Lenape News Flash
The week of January 20:
Hello, Lenape Families,
We hope you’re staying warm during this very cold week! Thank you for being patient and flexible with the long drop-off lines in the morning. We do work to get students into the building as quickly as possible. As a reminder, doors open for students at 7 AM and we begin the day at 7:30.
Thank you to our parents who were able to sign-up for our first staff appreciation lunch of the year. Please drop any perishables off in the vestibule on Tuesday morning no later than 10:00am. Any non-perishables can be dropped off anytime between now and Tuesday on the cart in the vestibule. Please just be sure to label any donations “potluck.”
Finally, it’s hard to believe that we are at the end of first semester on Tuesday! It’s been a really positive year, and I remain grateful for the support and collaboration of students, parents, and staff in our Lenape community. Please encourage your student to finish the semester strong and to make good plans to stay focused through the second half of the year. In next week’s newsletter, I will be sharing a graphic specific to Lenape’s Pathways for Effective Communication. You’ll see on the district document that it is always best to start as close to the concern/issue/focus area as possible as those are the people with the most information and impact.
Encourage your child(ren) to wear Lenape Gear and/or Lenape colors for our school-wide Pep Rally on Tuesday. We’re excited for three fun activities for staff and students. Be on the lookout for pictures next week!
Lenape Proud!
Dave Hoffman
A new edition of the
Lenape Middle School Virtual Gallery
is available to view.
Students' artwork will be showcased in this
virtual gallery throughout the year.
Take a few minutes, put up your feet and ENJOY!
Bridge Valley Elementary is honored to co-host a blood drive this January 22 from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Bucks Club. This drive not only celebrates and honors a former Bridge Valley student and her family but is a way to give back to all those in our community who have received the gift of blood. Please join us in supporting the Red Cross! Register now by using this link.
Questions?
General inquiries:
- Main Office - 267-893-2800
- Lucy Loudenslager - Admin Assistant to Dave Hoffman - 267-893-2801
- Bridget Hackman - Admin Assistant to Heather Forester - 267-893-2802
Student-specific inquiries (scheduling, transition questions, support, etc.):
- School Counselors
- Marykate Schrack (Last names A-K): mschrack@cbsd.org / 267-893-2813
- Kate Mallon (Last names L-Z): kmallon@cbsd.org / 267-893-2811
To Sign a Student Out Early:
1. Fill out an Early Dismissal Request in the Parent Portal.
- If someone, other than the parent, will be picking up your child indicate their name in the Remarks section.
2. When you arrive at school
- Ring the doorbell
- Give us your child's name.
3. Wait in your car for your child.
4. If you do not fill out a request in the Parent Portal
- Parents will need to enter the school, with I.D., to sign out their child.
- If you do not have a form of identification, you will not be able to sign out your student unless ok'd by security or the principal.
Most importantly, please leave ample time for pick up. Students can be located in areas of the building that are difficult to reach or their classroom may be located far from their locker. We do our best to get your student as quickly as possible.
As we begin the 2024-2025 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.
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.
