The Red Mill Reader

The new school year is nearly upon us! Contained within this newsletter is important information highlighting dates, events and other various Red Mill-related news. Please take a moment to review everything carefully. While the dates and some of the information matches our previous newsletter, we did include other valuable information within this as well. We will provide another building update in late September. Until then, we hope you enjoy the end of your summer!

Tuesday, August 13

Camp Kindergarten (event information detailed below)

Monday, August 19- 1:00pm

Teacher assignments & transportation information made available to families (information is detailed below)

Tuesday, August 27- 6:30pm

New Family Orientation (event information detailed below)

Wednesday, August 28- 6:30pm

Back to School Night for Kindergarten & First Grade (event information detailed below)

Tuesday, September 3

• First day of school for students!
• PTO Meet & Greet, 4-6pm at Ritas in Lemoyne (information below)

Wednesday, September 11- 6:30pm

Back to School Night for Second, Third & Fourth Grade (event information detailed below)

Tuesday, September 24

Picture Day

*No RSVP or registration is needed for any of the events noted below. We do ask that families ensure their student(s) are fully registered prior to attending any of the events highlighted below*

Camp Kindergarten (only for incoming kindergarten students & their families)

Our goal is to make the transition process into kindergarten as smooth and seamless as possible. We fully recognize that while this is an exciting time, it can be equally nerve wracking for both students and parents alike.

We are VERY pleased and excited to announce that we will be holding “Camp Kindergarten” on Tuesday, August 13th, in-person here at Red Mill. Upon arrival, please come to the front doors of the building where staff will greet you and help get you situated. We will hold three separate sessions on this date: 9:00-10:00 AM (for last names A-D), 10:15-11:15 AM (for last names E-P), & 12:00-1:00 PM (for last names Q-Z). We ask that you please stick to your designated time assignment as our goal is to keep the group sessions balanced in size.

What you can expect during Camp Kindergarten… Students will be provided an opportunity to meet all of the kindergarten teachers, the principals, school counselor, secretaries, and a handful of other staff members. Students will be participating in numerous activities centered around camping while also having an opportunity to participate in a brief bus ride. While students are meeting their future classmates and teachers, parents/guardians of those students will simultaneously be meeting with members of the school team. During this meeting, we will be providing parents/guardians with valuable informational items.

New Family Orientation

This orientation is designed for any family who is new to the district or new to Red Mill (non-kindergarten families). We will begin by meeting as an entire group in the cafeteria. While there, we will be sharing general information related to Red Mill and the West Shore School District as a whole. Following the informational session, a brief guided tour will be provided to families.

We invite both parents/guardians and their respective student(s) to attend this event. This event was not intended to replace the Back to School Nights. We encourage our new families to also attend the BTSNs as they will provide specific, detailed information regarding your student(s) classroom.

Upon arrival for this event, please come through the main front doors into the lobby. Staff will be there to greet you and point you in the right direction.

Back to School Nights

Both of these evenings are designed to give parents/guardians valuable information related to the upcoming school year. The informational sessions and evening as a whole are geared towards adults only. Teachers will have presentations prepared to update and inform parents/guardians of what can be expected this coming year. There will be no general assembly. We ask that when you arrive at 6:30, you head directly to your student’s classroom (with the exception of 4th grade who will do a whole grade presentation in the cafeteria). We will make multiple announcements throughout the evening and set up rotations so that parents/guardians with students in multiple classrooms can attend each of the informational sessions. Upon arrival for this event, please come through the main front doors into the lobby. Staff will be there to greet you and point you in the right direction.

With the addition of the intermediate schools, we will be shifting student arrival and dismissal times for next school year.

• Primary Schools (Grades 1-4) - 8:50am - 3:35pm
• Morning Kindergarten: 8:50am - 11:35am
• Afternoon Kindergarten: 12:50pm - 3:35pm

PowerSchool access is currently closed while student schedules for the upcoming school year are developed. Please check back on Monday, August 19th at 1pm to view student schedules, transportation information, and other student information. On August 19th, elementary families will also receive a personalized email with this important information specific to their child. Our goal is to have all registered student schedules finalized by this time; however, we may need to make additional adjustments prior to opening day. Although rare, this may result in changes to the assigned teacher and/or the time of day the class occurs.

*Kindergarten families will receive their PowerSchool log-in information at Camp Kindergarten. Should anyone be in need of their log-in information, please do not hesitate to contact our office for further assistance.

Helpful PowerSchool Links:

• PowerSchool Website
• Answers to Frequently asked Questions
• Instructions for Setting up Your Parent Account

As the first day of school rapidly approaches, we often field questions related to what students need to bring to school on the first day. We provide all necessary materials and resources for students, up to and including: pencils, pencil boxes, storage and organizational resources, an ipad and ipad protector, etc.). One item that we ask students to bring on the first day from home is a bookbag that is big and sturdy enough to store an ipad and a few books. If you need assistance in obtaining a bookbag, please do not hesitate to contact our school office. We would be more than happy to provide one to you and your student.

From Mrs. Schnur: My name is Joan Schnur, and I am so excited to be coming "home". I have been married to my amazing husband for 38 years and we reside in Mechanicsburg. We have three adult children who make us proud! My favorite title is "Lolli" to Leo, Zeke and Nya (my beautiful grandchildren). I began teaching in the West Shore School District in 2001 after taking a break to be a stay-at-home mom with my three children. I started at Red Mill Elementary as a Life Skills teacher and worked there for 17 years before moving to Washington Heights Elementary MDS Classroom and then to Fairview Elementary to start a new MDS/Life Skills classroom. With the closing of Fairview, I get to come home! I love teaching and seeing my students grow academically, socially and emotionally. I am excited to reacquaint with staff and parents from days gone by and get to know all the new faces.

Mrs. Schnur will be joining our special education team as our second lifeskills teacher.

From Mrs. Wentz: My name is Abigail Wentz, but I go by Abby. This will be my 10th year teaching and my 7th year teaching 4th grade. My family and I recently moved to Dillsburg, PA and we are loving it. I have a 3-year-old son named Eli and he is silly, sweet, and so energetic! I love all things Harry Potter and Fall is my favorite season. In my free time, I enjoy being outdoors, hiking, running/ lifting, and spending time with friends and family. As far as education, I attended Shippensburg University as an undergrad and to obtain my Master's in Reading. I enjoy getting to know others, like to be silly and have fun, and am easy going!

Mrs. Wentz will be joining our fourth grade team this coming year!

For the 2024-25 school year, 𝗔𝗟𝗟 West Shore School District schools qualify to serve one free breakfast and one free lunch to every student, regardless of their family's economic status. This means 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 student in the West Shore School District will receive free meals!

Any additional servings beyond one free breakfast and one free lunch per day will require payment. Monies may be deposited into your student's account ahead of time. More information can be found below under 'Depositing Money in Your Student's Account.'

This student meal update is part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the National School Lunch Program, which allows schools in low-income areas to provide meals at no cost to families.

Parents who believe their child would qualify for free/reduced lunches under previous guidelines are asked to still fill out the proper paperwork through LINQ Connect or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS). Your child will still receive free meals regardless of paperwork status. You may find links to those pages at https://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/FreeandReducedMeals.aspx.

For additional menu information, visit: https://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/menus.aspx

Drop-Off: In order to keep the flow of traffic moving along each morning, we ask that all individuals dropping off follow the lead of our curbside staff when it's time for students to exit the vehicle. Your help and understanding of this is greatly appreciated.

Pick-Up: While parking spots are limited, we ask that individuals picking up utilize all marked parking spots prior to parking in unmarked parking locations. Additionally, we ask that everyone takes their time when exiting the property. Your attention and understanding of this matter to ensure everyone's safety is greatly appreciated.

*Drop-off and entry will run from 8:35am-8:50am*

*Dismissal will begin at 3:35pm*

In the month of September, we will be focusing on the character trait of respect. We hope that you find opportunities to explore the importance of respect with your family this month! More details about CharacterStrong can be found on our district website

We will be back with another update in late September. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to follow us on both Instagram and X (@RMDolphins).

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. We hope to see you soon!

Ryan P. Deveney

Principal, Red Mill Elementary School

T: 717.938.3778

E-mail: RDeveney@wssd.k12.pa.us

Kevin J. Scharlau
Assistant Principal, Red Mill Elementary School
T: 717.938.3778

E-mail: KScharlau@wssd.k12.pa.us

Red Mill Elementary School

700 Red Mill Road, Etters, PA 17319
Phone: 717-938-3778

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