On Friday, June 3rd, 8th grade students are invited to the Party Barn at Northern Star Farm. There will be music, dance, paintball arcade stations, and hayrides. Please see the attached flyer for details with how to sign up for the event. Thank you to the Arcola Home and School Association for organizing this opportunity for our students!

For families who drive students to school in the morning, we ask that you pull your car forward as far as possible towards Skyview between 8:00 - 8:15. This procedure prevents traffic from backing up onto Eagleville Road and ensures that students are on time for the start of the day. Thank you for your continued cooperation.

· Congratulations to the Arcola Jazz Band for a fantastic performance at the Pennfield Jazz Festival on Friday night. The band played their strongest performance of the year so far, and took an “excellent” rating against some tough competition. Congratulations also to Vincent Spadaro for being recognized as an outstanding soloist for his alto sax solo on “The Chicken!” Excellent job jazz band!

The third marking period has come to a close and we are already a week into the last marking period of the year! Please continue to encourage your student to work hard and finish the year strong. If you have any concerns about how to get extra support for your student, reach out to us for help.

Eighth Grade students who have not met the prerequisite grade requirements for an honors level course in 9th Grade but are interested in a more academically challenging class should read and follow the waiver procedure on page 7 in the high school 2022-2023 Program Planning Guide:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PRKqiNOWkXZ6PW2-GBvkU94IwwVm8vEIk9yvI9E9EFQ/edit

As part of the waiver process, students or parents must complete an online form, due no later than June 20, 2022. Click here for the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GpCHHR9EokB4rjyWt9J4jCt-AGjD5Xw8HBlUJqLUItg/viewform?edit_requested=true

Parents/guardians and students are always welcome to contact Ms. Berardelli if they have questions about waivers (x30203 or sberardelli@methacton.org.)

A few weeks ago we linked to an article about promoting our teenage girls’ overall positive mental health and helping to build their resilience. This week, we have an article on developing the motivation to achieve in our sons. One key takeaway is thinking about things you have done that made you proud and how you can encourage your son to work toward their own achievements that make them feel proud.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-unmotivated-teen/202203/the-secret-your-sons-achievement

Finally, attached below is the April issue of Parents Still make the difference!, a newsletter focused on helping you improve your student’s success in school. Also attached is the April issue of Daily Learning Planner, a list of daily topics that will also help your student do well. We hope you enjoy both!

We have less than 50 yearbooks left to sell. Order now to make sure one is available. We only order a certain amount. Order outside Mr. Haley’s room (262) or order online.

The Methacton School District will be administering the 2022 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) to all students in Grades 3 through 8 this spring. New this year, students will be completing the assessments online. Students will need to bring their fully charged, district-issued Chromebook and charger to school each day of testing. Please click here for more information including test dates. Please keep in mind that the results from the state tests allow us to gain valuable information related to programs, supports and resources within the district. We appreciate your support of these efforts for the benefit of our school community.

On Thursday, March 17, we request that all students in grades 3-8 bring their district issued Chromebook and charger to school. We will use this opportunity to ensure all students devices are working properly and able to access the PSSA testing site.

The Methacton Education Foundation just announced an EXCITING OPPORTUNITY! The MEF is seeking a passionate and experienced leader to join their team as Executive Director/Chief Development Officer. Apply Today!

Details: https://www.methactonfoundation.org/file_download/inline/3ee0657d-1afe-4a06-9589-7bf5cdb0ee9e

The Methacton Backpack program is up and running in each of our buildings and serves district families in need with supplemental food and non-food items. This program helps create food stability for breakfast and lunch when our students are not in school. Weekly, the program sends home a bag of breakfast, lunch, and snack items for the weekend and holiday breaks for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Families who qualify for free/reduced meals are eligible to participate in the Backpack Program. Please contact the school counselor if you would like to register your child for the Backpack program.

In order to continue to sustain the program please consider contributing and donating items to the program. Items can be donated directly to the school or you can place an order through Amazon and ship it directly to our school from the Amazon page.

Methacton Backpack's Amazon Wishlist

Please remember to select, “No Weekend Delivery.”

What items can I donate?

Individual Serving Food Items

· Single serving boxes of milk (shelf-stable/not refrigerated)

· Mini cereal boxes

· Canned soup (cans with “pop tops”)

· Oatmeal Packs or cups

· Applesauce and fruit cups

· Chef Boyardee, Hormel, Dint Moore Meals, etc.

· Easy Mac Cups

· Cracker packs

· Sweet snacks: Fruit snacks, pudding, granola bars, individual bags of cookies, etc.

· Salty snacks: pretzel packs, goldfish crackers, popcorn, etc.

· 100% juice boxes