
EPE Express
East Pennsboro Elementary School Newsletter
October 2021
Principal's Message
EPE Families,
As we enter the Fall season, we look forward to many events coming up at EPE including Homecoming Spirit Week, the beginning of Science Explorers, Halloween Parade, and cooler weather. As always, we work hard to maintain a safe and healthy environment, while also providing fun, engaging learning opportunities for students. For example, all of our classes have engaged in our new Caring School Communities character education curriculum on a daily basis that focuses on student social-emotional wellbeing. Many of our classes have created Core Value Paper Chains to hang in their classroom, classroom constitutions, and are engaging in morning meetings. In the coming weeks, cross-age buddies will begin, where students will be learning buddies with a student of another grade. These are just a few of the exciting activities within the Caring School Communities curriculum.
As the weather begins to turn cooler, please be conscious of the weather on a daily basis. If the weather is cold, please send your student with a coat so they aren’t cold at recess.
Along with the cooler weather, we look forward to our Halloween parade on Friday, October 29th at 2:15 PM on our side playground! We welcome all students to wear their costume on this special occasion. We ask that all costumes are school-age appropriate, easy to dress/undress, and that any look-alike weapons (guns, knives, blades, etc.) are not brought into school, as these are against our school board policy. We also look forward to welcoming our parents for this event! See the photo below of the parade route noted in red. Families must stand in the grass area behind the pavement (behind the red line on the map), and stay clear of the tanbark playground area. We anticipate the parade lasting about thirty minutes. Students will not be released early to families at the conclusion of this event. All students will be dismissed at 3:20, and will need to take their regular mode of transportation home. Again, we look forward to including families in this exciting event for students, and we thank you in advance for helping us keep our students and staff safe!
We are very excited to have the Science Explorers after school STEM club back at EPE! We will begin our first club in late October. Please see the flyer below for club options and registration procedures.
Lastly, please take a moment to recognize a teacher or staff member who you feel is deserving of recognition. Our teachers and staff work very hard to meet the diverse needs of students and families, and take great pride in their work. Even though it is never expected, it means the world to get a “thank you” in recognition of one’s hard work. Thank you in advance for taking time to recognize a teacher in our “Panther Spotlight” section below!
Respectfully,
Rich Tysarczyk, Principal
Dan Etter, Assistant Principal
717-732-0441
EPE Homecoming Spirit Week
EPE Halloween Parade Route
Science Explorers is Back at EPE for 2021-2022
Nominate an EPE Staff Member With Our "Panther Spotlight" Form
https://forms.gle/f13ZhDceewQp42wX8
We appreciate the feedback and may share it in future newsletters.
Please see this example from an EPE Parent, celebrating the extra effort of Mrs. Foltz:
Mrs. Foltz stopped by while we were on quarantine to drop off all of my son's materials to keep him caught up while he was out!
EPE Picture Day
Elementary Instrument Try Out Night
August/September Character Award Recipients
EPE Happenings
Mrs. Smith's Kindergarten Classroom
Mrs. Bryson's Art Class Outside on a Nice Day
4th Graders Playing Wiffle Ball at Recess
EP Youth Wrestling
EPASD Elementary PTO Meeting Dates and Locations
Become a Junior Achievement Volunteer!
- 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
General EPE Information:
Change in Routine Procedures
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.
EPASD Attendance Procedures
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.
Car Rider Procedures
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.
Create a Sapphire Parent Portal!
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!
2021-2022 School Year Calendar
https://3.files.edl.io/a46e/21/07/12/193153-0662518b-7b67-41b7-9b1b-05072d4992b6.png
Important Dates
October:
7 - Fire Prevention day at EPE
7 - School Board Meeting at EPE 7:00 PM
9 - 1:20 Dismissal - Elementary Buildings
11 - No School for Students (Teacher in-service)
12 - PTO Meeting at EPE 7:00 PM
14 - Title I Night at EPE 6:00 PM
21 - School Board Meeting at EPE 7:00 PM
27 - End of Marking Period 1
All above dates are subject to change. Any changes will be communicated via our blackboard connect system.
Please see our previous newsletters:
About us
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/