Hello, Schweitzer families.

On the eve of 2023, all of us look to set personal and professional goals for ourselves and our families. It's important to set goals because without them, we have no focus for our journey. Simply, we will not reach a destination we have not set for ourselves. For Albert Schweitzer, goals for our students focus on growth and more growth. Our students need to continue to grow at all levels to be successful learners in 2023 and beyond.

In the coming months, we will continue to provide differentiated interventions for students to help them meet grade-level and personal academic goals. WIN (What I Need) continues to be an area of focus for Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions, and classroom teachers continuously focus on ways to differentiate for students during small-group math and reading instruction. Our reading specialists and MTSS Specialist will also continue to hone in on areas of need for students to provide more intense services to students through Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.

As we prepare to start 2023, think about the goals you can set with your children. What family routines can you put in place to help support learning at school? How can you embed reading into your daily activities? How can you help your child practice math while at the grocery store? What quick, easy ways can you practice math facts in your daily routine? As I shared last month following parent/teacher conferences, when parents and teachers work together...everyone wins!

Wishing Everyone a Healthy and Happy 2023!

Dr. Amy Orlando

Principal

Regular school attendance is necessary for a successful school experience. Instructional

continuity is the valuable interaction which occurs between teachers, students and peers. When

a student is absent from school, tardy or dismissed early, he or she is missing valuable academic experiences along with social and emotional learning. Realizing that regular attendance in school is necessary for students to gain maximum benefits from public education, the Board urges all parents/guardians to stress punctuality and regular attendance habits with their children.

Excused Absence:

Any child who is absent from school must present a written excuse signed by the parent or

guardian. The excuse must clearly indicate the reason for the absence and must be presented to school staff within three school days from the child's return to school. Please note that a phone call does not excuse your child's attendance. The school will classify an absence as "excused" for one of the following reasons only:

• Illness/Injury
• Death in the immediate family
• Quarantine
• Exceptionally urgent reasons (will be used only in such unavoidable absences as affect the welfare of the child directly and not for the convenience of the parent)
• Religious observances WITH prior approval
• Family Emergency
• Educational tours or trips WITH prior approval (not to exceed three days per year)
• Non-school sponsored educational tours or trips (not to exceed five days per year)
• Health care

Any absence that can be anticipated beforehand should be brought to the attention of the

building administration in advance of the absence.

A maximum of fifteen (15) days of cumulative lawful absences verified by parental notification shall be permitted during a school year. All absences beyond fifteen (15) cumulative days shall require an excuse from a licensed medical practitioner.

Truancy:
A student is considered truant when a student has been absent for three (3) days during the current school year without a lawful excuse. Any child accumulating six (6) or more days of unlawful absences will be considered habitually truant. Notices will be provided by the district to the person in parental relation who resides in the same household as the student after the third unexcused absence.

Attached is an Absence Excuse Form that can be completed following an absence. You can also email the Absence Excuse Form to Mrs. Dorie Beisel, our Attendance Clerk at dbeisel@neshaminy.org.

PTO Officers for 2022-2023

Co-Presidents-Amy Kaminski & Katie Doherty

Co-Vice Presidents-Alicia Good & Kristen Devlin

Treasurer-Jamie Gomba

Recording Secretary-Victoria Barnes Lee

Corresponding Secretary-Ashley Arnold

Parliamentarian-Melanie Jackson-Panichelle

Next PTO Meeting

Date: Tuesday, January 3rd

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Albert Schweitzer Library

The school year brings back opportunities to volunteer in school. If you have not already done so, please click the button below to learn more about the process and requirements to volunteer in NSD. Parents need to submit all volunteer clearances via App Garden Volunteer Tracker https://appgarden5.app-garden.com/VolTrackPA97502.nsf, a contactless application and paperwork submission process. Sign-up is required for both new and returning volunteers.

Clearances expire five years after approval, so please check ahead of time to be sure yours are still current. Thank you for supporting our staff and students by volunteering your time!

If you're interested in your child being a part of a lunch bunch group, please click the link below for a list of types of groups and the descriptions. Email Mrs. Kelly Moyer, our School Counselor, which groups you would like your child to be in. Also, take advantage of the December Kindness calendar to help your child embed kind actions into their daily routine.

https://www.neshaminy.org/Page/42987

Mrs. Moyer's School Counselor Website

https://www.neshaminy.org/domain/1464

Mrs. Kelly Moyer, our School Counselor, wants to give a special thanks to everyone who helped make some of our families' holidays extra bright this holiday season! The families were very appreciative! A special thanks to Nicole Schultz for her incredible work organizing a Adopt-a-Family, Officer Missy for providing SHOP-With-A -Cop and gifts, Brittany Rogers for helping supply winter coats through community resources and gifts cards and to Mary Ellen Pulak for organizing everything with a local church! Above is also a picture of Schweitzer's Officers & Ambassadors. They filled 100 stockings with Schweitzer community donations to provide to the Salvation Army. Thank you!

~~ WE BUILD FUTURES ~~