Creeker Communications
West Creek Hills Elementary School
Weekly Newsletter October 18th
Upcoming Dates
10/18/21
Cycle Week 1
10/19/21
Cycle Week 1
10/20/21
Cycle Week 1
10/21/21
Cycle Week 1
School Board Meeting, 7pm (Location: East Pennsboro Elementary School LGI)
10/22/21
Cycle Week 1
October:
- 10/27/21- End of the 1st Marking Period
- 10/29/21- Halloween Parade, 2:15pm (Location: West Creek Hills Elementary School Outside Car Pickup Loop/Bus Loop/Sidewalk)
November:
- 11/2/21- Act 80 Day (Election Day) No school
- 11/3/21- Report Cards Issued
- 11/4/21- School Board Meeting, 7pm (Location: East Pennsboro Elementary School LGI)
- 11/9/21- WCH Picture Re-Take Day
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!!!
WCH Halloween Parade
WCH Fire Prevention Day
1st Grade Peters Orchard Field Trip
Creeker Classrooms
- Lots of fun exciting activities happening in Mrs. Wolf's Physical Education Class
We are so excited that the school year has begun and are looking forward to sharing all the fun things that are happening at the Creek every step of the way.
Safety Plan Update – K-12 Mask Requirement
Governor Tom Wolf announced that an order from the Pennsylvania Department of Health would require masks in K-12 schools in Pennsylvania beginning on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Beginning on Tuesday, all students, teachers, and staff will be required to wear a mask at school while indoors as well as on school buses and vans. For more information about the order, as well as other resources including FAQs, please click here. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we work together to do our best to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Be safe, and thank you,
Donna
Dr. Donna Dunar
EPASD Superintendent
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:
November 9 – WCH
PTO Meeting Coming Up:
January 11 – EPE
February 8 – WCH
March 8 – EPE
April 12 – WCH
May 10 – EPE
EPWA Youth Wrestling
National School Bus Safety Week Poster Contest
HELP PROMOTE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY!
It’s time for the 2022 National School Bus Safety Week Poster Contest and PennDOT needs your help to spread the word.
This is a great opportunity for students to learn about school bus safety while promoting it to others.
Please direct this email to your Principal’s Office so they may distribute the information to the appropriate department.
Details for entering this fun and educational contest are found at the following link:
Thank you!
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!
Car Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures
Cars will come into the far entrance into the school parking lot off Erford Rd and will queue up to the end of the sidewalk. There will be only one lane for parent drop off. A cone will be stationed as a marker to indicate where the lane begins. The lane will also be marked off by a line of cones to show where the unloading zone takes place.
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.
Everyday Mathematics
We are hopeful to see parents at our Everyday Math informational session on August 17th, at 6:00 PM in the WCH Library.
For more information on our new Mathematics Program, Everyday Math, please visit the following website: https://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/ and our Everyday Math portal on the EPASD website: https://www.epasd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2167522&type=d&pREC_ID=2198930
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.
Revised K-5 Elementary Report Card
The most notable change is the removal of the 3-2-1 grading system. This is replaced by an academic grading scale indicative of Mastery (M), Proficient (P), Developing (D), and Emerging (E). Approaches to Learning have been replaced with a scale of Always (A), Sometimes (S), Rarely (R).
There will be more information to come as the first marking period progresses.
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