications are required to be submitted within three school days of your child’s absences.
Unexcused Absences:
An unexcused absence shall be defined as:
• Absence from school with parent/guardian consent for reasons other than those considered excusable.
• Leaving school during school hours without permission from the administrator.
• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of parent/guardian (truancy).
• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of school authorities.
• Absences from school without written parental excuse submitted within 3 school days of the absence.
You may refer to the Elementary Student Handbook in the link below to review more specific information about our attendance policies in certain situations (Page 10 of the document). Please contact our school office if you have any questions about our attendance policies or procedures.
https://4.files.edl.io/69d5/07/19/21/151326-d52fa66e-ffe7-4c30-b50d-154126ce7428.pdf
Educational Trip Form: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bKDZSzZRpZO5wkRsCfYdi0SmAzZpOmwu/view?usp=sharing
Automated Absence Alert:
WCH will begin sending automated absence alerts this school year. The Automated Absence Alert system was implemented to inform parents when their students are absent from school. If/when your student is absent or does not report to their classroom they are recorded as absent. When the daily attendance is submitted electronically, an automated message will be sent to a phone identified by the parent/guardian. This call will normally occur by approximately 10:00 am. Should you have questions or concerns you may contact the
attendance secretary by calling:
West Creek Hills Elementary School (WCH), (717) 732-0142.
Sapphire Parent Portal
Please create a Sapphire Parent Portal account. There are several benefits to creating a parent portal account:
- You can access your child's report cards when they are published
- You can keep track of your child's attendance
- You will be able to receive important notifications about your child
To create a parent portal account:
- Go to our website www.epasd.org
- Hover over the "Students" tab
- Click "Sapphire Community Web Portal"
- Click "Create a Web Portal Account"
- Follow the remaining on screen instructions to enter your information.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Cleveland at ccleveland@epasd.org. She would be happy to help!
Nurse's Corner- Mrs. Cruso
If your child is experiencing any of the below-listed symptoms:
Cough, Fever-like symptoms such as body aches, body chills and/or sweating, Temperature over 100.4 degrees, Headache, New loss of taste or smell, Nausea, and/or Vomiting
Keep your child home from school that day and contact your medical provider for further instructions.
Change in Routine Procedures
Classroom teachers follow specific dismissal procedures daily. Changes in those routines should be for urgent reasons and must be accompanied by a Change of Routine Notice or a written parental notice requesting such a change. All student verbal requests for such changes will be denied without written notice or a phone call from a parent/guardian. Seesaw messages, text messages, and emails will not be accepted during the school day of a change of routine. Please have these requests into the school ahead of time so we can ensure students are where they need to be for a safe and secure dismissal. Please reach out to your classroom teacher if a Change of Routine is needed. Thank you very much for your understanding.
Cumberland Valley Youth Lacrosse
EPWA Youth Wrestling
WCH Youth Field Hockey
Any Kindergarten though 6th grader interested in trying a fun sport and being part of a team may want to consider Panther Cub Field Hockey fall league. The league is based on sportsmanship and learning, along with friendly competition. This is a great opportunity to begin a life-long love of the game.
Capital Area Head Start
West Creek Hills Elementary School
Website: www.epasd.org
Location: 400 Erford Road, Camp Hill, PA, USA
Phone: (717) 732-0142