Dragon Blast

What a great week at the Howse, capped off by the best Friday! Our Fun Run was a huge success, complete with popsicles, plenty of laps, and, of course, students getting to silly string staff members! Students had a blast spending time together outside, and we can’t thank our families enough for your incredibly generous donations. PTO will share the final total soon, but we already know we surpassed our $25,000 goal!

The fun continues tonight as our 5th grade band students perform with the Henderson Band at the football game. Best of luck to our musicians! Tomorrow, don’t forget to join us for Trunk or Treat from 2:00-5:00 PM and show off those Halloween costumes!

Next week brings even more celebrations with classroom parties. Thank you to all of our adult volunteers who help make these special experiences possible.

We are also excited to have two 5th graders representing Mary C. Howse at Monday night’s School Board Meeting, where they will share a little about the start of their year and what makes MCH such a special place!

October 23 - 5th Grade Band Night at Henderson High School

October 24 - Trunk or Treat 2-5pm

November 3 - No School for Students, Teacher Inservice

Know a WCASD staff member who makes a difference every day? Nominations are now open for the Chester County Champions of Education Awards, celebrating the outstanding educators and support staff who help our students and schools thrive.

Nominate a Champion of the Classroom for educators or a Champion of Service for staff serving in support roles, from paraprofessionals and custodians to food service staff and beyond. Nominations close November 30, 2026.

It only takes a few minutes to recognize someone who makes a lasting impact!

Attendance Guidelines:

• School start time: 9:10am (drop off between 8:30- 9:00 out back)
• School End Time: 3:40pm
• Half Day Dismissal: 12:10pm

Excused Absences:

• Students are allotted to 15 parent notes a year.
• After the 15 parent notes are utilized, every absence after that will require a doctor’s note, or the absence will remain unlawful.
• Doctor’s notes never count against your 15 parent notes and need to be turned in within 3 days of an absence.
• When you plan a vacation, please fill out the request form.

Late Arrival, Early Dismissal, and Dismissal Changes:

• If your student is late, needs to leave early, or there is a change in their dismissal plan, please update the Pick Up Patrol.

We are excited to introduce the launch of the LinkIt! portal. Through this online portal, you will be able to view both current and historical assessment data linked to your student’s profile. Information housed in this portal includes state assessments (PSSA and Keystone Exams), with district assessments to be added over time.

To access your student’s profile, please follow the steps below and use your unique registration code to activate your account. Once in the system, you will be prompted to set up a username and password for future access.

STEP 1: ACCESS THE LINKIT! portal

Go to https://wcasd.linkit.com/parent in any web browser (computer, tablet, or phone).

STEP 2: CLICK ON “HAVE A REGISTRATION CODE?”

On the portal login page, click the “Have a Registration Code?” tab.

STEP 3: ENTER YOUR UNIQUE REGISTRATION CODE

Enter the registration code provided from LinkIt! sent to your address on file with the district.

STEP 4: SET UP YOUR INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT

Follow the onscreen prompts to create your password. Your username will default to the email address the district has on file. If you have multiple children enrolled in WCASD, all of their data will be accessible under one account.

STEP 5: VIEW YOUR CHILD’S ASSESSMENT DATA

Once logged in, click the Reports icon to view assessment results. Click on a test category (such as PSSA or Keystone) to expand and view your child’s scores.

To assist you in understanding your child’s assessment data, we have created resources for your access on the WCASD Assessment Page.

We are confident that providing access to your child’s information on an ongoing basis will support even stronger home-school communication.

If you are having difficulty accessing your LinkIt! portal account, please contact Jim Ronayne at assessment@wcasd.net

Volunteers will sign-in at the main office prior to reporting to lunch with their physical driver's license. Lunch volunteers will be issued a Visitors Badge to be worn throughout the visit.

During lunch, volunteers agree to the following:

• They will not bring special treats for their student while volunteering; including birthday related items (balloons, signs, etc).
• They will not contact other families regarding issues seen at lunch; the school will handle this.
• They will not visit other children or parts of the school.

All volunteers must have up-to-date clearances on file with the school district. Clearances are valid for five years. Once completed, clearances can be sent to Mrs. Polito. See below for clearance information.

The Elementary Activity Fee for students in grades 3-5 will be $29.00. Once you have paid the Activity Fee, your child may participate in one or multiple-funded activities.

If your child is participating in Band (grades 4 & 5) , Orchestra (grades 3,4,5), or After School Sports (grades 4 &5), please make sure to pay the activity fee. Need assistance? Please reach out to our Home School Visitor, Mrs. Liz Ball eball@wcasd.net.

Please see here for more information about the WCASD Activity Fee.

We love having our families volunteer throughout the building. In order to volunteer, adults are required to have their clearances on file with us. Clearances can take 4-6 weeks to acquire, so please be sure to get the process started if you're looking to volunteer this Fall.

The MCH Spirit Wear Store is officially OPEN!

Show your school pride and grab your gear before the store closes. Click the picture or the link below to start shopping!

Store Open Dates: October 5 – October 18

There are some outside companies who rent our space after school that are NOT sanctioned or sponsored by Mary C. Howse or the WCASD district. You can find their after school offerings on the WCASD Community Bulletin Board. Some examples are Science Club and Young Rembrandts. Other community events are posted on the community bulletin board as well.