Paw Power Press

The Summer Days continue to flow as we begin the month of August - looking forward to the 2023-2024 school year! We hope this Summer Edition of Butler's Paw Power Press provides a nice overview of the things happening "in and around" the school!

Our Butler Office, Technology, and Operations Teams has been preparing for the coming year, readying supplies, hiring, prepping classrooms, and cleaning the entire facilities! Mr. Sutton, Mr. Garza, and the summer custodial crew are getting every room and hallway to glisten with that "first-day shine!" Our office team - Ms. Bernabei and Mrs. Droxler - continue to organize new registrations and other managerial tasks that will help our teachers on their first days back in the building. New Assistant Principal, Mrs. Lauren Dowd and Principal Funseth are beginning final preparations for the new school year - completing staffing needs, readying teacher trainings, and updating Butler's Paw Power behavior support program!

We all are looking forward to a great beginning to the school year - focused and ready for another great opening! Whether your student is a new Kindergartener, entering our hallways as Butler Bears for the first time -or- a seasoned 6th Grader - we are excited to see everyone in our hallways on September 5th!

Hi everyone, and Happy Summer! I hope that you're enjoying some sun, fun, family, and friends. I am happy to report that I'm moved in to school, unpacked, and ready to start my time as a Butler Bear! Mr. Funseth and I have been busy planning and preparing for what's sure to be a fantastic year.

While I do love summer, my favorite time of year has always been the fall because there's nothing quite like the first day of school! I just love seeing all of those faces filled with nervous anticipation, fresh haircuts, and shiny new school shoes!

I had the good fortune of being able to introduce myself to the students on the last day of school, and as an icebreaker, I shared with them 3 unusual or little-known facts about myself. Those facts were: One of my eyes is two colors, I enjoy playing golf but am terrible at it, and I would eat dessert before dinner if I could! I challenged your students to think of a few "fun facts" about themselves to share with me when they return in the fall. I'm excited to begin getting to know them!

Thank you for welcoming me into your community. I look forward to meeting you and your students very soon!

Fondly,

Mrs. Lauren Dowd

New Summer Hires - We are very excited to announce staff new to Butler this year!

(Listed Alphabetically)

Stephanie Byrne - PEN - Following many years as Titus Reading Specialist, joining Butler PEN Program.

Kirsten Cellucci - 5th Gr. - After several years at Linden (Gr. 3) and Bridge Valley (Kdg), she is joining the Butler team.

Nicole Fulcher - Learning Support - Over a decade of experience teaching in general education, Learning Support and Autistic Support.

Juliann Parave - Autistic Support - Taught primary Autistic Support in Philadelphia School District for several years.

Cassie Rafferty - Learning Support - Joins Butler over 15-years of LS experience at Bridge Valley Elementary.

Kaela Romani - 5th Gr. - Coming with Gr. 4&5 experience (Virginia) - served as Building Sub at Warwick last year.

Miranda Van Houten - KDG - Joins the Kindergarten team after teaching Kdg. at Cold Spring last year.

This summer, Butler partnered with local businesses to promote reading. Continued reading throughout the summer ensures skills are maintained, and ready for the 23–24 school year! Students going into 1st - 7th Grades were invited to participate.

The challenge continues - running through Friday, September 1st! For each day a student reads at least 15 minutes, they will color in one book on their log. Only one book can be colored per day. After coloring 8-books in a stack, your student may claim a reward from one of our local businesses. Students must present their log to claim a reward. Students do not need to claim rewards in any specific order. Only one reward is redeemable per establishment. Rewards can only be redeemed at the locations listed on the back of the reading log or page two of the electronic attachment.

Thank you to our local Chalfont/Montgomeryville Partners:

To provide children with a positive summer outlet, the Butler Principals and Reading Team issued a "rewarding" summer reading challenge (outlined above) in preparation for the new school year! When your child reads this summer, tracks their progress, and submits the online form with local companies, they will qualify for free product, food, and more!

Encouraging children to read at home is one of the most powerful ways that parents can support students’ learning. Just 15 minutes of reading per day at home can make a difference in students’ reading fluency, stamina, and preparedness - especially during those first weeks of school! The National Association of Elementary School Principals organization published “The Rewards of Reading,” offering families ideas and strategies to get kids reading more at home.

"The seeds for success in the classroom are sown at home. Encouraging children to read at home is one of the most powerful ways that parents can support students’ learning. Just 15 minutes of reading at home per day can make a difference in students’ reading fluency. Prioritize reading with these tips..."

To read the 1-page article from NAESP, please click here.

District-wide, elementary class placement details will go LIVE on Thursday, August 3rd. To access, please refer to your Parent Portal account, via the CBSD website's Parent Page. For families new to CBSD, please sign-up for an Activation Key to obtain account information.

• Special Education case managers will contact families during the month of August.
• Math Placement for 5th & 6th Grades will be determined and communicated to families at the start of the school year.

As a reminder, all placements are final. Our Butler Team of teachers (general education, special education, PEN, Reading Specialists), counselors, school psychologist, and principals worked extensively throughout June and into July in placing students carefully in building balanced classrooms. Even one change can offset the academic and social-emotional needs the team so-thoughtfully considered.

With 2023-2024 Class Placement Access going live on August 3rd, many families will be eager to make a connection with their child's new teacher! Classroom Welcome Letters are posted on websites of each individual teacher. To access, use Butler Elementary's Website to find our staff directory, and click your teacher's personal page to view! (Please Note: Some from our staff new to Butler are still being added by our IT Department - those letters will be sent from the teacher, directly).

In addition to your welcome letters, please be sure to locate your child's grade-level Supply List. This was created at the end of last school year and communicated then for your planning purposes. Please refer here to review items recommended by your child's grade-level in preparation for the year ahead!

Welcome to Butler Elementary School. The Health Office is always available to students for any healthcare needs. We are happy to take care of your child!

Gina Giovinco, Certified School Nurse (M-F) ggiovinco@cbsd.org

Tara Cheney, Staff Nurse (M-W)

Eileen McNammee, Staff Nurse (W-F)

If your child has any medical needs, please contact the Butler Health Room with any questions or concerns. The Health Office number is 267-893-4265.

Required Health Examinations

Pennsylvania mandates the following health examinations as indicated: Physicals: School entry, grades 6 and 11 Dentals: School entry, grades 3 and 7.

Parents are urged to have physical and dental examinations completed by their family physician or dentist and submitted prior to October 15th of the year that they are due. Exams may be completed any time after September 1st of the prior calendar year. Forms can be found by clicking HERE. Please submit these forms to the school directly or via email to ggiovinco@cbsd.org.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has the following immunization requirements for students:

• 4 doses of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (1 dose on or after 4th birthday) (DTaP)
• 4 doses of polio (4th dose on or after 4th birthday and at least 6 months after previous dose given) (IPV)
• 2 doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
• 3 doses of hepatitis B (Hep B)-properly spaced
• 2 doses of varicella or evidence of immunity (chickenpox)

You may check your child’s school immunization record by logging onto the parent portal through the district website at www.cbsd.org or by consulting with your child’s physician. Immunization records can be sent to the school directly or via email to ggiovinco@cbsd.org.

The Elementary School Daily Specials Schedule is being updated for the 23-24 school year (Art, Library, Music, Physical Education, and QUEST). Past practice had specials on a Monday-Friday system, however, it caused for an imbalance of classes (or missed days) when holidays, long weekends, or "snow days" occurred across the year.

This year, Central Bucks Elementary Schools will be on a Day-1 through Day-5 schedule. The reason for this adjustment provides for a better "distribution" of scheduled special classes for elementary students. With a Day-1 through Day-5 schedule, missed days during any given week will allow for the specials class to simply pick-up on the next, subsequent student day.

Tuesday, September 5th, the first day for students, will be Specials Day-1. The remainder of the first week will take Specials through Day-4. Then on Monday, September 11th, students will attend Specials Day-5 class (with Tuesday the 12th back to Day-1, and so-on...). Classroom teachers will be sure to communicate the classroom schedule regularly, so the children are prepared for each day's special.

Registration for all new K-6 students remains OPEN across Central Bucks Schools. Please use this link to register your child for the 2023-2024 school year. CLICK HERE.

Kindergarten classrooms are quickly filling - and staffing needs may adjust sooner if all our potential students register as early as possible. Late registrations may result in larger class sizes. Register today!

We look forward to welcoming our new Butler Bears!

The parent portal is now open for families to complete the Annual Student Information Update. The deadline to complete this form is September 30, 2023.

UPDATING THE INFORMATION IS CRITICAL. Unless the update is completed:

• School nurses may NOT administer acetaminophen, antacids (Tums), antihistamines (Benadryl), or ibuprofen.
• The school may not be able to reach you in an emergency if phone numbers or email addresses are not up to date.
• You may miss school closing, early dismissal information, emails from classroom teachers, and MORE.

To update your information today, log in to your parent portal account at www.cbsd.org/parentportal. Once logged in, select, “More” on the menu, and click Annual Student Information Update. Instructional videos have been prepared to assist families in accessing and completing the update. Watch here: English| Spanish.

A waiver for the 2023-2024 laptop device fee (due for grades 3-7 and 10) or an accessory (charger, headphones, wireless mouse) credit of equivalent value will be awarded to 100 families randomly selected from among those who complete the update on or before August 29, 2023.

For more assistance you have any questions or would like help with this, please call or email Lori Rebstock at 267.893.5714/lrebstock@cbsd.org.

To access the application and understand important details regarding the "Free & Reduced Breakfast & Lunch" Program, please CLICK HERE.

The 23-24 Before & After Care Community School Program is now open. Please visit the CBSD Childcare Program site for more information on how to register your child.

CLICK HERE to Register for Before/After Care with CB Community School!

August:

Aug. 3 - Class Placements Published (via Parent Portal Backpack)

Aug. 8 - CB School Board Meeting - 7:30 PM - 16 Welden (ESC)

Aug. 28 - UPDATE: New Family Tours (AM) - See Below for Details

Aug. 28 - UPDATE: Kindergarten Welcome and Transportation Orientation (PM) - See Below for Details

September:

Sept. 4 - Labor Day - School/Offices Closed

Sept. 5 - First Day of School for Students (Day 1 - Specials Schedule)

Sept. 6 - BTSN Grades 4 & 3 (Schedule Below)

Sept. 7 - CB South BTSN

Sept. 11 - BTSN Grades 6 & 5 (Schedule Below)

Sept. 12 - BTSN Grades 2 & 1 (Schedule Below)

Sept. 12 - CB School Board Meeting - 7:30 PM - 16 Welden (ESC)

Sept. 14 - Unami BTSN (7th Grade)

Sept. 18 - BTSN AM/PM KDG & PEN (Schedule Below)

Sept. 19 - Butler PTO General Meeting (7:00 PM)

Sept. 21 - Unami BTSN (8th & 9th Grades)

Sept. 22 - Butler PTO Bingo Night

Sept. 25 - Holiday - No School for Students (Office Open) - Yom Kippur

Sept. 29 - PTO Fall Book Fair

Sept. 29 - Half-Day for Students (12:25 PM Dismissal)

Sept. 30 - Annual Student Update Information Due (Click Here)

On the morning of August 28th, our new students and families to Butler Elementary are invited to join our 6th Grade Butler Ambassadors for "In-Person" School Tours! Specific details below. We hope to see all of our newest Butler Bears come out to learn about the school and community!

As a reminder, the first day of school will be Tuesday, September 5, 2023. With the start of school comes our Back to School Nights (BTSN’s) as they are an important opportunity for all parents to meet their child’s teacher and learn about the year ahead!

BTS Nights will be held according to the following schedule:

Wednesday, 9/6 - Gr. 4 @ 6:30 PM; Gr. 3 @ 7:30 PM

Monday, 9/11 - Gr. 6 @ 6:30 PM; Gr. 5 @ 7:30 PM

Tuesday, 9/12 - Gr. 2 @ 6:30 PM; Gr. 1 @ 7:30 PM

Monday, 9/18 - AM/PM Kdg. @ 6:30 PM (Gymnasium); PEN @ 7:30 PM (Gymnasium)

*Please Note: When you arrive, walk directly to your child’s classroom so you do not miss any of your teacher’s presentation. Kindergarten and PEN - please go to the Gymnasium. For each of our grade levels, BTSN will start promptly at noted times.

Mark your calendars, comb/brush your hair, and find you best outfit for Butler's 23-24 Picture Day on October 10th! More details and information to be sent home in the Wednesday Folders!

Picture Retake Day is scheduled for November 20th, 2023

Superintendent: Abram Lucabaugh, Ed. D.

Assistant Superintendent-Secondary: Charles Malone, Ed. D.

Assistant Superintendent-Elementary: Nadine Garvin, Ed. D.

Website: cbsd.org
Location: 20 Welden Drive, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-2000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbschools/
Twitter: @CBSDSchools

Karl Funseth - Principal

Peggy Bernabei - Principal's Secretary

Lauren Dowd - Assistant Principal

Michele Droxler - Assistant Principal's Secretary

Website: cbsd.org/butler
Location: 200 Brittany Drive, Chalfont, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-4250
Twitter: @CBButler