CES Weekly Smore

Dear Concord Family,

Thank you for another great week! Please remember that picture day is this coming Monday. There is a lot of information in this Smore. 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.

• 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
• Toys
• Before and After Care
• 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)

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.

You can RSVP and purchase your treat bundle here!

Fall Fundraiser

Our fall fundraiser is here! This fundraiser will run from September 22 to 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.

Bette's Date Change

We are moving the date of Family Fun Night at Bette's. New date is coming soon!

Dine at Del Pez

Thank you to all the families in our Concord community for attending our Dine at Del Pez night this past Wednesday. Because of you we were able to raise over $500. These funds will be used for the upcoming fall fest, student assemblies and recess supplies!

In case you missed our September newsletter, you can check it out here!

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 30th
• 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,

The Social and Emotional well-being of our students is at the forefront of our decision making in Garnet Valley School District. In order to inform our decision making related to social and emotional support at school, we plan to administer a brief 10-20 minute universal survey to all of our students. The survey, entitled Renaissance Fundamentals (formerly known as PASS: Pupil Attitudes to Self and School), provides schools with reliable and valid data about how students feel about themselves as a learner and how they feel about school. The research- based survey assists schools in detecting possible barriers to student learning, including issues around confidence, resilience, motivation, and concentration so that we can attempt to proactively intervene to provide support for our students and school community. More information about Renaissance Fundamentals can be found by clicking HERE.

As with any survey, participation is voluntary, parents have the right to preview the questions prior to participation, and can opt their children out of the survey. If you would like to preview the survey or to opt your children out, please contact: Kim Doyle, Supervisor of Social and Emotional Wellness at: doylek@garnetvalley.org or 610-579-7381.

Specific information about how and when our building will be administering our survey will be shared in the upcoming weeks. 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

We understand that our students are excited to share their favorite items like Pokémon cards, yo-yos, and other toys with their friends. However, these items often get lost or damaged at school. To avoid any disappointment, we kindly ask that toys remain at home.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

The Garnet Valley School District uses Infofinder for student transportation schedules. InfoFinder provides online access to assist in finding your child’s bus number, pick-up/drop-off locations, and times. Infofinder bus information will be turned on Thursday, August 15th by end of the day. Any questions please email transportation @ transoffice@garnetvalley.org

Infofinder I bus information will be turned on Thursday August 15th by end of day -- Infofinder I

*During the beginning weeks of school, pick-up/drop-off times will be adjusted. We ask parents/guardians to check Infofinder periodically during the first weeks of school.

The 2024-2025 Before and After Care sign up is open now -- Before and Aftercare Form

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