Wednesday Roundup | 10.4.23
Spotlight Image: It was a first-ever all-school house party at Middlesex Elementary School yesterday, and students came in strong with their house colors and Portrait of an Eagle competencies proudly on display. Check out members of Team Red - Critical Thinkers. Photo courtesy Shannon Weary.
Calendar Reminders
- October 6 - Homecoming game
- October 7 - Homecoming dance
- October 9 - NO SCHOOL for students (Staff Act 80 day)
- October 16 - School Board Meeting
- October 25 - End Marking Period 1 (secondary)
- October 27 - Elementary Fall Socials (Gr. K-5)
- November 1 - High School Band, Choir, Orchestra, PRISM Concert
- November 2 - CVHS Financial Aid Night
- November 6 - School Board Meeting
- November 7 - Virtual Day for CV9 ONLY
- November 7 - Eagle Foundation online auction begins
- November 8 - Eagle Foundation Harlem Wizards game
- November 9 - CVHS community Veterans Day program
- November 10 - NO SCHOOL for students (Staff Act 80 day)
* All events subject to change. Not an all-inclusive list.
News & Announcements
Congratulations to our 2023 Homecoming Court!
Alicia So, Aviana Chilmaza, Graysen Trybulski, Jody Mikhail, Julianne Canete, Kathy Tiet, Kayla Stambaugh, Lacey Noble, Avery Pion, Chinmay Govind, Jahmeir Dominick, Marcho Andy Fajardo, Noah Brown, Quinn Yates, Waylon Kitzmiler, and Zachary Arcega.
Athletic Presentation
Cumberland Valley School District will to host a night for parents, students, and their coaches beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 9, 2023, at Mountain View Middle School.
Parents we know you want the best for your kids, it’s obvious in the way you provide, care and curate experiences to help launch them into adulthood. We also know you care a lot about your students athletic achievements. We see the hours of investment, support and how hard you cheer. We know you want your kid to have all the opportunities to play as long and as hard as they can. That’s why we’re thrilled to bring in BRIAN BROWN and DWAYNE HULTQUIST so that you can hear directly from D1 coaches what they are looking for, how to get noticed, but most importantly how to do sports in a way your kids will say thank you as an adult. Join us to for:
- Myth vs. Facts on D1 Sports
- How to Navigate the Scholarship Maze
- How Not to Lose Your Kids Best Years
- Q&A
Please click the attachment below to view a flyer and learn more about the evening's guest presenters.
CV to Launch New Bus Safety Program
Cumberland Valley School District has partnered with BusPatrol to launch a new school bus safety program in line with PA Motor Vehicle Code § 3345. As part of the program, all school buses transporting our students will be outfitted with technology to make the ride to and from school safer for all.
This technology includes photo enforcement cameras to detect vehicles that illegally pass stopped school buses while the stop sign is out and red lights are engaged.
Footage obtained of a vehicle that illegally passes the stopped bus is then shared with the police department to determine whether to issue a violation by mail. The violation is reviewed by law enforcement and, once approved, a notice of violation is sent to the registered vehicle owner by mail.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation offers more information on their website regarding School Bus Stopping Laws, personal driver responsibilities, and penalties for violation of these laws. You may also click here for an informational graphic from PennDOT.
The safety of our students is our top priority. Pennsylvania’s Operation Safe Stop reported more than 250 illegal passes in just one school day in 2021, and reports estimate that state school buses are illegally passed more than two times per bus per day. These violations are no exception in Cumberland Valley. Our hope is that this safety initiative will further protect our students by curbing dangerous driving behavior around school buses.
The cameras are currently being installed, with an official program launch date of October 16, 2023, which coincides with National School Bus Safety Week.
We welcome and encourage you to learn more about this program by visiting our Transportation Department website at www.cvschools.org/transportation > School Bus Stop Arm Camera Enforcement Program.
Special thanks to Bobby Rahal Toyota for their continued partnership with Cumberland Valley through sponsorship of our beautiful Toyota Stadium at Eagle View Middle School. During a recent soccer game at the stadium, representatives from Bobby Rahal Toyota presented district officials with a check for $100,000 to extend their sponsorship for an additional five years.
We Want YOUR Feedback!
As shared recently, we are exploring a potential new website provider. Before we look at options, we would like to gather your feedback. As you have a moment, we would appreciate it if you would please click here to take a quick survey to let us know what features you value or would like to see on the district's website.
You are encouraged to share this survey with members of the CV community who may access our website but who do not have children currently in the district.
The survey will close on Sunday, October 8, 2023.
Thank you!
From Our School Police Department
Social Media Harassment (Cyberbullying)
Takes place entirely online through devices such as phones, computers, and gaming consoles. It is typically meant to humiliate, embarrass, or discourage others by sharing personal or private information, or by degrading another person. Nearly half of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 (46%) report experiencing at least one of six cyberbullying behaviors:
Spreading rumors or making comments aimed to embarrass or cause emotional harm.
Using digital means to notify a person of their intent to harm them.
Communicating someone’s proposed worthlessness digitally and encouraging them to take their own life.
Sharing hurtful or embarrassing content such as images or videos of the victim and mocking them.
Physical threats.
Shaming someone online for their religion, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.
How Cyberbullying Affects Children
Victims of cyberbullying can experience wide-ranging effects, including mental health issues, poor academic performance, a desire to drop out of school, and even suicidal ideation.
Practice Stepping Up
It can be scary to speak up for someone being bullied, and it can be hard to know what to do if they themselves are being bullied.
Be on the lookout for anything that makes them feel unsafe: kids should trust their gut. If something feels wrong to them, listen to that.
Take a screenshot: social media has a lot of disappearing Snaps and disappearing Instagram stories. It's easy to say, “Well, I might have seen this, but it's disappeared". By taking a screenshot and saving it, your child has solid proof and a record of what they’ve seen online.
Tell the right people what they’ve seen: Make sure they understand who the right “Somebody” is. If they don’t know, they will tell their peers. Grade level principal is always a great start.
Monitoring Your Child on Social Media
61% of parents checked the websites their teenagers visited.
60% visited their social media accounts.
48% looked through their phone calls and messages.
16% tracked their teenagers’ whereabouts through their cell phones.
If you’re one of those parents, now you know you aren’t alone. Screenshots are very helpful and can speed up investigations.
Prevention
Parental involvement in HUGE! Teenagers spend about eight hours a day online, they are experts with social media. Many kids have multiple accounts on the same platform. The posting of pictures online should be monitored to control for sexting and other explicit sexual behaviors. Words and behaviors online that evoke harsh responses or unflattering images can damage self-esteem. Report harassment before it gets too big to control and block users early once harassment begins.
Anonymous reporting can be made @ Safe to Say
Cumberland Valley Student and Public Safety – (717) 506-3349
(Please note: This is a non-emergency number that is not staffed 24 hours per day and is not a reporting hotline.)
Portrait of an Eagle: Student Spotlight
Organized and led by our Cumberland Valley High School Agriculture Science and FFA students, today was our annual AGventure Day field trip that brings together fourth graders from across the district to CVHS for interactive and hands-on lessons. From a mobile aquaponics lab and lessons about tapping maple trees to closeup encounters with animals, the day spotlights many different aspects of agriculture. This annual event is also a shining example of our Portrait of an Eagle competencies in action. Responsibility. Communication. Adaptability. Critical Thinking. Confidence. Problem Solving. These students are a Portrait of an Eagle!
School Board News
Upcoming School Board Meetings
Unless otherwise advertised, all meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will take place in the District Office Board Room (6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg)
- Monday, October 16, 2023
- Monday, November 6, 2023
- Monday, November 20, 2023
A full list of School Board and committee meeting dates is available by clicking here.
Quick Access
Board Agendas - Posted a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Committee Assignments - 2023 Board committee/advisory group assignments.
Meeting Minutes - Posted once approved by the Board of School Directors.
Watch Live - School Board meetings are live streamed to our website.
Job Opportunities
Cumberland Valley School District is recruiting candidates to join our (amazing!) team of Educational Assistants and Life Skills Paraprofessionals.
- Full time, Monday through Friday, daytime positions available.
- Excellent benefits package to include health insurance, retirement, and paid time off.
- Increased starting salary in 2023-24.
To learn more and apply at www.cvschools.org/jobs.
Additional Reminders
Reminder: CV You Day needs YOU!
On November 16, 2023 Cumberland Valley High School will hold its annual CV You Day event, and YOU are invited to make it great.
What is CV You Day?
CV You Day is a chance for students in grades 10-12 to discover careers, hobbies, and other interests outside of the regular school curriculum. It is a unique opportunity for our community members to come to Cumberland Valley High School and share a part of their life experience with our students. CV You Day is about our students and their continued growth toward becoming well rounded members of our community.
We need your help!
Each student will attend six, 30-minute workshops throughout the day. To make this possible we need community members to volunteer to be presenters at CV You Day.
- Have you ever wanted to talk to young people about your job or hobby that you think they would like?
- Have you ever wanted to leave an impact on high school age students?
Well, here is your chance. Please click on the link below for more information or to sign up for this great event. Thank you for your support and consideration.
Reminder: Emergency Contact/Health Information, Signoffs in Skyward
At the start of each school year, we ask families to please update important student/emergency contact information and complete annual signoffs in Skyward.
If you have not already done so, we ask that you please take a few moments to complete this information for each of your students.
Signoffs include information regarding publicity/directory releases, handbooks, and more. It is important that you please take a moment to complete all of these sign-offs by logging into your Skyward Parent Family Access Center and clicking the “parent signoff” tile. The tile will be marked as completed once this information is submitted.
In addition, we ask that you ensure emergency contact and health information is accurate and up to date in Skyward. Please note that you may also update this information throughout the year should contact/health information change.
Please utilize the "Guardian Information Update" form should you need to change your email address and/or phone number throughout the school year.
Please note that you can only access and complete Skyward forms through a web browser (not the Skyward mobile app).
If you are having difficulty logging into Skyward, please use the “forgot username/password” link, which will send an automated email with your username and link to reset your password. When logging in to change your password, please be certain to use the username exactly as listed in the automated email. If that does not work, please submit a Technology HelpDesk ticket. Please reach out to your child's school should you have specific questions about the sign-offs.
Reminder: 1:1 Device Insurance
Device Insurance: We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the details of our 1:1 Device program and of the annual device insurance option that is available to you and your student.
It is the belief of the District that supplying a device for all students in grades K-12 is essential to their learning and development. Consistency in grade-level devices is essential to the implementation of our curriculum, instruction, and assessment, while also allowing for sufficient support operations. After reading this entire email, please review more specific information about the program on the Technology section of our website under the 1:1 Technology Program page and its subpages.
The District owns and values each device and requires students to follow usage guidelines and to use care and caution in handling the device. These guidelines are on the 1:1 Technology Program Device Care and Support webpage. The devices do have a manufacturer warranty to cover any manufacturer defects or malfunctions. Students and families will be responsible for the full cost of any loss or damage to their device unless you purchase insurance through the District at a cost of $25 per student/year. This optional insurance will help to decrease the out-of-pocket expenses families may have related to device damage.
Cost waivers are in place for families facing economic hardship and families with four or more students. If you are a family facing economic hardship and have been approved through the free/reduced lunch program, you must still add the optional insurance in Skyward. The discount will take place after the optional fee is added. If it does not, you should verify your free/reduced lunch application status through our Food Service Department. If you are a family of four or more students, you should add the optional insurance for all of your students, but only pay for three of them in Revtrak. After completing the payment, please email Kerry Johnson at kjohnson@cvschools.org with the name(s), grade(s), and building(s) of the additional student(s) so the fee can be waived in Skyward.
Reminder: Reaching CV by Telephone
As previously shared, our Technology Department completed an important and necessary upgrade to our districtwide telephone system over the summer. As part of this upgrade, some of the direct-dial telephone numbers for specific buildings/departments/staff may have changed. You may reach any of our buildings or departments by calling 717-697-8261 and following the prompts. You may also contact our schools directly at the following numbers:
CV High School: 717-506-3555
CV9: 717-506-3372
CVVA: 717-697-8261
Eagle View Middle School: 717-506-3955
Mountain View Middle School: 717-697-1960
Green Ridge Elementary School: 717-766-4911
Hampden Elementary School: 717-737-4513
Middlesex Elementary School: 717-249-5586
Monroe Elementary School: 717-697-0028
Shaull Elementary School: 717-506-3415
Silver Spring Elementary School: 717-506-3755
Sporting Hill Elementary School: 717-761-5052
Winding Creek Elementary School: 717-620-2525
Reminder: Emergency Notifications, Text Messaging, Official Channels
Emergency Notifications: In cases of an emergency in a specific building or across the district, CV will issue communication to the appropriate stakeholders through telephone, email, text message, and/or website alert. Parents/Guardians should ensure that their contact information is always up-to-date in Skyward, as this is where we will pull information for our notifications and alerts. Notification to schedule changes due to inclement weather will also be issued via the above mentioned methods.
Register to Receive Text Messages: Cumberland Valley School District uses text messaging (for parents/guardians and staff) as a mode of communication during inclement weather, emergencies, bus delays, and more. If you are a parent/guardian who is new to the District or if you have not previously signed up to receive text alerts, please sign into your Skyward Family Access account and complete the “Text (SMS) Notifications” form. For step-by-step directions, please click the "How do I register" link below.
Official Communication Channels: It is important to ensure that you look for communication via our official channels. Please click here to visit our website for a chart illustrating the various ways our stakeholders can connect through our official channels with individual staff, a specific school building, and the district.
FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CVschools | Twitter: www.twitter.com/CVSDnews
Additional Quick Access Links
Technology HelpDesk
- Staff and Students - Please go to https://helpdesk.cvschools.org to sign in and create a Technology helpdesk ticket.
- Parents/Guardians may click here to create a Technology helpdesk ticket, as needed.