March Parent Newsletter
Dr. Malinda McKillip, Principal
March Is Disability Awareness Month
Parent Pick Up
Dear Parents,
This is a friendly reminder that we ask that vehicles not arrive for parent pick up prior to 2:45 PM. Now that the weather is becoming warmer, we will begin taking students back up on the rear hill for physical education classes and various activities. We can not have cars coming through the parking lot when students are crossing between the building and the back field.
After School Activities and Pick Up Patrol
When you enroll your student in an after school program, please be sure to add the dates of the activity to Pick Up Patrol. All registered students are expected to participate in the activity on all planned dates. In Pick Up Patrol, click "Plan Change," choose "After School Activity" from the drop down menu, and list the activity in the notes section.
If your student cannot participate in an activity that they are registered for on a date it is being held, this is considered a plan change and it must be noted in Pick Up Patrol. Please click "Plan Change" in Pick Up Patrol, choose the way in which they should go home on that date from the drop down menus, and add "Not Participating in [Name of Activity]" in the notes section.
2024-2025 Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for the 2024-2025 school year is now open! Please visit our district's Student Registration website page (STEP 1) for additional information or contact Mrs. Alexandra Lewis, our FC Attendance Clerk, at 610-469-5710. After you begin the registration process, you can click here (STEP 2) to schedule your appointment.
Please don't delay in registering your child as soon as possible. It is extremely important that we have an accurate number of expected students for planning and staffing purposes.
Read Across America
We will be celebrating Read Across America March 4th through March 8th.
In addition to a fun filled Spirit Week, French Creek will also host our Annual Book Swap on Tuesday, March 5th and all OJR elementary schools will participate in our district-wide Read-In on March 8th at 9:00 AM. Please see below for more information.
Spring Conferences
Spring parent/teacher conferences will be held on Wednesday, March 6th and Thursday, March 7th. Please note students in Grades 1-6 will be dismissed at 11:50 AM.
- AM Kindergarten students will report on 3/6. (No PM Class)
- PM Kindergarten students will report on 3/7. (No AM Class)
Please contact your child's teacher if you still need to schedule an appointment.
Upcoming Author Visit
Hi FC Families,
On March 14th, we are having author Daniel Jude Miller visit French Creek. His website is fabulous and I highly encourage you to take a look: www.djudemiller.com. To welcome him to French Creek, I thought it would be fun to line the hallway with homemade monsters to celebrate his Monsters in Manhattan series. Here is the link to hear DJ Miller talk about this project: https://youtu.be/Wt_UvOUUQUg. This is an OPTIONAL activity and just thought it might get the students excited for his visit. Any completed monsters can be brought to school any time before March 14th and I will be sure to showcase them for his visit. Any questions, please reach out to me at dponto@ojrsd.net.
Happy Creating!
Ms. Ponto
Student Request
Attention French Creek families, your support is requested!
Fourth graders, Maggie Grzeskowiak and Tessa Troutman are members of Girl Scout Troop 4219. They are presently working for their Bronze Award. A Bronze Award is when a Girl Scout spots a need in her community and tries to address it. Tessa and Maggie would like to increase the amount of playground equipment at FC. To help raise money to address this need, they will be having a guessing jar at the Student Store on Tuesdays and Thursdays now through the first week of April. Students may guess how many Legos are in a jar. Each guess is $1 and whoever guesses the closest in each grade will earn a prize for their class. There will be a total of 6 prizes to choose from. Thank you for your help and support. If you would rather donate equipment, please click here to view our school’s Amazon wishlist.
2023-2024 Yearbook Sale
Please view the flyer below for more information and ordering directions. Click here to go directly to the website to place your order.
**Sixth Graders will receive a yearbook compliments of the FCVPTA and do NOT need to place an order.**
The deadline for ordering is Friday, April 19th.
PTA Parent News
The FCVPTA March edition of 'PTA On The Prowl' is available for your viewing! Please look at the many opportunities coming during the month. Sign up for the upcoming Talent Show, purchase Hershey Park tickets, fill out our new Together We Can! survey, and more!
Together We Can! Survey - We want to hear from you! This anonymous survey will provide the PTA with valuable feedback and information on the programming and events we've hosted so far this year, and in turn, will help guide us as we plan for the future.
We Need Your Help! Nominating Committee for 2024-2025 Elections - Want to have a say as to your next PTA leaders? Want to learn more on how to be a PTA Officer? Join the Nominating Committee! Please fill out the Google interest form here. Time commitment is approximately 5 hours.
Karate On Campus - Last chance to sign up! Click here!
PTA Raise Craze Fundraiser Update
Parents - please read this message from the FCVPTA! Thank you to everyone who has participated in making this year's big fundraiser, Raise Craze, such a success. This kindness fundraiser is where we are raising money through Acts of Kindness. We have hit our first level financial and AOK goals and are ready to go after our second level goals TOGETHER.
If you have not done so already, please sign your child up for Raise Craze - a kindness fundraiser!
We are running a two week incentive starting Monday February 26th and the winner picked March 8th- For every donation to Raise Craze, your child's class will have the opportunity to win Doughnuts with Mr. Daniel Jude Miller, our visiting author on March 14th. If they win, your child's class will have 1:1 time to discuss Mr. Miller's writing process, books he has written and themes he enjoys to write about all while enjoying doughnuts with Mr. Miller. We hope you participate and send emails to gain donations from family and friends.
Please note that while this is a fundraiser, the main goal is to spread kindness! We would love it if you could enter emails to share this mission with your friends and family! As a reminder, by registering, you can help your child's class earn more rewards like an ice cream party or a pajama day (class Bingo incentives). But, most importantly, you can record Acts of Kindness (AOKs) for your child or have them record their own. Each AOK recorded will get your child's name and AOK put up in our kindness beehive. Check it out on the wall by the cafe and school store this Friday during the Someone Special Dance!
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns! Thank you for any support you give!
Sincerely,
FCVPTA
Save The Dates!
Report Cards
Second trimester report cards will be available via Skyward Family Access on Thursday, March 14th at 12:00 PM.
FC Spirit Day
Students and staff are invited to wear green or St. Patrick's Day apparel on Friday, March 15th.
World Down Syndrome Day
Professional Development Day
There will be no school for students on Monday, March 25th.
Spring Break
Schools will be closed Tuesday, March 26th though Friday, March 29th.
Spring Picture Day
Spring Picture Day will be Friday, April 12th.
Talent Show
Please visit PTBoard to sign your child up to participate in the Talent Show on Friday, April 19th no later than Monday, March 11th.
PSSA Testing Window
Our 2024 PSSA testing dates will be:
April 23rd, 24th and 25th for Grades 3-6 (ELA)
April 29th and 30th for Grades 3-6 (Math)
May 1st and 2nd for Grade 4 (Science)
Please Stay Connected
Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We love to share all of the exciting things happening in our school and classrooms!