Weekly Stony Brook Update

Dear Stony Brook Families,

Today is an early dismissal day. Elementary students will be dismissed at 12:30PM. I hope your little one is able to enjoy his/her extra half day off school. This week Clifford came to visit our first grade friends as part of an introduction to our local library system. Please see the photos and caption below to learn more.

Throughout the last two weeks, we have been working with our students to learn and follow our school rules. We have four rules at SB, and they were unveiled at our whole school community meeting earlier this month. I would encourage you to take a moment to talk with your child about our rules and the importance of following them. Ask him/her what it looks like or sounds like to follow these rules. These rules help keep us safe and create an environment in which we can learn and grow. Our four rules are:

1. We take care of ourselves and others.
2. We follow directions.
3. We do our best.
4. We are safe with our words and actions.
   

Next week we will have another fire drill to practice being safe. We will also have two fun events for all of our boys and girls. Popsicles on the Playground will take place on Thursday night at 6:30PM, and we will kick off our school fundraiser with R.O.A.R. Fest. More information about both events can be found in the PTO section below. It is going to be an exciting week.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Kelly Harper, Ed.D.

Principal

If you have ever looked up while walking in the Stony Brook lobby area, you may have noticed painted ceiling tiles. These works of art are created by our very own third graders! Some of our third graders were already hard at work creating their masterpieces. We can't wait to see them hanging in the hall!

Additionally, more painters were spotted in Miss Sleeth's room this week. !

Clifford came to see our first graders this week. York County Libraries came to SB to kick off their Grade One At The Library (GOAL) program and to encourage students to sign up for a free library card in order to gain access to an abundance of books, special programs, and technology offered at our local libraries. Time to get reading, first graders!

CYSD DEVICE PROTECTION PLAN

Central York School District offers optional protection plans for your child's District issued devices. The protection plan fully covers your child's device for any accidental damage that occurs. The cost is $25 per year for iPads and $60 per year for Macbooks. Learn more and sign up: https://dpp.centralyork.org

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL

Central York School District is excited to announce that we have partnered with Linewize by Family Zone, a leading education technology company, to provide District families and students with the highest quality of online safety and digital wellness education.

As members of the Central York Community, you have access to an Online Safety Hub, as well as free parent/guardian access to the Qustodio App, a parental control app that allows families insight and control of their child’s device usage.

Qustodio App

The Qustodio App allows parents access to monitor and supervise their child’s time online. By signing up, parents can monitor their child’s activity on their school-issued device, as well as up to two additional personal devices at no cost.

The app enables parents to:

• Receive reports and alerts on your child’s school-time activity
• Enable and disable internet access
• Receive guidance and tips on digital trends and threats

Access to features on your child’s school-issued device will be effective during non-school hours. Usage on two free personal devices is 24/7. Parents must use the email associated with their Skyward account.

Online Safety Hub

The Online Safety Hub includes helpful parent advice guides, app and game reviews, online safety quizzes, resources, and access to information about the Qustodio App.

Happy Friday SB Families!

Next week is an exciting week at SB! On September 27 all of our students will get to play at our 6 activity stations as part of Roar Fest Field Day- our annual Roar Fest fundraiser kickoff! This is a super fun and silly event for our students and staff. Please have students wear “play clothes” to school that day that are easy to move in- we will be actively playing outside!

Keep an eye out in the next week for a flyer to come home explaining Roar Fest, why it’s so important for our school, and how you can help us!

You and your family are invited to join us on Thursday, September 26 from 6:30-7:30 pm for our annual family Roar Fest kick off- Popsicles on the Playground! Sneak a peak at the attached for the details.

We currently are still in need of room parents for the following classrooms: SLEETH, ZEIGLER. Room parents have minimal responsibility and are only responsible for planning and executing the Fall party (November) and the Friendship Day party (February). If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to me. Room parents are essential for making sure all classes are able to have these fun parties!

If you plan to volunteer for ANY of our PTO events, you will need to register/renew your CYSD volunteer badge. Please note that the district is now using a new volunteer portal which requires both new and returning volunteers to update four different clearances/documents. Due to this change, we encourage anyone wanting to volunteer to register asap, as it can take the district up to several weeks to process applications. https://www.cysd.k12.pa.us/our-district/human-resources/clearances

We encourage parents and caregivers to follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stonybrookpto) as this is where you will get the most timely updates on volunteer opportunities, school events, and more.

If you have any questions about SB PTO happenings or the volunteer registration process, please don’t ever hesitate to reach out- we are always happy to help!

Brittany Strine

Stony Brook PTO President

brittanystrine@aol.com

717-858-2104

Annual Notices

Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Free and Reduced Meal Program Forms

Community Flyers

Stony Brook Homepage

Parents and Families

Student Handbooks

Educational Trip Form

Volunteer Information

9/20 - Early Dismissal 12:30PM

9/26 - SB Popsicles on the Playground 6:30-7:30PM

9/27 - SB ROAR Fest Fundraiser Kick-Off Celebration

10/2 - SB Picture Day

10/8 - SB PTO Meeting 6:30PM

10/11 - SB ROAR Fest Fundraiser Last Day

10/14 - No School

BUS INFORMATION

Bus/van assignments are available through the Online Bus Portal. The link is also available on our District Website on the Transportation page.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

Click on the documents below for more information about Stony Brook arrival and dismissal. If you are driving your child to school, you will stay in your car during drop off. Please have your child practice unbuckling the seat belt or car seat by themselves as parents stay in the car during drop off. If your child is in the walk zone, but you plan to drive your car to the school to pick up your child, your child is now parent pick up and you should follow the parent pick up procedures.

All kindergarten students are required to have an adult pick them up at the bus stop or walk zone. Kindergarten students will not be released from the bus or at the walk zone unless an adult is present to receive them. An adult must meet all kindergarten walkers at the designated crossing guard spot.

For any changes in dismissal, be very clear with your child if they are being picked up early or if they will be parent pick-up when they normally ride the school bus. Any changes in routines or dismissal plans should be communicated to your child's teacher via note or email prior to 9:00AM. If you need to make a change during the day, please call the main office. Our teachers often do not have time to check their email during the school day. The office staff also requests that if you need to change your child's dismissal plan after school has started for the day, please call prior to 2:00PM. It is difficult for our office to communicate to your child's teacher and ensure your child knows about a change if you call after 2:00PM. The school recognizes that sometimes emergencies happen and you need to make a sudden change, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. Thank you!

ABSENCES AND ATTENDANCE IN SKYWARD

Families are encouraged to use the Skyward Family Access Center attendance function to alert the school that their child is absent. This can be done in the Skyward phone app or website. In the event a family cannot log the absence in Skyward, a doctor's note and/or phone call will be accepted as documentation of the absence. If you are unable to mark your child's attendance in Skyward, families should use the school's automated attendance line to alert the school that their child will be absent. This can be accessed 24-7 at (717)846-6789. This number is checked every morning for absences. Families should notify the school no later than 9:00AM on the day of an absence. If we do not receive a call reporting your child absent by 9:00AM, and there is no absence request in Skyward Family Access Center, an automated phone call will be generated via our phone system in order to confirm the whereabouts of your child.

Please note - families have five days by law from the date of a child's absence to report an absence to the district. This may be done in Skyward Family Access Center or by phone on the automated attendance line. Failure to do so will result in an absence being recorded as "unexcused".

All families should be aware that under Act 29, upon a student's accumulation of 6 unlawful or unexcused absences from school, the parent may be referred to Children & Youth Services. Should attendance not improve, the parent may be cited to the district magistrate and could be responsible for fines.

EDUCATIONAL TRIP FORMS

Please be sure to note the policy for educational trips. Approval forms must be obtained from the school office or online through the district website. The educational value and activities of the trip must be stated in detail to be eligible for approval. Thank you for your cooperation with this school policy. For your convenience, click here to download the educational trip form. A reminder that ALL trips MUST be submitted at least 2 WEEKS prior to the trip to be approved.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

Get the jump on obtaining your parent volunteer approval for the 2024-2025 School Year. ALL parents planning to volunteer must re-apply prior to volunteering in our schools. Additionally, all volunteers must also meet with me during a meeting that will be advertised in the near future. Click here for our district-wide Parent Volunteer Manual that outlines how to begin the process of applying to volunteer or, if you are re-applying for another year. We are looking forward to having a record number of volunteers this year!