The Puma Pride
January 18, 2021
Principal's Message
Hello, Willow Dale Families!
All schools and offices are closed on Monday, January 18, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. This week we commemorate and celebrate the work of Martin Luther King Jr through service. Our fifth-grade Puma Ambassadors, with guidance from our School Counselors, Mrs. LaRose and Mrs. Zemitis, are spearheading Willow Dale Elementary School's Martin Luther King Day of Service. They invite our entire Willow Dale community to take part in a supply drive for the Emergency Shelter of Bucks County. Drop-off bins will be available outside the front entrance from 8 AM until 4 PM Daily. Information on how you can participate can be found below.
Thank you to all of the parents who are using the PikMyKid app for car rider dismissal. The pick-up process is running smoothly. The more families we have that participate, the more efficient dismissal will run. If you have not downloaded the app, please see the update in the newsletter or call the main office for help.
Show your Puma Pride every Friday! Willow Dale Spiritwear orders are due this week. The Home and School Association now offers a digital order form with pictures. Check it out below.
Benchmark assessments in literacy and math continue this week. Teachers will be reaching out with a schedule for students in grades K-2. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher.
We look forward to seeing our students this week.
Have a Pawsome week!
~Dr. Perkins & Mr. Julius
Phone: 215-441-6093
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillowDaleEl
Twitter: @Willow_Dale_ES
Hybrid Schedule
Masks are required at Drop-off and Pick-up
Hello Willow Dale families!
As a reminder, for the safety of our students and staff, masks are required at drop-off and pick-up. Please remain in your car unless absolutely necessary. If you require help, please contact the front office.
MLK Willow Dale Community Service Project
CEA Helping Hand
Dear Centennial Community,
Please mark your calendars for Monday, January 18, 2021. CEA Helping Hand is sponsoring a Food Drive at William Tennent High School from 10 am to 12 pm. While supplies last, we will be distributing non-perishable food items for families in our community experiencing food insecurity.
Thank you!
What's Happening in the Art Room
Hello from the Willow Dale Art Room! My name is
Mrs. Dow and I have been the art(ist) educator here at Willow Dale for the past seven years.
The Willow Dale art room has been super busy making wonderful works of art. Whether students are working remotely or in the classroom they are learning about the elements of art, new artists, and new art techniques! Students are busy drawing, painting, creating collages, and even printmaking!
If your child has not had art class yet in the new cohort rotation, please encourage them to keep creating!
Each student at Willow Dale was provided with a bag of art supplies at the beginning of the school year. Those supplies are to stay home for virtual art days. If supplies that were provided are misplaced, lost, or run out, please try your best to replace them so your child can still participate in art class.
The supplies needed at home that were provided at the start of the school year were: red 100 page sketchbook, crayons, marker, thin/regular black sharpie, black oil pastel, watercolor paint set with paintbrush, scissors, glue stick, colored construction paper, and 2 small pieces of white styrofoam (for marker printmaking).
Stay Creative
What's Happening in 5th Grade
In fifth grade we are doing exciting and amazing things. We began the year by learning about each other and our new fifth grade teachers. We enjoyed writing All About Me and our Personal Shield in addition to the many conversations and getting to know you activities. We have also enjoyed getting to know our classmates during lunch, recess and break times. In Science we learned about the Sun, Moon and planets. We enjoyed seeing our shadows in the Sun and watching the phases of the Moon and learning about the characteristics of the planets.
In writing, we wrote narratives about a day in the life of our shoe, and our favorite things. Some of us worked on a Poetry unit in which we had great fun writing Odes to Recess and Lunch, and a sensory poem about Old Man Winter.
In our math classes, have been working on decimals, multiplication and division and trying hard to conquer the Area Model and Standard Algorithm. We have had fun writing and diagramming sentences, and identifying verbs and nouns in RELA, along with the many fun fiction and non-fiction stories we have been reading together. We enjoy reading and discussing these stories with our class.
We just started Social Studies before Winter Break. We learned about some of the amazing explorers that discovered the New World. Currently, we are learning about the first settlements of Roanoke, Jamestown and Plymouth that brought people to live in the New World.
We have also started a year long Service Learning project, spearheaded by Mrs.Sullivan from the Home and School Fifth Grade Committee, in which we have partnered with the Masonic Home on Norristown Road. Each student has a buddy at the Masonic Home and we wrote letters to our buddy before the Winter Break introducing ourselves. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with our buddies at the Masonic Home throughout the year.
Attention Car Riders- SIgn Up for the PikMyKid App
Car tags with your child’s official PikMyKid dismissal ID numbers have been distributed to all current car riders. Please make sure that from now on the car tag is displayed on your dash on the passenger side while on school grounds and that you make note of this number. If you need a card or additional cars, please contact the main office. This is to help ease the transition to the new dismissal system.
Please select one of the following choices when you arrive to pick up your child(ren).
- Carline 1- Line closest to the school building
- Carline 2- Line closest to Norristown Road
If you have not yet downloaded the PikMyKid app onto your smartphone please do so as soon as possible. Having the app will not only help our staff keep track of your dismissal change requests, but will also reduce the chaos and amount of time it takes to get your student home safely after the school bell. After registering, please log in and make sure that your child’s information is listed there correctly. Anyone who will be picking up your child should also register themselves with the application. Their screen will be blank and they will not have any authorization until you allow it within the app.
The registration process is easy, and we ask that all parents register with the phone application as soon as possible. Several resources are included below to help you understand how to use the application and assist you with this transition. Please make sure you register with your current personal mobile phone number, or the app will not allow you to access your child’s information for security reasons.
If you do not think the school has your mobile number on file or if your child does not appear on your app’s home page, contact support@pikmykid.com mailto:support@pikmykid.com after registration, with your child’s name, school, grade, and updated contact information for you.
Anyone who will be picking up your child should also register themselves with the application. Their screen will be blank, and they will not have any authorization until you allow it within the app.
We appreciate your patience during the setup as we are working on making the process as safe and seamless as possible.
For more information and instructions, go to this link
Don't Forget Your Chromebook & Charger Everyday (Students in Grades 2-5)
Reminders for Cold Weather Days
Guidelines for Recess
Below 60 degrees—Jacket or long sleeves
Below 50 degrees—Coat and long pants
Below 32 degrees—Gloves and hats to go outside
Below 20 degrees—Shortened recess (5-10 minutes)
Below 10 degrees—Indoor recess
All temperatures represent the “feels like” number. Sometimes the windchill or windspeed may necessitate an indoor recess.
*If you are in need of coats, hats, gloves- Contact the School Counselors:
Ms. Zemitis: zemile@centennialsd.org
Ms. LaRose: laroka@centennialsd.org
Don't Forget to Bring & Wear Your Mask (Pack a Spare)
Buses and Bus Schedule Information
CENTENNIAL 2020-2021 BUS SCHEDULE INFORMATION
***You can access your child's busing information in SKYWARD
Information can also be accessed by clicking on the below link.
- Type in your address to access your child's busing information.
- Addresses with east, west, north, or south use the abbreviation E, W, N, or S with no punctuation. If that does not work, omit using it in your address.
If you have any questions, please contact us at 215-441-6000.
Calling All Families for our Willow Dale Family Project
As part of our second No Place for Hate project, we would love for families and staff to create a collaborative cookbook with lots of family favorites and traditional recipes from your culture. This is optional but we would love as much participation as possible!!!
In classes, teachers read Everybody Cooks Rice and learned about how food is connected to cultural identity. Families often have food traditions and favorite recipes they love to make for meals or holidays. Please look in your child’s google classroom or Seesaw to find the recipe template for your family to use. Only one per family is necessary. Families will "turn in" a recipe slide with a recipe their family loves to make or something they traditionally make for holidays or family meals. There will be an example from the family of Mrs. Zemitis and a template you will use for your recipe. The slide has a space for inserting the name of your dish, your family name, ingredients, directions, and a picture of your dish. You can also get fancy with inserting a video or tik tok tutorial of you making your dish. Check out Mrs. Zemitis' TikToc of her family making chocolate covered pretzels on her sample slide. Click here to view!
The directions for how to complete the slide are in the notes section at the bottom of the slide. When it is all complete, please click the turn in button. Please let your child’s teacher or Mrs. Zemitis know if you need help or have any questions. You have until February 12th to complete your recipe slide. We will put it all together in a Willow Dale Family Favorites cookbook slides presentation and possibly printed to be shared with our school community!
National Family Code Night - January 27, 2021 @ 7:00 PM
Willow Dale is pleased to invite every one of our families to participate in a second National Family Code Nights, a free live-stream family learning event for any K-5 school. Regardless of physical location, our school’s community can share this wonderful learning experience in which each child pairs up with a parent or other older partner to do their very first hour of coding together! No experience needed! It’s great fun, proven in thousands of schools nationwide, and now provided via a live-stream.
Family members, teachers, and educators can join the live-stream from home or school to enjoy an important, delightful experience. A live prize drawing for a Home Robotics Bundle from Wonder Workshop will be featured at each National Family Code Night. So save the date and get ready for a community learning experience the whole family will love and value.
Resources for Families
https://www.education.pa.gov/about/Resources/ResourcesFamilies/Pages/default.aspx
Tech Support for Families
- Featured Videos -CSD Online Learning Resources - CSD STUDENT & FAMILY VIDEO TUTORIALS site.
- CSD Online Learning Resources
- Site contains videos and tutorials for students and families
- 1:1 Initiative Resource Center
If you have a technology issue, please submit a help desk ticket (link below) for the fastest response.
CSD Community Technology Support Desk Options for Support
- CSD Community Technology Help Desk: http://helpdesk.centennialsd.org/support/login (this option allows you to create an account, create and submit new tickets, view the status of your ticket, and leave comments on the ticket).
Willow Dale Elementary School's Technology Support Desk Contact
Please call Ms. Kwasniuk (215) 441-6000 and enter the extension 17020.
Important Message from the Nurse's Office
Parents, we need your help to keep our students safe and healthy.
Please remember to check your student for the COVID 5 every morning before they come to school.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, please keep your student home.
- Do they have a temperature of greater than 100.3?
- Do they have an altered taste or smell?
- Have they been exposed to someone with a lab-confirmed case of COVID 19?
- Are they awaiting test results of a recent COVID 19 test?
- Do they have an unexplained cough or shortness of breath?
Thank you in advance for your support! We are all in this together!
- Mrs. Salita and Mrs. Kleinschmidt-Willow Dale Nurses
Attendance in Virtual Learning
Children who attend school regularly make the best academic progress, graduate, and go on to successful post-secondary education and/or careers. It is important, even on virtual days for students to join the classroom teacher for learning via Google Meet.
If your child is going to be absent, late, or leave early, please notify the homeroom teacher and the school to let us know. More details below.
Reporting Absences
SUBMITTING ABSENCE NOTES
Attendance Notes can be Submitted Electronically via email at WDAttendance@centennialsd.org. Please know you will still receive automated phone calls (to the primary phone listed in Skyward) if you have not submitted an absence note via email by 10:00 AM on the days your child is absent from school.
**Absence notes must be submitted within 3 days of the student's absence, otherwise, the absence will be recorded as unexcused.
E-Mailing Attendance Notes
- Parents with children in Willow Dale may e-mail attendance notifications/notes to the following address: WDAttendance@centennialsd.org
- E-mail notifications are encouraged on the morning of the absence day. However, e-mailed absence notes may be sent on the day following the absence.
- When sending an absence notification please include the following information:
- Child's Name
- Child's Grade
- Child's Homeroom Teacher
- Date(s) of Absence
- Reason for Absence
- Contact Phone # for Parent/Guardian
- Other Pertinent Information
Email: WDAttendance@centennialsd.org
Phone: 215-441-6093
Nutrition Services Information
All Students are Eligible for a FREE Breakfast & Lunch Daily
The USDA has extended the waiver to continue feeding under the Summer Programs which entitles all children 18 and under to eat for free. These programs have been extended throughout the entire school year.
Parents, please continue to apply for free and reduced programs, as this helps fund other programs in the district which could benefit families. Now more than ever, we need families to complete the Free and Reduced meal application even though all meals are currently free. Please complete the application today.
We Need your Help!
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Willow Dale depends on funding based on the number of free and reduced applications approved. Please help us maintain our funding that directly assists our students.
This year, our numbers are lower due to the free meals provided. If you already receive SNAP benefits and have not applied this year, please take a minute to apply.
If your financial situation has changed, please visit schoolcafe.com to apply today!
Applications can be submitted at any time during the school year. All information submitted to the school is kept confidential. Since meal transactions are computerized, there is no discrimination or identification of free or reduced paying students, so all families are urged to consider this program.
For questions or assistance, please reach out to:
Mrs. Shannon Stone - Supervisor of Food & Nutrition Services
StonSh@centennialsd.org 215-441-6000 x11015
All Schools and Offices Closed - Martin Luther King - Holiday
Monday, Jan 18, 2021, 08:30 AM
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No School for Students- Teacher In-Service Day
Friday, Jan 29, 2021, 08:45 AM
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All Schools and Offices Closed - Presidents Day Holiday
Monday, Feb 15, 2021, 08:30 AM
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Help the Home & School Raise Extra Funds!
Child Care Arrangement Form
School Safety Drills
We will practice fire, lock-in, lock-out, and weather emergency drills. These drills may or may not be announced. Unannounced drills more accurately indicate the preparedness of the school and the effectiveness of safety procedures. Your child's teacher will review the exercises and procedures with their classes. Please make the teacher aware of any concerns regarding your child's participation in the safety drills.
The Warminster Director of Emergency Management Services and the Warminster Police Department will be invited to observe our drills and provided feedback for improvement.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Perkins or Mr. Julius.
Family Trips Scheduled During the School Year
Dear Centennial Families;
The Centennial School District Board of School Directors approved Policy 204.1, Family Trips Scheduled During School Year.
Although the scheduling of family trips during the instructional year is not encouraged, the Centennial School Board recognizes that students may benefit educationally by accompanying their parent(s)/guardian(s) on trips. The revision to the policy will allow the schools to approve up to five (5) days instead of three (3). Any trip beyond five (5) days will need the approval of the Superintendent.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) who are requesting approval for a family trip need to complete and submit the attached form to their building principal at least 3 days before the trip.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Perkins or Mr. Julius.
Willow Dale Elementary School
Email: perkca@centennialsd.org
Website: www.centennialsd.org/Domain/692
Location: 720 North Norristown Road, Warminster, PA, USA
Phone: 215-441-6093
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Education/Willow-Dale-Elementary-School-331460017756772/
Twitter: @Willow_Dale_ES