Arcola Weekly News

The Arcola Home and School Association is seeking nominations for open board positions for the 2022-23 school year!

Arcola Home & School will be accepting nominations for next year’s board membership until April 5th, 2022, so they can be announced at the April 7th, 2022 meeting. Voting will take place at the May 11th, 7:00 pm meeting. Nominations can be submitted in writing via email to Megan Fitzgerald at megfitz@verizon.net.

Current open positions for parent/guardians of Arcola students during the 2022-2023 school year are:

• President (prepare the agenda and preside at all meetings of Board, coordinate tasks of board members, assist and vote on planning/budgeting decisions)

• Vice-President(s) (preside at all meetings of Board, assist and vote on planning/budgeting decisions)

• Recording Secretary (responsible for attending and recording minutes of meetings, and assist and vote on planning/budgeting decisions)

• Corresponding Secretary (responsible for formally corresponding with outside groups/individuals when necessary, assist and vote on planning/budgeting decisions)

• Treasurer (receive and disburse all monies, keep an accurate record of receipts and expenditures, prepare the budget for approval, assist and vote on planning/budgeting decisions).

Regular attendance at the monthly meetings is necessary as well as at Back to School night, our events and additional meetings and/or communications via phone and email among the board members to plan events, make budget decisions, etc.

Thank you!

Eighth Grade students who have not met the prerequisite grade requirements for an honors level course in 9th Grade but are interested in a more academically challenging class should read and follow the waiver procedure on page 7 in the high school 2022-2023 Program Planning Guide:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PRKqiNOWkXZ6PW2-GBvkU94IwwVm8vEIk9yvI9E9EFQ/edit

As part of the waiver process, students or parents must complete an online form, due no later than June 20, 2022. Click here for the form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GpCHHR9EokB4rjyWt9J4jCt-AGjD5Xw8HBlUJqLUItg/viewform?edit_requested=true

Parents/guardians and students are always welcome to contact Ms. Berardelli if they have questions about waivers (x30203 or sberardelli@methacton.org.

April is Counseling Awareness Month. Many of us are confused about the differences between a counselor, psychologist, and psychiatrist, all of whom are often lumped under the term “therapist”. The difference is mainly in education and focus: Psychologists have a graduate degree in psychology, and licensed psychologists typically have a degree in clinical, counseling, or school psychology. School psychologists work within the educational system to help children with emotional, social, and academic issues, including completing psychoeducational testing. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have usually completed a residency in psychiatry and their niche is prescribing psychotropic drugs. Professional counselors have a graduate degree in counseling and focus on client wellness. School counselors are certified educators with a minimum of a master's degree in school counseling, making them uniquely qualified to address all students’ academic, career and social/emotional development needs by designing and implementing a comprehensive school counseling program. Have you ever thought about seeking counseling for your child or perhaps even for yourself? Here are some answers to common questions about counseling that you may find helpful: https://www.counseling.org/aca-community/learn-about-counseling/what-is-counseling.

Finally, attached to this newsletter is the April issue of Parents Still make the difference!, a newsletter focused on helping you improve your student’s success in school. Also attached is the April issue of Daily Learning Planner, a list of daily topics that will also help your student do well. We hope you enjoy both!

We have less than 50 yearbooks left to sell. Order now to make sure one is available. We only order a certain amount. Order outside Mr. Haley’s room (262) or order online.

The Methacton School District will be administering the 2022 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) to all students in Grades 3 through 8 this spring. New this year, students will be completing the assessments online. Students will need to bring their fully charged, district-issued Chromebook and charger to school each day of testing. Please click here for more information including test dates. Please keep in mind that the results from the state tests allow us to gain valuable information related to programs, supports and resources within the district. We appreciate your support of these efforts for the benefit of our school community.

On Thursday, March 17, we request that all students in grades 3-8 bring their district issued Chromebook and charger to school. We will use this opportunity to ensure all students devices are working properly and able to access the PSSA testing site.

The Methacton Education Foundation just announced an EXCITING OPPORTUNITY! The MEF is seeking a passionate and experienced leader to join their team as Executive Director/Chief Development Officer. Apply Today!

Details: https://www.methactonfoundation.org/file_download/inline/3ee0657d-1afe-4a06-9589-7bf5cdb0ee9e

The Methacton Backpack program is up and running in each of our buildings and serves district families in need with supplemental food and non-food items. This program helps create food stability for breakfast and lunch when our students are not in school. Weekly, the program sends home a bag of breakfast, lunch, and snack items for the weekend and holiday breaks for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Families who qualify for free/reduced meals are eligible to participate in the Backpack Program. Please contact the school counselor if you would like to register your child for the Backpack program.

In order to continue to sustain the program please consider contributing and donating items to the program. Items can be donated directly to the school or you can place an order through Amazon and ship it directly to our school from the Amazon page.

Methacton Backpack's Amazon Wishlist

Please remember to select, “No Weekend Delivery.”

What items can I donate?

Individual Serving Food Items

· Single serving boxes of milk (shelf-stable/not refrigerated)

· Mini cereal boxes

· Canned soup (cans with “pop tops”)

· Oatmeal Packs or cups

· Applesauce and fruit cups

· Chef Boyardee, Hormel, Dint Moore Meals, etc.

· Easy Mac Cups

· Cracker packs

· Sweet snacks: Fruit snacks, pudding, granola bars, individual bags of cookies, etc.

· Salty snacks: pretzel packs, goldfish crackers, popcorn, etc.

· 100% juice boxes