WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS

WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS
The Home and School Working Together
Back to School Issue
August/September 2015
Procedures for
Calling Students In
Absent or Tardy
When calling our health room
610-754-9594 for absences and
tardiness, make sure you give a
specific reason for your child’s
absence i.e., sore throat, flu, upset stomach, etc. If you feel that
your child might be able to do the
schoolwork missed, please let us
know who should bring his/her
work home or whether you will
pick up the homework after 3:30
pm. For safety reasons, we call
parents whose children are absent but have not left a message
on the attendance line. If we
leave a message on your cell,
home, or work phone, please call
us back so that the absence is
verified. The teacher will give
the child an excuse blank to sign
if we do not receive a call. We
must receive a call or signed excuse blank about your child’s absence. Without either of these
methods of communication, we
will need to record the absence
as unlawful. Also, if your child
sees a physician, please bring a
note from the physician. Please
call the number above before
9:00 a.m. to report your child
absent.
*Please refer to pages 9 & 16 in
the Elementary Handbook
for more information.
To speak w/Nurse
610-473-1970
MAIN OFFICE HOURS
8:00-4:30
Mr. Christopher Iacobelli, Principal
Welcome Back!
As we start the 2015 - 2016 school year, we would like
to officially welcome you back to what we hope
will be another great year at Washington Elementary School. Everyone has worked very
hard to get the school ready for our students
and we look forward to many exciting things for
this school year. Monthly newsletters will be
used to keep you informed of dates, events and other
pertinent information. Please support our H.S.A. officers who will continue the excellent tradition of service
to our school, community, and children ……… Bruce
Sarte, President, Gina Bauer, Vice President, Nicole
Cobb, Secretary, and Kim Wensel, Treasurer. Remember, by working together we CAN make a difference.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
August
31 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
September
4 School Closed/Office Open
7 School Closed/Office Closed
8 Parent Night
Grade 1 - 6:00 – 6:30 PM
Grade 3 – 6:40 – 7:10 PM
Grade 5 – 7:20 – 7:50 PM
School Board Meeting-7:00 PM- Sr. High
9 Parent Night
Grade 2 - 6:00 – 6:30 PM
Grade 4 – 6:40 – 7:10 PM
Grade 6 – 7:20 – 7:50 PM
10 Orchestra Beginner Demos
11 Red, White and Blue Day
15 Picture Day
17 Constitution Day
22 School Board Meeting –7:00 PM –Earl Elementary
25 Back To School Picnic – 6:00 PM
30 Early Dismissal-12:25
Health Room News
The PA School Health Act requires dental examinations for all students entering Kindergarten
and third grade, and physical examinations for students entering kindergarten and sixth grade
in the 2015-2016 school year; the physical and dental exams have to be completed on or after
September 1, 2014. Please contact the health room if you need a physical or dental for m
for an upcoming appointment or you can download forms at anytime from the BASD website
@ http://www.boyertownasd.org/ under Services - Student Services - Health. Completed
physical and dental forms for these grade levels are due by September 15, 2015.
Medications at school: please refer to the BASD medication policy if your child needs to
take medications during school hours. All medications, over-the-counter and prescribed,
require a written order from a doctor and written parent permission to be administered
to a student by the school nurse. Medication administration forms are available on the
BASD Web site @ http://www.boyertownasd.org/ under Services - Student Services - Health.
Head Lice: September is National Head Lice Prevention month. Information about head lice
can be accessed on the BASD website or through handouts on request to the health room. The
school nurses perform random classroom head lice checks but the prevention and control of
head lice begins in the home. If your child gets head lice, our policy requires parents to notify
the health room: please help us prevent head lice by following the policy and checking your
children often.
Emergency Forms: It is ver y impor tant that for ms get retur ned to school as soon as possible so that the health room has updated information about your child’s health. Please fill out
completely with any new or updated information. Please sign and date form before returning
as that gives nurses permission to treat your child. On the back of form at the bottom is an area to check whether or not you want your child to receive Benadryl or Chloroseptic, if needed, in the health room. Please check that area as well.
Volunteers: Our Health Screening is scheduled for October 21st. The Health Room needs
volunteers to assist the nurses. We need 2 parent volunteers and 2 RN volunteers. The hours
are 8:30-3:00 If interested, please contact Diana Smith.
Contact information for the WES health room:
Health room hours: 8:25 AM – 3:45 PM
Phone: 610.473.1970
Mrs. Diana E. D. Smith, RN, CSN, M. Ed. (Thursday and Friday)
email: desmith@boyertownasd.org
Mrs. Diane Nolte, LPN (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
email: dnolte@boyertownasd.org
WELCOME! New Staff at Washington
We welcome the following people to our WES family:
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Mrs. Katie Clarke-6th Grade Teacher
Mrs. Amy Hager-4th Grade Teacher
Mrs. Laura Kuklis-Autistic Support Teacher
Mr. Brian Druzba-PT Learning Support Teacher
Mrs. Megan Landis-Learning Support Teacher
Mrs. Julia Krug-Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Melissa Schmitz-Instructional Coach
Visitors & Volunteers
All visitors and volunteers must report to the office whenever entering the building during school hours. This includes before and after
school. Before visitor or volunteer badges can be given, a valid driver’s
license must be presented and scanned into the Raptor system. For information regarding Raptor, please visit our website. On the district
home page click on the parents tab and then click on Raptor/Visitor Management. Once the badge is given it must be worn throughout your stay
with us. Please remember to sign out in the office before leaving. We
will be looking for badges on all visitors in our building as a safety precaution.
Boyertown Area School District
Calendar
The link for the 2015-2016 District Calendar is located on the district website’s
home page under Important Announcements. The School District Comprehensive Calendar is available on our district
website at http://www.boyertownasd.org/
domain/39. These calendars replace the
paper calendars that used to be distributed to students.
Principal’s Chat
Come join Mr. Iacobelli in a chat
about WES. Meeting dates are
Wednesday October 21 @ 2:45,
Tuesday January 12 @ 8:45, and
Monday March 21 @ 2:45.
Please sign in at the office and present your driver’s license to receive
your visitor’s badge. All meetings
will take place in the cafeteria. Light
refreshments will be served.
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End of the Day Parent Pick-Up Procedure:
Effective May 2014
Adults who are picking up students should enter school property using the upper school parking lot entrance and drive around to the front of the school around the outside of the car circle (just like morning drop off).
Drivers should remain in their cars throughout the duration of parent pick-up.
WES staff will have students lined up outside of the main entrance of the school. On inclement weather days, students will be lined up inside the building and be escorted by WES staff to the cars.
The adult picking up the student(s) should be prepared to show WES staff their driver’s license, who
will then release the student(s) to the adult in the car.
If proper identification is not available, the driver will be asked to leave school grounds to obtain their
driver’s license and rejoin the parent pick-up line.
Students must enter the car on the right side to maintain optimal student safety.
Once the student is safely in the car, the driver will be required to stay in the car line and proceed to
the upper parking lot entrance to exit school property. Cars should not pull out of the car line as this
may be very dangerous.
Drivers are asked to be watchful of buses entering school property as buses will be using the upper
parking lot entrance and making a left turn alongside the school to load up students. Vans will join the
car line and proceed around the building.
To avoid congestion at the upper parking lot entrance, some buses will be using the inside of the car
circle as a holding area until space opens up alongside the building.
Buses will exit school grounds by using the lower parking lot entrance.
Parent pick-up will be called at 3:25. Students will be dismissed at 3:30.
We welcome your feedback and appreciate your support as we strive to make our parent pick-up/bus dismissal
safe and efficient for all involved.
Please feel free to provide Mr. Iacobelli with your feedback at ciacobelli@boyertownasd.org.
Thank you for your understanding, patience, and cooperation.
Please note the following parent pick-up procedure for picking up your child during the school day:
1. If your child needs to be picked up at any time during the day by a parent/guardian or designee, a
“parent pick up form” will need to be submitted to the classroom teacher at the beginning of the
school day.
2. f you do not have the blue parent pick up form, a written note can be submitted. Please include the
child’s full name, teacher’s name, time child is to be picked up, the name of the person picking up,
the relationship to child and the date.
3. ONCE SEEN BY THE TEACHER, PICK UP FORMS ARE GIVEN TO THE OFFICE. IT IS IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE LAST NAMES AND PRINT THE INFORMATION TO AVOID CONFUSION.
4. If a last minute situation arises, calls must be placed to the office by 3:15 p.m. to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made. Calls must be made by the parent/guardian.
5. We will ask to see a picture ID if we do not recognize you. If we do not know who you are and you
cannot show proper ID, we will be unable to release the student to you.
6. Please do not enter the hallway or use the lavatories. This will help ensure proper safety/security
for all of our students.
STUDENT DROP OFF REMINDER!
Please remember that students can be dropped off in the front of the school between 8:25 – 8:45 AM. We
ask that you adhere to the following safety procedures when dropping off your children.
Safety Reminders:
All cars should use the front circle to drop off students. Please travel around the circle and make
one lane of cars along the front of the building. We anticipate unloading about 6 cars at a time.
Orange cones will be placed along the sidewalk to mark the “drop off” zone.
Students should exit the car on the right, closest to the building. When pulling away, please make
sure that your children are safely on the curb. Also, when exiting, please remain in a single file
and exit the school using the upper exit, closest to Route 100. Do not use the lower exit since
this will be utilized by the buses.
When pulling away from the sidewalk, do not pull out and pass the cars or vans that may be unloading. Please be patient and remain in single file as you exit the parking lot.
If you have any further suggestions, or concerns regarding this topic, please contact me at the school at 610754-9589 or email me at ciacobelli@boyertownasd.org. Thank you for your continued support and understanding regarding this matter.
12:30 Early Dismissal Reminder!
The Boyertown Area School District will have early dismissals on the following
dates:
September 30, 2015
June 2, 2015
October 30, 2015
June 3, 2015
November 23, 2015
June 6, 2015
November 24, 2015
June 7, 2015
November 25, 2015
December 23, 2015
January 27, 2015
February 10, 2015
February 24, 2015
March 23, 2015
April 1, 2015
Students in Grades 1-6 will be dismissed at 12:30. AM Kindergarten students
will dismiss at 10:25 am. PM Kindergarten students will arrive at 10:25 am and
dismissed at 12:30 pm.
Please plan accordingly!
Tardy Students
Attendance at school is important. This includes arriving on time in order to be ready
to start each school day properly. School begins each day at 8:45AM. Any student being transported by private vehicle who arrives after 8:45AM will be considered tardy. He/she must report to the
office with the transporting adult before going to the classroom. The adult will need to complete an excuse form indicating the reason for the tardiness. When you sign your child in late at the
office, please make sure both the tardy slip and sign-in sheet have recorded the arrival time.
Family Trips
When planning a family trip, please refer to the Elementary Handbook. It is very important to remember that an educational trip form must be submitted to the building
principal at least two (2) days prior to the trip. Educational trip forms that are submitted after the
trip will not be approved. Please note that although permitted, we do not encourage absence from
school. The activities of the classroom can never be fully made up. Please note that educational
trips will not be approved during any standardized achievement tests, i.e., PSSA. If you have any
questions, please contact Mr. Iacobelli.
Alex’s Lemonade
Thank you to everyone that supported our 2015 Annual Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This year, we
raised $4091.62 bringing our nine year total to $41, 569.45! Congratulations to Washington
Elementary School students, staff, and community members. A special thank you to this past
year’s third grade students for their hard work to make the stand a success. Surely, our
WES children look forward to this wonderful experience in their third grade year! Next year
will be our 10th year! Keep your eye out for details of how you might help to make 2016 our
biggest and best year yet!
Thanks.
Chris
HIGHLY QUALIFIED STAFF
The No Child Left Behind requirements require all teachers and Title I instructional aides to be
“highly qualified” according to guidelines established by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. We are proud
to say that all of the teachers and Title I aides in the Boyertown Area School District meet these
criteria. If you have any questions regarding the educational
background and certifications of your child’s teacher, please contact the teacher or principal
and we will gladly share this information with you.
Please refrain from sending in classroom treats that must be stored in a refrigerator or freezer. We have limited storage space and the office staff
is not always available to store them immediately which could result
in spoilage.
GIANT is proud to continue the A+ School Rewards program which
has benefited local schools for many years. Giant A+ School Rewards are points that accrue with each purchase using your BONUSCARD. At the end of each month, the A+ School Rewards are
used in a calculation to determine each school's cash total. Customers can support a school(s) (up to two) to benefit from the A+ School Rewards
that accrue. You must register your card every year in order to participate. Points
will accumulate from October 5, 2015, through March 21, 2016.
To sign up for 2015-2016:
 Go to http://www.giantfoodstores.com/aplus/index.html
 In the Customer Zone box, click the Register button to designate
your BONUSCARD for the 2015-2016 school year.
 Enter the 1st 3 letters of your last name and your BONUSCARD
number.
 Select your school designation. The school id for Washington Elementary School is 05814. If you search for Washington Elementary
WES HSA WELCOME BACK PICNIC
Please join us Friday, Sept. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. for the 7th annual
Welcome Back Picnic!!
We will be set up behind the gym/cafeteria at the school.
There will be hot dogs, snacks, drinks, Rita's water ice and desserts!!
IF YOU COULD DONATE A DESSERT - PLEASE BRING IT ALONG!!
We will have an inflatable obstacle course and moon bounce for the kids!!
**IT'S FREE TO ALL WES FAMILIES!!**
Please bring chairs, blankets, outdoor games/sporting equipment etc.
This event will be held rain or shine!!
Come on out for some good food, good friends and good FUN!!!
JOIN OUR H.S.A.
Welcome back from your Home and School Association!! Parents, we ask that you please consider joining
our HSA (Home and School Association). Our first meeting will be held in the school library on Wednesday October 14th at 7:00. The cost to join is just $5 per family and this gets you into most events for
free and some events at discounted costs. As an HSA member you will work closely with other members to
help plan fun activities that the students, staff, and families all enjoy. The more volunteers we have the more
successful our activities become. Remember everything we do benefits our school and our children! The
HSA has an exciting year planned for our students, families, and staff.
Your 2015-2016 HSA Officers are: Bruce Sarte, President; Gina Bauer, Vice President; Kim Wensel, Treasurer; Nicole Cobb, Secretary.
Remember you can always “like” us on Facebook for up to date info.
Washington Elementary School
Parent Night
2015-2016
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
6:00 – 6:30 PM
Grade 1
6:00 – 6:30 PM
Grade 3
6:40 – 7:10 PM
Grade 5
7:20 – 7:50 PM
Special Education, Autistic Support, Reading Specialist, Art, Music,
School Counselor, Nurse, and Speech Therapist
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Grade 2
6:00 – 6:30 PM
Grade 4
6:40 – 7:10 PM
Grade 6
7:20 – 7:50 PM
6:00 – 6:30 Special Education, Autistic Support, OT, Library, Physical Education, and
Intervention Teachers
Past experience tells us that parents only is best practice. Please refrain from bringing your children. Thank You.
Health Room News
The PA School Health Act requires dental examinations for all students entering Kindergarten
and third grade, and physical examinations for students entering kindergarten and sixth grade
in the 2015-2016 school year; the physical and dental exams have to be completed on or after
September 1, 2014. Please contact the health room if you need a physical or dental for m
for an upcoming appointment or you can download forms at anytime from the BASD website
@ http://www.boyertownasd.org/ under Services - Student Services - Health. Completed
physical and dental forms for these grade levels are due by September 15, 2015.
Medications at school: please refer to the BASD medication policy if your child needs to
take medications during school hours. All medications, over-the-counter and prescribed,
require a written order from a doctor and written parent permission to be administered
to a student by the school nurse. Medication administration forms are available on the
BASD Web site @ http://www.boyertownasd.org/ under Services - Student Services - Health.
Head Lice: September is National Head Lice Prevention month. Information about head lice
can be accessed on the BASD website or through handouts on request to the health room. The
school nurses perform random classroom head lice checks but the prevention and control of
head lice begins in the home. If your child gets head lice, our policy requires parents to notify
the health room: please help us prevent head lice by following the policy and checking your
children often.
Emergency Forms: It is ver y impor tant that for ms get retur ned to school as soon as possible so that the health room has updated information about your child’s health. Please fill out
completely with any new or updated information. Please sign and date form before returning
as that gives nurses permission to treat your child. On the back of form at the bottom is an area to check whether or not you want your child to receive Benadryl or Chloroseptic, if needed, in the health room. Please check that area as well.
Volunteers: On October 21st we will have our Mass Health Screening. We need volunteers to assist our nurses during the hours of 8:30-3:00. We would like 2 parents and 2 RN’s.
If interested, please contact Diana Smith. Thank You!
Contact information for the WES health room:
Health room hours: 8:25 AM – 3:45 PM
Phone: 610.473.1970
Mrs. Diana E. D. Smith, RN, CSN, M. Ed. (Thursday and Friday)
email: desmith@boyertownasd.org
Mrs. Diane Nolte, LPN (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
email: dnolte@boyertownasd.org