EPE Express

Dear EPE Families,

We have had a successful first week of school at EPE! We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we fine tune our arrival and dismissal procedures, particularly the bus arrival times and the parent pick-up line. As we collectively learn new students, bus routes, and procedures, these processes will continue to become more efficient.

This week brings about an exciting evening; Back to School Night for 3rd grade and 5th grade! The 3rd and 5th Grade Back to School Night is on Tuesday, August 31. The evening runs from 5:30-7:30 PM and is a flexible time for families to come in and meet their child's teacher, see the classroom, and learn about our programming, resources, and curriculum. During the Back to School Night events, Mr. Etter and I will present two optional informational seminars in the school cafeteria which will cover such topics as how to become a school volunteer, attendance procedures, PTO information, etc. We will begin the first seminar around 5:40 PM and the second session at approximately 6:15 PM.

The Back to School Night for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades will be on Tuesday, September 7th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and follows the same "flexible" format.

Please note there is no school this coming Friday (9/3/21) and the following Monday (9/6/21) in observance of the Labor Day Holiday.

We hope to see you at our Back to School Nights!

Respectfully,

Rich Tysarczyk, Principal

rtysarczyk@epasd.org

Dan Etter, Assistant Principal

detter@epasd.org

717-732-0441

If you have something amazing to share about an EPE staff member, please consider doing so using the following short form:

https://forms.gle/f13ZhDceewQp42wX8

We appreciate the feedback and may share it in future newsletters.

The East Pennsboro Elementary School Staff was treated to five dozen Duck Donuts on the first day of school thanks to our amazing community who kept voting for us in the Duck Donuts Facebook contest. We would like to thank all of our families who took time to vote as we were the school with the most votes in the surrounding area!

East Pennsboro Elementary School has been a partner with Junior Achievement for many years. We welcome the community based-curriculum they have to offer in addition to our EPE volunteers. If you may be interested in becoming a JA volunteer, review the information below. Please note all JA Volunteers must follow EPASD Volunteer procedures and complete a volunteer application, submitted to the building principal for approval.

• Volunteer basis in our school
• 5-8 sessions with a class per year
• Scripted lessons from JA
• Topics centered around careers, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, community.

Interested community members may email the EPE Administration or our JA contact, Gini Riese, directly at griese@jascpa.org.

To learn more about Junior Achievement, visit the following websites:

https://www.jascpa.org/classroomk-5

https://jausa.ja.org/programs/index

Any Kindergarten though 6th grader interested in trying a fun sport and being part of a team may want to consider Panther Cub Field Hockey fall league. The league is based on sportsmanship and learning, along with friendly competition. This is a great opportunity to begin a life-long love of the game.

Please see the QR code if your family is interested in Fall Field Hockey.

The classroom teachers follow routine dismissal procedures daily. Changes in those routines

should be for urgent reasons and must be accompanied by a Change of Routine Notice or a

written parental notice requesting such a change. All student verbal requests for such changes will be denied without written notice or a phone call from a parent/guardian. Seesaw messages, text messages, and emails will not be accepted during the school day of a change of routine. Please have these requests into the school ahead of time so we can ensure students are where they need to be for a safe and secure dismissal.

EPE accepts attendance notifications (excuse cards, absence notes, etc.) via email. Parents can email epesattendance@epasd.org as a means of reporting your child’s absence. Paper notes will still be accepted as well. Reminder that all excuse notifications are required to be submitted within three school days of your child’s absences.

Excused Absences:

When a child is enrolled in the district’s educational program, the student is subject to the

Pennsylvania State Attendance Laws. The Board considers the following conditions to constitute an excused absence from school:

1. Illness

2. Quarantine

3. Student required court attendance

4. Prearranged doctor and dentist appointment for time of appointment and appropriate travel time only

5. Authorized school activities

6. Pre-approved educational tours and trips, not school sponsored

7. Other urgent reasons, including funerals, that apply to the child and approved by the building administrator

Parents/guardians are expected to telephone the school when students are absent for any reason. In addition, a written excuse from a parent/guardian is required for each absence.

Unexcused Absences:

An unexcused absence shall be defined as:

• Absence from school with parent/guardian consent for reasons other than those considered

excusable.

• Leaving school during school hours without permission from the administrator.

• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of parent/guardian (truancy).

• Absence from school without knowledge/permission of school authorities.

• Absences from school without written parental excuse submitted within 3 school days of the absence.

You may refer to the Elementary Student Handbook in the link below to review more specific information about our attendance policies in certain situations (Page 10 of the document). Please contact our school office if you have any questions about our attendance policies or procedures.

https://4.files.edl.io/69d5/07/19/21/151326-d52fa66e-ffe7-4c30-b50d-154126ce7428.pdf

Automated Absence Alert:

EPE will begin sending automated absence alerts this school year. The Automated Absence Alert system was implemented to inform parents when their students are absent from school. If/when your student is absent or does not report to their classroom they are recorded as absent. When the daily attendance is submitted electronically, an automated message will be sent to a phone identified by the parent/guardian. This call will normally occur by approximately 10:00 am. Should you have questions or concerns you may contact the

attendance secretary by calling: East Pennsboro Elementary School (EPE), (717) 732-0441.

School Buses:

School buses will queue at the rear of the school building, behind the new addition for arrival and departure.

Car Riders:

Cars for parent drop off and pick up will queue in front of the school. The first car must pull up to the stop sign. Parents must have their name hanger tags for student pickup. Students may only be dropped off or picked up within the “loading zone” that will be marked in the front of the school - approximately the first ten cars at a time. Parents may not park in the parking lot and walk up to the loop attendant. Stay in your car at all times. Please review the below map of the car rider loop.

School Vans:

School vans will utilize the small loop near the baseball fields for arrival and dismissal. No cars should be in this loop.

Times:

Parent drop-off begins at 8:25 AM. Students must be in the building by 8:50 AM.

Parent pick up times run from 3:20-3:40 PM.

We certainly appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we ensure a safe and orderly process for each student. We continue to recommend that you send your EPE students to and from school on our school buses.

Please create a Sapphire Parent Portal account. There are several benefits to creating a parent portal account:

• You can access your child's report cards when they are published
• You can keep track of your child's attendance
• You will be able to receive important notifications about your child

To create a parent portal account:

• Go to our website www.epasd.org
• Hover over the "Students" tab
• Click "Sapphire Community Web Portal"
• Click "Create a Web Portal Account"
• Follow the remaining on screen instructions to enter your information.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Wadlinger at pwadlinger@epasd.org. She would be happy to help!

Click the link below for the 2021-2022 School Year Calendar!

https://3.files.edl.io/a46e/21/07/12/193153-0662518b-7b67-41b7-9b1b-05072d4992b6.png

August:

31 - 3rd and 5th grade Back to School Night 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

September:

2 - School Board Meeting 7:00 PM

3 - No School (Labor Day Holiday)

6 - No School (Labor Day Holiday)

7 - 1st, 2nd and 4th grade Back to School Night 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

16 - School Board Meeting 7:00 PM

17 - Early Dismissal 1:20 PM

23 - Fall Picture Day

All above dates are subject to change. Any changes will be communicated via our blackboard connect system.

Please feel free to contact us below:

Email: rtysarczyk@epasd.org
Website: https://www.epasd.org/
Location: 840 Panther Parkway, East Pennsboro Township, PA, USA
Phone: 717-732-0441
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EastPennsboroElem/