The District will be holding a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children ages 5 through 11 on Saturday, November 20th from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM at Lynnewood Elementary School. The 2nd dose will be administered three weeks later on December 11th from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. This clinic will be provided in partnership with Springfield Pharmacy and will be offered to students attending our schools. In early October we sent a survey to families and we received over 1,600 responses indicating interest in receiving a vaccine.

We need both medical and non-medical volunteers to assist at the clinics. On Monday, November 8th we will send a volunteer sign-up message.

Registration information to schedule your child for a vaccination appointment will be sent via School Messenger on Monday, November 15th, and will close on November 17th. Our capacity to vaccinate the initial numbers indicated in the early October survey is dependent on the number of volunteer medical professionals. For that reason, we are encouraging families to continue to seek alternate options which include vaccination by their child's pediatrician or at an area pharmacy.

On December 6, 2021, the newly elected school board members, Latanya King, Ph.D., Kimberly McKay, Ph.D., and Danielle Camaratta Vitale will take the oath of office and officially join the board. This is the annual school board reorganization meeting in which new members are welcomed, and Board officers are selected. The new school board directors will be required to complete the PSBA training program required under Act 55 during their first year in office. These training programs enhance the skills and knowledge necessary for individuals to serve successfully on the governing bodies of public schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

School Board Meetings are formal, monthly business meetings for the district. During a board meeting, the entire school board votes on whether to approve action items. Items that appear for a vote on the School Board agenda are typically researched and approved by a committee of the Board before being brought before the full board.

Haverford Board Meetings are generally held at Oakmont or more recently at the High School to accommodate audience participation. The meetings are live-streamed on our YouTube Channel.

Also called “business” or “regular” meetings, school board meetings include two public comment opportunities: one for specific items listed on the agenda and another for general comment. Public comment during these meetings is not intended to be a “question and answer period” with the school board. Instead, it is an opportunity for the Board to hear comments on an agenda item before they take formal action or a time to hear comments at the end of the meeting about any topic. The board president or superintendent may direct the administration to follow up on a question or topic heard during public comment.

Committee Meetings are meetings during which the board work is separated into categories (e.g. finance, facilities, etc.) Board members study and review issues within the committee’s area of responsibility in greater detail. Committee meetings serve as the starting point for policies, initiatives, or planning, and make recommendations for action of approval by the full board at a business School Board Meeting.

Topics of interest to the public are generally discussed within a committee before going to the whole School Board for a vote. Public comment is accepted at these meetings, as well.

The High School Art Department is the recipient of a grant from the Haverford Township School District Education Foundation to build a raised bed dye garden.

The purpose of this project is to have students work hands-on and build raised beds to grow plants that can be used for dyeing fabric, paper, and yarn. Plants and flowers such as indigo and calendula can create natural and safe dyes. Students will be able to make historic and cultural connections to where color comes from and the effort that goes into processing dye.

In addition to growing dye plants during the school year, this plant bed can double up as a pollinator garden. Students can plant wildflowers seeds to grow during the summer months. Wildflowers are beautiful, grow easily on their own without maintenance, and will attract a variety of pollinators including bees and butterflies. The target populations of this project are the students who take art classes (at least 300 students each quarter) and the students who want to be involved in Art Club after school. Art Club is open to all students even if they are not enrolled in an art class.

The students will be starting seedlings this winter, transplanting them to the beds in the spring, and hopefully, by the end of the school year, they will have some natural dyes to use!

The School District of Haverford Township utilizes BoardDocs, an online, paperless resource for all school board meetings. Here you can find the agenda, meeting minutes, video replay, and board policies. All school board meetings will be held at Haverford Middle School in November and December of 2021.

The meetings are live-streamed on the District YouTube channel. Please subscribe to our channel so you can view these meetings and other scheduled events.

Upcoming Meetings:

• November 4th: Regular School Board Meeting
• Health & Safety Plan - Test to Stay
  
• November 8th: Curriculum Committee Meeting
• November 11th: Finance and Facilities Committee Meeting
• November 18th: Regular School Board Meeting
• 25 Year Employee Celebration

Past Meetings:

• October 28th: Policy Committee Meeting
• October 21st: Regular School Board Meeting
• Enrollment Projections and Update
• HHS Fall Play Preview

All presentations and videos can be found on BoardDocs.

November 22, 23, 24: Parent Conferences - Early dismissal Elementary and Middle School students

Wednesday, November 24th: Early dismissal high school students

November 25 and 26: Thanksgiving Holiday: Schools and offices closed