West Chester Area School District

Dear WCASD Community,

It is my sincere pleasure to welcome our staff, students, families, and community back for the 2022-23 school year. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, the summer is not only a time of relaxation and renewal but also of preparation, professional development, and goal setting for the district. Hearing our buildings fill with laughter and excitement again on Monday and throughout this week made all of the planning more than worth it - we have such a great year ahead!

I know that our families are receiving a lot of important back to school information right now and our students are busy adjusting to their school routines. To keep this message brief, I will just say that I look forward to connecting and reconnecting with our students and families as we see each other in our buildings and at all of the wonderful events coming up.

If you have any questions or concerns as we begin this year, please do not hesitate to contact your student's principal, teachers, or members of administration. We are here to help.

I wish you all a safe Labor Day weekend and a great first month of school!

Important Dates:

September: College Savings Month | National Suicide Prevention Month | Hispanic Heritage Month

September 5: Labor Day - Schools and Offices Closed

September 11-17: National Arts in Education Week

September 11: Patriot Day

September 12: Board Goals Work Session | 5:30 p.m.

September 12: Education Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.

September 12: Pupil Services Committee Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

September 19: Property & Finance Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.

September 20: National IT Professionals Day

September 25-27: Rosh Hashanah

September 26: Teacher Inservice - No School for Students

September 27: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

We had such a great time welcoming back our students and families during the first week of the 2022-23 school year! There were hugs, high fives, jokes and laughter, and lots of new beginnings. We cannot wait to see what this year holds.

After a year of planning, an “almost spontaneous” end-of-summer bash attracted about 300 kids and adults, Friday, to East Goshen Park.

The bash, named “I Can’t Believe I Just Saw That” was an idea of Jason Lang, director of the township’s parks and recreation department.

With band camp starting this week, it was a chance for the East Viking Marching Band and Time to Leap dancers to frolic near the park’s approximately 2/3-acre playground.

Read the rest of the article at the Daily Local News website by clicking the button below!

Thank you to the West Chester Mom's Club for the extremely generous donation of school supplies. We are so happy and grateful to be able to share the 17 backpacks, 26 water bottles, 13 pairs of headphones, 37 notebooks, 58 folders, and 28 expandable folders with our students!

We know that there is a lot of back to school communication to keep track off during these first few weeks. On top of that there are different accounts to log into and access information you need - it can be overwhelming!

One change we've made to help make finding your Student's ID Number or Access ID easier is adding the Student ID to the top left corner of the Parent Portal Screen (shown in the picture). Please note that if you do not have an account or would like to add a child to an existing account and have not received the Student ID/Access ID and password, you will need to contact your child’s school. If you have an account but don’t remember your username and/or password, you can click on the ‘Forgot username or password’ link and enter the email address that was used to create the account. If you do not have access to that email or need assistance please send an email to parentportal@wcasd.net.

The 51-member Rustin High School Golden Knight Marching Band will say “Aloha” to Hawaii, while performing in the 2022 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade and 80th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration.

The Golden Knights will represent residents of Pennsylvania and those who served on the Pearl Harbor Battleship USS Pennsylvania, which was in dry dock and spared during the attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

Students will fly commercial and arrive in advance of Pearl Harbor Day Parade. They will spend the entire week-long trip on Oahu Island.

Read the rest of the article at the Daily Local News website by clicking the button below!

Learn all about the WCASD 2022-25 Comprehensive Plan with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kalia Reynolds and East High School students, Michelle and Saanvi in this quick video. Thank you to our students for adding your voices to this process and to one of our alumni, Lyndon Toe, for editing this video!

Learn more about the full WCASD Comprehensive Plan on our district website!

Employees from 5 Giant stores donated school supplies to the WCASD. 6 Giant team members delivered over 2,600 items that will be sent to our 17 schools. Backpacks, filled pencil boxes, tissues, paper towels, notebooks, and hand sanitizer are sure to help our students begin the school year on the right foot.

West Chester Area School District uses an online process to complete Back-to-School information accessible via our PowerSchool Parent Portal. The Back-to-School Portal is a secure system that allows the district to verify all demographic, emergency, and medical information for your child before the start of the new school year.

The system will also allow you to electronically sign most annual permission forms and indicate that you received and reviewed other informational materials. In short, this online process replaces most of the hard copy documents we need to receive from you at the start of each school year. The PowerSchool Parent Portal is now open with access to the electronic Back-to-School portal. We would appreciate all families completing the online information as soon as possible.

Six West Chester Area High School students earned AP Capstone Diplomas, an academic honor that helps students get accepted into top-notch colleges and universities.

“Those involved in the AP Capstone Diploma program, both the students and their teachers, must demonstrate an exceptional level of dedication and skill,” Dr. Bob Sokolowski, superintendent, said.

The superintendent noted that the diploma opens opportunities for students.

Read the rest of the article at the Patch website by clicking the button below!

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.

The 2022 Chester County Flu Vaccine Clinics will start in September. To schedule an appointment and find a clinic near you visit www.chesco.org/flu after Labor Day.

The West Chester Area Education Foundation (WCAEF) is an independent non-profit organization created to attract private resources exclusively for the benefit of students in the West Chester Area School District. The Foundation's mission to supplement creative, meaningful, real-world experiences ensures that each year WCASD students and staff are able to participate in engaging field trips, projects, career exploration and more!

If you are interested in learning more about the Foundation and how you or your business can become involved, click the button below.

Did you know that the WCASD offers a Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program designed to assist Senior Citizens with the burden of Real Estate Taxes? In return for volunteering their services through this program, senior citizens may be entitled to a rebate of property taxes in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program webpage.

Before applying to the program, we encourage those interested to review the attached brochure below and the guidelines on our website.