Lenape Smoke Signals

September 25, 2023

Upcoming Events

October 9 - Boo Gram Sale Begins
October 12 - MBIT 9th Grade Presentation
October 13 - Evacuation Drill
October 19, Virtual, 9:00 am - Parent Council Meeting
October 25 - School Picture Retakes
October 31, 10:45 am - Early Dismissal

Click here to view the one-page CBSD 2023-2024 calendar.

What's Happening at Lenape

What is a Boo Gram?

A lollipop disguised as a ghost with a handwritten message. They will be for sale before school and during lunches October 9 to 20. Buy one for a friend, teacher or other staff member. $1 each. We will deliver them right before Halloween!

Lenape Middle School and Lenape Cheer Gear

Support Lenape Middle School and the Lenape Cheerleading squad buy purchasing some swag. There are only three days left! Click Here for Gear!

Security Officer

Lenape Middle School is proud to welcome Brian Pollock to the Staff as our Security Officer. Brian is a retired NYPD detective with 20 years on the force. He is also married and a current Central Bucks parent. Brian is invested in our community and a welcome addition to our school.

Meet Some of Our New Staff

Nicole McNamara

Subject and Team: Art

Fun Fact About Me: I just took a glass-blowing class which was super fun!

Favorite Thing about Teaching: Seeing how passionate and confident students become about their art.

Roxanne Columbia

Subject and Team: Ms. Axenroth - Life Skills

Fun Fact About Me: I lived in China for a year back in 2016.

Favorite Thing about Working With Children: My favorite thing about working with children is witnessing their boundless curiosity and unbridled imagination. As well has having the opportunity to help shape their future and watch them grow into confident, capable individuals.

Suzanne (Suzie) Rodowicz

Subject: InC & FCS

Fun Fact: I LOVE the outdoors and hosting gatherings with family and friends.

Favorite Thing About Teaching: That's easy...THE KIDS! 😊

Lara Harley

Subject and Team: Nurse

Fun Fact About Me: My brother-in-law plays for the Saints (#92) but GO BIRDS 🙂

Favorite Thing about Working With Children: Getting the opportunity to watch them grow into adults and educate them on healthy life styles for a better future

Important Information

Cell Phones and Electronic Devices

The use of cell phones/electronic devices during the school day is prohibited, unless directed by a teacher for academic purposes. All cell phones/electronic devices should be in the “power off” position and kept out of sight from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. It is recommended that they stay in the students' lockers. The use of electronic imaging devices associated with cell phones/electronic devices or any similar type of communications technology is strictly prohibited at all times.

If a message needs to be given to your child, please call the office and we will get the message to them as soon as possible. If your child is ill or has another issue, they may ask to see the nurse or guidance counselor at any time.

The inappropriate use of cell phones/electronic devices or cell technology features will be addressed through disciplinary procedures, as follows:

1st Offense – Electronic device placed in envelope and held in the Main Office for pick up at the end of the day.

2nd Offense – Electronic device placed in an envelope and held in the Main Office for pick up at the end of the day. A detention is issued.

3rd Offense – Electronic device placed in envelope and held in the Main Office for pick up at the end of the day. A Saturday detention is issued.

After 3rd offense, students will be asked to leave their phone in the Main Office upon arrival to school for a set period of days.

Important Attendance Information

As we begin the 2023-2024 school year, we want to remind you of the specific procedures regarding attendance.

Parent/Guardian Alert About Student Absences: When your child is not in school, you will receive both text message and email notification. The purpose of this is to ensure that you are aware that your child is not in school on a given day(s).

Excused Absence: Parent/guardian must notify the attendance office by 10:30am for elementary and 9:00am for secondary via Parent Portal. Emails are not accepted. Absences submitted through the Parent Portal will also serve as the excuse for the absence. For extenuating circumstances in which a parent/guardian does not have internet access and must excuse their student by phone, within 3 days after returning to school, the student must present a written excuse note signed by the parent/guardian, clearly indicating the reasons for the absence.

Consistent with state attendance law, the school will classify an absence as “excused” for one of the following reasons only:

· Illness

· Death in the immediate family

· Exceptionally urgent reasons

· Religious observances with prior approval

· Tutorial work

· Educational tours or trips with prior approval (not to exceed five days per year)

· Health care (must present a doctor’s note for the absence to be medically excused)

Any absence that can be anticipated beforehand should be brought to the attention of the building principal well in advance of the absence.

Secondary students who are absent more than twenty days from any year-long course may be denied academic credit for that course. Credit for semester courses may be denied if ten days of absence are exceeded. In addition, students who are absent for more than twenty days may be ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities and/or compete in PIAA sports. Special consideration will be given to those students who are seriously ill.

Religious Observation: For full or part-time absence of a student to observe a religious holiday, it is necessary that the request be put in through the Parent Portal prior to the religious holiday(s).

Educational Tours or Trips: Requests by parents/guardians for permission to have children absent from school for educational tours or trips must be made to and processed by the principal or his/her designee. The request must be received by the principal at least ten (10) days prior to the anticipated absence. The total number of approved days of absence shall not exceed five (5) days in a given school year. Days exceeding these guidelines shall be considered unlawful and/or unexcused. The student shall be held responsible for making up missed assignments.

Unexcused or Unlawful Absences: All absences for reasons other than those cited above will be considered as “unexcused.” All “unexcused” absences for students under the age of eighteen are also recorded as “unlawful.” When a student accumulates three days of unlawful absence in a school year, the principal shall send an official “first notice” to the parent/guardian. In addition, a “School Attendance Improvement Plan” will be developed to improve student attendance. For each incident of unlawful absence after the sixth unlawful absence, the principal or designee shall do one or more of the following: refer the child to an attendance improvement program, refer to Children and Youth or file a truancy citation with the District Magistrate. Importantly, for students aged 18 and older, absenteeism may result in credit denial as outlined in sections above.

Cumulative Absences: Whenever a student accumulates ten (10) or more absences in a school year, the parent guardian will receive an official letter stating that every absence thereafter must be medically excused by a doctor. Failure to do so will then result in unexcused absences and potential truancy proceedings.

Consecutive Absences: Whenever a student has ten (10) consecutive absences and there is no evidence that these absences are “excused”, the district will begin the process to remove the student from its active membership roll.

Tardiness and Early Dismissal: Whenever students arrive late or depart prior to the end of the school day, parents must enter that information into the Parent Portal. These incidents are recorded as “excused” or “unexcused” applying the same criteria as those for full-day absences. Students arriving after the midpoint of the morning or departing before the midpoint of the school day will be recorded as ½ day absent. At the secondary level, this will affect the student’s ability to participate on the day of an extracurricular activity. Minutes accumulated due to tardiness or early dismissal will count towards overall attendance accounting. If significant minutes are missed, this will result in truancy proceedings and, at the secondary level, may impact the awarding of credit for a particular course missed.

Buck Nation Black Out

Get your Buck Nation Black Out Shirt for the East/West game on October 27 at West!

Purchase your Black Out t-shirt on mypaymentsplus!

Cost: $12

Pre-Order by the end of the day of October 6th.

Shirts will be delivered the week of October 23rd to Lenape

Repeated Information

CB West Spectator Decorum

Many of our students enjoy supporting our CB West teams. The CB West administration expects the following from spectators at their sporting events:

Bags and backpacks are NOT permitted into the stadium during athletic events. Small purses or clutch bags are acceptable but are subject to search. Spectators will not be admitted with a bag or backpack.
Middle school aged students (7th & 8th grade) must be accompanied by a parent. 9th grade students must bring their student ID.
Outside food and drink is prohibited. Bottled drinks and food should be discarded prior to entering the stadium.
No glass bottles, open containers or coolers allowed in stadium without authorization by the athletic director or game manager. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate during cold contest will be permitted.
No artificial noise makers, whistles or sound producing devices (horns, cow bells, etc.).
Taunting will not be tolerated by demonstrating / celebrating or running by opposing teams' bleachers upon a big play or touchdown.
No banners, pictures or hand-held signs carried into the contest. All signs need prior approval from the athletic director and need to be fixed or attached to fencing in a designed spot prior to the start of the contest.
No foul language or indecent gesture will be tolerated, especially towards players, coaches, and officials.
Tailgating is prohibited without prior approval from the athletic director.
No throwing confetti, toilet paper rolls or other objects in the stands, stadium or on the field.
No menacing actions or gestures by groups towards opposing players, coaches, or officials.
The use or throwing of balls inside the stadium is prohibited.
No one can run onto the field or to play ball during halftime or after the game. Exceptions: ball boys for extra points, field goal kicks, etc.
At no time, before, during or after a contest should spectators be permitted to enter the competition area.
Access to the competition area is limited to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, and game personnel.

Laptop Breakage

We have seen a rise in the amount of screen breaks for student laptops. Our policy covers for 2 broken screens per device. If your child’s laptop screen breaks 3 times, we will be required to send you an invoice for the repair and labor. The current cost for this is $200. Please remind your child to care for their laptops. Some simple steps to assist are:

Use two hands when holding or moving the device.
Use clean hands while using the laptop or iPad.
Use only the provided digital pen or finger on the screen.
Use only the power adapter that came with the device.
Use a microfiber cloth to clean the screen.
Keep device stored in the provided case. This includes traveling through the hallways, on buses, or anytime the device is not being utilized.
Make sure nothing is on the keyboard, close the lid, and remove all cables if any are plugged into the laptop. Place laptop in your bag carefully.
Be careful when placing your case on the floor. Keep the device off the floor so screens do not get stepped on by others.