Hello, Schweitzer families.

What a fantastic start to our school year! It was wonderful to see so many of you at our C.A.R.E.S. 'Welcome Back Picnic.' Families and students came together to connect with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy each other's company. We also had our C.A.R.E.S. Kick-Off to reiterate expected behaviors as part of our SWPBIS School-Wide Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports program.

THANK YOU to all those parents that attended Back-to-School Night. Thank you for your partnership in helping to set our students up for success for the 2022-2023 school year! Your partnership is integral as we support students and set goals for growth.

Take care,
Dr. Amy Orlando
Principal

Albert Schweitzer is a Title 1 school. As a Title 1 school, we want to be sure you are informed on information related to your child and the supports available at our school. Attached, please find the Parent' Right to Know' letter related to Title 1. This letter outlines your rights as a parent to request credentials of any staff member who works with your child.

Please join us for our Albert Schweitzer Federal Programs and Title 1 Annual Meeting. To accommodate busy schedules, we are offering two meetings this year. Parents who attend will be entered into a gift drawing. The agenda will include the following:

• Overview of Federal Programs
• Title 1 Schoolwide Plan
• School-Parent Compact
• Parent and Family Engagement Plan
• Title 1 Parent and Family Engagement Survey
• Parent Resources

Please click on the .pdf flyer below to register for both the in-person and virtual events.

On Thursday, September 15th, the Albert Schweitzer community took part in a C.A.R.E.S. Welcome Back picnic for students and families from 5:30-7:00 pm. It was hosted by our C.A.R.E.S. Committee, which is part of our School-Wide Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) program. At Schweitzer, they pride themselves on working together with students, staff and families to communicate expectations in the school community and supporting their students so they are ready for learning each day. Families were encouraged to bring a blanket and a picnic dinner. Delicious food was also available including the ‘Kona Ice’ and 'The Rooster and the Chick' food truck. The SWPBIS Committee also held a 50/50 and donated $147 of the proceeds to ‘Sara’s Fight for the Kids’ to help raise awareness for childhood cancer to support our recent Spirit Week of ‘Neshaminy Goes Gold!’

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. Then just email Mrs. Kelly Moyer, our School Counselor, which groups you would like your child to be in:

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

Unity Day is Wednesday, October 19th!! Unity Day is a day schools stand together against bullying and unite for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. On Wednesday, the 19th the students and staff at Albert Schweitzer will be wearing orange. In addition, all week long, the students will be learning about the types of bullying, the effects of bullying and how they can be an upstander. Please encourage your child to wear something orange to school.

Mrs. Moyer's School Counselor Website

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

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.

Each year Schweitzer holds a C.A.R.E.S. Kick-Off to help students apply all the expected behaviors reviewed as part of our School-Wide Positive Behavioral and Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) program. On Friday, September 23rd, all Schweitzer students K-4 rotated among 5 stations to practice and apply Cooperation, Positive Attitudes, Respect, Empathy and Safety. All staff took part in running the stations and modeling expected behaviors of the school. Students collaborated, worked together, and fun was had by all!

We had over 50 Schweitzer students complete the Neshaminy Summer Reading Challenge! These students read a whopping 1,155 minutes over the summer! This equates to about 15 minutes a day, most days per week. Research shows that students that aim to read 15 minutes daily are typically on or above grade level readers by third grade. Many students chose to take advantage of Sora, an e-reader app that all Neshaminy students can access through Clever. These students were awarded a free book courtesy of Title 1, a certificate of completion and a popsicle party. Congratulations to our fabulous readers! Thank you to Mrs. Macnamara our Reading Specialist for helping to spearhead the Summer Reading Challenge celebration!

Next PTO Meeting

Date: October 4th

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Albert Schweitzer Library

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

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!

~~ WE BUILD FUTURES ~~