Season’s Greetings,

As we close 2024 and turn to 2025, all of us at EPAHS wish our students, families, and community members a happy and joyous holiday season. We have two weeks of respite to celebrate and honor traditions with family and friends as well as an opportunity take stock of where we are at personally and professionally. Each morning, as I turn right onto Shady Lane from Humer Street, I feel fortunate to be a member of the East Pennsboro school community. I hope you share a similar sentiment.

January is a busy month. You can see the calendar of events below as administer Keystone Exams, Semester Exams, transition semester courses, and begin course selection for 2025-26. For weeks we have an altered schedule, we will send a Blackboard notification as a set of reminders. We’ll do the same to explain our course selection process in late January.

More on that in the new year. For now, have a joyous holiday season.

Dr. Bianchi

• 12/23-1/3: Winter Break, All Schools & Offices Closed
• 1/17: End of the 2nd Marking Period, HS & MS
• 1/17: Student Early Dismissal, 12:20 pm
• 1/20: All Schools & Offices Closed
• 1/30: 8th-11th Grade Course Selection Night, 6 pm

After-school tutoring will be available for students directly after school until 4:00 PM the week we return from winter break on 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, and 1/9 to help prepare for Mid-terms and wrap up the semester.

Following these dates tutoring will be available only on Tuesdays starting 1/21/25

Congratulations to our students of the month from December! From left to right, Hayley Bordner and Caroline Barboza.

Way to go Panthers!!!

Our winter concert season officially kicked off this week with performances by our high school students on Wednesday, December 11th and middle school students on Thursday, December 12th. Both bands and choirs showcased their talents, culminating months of hard work and preparation.

Thank you to music directors Eric Mansilla, Coleman Lidle, Amanda Albright, and Luke Forshey!

Congratulations to all of our talented students! We are Panther Proud, and we are looking forward to our elementary schools performing next week!

We are thrilled to announce the overwhelming participation of students from across the district in our annual Holiday Card Design Contest! In total, 244 entries were submitted, and all schools and grade levels were represented. We narrowed down the competition to 32 finalists, and the top 3 designs were determined via blind judging.

Congratulations to our winners Sienna Wilson, Lily Adams, and Kelvee Patel! Their artwork is featured on our 2024 EPASD holiday cards!

For the upcoming week, we're putting a spotlight on PREPAREDNESS in the classroom! This means that as a school, we will be focusing on rewarding students who show they are ready to learn and set up for success.

Please review with your students what PREPAREDNESS looks like in the classroom!

Here are a few specific behaviors we want to recognize:

Being on time to class

Having all necessary materials for each lesson

Staying organized with their work and supplies

Let's make an effort to catch students doing these things and reinforce positive behavior. Please use Panther Power Tickets to acknowledge students who are showing preparedness in your classroom.

Thank you for helping us create a supportive and organized learning environment. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The EPAHS PBIS Team

PS - We need to shout out Gabe Woods for creating our Panther POWER weekly mission graphic!!!

Please speak to your students about our new Panther POWER expectations! Each letter in POWER stands for an expectation that we are all striving for each day as an entire school community. Students have been leaning about POWER expectations throughout each main area of the school building. We have a wonderful team of staff members that help run our PBIS program. We are going to start a student team in the near future to help us all work together as a team to make to our HS and even more amazing place to be!

We will continue to work as an entire school community to work on displaying the Panther POWER expectations this school year! Please remind your students about this expectation so that we can work together to become a POWER school!

For any senior who has yet to purchase a Cap and Gown, please reach out to Ms. Suzette by email at sdavis@epasd.org or come down to the main office to visit. She is happy to help in any way possible.

All Cap and Gowns must be purchased by Friday, February 28th

Thank you

Morning traffic has increased lately with colder weather and more student drivers. As was instituted last year, please drop students off as far forward in the parking lot as possible, especially between 7:22-7:27. If there is congestion where the blue diamond is depicted, please turn right. Please do not allow students to exit vehicles around the corner at the 'no drop zone.' In the future, we may add crossing zones for students to get from the senior lot to the building, but that would come at a later time. We will also soon be adding another breakfast line to curb a backup that can cause tardiness, and we may close the breakfast line a few minutes before 7:30, both in an effort to make sure students are in their classes at 7:30.

Hello CTC Families,

Upcoming Transportation Dates:

• 1/2: EPAHS Closed - CTC Students will need a ride to the HS to catch the CTC bus at 11:45 AM and to be picked up at EPAHS at the end of the day at 3:15 PM
• 1/3: EPAHS Closed - CTC Students will need a ride to the HS to catch the CTC bus at 11:45 AM and to be picked up at EPAHS at the end of the day at 3:15 PM

Please see the CTC school calendar for 24-25 school year.

See this link for more information on CTC scheduling:

https://www.cpatech.org/

On Tuesday, December 4th, several East Pennsboro High School students attended the Girls in STEM Luncheon at the CAIU. At the event, girls were empowered to connect with influential women leaders who have excelled in various STEM industries. The girls engaged in enlightenment discussions, interactive conversations, and networking opportunities designed to ignite their curiosity and open doors to countless possibilities. The luncheon included representatives from the Pennsylvania Treasury, PA Turnpike Commission, Conrad Siegel, A.D. Marble, NTM Engineering, Old Dominion Freight line, and Wolfgang Confectioners, just to name a few. Thank you to our High School staff, especially Mr. Jeff Barlup, for coordinating this event for our students!

Morgan Brinley, a senior at East Pennsboro High School, will be appearing in her final performance of Pennsylvania Regional Ballet’s (PRB) "The Nutcracker" on December 6, 7, and 8 at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Harrisburg. Morgan has been a pre-professional ballet student at PRB since she was 5 years old, and over the past twelve years has performed as an Angel, Polichinelle, Party Girl, Fritz, Soldier, Mouse, Candy Cane, Soldier Doll, Mirliton, and danced in the Waltz of the Flowers and Snow Corps. This year, she will assume the roles of Mouse King and Waltz of the Flowers Demi Soloist, and will dance again in the Snow Corps. We wish Morgan well and encourage all to attend this festive holiday show! Tickets are available at prballet.org.

Our Environment Club has been busy this fall! We learned about our watershed with CBF while canoeing in the Conodoguinet creek. We did our annual Fall clean-up & collected 4 bags of recyclables, 10 bags of trash, & lucky members found a working calculator and $5!

We also learned about propagation with geraniums in our very own greenhouse. We are currently working on getting tables built to grow produce in the Spring.

Did you know we have a Leadership Club at our high school? We started the year with a meeting at IU15 to gain ideas to help us build inclusion.

We meet twice a month in WIN and are currently helping Environment Club building tables, Panther Pack on Thursday’s @EPE & Coffee Friday. We plan to start fundraising to take our first fieldtrip to see Jack Hoover participate in the Polar Plunge Feb 7th @ Pinchot State Park.

Please consider donating to help us meet our goal of raising $500 for Special Olympics.

https://give.specialolympicspa.org/fundraiser/5956174

Hello students! My name is Mrs. Sanders and I am your high school's LMLC librarian. I wanted to inform everyone about the resources we have available to you both physically and digitally. Attached you will find two flyers, one highlighting our most valuable resources and another one highlighting one specific digital resource called PowerLibrary. Throughout the year, I will be sharing an informational online flyer spotlighting certain digital resources for both students and staff to discover and hopefully inquire the LMLC how to utilize.

The LMLC does have a new website, developed last year, housing all your research needs. Digital resources that will be highlighted can be found through the LMLC Resources webpage. My hope is for everyone to check out the website and see the vast array of both physical and online opportunities the LMLC provides. You can find the LMLC website through Clever (see the attached picture to locate).

At the LMLC, both the wonderful Mrs. Boston and myself live by our mission: "EMBRACE CURIOSITY – READ BOOKS – BE HAPPY!". We strive to provide a space that helps students embrace curiosity, want to read more books thus learn new information, and just overall feel happy meaning less stressed. We hope you come down to visit us because we are a really cool place to use. We even have a free coffee/hot chocolate bar (must bring your own drink cup though). If you have any questions or just want to visit, please come visit us sooner rather than later :-).

GO EP PANTHERS!!!

Mrs. Sanders

Info.Tech.for Bus.Ed.

EPAHS Librarian

East Pennsboro Area School District

Coffee with a Counselor is a new initiative offered by the school counselors to assist students in small groups regarding various topics such as the college application process, NCAA eligibility, work force, and more. Seniors will be able to sign up in the School Counseling for the Class of 2025 Google Classroom.

On Wednesday, September 25th, East Pennsboro's class of 2027 sat for the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The ASVAB is given to all 10th graders because the results from anyone in 10th grade are not valid for recruitment/enlistment purposes. The ASVAB is also a very robust career tool that is used for prediction of academic and occupational success in several industries. Lastly the ASVAB fulfils an alternative graduation requirement. Like the PSAT and SAT, the score from the ASVAB can provide evidence of post-secondary readiness to the PA Department of Education.

If you have any questions, please contact your students school counselor:

Last names A-F (and CTC) -Mrs. Hillary Miller hmiller@epasd.org

Last names G-O -Mrs. Christina Zeller czeller@epasd.org

Last names P-Z -Mr. Mark Bohlen mbohlen@epasd.org"

Starting in October, Mr. Bohlen will be holding NCAA Workshops for the sophomore, junior, and senior athletes considering playing college sports. These workshops are for students only and will be covering NCAA requirements; current earned NCAA credits; and creating academic plans to meet NCAA requirements. Sessions are currently limited to 5 students. More can be added if demand exceeds availability.

Workshops will be held on:

• December 4th and 11th

Encourage your students to sign up today! Freshman sessions will be held after winter break during course selection.

Students can sign up using the form linked in the school counseling Google Classroom and below:

https://forms.gle/EUZYWxou27uFaY1B7

Dave Payne, a school counselor from Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center (CPACTC), visited the high school on Tuesday, October 8th to share information about their programs to our 9th grade students.

A representative from Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), visited East Pennsboro Area High School on Tuesday, October 1st for our Financial Aid Night to present information to students and families.

If you couldn't make it, click the link to her presentation below:

For Attendance in 12th Grade: 1 dose of MCV (Meningococcal) on the first day of 12th grade. If one dose was given at 16 years of age or older, that shall count as the twelfth-grade dose. The student will be excluded on August 30th without evidence of vaccination.

Letters have been sent out if your student is missing their twelfth-grade dose. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at 717-287-8764 or bhawk@epasd.org.

Illnesses: If you are sick, stay home. You may be sent home if you show signs of a sore throat, headache, stomachache, or cough.

Medication Policy: If you need medications during the day, you will need to provide a doctor’s note stating that you need the medication during school hours. The medications should be brought In by an adult/guardian in the pharmacy-labeled container. Empty containers may be sent home with the students, but the refills will need to be brought in by the parent/guardian.

Parents/Guardians - Please remember you have the option to submit absence notes, doctor, tardy, early dismissal, and educational trip forms to our high school attendance mailbox at ephsattendance@epasd.org

EPAHS accepts attendance notifications (excuse cards, absence notes, etc.) via email. Parents can email ephsattendance@epasd.org as a means of reporting your child’s absence. Paper notes will still be accepted as well. A reminder that all excuse notifications are required to be submitted within three school days of your child’s absences.

Excused Absences:

When a child is enrolled in the district’s educational program, the student is subject to the

Pennsylvania State Attendance Laws. The Board considers the following conditions to constitute an excused absence from school:

1. Illness

2. Quarantine

3. Student required court attendance

4. Prearranged doctor and dentist appointment for the time of appointment and appropriate travel time only

5. Authorized school activities

6. Pre-approved educational tours and trips, not school-sponsored

7. Other urgent reasons, including funerals, that apply to the child and approved by the building administrator

Parents/guardians are expected to telephone the school when students are absent for any reason. In addition, a written excuse from a parent/guardian is required for each absence.

Unexcused Absences:

An unexcused absence shall be defined as:

• Absence from school with parent/guardian consent for reasons other than those considered

excusable.

• Leaving school during school hours without permission from the administrator.

• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of parent/guardian (truancy).

• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of school authorities.

• Absences from school without written parental excuse submitted within 3 school days of the absence.

Please refer to the Student Handbook to review more specific information about our attendance policies. Contact our school office if you have any questions about our attendance policies or procedures.

Automated Absence Alert:

The Automated Absence Alert system was implemented to inform parents when their students are absent from school. If/when your student is absent or does not report to their classroom they are recorded as absent. When the daily attendance is submitted electronically, an automated message will be sent to a phone identified by the parent/guardian. This call will normally occur by approximately 10:00 am. Should you have questions or concerns you may contact the attendance secretary by calling: East Pennsboro Area High School (EPAHS), at (717) 732-0723.

Our EPAHS Bocce team was invited to take part in the grand opening ceremony of the new Enola Wawa Thursday morning! Our students joined with other Special Olympians from surrounding areas to welcome our community and participate in the ribbon cutting. Thank you to all of our EPAHS staff members who made this opportunity possible and thank you to Wawa!

We're thrilled to announce that our talented senior flute player, Raven Smith, has achieved a remarkable feat! On Saturday, December 7th, Raven successfully auditioned for District Band and secured an impressive 2nd place position out of all students from our surrounding 8 counties.

This outstanding achievement not only earns Raven a spot in the District Band but also extends an invitation to participate in the District Orchestra. In the coming month, Raven will further her musical journey by auditioning for Region level ensembles, which encompass a broader region of 15 counties.

Let's all join in congratulating Raven on this extraordinary accomplishment and wish her the best of luck as she continues to excel in her musical pursuits!

Open 24 hours for all of your EP Spirit needs!

Please create a Sapphire Parent Portal account. There are several benefits to creating a parent portal account:

• You can access your child's report cards when they are published
• You can keep track of your child's attendance
• You will be able to receive important notifications about your child

To create a parent portal account:

• Go to our website www.epasd.org
• Hover over the "Students" tab
• Click "Sapphire Community Web Portal"
• Click "Create a Web Portal Account"
• Follow the remaining on-screen instructions to enter your information.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Suzette at sdavis@epasd.org. She would be happy to help!

There are two lunch sessions at EPAHS. Students can deposit lunch money into their accounts by putting it in an envelope in the main office or online with School Bucks. Our district partners with Chartwell’s K-12. Please visit our district’s food service page for more information, including information on free and reduced price meals.

Click the link for a parent-friendly guide to navigating your student's Google Classroom.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GSel8xwNYfbQhodBdogt9RC_TZpolTXb2TlZLQKwb_0/edit?usp=sharing

Did you know that in addition to accessing your student’s lunch account, you can also pay fees through MySchoolBucks?

If you have a newly enrolled student in grades 6-12, an invoice will be created for the initial device insurance fee. Please check your student’s account on MySchoolBucks.com. Please select School Store, then School Invoices to view all device invoices.

If your student has needed their device repaired, the insurance fee will cover the cost to repair the device. A new insurance fee will be applied to cover the cost of future incidents. Full details and payment information are available in our District’s 1:1 Device Guide. (epasd.org - parents & guardians - EPASD 1:1 Device Information - EPASD 1:1 Device Guide) To check your student’s account, please go to MySchoolBucks.com, select School Store, and then School Invoices to view all device invoices.

Payments can be mailed to the Administration Center: EPASD — Business Office, 890 Panther Parkway, Enola PA 17025. Please include the student number on the check.

The Cumberland County Library System is offering virtual tutoring sessions. Click the link for more information.

www.cumberlandcountylibraries.org/tutor

CHIP covers uninsured children and teens up to age 19 regardless of income.

CHIP covers uninsured children and teens up to age 19 – and no family earns too much to qualify. With nearly 128,000 uninsured children in Pennsylvania, this is great news for families!

CHIP provides quality, comprehensive health insurance for routine doctor’s visits, prescriptions, dental, eye care, eyeglasses, mental health, and much more. CHIP covers uninsured kids who are not eligible for Medical Assistance. For many families, CHIP is free – for others, it is low cost.

Many more resources can be found on the CHIP website at www.CHIPcoversPAkids.com, under CHIP Resources.

Email: tbianchi@epasd.org
Website: https://www.epasd.org/east-pennsboro-area-high-school/
Location: 425 West Shady Lane, Enola, PA, USA
Phone: 717-732-0723
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EastPennsboroAreaHigh/