Hillsdale Herald

What a fantastic first two weeks we have had! Everyone is settling in to their school routine. We really enjoyed reading The Energy Bus and creating vision boards with our buddy classes last week. We pulled PAWS tickets for our first Hall of Fame Huskies, and we had our first fire drill this week. All students evacuated the building quickly and quietly. I was so proud of how quiet the students were when we assembled outside. We also "survived" two rainy days and students enjoyed their first indoor recesses ;)

We hope your family can join us tonight on the playground for the PTO Welcome Back Bash 6-8pm.

Please see information about Scouts, Cheer and Basketball Opportunities below as well.

On Thursday, September 15th, Hillsdale Elementary will be celebrating International Dot Day. International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009. Today International Dot Day is celebrated in 6,642,914 schools/classrooms in 135 countries. Hillsdale will be participating by having various ‘Dot Day’ activities ranging from art projects to writing activities and book readings. Be a part of this great celebration by wearing dot clothing that you have or make your own.

-Mr. Hober Art Educator

8/29 - 9/2 First Week of School

Tues 8/30, 6:30pm - 2/3 Open House

Thurs 9/1, 6:30pm - 4/5 Open House

Mon. 9/5 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

Fri. 9/9, 6:00pm - PTO Welcome Back Bash

Wed 9/14 - Spirit Day - Hillsdale or Green Shirt

Thurs. 9/15 - celebration of International Dot Day - dress with dots!

Tues. 9/20 - Volunteering 101 6:30pm; PTO meeting 7:00pm - NEW DATE!

Mon. 9/26 - Teacher In-service, NO SCHOOL for students

Board Policy 237- Use of Personal and District Technology Devices

Relevant Parts of Board Policy 237

Purpose

In consideration of the recent proliferation and extensive utilization of both personal and district technology devices, the district recognizes the need to establish guidelines for the use of such so as not to disrupt the primary function of the schools.

Definitions

Personal technology devices (personal technology) shall be defined as any device capable of capturing, storing, and/or transmitting information, including text, audio, picture, and/or video data, not owned by the district. These include, but are not limited to, such devices as:

1. Cellular telephones and smartphones.
   
2. Handheld, tablet, and laptop computers.
   
3. Digital music players, including without limitation iPods and MP3 players.
   
4. Still and video cameras.
   
5. Wearable technologies including without limitation smart watches, smart glasses, or earbuds.

Devices With Cellular or Satellite Connectivity

Students shall not use cellular or satellite connectivity except when permission is granted by the building administrator for the following reasons:

1. Health, safety, or emergency reasons.
   
2. An individualized education program (IEP).[4]
   
3. Classroom or instructional-related activities, as outlined in this policy.
   
4. Other reasons determined appropriate by the building principal.

Please click on the following link to access Board Policy 237:

https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/wche/Board.nsf/Public#

National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates, and honors the contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

If your child is in Kindergarten through fifth grade then Cub Scouting is for him or her (yes, Cubs is for girls too!!). It’s for your family, as well. In Cub Scouting, children and their families have fun and adventure in a program that builds character and instills values. Cub Scouting embraces the values of citizenship, compassion, cooperation, courage, faith, health and fitness, honesty, perseverance, positive attitude, resourcefulness, respect, and responsibility. These values come to the girls and boys in all parts of the Cub Scout program – all while they’re having a great time with their friends and families.

Interested? Join us Friday September 16th from 6-7pm in the Hillsdale Gym for some fun and games at our Open House. Check out cubpack110.com for more information.

Cómo traducir los boletines Smore Newsletters

Los enlaces para los boletines del distrito WCASD y desde el correo electrónico del director pueden encontrarse también en los sitios web del distrito y de la escuela. La traducción será generada por una máquina por lo que no será completamente exacta.

1. Haga clic en el botón para traducer

2. Haga clic en la fecha para seleccionar el idioma

3. ¡Disfrute el boletín! Las imágenes con palabras no se pueden traducir, para obtener una traducción, envíe un correo electrónico al director.

Do you hear Nemo from the Disney Movie Finding Nemo when you read that headline like I do?

We are SO EXCITED to get our students in here! On Monday, every teacher will be on the big playground to welcome your child. We line up based on homeroom number. There will be signs and lots of teachers to help everyone find their teacher and line! Teachers will then lead the students to their classrooms.

Pick Up Patrol

Did you get a Welcome Email from PUP? Please log in and check/confirm your child's default plan to ensure it matches your plan for your child for dismissal.

Buses

PLEASE be at the bus stop at least 5 minutes early in the morning and the afternoon this first week of school. It takes about two weeks for bus times to settle into their regular times.

Cafeteria Update

Please note that breakfast (served 8:30 to 9:00 each day) and lunch are no longer free. Students wishing to purchase food will do so from their account (no cash transactions). Parents may load money to their child’s account through PayPal in Parent Portal Instructions for funding child's lunch acct. or by sending in cash or check to the cafeteria. When making purchases, students will enter their student ID number, which can be found in Parent Portal. It might be a good idea to practice that with your child prior to school starting. 2022/23 menus will be updated prior to the start of school at this site: WCASD Meal Menus. Visual of our keypad: Lunchroom Keypad for practice

Information on the National School Lunch Program is linked below.

Open House - Back to School Night

Mark your calendars and plan to meet your child's teacher in person:

• 2nd & 3rd grades - Tuesday, 8/30, 6:30pm

• 4th & 5th grades - Thursday 9/1, 6:30pm

Thank you,

Mrs. Paige Merten

Principal

Welcome back!! I am looking forward to a fantastic school year. Below is some important information that I would appreciate it if you read carefully:

1. PA state school health mandates that students be up to date with all immunizations within the first 5 days of school. WCASD exclusion date if students are not in compliance with this mandate is September 6, 2022. Please make a note of this date. This mandate applies to all students who have been registered for the first time in any grade, Kindergarten and any student who was missing immunization(s) from last school year.
2. Medication policy/process- 1. Medication orders from a licensed physician/CRNP must be updated at the beginning of each school year. 2. Parent permission must be provided and 3. the medication must be sent in to the nurse in it’s original container with a pharmacy label attached (please make sure the medication is not expired). The nurse cannot accept or administer any medication without a doctors order and parent permission. The nurse can only administer medication that is listed in the current Physicians Desk Reference.
3. Please see the attachment for the current Covid protocol. If you have any questions about this process or Covid, please contact Mrs. Dugan.

Thank you for your attention to these important issues.

Colette Dugan, MEd, BSN, RN, CSN

Certified School Nurse

cdugan@wcasd.net

Hillsdale Elementary (M-F – 484-266-2006)gan@wcasd.net.

If you would like to volunteer in our school this year, please consider attending our "Volunteering 101" session on Tuesday 9/20 (NEW DATE) @ 6:30pm before the PTO meeting at 7pm.

A few things to note:

1) Volunteers must have clearances.

2) Younger siblings are not permitted at school while you volunteer.

3) Volunteers are held to the same confidentiality standards as any WCASD employee.

4) While you may see and interact with your child when you are volunteering, you are here to assist all children.

We use Pick Up Patrol for a number of things here at school. It has replaced the need for parents to phone in absences, early dismissals, and/or changes in dismissal. It is truly helpful to us. Parents can make changes to their children’s status up until 1:30pm. At dismissal time the software becomes incredibly valuable to us to help make sure all the children are exactly where they're supposed to be. We are to count how many children to expect on each bus, as walkers and as car pick up we have each day. So, please, be sure that you have the app and are making changes when needed!

You should have received an email from Pick Up Patrol to set up your account this week.

*GREEN= Car Lanes

*YELLOW = Bus Loop

**Red Arrows=Pay Attention!!**

During Drop Off times in the morning, and Pick Up time in the afternoon, cars and buses share the same driveway. Be careful where you see the RED ARROWS!!

Please have your children use the passenger side of the vehicle. Children need to be able to do their own seatbelts and car seats.

Parents should not get out of the car.

• Drop off time runs from 8:30 am to 9:00 am.
• Class instruction begins at 9:10.
• Parents should follow the green arrow, and use the Car Line Loop only.
• Please drop off at the paws painted on the sidewalk. 5 cars can empty at the same time. You do not need to wait until you are first in line to drop off.

*GREEN= Car Lanes

*YELLOW = Bus Loop

**Red Arrows=Pay Attention!!**

During Drop Off times in the morning, and Pick Up time in the afternoon, cars and buses share the same driveway. Be careful where you see the RED ARROWS!!

Please have your children use the passenger side of the vehicle. Children need to be able to do their own seatbelts and car seats.

Parents should not get out of the car.

Pick up time runs from 3:30 to 3:50

• Class instruction ends at 3:25.
• There is crossover where the buses need to pull around the car line to get to the bus lane. As long as all drivers are cautious, everything will run smoothly.
• Please see the picture below. We use both aisles of the parking lot to weave cars together at the bottom. This allows us to get more cars off the road and avoid a dangerous situation at the Bradford Ave and Market St intersection.
• If you need to park in order to assist your child with the car seat, please attempt to park in the top parking lot right in front of the school.
• Remember, red arrow indicate places to pay attention to merging!
• We will try to load 5-6 cars at once in the afternoon.
• If the cars in front of you have not dropped off or picked up, it is ok to safely pass cars and exit the property.
• BE CAREFUL!!!

Si usted prefiere comunicarse en español por favor llame al 484-266-1690 para contactarse con personal escolar.

(If you prefer to speak to a Spanish speaking operator, please call 484-266-1690 to connect with school personnel.)

Email: pmerten@wcasd.net
Website: https://www.wcasd.net/Domain/602
Location: 725 West Market Street, West Chester, PA, USA
Phone: 484-266-2001
Twitter: @HDEelem