Message from the Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Ebenezer is excited to welcome your family back to another amazing school year as we focus on teaching and learning. At Ebenezer we strive to provide a diverse and content rich environment with authentic learning experiences for your children all while building a solid foundation for a successful education in the future. We are partners in your children’s education and are here to support all the needs of your children.
Most of our beginning of the year documents are digital again this year! Throughout the school year, the information that you will receive and review will come to you digitally as well. Please take the time to review this information when it is available to you. Since a lot of our information will be sent through email, it is important to make sure that you have a correct email address within our Student Management System, Skyward, so that you are receiving all digital communication from Ebenezer Elementary School.
Please enjoy ALL of the information in this newsletter to better understand how we can support you and your student(s) at Ebenezer as well as be aware of important dates. We are excited to start the school year with you!
Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office (717-272-1969) or myself (gfulkerson@clsd.k12.pa.us) if you have any questions, concerns, or praises.
Sincerely,
Gregory R. Fulkerson
Principal
If you need a translation, please open the online version of your newsletter by clicking the "View it in your browser" link provided at the top of the email: Once you have accessed the online newsletter, you can look at the top right side of the newsletter to find the "Accessibility" bar and the "Translate Newsletter" option.
Si necesitas traducción, por favor abra la versión en línea del boletín escogiendo “View it in your browser” del enlace proveído en la parte superior del corre electrónico: cuando hayas acezado el boletín en línea, puedes mirar a la parte superior derecha del boletín donde va a encontrar la barra de accesibilidad y busque la opción “Translate Newsletter”.
Message from the Elementary Dean of Students: Mrs. Tori Dissinger
Dear Elementary Parents and Guardians,
I am pleased to introduce myself as the Elementary Dean of Students for the 2024-2025 school year. I am excited to work with the amazing staff, students, families, and community members of each elementary school. In this role, I will assist the elementary principals with a variety of daily tasks, including addressing student discipline issues that arise both in school and on school district bus/van transportation. I have been an educator since 2005 and have been employed with CLSD since 2014, serving as an art teacher at both South Lebanon and Cedar Crest HS. I earned my PK-12 Principal Certification from both McDaniel College in Maryland and the Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro.
I believe communication between school and home is critical for student success and encourage open dialogue and collaboration among parents, guardians, teachers, and administrators. If you ever have any questions, thoughts, or ideas to share, please contact me at tdissinger@clsd.k12.pa.us. Also, please find below a list of school numbers, at which you can reach me or any of the office staff members within your child’s building:
Cornwall: 717-273-4571
Ebenezer: 717-272-1969
South Lebanon: 717-273-4546
Union Canal: 717-270-7227
During the first few months, I look forward to getting to know each elementary school community better and working with you to create a positive climate that supports each individual student’s success here at the Cornwall Lebanon School District. I am very excited for this opportunity to learn and grow alongside our administrative team, and serve our wonderful school community!
Message from Maeve O'Donnell Ebenezer Learning Facilitator
My name is Mrs. Maeve O’Donnell and I’m so excited to return as Learning Facilitator at Ebenezer! I’m a nationally and state certified school psychologist, which means I provide consultation and evaluation for our students requiring special education services. In addition, I provide school counseling services to all students, including lessons focused on social-emotional skills, career exploration, and executive functioning skills. I’m also available for consultation with teachers and parents when a team is needed problem-solve and develop strategies to help children succeed. When I’m not at work, you can find me with my husband and my 6-year-old daughter, Erin, and my 3-year-old son, Quinn. We had a fun-filled summer of swimming and spending lots of quality time together as a family!
My goal for this school year is to continue to enhance our career-focused lessons, gather data and coordinate supports for the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of our students, and provide meaningful and easy-to-implement strategies for teachers to foster a safe and supportive learning environment.
September 8, 2024 – September 14, 2024 is National Suicide Prevention Week in the United States. In July 2022, Pennsylvania implemented the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This is a resource that can be used by anyone, any time, at no cost by simply calling or texting 988, or live chatting via 988lifeline.org/chat. Trained crisis response professionals can support individuals considering suicide, self-harm, or any behavioral or mental health need for themselves, or people looking for help for a loved one experiencing a mental health crisis. While this topic may not always seem relevant for our elementary population, suicide was the 3rd leading cause of death for ages 10-24 based on CDC reports from 2020. We all want our kids to grow up to be healthy, happy, and successful adults. If you know a young person who is experiencing a mental health concern or crisis, help is available.
If you have questions, need information, or have any concerns about your child(ren), do not hesitate to contact me at 717-389-1875 or modonnell@clsd.k12.pa.us. Have a wonderful school year!
This past summer, Ebenezer students participated in reaching for the GOLD in our school-wide Read, White, and Blue Summer Reading Challenge. Students entering Kindergarten through 4th grade were challenged to read 1,000 minutes!
All participating students in the summer reading challenge will get their name on our “Reading Wall of Fame,” a certificate, and fun prizes. In addition, lucky names will be randomly drawn for Book Fair gift certificates.
Attendance on a regular basis is critical to a student's success in school. If a student is absent, then a signed note from a parent stating the reason for his/her absence must be delivered to Ebenezer Elementary or emailed to EBattendance@clsd.k12.pa.us or rnyce@clsd.k12.pa.us on the day following the absence. A three-day grace period will be afforded to a student who may forget a note. If a written excuse is not received within three days, Ebenezer will record the absence as unexcused. A pink letter will be sent home as a reminder. Students are permitted ten(10) days of excused absences per school year without securing a doctors note. More details about Attendance Procedures can be found on pages 1 and 2 of the
Student Handbook
https://www.clsd.k12.pa.us/eb-home/ebenezer-student-handbook/
Welcome back Ebenezer families! We hope you had a wonderful summer. It was great talking to so many of you at the open house. Our biggest fundraiser of the year our Race for Education is coming up information will be sent home soon. Our first PTE meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, September 4th at 6:30 pm. We provide childcare at all our meetings. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at ebpte@clsd.k12.pa.us.
We are looking forward to a great school year!
PTE President
ebpte@clsd.k12.pa.us
Parents/Guardians if you are considering a transition for your student to an online learning program, please check out Cedar Crest Cyber (C3). This is a Cornwall-Lebanon School District K-12 program that will provide your student with an enriched and dynamic digital learning experience. Please find additional information by clicking either on the image or C3 here.
The Cornwall-Lebanon School District Food Service Department is excited for the 2024-2025 school year. Each year, Food Service is committed to providing great food choices for all Cornwall-Lebanon School District students.
Click on the links below to learn more about our district programs:
- Breakfast and Lunch Menus are available on the Lunch and Breakfast Menus tab.
- Breakfast REMAINS FREE for ALL in-person students through the “School Meals for ALL” initiative supported by Governor Shapiro and the School Nutrition Association of PA.
- Free and Reduced Price Meals: CLSD encourages ALL families to apply for free OR reduced priced meals through the Free & Reduced Priced Meal Application.
- Gov. Shapiro has approved NO COST meals for any student who qualifies for reduced priced meals. Families MUST apply & qualify for FREE/REDUCED price meals to have their child receive a FREE Breakfast and Lunch meal each school day.
- Families can apply ONLINE: https://www.schoolcafe.com/CLSD
- Families who apply online receive the quickest turn around for meal status (Free/Reduced/Paid)
- Click “Create a new account” for first time users OR “sign in to your account” if families applied online last year.
- Families may print and complete the paper application and send in with their child to school.
- If using the paper application, please make sure to use a pen. Use of pencil will have the application returned to the family and could result in delayed meal status change.
- For more information on free or reduced-price meals, click on the Free and Reduced Meals
- Student Account Balances: For information about setting up or adding money to your family’s household lunch account on Skyward Parent Access, click on Account Balances.
Cost for Elementary School Lunch is $2.75
Questions regarding student meals, or general Food Service inquiries, please contact Emily Rodriguez, RDN erodriguez@clsd.k12.pa.us or call (717)389-1849
Cell Phones/Electronics:
All cell phones, personal electronics and ear buds must be turned off or silenced, and kept in a student's personal bag at all times during the day. Students are not permitted to keep them in their pocket. This helps us to ensure an environment for teaching and learning free of distractions from personal electronics.
A students found to have a cell phone on them will have it confiscated and a parent or guardian will have to come pick it up.
If a student requires the use of a personal electronic device as a medical requirement, please contact the school nurse so we can safely and appropriately work with our student and their family to meet their needs.
Water Bottles/Drinks:
All students are permitted to bring a water bottle to school. The bottle may only be filled with water. Students are not permitted to bring other types of drinks to school. This includes energy drinks, soda, coffee, or specialty drinks from a restaurant.
This helps our students to stay hydrated without allowing the opportunity of a spill creating a difficult area to clean. Ebenezer is outfitted with water bottle fillers throughout the school so students may refill their water bottle throughout the day.
Thank you in advance for helping our students to know and understand our expectations.
Message from the Transportation Office for Students Riding a Bus
Students’ bus assignments are based on their home address. In the cases of split families, within the district, please contact the district office at 717-272-2031 to arrange bus assignments to both parents’ addresses if needed.
Transfer passes for students to ride buses other than those to which they are assigned will be issued ONLY IN CASES OF EXTREME EMERGENCY because of overcrowding in fully assigned buses.
Cornwall-Lebanon buses will use audio and video recording devices to monitor bus behavior in accordance with CLSD Policy #810.2.
Bus information can be viewed through the Family Access website by clicking on the Student Info tab and then View Bus Schedule. Please continue to check skyward as times may change.
Any questions regarding transportation should be directed to the District Office at 717-272-2031.
The Skylert Notification System is only as accurate as the information you have provided to the District. Be sure your phone/email settings allow (do not block) these three numbers: (717) 272-2031; (717) 389-1810; (717) 272-2036 and emails from @clsd.k12.pa.us addresses. Please review your information and make any updates in Skylert:
1. Login to your Skyward account.
2. Click the word “Skylert” in the left menu.
3. Fill-in and check or uncheck your desired settings. Be sure to select at least one email or phone number in each category.
4. Click “SAVE” in the upper right side of the page when you are done and BEFORE you click on E
5. If your email is incorrect you will not receive messages. To update email addresses you must go into you child's school and provide ID before changes are made
Ebenezer Elementary School
Website: https://www.clsd.k12.pa.us
Location: 1600 Colonial Circle, Lebanon, PA, USA
Phone: 717 272 1969