Bulldog News - Back to School 2019
Bendersville Elementary
Digital Communications
From the Office:
Welcome back! We hope you have had a spectacular summer! This summer has been extremely busy at Bendersville Elementary. We have had some staff changes for the 2019-20 school year. These changes are as follows:
Mrs. Lisa Kuhns has moved from Instructional Support Teacher to fill the open 4th Grade Teacher position due to class sizes. She will be joining Mrs. Rachel Hertzog and Mrs. Stephanie Moritz.
Due to Mrs. Kuhns' position change, we'd like to welcome Ms. Amy Mills as our new Instructional Support Teacher working together with Mrs. Melinda Johnson.
With the retirement of Mrs. Georgia Hollabaugh, Bendersville Elementary welcomes Mr. Alexander Schweizer as the new Instrumental (band) Teacher.
Bendersville had another teacher retire at the close of the 2018-19 school year, Mrs. Cynthia Smith. Ms. Chelsea Miller, who was Ms. Michelle Wilson's long-term substitute last school year, has filled that 5th grade position teaching along side Mrs. Nicole King.
Another new face around Bendersville this school year is Behavior Intervention Teacher, Ms. Maggie Mancusco. She has replaced Mr. Cory Spence who took a 2nd grade teaching position at Biglerville Elementary.
As an additional reminder, those with us last year know we spent most of the school year without a nurse in our building. Back in March we welcomed Ms. Kim Hanan, RN to our Bendersville family.
Be sure to give a warm welcome to the new staff and be prepared to see new faces as we prepare to have an excellent year together. It is our goal to provide every child with an excellent educational experience. Please help us by keeping the lines of communication open with your child’s teacher. Be supportive and if you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask.
We encourage you to get involved with our PTA to support the many events and activities they sponsor. Your interest and support help your child to know that their education is important. We invite you to follow our Bendersville Elementary PTA Facebook page!
Picture Day
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 24th. All students will have their picture taken for school record purposes whether you chose to purchase pictures or not. If you wish to buy pictures, payment envelopes are required the day pictures are taken. If your child misses having his/her picture taken or forgets his/her picture envelope that day, they will have an opportunity to have their picture taken on picture retake day on Wednesday, October 30th.
Special Recognitions
All students are eligible to be nominated as a Bulldog to Bark About in any of the following four categories: Academic Achievement, Academic Effort, School Service, and Social Skills. Certificates are put on display in the school lobby and then are given to the recipient to take home. Students are selected by their teachers every other month.
In addition to Bulldogs to Bark About, we also have monthly TOP DOGS. This is a very special extra reward for students who demonstrate their leadership skills on a routine and consistent basis. Each Top Dog receives a PRIDE Paw medallion and their picture displayed on a certificate and hung outside the homeroom class. The certificate is given to the student at the end of the school year to take home.
Finally, we have Bulldog Bones. These can be given to any student by any adult in the building who witnesses a student doing good things.
Important Reminders
All Upper Adams Elementary Schools run on a 6-Day Schedule Cycle which means the class schedule repeats every six days. A copy of this year’s Cycle Day Calendar is included in your child’s back-to-school packet. See below for a digital version.
Arrival and Dismissal - Students riding buses arrive at school between 8:45 and 9:00am. Students who walk or who are dropped off by car are not to arrive before 8:30am. Dismissal from school begins at 3:35pm. All parent pick-ups/drop-offs are conducted along the side of the building and all busses along the front. Please do not pull along the front of the building to drop off/pick up your student(s).
Upper Adams School District utilizes an Absentee Call-In Procedure. Parents are expected to notify the school office by 9:05am. when a child is going to be absent or late. Call the school office (717-677-3300) and leave a message with Mrs. Roberts or email her at b.roberts@upperadams.org to relay this information. Parents who do not notify the school office will be contacted by our parent notification system to verify that they are aware that their child is not in school.
After an absence from school, parents are required to send in a written absence excuse to verify why their child was not in school. Please remember that our absentee call-in procedure DOES NOT exclude the need for a written note.
Visitors are always welcome at our school. However, please remember that upon entering the building, YOU MUST SIGN IN AND OBTAIN A VISITOR’S PASS before going out into the building or onto the playground. Also, please keep in mind that it can be difficult for teachers to accommodate unexpected visitors throughout the school day. When at all possible, please pre-arrange your visits with the classroom teacher.
Please remember to send notes: (1) when a parent, guardian, or another authorized adult will provide transportation home from school; (2) when a student will be picked up earlier than the normal end of the school day; (3) when a child is NOT to participate in phys. ed. classes or recess activities due to a recent illness and/or injury; or (4) when medication issues arise (see the next paragraph for more information). All notes should be addressed to your child’s teacher and include the date, student’s name, reason for note, and parent signature. Please understand that if a note is not provided for reason (1) or (2) listed above, the child will be sent home at their regularly-scheduled time, on their regularly-scheduled bus.
Please keep in mind: A student may not ride home with another student on another bus UNLESS there is an emergency. Requests of this nature must be pre-approved by the Principal and Transportation Office.
Please note: Except in cases of emergency, we must ask that you please refrain from calling the school after 1:00pm to change your child’s dismissal instructions for that day. Relaying of non-emergency messages like this cause unnecessary disruption to the classrooms. Additionally, because the end of the day can be very hectic, it is quite possible that a late message may not get to the person that needs it before dismissal takes place.
Medication at School – from time to time it may be necessary to send medication to school to be taken during the school day. These medications (both prescription and non-prescription) must be given to our school nurse upon arrival in the building. All prescription medications should be clearly labeled in the original bottle dispensed by the pharmacy. Whenever possible, medication schedules should be adjusted to minimize the medications that need to be taken during school hours. An Administration of Medication Form is available from the school nurse for both prescription and non-prescription medications. This form, along with the accompanying waiver, must be completed and approved before medication will be given. For your convenience, these forms are also available on the UASD website.
Fluoride tablets will be offered to those students with written parental permission. Forms were given to all new students upon registering with us. Students whose parents previously gave written permission to take fluoride will continue to receive tablets this year and do not need to complete another form.
Drills
BOX TOPS ARE GOING DIGITAL!!
THE NEXT GENERATION OF BOX TOPS IS HERE.
Box Tops is changing to fit today's families. The new and improved Box Tops mobile app uses state-of-the-art technology to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to your school's earnings online. Download the app in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
Do you have family members without smart phones? Simply have them hold on to their receipts for you to scan for them.
***PLEASE NOTE THAT VALID CLIPPED BOX TOPS WILL STILL BE ACCEPTED***
Eventually these will phase out, but until then, keep clipping!
We do multiple school-wide competitions throughout the year - so be on the lookout for the first one of the new school year outside Mrs. Kuntz's room (113).
Family Educational Trip Reminders
As always, we prefer you wait to take your children on trips when school is not in session, but we understand that this is not always possible. When filling out the form (can be found on our website or in the school office) please include ALL your children on ONE form and turn it into ONE building. The school will be responsible for notifying the other schools, if applicable. Please see the trip request form for more detailed information. Trips during PSSA Testing are not permitted.
VOLUNTEER CLEARANCES
*Requirements to be a volunteer in the UASD are as follows:
Child Abuse Clearance
State Police Clearance
FBI Fingerprinting or Waiver
Arrest & Conviction Report
Driver’s License
Tuberculosis Screening
As long as they are obtained online, clearances are now free for volunteers.
Clearances are good for 5 years regardless of volunteer hours.
As always, keep a copy of your clearances for your own personal record!
Packets are available in the office or can be printed from our district website:
PTA Officers Needed!
Current Officers:
VACANT, President
VACANT, Vice President
Jamie Nebel, Secretary
Andrea Crouse, Treasurer
VACANT, Historian
Nicole King, Teacher Rep
Kathy Anthony-Gulden, Teacher Rep
Upcoming PTA Meetings:
(held in the Faculty Room)
Thursday September 19 @ 7:00pm
Thursday October 17 @ 7:00pm
The PTA is looking for parent volunteers for many events including Race for Education, Fall & Spring Book Fair, Santa’s Workshop, Parent/Teacher Conference meals and Teacher Appreciation Week. If you have interest in supporting your child’s school, please email BendersvillePTA@gmail.com. Group emails will be sent out with a link to sign up prior to the events.
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!
Bendersville Elementary PTA
August -
- 19 - Back to School Night: Sessions at 4:30, 5:00 & 5:30
- 21 - First Day of School for students
September -
- 2 – No School
- 9 - Label sheets due for Race for Education Fundraiser
- 19 – PTA Meeting @ 7:00pm
- 20 - Spirit Day (tentative date)
- 24 – Fall Picture Day
October –
- 11 – Early Dismissal for Students – 1:00pm
- 14 – No School for Students
- 18 - Fire Prevention (AM)
- 18 - Race for Education (PM)
- 16-19 - Artist in Residence (tentative dates)
- 17 – PTA Meeting @ 7:00pm
- 30 - Picture Retake Day
November –
- 11 – Veteran’s Day Program @ 10:40
- 11-15 - American Education Week
- 18-26 – Fall Book Fair
- 21 – PTA Meeting @ 7:00pm
- 25 – Parent/Teacher Conferences 12pm – 7:30pm *Book Fair Open!*
- 26 – Parent/Teacher Conferences 12pm - 7:30pm *Book Fair Open!*
- 25-29 – No School for Students
December –
- 2 - No School for Students
- 10-12 - Santa's Workshop
- 12 – Daytime 6th Grade Holiday Program (Time TBA)
- 12 – 6th Grade Holiday Musical – 7:00pm at Bendersville Elem
- 19 - PTA Meeting, 7:00pm
- 20 – Christmas Band and Chorus Tour – Bendersville Concert @ 1:15
- 20 - Santa visits after concert!
- 23-Jan 3 – No School for Staff and Students
- SCHOOL WILL RESUME MONDAY JANUARY 6, 2020