August 15, 2024 Harrison Happenings
Home of the Explorers: Explore Today. Lead Tomorrow.
For our Kindergarten learners ONLY: Information on teacher placements and the Kindergarten Explore & Tour will be mailed today, August 15, 2024. Please allow several days for the letters to arrive in your home mailbox.
Additional information about the Kindergarten Explore & Tour is also provided below.
District-wide, student placement is almost complete for the 2024-2025 school year.
The parent portals will be open on Monday, August 26, 2024. Student teacher placement as well as transportation information will be available at that time. Classroom Placements will not be changed after the portal opens on August 26th.
We have diligently worked to place each child in the most effective academic environment for them as individual learners, taking all information into consideration. There are many variables that must go into the creation of every single classroom. Consideration is given to input from guidance counselors, teachers, special area teachers, and parental year-long communications. Each classroom is balanced by gender. Consideration is given to local testing, grades, ability, personality, learning style, and performance. Each classroom is set up to be balanced academically. This in itself is a very complex undertaking.
We have developed learning environments to give every student, in every classroom the best chance to succeed academically. Our teachers and staff work to establish a classroom community where the children will learn to interact and support one other.
Thank you for your ongoing support and we are anticipating a terrific 2024-2025 school year.
This year we welcome several new and returning students to our classrooms with food allergies.
Children with food allergies are at risk of suffering a severe or even life threatening reaction by ingesting or touching the food they are allergic to (allergen). Due to the fact that many students in the Harrison Township School District are diagnosed with a tree nut* and or peanut allergy we ask for your assistance and cooperation to help them stay safe.
● Classroom Snacks/Classroom Celebrations or Special Occasions: Students at PVS change
classrooms for instruction. To minimize the possibility of exposure to an allergen, please do not
send in any food for the classroom that contains or is manufactured with tree nuts* and or
peanuts. If sending in holiday cards, we ask that you do not enclose candy or other treats with the
cards. If you are sending in food or a snack that is baked at home, please let the teacher know
several days before. This allows time for the parents of the student with the food allergy to
provide an alternative snack, if needed, for their child.
● Lunch/Lunch Snacks: If sending in a lunch from home for your child, you can pack the foods of
their choice. It is our hope that families choose not to send foods containing peanuts or tree nuts*.
To ensure safe monitoring by the lunch aides, children with food allergies sit with their class at the
end of the lunch table. Please note that if your child brings in a lunch, or a snack for lunch, with a
noted allergen, they will be directed to a seat, at the table, that is not in close proximity to the
student with the food allergy. Children are not allowed to share food or utensils at school, please
stress the importance of this with your child.
● Please review with your child the importance of washing their hands after eating. This is to protect anyone with a food allergy who might be exposed to traces of food which could be transferred from hands to objects. An additional benefit is hand washing also reduces exposure to germs!
● Similarly we would greatly appreciate making sure your child’s hands are washed with soap and
water before leaving for school in the morning.
● Hand sanitizer does not remove peanut proteins.
● NO EATING is allowed on the school bus.
● Snacksafely.com is a helpful guide for examples of allergen safe snacks.
Thank you in advance for your understanding. Please do not hesitate to call the Health Office with any questions or concerns regarding food-allergy related issues.
Erin Durkin, RN, BSN, SNC & Erika Mainart, RN, BSN
Harrison Elementary School Nurses
*Types of tree nuts: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, hazelnut (Nutella), and walnuts.
Morning Parent Drop-Off (for our Explorers not taking the bus in the morning)
All students are dropped off in the front parking lot of the building from 8:25 am to 8:40 am. Morning Preschoolers drop off at 8:30 am to 8:40 am. Afternoon Preschoolers drop off at 12:30 pm to 12:40 pm.
For your child’s safety, students should never be dropped off prior to 8:25 a.m.
Staff members are on-site throughout the entire parent drop-off process and will have their blue lanyard identification visible.
Please adhere to the directions that staff provide during the morning traffic patterns. Staff are stationed at the drop-off point, as well as several staff members walk students safely into the building. The safety of our students is a priority.
Parents and guardians are to remain in their vehicles during the drop-off procedures and leave the parking lot accordingly when their child exits the car.
Students should be ready to exit their vehicles.
Parent Pick-Up (for our Explorers not taking the bus home in the afternoon)
- Required Notification: Students who are not taking bus transportation at 3:10 pm dismissal, must notify the main office at HTSMainOffice@harrisontwp.k12.nj.us and their classroom teacher via email or a handwritten note. Without notification, a student can not be dismissed from parent pick-up and will remain on their bus. Students will not be pulled off of buses at dismissal to accommodate a last-minute parent pick-up request.
- Parking: At 3:00 pm, parents or guardians can park in the rear lot outside of the main office and enter the school at the gym entrance. Please note parking along the curb is designated for those with handicap needs.
- Identification: Parents or guardians will be required to show identification and must be listed on the student’s emergency information.
- Sign Out: The student will have to be signed out by the adult who is picking up. Students will not be released to siblings.
- Exiting: Parent pick-up cars will exit the school grounds after all of the buses have exited to ensure the safety of everyone.
- Lateness: Families who utilize parent pick-up will be allotted a grace period of 4 latenesses to parent pick-up. Upon the 5th lateness, the student(s) will not be permitted to utilize parent pick-up and will be placed on a bus for the remainder of the school year.
Situational Early Parent Pick-Up:
- Safety and Timing: For safety reasons and for your convenience with exiting the property, if you need to pick up your child before the 3:10 pm dismissal, it is recommended that students are picked up prior to 2:30 pm.
- Required Notification: Students who are being picked up early need to notify the main office at HTSMainOffice@harrisontwp.k12.nj.us and their classroom teacher via email or a handwritten note.
- Parking: Parents or guardians can park in the rear lot outside of the main office and enter the school at the main office entrance.
- Identification: Parents or guardians will be required to show identification and must be listed on the student’s emergency information.
- Sign Out: The student will have to be signed out by the adult who is picking up. Students will not be released to siblings.
Beginning in September, our families will receive their Harrison Happenings weekly newsletters on Fridays at 3:30 pm delivered to your email inboxes.
These newsletters always contain important information about the 'happenings' around school so be sure to take some time weekly to keep yourself current. When in doubt...check your newsletter. Wishes for warm summer days that are filling up with lots of positive memories.
We have been fielding many calls about upcoming dates for the 2024-2025 school year. Below are anticipated dates that occur over the summer months.
AUGUST 26, 2024: New Student Explore & Tour is an opportunity for all students new to Harrison Township School District, in grades First through Third, to tour the building with their special adult. This event will occur at Harrison Elementary at 10:00am. For those with older siblings, Pleasant Valley will be holding their New Student Explore & Tour at 9:00am.
AUGUST 27, 2024: Kindergarten Explore & Tour is a fun-filled event scheduled for 9:00am to 10:00am on August 27, 2024 for our uprising Kindergarten students. Registered Kindergarten students will have an opportunity to ride the school bus, meet their teacher, and much more!
AUGUST 27, 2024: Preschool Explorer Open House is an opportunity for our little learners who have registered for our preschool program to meet their teachers. This Open House experience is from 11:00am to 12:00pm.
AUGUST 27, 2024: Self Guided Explore & Tour for Former Learners will be held between 12:00pm and 2:00pm on August 27, 2024. We look forward to welcoming our learners back into the building and August 27th is a wonderful day for everyone to reacquaint themselves with our hallways.
This will be the 7th year we will be "LOADING THE LOUNGE" - the staff lounge that is! For the in-service day this September, we will be filling the staff lounge with drinks and snacks for our staff while they participate in professional development opportunities.
For any Harrison Families that are able and willing to help us Load the Lounge, we would love the collaborative effort. Items such as bottled water, juice, individual bags of chips, granola bars, cheese sticks, and of course chocolate would be wonderful additions.
All contributions can be dropped off at the Main Office through August 29th between 8am and 3pm.
Thank you in advance for being a part of the Load the Lounge experience.
Harrison Township School District provides all the supplies that learners will need in the classroom. It is recommended that each learner brings a labeled backpack, lunchbox, refillable water bottle, and coat to school.
Check out the website HERE for other suggestions regarding supplies.
We are Explorers! #ExploreTodayLeadTomorrow
Email: rodanoa@harrisontwp.k12.nj.us
Website: https://www.harrisontwp.k12.nj.us
Location: 120 North Main Street, Mullica Hill, NJ, USA
Phone: 856-478-2016
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarrisonTownshipSchools/
Twitter: @HTWPSchoolsNJ