Dear Families,

We had a great couple of weeks! The children are getting used to their back to school routines and we are enjoying teaching them. It is always great to have the laughter, voices, hustle and bustle back in our building after a quiet summer. We started assessing our students to determine their current strengths and needs. By the beginning of October, we will let you know if your child qualifies for additional supports. This year, besides reading support, we now have one math specialist on staff to provide additional supports to students who will need additional help in math.

Please refer to the calendar below for important upcoming happenings. Additionally, in this letter, please find information from Barksdale, the company that takes our student pictures.

Enjoy the next few weeks.

Donna

On this day, we pause to remember the events of September 11, 2001, and honor the many lives lost. We reflect on the bravery and compassion shown by first responders, and the resilience of our nation in the face of tragedy. Let us take a moment to come together in silence, to honor those we lost and to remind ourselves of the strength that unity can bring.

• Monday, September 9th - Day One
• Tuesday, September 10th - Day Two
• Wednesday, September 11th - Day Three: Morning Announcement and Moment of Silence, PTO Dine & Donate: Pica's Restaurant - 4:00pm-8:00pm
• Thursday, September 12th - Day Four
• Friday, September 13th - Day Five
• Monday, September 16th - Day One
• Tuesday, September 17th - Day Two: After School Sports (5th Grade Boys); PTO Meeting 7:00pm - 8:00pm (Library)
• Wednesday, September 18th- Day Three: 1/2 Day for Students (Teacher In-service). Dismissal is at 11:40 AM. On half days, no lunch is served, and buses will arrive to your bus stop about 3.5 hours earlier than the time indicated on the portal when we have our regular full days. Additionally feel free to check the Bus Status App for updates.
• Thursday, September 19th - Day Four: After School Sports (4th Grade Boys); PTO Ice Cream Social 5:30pm - 7:00pm
• Friday, September 20th - Day Five, ALICE Safety Lessons in Classrooms. Please see the letter I sent with this newsletter.

• September 24th - Student Picture Day for ALL
• October 3rd - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Access School Picture Day Flyer and Web Banner

Access the site by clicking here: www.pictureportal.org or copy and paste this into your Chrome browser. Be sure to bookmark this for easy use in the future. Google Chrome is the required browser to run this site, when logging in if you do not have Chrome you can safely download it from the link on the login page.

Then click on Photo Events on the left menu. Find the event for your upcoming picture day (school pictures, class groups, etc.). Click the View (first icon) to download the Flyer or to resend the email for your web banner link.

If you do not have your login information, on the login screen you can click Forgot Password to have your password reset and emailed to you.

Please be aware that the WCASD attendance guidelines have changed for the 2024 – 2025 school year.

When your student has ten (10) consecutive days of unlawful absence: Unless the district has been provided with evidence that the absence may be legally excused or the district is pursuing compulsory attendance prosecution, a student will be dropped from the district's active attendance roll after ten (10) consecutive school days of absence. Removal from the district’s active attendance roll does not remove the person in parental relations’ compulsory attendance obligations for a student of compulsory attendance age. The district will comply with state and federal law when disenrolling a student with an IEP.

1. Where the district is made aware that the family will be taking a prolonged trip exceeding the use of the allowable fifteen (15) parent notes, the student will be withdrawn from the district.
   

2. When a student is dropped from the district’s attendance roll, or withdrawn from the district, and subsequently re-enrolls in the district during the same school year, absences prior to un-enrollment will be cumulative with absences after re-enrollment. For example, if all parental excused absences were utilized prior to withdrawal, the student will not have additional parental excused absences after re-enrollment during the same school year.

Please review the attachment for all of the updates to the attendance policy.

Students may NOT use personal technology devices ( cell phones , smartwatches, etc. ) at school or on the bus. Please see the district policy in the attachment below. THANK YOU.

The West Chester Area School District has a tradition of offering high-quality extra-curricular programs for students. To support the costs of these programs, an Activity Fee is applied to extra-curricular programs supervised by a contracted coach, advisor, or director. This yearly fee allows a student to participate in one or multiple funded activities, and the maximum amount a family may pay per year is $250.

The 2024 - 2025 cost per student* is:
$112 High School

*Family Fee Cap is $250 maximum.

Our district is committed to ensuring that no student is denied participation in an extra-curricular because of cost concerns. Families experiencing financial hardship can find information regarding financial help on our website or through your school caseworker.

Once your student is rostered to participate in a funded sport or activity, please pay the activity fee by using the online payment method, PaySchools Central. Other payment information is located on our Activity Fee Website.

If you have questions, please visit our Activity Fee website, email activityfee@wcasd.net or contact your school’s athletic department, coach, or advisor. As always, thank you for your continued support of our district’s schools and programs.

Here are some expected activities that will run at Glen Acres:

* Chorus Grades 4-5

* Instrumental Grades 3-5

* After School Sports Grades 4-5

* Math Club 4-5

There are some outside companies who rent our space after school that are NOT sanctioned or sponsored by Glen Acres or the WCASD district. You can find their after school offerings on the WCASD Community Bulletin Board.

Free Academic Enrichment Opportunity:

The 21st Century After School Program is a Community Learning Center. It will provide students with the opportunity to receive FREE academic support in Math and Literacy. Students will experience hands-on STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). In addition to academic support, the 21st Century Program also places focus on delivering social-emotional learning. The program will operate Monday through Thursday, from 3:45-5:45. Transportation home from the program will be provided by Krapf.

If you are interested in signing your student up or you have any questions, please contact Jordan Pennings-Program Coordinator – 484-983-9152 – JordanP@cciu.org

Oportunidad Gratuita de Enriquecimiento Académico: El Programa Después de la Escuela del Siglo 21 es un Centro Comunitario de Aprendizaje. Brindará a los estudiantes la oportunidad de recibir apoyo académico GRATUITO en Matemáticas y Alfabetización. Los estudiantes experimentarán actividades prácticas STEAM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería, Arte y Matemáticas). Además del apoyo académico, el Programa del Siglo XXI también se centra en ofrecer aprendizaje socioemocional. El programa funcionará de lunes a jueves, de 3:45 a 5:45. El transporte a casa desde el programa será proporcionado por Krapf. Si está interesado en inscribir a su estudiante o tiene alguna pregunta, comuníquese con Jordan Pennings-Coordinador del Programa - 484-983-9152 - JordanP@cciu.org

Joining our PTO is free and recommended. When you join, you get access to information about upcoming school and community events, parties, and fundraisers.

See this link for helpful information.

We hope you would consider volunteering. Some volunteer opportunities that come up are opportunities to help in the library, lunchroom, as a homeroom party planner, and at field trips and school and district events. If you are interested in volunteering, please be sure to have updated clearances(good for five years) on file with the school. It is important that you submit your clearances to the school when you get them. Please do not wait until you volunteer as we need to get the clearances within a year of you receiving them.

A cultural bridge in the community for Spanish speaking families and our schools.
Un puente cultural en la comunidad para las familias de habla hispana y nuestras escuelas.

Ms. Donna Ryan

Principal

Email: dryan@wcasd.net

Address: 1150 Delancey Place, West Chester, PA 19382

Phone: 484-266-1700

website: https://www.wcasd.net/Domain/461

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WestChesterASD