Pleasantville Polar Bear Post
Week of October 9th, 2023
Principal's Message
Welcome to the 2023 - 2024 school year at Pleasantville Elementary School!
Happy Monday PLV Families!
Thank you to all of our families that came out last Thursday night for PLV's Baseball Curriculum & Book Fair Night! It was great seeing the students and families playing math and reading games.
We would like to welcome two new staff members to PLV. Mrs. Angela Smith, is CSD's Virtual Program Counselor that is now in-person at PLV covering for Mrs. Wedell. She arrived last week and jumped right in supporting our students. She can be contacted at Angela.Smith@colonial.k12.de.us
In addition, last week Mr. Kenneth "Andy" Tallman started has our Communities in Schools counselor. He will also be working with students and families by providing interventions that improve student attendance and connecting community resources with both academic and social service needs. He can be reached at Kenneth.Tallman@colonial.k12.de.us
In addition, please remember that our Nemours Wellness Center is another great resource to support your child's SEL and medical needs. Look for more information below on how to sign up.
Safety - Neighbors who live on Pleasant Place have been calling to complain about cars speeding. Please remember the speed limit on Pleasant Place is only 25 mph (and even slower in PLV's parking lot). To maintain a predictable flow of traffic, all incoming cars should only be entering PLV through Pleasant Place and exiting through Doncaster Road. In addition, when arriving late or picking up students early, please park in the designated parking spaces and not in the fire lane.
Arrival Reminder - Your child is LATE after 9:00 AM. If the doors are closed, you will need to park and bring in your child(ren) to sign them into the Main Office. Make sure to bring your cell phone inside to use the Late Arrival/Early Dismissal QR Code.
- If your child has a doctor appointment, you must give the Main Office a note from the doctor's office for the absence/late/early dismissal to be excused.
We also want to remind families that there are NO dismissal changes after 3:00. If you change your child's dismissal, please notify Ms. Spadea in the Main Office by phone 302-501-7992 or email Jaimie.Spadea@colonial.k12.de.us.
School districts across the country are recognizing their role in ensuring children develop good social and emotional skills early in life. As a district, we support our students having the opportunity to learn social and emotional skills on a daily basis at school. Recent legislation in Delaware now requires students to participate in a universal social-emotional behavior screening process, just as they participate in reading and math screening.
With this, Pleasantville is conducting universal screening in all of our 3rd grade classrooms to identify students who may benefit from additional social/emotional supports throughout the school day. Teachers will receive guidance on promoting wellness in the classroom. You will receive a detailed letter with the ability to opt your child out of this screener. In the coming years, Colonial will be gradually rolling the universal screener out to students in other grades. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Kayla Woods, School Psychologist at Kayla.Woods@colonial.k12.de.us
As a reminder, if you would like to volunteer at school or for your child's field trip, you must complete the Volunteer/Background Check Form on Colonial's website and be approved.
Kind Regards & Stay Well,
Renee M. Griffith - Principal
Michelle Upperman - Assistant Principal
Phillies Reading Challenge SY23-24!!
PLV's Reading Team is excited to kick off Phanatic about Reading! It's a reading challenge from the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team! Each teacher was given a stack of green challenge papers to give to each child. All students need to do is READ for at least15 minutes at home each night! When they read they mark an X over the date and that’s it!
Mrs. Redding will be doing incentives throughout the year for students that do the most reading and keep their sheet in a safe place to document their reading goals. The Phillies also do incentives, so let’s get to reading at home Pleasantville Polar Bears!
Important Dates
Monday, October 9th
- PLV PTA Meeting 6:00 PM
Friday, October 13th
- No School: Staff Professional Development Day
Monday, October 16th
- PLV's Skating Parting @ Christiana Skating Rink
- 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Wednesday, October 18th
- Unity Day - Wear Orange
Friday, October 27th
- PLV Trunk or Treat
- Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Tuesday, October 31st
- Storybook Character Day
Thursday, November 1st
- Picture Retake Day
Here is the Colonial School District Calendar for SY23-24:
Join PLV PTA & Upcoming Events
Oct 9th
- PTA Meeting 6:00 PM
Oct 16th
- PLV Skating Party @ Christiana Skating Rink
- 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Oct 27th
- PLV Trunk or Treat
Communication Updates
PLV Main Office
- PLV Main Office: 302-501-7992
- Renee Griffith - Principal: 302-400-7742
- Michelle Upperman - Assistant Principal: 302-400-7745
- Donna Robinson: 302-367-7946
- Mandy Munson SEC: 302-367-7818
- Kayla Woods - Psychologist: 302-367-7853
- Heather Yacabell - Family Support Therapist: 302-400-7218
- Andy Tallman - Communities in Schools: 302-400-7995
- Angela Smith - School Counselor: 302-501-7949
- Pleasantville and Colonial will communicate via email and text message. Please make sure we have the most updated contact information.
Class DoJo App
- Teachers and Admin will use Class Do to update upcoming events, send parents direct messages, etc.
- Teachers will be updating their individual Class Stories a minimum of 2x per week to keep parents updated.
- The best way to contact your child's teacher/Admin is to send them a Direct Message through Class DoJo. Make sure you get connected!!
Contact Info:
- Please ensure that your email and phone numbers are correct. These are the main channels for Colonial and PLV to contact you to share important information. To update the contact information you have on file, please fill out this form: https://bit.ly/CSDinfoupdate
- If you have not been receiving calls & emails from Pleasantville or Colonial School District, please call PLV's Secretary, Ms. Jaimie Spadea at 302-501-7992 or email jaimie.spadea@colonial.k12.de.us
Pleasantville's Mission
Pleasantville Elementary’s mission is to inspire excellence in ALL of our students to ensure they reach their highest potential in academic achievement, as well as in social and interpersonal skills. We believe that through hard work, perseverance and active engagement in learning, ALL students will succeed.
Focusing on lifelong success traits such as empathy, self-regulation, problem solving and the growth mindset help us to build a strong foundation and educational experience that will positively impact ALL Pleasantville students for the rest of their lives. By partnering with our families and community, we will continue to be PAWsitively Positive now and in the future.
PLV Polar Bear Pledge
- WE Make Positive Choices
- WE Have a Positive Attitude
- WE Use Positive Work Habits
- WE Build Positive Relationships
- WE Are Positively Kind
School Supply Lists
Parents who wish to provide supplies for their child, please review the suggested PLV Student Supply List SY22-24
School Start & End Times
8:45 Doors Open (Arrival)
- Students will be considered late after 9:00 AM and will need to be signed in at the Main Office with Ms. Spadea, our Secretary. Parents will use a QR Code to sign students in late. Please bring your phone with you inside.
- Students may not be dropped off early to PLV, unless they are signed up for YMCA Before Care. There is no supervision of students on the front or side sidewalks.
3:35 Student Dismissal
- We will start the dismissal process inside the building at 3:30.
- Students will need to be signed out at the Main Office with Ms. Spadea for Early Dismissals PRIOR to 3:00.
NO CHANGES TO DISMISSAL AFTER 3:00!!
Pleasantville Student Schedules KN - 5th SY23 - 24 (see below)
PLV's Nemours Wellness Center
What's a school-based health center?
A school-based health center (SBHC) is a medical office located inside your child's school. Nurse practitioners and behavioral health therapists offer well-child visits, sick visits, vaccinations, and mental health care to students. Your child can get free, high-quality care, that's safe and convenient.
How much does a visit cost?
If your child doesn't have insurance, their care is free. If your child has insurance, the school-based health center will file a claim directly. (Note: No co-pay, co-insurance or deductible will be charged to you).
Who runs the SBHC?
Your child's school-based health center is a partnership between their school district, Nemours Children’s Health and the Delaware Division of Public Health. These three organizations work together to run the center.
Staff:
- Physical Health Practitioner - Natalie Kasper - Tuesday All Day; Thursday Afternoons
- Medical Assistant - Lorena - Tuesday All Day; Thursday Afternoons
- Behavioral Health - Janine Howell -Conkey - Wednesday and Friday
Enrollment:
- Online Enrollment: https://app.nemours.org/sbhc
- Paper Enrollment: Use this LINK or https://bit.ly/csdwellnessctr
PLV Family Handbook SY23-24
Nutrition
CSD Nutrition Services has guidelines for Parents and Students bringing outside food into school.
- Parents can send in a snack for their child only, but cannot send in snacks for the entire class. Students get free breakfast and lunch daily and Fresh Fruit & Vegetable 4 days a week.
- School Cafe is a simple way for parents to make school snack payments. Students are offered second meals and a la carte snacks at a small cost. Click the "Pre Payments" tab to set a student account.
- Colonial School Nutrition
- NO outside food coming from home to be used for classroom parties, celebrations, events and/or rewards for student behavior due to monitoring food allergies, reducing food safety concerns and consumption of excess calories during the school day to meet Smart Snack guidelines..
Car Riders
Cars may start to enter the Car Rider Lot at 3:00 (no earlier). Students have recess in that lot up til 3:00 each day.
Parents may not park in the front and come into the building at dismissal. Colonial buses unload and load students in the front of the building.