School conferences are scheduled for November 23rd and November 24th. Families have been sent information about scheduling directly from the teams. Please email any teacher on the team if you have questions regarding scheduling. The main office will also be happy to assist you if needed. Please note that the conference dates do have different formats:

• November 23rd is a choice of in person conference or a virtual conference.
• November 24th is scheduling virtual conferences only.

On November 19th, Arcola students will attend all classes before being dismissed at 12:00. During class, teachers will review the asynchronous work that will be posted for students to complete by Monday, November 22nd. Students also have the option of purchasing a grab-and-go lunch for that day. Please complete the lunch pre-order form for your Arcola student(s).

Arcola held a virtual program to honor those who served for Veterans Day. Students took an active role in the filming and production of the program. The link to the presentation was sent via email yesterday, and the link is also posted below. Thank you again to our veterans and The Patriotic Order Sons of America Washington Camp #523 for their service and participation!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HMNnavUXyN5SJcfKOJf3FoYR9PZ9tJtX/view?usp=sharing

Report cards will be available on Wednesday, 11/17. Do you have any concerns about how your child is progressing in school so far this year? Parent/guardian conferences are coming up on November 23-24 and are a good opportunity to meet with your student’s teachers to discuss your concerns and develop a plan to get them back on track. If you would like to meet with your student’s school counselor, please email us directly to schedule a time (7th Grade – Mr. Mueller – mmueller@Methacton.org; 8th Grade – Ms. Berardelli – sberardelli@methacton.org.

A reminder that Arcola is now offering Homework Club after school every day except Fridays from 3 to 4 PM. Homework Club is a safe, supportive, and productive place for students to receive assistance on completing their homework. No forms or commitment are required. Students stay after school when they can attend and go home at the normal time when they can’t. Students must be able to get a ride home at 4 PM if they stay after school. Contact your student’s school counselor if you have any questions about Homework Club.

We continue to read about the recent revelations that certain types of social media such as Instagram have been shown to affect the mental health of teenagers, particularly girls. Many of us also know first-hand that while social media is a great way to stay connected to people, it can also have a dark side. Are you concerned that your child is spending too much time on social media with some noticeable negative effects? Are you looking for some advice on how to help your child cut back their use of social media? One idea is helping your child understand how social media platforms are designed to hook people into using them for hours on end. If your child comes to the conclusion that reducing their social media use is an act of autonomy, they may just cut back on their own. Here is a link to an article that may help:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/actionable-advice-help-kids-thrive/202110/how-help-teens-cut-back-social-media

We offer a whole library of materials on various mental health and wellness topics for parents and students to read, print, and use. There are tips on how to feel less stressed or lonely, how to cope with anxiety and grief, and dealing with social media, among many others. Click this link and use the username of "arcola" and the password "arcola" to check them out!

https://plus.woodburnpress.com/arcola-intermediate-school

• Students are to wear masks on the bus
• Students are not permitted to be guest riders on any other bus; students must ride the bus they are assigned

The Methacton Backpack program is up and running in each of our buildings and serves district families in need with supplemental food and non-food items. This program helps create food stability for breakfast and lunch when our students are not in school. Weekly, the program sends home a bag of breakfast, lunch, and snack items for the weekend and holiday breaks for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Families who qualify for free/reduced meals are eligible to participate in the Backpack Program. Please contact the school counselor if you would like to register your child for the Backpack program.

In order to continue to sustain the program please consider contributing and donating items to the program. Items can be donated directly to the school or you can place an order through Amazon and ship it directly to our school from the Amazon page.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y75GZGW6DXNJ?ref

Please remember to select, “No Weekend Delivery.”

What items can I donate?

Individual Serving Food Items

· Single serving boxes of milk (shelf-stable/not refrigerated)

· Mini cereal boxes

· Canned soup (cans with “pop tops”)

· Oatmeal Packs or cups

· Applesauce and fruit cups

· Chef Boyardee, Hormel, Dint Moore Meals, etc.

· Easy Mac Cups

· Cracker packs

· Sweet snacks: Fruit snacks, pudding, granola bars, individual bags of cookies, etc.

· Salty snacks: pretzel packs, goldfish crackers, popcorn, etc.

· 100% juice boxes