Weekly WOW - July 3
East Vincent Elementary School
GREETINGS FROM EV PRINCIPAL, MS. SEELEY
Dear East Vincent Elementary School Family,
I hope this edition of the WOW finds you healthy, safe, and well. Hopefully, you plan to enjoy a peaceful and fun holiday weekend.
Since our last WOW, EV has been incredibly quiet, but the staff have been quite productive. Mrs. Hydutsky and Mrs. Shronk have been ordering resources for the 2020-2021 school year, registering new students, and updating communications and plans for next year. Mr. Mike and our housekeeping and facilities teams have been cleaning every square inch of EV and setting classrooms for the return of school in August. I've been meeting with other administrators frequently given the fluidity of COVID-19 guidelines, planning for staff professional development for 2020-2021, and hiring new teachers in our elementary schools.
I've also had the pleasure of meeting at least once per week with some of our faculty and staff who lead the way for conversations about Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and diversity. Over 20 of us meet weekly and voluntarily to discuss self-awareness, which is one of the five SEL competencies, and racial equity, diversity, educational practices, and our own implicit biases and microaggressions. We discuss resources and reading materials a lot. In fact, we just started reading The Racial Healing Handbook by Anneliese A. Singh, PhD, LPC. I welcome parents/guardians to join our book group by sending an email to me. I have extra copies to share.
This WOW is full of information since our last edition, including some ways to stay connected through two reading opportunities, staffing updates, yearbook information, and some reminders from the last WOW.
Please share a "hello" from me to your child(ren). I do miss them very much and wish we could open our doors and welcome them back asap. This is unattainable right now, I know, but I know in speaking with our staff, we all miss our students and you. Hopefully, we can move forward in good health, respect, and safety soon.
Ms. Seeley
EV WEEKLY MYSTERY READERS - LISTEN AND LUNCH
Join us for a virtual story time with East Vincent staff as your Mystery Readers.
Log in to Zoom, grab your lunch, listen, and enjoy a story or two.
When: Wednesdays (7/8 - 8/19) at 12:00 noon
Themes: Diversity awareness and Social Emotional Learning
Book selections for Wednesday, July 8 at 12:00 noon:
All Shapes Matter by Chakra Sreekanth
Why Am I Me? By Paige Britt
Each Monday, we'll send a Skylert with the week's Mystery Reader Listen and Lunch event with the book titles, 3-4 facts about each Mystery Reader, and the Zoom link.
We cannot wait to connect with you!
EV READS ALL SUMMER CHALLENGE - #EVReadsAllSummer
Summer vacation means more than just fun in the sun. It is an opportunity to continue to build on the skills obtained during the school year. Did you know that students who read all summer long are able to gain ONE month in reading proficiency?
This summer, we would like the EV community to just READ! Read in new places, read different kinds of books. Read together. Read books aloud. Laugh at stories together. Write stories together. Build memories and go on adventures through the pages of a book. If your child reads 30 minutes everyday, that will be 2,520 minutes. Let's go for it, TOGETHER!
Now, more than ever, we need to feel connected. Encourage your child to complete the summer reading challenges (see below). After your child completes a challenge, post it on social media with #EVReadsAllSummer. We will be connected as we strengthen our reading muscles and go on reading adventures all summer long.
EV STAFFING UPDATES
Each year, we have staffing updates and this year is no different.
WELL WISHES
- Mrs. Little, one of our amazing specialists on the Title I team, has retired.
- Mrs. Rapp is now the Academic Coach at French Creek Elementary School.
ASSIGNMENT CHANGES
- Mr. Eisenhuth will teach grade 2.
- Mrs. Seuffert will teach grade 3.
- Mrs. Lavelle will be our interim Academic Coach.
WELCOME TO EV
- Mrs. Romaniello joins us from East Coventry Elementary School, and she will be our new Instructional Support Teacher.
- Mrs. Buettler joins us from North Coventry Elementary School as a member of our Title I team.
- Mrs. Rockafellow joins us from North Coventry Elementary School as a member of our Title I team for semester one since Mrs. McCall will be on leave.
As the summer continues, we'll be vetting and hiring the best staff for our EV community of learners. Stay tuned to learn more about our new staff members in a future Weekly WOW.
EV YEARBOOK DISTRIBUTION
Yearbooks are available to be picked up at 209 Belgian Drive, Spring City, PA.
Pickup windows are as follows:
Friday, 7/3 from 4-7pm
Saturday, 7/4 from 10am-12pm
Sunday, 7/5 from 2-4pm
Monday, 7/6 from 3:30-6pm
Tuesday, 7/7 from 9am-11:30am
If for any reason none of these times are convenient, or for any other reason, please contact the yearbook committee at evesyearbook1@gmail.com and we will make arrangements to drop off. Thank you for your patience as the yearbook vendor caught up from plant closures due to the pandemic. Have a great 4th of July!
Sincerely,
EVES Yearbook Committee
REMINDERS
UPCOMING EVENTS: A LOOK AHEAD TO 2020-2021
AUGUST
8/10-08/13/20 9:00-11:30 Kindercamp
8/21/20 12:00 PM TBD Access homeroom and bus assignments in Skyward
8/31/20 8:30-3:20 First Day of School for the 2020-2021 School Year
SEPTEMBER
9/4/2020 No School - Students/Staff
9/7/2020 DISTRICT CLOSED
9/9/2020 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Back to School Night - Grades 1-3
9/16/2020 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Back to School Night - Grades 4-6
9/28/2020 DISTRICT CLOSED
To be scheduled: PTA events, New Student Orientation, Kindergarten Round-Up, Kindergarten Ice Cream Social
Remember, you can check our dates on our webpage calendar, too. Click on an event and see details. Need to know more? Looking for an event but cannot find it? Contact Mrs. Shronk in the EV Main Office at evoffice@ojrsd.net or 610-469-5713.
SUMMER OFFICE HOURS
The EV Main Office will be open Monday through Thursday from 9:00-2:00 during the summer.
*If you find library books or other school belongings during the summer, please drop them off on the cart in the EV Main Office vestibule.
EV PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM
The EV Performing Arts Program consists of instrumental and choral opportunities for students in grades 3-6.
Students entering grade 3-6: Strings instrumental program
Students entering grades 4-6: Band instrumental program
Students entering grades 4-6: Choral program
All three programs include practice during school hours and after-school hours (meaning practice at home). They also showcase our musicians with concerts and other possible opportunities.
To learn more visit:https://www.smore.com/bk018
SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR 2020-2021
As we plan for the 2020-2021 school year, we try to share school supply lists with you as early as possible, so you may take advantage of Back to School sales and other bargains. The list is recommended and encouraged.
REMINDER: VOLUNTEER CLEARANCES - IT MAY BE TIME TO RENEW
Pennsylvania implemented mandatory clearances for all school volunteers five years ago, and your clearances are good for a period up to five years. The school district will not be notifying you, so check your clearance paperwork to see if yours are about to expire. Your expired clearances may preclude you from volunteering for any school volunteer opportunity, and we do not want that to happen.
Owen J. Roberts Board of School Directors encourages the use of parent and community volunteers to support the educational programs of the School District.
Acceptable Volunteer Activities: The Board encourages the use of parent and community volunteers to support the educational programs of the School District, subject to certain requirements and procedures as set forth in Policy 916. Acceptable activities for volunteers in the classroom fall into the general category of providing practice in skills and strategies previously taught by classroom teachers. Please see Regulation #916A for acceptable activities for volunteers to carry out with students.
In March 2016, the Owen J. Roberts School Board revised our Volunteer Policy – Board Policy #916. The Volunteer Policy applies to parents and all other members of the community who volunteer in our schools, or serve as overnight chaperones.
We now offer the capability to upload/scan your completed clearances.
Step 1. Volunteer applicants must complete the clearance requirements below prior to completing the Volunteer Application:
PA State Police Criminal History Check– as required by Act 34 – Dated no more than one year prior to the application date. Application found online through PATCH at https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp
PA Department of Human Services Child Abuse History Check– as required by Act 151 – Dated no more than one year prior to the application date. Application found at https://www.compass.state.pa.us/cwis/public/home
Federal Criminal History Report – Dated no more than one year prior to the application date. This requires fingerprinting to be done. Please see registration and directions at IdentoGo -https://uenroll.identogo.com Use Service Code 1KG6XN (Please Note– this is not required for a volunteer who completes a written statement that he or she has been a Pennsylvania resident during the entirety of the previous 10 year period. The written statement can be found by clicking here.)
PDE – 6004 - Act24 Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form – Dated as of application date. The PDE -6004 form can be found by clicking here.
Continuing Reporting Obligations – part of the application indicating that if the applicant is arrested or convicted of any of the enumerated offenses while serving as an interim non-faculty sponsor, they shall provide the building principal with written notice no later than 72 hours after an arrest or conviction.
Additionally, all school volunteers and school visitors are subject to Raptor (or such other building level security program as may exist) screening. All clearances must be dated within one year of the application. No individual will be approved to serve as a volunteer if any of the required clearances evidence an offense which would preclude such an individual from being employed in the Pennsylvania public schools.
All of the above outlined clearances are completed at the expense of the applicant and are good for five years.
Click the button below to access the OJRSD Volunteer webpage.
East Vincent Elementary School
Email: evoffice@ojrsd.net
Website: www.ojrsd.com/ev
Location: 340 Ridge Rd, Spring City, PA 19475, USA
Phone: 610-469-5106
Facebook: facebook.com/EastVincentElementarySchool
Twitter: @OwenJRobertsEV