CES Weekly Update!
September 20, 2019
We had a beautiful week of weather! Students had a chance to get outside and make scientific observations of their environment! On Tuesday, we had our first fire drill of the year. Our students did an amazing job quietly exiting the building and listening to directions. Congratulations to Ms. Dougherty's class, our first class to reach ten teamwork tickets! As always, if you have any questions, we are here to help. Have a great weekend!
Dr. Adam Penning
Mrs. Ashley Leach
This weeks Concord Bedtime Story
Enjoy the story friends!
Summer Reading Raffle Winners!
Important Dates
- 9/26 HSA Homeroom Parent Assembly
- 9/26 HSA Meeting
- 10/1 CES Fall Pictures
- 10/2 Student of the Month Assembly (1st and 2nd grade)
- 10/4 Playground Safety Assembly
Full Clubs
- Baton club
- Cooking and Kindness.
Nursing Update
Roux, our therapy dog, is back!
Dear Concord Families,
We are excited that our CES Therapy Dog Program will continue this year! On Fridays, therapy dog Roux will be in the building. He will attend friendship groups, support students individually, visit classrooms by teacher request, and will be available for struggling readers. Any student that visits the guidance office during the time that Roux is “working” is welcome to say hello! However, if you prefer that your child not interact with Roux throughout this year, that is completely okay. We ask that you complete the form below:
Parent Education
HSA Update
Mod Pizza Spirit Day on September 25th. Visit Mod Pizza and mention you are
supporting the Concord HSA and 20% of your order will be donated back to the
Concord HSA.
-------------------------------------
Join us on September 26th at 10am at Concord Elementary for the first HSA meeting of
this school year.
-------------------------------------
Membership - It’s not too late to send in your membership donations! Cash, check or
myschoolbucks. Please send into school in an envelope marked “Concord HSA
Membership”. Thank you to those that have made your donation.
-------------------------------------
Coupon books went home this week with your child. Take KidStuff to work, games and
family events...KidStuff also makes the BEST gift EVER! Check out all 20 valuable
editions listed on the inside front cover of your book! Please make checks payable to
Concord HSA or to pay via credit card login into your MySchoolBucks account
(cafeteria account) at www.myschoolbucks.com and click on School Store.
The SaveAround/KidStuff coupon Books are a great fundraiser for the HSA. They are
$25 each and we earn 50% profit! That's 4 trips to acme and a stop at Dicks Sporting
Goods and you have made your money back! Thank you to those who have already
purchased coupon books.
If you do not wish to purchase the book, please return it in your child’s bag. If you have
any questions, please contact the Concord HSA at concordhsa@gmail.com. KidStuff
does not promote door-to-door sales by children.
---------------------------------------
Yankee Candle fundraiser is underway.
---------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE!!
Restrictions on library sign-ups have been increased to allow you to sign up for
additional slots. Return to your child’s library sign up to choose more slots for this year.
This year library sign-ups will be done electronically through Sign Up Genius. A link to
the grade-specific sign up is below. It will also be sent out via an e-alert to
parents/guardians.
AM kindergarten
http://bit.ly/CESLibraryAMKind2019
PM kindergarten
http://bit.ly/CESLibraryPMKind2019
First Grade
http://bit.ly/CESLibrary1st2019
Second Grade
http://bit.ly/CESLibrary2nd2019
For additional details on library volunteer duties, please visit
http://cransk.wixsite.com/ceslibrary/library-volunteers
Please note you must have your clearances to volunteer in the library.
NEW PARENT HEALTH PORTAL
Last school year, the district used the FamilyID system for all emergency cards and forms to help streamline the summer process for our parent community. While the feedback from our parents was positive, FamilyID did not meet the needs of our school nurses. Starting this coming school year (2019-2020), Garnet Valley will give our parents and guardians direct access to our district’s health portal (SNAP), which will provide the most secure, convenient, and real-time view of your child’s school health record.
(The FamilyID system is not going away entirely as it will still be used by our athletic department to collect sports physicals.)
Benefits of the SNAP Parent Health Portal
With a secure login and encrypted data transfer, parents can safely access their child’s health information from any computer or mobile device to:
Update Critical Health Information
Electronically Sign & Submit Forms
Review Screening Results
Upload Medical Forms
Authorize OTC Orders
Monitor Health Clinic Visits
Additionally, automatic email notifications immediately alert parents when new information is available, medication refills are needed, immunization status becomes non-compliant, or forms need to be signed. Through a built-in messaging system, parents can communicate directly with the school nursing staff.
From within the SNAP Health Center, our school nurses are immediately notified when any changes are made by parents. New information is flagged to make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed and critical changes must be acknowledged. Nurses also can view a log of recent parent activity.
All parents and legal guardians that have an email address in Alma will be receiving their secured login credentials in a few weeks. The email will come from noreply@studentehr.comand look similar to the screenshot below.
If anyone has an issue accessing their child’s health records or has difficulty with technology, there will be a parent night on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, to help troubleshoot any issues.
Transportation Information
InfoFinder-i provides online access to assist in finding your child’s bus number, pick-up/drop-off locations and times.
InfoFinder-i allows you to:
- Find your child’s designated bus stop;
- Find the estimated pick-up/drop-off times for your child’s bus stop;
- Locate which school your child would attend if you are planning to move.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to check InfoFinder-i periodically between August 15th and the start of school as pick-up and drop-off times may be slightly altered due to daily enrollment changes.
Please click here to access the site.
School Day Times for 2019-2020
Arrival Times
8:25AM - Car line drop off begins, breakfast begins8:40AM - Students report to homerooms (was 8:45 last year)
8:50AM - Car line ends
8:55AM - Students not in homeroom will be marked absent
Dismissal Times
2:50 - Office pick up ends
3:05 - Announcements start, students dismissed to car line, buses begin being called
3:15 - Dismissal ends
SCHOOL LUNCH INFORMATION
Children need healthy meals to learn. Garnet Valley SD offers healthy meals every school day. Costs are as follows: Breakfast at all schools is $1.70; lunch is $2.75 in the Elementary Schools, $2.95 at the Middle School and $3.10 at the HS. Your child(ren) may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. Reduced price is .30 for breakfast and .40 for lunch. You are encouraged to complete an online application instead of a paper application if you are able. The online application has the same requirements and will ask you for the same information as the paper application.
Visit www.schoolcafe.com for an online free and reduced application or use the link below.
Raptor Information
The Raptor system is used to enhance our ability to monitor who enters our buildings by screening visitors, contractors, and volunteers. Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit.
Please adhere to the following regulations:
1. Enter the building at the main office door.
2. Go directly to the office, sign in through Raptor and inform the school secretary of your
destination.
3. PLEASE DO NOT GO to any area of the building without receiving permission from the office.
4. Do not attempt to go to a classroom to pick up a child. Students who are being dismissed early
will be sent to the office.
5. Return the visitor badge at the conclusion of your visit to sign out.
Volunteer Clearance Information
Legislation in Pennsylvania requires community members and parents to obtain clearances in order to volunteer in our schools. If you have previously submitted your clearances to the Human Resources office, they are good for five (5) years from the date of the clearance.
Governor Wolf has waived the fees associated with the Pennsylvania State Police—Criminal Background Check and the Child Abuse History Clearance. Since the FBI clearance is a federal program, those costs still remain; however, the district has decided to permit individuals who have resided in Pennsylvania continuously for ten years or more to sign a certification form that saves the volunteer the expense of the fee, ensures compliance with the law, and allows the district to maximize student safety.
ELEMENTARY HANDBOOK & GVSD PROCEDURAL MANUAL
Voluntary Elementary Foreign Language Studies
Would you like your child to
learn SPANISH?
VEFLS (Voluntary Elementary Foreign Language Studies) will once again be offering Spanish classes which will begin the 3rd week of October at Concord Elementary School for KINDERGARTEN thru GRADE 2 for the 2019-2020 school year. Classes will be held 1x/week for a total of 20 classes. All classes begin at 8:05 AM and dismissal is at 8:45 AM. (SPECIAL NOTE: YMCA morning care kids can be brought down to classes!) Students then proceed directly to their homerooms. All classes are held in the Cafeteria. (Parents need to walk up and buzz their children INTO the building to ensure they get inside safely. You may momentarily park your car right out front in circle.)
Classes begin in October and usually end around April. We follow the school calendar so when there is a day off of school, we do not hold classes. Also, NO classes will be held the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Furthermore, if school is cancelled or delayed due to weather conditions, then classes will NOT be held. Make-up classes will be added on to the end of the year so that your child will receive the full 20 weeks of instruction.
The classes offer a fun and exciting way for your child to learn a foreign language. Games, activities, and music are used to keep the children engaged. To create an atmosphere conducive to learning, students will be expected to exhibit proper classroom behavior. (Should the need arise, disciplinary problems will be brought to the attention of the parents by the Director. VEFLS reserves the right to remove any student whose behavior becomes a detriment to the program. TUITION WILL NOT BE REFUNDED).
Class Choices
SPANISH for Kindergarten: Mondays (begins Oct.14)
SPANISH for Grades 1&2: Tuesdays OR Fridays (begins Oct.15 OR Oct.18)
Questions: KELLY GARDLER, Director/Spanish Instructor @ KGardler@Yahoo.com OR 610-717-2755
To enroll your child, simply fill out the bottom portion of this form and mail with payment ASAP. (Enrollment is on a first-come, first served basis.)
The cost of the program is $240 FOR THE YEAR. (*EARLY registration/before Aug 31 is $230, and *LATE registration/after Sept 30 is $250.) All materials are included and will be provided by the teacher.
Please make checks payable to: V.E.F.L.S., and mail along with bottom of this form to:
V.E.F.L.S., c/o Kelly Gardler, 22 Rockland Manor Rd., Garnet Valley, PA 19060
NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS
The new address for our school's website is https://ces.garnetvalleyschools.com/.
Concord Elementary School
Website: garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 114 Station Road, Glen Mills, PA, United States
Phone: 610-579-6100
Facebook: facebook.com/ConcordElementarySchool-GVSD
Twitter: @ConcordGV