Good evening Panther Families,

As we begin the fourth marking period of the 2020-2021 school year, we are excited to have more students returning for in-person learning. It is really making a difference for the entire school community.

I have had the pleasure of observing teachers across the district. The level of engagement and excitement for learning is evident. Please see a couple of pictures taken of Mrs. Kristen Sanders and our third grade students engaged as engineers designing a building structure that would withstand high winds and rain. It was a joy to take in students' excitement for learning as they problem-solved in teams and reflected on their designs.

As a district, we continue to follow and monitor guidance directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the CDC. The health, safety, mental health, and progress of our students and staff is our utmost priority, and we will continue to follow the guidelines.

We are currently working on the plan for returning to all in-person learning for the fall. We expect to be able to communicate this plan with our community the end of April.

I would like to wish all of our students, families and staff a safe and happy spring break. Happy Spring!

Be Well,

Donna

Dr. Donna Dunar

EPASD Superintendent

Make-up days on which FID Instruction & Procedures Will Be Implemented:

• The following dates are make-up days on which EPASD will provide instruction in our FID format (See Description Below): 3/31/21 and 4/1/21.

What does FID instruction look like on a make-up day?

• Teachers will share online remote learning activities for students to engage in and complete.
• K-12 Remote learning activities will be posted by 9:00AM.
• On the make-up day(s) neither students nor teachers will report to school buildings. Everyone works remotely from home.
• Students have 3 days to complete all online remote learning activities.
• Livestreaming will NOT occur on FID make-up dates or future school closures.

Where will students find / access online remote learning activities?

• K-5 teachers will post remote learning activities in Seesaw
• 6-12 teachers will post remote learning activities in Google Classroom
• If time permits, teachers may also provide paper copies of learning activities

How does a student contact a teacher if he/she doesn’t understand something or needs assistance?

• Teachers will be available remotely by email from 9 – 11 a.m. and 1 – 3 p.m.

What if there is a power outage, Internet connectivity problems, or other issues that doesn't allow students to access “Remote Learning Activities”?

• Students are provided a 3 day grace period to complete and turn in remote learning activities

District - Wide

• 3/29: Start of Marking Period 4
  
• 3/31: FID Day - students do not report to buildings (see above)
• 4/1: FID Day - students do not report to buildings (see above)
• 4/2 - 4/5: Spring Break (all schools and offices closed)
• 4/8: School Board Meeting
• 4/22: School Board Meeting
  

Please note that the Administration Staff has been relocated to the Middle School while renovations take place.

High School

• 3/29: Start of Marking Period 4
• 3/29: School Procedures Refresher during Advisory Period (virtual)
• 3/30: Prom Reveal, Juniors and Seniors during Advisory Period
• 3/31: FID Day
• 4/1: FID Day
• 4/2 - 4/5: Spring Break (all schools and offices closed)
  
• 4/7: Senior Interviews
• 4/13: 3rd Marking Period Report Cards Issued
  
• 4/20 & 4/21: STEM and REAL Life Summits during Advisory Period
  

Middle School

• 3/29: Start of Marking Period 4
• 3/31: FID Day
• 4/1: FID Day
• 4/2 - 4/5: Spring Break (all schools and offices closed)
• 4/6: 3rd Marking Period Report Cards Issued
  
• 4/16: 8th Grade Visit to the HS - bussing provided and lunch served
• 4/20: PSSA Testing Begins
• 4/27: Townhall Meeting for MS Students, 3:00pm
  

EPE

• 3/29: Start of Marking Period 4
• 3/31: FID Day
• 4/1: FID Day
• 4/2 - 4/5: Spring Break (all schools and offices closed)
• 4/13: 3rd Marking Period Report Cards Issued
• 4/20 - 4/22: ELA PSSA
• 4/26 - 4/27: Math PSSA
• 4/28 - 4/29: Science PSSA (grade 4 only)
  

WCH

• 3/29: Start of Marking Period 4
• 3/31: FID Day
• 4/1: FID Day
• 4/2 - 4/5: Spring Break (all schools and offices closed)
• 4/13: 3rd Marking Period Report Cards Issued
• 4/20 - 4/22: ELA PSSA
• 4/26 - 4/27: Math PSSA
• 4/28 - 4/29: Science PSSA (grade 4 only)
  
  

Due to Spring Break, there will be no District Newsletter on Sunday, April 4th.

The next District Newsletter will be sent on Sunday, April 11th.

Please join the Middle School PTO at our next meeting on Tuesday, April 6 at 7:00pm in the Middle School. If the weather is nice enough bring along a chair and we'll sit outside; otherwise, we'll socially distance in the library.

Many of the current PTO members will be graduating up to the high school along with their 8th graders at the end of this year, so we are looking for some parents of current 5th and 6th graders to come out!

Please reach out to me if you have any questions!

Rayna Wilson, EPAMS PTO President

rewilson621@verizon.net

Enjoy Chipotle for dinner and support your PTO on Tuesday, March 30th between 4pm and 8pm!

Share the flyer below in person or on your smartphone before you order! If you’re ordering online, make sure to use the code FVNV8KB. The EPASD Elementary PTO will earn 33% of all proceeds.

School spirit tastes great!

Attention local business community members!

We are in need of volunteers on Wednesday April 7th to help conduct Senior Mock Interviews for our students. Mock interviews will take place in two sections one from 7:30-11:00 and the other from 11:30-2:30. Volunteers may choose to help out during one section or the whole day. This year we are offering volunteers the choice to interview our seniors in person (while socially distanced) or via Zoom.

If you are interested in participating please contact Kristy Franklin at kfranklin@epasd.org. Thank you in advance!

At the end of the month, 3 students from each grade were chosen amongst all of the submissions as grand prize winners.

The following students were our Grand Prize winners.

Trey Meckley

Rushil Mandavia

Taylor Gogets

Julia Clarke

Will McCloskey

Morgan Miller

Chase Deibler

Caleb Bonsall

Lillian Field

The prize you ask? To pie any staff member that they wanted to in the face !!

Check out the video below!

The following 3rd grade EPE students made it to the Sweet 16 of their March Math Madness competition:

Adyson (Wilcox)

Emma C. (Wilcox)

Lukcas (Hegman)

Blake (Hegman)

Alexis (Luft)

Lina (Hegman)

Gianna (Sanders)

Gabe (Sanders)

Olivia (Walsh)

Sam (Walsh)

Cassie (Sanders)

Trent (Walsh)

Talia (Sanders)

Penelope (Luft)

Lauren (Sanders)

Cade (Wilcox)

Congratulations to these EPE students for persevering though Math Madness! On to the Elite 8!

Dr. Bruey from Autism Solutions will be doing a 3 part series for us for Autism Awareness Month. The session topics are as followed:

4/8/21 Cognitive Behavior Interventions with individuals on the autism spectrum
4/15/21 Teaching coping skills to children and adults on the autism spectrum
4/22/21 Surviving puberty with teenagers on the autism spectrum

Our new Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) program now has it's own Facebook page. Like & Follow the page for updates, information, and celebration of this wonderful new program at EPASD!

@EPASDNJROTC