CES Summer Update!
August 16, 2019
All of our Back to School information is electronic this year and contained within this newsletter. Below you will find:
- Upcoming events
- Link to Alma for class assignment
- Health Portal
- Link to Transportation & Bus Information
- Link to Family ID for emergency medical cards and sign-offs
- Open House invitation
- Letter from our nurse
- Back to School Night dates and times
- Communication procedures
- School Supply lists
- Summer Reading
We are excited to welcome everyone to a new school year and hope to see you at our Open House. Additional information from our Home & School will be sent to you in the future.
Adam Penning, Principal
Ashley Leach, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
New 1st and 2nd Grade Student Orientation
September 3rd
Open House for Kindergarten
Back to School Night for Kindergarten (6PM-7PM)
September 4th
September 5th
Kindergarten
Kindergarten parents/guardians,
We are so excited to see you all soon! Below you will find the opening week schedule. Please also be on the lookout for a separate email communication which will help us prepare for our new kindergarteners!
Tuesday, September 3rd
- Parent/Child Open House for Kindergarten Only! Kindergarten parents drive their students to school. No students take the bus.
- AM Students will attend from 9:30 to 10:00 with their parents.
- PM Students will attend from 12:30-1:00 with their parents.
Wednesday, September 4th
- AM Kindergarten students with last names A-M attend from 8:40-11:30.
- PM Kindergarten students with last names A-M attend from 12:30-3:10.
- Kindergarten students with last names N-Z do not report.
- Bussing is available.
Thursday, September 5th
- AM Kindergarten students with last names N-Z attend from 8:40-11:30.
- PM Kindergarten students with last names N-Z attend from 12:30-3:10.
- Kindergarten students with last names A-M do not report
- Bussing is available.
Friday, September 6th
- All Kindergarten students report. Kindergarten AM students 8:40-11:30 and KindergartenPM 12:30-3:10
**The daycare transportation request form deadline has been extended. The form can be found here.**
Class Assignments and Alma Log in
Class assignments are available through our student information system, Alma. The address is https://ces.getalma.com/home and it can also be accessed through the Parent Portal on any of the GVSD websites. Alma access information has been emailed to new families. Everyone else has the same access information as last year. Please call our office if you have trouble accessing Alma.
- There are many factors that go into our placement including any information that we received from you through our requests in the spring. Our placement team has worked diligently through the summer to find the best class for each student while balancing our classes. Each year is a new and valuable experience for your child and we have high expectations for the class in which s/he has been assigned.
- Class Assignments will be available Sunday, August 18th, 2019.
- New parents and guardians will receive login information by the end of the weekend.
NEW PARENT HEALTH PORTAL
Last school year, the district used the FamilyID system for all emergency cards and forms to help streamline the summer process for our parent community. While the feedback from our parents was positive, FamilyID did not meet the needs of our school nurses. Starting this coming school year (2019-2020), Garnet Valley will give our parents and guardians direct access to our district’s health portal (SNAP), which will provide the most secure, convenient, and real-time view of your child’s school health record.
(The FamilyID system is not going away entirely as it will still be used by our athletic department to collect sports physicals.)
Benefits of the SNAP Parent Health Portal
With a secure login and encrypted data transfer, parents can safely access their child’s health information from any computer or mobile device to:
Update Critical Health Information
Electronically Sign & Submit Forms
Review Screening Results
Upload Medical Forms
Authorize OTC Orders
Monitor Health Clinic Visits
Additionally, automatic email notifications immediately alert parents when new information is available, medication refills are needed, immunization status becomes non-compliant, or forms need to be signed. Through a built-in messaging system, parents can communicate directly with the school nursing staff.
From within the SNAP Health Center, our school nurses are immediately notified when any changes are made by parents. New information is flagged to make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed and critical changes must be acknowledged. Nurses also can view a log of recent parent activity.
All parents and legal guardians that have an email address in Alma will be receiving their secured login credentials in a few weeks. The email will come from noreply@studentehr.comand look similar to the screenshot below.
If anyone has an issue accessing their child’s health records or has difficulty with technology, there will be a parent night on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, to help troubleshoot any issues.
Transportation Information
InfoFinder-i provides online access to assist in finding your child’s bus number, pick-up/drop-off locations and times.
InfoFinder-i allows you to:
- Find your child’s designated bus stop;
- Find the estimated pick-up/drop-off times for your child’s bus stop;
- Locate which school your child would attend if you are planning to move.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to check InfoFinder-i periodically between August 15th and the start of school as pick-up and drop-off times may be slightly altered due to daily enrollment changes.
Please click here to access the site.
Parent Summer Checklist
We know our parents are extremely busy over the summer and want to focus on family, fun, and enjoying the best of what summer has to offer. We also know that many of our parents want to be ready for the this school year well in advance of Labor Day. The goal of the site below is to make getting ready for this school year a bit easier for our parents by providing a detailed timeline and checklist of items that need to be completed before the start of the school.
HSA Update
Dear Concord Families,
Concord HSA is offering Under Armour GV backpacks for $50. The GV logo will be added to each backpack. If you are interested, please click on the link below for ordering information as well as a picture of each of the color options. Alternatively, you may print out the attached flyer and return to the office at Concord. Payment must be made on myschoolbucks or a check sent into the office at Concord before your order will be confirmed. Backpacks will be available for pickup at the Concord Open House on 8/28.
Please email concordhsa@gmail.com if you have any questions.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1azcQNYssMgqmwEer9c5kZ9hlTYU7BCVnRLeFe_dEDRo/edit
Thank you,
Concord HSA
School Day Times for 2019-2020
Arrival Times
8:25AM - Car line drop off begins, breakfast begins8:40AM - Students report to homerooms (was 8:45 last year)
8:50AM - Car line ends
8:55AM - Students not in homeroom will be marked absent
Dismissal Times
2:50 - Office pick up ends
3:05 - Announcements start, students dismissed to car line, buses begin being called
3:15 - Dismissal ends
Swimming Update
Students in grades 2 and 4 will no longer participate in water safety classes conducted by YMCA staff as part of their instructional program. This decision was made in an effort to restore lost instructional time in the classroom. Although water safety is not a formal part of our Physical Education curriculum, parents can access local facilities that provide water safety and swimming instruction to children. The YMCA, for example, provides a free water safety program each year. Information is available at: https://philaymca.org/programs/aquatics/safetyaroundwater/.
Thank you for your support.
GV Elementary Administrators
SUMMER READING 1st and 2nd Only
Please click the link below to the district webpage that details summer reading expectations for elementary school students in Garnet Valley (students entering grades 1-5 in September):
https://sites.google.com/garnetvalley.org/gvsdsummerworkforstudents/elementary-summer-assignments
Turn in your "50 Days of Summer Reading" form and you will be entered into the drawing for the prize basket shown in the picture below. The basket contains:
- A Kindle Fire 10 with headphones
- a $50 Amazon gift card
- Big Boggle
- Chess and Checkers Travel Set
- Kanoodle
- Rubik's Cube
Good luck and happy reading!
SCHOOL LUNCH INFORMATION
Children need healthy meals to learn. Garnet Valley SD offers healthy meals every school day. Costs are as follows: Breakfast at all schools is $1.70; lunch is $2.75 in the Elementary Schools, $2.95 at the Middle School and $3.10 at the HS. Your child(ren) may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. Reduced price is .30 for breakfast and .40 for lunch. You are encouraged to complete an online application instead of a paper application if you are able. The online application has the same requirements and will ask you for the same information as the paper application.
Visit www.schoolcafe.com for an online free and reduced application or use the link below.
Study Skills Has a New Name!
Study Skills will now be known as Book Smarts! We will be updating schedules to reflect this exciting change.
Summer Reading Update
Parents of incoming 1st and 2nd grade students - Please be on the lookout for hard copies of the district summer reading assignments which will be sent home next week. Summer work assignments have been posted on the district website as well. You can go to garnetvalleyschools.com and follow the "Summer Work Assignments" link to view the elementary work.
Additionally, the following links will bring you to other summer reading programs that may be of interest to you to help your child stay motivated to read throughout the summer. Happy reading!!!
Scholastic summer reading: https://www.scholastic.com/summer/home/
Barnes & Noble summer reading: https://dispatch.barnesandnoble.com/content/dam/ccr/pdf/2019/summer-reading/123233A-05-bn-tear-sheet-bndotcom.pdf
Rachel Kohl Library: http://www.kohllibrary.org/youthservices
Library Update
Raptor Information
The Raptor system is used to enhance our ability to monitor who enters our buildings by screening visitors, contractors, and volunteers. Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit.
Please adhere to the following regulations:
1. Enter the building at the main office door.
2. Go directly to the office, sign in through Raptor and inform the school secretary of your
destination.
3. PLEASE DO NOT GO to any area of the building without receiving permission from the office.
4. Do not attempt to go to a classroom to pick up a child. Students who are being dismissed early
will be sent to the office.
5. Return the visitor badge at the conclusion of your visit to sign out.
Volunteer Clearance Information
Legislation in Pennsylvania requires community members and parents to obtain clearances in order to volunteer in our schools. If you have previously submitted your clearances to the Human Resources office, they are good for five (5) years from the date of the clearance.
Governor Wolf has waived the fees associated with the Pennsylvania State Police—Criminal Background Check and the Child Abuse History Clearance. Since the FBI clearance is a federal program, those costs still remain; however, the district has decided to permit individuals who have resided in Pennsylvania continuously for ten years or more to sign a certification form that saves the volunteer the expense of the fee, ensures compliance with the law, and allows the district to maximize student safety.
1st Grade and 2nd Grade School Supplies
1. Go to www.shopttkits.com
2. Enter Account #26399
3. Select the kits, backpacks, & other items you would like to order
4. Complete your payment
Kit components can be viewed online. All sales are final. No returns or refunds.
School Supply kits are provided through our HSA to make your fall shopping a little easier. Please call the school with any questions at 610.579.6100. Thank you.
ELEMENTARY HANDBOOK & GVSD PROCEDURAL MANUAL
Voluntary Elementary Foreign Language Studies
Would you like your child to
learn SPANISH?
VEFLS (Voluntary Elementary Foreign Language Studies) will once again be offering Spanish classes which will begin the 3rd week of October at Concord Elementary School for KINDERGARTEN thru GRADE 2 for the 2019-2020 school year. Classes will be held 1x/week for a total of 20 classes. All classes begin at 8:05 AM and dismissal is at 8:45 AM. (SPECIAL NOTE: YMCA morning care kids can be brought down to classes!) Students then proceed directly to their homerooms. All classes are held in the Cafeteria. (Parents need to walk up and buzz their children INTO the building to ensure they get inside safely. You may momentarily park your car right out front in circle.)
Classes begin in October and usually end around April. We follow the school calendar so when there is a day off of school, we do not hold classes. Also, NO classes will be held the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Furthermore, if school is cancelled or delayed due to weather conditions, then classes will NOT be held. Make-up classes will be added on to the end of the year so that your child will receive the full 20 weeks of instruction.
The classes offer a fun and exciting way for your child to learn a foreign language. Games, activities, and music are used to keep the children engaged. To create an atmosphere conducive to learning, students will be expected to exhibit proper classroom behavior. (Should the need arise, disciplinary problems will be brought to the attention of the parents by the Director. VEFLS reserves the right to remove any student whose behavior becomes a detriment to the program. TUITION WILL NOT BE REFUNDED).
Class Choices
SPANISH for Kindergarten: Mondays (begins Oct.14)
SPANISH for Grades 1&2: Tuesdays OR Fridays (begins Oct.15 OR Oct.18)
Questions: KELLY GARDLER, Director/Spanish Instructor @ KGardler@Yahoo.com OR 610-717-2755
To enroll your child, simply fill out the bottom portion of this form and mail with payment ASAP. (Enrollment is on a first-come, first served basis.)
The cost of the program is $240 FOR THE YEAR. (*EARLY registration/before Aug 31 is $230, and *LATE registration/after Sept 30 is $250.) All materials are included and will be provided by the teacher.
Please make checks payable to: V.E.F.L.S., and mail along with bottom of this form to:
V.E.F.L.S., c/o Kelly Gardler, 22 Rockland Manor Rd., Garnet Valley, PA 19060
NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS
The new address for our school's website is https://ces.garnetvalleyschools.com/.
Concord Elementary School
Website: garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 114 Station Road, Glen Mills, PA, United States
Phone: 610-579-6100
Facebook: facebook.com/ConcordElementarySchool-GVSD
Twitter: @ConcordGV