CES Weekly Smore

Dear Concord Family,

There is a lot happening here at Concord! Playground renovation, Fall Festival, Concord Cooks, and more! Take a look below for more information. If you are pressed for time click here to access our 30 second Smore. For your convenience this Smore is organized with the following information.

• Concord Cooks
• Elementary After School Activities
• Home and School Association
• Fall Festival
• Playground Construction
• PASS Assessment
• Drop Off and Pick Up
• Bus Expectations
• The Clothes Bin
• School Supplies
• Upcoming Dates and Reminders
• Lunch Program
• School Time
• Pick up and Drop Off Procedures
• Bus Information
• Nursing Information

We know this is a lot of information. As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions at all.

Dr. Adam Penning (pennina@garnetvalley.org)

Mr. Talley (talleys@garnetvalley.org)

If you are anything like us, thinking of what to cook can be a grueling task. We hope to start a new feature called Concord Cooks where we will share weekly meal ideas submitted by our Concord Families! If you would like to share a meal idea and recipe please complete this form.

We are thrilled to share that our students are taking an active role in creating new school-wide rules as part of our Responsive Classroom initiative this school year! This district-wide elementary effort will involve collaboration across all three elementary schools, ensuring that the rules we create together reflect the values and aspirations of our entire student body. Our students will not only help shape new elementary expectations that foster a positive and inclusive environment for all, but also develop valuable skills in communication, collaboration, and leadership. We are eager to see how their voices will contribute to making our school an even better place and look forward to sharing updates within our Smore newsletters.

Fall Fest - Saturday, October 5th

Thank you to everyone that has already volunteered to help make our first Fall Fest a success. With bounce houses, games, crafts, hay rides and food trucks, it's sure to be a great day for everyone!

Please see the attached flyers for ways to support! We are still looking for general help volunteers and items from the Amazon wishlist.

**As a reminder, if you have purchased a treat bundle, please be sure to send in payment through Venmo @CES-HSA or cash through your teacher.**

Fall Fundraiser

Our fall fundraiser is here! This fundraiser will run through October 20.

Check out the great, eco-friendly products that Boon has to offer! Students can reach out to family and friends online to ask for their support using this link: https://www.shop.gwrcfundraising.com/concordelementaryschool1/fall24?a=17

40% of purchases and 80% of direct donations go back to Concord HSA. Our Fundraiser runs through October 20th.

In case you missed our September newsletter, you can check it out here.Be on the lookout for our October newsletter next week.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope you had a wonderful weekend! We’re excited to share an update on our upcoming playground construction project and provide important details about the project. We are so grateful to our HSA for their generous support in raising the funds for this new equipment.

Key Project Details:

• Demolition and Construction Start Date: September 24th
• Project Timeline: We expect the entire project to last around two weeks, weather permitting.

Impact on School Areas:

• Front Playground Access: The front portion of the front playground will remain open, but access will only be available from the front of the building. If you visit our playgrounds over the weekend, please avoid the construction area
• Construction Zone: For safety, an orange construction fence will surround the work area.
• Noise Levels: While we expect some noise during construction, the crew is experienced in working around schools and will do their best to minimize disruptions.

Important Note: Construction will not begin before school hours and will conclude by the end of the school day, so there will be no changes to our drop-off and pick-up procedures. However, you may see some machinery and equipment.

We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete this project. We were hoping to complete this project over the summer, but some of the equipment was on backorder. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thank you again to our HSA for making this exciting project possible!

Dr. Penning and Mr. Talley

If your child's parent or guardian is an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces during the 2024-2025 school year, please fill out this form, even if you’ve done so in previous years. We are required to report this information annually to the Pennsylvania Department of Education to meet federal data reporting requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScx4e0qssiX_VZC2JOmaU8CFLrZpkTRtGZqydwi10dNSdl_AQ/viewform

Dear Parents and or Guardians:

As communicated in last week’s S’more, Garnet Valley will be administering an approximately 10-20 minute universal survey to all of our students. The survey is called Renaissance Fundamentals (formerly known as PASS: Pupil Attitudes to Self and School), and more information about it can be found by clicking HERE. Please note that this survey is optional, that parents can opt their children out of the survey, and that parents can preview the questions in advance of administration of the survey, if desired. If you would like to preview the survey or opt your children out of it, please contact: Kim Doyle, Supervisor of Social and Emotional Wellness at: doylek@garnetvalley.org or 610-579-7381.

Our building will be administering the survey during the window of October 10, 2024 - October 30, 2024.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of Renaissance Fundamentals.

Drop Off/Pick Up

Hi Families,

Thank you for helping make the first week of school a wonderful experience for all of the children. The staff at Concord appreciates your patience and flexibility as we get into our routine for both arrival and dismissal in the car line. We recognize that this process has taken a little longer than we would hope, but we know that as we get further into the year this should speed up. The following are reminders to help make this process as smooth as possible:

• Car line side door will open at 8:40 each day, and close at 8:55

• Please pull forward to the first staff member before preparing to let your child out

• Please remain in your car, staff will assist your child out of the car

• If you arrive after 8:55, you will need to walk your child to the main entrance at the front of the building

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to a great year.

We are excited to introduce a new initiative at Concord Elementary School in partnership with Clothes Bin, a locally-owned company dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability while supporting our school. Clothes Bin provides a FREE, no-work, 24/7/365 recycling bin that will be conveniently located in Concord's parking lot.

This program offers multiple benefits to our community:

• Recycling Made Easy: The Clothes Bin allows you to recycle unwanted clothing, shoes, and textiles in any condition, keeping them out of landfills and contributing to a greener environment.

• Fundraising for Our School: Every item you recycle directly benefits our school. Concord

If you have items to recycle please consider using on Clothes Bin.

For the 2024-2025 school year, Concord Elementary School, will be able to serve students a school breakfast at no charge.

This change is only applicable to the School Breakfast Program in the 2024-2025 school year and does not affect a student’s eligibility status for lunch (free, reduced, and paid, respectively)

• September 2 - Labor Day: Schools & Offices Closed
• September 10 - HSA Meeting

My School Bucks is a secure online platform that allows parents to easily manage and monitor their child's school-related expenses. With My School Bucks, you can make online payments for school meals, view your child's account balance, and set up automatic payments for recurring expenses. Access or setup your MySchoolBucks account.

More information on our Food Services can be found here.

For pick up and drop off we ask that you follow the procedures on the map below. Any student being dropped off should follow the red arrows. Our buses follow the yellow arrows.

Drop off time 8:40-8:55.

Pickup time 3:30-3:45.

Please update your child's SNAP Health Portal (directions below). This needs to be completed each year for your child's medical history as well as OTC medication administration permission.

SNAP Directions can be found here.

"Where caring and learning go hand in hand."

Website: garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 114 Station Road, Glen Mills, PA, United States
Phone: 610-579-6100
Facebook: facebook.com/ConcordElementarySchool-GVSD
Twitter: @ConcordGV