August Newsletter
Save the Date
Here are some important dates for August and September:
- August 4 - PTO Meeting 6:30 pm (Library)
- August 7 - PTO Scoop Night - Kristy's Whistle Stop 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
- August 19 - New Family Orientation Night (for brand new West Shore families only) 6:00 pm
- August 26 - First day of School
- August 29 - No School
- September 1 - No School
- September 8 - Back to School Night 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
- September 8 - PTO Meeting 6:30 pm (Library)
- September 11 - PTO Rita's Night 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
- September 15 - PTO Family Picnic
- September 19 - Picture Day
- September 26 - Remote Learning Day
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration is underway for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have a child who will be joining us in August 2025 for kindergarten, please visit the District’s registration page for directions on how to complete the enrollment process. By enrolling early, parents help us with staffing and class sizes to ensure a smooth start to the school year.
Primary Student Day Time Change
Primary start and end times are changing slightly. We are pushing back the student day 5 minutes, in hopes of giving transportation the time needed to complete the intermediate bus runs. This will hopefully cut down or eliminate the late buses we experienced last year. The primary school day will run 8:55 am - 3:40 pm. Morning Kindergarten will be 8:55 am - 11:40 am. Afternoon Kindergarten will be 12:55 pm - 3:40 pm.
Student Meal Update
Previously, West Shore School District offered breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students each day through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which is available to some schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program (SBP).
Unfortunately, CEP is no longer a viable option for West Shore School District. We will continue to offer a healthy breakfast and lunch to students during the school day, but will return to the previous system of collecting applications for households that wish to apply for free or reduced-price lunches. Based on current state law, we anticipate offering all students one free breakfast per day regardless of their family’s economic status. We will charge for additional breakfasts and all lunch servings.
Monies may be deposited into your student's account ahead of time. More information can be found below under "Depositing Money in Your Student's Account."
Parents who believe their child would qualify for free/reduced lunches are asked to fill out the proper paperwork through LINQ Connect or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS). Your child will still receive free breakfast regardless of paperwork status. You may find links to those pages at https://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/FreeandReducedMeals.aspx.
Additionally, the District is partnering with a new vendor, Aramark Nutrition, for school meals. Menu information is still being finalized. As we get closer to the First Day of School, you may visit: https://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/menus.aspx for updated menu options.
Lunch Prices
If your child does not qualify for free or reduced meals, one breakfast will still be available at no charge. Additional servings will cost $2.15 at all levels. Lunch will cost:
- $3.40 for primary/intermediate schools
- $3.50/$3.85 for middle/high schools.
Depositing Money Into Your Student's Account
All schools are using LINQ Connect (formerly known as TITAN), for student breakfasts and lunches. This system allows parents to monitor their student’s account balance, view meal purchases, and make online payments. There is no charge to monitor student account information; however, a convenience fee will be charged by LINQ Connect when used to add funds. If parents prefer not to use the online service to deposit funds, money may be added to student accounts by sending cash or checks made payable to “West Shore Cafeteria Fund” to school with students. Unfortunately, monies cannot be accepted by the cashier at lunch time. Click here for more information or to set up an account.
Additional Reasons to Complete Free/Reduced Lunch Form
Every school year, a variety of supportive opportunities are available for students based on household income. These include, but are not limited to: fee waivers for participation in after-school activities, e-rate funds that offset the cost of access to technology resources, along with additional state and federal grant funding for programs and resources to support students. These opportunities may be based on qualification for free/reduced lunches. Families are encouraged to submit their application within the first two weeks of school.
New Family Orientation
This orientation is designed for any family who is new to the district or new to Washington Heights. It would also be appropriate for Kindergarten families who were unable to attend Camp Kindergarten. We will begin by meeting as an entire group in the cafeteria. While there, we will be sharing general information related to Washington Heights and the West Shore School District as a whole. Following the informational session, a brief guided tour will be provided to families.
We invite both parents/guardians and their respective student(s) to attend this event. This event was not intended to replace Back to School Night. We encourage our new families to also attend the BTSNs as they will provide specific, detailed information regarding your student(s) classroom.
Upon arrival for this event, please come through the main front doors into the lobby. Staff will be there to greet you and point you in the right direction.
Teacher Assignments and Transportation Information
PowerSchool access is currently closed while student schedules for the upcoming school year are developed. Please check back on Tuesday, August 12 at 1pm to view student schedules, transportation information, and other student information. On August 12, elementary families will also receive a personalized email with this important information specific to their child. Our goal is to have all registered student schedules finalized by this time; however, we may need to make additional adjustments prior to opening day. Although rare, this may result in changes to the assigned teacher and/or the time of day the class occurs.
*Kindergarten families will receive their PowerSchool log-in information at Camp Kindergarten. Should anyone be in need of their log-in information, please do not hesitate to contact our office for further assistance.
Helpful PowerSchool Links:
Carpool Dismissal Form
Below you will see our Carpool Dismissal Form. If you plan on picking up or having your child picked up from school, please stop by our office and pick this form up, fill it out and return it.
Free Summer Meals
We are once again offering free summer meals! From June 16 through August 14, all kids up to age 18 can receive free breakfast and lunch regardless of their family’s economic status or school district of residence.
Locations: Cedar Cliff High School, Old Trail Intermediate School, Hillside and Washington Heights Elementary Schools
Days: Monday through Thursday (closed Fridays)
Times: Breakfast from 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. and Lunch from 11 a.m. - noon
PTO Scoop Night
Get your scoop on at Kristy’s Whistle Stop in Enola next Thursday August 7 from 5-9pm, and support Washington Heights Elementary PTO! $1 of a cone or dish purchase *ONLY* will go directly to our PTO to support our students’ education outside of the classroom, NEW playground equipment, teacher appreciation events and so much more!
We will also have our donation jar set up inside! 💰
No coupon needed (mention you're there for the Washington Heights Fundraiser)... CHOO CHOO 🚂 SEE YOU THERE!