News From Fort Zeller Elementary

Hello Fort Zeller Families,

What a wonderful first week of school! Our hallways have been filled with excitement, laughter, and curiosity as students settled into their new classrooms, met their teachers, and became familiar with their routines.

Thank you for all you did to help make the start of the school year such a smooth one. Your support each morning and your partnership throughout the year make such a difference for our students and our school community.

We are looking forward to all the learning, growth, and fun that this school year will bring! Please continue to check messages from your child’s teacher and the school so you can stay connected and up to date on all that is happening at Fort Zeller.

Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Jodi Houck
Principal

1. The district will continue to use our Visitor Management System, Navigate360. If you have never been entered into the system (new families to Fort Zeller), please be sure to bring your driver's license into the building so that we can add you to the system. More information below. Thank you!

2. We will be conducting several safety drills throughout the first three weeks of school. Thank you in advance for your help in reiterating the importance of these drills to our students at home.

3. I urge you to join your child's Schoology Course when your child's teacher provides you with the code so you can be in communication with his/her teacher. Please don't hesitate to call the teacher if you need help.

4. If you are dropping off or picking up our students, please follow the traffic pattern provided in this newsletter. To assure the safety of our little ones, all vehicles must yield to our school buses, in addition to following the traffic pattern when pulling out. Also, please avoid stopping in the circle to talk to other parents, as this causes congestion during drop-off and pick-up times. Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.

Sept. 2: (Day 3)

• PTO Meeting @ 6:30 pm - Fort Zeller Library

Sept. 4-7: Happy Labor Day - No School

Sept. 9 (Day 1)

• Interior Threat Drill - Instruction in Classroom

Sept. 10 (Day 2)

• Severe Weather Drill - Instruction in Classroom
• Family Groups

Sept. 11 (Day 3)

• Summer Reading Calendars-or-Library Certificate-or-Book Mobile Punchcards Due

Sept. 14: (Day 4)

• Fall Pictures

Sept. 15 (Day 5)

• Two Hour Delay Start

Sept. 16: (Day 1)

• Exterior Threat (Instruction)

Sept. 17: (Day 2)

• Read Under the Lights (HS Stadium)

Sept. 18: (Day 3)

• Summer Reading Ice Cream Reward

Sept. 21: (Day 4)

• Health Screenings
• School Board Meeting @ 6:00 pm

Sept. 30 (Day 1)

• PBIS Assembly

Race for Education is our PTO's biggest fundraiser of the year. Please read the important information about this event below. This year's Race for Education will happen on Friday, October 9th.

• T-shirt size Google Form to collect sizes for FREE student t-shirt.. We need these completed by all students no later than Monday, September 11th.
• The fundraiser website link to donate online. *Click the link, begin to type your student's name in the search bar directly under the Race for Ed video, and donate! It's that easy :)
• T-shirt order form for families *This is for families to purchase shirts for parents and/or siblings*
• The Race for Education hype video explaining what this fundraiser is all about!

All students and staff are encouraged to participate in our annual Kindergarten color days!!

The District will continue using Visitor Management System, Navigate360, this school year. All new visitors, including parents, volunteers, and contractors, will be required to check in at the main office and present a government-issued photo ID. The Navigate360 system will:

• Verify each visitor’s identity
• Provide a printed badge to be worn during the visit
• Maintain an electronic log of all visitors in the building

We appreciate your cooperation in having your ID ready each time you visit. This process is quick, secure, and helps us maintain record of who is in our building at all times.

All parents, guardians, and emergency contacts picking up a student from school will also be required to present their government-issued ID to be scanned.

Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for our students and staff. As this is a new system for the District, we ask for your patience as our office staff becomes familiar with it.

If your child completed one of the Summer Reading Challenges, we would like to celebrate this accomplishment! We will have an ice cream party Friday, September 18th. Also, your child will receive a free book.

In order to participate in this celebration, your child should turn in one of the following to their classroom teacher: Library certificate OR Summer Reading Calendars OR “Wild About Books” Mobile punch card and reading log. Please make sure your child’s first and last name is listed on their paperwork.

Please turn in paperwork by Friday, September 11th!

Important NOTICE!

If you feel that your family will qualify for free and reduced meals, please submit an application.

There are three ways to complete a 2026-2027 Free and Reduced Application;

• Apply online at schoolcafe.com (Preferred and most efficient method)
• Paper Application Free and Reduced Application (Printable) Available
• Apply on Compass https://www.compass.state.ps.us

For SchoolCafe.com, you will need to create a user ID and Password and then add your child(rens) information. You will need their 7 digit ID number for the online application.

Cafeteria Cash and Check Deposits - We are asking our families to have all cash and check deposits in an envelope with the students name printed, cash amount, teacher name, and the student's lunch 4-digit number. We are trying to eliminate the handling of cash at the registers. All cash deposits will be placed in the student's account and no change will be given. Please send only what you want deposited at that time. We will have extra envelopes available at the registers for the students to fill out if an envelope is forgotten.

2026-2027 Elementary Cafeteria Prices - Breakfast is free

Student lunch is $3.30 reduced is free

Adult Breakfast $3.25

Adult Lunch $5.50

Milk .60

Fruit snacks $1.25

8OZ WATER .50

16oz water $1.00

Swiss drinks for adults only $1.25

Snacks and chips $1.00

Ice cream $1.50

Rice crispy treats Big $1.50. mini .50

Fresh baked cookie $1.00

ELCO School District is growing our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. Click on the icons and follow along!

Facebook - @ELCOSD

Twitter - @elcosd

Instagram - @elcosd

Why:

1. Celebrate our students.

2. Keep parents, students, alumni, and the community in the loop of what is happening in our district.

3. Promote the great things happening such as athletics, activities, and other events.

4. Build an ongoing conversation about the positive impact our district is making in the lives of our students!

What do I need to do?

• If you are on these social media channels – follow us!

• Help promote these accounts to your family and friends.

• If you aren’t on these platforms – that’s OK. The district will continue to provide communication through traditional channels.

As part of our continued effort to provide you with accurate, timely information regarding all aspects of your child’s transportation to and from school, the ELCO School District uses a student ID card swiping system and a GPS system on all of our buses. Your child will receive a new ID card sometime in the near future. This card must be used to swipe on and off the buses every day including any field trips and athletic trips.

Parents will maintain access to the portal throughout their child’s entire school career. If you request a change during the school year, you must complete a transportation change form. The updated information should be viewable on the portal within two school days of being received by the transportation department.

Transportation Change Form: https://www.elcosd.org/Page/1025

To login into the Parent Portal

• Go To: https://elco.mybusplanner.com/ (also linked below)
• Click on: Parent Portal
• If you have not created an account please follow the instructions on how to create an account. You will need the following information in order to create an account, (a) Student ID, but you would need to enter their Lunch ID in the portal, (b) Student Birth Date (c) School, and (d) Grade
• Transportation tab–shows your child’s transportation information to school and from school. The route # is the bus number.
  
  

If you have any questions or if any changes need to be made, please contact Brightbill at (717)866-1420 or email Elisa Schubert at eschubert@brightbill.com or Charlene Kline at ckline@brightbill.com

1. Morning drop-off: We will not have staff members on the sidewalk until 8:30 am.

2. Afternoon pick-up: We will begin at 3:25 for K-2 students, please be prepared to show your driver's license and sign your children out until our staff is familiarized with you.

It is very important for you, as the parents and guardians, to receive essential information and notification of events; therefore, I urge you to please join the courses of your child's teacher.

Don’t forget to return your Over The Counter (OTC) permission form or you can complete it online by logging in to your Power School account. All medications must be brought to school and given to our nurse by a parent or guardian.

Under the recently passed Act 20 of 2026, parents/guardians may exempt their child from height and weight screening, which is part of the typical health screenings completed annually. If you would like to exempt your child from the height and weight screening, please email ADD NAME OF YOUR BUILDING NURSE at the following address ADD EMAIL OF YOUR NURSE. Screenings will start as early as September 8, 2026.

1. On Tuesday, September 2nd, 2026, at 6:30, our PTO will host its first meeting in our library at Fort Zeller. Most meetings will usually be held on the first Wednesday of every month. We hope that you will consider joining our meetings and provide your valuable input to support our students and staff at Fort Zeller. This year we will continue offering a ZOOM option to attend the meetings. If you are unable to join in person, please consider joining online using this LINK.

2. Volunteering: If you have an interest in being a volunteer in your child's classroom or in our school, please use this link, to complete the necessary paperwork on clearances. Don't hesitate to call our office at (610) 589-2575 if you need additional assistance.

PTO Officers 2026-2027

●President: Kirsten Wenger

●Vice President: Anna Shanaman

●Secretary: Bobby Jo Arrigo

●Treasurer: Haley Wanner

September

1 - Hank Leahy

3 - Averly Jauque

4 - Kenadie Smith

7 - Thomas Horning

8 - Camila Martinez-Guzman

11 - Judd Gibson

16 - Emily Tellez Leal

17 - Olivia Fox

18 - Brantlee Carver

19 - Parker Kramer

22 - Aubree Shade

24 - Willow Eberly

26 - Alexis Brandt, Raelynn Galzarano & Myles Hower

27 - Gabriel Santiago

28 - Dakota Lafaver & Eeshvi Poudyal

29 - Elianis Mendez Comas

30 - Egan Kreiser

Fort Zeller Elementary School

243 North Sheridan Road

Richland, PA 17087

Phone: (610) 589-2575

Fax: 610-589-5815

Email: jhouck@elcosd.org
Website: https://www.elcosd.org/Domain/211
Location: 243 North Sheridan Road Richland, PA 17087
Phone: (610) 589-2575
Twitter: @ElcoFort