Broad Street Newsletter
March 2024
A message from Ms. Alexander, Principal
Last year Broad Street held its first ever Book Bonanza and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive! This year's Book Bonanza will be held in April, but gently used book donations will be collected starting on March 11 and run through March 20. Stay tuned for details around 'shopping' the Book Bonanza in next month's newsletter.
Also happening this month is Gideon's 7th birthday! Did you know Gideon started working at Broad Street in 2019? We will be celebrating him on Friday, March 22 by wearing a Gideon T-Shirt. HERE is the link to purchase a shirt if you don't have one. If you do have one, take a peek at the two NEW designs. Order no later than March 13th to ensure delivery by March 19th.
I encourage you to take the time to read through this newsletter and mark your calendars as there is a lot happening -= Field Trips, planning for May Fair, and Art Night. March is going to be a GREAT month.
Upcoming Dates
March:
- Tuesday, March 5 - the LAST PTO Meeting of the year
- Wednesday, March 6 - End of Trimester 2
- 🎨 Thursday, March 7 - Elementary Arts Night (High School Cafeteria) 6:00 - 7:30
- 📚 March 11 - 20 - Collecting gently used children's books for our Book Bonanza (details below)
- ✔️ Wednesday, March 13 - Last day to order a Gideon Shirt for delivery by March 19
- Thursday, March 14 - Report Cards sent home
- Friday, March 15 - Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL for students
- 🐶 Friday, March 22 - Help us celebrate Gideon's 7th Birthday - If you have one, wear your Gideon T-shirt
- ❄️ Thursday, March 28 - SCHOOL is in session -- SNOW MAKE UP DAY from 1/19/24
- Friday, March 29 - Spring Recess - NO SCHOOL for students
April:
- Monday, April 1 - - Spring Recess - NO SCHOOL for students
- Wednesday, April 3 - Mobil Dentist @ Broad Street
- Monday, April 15 - Field Trip for 3rd Grade - Oakes Museum
- Thursday, April 18 - Broad Street Open House - 6:00 - 7:00
- Friday, April 19 - Act 80 Day - NO SCHOOL for students
- Saturday, April 27 - 1st Annual MAPTO Community Day (see details below)
3rd Grade PSSA Testing Dates:
- Education Trips will not be honored on testing days.
- ✔️ Testing will be in the morning - we ask that you schedule any medical appointments after lunch
- English, Language Arts (ELA) testing window - April 22 - 26
- Math testing window - April 29 - May 3
May:
- Friday, May 3 - Lunch Hero Day (we celebrate our Cafe workers)
- Friday, May 3 - PTO May Fair
- Monday, May 6 - Professional Development Day - NO SCHOOL for students
- Tuesday - Friday, May 7-10 - Teacher Appreciation Week
- Wednesday, May 8 - School Nurses Day
- Friday, May 10 - 3rd Grade to visit Elmwood Academy
- Tuesday, May 14 - Field Trip for 2nd Grade - Hershey Story Museum
- Tuesday, May 14 - PTO Dine Out Night - Rakestraw's
- Friday, May 17 - Broad Street Field Day
- Thursday, May 23 - Field Trip for 3rd Grade - Environmental Center
- Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day Recess
June:
- Thursday, June 6 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
😎 Broad Street Early Dismissal @ 10:45 a.m. - Breakfast & Lunch will NOT be served
*Dates subject to change
Family Arts Night
Broad Street Book Bonanza - Book Drive
Gideon T-Shirt
Ordering deadline has been extended to Wednesday, March 13th for a delivery date of March 19. Here is the link to our store: https://store.modernimprintllc.com/masdbroad/shop/home
Outstanding Staff Award Nomination
Dear Mechanicsburg Area School District Staff and Community Members,
Every year, we ask you to nominate employees for the annual Recognition of Outstanding Staff Performance Awards. Please click on the link below to complete a nomination form. All nominations must be submitted by Monday, March 18, 2024.
23-24 Outstanding Staff Performance Nomination
This recognition includes a monetary award to the recipient, a personalized plaque, and school board recognition. This year’s School Board Recognition Ceremony will take place on June 11, 2024, before the start of the board meeting. Awards will be given in the categories below.
- • Professional Staff – Primary (K-3)
- • Professional Staff – Intermediate (4-5)
- • Professional Staff – Middle (6-8)
- • Professional Staff – High (9-12)
- • Instructional Support Staff (K-5)
- • Instructional Support Staff (6-12)
- • Non-Instructional Support Staff
- • Administrative Staff
- • Extra-Curricular Assignment
Recipients are selected by a committee comprised of current Meet and Discuss Committee members and a member of the School Board. Recipients of this prestigious award will be notified before the end of this school year.
Individuals from any stakeholder group in the District can submit nominations for these annual awards. Award winners and nominees will receive a copy of the nomination letter after this year’s Outstanding Staff Award winners have been announced.
If you have any questions concerning this process, please feel free to contact my office at 691-4504.
Yours in education,
Mark K. Leidy, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Sport Stacking Tournament
Mechanicsburg Area School District will be hosting a Sport Stacking Tournament on March 23rd at Upper Allen Elementary School! This event is for ALL ages and abilities, especially first time stackers new to the sport. While this is a sanctioned event and a qualifier for the AAU Junior Olympic Games, this event is absolutely for all stackers. If you have never been to a sport stacking competition please join us! For more information and online registration, visit www.theWSSA.com/t/3424 .
MAPTO Community Day
Save the Date - First Annual MAPTO Community Day
Saturday, April 27 from 11am-2pm @ Mechanicsburg Middle School
Come out to support the elementary PTOs! There will be food trucks, a bounce house, a DJ, face painting, a basket raffle, as well as many local vendors.
Do you have or know someone that has a local business that might want to set up a vendor space? Share the vendor application below!
Elementary "SOUPer Bowl"
Thank you to everyone who participated, we collected over 200 items to the Elementary Food Pantry to benefit families in our school district. Way to go Wildcats!
News from the School Counselor
Counselor Corner with Mrs. Mandia
Happy March!
March is typically the month in our school counseling program where we focus on calming strategies. We talk about the importance of understanding our feelings and what strategies or tools we can use to feel calm even when we have big emotions.
One resource that we will be utilizing this month is "A Little Peaceful Spot." This book talks about how we can get to our "peaceful spot" and how to practice mindfulness.
A great way to talk to your student about calming strategies is asking them what they do to feel calm or talking to them about what you do to relax. When we take the time to help our students work on these skills we are setting them up to be successful.
As always, let me know if you need any support. Feel free to send me an email to set up a time to connect via phone or Zoom! Click on this GoogleForm to provide feedback for my school counseling program so I can make it fit the needs of your students.
Mechanicsburg Area School District is privileged to offer a weekend food distribution program for families in need. The purpose of the program is to provide non-perishable, vitamin-fortified, and easy to prepare foods to children at times when school resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. Bags will include two breakfasts, two meals, and two snacks. The program is free of charge.
If your family is interested in receiving weekend food bags, please complete this form once for each school-aged child in your family.
Please reach out to our Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Mandia with any questions.
News from the Health Room
Mrs. Henson & Mrs. Kleinfelter
Although spring brings warmer weather, it also brings allergies. It is important to stay healthy and distinguish allergies from a more serious illness and controlling allergies to keep asthma at bay. I have listed several symptoms, triggers and treatment tips below:
Symptoms include:
- Itchy skin
- Watery eyes
- Runny nose
- Cough Pet
- Congestion
- Post-nasal drainage
- Sneezing
Common Triggers include:
- Pollen
- Grad
- Mold
- Pet Dander
- Dust Mites
- Insects
Treatment tips:
- Avoid allergens and keep house clean and free of pollen, pests, and dust
- Wash hands often, cover mouth when sneezing or coughing
- Change clothes when coming in from playing outdoors
- Use over the counter antihistamines and decongestions as directed
- Keep air filters changed and use air purifiers
- Allergy testing and treatment by a doctor
- Take all medications for asthma already prescribed by your doctor to keep asthma under control
THE MOBILE DENTIST IS COMING TO BROAD STREET:
We’re excited to be able to offer mobile dentist services for all students. Mark your calendars for April 3, 2024. Mobile Dentist applications will be coming home in your students backpack. You can also sign up online at www.myschooldentist.com. All insurances are accepted including, Medicaid and CHIP. For those without insurance, a low cost self-pay option is available.
News from the Office
Attendance
Phone - 717-691-4574 or email: broadstreetoffice@mbgsd.org
Going out of town? Driving to Grandma's? Taking a vacation? Want them to be excused days? Please submit an Educational Trip form. The form is located on our WEBSITE under the PARENT button on the right hand side.
Volunteers
Interested in Volunteering for a field trip or in the classroom? Make sure you have your volunteer requirements completed, contact the office @ 717-691-4574.
Need to complete the volunteer requirements? All of this information can be found on our website
Sooner rather than later, sometimes it take a while to complete.
Broad Street PTO News
The last PTO Meeting of the year.
We will be planning the PTO Mayfair and would like your help!
- Tuesday, March 5
✔️ Meetings are held in the Broad Street Library and will start at 6:30
✔️ No babysitting provided, but children are welcome to play with the bins outside the library.
Yearbook
Online sales are open now through April 1, 2024.
- ybpay.com
- Yearbook ID: 12037224
📸Have candid photos to share? You can submit photos to our community portal. Create an account or login with your Shutterfly account.
- Invite code: BROAD-STREET-24
- Using suggested tags (teacher's name, grade, special event, etc.) will help us organize photo submissions.
PTO Spirit Wear Sales
1. Store will remain open with limited options all year
2. Delivers to schools every other week through the holidays
3. Not a fundraiser – just an opportunity for families to purchase MASD gear