Kutz Cougar Courier Times

• Monday, April 20- Last Day to Order a Yearbook (see below for more information)
• Monday, April 20-Friday, April 24- Coin Drive (see below for more information)
• Tuesday, April 21-Thursday, April 23- ELA PSSA- Grades 3-6 (see below for more information)
• Thursday, April 23- Kindergarten Field Trip to Elmwood Park Zoo
• Monday, April 27- Thursday, April 30- Cradles to Crayons Collection (see below for more information)
  
• Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29- Math PSSA- Grades 3-6 (see below for more information)
• Thursday, April 30- Science PSSA- Grade 5 Only (see below for more information)
• Friday, May 1- Student Council Meeting @ 8:15 AM
• Monday, May 4- Friday, May 8- Book Fair
• Monday, May 4- Friday, May 8- Staff Appreciation Week (see below for more information)
• Tuesday, May 5- Second Grade Field Trip to Churchville Nature Center
• Wednesday, May 6- First Grade Field Trip to Barn Nature Center and Central Park
• Friday, May 8- First Grade Concert at 12:30 PM
• Friday, May 8- Third Grade Concert at 2:15 PM
• Monday, May 11- Magic Laser Assembly
• Thursday, May 14- Author Visit for Grades K-3 (see below for more information)
• Tuesday, May 19- No School - Primary Election Day
• Wednesday, May 20- 5th and 6th Grade Field Trip to Iron Pigs
• Thursday, May 21- Third Grade Field Trip to SkyZone
• Friday, May 22- Early Dismissal at 12:10 PM

Tuesday, April 21 begins our PSSA testing at Kutz Elementary. All testing is online this year. Students should bring a fully charged laptop to school each day. Students should also bring their charger in the event they need to charge during the test (particularly if they would need extra time).

The English Language Arts assessment will be on April 21, 22, and 23 from 9:00 to 11:45 AM for students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. The Mathematics assessment will be on April 28 and 29 from 9:00 to 11:45 AM for students in grades 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Science assessment is for 5th grade only and will be on April 30 from 9:45 AM to 11:45 AM and 1:00 to 3:00 PM.

It is imperative that the students are here by 8:50 AM each testing day. If they are late and the testing window has begun, they will need to wait for the session to be over and they will need to make up the assessment at a later date.

Students are encouraged to bring an independent reading book (for after the assessment).

Attached you will also see the electronic device policy and FAQs for the assessment. Students should not bring cell phones, smart watches, or any other electronic devices to school on the day of these assessments. If a student brings a device, we will ask them to turn it off and place it in their backpack. If a student is found not abiding by these rules, this violation would need to be reported to the state department of education, the device would be taken by a staff member, a parent/guardian would be contacted, and there would be a consequence.

On the testing days, some grade levels may have a different snack time or special time.

Additional information from PDE is below. The attachments contain general information on testing and outline the electronics policy.

If you have further questions or concerns, please contact Christina Adelberger at 267-893-3900.

Please remember to have your car placard in your passenger window or on the passenger side of your windshield each day. If you need additional placards, please let us know.

Please make sure all students and families use the crosswalk so we can keep everyone safe.

Please be sure you are driving 15 mph in the school zone. Thank you!

We encourage students to wear sneakers to safely play all games at recess. Wearing crocs, slides, clogs, or other backless shoes poses a safety risk when playing games like basketball, soccer, football, tag, etc. Thank you for your help with this.

In just a few short weeks we will be celebrating Staff Appreciation Week at Kutz (May 4-8). Our Teacher Appreciation committee has wonderful events planned daily. With that, we need your help! In order to ease the “lift” on our families we are asking for a monetary donation—any amount appreciated! This will help cover the cost of breakfast, lunch, treats, and much more for the staff!

If you choose to Venmo, please list your child’s teacher’s name in the comments section *Please avoid emojis in Venmo comments to ensure accurate reporting* *Please type in Paul W. Kutz…and that should populate the VENMO. Please note it is listed as a charity*

Thank you for your support!

All the best,

The Teacher Appreciation Committee

On Thursday, May 14, we have Annette Whipple coming to visit K-3! She has awesome high interest non-fiction animal books that we can’t keep on the shelves. This assembly is for grades K-1 at 2:00 and 2-3 at 2:45 on Thursday 5/14 (day one).

Congrats to Addison Carr, a senior at CB West, for winning the April round of CBSD's "See the Good, Be the Good" lock screen contest and earning a gift card to her restaurant of choice! April's theme was "See the Good, Be the Good in Creativity" and Addison's original artwork will be featured on district devices throughout the month. Students can try their hand in the last round of the contest of the school year, "See the Good, Be the Good Through Action." Submissions are due April 30. More details

CBSD high schools are actively seeking local businesses interested in participating in the Community Internship Program. Companies looking to mentor and support students in their professional growth can contact Will Melvin, Internship Program Director, at wmelvin@cbsd.org for more information as well as attend an informational event on the Community Internship Program on Friday, May 1 from 12:30-2 p.m. at CB South (1100 Folly Rd., Warrington). RSVP is requested by April 24. See flyer to learn more about this event.

The Central Bucks Education Foundation is pleased to present a practical, expert-led session focused on supporting student well-being and reducing barriers to learning. "Supporting the Whole Child: Anxiety & Learning Differences" will take place on Saturday, May 2. from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Unami Middle School and features licensed school and clinical psychologists who will share actionable strategies event attendees can use right away. The event is open to all teachers, staff members, parents/guardians and community members. Teachers can earn three Act 48 hours by registering in Frontline. View the event flyer and register on CBEF's website now!

Central Bucks parents, guardians, and students in sixth grade and above are invited to continue the community conversation about screen time and digital wellness at a showing of "Screenagers Next Chapter: Addressing Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age" on Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. at Lenape Middle School (313 W. State St., Doylestown). No pre-registration is required, and childcare will not be available. The event is free-of-charge. Learn more

Central Bucks School District welcomed Dr. Joanna Wexler for a public forum at CB West on April 8, where the superintendent finalist was introduced to the community and responded to pre-submitted questions from a range of stakeholders. Watch recording and read more. Dr. Wexler's appointment was then approved by the school board at an April 14 special meeting. Read more

All parents and guardians are asked to please check their MySchoolBucks account to view their balance and, if negative, to please make a payment. Even if you pack a lunch for your child(ren), they still may be purchasing cafeteria items.

To make a payment: Log in to MySchoolBucks and click MAKE A PAYMENT. Click CAFETERIA MEAL PAYMENT. Select or enter a payment amount. Click ADD TO BASKET. Click CHECK OUT NOW to complete the payment process.

For complete instructions on how to use your MySchoolBucks account, go to http://learnmyschoolbucks.com/Parent. You can also use MSB to monitor what your student is purchasing for breakfast and lunch and check your child(ren)'s account balance(s). If you have questions or concerns related to your child(ren)’s account(s), please call the Aramark Food Services office at 267-893-5758.

In Central Bucks the use of student smart watches, cell phones, and personal devices in school prohibited per school board policy 829.1. If your child has any of these devices, they are to be off and remain in backpacks during the school day. If communication between your child and home is needed, it will take place with the support of the health office or main office during the school day. Please be sure to share they expectations with your child as this policy will be enforced by teachers and staff in coordination with our district policy. An excerpt of the policy is included below for your reference.

The Board prohibits the use of any electronic device by any elementary school student while in district buildings, on district property and grounds including on district buses, and at school-sponsored activities. An electronic device that is possessed by any student in school buildings or on district property must remain powered off and kept out of sight at all times.

Per our food service provide, Aramark, students will not be permitted to buy a double lunch, even on pizza days. If your child is typically very hungry at lunch time and they are buying, consider packing some additional food for them to eat at lunchtime, too.

We will begin allowing students to purchase snacks on Monday, September 8. Students are permitted to purchase one snack. The usual choices are chips ($1.35) or ice cream ($1.65).

Breakfast continues to be free for all students.

On pizza days, we may not be able to offer snack as it takes a long time for each student to buy lunch and there may not be enough time for snack purchases and for the students to then eat the snack.

We have Kutz Spirit Wear available! Click the link below if you want to order Kutz spirit wear!

If your child is coming into school late, leaving early, has a dismissal change, or will be absent, please email your child's teacher(s) and our office staff. Please email all office staff members in case someone is absent- Michele Ernst at mernst@cbsd.org, Jenny Debuque at jdebuque@cbsd.org, and Hillary Ray at hray@cbsd.org You can also call the office at 267-893-3900.

Kutz is a "B" School

• Arrival begins at 8:30 AM
  
• Student day begins at 8:50 AM
• Student day ends at 3:30 PM
• Dismissal ends at 3:50 PM
• For early dismissal days- dismissal begins at 12:10 PM
• For 2 hour delay days- arrival begins at 10:30 and the student day begins at 10:50

the student directory for the 2025-2026 school year is on the Kutz website. Directions for how to find it on the website are included below. To access the website page that houses the directory, you need a "Page Passkey". The page passkey was sent via email on November 5. Click here to access it, too.

Directions for how to find the directory on the website:

1. Go to kutz.cbsd.org
2. On the menu on the right hand side, choose "Parents/Students".
3. Click "Parent Resources".
4. On the left-hand side, click "Student Directory".
5. Enter the page passkey listed above.
6. Then click the directory.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our office staff.

Click here for the Kutz Parent and Student Handbook for the 2025-2026 school year. This handbook provides a comprehensive summary of school and district policies and programs for students and their families. We hope you will find this to be a valuable resource.

VOLUNTEER Clearances/Paperwork

Central Bucks School District volunteers play a vital role in supporting students, staff, sports programs and other school activities. Thank you for your interest in volunteering!

PA Act 15 of 2015 requires volunteers to have clearances/background checks prior to volunteering in a public school. Clearances (and the FBI Volunteer Affidavit if applicable) are valid for 60 months (5 years) from the date of the clearance.

The PA Department of Education (PDE) recognizes differences between volunteers and visitors - click HERE for examples, and contact Human Resources with any questions.

The information below is intended for VOLUNTEERS. If you are compensated by CBSD by paycheck, parent fund, or student fund, you are NOT a volunteer and must complete employee paperwork.

• Click Raptor Volunteer Safe to register and create an account. NOTE: Each volunteer must create an individual Raptor account and all required clearances must be submitted with your application. (The App Garden program has been discontinued by the provider, but you may retrieve your clearances from App Garden through May 31, 2025 - click HERE for instructions).
  
  
• If you have a Volunteer Card issued with your previous App Garden account, you may continue to volunteer with that card through June 30, 2025, regardless of the expiration date printed on the card.
  
  
• All volunteers must create a Raptor account if you wish to volunteer after 6/30/2025.
  
  
• All communication about your account status will be sent to the email address on file in Raptor.

Mandated Reporter Information: Under Pennsylvania law, any person having direct contact with school children is considered a mandatory reporter and is required to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse.

All Central Bucks School District volunteers are mandated reporters. We recommend volunteers complete an online training course through the University of Pittsburgh's Child Welfare Resource Center, “Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse: Mandated and Permissive Reporting in PA.” Click the link to take the course, then upload your certificate to your Raptor account: https://www.reportabusepa.pitt.edu/.

Click HERE for additional information and frequently asked questions.

Thank you for volunteering your time and service, and for understanding the importance of complying with these state regulations for the safety of our students.

HAVE QUESTIONS? Please email Human Resources.

Clearances expire five years after approval, so please check to make sure yours are still current.

Clearances are required for parents chaperoning field trips, volunteering for classroom parties, and supporting other classroom and school events.

Thank you for supporting our staff and students by volunteering your time!

Want to view our lunch menu? Need to add funds to your child's account? Looking for nutrition information? Need to apply for free and reduced breakfast/lunch? Click here to learn more about Food Services in Central Bucks.

Looking for more information on our Before and After School Programs? Click here to learn how to register your child.

Kutz School Wide Expectations: Practice Kindness, Act Respectfully, Work Responsibly, Stay Safe

Heather Jacobson, Assistant Principal, hjacobson@cbsd.org

Email: cadelberger@cbsd.org
Website: www.cbsd.org/kutz
Location: Kutz Elementary School, Turk Road, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-3900
Twitter: @CBKutzElem