Baron Elementary Family Newsletter
January
Welcome 2024!
We hope that everyone is having a restful and relaxing holiday break with family and friends!
As we turn the calendar to 2024, we want to take a moment and thank everyone for their part in helping us continue forward in providing a positive learning environment for our students at Baron Elementary. The school board, district office, teachers and staff, custodians, maintenance, technology, and food services departments continue to move forward with one common purpose and vision at Manheim Central...being difference makers in the lives of our learners. Each moment of each day, we are encouraged by everyone's attitude and support in helping to make Baron Elementary and Manheim Central a great place to work and learn.
Our teachers and staff have done a tremendous job being innovative in their approach to meeting the needs of all of our learners each and every day. We also thank our families for their continued support and guidance from home. Without your help, Baron Elementary would not be the special place that it has become. As parents and guardians, we encourage you to continue to stay connected with your child's education. Communicating with their teachers, attending parent-teacher conferences, and PTO meetings or events are just a few things that you can do to stay connected to hear and learn about the great things happening at Baron Elementary. You are a huge part of your child's success at school and we thank you for your support from home. Thank you for taking the time to celebrate the love of learning and supporting your child's academic growth. Your continued support will only strengthen our connection as a school community in helping our learners reach their fullest potential in the year ahead.
Everyone at Baron Elementary wishes you and your family a fantastic start to the New Year! We are excited to see the kids return on Tuesday, January 2nd!
Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2024!
Mr. Michael Pyle
Principal, Baron Elementary
4-Houses...1-Baron Family / Baron's Best
Coinciding with our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) program with PurposeFULL People, the staff of Baron Elementary recognizes learners for making positive choices and demonstrating Difference Maker attributes. During the month of December (a little shorter than others by the way), our learners earned 2,426 points for their House Colors. The Reflective Raccoons were celebrated for being the high point getter with 652! Learners can earn points for receiving a Baron's Best ticket (Being Respectful, Responsible, and Safe), turning in their reading log, earning a Badge, or improving on their Power Goals in reading.
We look forward to seeing our learners continue to build positive relationships within their Houses and across Baron Elementary with our House Meetings and 4-Houses...1-Baron Family assemblies.
STEPping it up in 2024!
At this time of the year, our Reading Practice goal for learners is 169 STEPs (1 STEP = 15 mins.). Please continue to encourage your child to read at least 15 minutes each night at home and sign and return their reading logs to their teacher. Let's continue to celebrate the joy of reading at home and at school!
PurposeFULL People
Our PurposeFULL People theme for the month of January is empathy. Our teachers and staff will be using this theme in classroom meetings, morning announcements, and other activities around the building. Please look for ways to connect with our PurposeFULL People program at home.
Empathy: The ability to understand and connect to the feelings of another.
ESAP (Elementary Student Assistance Program)
Our Elementary Student Assistance Program or ESAP is used to remove barriers to learning and promote a more successful school experience. Please review the information linked below and let us know if you are interested in talking with one of our ESAP team members.
Attendance Policy
Student Attendance
Consistent school attendance is essential to maximize student learning. The school ascribes to the belief that a learner cannot receive maximum benefit from his or her school experiences, nor a parent maximum return on the tax dollar, when students are not in regular attendance. Continued and excessive unexcused absences will result in the formation of a Student Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) according to the Manheim Central policies and PA Act 138. This section outlines the procedural guidelines for complying with the PA Act 138 (2016) and Policy 204 of the Manheim Central School District Board Policy. All guidelines may be subject to administrative discretion.
A tardy is defined as absent from the start of the day (7:45AM) until 10:49AM. An excuse must be provided for this time or it is coded as an ‘unexcused tardy’
Students may accumulate a combination of up to 10 days of parent excusals and unexcused/illegal days per school year. Should this limit be reached, all additional absences will only be excused with a note from the treating physician. Excuses from a physician are preferred for illness and will not count towards the 10 day limit for parent excuse notes for absences. Any parent/guardian written excuse notes following the 10 day limit will be coded as an illegal or unexcused day.
Case by case exceptions may occur and must be reviewed and approved by the building principals.
A Student has 3 school days to submit a signed excuse note following a return from an absent day. If a valid, written and signed excuse is not submitted within the 3-day period, the absence is logged as illegal.
An attendance letter is mailed home when a student has 3 and 6 illegal/unexcused attendance days documented.
If a student accumulates 3-5 days of illegal absences, a 3-day illegal notice letter will be sent to the parent/guardian.
If a student accumulates 6 (or more) illegal absences, a letter will be mailed to the parent/guardian, which will include an invitation to the Student Attendance Improvement Plan (SAIP) meeting. This is a team meeting to discuss and address concerns and create a plan of support and an improvement to attendance. Students who accumulate 6+ days of illegal absences are identified as ‘habitually truant.’
SAIP’s are individualized and will be reviewed regularly. If attendance does not improve following a SAIP, additional options to address continued truancy may include a referral to the Office of the District Justice.
All Students K-12
1. Students absent from the start of the school day until 10:49 AM of the school day = Tardy.
2. Students absent from 10:50 until the end of the school day = ½ day absence.
3. Students absent the entire school day = full day of absence.
4. Students absent on a day that is an early dismissal or late start school day are counted as a full day of absence.
FID Day Attendance: All students must complete the assigned work from their teacher on a Flexible Instruction Day. All attendance procedures still apply on a FID Day.
Flexible Instruction Days (FID Days)
With the colder days of winter approaching, we may make the decision to move to a Flexible Instruction Day(s) when weather closes our school. Your child's teacher will communicate the plan for the day if we move to a FID Day.
Please review the information linked below from the MC district's website regarding Flexible Instructional Days.
Flexible Instruction Day (MCSD Website)
Address, email, phone number changes?
Parents and guardians should contact the building office, (717) 665-8900, to update any changes with addresses and/or contact information. All of our applications (Home Access Center, Blackboard Connect, and Transportation) rely on up-to-date and current information so that you are receiving messages and are able to access important information from your school. Please call our school office to make these necessary changes.
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
In efforts to provide a safe arrival and departure for our learners to and from Baron Elementary, we would like to remind you of our Car Rider and Walker process.
Car Riders (anyone traveling to school in a car): Parents need to use our two Car Rider Lanes to drop-off and pick-up their child. We are noticing that parents are parking along Hazel Street or in our staff parking lot and then picking up their child. This is creating safety concerns with the traffic flow as learners leave Baron Elementary. To access the Car Rider lanes, please review the map below. Your child can be picked-up any time between 2:10-2:30PM at these two locations. Please do not park in our Car Rider Lanes before 2:05PM each day.
Walkers (anyone without a car traveling to school): Parents can pick-up their child at the designated dismissal areas. Kindergarten is located at the library doors and Grades 1-4 is located at the main entrance of our school. Please wait until all buses have departed before walking to the front of the school.
If you have any questions, please call our school office (717) 665-8900.
Safety Drills
Please read the attached letter regarding our participation with required safety drills. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Pyle.
Colder weather has arrived!
Learners will be going outside for recess on days where the temperature is above 20 degrees (real feel). With that in mind, please have your child dress accordingly for the weather conditions. Along with winter coats, hats and gloves are recommended during these cold winter days. To make sure that lost coats are returned properly, please write the name of your child inside the coat...this is very helpful!
If your child is in need of a coat, please contact our school social worker, Mrs. Melissa Evans, at Baron Elementary. evansm@manheimcentral.org or (717) 665-8535.
Baron Breakfast - Jan. 11
Mr. Chris Sherwood will be our keynote speaker for our Baron Breakfast on January 11th. Mr. Sherwood currently holds the position of Dean of Students at the Manheim Central Middle School. Prior to this position, he was a classroom teacher and head basketball coach in our district. We look forward to hearing Mr. Sherwood's message on our theme for the month of January, Empathy.
Our doors open at 6:15AM. Please sign-up to attend using the link below...
SOUPER Bowl...Coming in February!
The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 11th (Go Birds!). As a tradition at Baron Elementary (carried over from H.C. Burgard), we like to help the Manheim Food Bank by donating soup cans through a fun competition of selecting the winner of the Big Game. Once the two teams advance, we will have a display set-up in the lobby. Your child can place their soup cans under the team that they think will win and earn points for their House Color...start collecting cans now. The Manheim Food Bank greatly appreciates the help with your donations!
Family Reading Night: Celebrating Our Cultures (March 14th)
Baron and Doe Run Elementary are excited to announce a Multicultural Literacy Night! This event will be held on March 14th at each building. This is a great opportunity for your family to share your culture with the school community. There are several ways in which you can get involved. Please complete the following survey to help us to plan and organize this fun event. Please respond by February 1st.
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Spanish
¡Baron y Doe Run Elementary se complacen en anunciar una Noche de Alfabetización Multicultural! Este evento se llevará a cabo el 14 de marzo en cada edificio. Esta es una gran oportunidad para que su familia comparta su cultura con la comunidad escolar. Hay varias maneras en las que puede participar. Complete la siguiente encuesta para ayudarnos a planificar y organizar este divertido evento. Por favor responda antes del 1 de febrero.
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Volunteering at Baron Elementary
We value the time that our parents give as volunteers at Baron Elementary. In order to provide a safe learning environment for our learners, we are asking that all volunteers and chaperones for field trips complete the required paperwork outlined on the Manheim Central School District website. If you have any questions, please call our school office at (717) 665-8900.
PTO Information
Our PTO is excited for the events coming up the remainder of the school year! Please consider attending our next PTO Meeting on Monday, January 8th to find out more about how you can help. We are also looking for volunteers to help during Bingo Night. Please check out the sign up here: Bingo Night Volunteers
MCSD Food Services
Our school breakfast is being provided free of charge. We appreciate all of the hard work that our food services department is doing in providing healthy food choices for our learners. If you have any questions, please contact our food services director, Sara Payne, at paynes@manheimcentral.org or 717-665-8816.
Important Dates...
Jan. 2...Kids return!
Jan. 8...PTO Meeting (6:30PM)
Jan. 11...Baron Breakfast (6:30AM)
Jan. 11...Family Bingo Night (6:00PM-7:00PM)
Jan. 15...No School (MLK Day)
Jan. 22...School Board Meeting (6:00PM/District Office)
Jan. 25...No School (Inservice Day)