Wrightstown Elementary

Hello WES families,

We are getting closer and closer to the start of the school year! I am getting more and more excited to see everyone and to meet our new students and families!

I want to share some important information with you. Below are the events and times that are happening at school. As we solidify dates for fun events with the PTO, we will be adding those to future newsletters. Stay tuned...

One specific area that gets children excited for school is when they find out their teacher, and this will take place on Monday, August 21st with the opening of the Home Access Center (HAC). More information is listed below about accessing HAC, but I'd like to share a few things about class placement with families.

The staff and I put countless hours into the creation of class lists. Our goal is to develop lists that consider the following factors: individual student academic needs, social characteristics, emotional factors, possible personality conflicts, the number of students with specialized needs, and limiting student scheduling conflicts. Families had an opportunity to provide input, and this information was considered as just one of many important factors.

There are times when I am contacted by families after the opening of HAC with requests to change the placement of their child. Please know that I always try to be flexible, but I am extremely reluctant to make these changes. Revisions can negatively impact other children, and it's important to note that there are considerations for placing other children that you may not know. If a change needs to be made, it will be the result of something quite significant that happened to a child since the end of last school year. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this process.

Finally, you will be receiving a separate newsletter pertaining to WES transportation procedures in the near future.

Sincerely,

Sam

• Thursday, August 31st - Kindergarten Orientation and Student/Teacher Meet and Greet
  
• Thursday, August 31st - Teacher Meet and Greet 2:30pm - 3:30pm
• Tuesday, September 5th - First Day of School
• Thursday, September 7th - Instrument Recruitment Assembly (Grades 3-6)
• Monday, September 11th - Back to School Night (Grades 4, 5 & 6)
• Tuesday, September 12th - Back to School Night (Grades 1,2 & 3)
• Thursday, September 14th - PTO Back to School Picnic 4:30pm - 6:30pm
• Thursday, September 21st - PTO Social & Brunch at the Village Library 10:00am - 11:30am
• Monday, September 25th - No School (Yom Kippur)

Please check our school’s website HERE for upcoming events.

Please join me in welcoming our new staff members:

• Ms. Stephanie Andreoli - STEAM Teacher
• Mrs. Malloree Neuman - Title I Teacher Assistant

Thursday, August 31st

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Our Open House will be on Thursday, August 31st from 2:30-3:30. This is a great opportunity for your child to meet his/her teacher and see the new classroom. Suggested activities for this event are:

• Practice walking from the front door of the school to the homeroom.
• For first and second graders, visit the bathroom and review how to independently and appropriately use the facility.
• Practice walking home if your child is a walker.

Parking may pose challenges. The open grass fields that surround the exit area are available if needed.

Please note that this is a brief visit to the school for families. Each year, we encounter challenges accommodating all vehicles in the parking lot, and there can be less challenges if families keep their visit short and/or arrive at 3:00.

Also, the staff and I ask that families visit only with their current teacher. The teachers want to make themselves available as much as possible to speak with new students and their families. I’m sure that the teachers would love to catch up with former students, but this is a time for meeting with current teachers only. Thanks for your help!

Using the button below, you'll be able to access the website page that contains links to supply lists for specific grade levels and support teachers for the 2023-2024 school year.

We encourage parents to review the revised Parent-Student handbook with their child(ren). This is optimal for families new to the school, but it's also a ideal way to have students get back into "school mode."

There are specific areas that would benefit a review with children before the start of the school year. These areas include policies involving:

• Birthdays
• Cell Phones
• Computer Usage Policy
• Forgotten Items
• Sneakers
• Dress and Grooming
• School Rules and Expectations

You can view the revised handbook at the button below.

Grades 4, 5, & 6 - Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7:00 PM

Grades 1, 2, & 3 - Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 7:00 PM

* Kindergarten Back to School information will be shared with parents on Thursday morning, August 31st.

9:10 am – Classroom instruction begins

3:40 pm – Instructional day ends

3:40 pm – Dismissal of students who walk home/car riders

3:40-4:00 pm – Dismissal of bus riders

• Students MAY NOT be dropped off on school premises prior to 8:50 AM, unless they are attending a special program or are involved in Champions.
• Children arriving after 9:10 a.m. must be accompanied by a parent and brought to the office to sign in before entering their classroom.

The HAC (Home Access Center) will be available to students and families on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 9:00am. The HAC provides classroom assignments and transportation information for your student(s). You can access the HAC log-in through the Council Rock website.

Demographic Information:

• At the start of every school year, the Council Rock School District requires parents/guardians to verify their demographic information through the Home Access Center (HAC).
• It is important to know that District/School Notifications, Emergency Contacts, Medication Authorization information, etc. are directly dependent upon your completion of this process.
• To update your student’s demographic form:
• Login to HAC.
• Click on “Update Registration”

Click on “NEW” in the middle of the screen to open the Demographic Update Form 2023

• Transportation and bus information will be communicated through the HAC and available on August 21st.
• Safety features on our buses this year include front- and rear-facing cameras inside the bus, updated GPS, and two-way radios.
• Durham supports a Bus Tracker app that you can download onto your device, enabling you to live track your student’s bus. Learn more see the flyer HERE

In order to make our first days of school dismissal go as smoothly as possible, please submit the form below for your student to be a car rider to Mrs. Germaine Winslow at gwinslow@crsd.org by August 31st!

Please note: Even if you have been a car rider in the past, you will still need to submit this form for the new school year!

This year, the prices of lunch and milk will remain the same. The price is $2.85 for the entrée and $0.55 for milk.

When sending money in for lunch, please be sure the money is in a sealed envelope with the student name and teacher.

Also, the menus are not yet available, but I will provide this information to families soon. Please contact the cafeteria manager at WESCafeteria@crsd.org if you have any questions.

For any student to be considered for free or reduced-price meals for the 2023-24 school year, an application must be completed to determine eligibility.

• Visit https://www.compass.state.pa.us/compass.web/Public/CMPHome to apply online (includes language options other than English)
• Click on this link to download a paper copy of the 2023-24 Free and Reduced Lunch Application
• Pick up a paper copy of the application at Chancellor Center or at any school office
• More eligibility information is available on the Council Rock website

If not applying online via COMPASS, please email your completed application to kmoody@crsd.org or mail to Council Rock School District, Attn: Free and Reduced Lunch Program/Karen Moody, 30 N. Chancellor St., Newtown, PA 18940. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. Additional support is available for internet access. Please click the links below to learn more.

• To apply for affordable Comcast Internet access, click here
• Information about affordable Comcast Internet access is here

To help families with their planning for the school year, the list of early dismissal days is provided below. On these days, students will be dismissed at 12:15pm and there will be no lunch so children should pack at healthy snack.

These are the early dismissal days for this school year:

• Wednesday, October 11th
• Monday, November 20th
• Tuesday, November 21st
• Thursday, January 25th
• Friday, March 8th
• Friday, June 11th (projected last day of school)

Email: ssmith@crsd.org
Website: https://www.crsd.org/wrightstownes
Location: Penns Park Road, Wrightstown, PA 18940
Phone: 215-944-2300