Polar Bear Post

Dear Pleasantville Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful summer spending time with your loved ones, relaxing and making sweet summer memories.

First, I'd like to introduce myself as the proud principal of Pleasantville Elementary. This will be my 24th school year with Colonial. I spent my first 13 years as a teacher at Castle Hills and then Wilbur Elementary. I then moved to a school counselor role for three years at Pleasantville before becoming an administrator at McCullough and Gunning Bedford Middle Schools. When I returned to Pleasantville as the principal in October of 2025, it felt like I was truly coming home.

My pride for Pleasantville and our entire school community is endless! I believe that with strong consistent communication, a supportive partnership and high expectations, we can achieve anything and everything.

Not only am I an educator but I am also a wife, mother, sister and aunt. I have been married to my husband, Randy, for 17 years. We have two children, Jake, 15, and Riley, 12.

I look forward to a great school year! Please find information below about our popsicle event at our playground on July 22. We miss our students and families! Stop by, meet new families, say hello and enjoy a cool treat.

With Polar Pride,

Mrs. Nowell

July 22: PLV Popsicles in the park (details below)

August 20: Kindergarten Camp

August 27: Back to School BBQ, details to come!

August 31: First day of school for kindergarten only

September 1: First day of school for all students in grades 1-5 plus kindergarten

September 10: Open House- 5:30-7:00

Dear Pleasantville Families and Staff,

I am excited to introduce myself as the new Student Advisor at Pleasantville Elementary and to become part of this incredible school community.

My name is David Wienner, and I come to Pleasantville with experience as both a teacher and Student Advisor. Most recently, I served as the Student Advisor at Carrie Downie Elementary, and prior to that, I spent nine years at William Penn High School as a science teacher. Throughout my career, I have been passionate about supporting students, building relationships, and helping create school environments to see all students become successful.

I look forward to getting to know the students, families, and the Pleasantville community. I am excited to work alongside staff and families to continue the great work already taking place.

I am proud to join the Pleasantville family and look forward to a wonderful school year together

Communication is the key to any successful school. I strongly believe we (families/staff/community) have to work together. It truly takes a village! Please don't ever hesitate to reach out to me with questions or concerns. I can give you my word that I will do the same.

Once the school year gets started, you can expect a weekly communication sent via both text and email. The communication is sent promptly at 5pm every Sunday and will include a link to an updated newsletter. Please carefully review these newsletters each week as they will include all of the most up to date information.

Families are also encouraged to follow our Facebook page. In September, your child's teacher will also send information to their families about connecting with thier class on Class Dojo.

Colonial School District is excited to share that Giant Food is once again supporting local school nutrition programs through its Round Up at the Register campaign.

From July 10 through August 6, Giant shoppers can round up their purchase at checkout to help benefit local school districts’ lunch and nutrition programs. These donations help support the important work of keeping students nourished, healthy, and ready to learn.

We are grateful to Giant Food for investing in our schools and to our families and community members who choose to round up in support of students.

Thank you for helping make a difference for Colonial students!

New PTA year means a fresh start… and a fresh Box Tops competition is ON! 🎉📲

This is one of the easiest ways for us to raise money for our school—literally just scanning your grocery receipts. That’s it!

Download the Box Tops app, sign up, and scan your receipts. It’ll automatically find participating items for you. Even easier—link your Walmart account and it does the work for you in the background 🎉🎉

Don’t forget to go into the “My Earnings” tab and select your child’s grade so they get credit too!

Now the real question… which grade is going to be the first to start scanning and take the lead?! 👀🏆

Let’s make those Box Tops add up! 💙

At Pleasantville Elementary, we strive to create a safe, equitable, happy and welcoming school where everyone feels valued and included. We are committed to teaching strong academics, leading with kindness, respect, responsibility, and empathy.

With the support of teachers, families, and friends, we collectively build a school environment where students can take risks and celebrate differences as they grow into curious, capable, and confident learners and resilient problem-solvers, prepared to make a positive difference in the world.