Wednesday Roundup | 8.16.23

Spotlight Image: Our Eagle mascot flew in for a visit earlier this month to help welcome our new professional staff to the district. Photo courtesy Dr. Megan Ward, Assistant Director of Human Resources for Professional Development.

• August 17 - CVHS (10-12) Back to School Night
• August 21 - Kdg & New Student Orientation
• August 21 - School Board Meeting
• August 23 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
• August 31 - CV9 Back to School Night
  
• September 1 - KDG ONLY, No School
• September 4 - No School (K-12)
• September 5 - School Board Meeting
• September 6 - Elementary Back to School Night
• September 7 - EV Gr. 6 Back to School Night
• September 7 - MV - Gr. 7, 8 Back to School Night
• September 8 - CV Mini-THON Tailgate prior to home football game
• September 14 - EV Gr 7, 8 Back to School Night

* All events subject to change. Not an all-inclusive list.

Earlier this month, we welcomed 65 new professional staff to the district during our week-long new hire academy. Welcome to CV!

Find much of the information listed below AND MORE on our Back to School Resource website that combines general information with links to resources that you may need to begin the 2023-24 school year fully prepared. This webpage houses information ranging from teacher assignments, calendars, technology, and instructional schedules to transportation, communication, and health information. This page will remain posted throughout the school year as it also includes information on schedules and communication during inclement weather. As we finalize additional details for the school year, we will add them to this page.

Please click here to view our back-to-school resource webpage.

As always, please contact your child's school with any specific questions you might have.

Emergency Notifications: In cases of an emergency in a specific building or across the district, CV will issue communication to the appropriate stakeholders through telephone, email, text message, and/or website alert. Parents/Guardians should ensure that their contact information is always up-to-date in Skyward, as this is where we will pull information for our notifications and alerts. Notification to schedule changes due to inclement weather will also be issued via the above mentioned methods.

Register to Receive Text Messages: Cumberland Valley School District uses text messaging (for parents/guardians and staff) as a mode of communication during inclement weather, emergencies, bus delays, and more. If you are a parent/guardian who is new to the District or if you have not previously signed up to receive text alerts, please sign into your Skyward Family Access account and complete the “Text (SMS) Notifications” form. For step-by-step directions, please click the "How do I register" link below.

Official Communication Channels: It is important to ensure that you look for communication via our official channels. Please click here to visit our website for a chart illustrating the various ways our stakeholders can connect through our official channels with individual staff, a specific school building, and the district.

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CVschools | Twitter: www.twitter.com/CVSDnews

Free Breakfast & Free/Reduced Meal Applications: The Governor’s Office announced recently that all Pennsylvania schoolchildren, regardless of family income, will receive free breakfast during the 2023-24 school year.

As a reminder, if your child qualifies for free meals through the State (also known as direct certified) or if you completed a free/reduced application after July 1, 2023, and have received a letter stating your child is eligible to receive free/reduced meals, their school lunch will also be FREE. If you have any question regarding your child’s meal status, please do not hesitate to contact the Food Service office.

Families who are not direct certified or who have not already completed an application for the 2023-24 school year are encouraged to CLICK HERE to complete a free/reduced meals application, which is available any time throughout the year, to determine eligibility. An application is not required for PA's 2023-24 free breakfast program.

Meal Payments: Please click here for more information on meal payments and how to place money into your child’s SchoolCafe account.

If you have additional questions, please call (717) 697-8261 and follow the prompts to reach the Food Service Department in our District Office/District Support Facility.

2023-24 meal prices

Elementary Lunch - $3.25

Secondary Lunch - $3.50

Adult Breakfast - $2.85

Adult Lunch - $4.50

Please visit our Nursing Department webpage for more information on physical exams, dental exams, and immunizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health establishes requirements for these exams and immunizations by grade level. The Nursing Department webpage also provides information on health screenings, illnesses, and medication distribution policies, in addition to access to many required health forms.

Elementary: As we have done in previous years, we will provide all needed elementary classroom and student supplies for the new school year. We encourage elementary students to bring a backpack to school along with earbuds/headphones for personal use as part of our classroom instruction. Students should bring a water bottle to school for personal use throughout the day.

Secondary: Individual teachers and/or grade-level teams will provide students with specific items that they may need for their class during the upcoming school year. Students should bring a water bottle to school for personal use throughout the day.

Cumberland Valley Virtual Academy: Families of 9th grade students and students newly enrolled in CVVA will be contacted regarding pickup of a school-issued computer.

Device Insurance: We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the details of our 1:1 Device program and of the annual device insurance option that is available to you and your student.

It is the belief of the District that supplying a device for all students in grades K-12 is essential to their learning and development. Consistency in grade-level devices is essential to the implementation of our curriculum, instruction, and assessment, while also allowing for sufficient support operations. After reading this entire email, please review more specific information about the program on the Technology section of our website under the 1:1 Technology Program page and its subpages.

The District owns and values each device and requires students to follow usage guidelines and to use care and caution in handling the device. These guidelines are on the 1:1 Technology Program Device Care and Support webpage. The devices do have a manufacturer warranty to cover any manufacturer defects or malfunctions. Students and families will be responsible for the full cost of any loss or damage to their device unless you purchase insurance through the District at a cost of $25 per student/year. This optional insurance will help to decrease the out-of-pocket expenses families may have related to device damage.

Cost waivers are in place for families facing economic hardship and families with four or more students. If you are a family facing economic hardship and have been approved through the free/reduced lunch program, you must still add the optional insurance in Skyward. The discount will take place after the optional fee is added. If it does not, you should verify your free/reduced lunch application status through our Food Service Department. If you are a family of four or more students, you should add the optional insurance for all of your students, but only pay for three of them in Revtrak. After completing the payment, please email Kerry Johnson at kjohnson@cvschools.org with the name(s), grade(s), and building(s) of the additional student(s) so the fee can be waived in Skyward.

Further details about the insurance program and specific directions on how to enroll can be found on the 1:1 Technology Program Damage and Insurance webpage. Deadline to enroll into the insurance program is November 3, 2023. We strongly encourage parents to take advantage of this program.

Reaching CV by Telephone: As previously shared, our Technology Department completed an important and necessary upgrade to our districtwide telephone system over the summer. As part of this upgrade, some of the direct-dial telephone numbers for specific buildings/departments/staff may have changed. You may reach any of our buildings or departments by calling 717-697-8261 and following the prompts. You may also contact our schools directly at the following numbers:

CV High School: 717-506-3555

CV9: 717-506-3372

CVVA: 717-697-8261

Eagle View Middle School: 717-506-3955

Mountain View Middle School: 717-697-1960

Green Ridge Elementary School: 717-766-4911

Hampden Elementary School: 717-737-4513

Middlesex Elementary School: 717-249-5586

Monroe Elementary School: 717-697-0028

Shaull Elementary School: 717-506-3415

Silver Spring Elementary School: 717-506-3755

Sporting Hill Elementary School: 717-761-5052

Winding Creek Elementary School: 717-620-2525

Transportation Assignments: Individual student transportation schedules are available throughout the year by logging into Skyward Family Access Center and clicking on the transportation tile. The 2023-24 assignments were released earlier this month. If you have not already done so, please log into your Skyward Family Access Center account to verify that your child's pick-up and drop-off location is accurate. We ask that you please also double-check Skyward prior to the first day of school as assignments and pickup and drop off times may be slightly altered due to daily enrollment changes. As always, please have your bus or van rider at their stop at least five minutes prior to the listed stop time. Should you log into your Skyward Parent Portal account and you do NOT see your child’s transportation information, please contact the Transportation Department at transportation@cvschools.org.

Reminders: It is commonplace for transportation delays to occur at the beginning of each school year. These delays often work themselves out during the first few weeks as drivers better familiarize themselves with their routes, as students learn to navigate their new building and/or bus location, and as student enrollment stabilizes. This is especially true as our transportation contractors continue to face challenges associated with bus/van driver shortages. We appreciate your understanding, patience, and support as we work through these delays.

General Information: Transportation guidelines, safety tips, and more available by clicking here to view our Transportation Department webpage.

Celebrations continued throughout the summer months! Two highlights from the numerous student and staff accomplishments include:

• Cumberland Valley High School history teacher, MR. JASON HALEY, was named the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Pennsylvania History Teacher of the Year. He is also one of 53 finalists from across the country for the National History Teacher of the Year Award.
  
  
• CV High School Junior and JROTC Command Sergeant Major, CANTLIN (CJ) DUNLAP, graduated from the prestigious summer National History Academy in Washington D.C., where he earned the Presidential Award for outstanding achievement in academics and leadership as well as overall excellence. CJ is a member of both the JROTC's Raider and Drill teams, and he also volunteers as a junior firefighter with our friends at New Kingstown Fire Co.

Unless otherwise advertised, all meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will take place in the District Office Board Room (6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg)

• Monday, August 21, 2023
  
• Tuesday, September 5, 2023
• Monday, September 18, 2023
• Monday, October 2, 2023
• Monday, October 16, 2023

A full list of School Board and committee meeting dates is available by clicking here.

Board Agendas - Posted a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

Committee Assignments - 2023 Board committee/advisory group assignments.

Meeting Minutes - Posted once approved by the Board of School Directors.

Watch Live - School Board meetings are live streamed to our website.

• Athletic Schedules
• Community Bulletin Board
• Eagle Emporium (student store)
• Eagle Foundation
• Employment Opportunities
• Food Service
• Health Services
• Menus (breakfast and lunch)
• Safety and Security
• School Social Workers
• Technology
• Transportation

At any time throughout the year, you may reach out to our Technology Helpdesk for technical assistance.

• Staff and Students - Please go to https://helpdesk.cvschools.org to sign in and create a Technology helpdesk ticket.
• Parents/Guardians may click here to create a Technology helpdesk ticket, as needed.