The Manavon Messenger
September 25, 2023
Calendar of Events
September 25: PD Day, No Students
September 27: Picture Day
September 29: Manavon Goes Gold
October 6: Pink Out
October 18: HSA Meeting, Zoom, @ 7 pm
October 20: Half Day for Students
November 3: Fall Parties
November 3: End of Marking Period 1
New Procedures for Arrival and the Car Line
Effective on Tuesday, we are implementing a new procedure to help increase safety and efficiency of the drop off process. We strongly recommend that families use the car line. If you must park, please pull into an empty parking spot in the lot. You will then escort your child down the center sidewalk to the crosswalk. Please do not stop to drop off your student without pulling into a spot. You will then exit the parking lot in the same way you entered. Barricades will be in place to restrict access to the front part of the lot. As emphasized over the past few weeks, only families with special needs or extenuating circumstances will be permitted to access the limited visitor parking spots. We will be giving placards to families with a known/documented need. If you have been given a placard, please stay in the left side of the carline and a staff member will guide you to a visitor’s spot.
We would like to remind our car driving families to be calm and courteous when using the car line for both drop off and pick up. Over the past week, we have seen an increase in negative and unsafe interactions in the front parking lot between drivers. The safety of our students is of the upmost importance, and we need all drivers to follow the procedures of the car line to ensure students' safety. We hope that everyone will try harder to lead with grace and be safer, more appropriate role models for all of our students while dropping and picking up our children. Thank you for your cooperation and support in ensuring the safety of everyone.
Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is the first justice of the Supreme Court to be of Hispanic descent. She was born in New York City in 1954, and her parents were both from Puerto Rico. Sotomayor attended Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, where she was on the forensics team, involved in student government, and eventually graduated valedictorian in 1972.
Sotomayor then went onto attend Princeton University, receiving a full scholarship, graduating with the highest honors. She then attended law school at Yale and received her Juris Doctor (Law) degree in 1979. During her time there she was editor at the Yale Law Journal and earned a summer associates position with a prominent New York law firm. Following her graduation and admittance into the New York Bar Association, she worked as an assistant district attorney in New York for over four years.
Sotomayor was nominated for a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush on November 27, 1991, and on August 11 of the following year, Sotomayor was confirmed by unanimous consent of the full United States Senate. Sotomayor became the youngest judge in the Southern District, the first Hispanic federal judge in New York State, and the first Puerto Rican woman to serve as a judge in a U.S. federal court.
Sotomayor was nominated to the Supreme Court in May of 2009 by President Barack Obama. During her time on the Supreme Court, she has often expressed concern for the rights of defendants, made calls for reform of the criminal justice system, and issued impassioned dissents on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity.
Julia Alverez
Julie Alverez has been enchanting readers with her words since the early 1990s. Alvarez was born in New York City in 1950 before her family moved to the Dominican Republic when she was a baby. They stayed there throughout Alvarez’s childhood until her father’s involvement in a failed attempt to overthrow the militant dictator forced the family to flee to the United States in 1960.
The traumatic event has since made its way into several of Alvarez’s works, including the poem “Exile” in which she recounts the night her family fled. She went on to become one of the most critically revered Latina writers and has published poems, novels and essays throughout her career.
Marcario Garcia
Though he had landed on the beaches of Normandy and been wounded in battle fighting with the U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant Marcario García was not yet a U.S. citizen when President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor on August 23, 1945. García became the first Mexican national to receive the American military's highest honor.
García was born in the Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders Texas, in 1920. When he was young, his family moved to Texas to work on a cotton farm, and the work prevented him from progressing beyond a grade-school level of education. At the age of 22, he enlisted in the Army and fought in WWII. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Medal of Honor.
Picture Day is Coming. . .
Picture Day is coming on Wednesday, September 27th. Order forms will be coming home soon. Also, click below to access the order form.
REMINDER-Safety and Security Drills
This week we will be running our semiannual school safety drill. Security drills are required under the school code and are conducted under the observation of district administration and local law enforcement.
Second Step
During this unit your child(ren) will be working on developing a growth mindset, using helpful thoughts to persevere through challenges, applying strategies and making an effective plan for how to get better at a skill, and planning, modifying, and achieving goals. The next lesson will be delivered on Tuesday, September 26. See below for details!
Click the Grade Level Below!
This week, chat with your child(ren) about: Lesson 2
- Grade 2: What Mistakes Tell Us: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn that mistakes tell us something’s not working and that they can respond to mistakes by asking for help, trying again, or making a small change to keep going. Try This at Home Ask your child what a mistake tells them and what they can do to keep going after a mistake.
- Grade 3: Getting Better with Practice: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn that every time they practice a new a skill, the brain gets better at sending the messages for that skill. Try This at Home: Ask your child to explain what happens in their brain when they practice.
- Grade 4: Making a Plan: In this week’s lesson, your child’s class will work together to make a good plan to reach their 2-week goal. Try This at Home: Ask your child to describe their plan to reach their class goal. What will they do? What will they need? Who can support them? Tell your child about a time when you made a plan to reach a goal.
- Grade 5: My Plan: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to make an effective plan to reach a goal. Try This at Home: Ask your child about their plan to reach their goal. What will they do? What will they need? Talk to them about how you can support them as they work toward their goal.
Information from Previous Manavon Messengers
Recess Equipment Wish List
Each year, we hope to update and replenish our recess games and equipment. Please see Manavon's recess equipment wish list below. The links will take you to Amazon, where you can purchase the items and either drop them off to school or send them directly to the building:
Manavon Elementary School
2 Phantom Way, Phoenixville, PA 19460.
Thank you in advance for your generosity!
Volunteers
Report Card Updates
Birthday/Holiday Treats
Due to the many students with allergies and food reactions food items to celebrate student birthdays are not permitted. We are requesting that all birthday recognitions be non-food based. We do want to acknowledge student birthdays but encourage families to do so in other ways. For example, small items such as pencils or stickers for classmates or the donation of a book to the school or classroom library in honor of a child’s birthday would be appropriate. Thank you for honoring and respecting this request.
Holiday celebrations will be held in compliance with School Board Policy #246 Student Wellness. The policy states “The district recognizes that classroom parties and celebrations are a tradition at school. School staff and parents/guardians are encouraged to include healthy food offerings, as defined in this policy, at school parties and events to support a healthy environment throughout the district.” Policy 246 can be viewed in its entirety by visiting the district’s website.
Holiday celebrations and end-of-year classroom celebrations will be announced in advance for parents to be prepared in determining food choices with their children. Birthday celebrations are held randomly and do not allow for parent awareness prior to the event in the school setting, which contributed to the decision for birthday recognitions to be non-food based.
Clubs and Activities
After School
Performing Arts Program
at MANAVON ELEMENTARY!
Manavon Elementary School
Assistant Principal: Mrs. Natalie Hrynko
Secretary: Mrs. Becky Sinapius
Clerk: Mrs. Karen Martz
Email: celotton@pasd.com
Website: https://mes.pasd.com/
Location: 2 Phantom Way, Phoenixville, PA, USA
Phone: (484) 927-5350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PASDmanavon
Twitter: @PASDSchools