New Manchester Elementary School

A new teacher, classroom, supplies, and books…each school year is full of changes for your child. We are so excited to be a part of these wonderful changes. Our staff has been working very hard to ensure this is a productive year full of learning, growing, and enjoyment. Our theme, "Together Building a Bright Future" represents our goal to create engaging learning opportunities for our students to build a foundation of knowledge and excitement to carry them through their academic career. We want to work with each of you to ensure your child reaches his/her fullest potential and achieves academic, social/emotional, and behavioral success.

To help us along our journey, ask your child about his/her day, help with homework, and keep in contact with your child’s teacher. When we work together we can help each student achieve wonderful things. We appreciate everything you do! Remember: “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” – A Chinese Proverb

September 2024 Grab & Go, Hot Breakfast, and Lunch Menus

9/2 No School - Labor Day
9/3 First Day of Kindergarten (1/2 Class)

9/4 First Day of Kindergarten (1/2 Class)

9/5 First Day of Pre-K (1/2 Class)

9/6 First Day of Pre-K (1/2 Class) 9

9/9 - 9/13 - Attendance Awareness Week

9/9 Wear Tie-Dye -- Attendance is Tie-d to Academic Success

9/10 Wear a Hat -- Heads Up for Good Attendance

9/10 Kindergarten PBIS Day

9/11 Wear a Jersey/Shirt with a Number on It - Everyday Counts

9/12 Wear Red, White, and Blue -- Together We Succeed

9/13 Dress As Your Future Career or College - Attend Today, Succeed Tomorrow

9/20 No PreK ONLY

9/23 Soil Trailer for the 3rd/4th Grades

9/23 - 9/27 Book Fair

9/25 Progress Reports

9/26 Open House

We will begin our NMES "Crew Chief" (formerly known as "Student Spotlight") in October.

Criteria for selecting the Students of the Month will include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Effort
  
• Character through compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, optimism, and responsibility
• Behavior and self-control
• Attitude toward others/learning
• Good citizenship
• Leadership and integrity
• Demonstrates responsibility
• Respectful to peers and teachers
• Significant progress in the classroom and/or marked improvement in grades

New Manchester Elementary School is proud of our PTA commitment and involvement. The PTA provides many wonderful programs and incentives for our students.

PTA meetings are on Thursday evenings every other month. We will still have classroom presentations/performances during these meetings as well as recognizing our "Student Spotlight" of the months. The meetings will usually be held on the first Thursday of the month with the exception of December.

PTA membership is now underway. Information has been sent home with students. The information can also be found on our school website and is attached to this newsletter. Please consider joining the PTA. It is a great way to become involved in your child's education at New Manchester Elementary School.

Our PTA officers for the 2025-26 School Year

Brittany Mills Budney, President

Michael Staley, Vice President

Jessica Barron, Secretary

Sara Wolverton, Treasurer

New Manchester Elementary School follows the Expected Behaviors in Safe and Supportive Schools – Policy JG. A condensed version is found in the New Manchester Elementary School student handbook. A complete copy can be obtained in the Hancock County Board of Education office or our school office.

Our theme for the students is "CONSTRUCT"ING POSITIVE BEHAVIOR"

CONSTRUCT stands for a behavior we will focus on each month (C= Character; O = Optimism; N = Nurturing; S = Supportive; T = Trustworthy; R = Respect; U = Understanding; C = Compassion; T = Truthful). Students will work toward earning a hard hat for each month related to the focused behavioral concept. Each student will keep track of their progress each nine weeks. Throughout each month, students will have the opportunity to turn their dojo points in for classroom incentives so that they are rewarded for positive behavior continuously throughout the year.

In September, we will focus on "Character". This is defined as the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves. It is someone's personality. We will be working with students to be their best self and have a good character.

New Manchester Elementary School is encouraging attendance by promoting our theme: "9 or Less = Success: Be an Attendance Super Star!" September is Attendance Awareness Month.

NMES will recognize grade level attendance each month through tracking their attendance on our bulletin board in our lobby and celebrating the grade level with the best attendance monthly.

Research has proven that students who attend school regularly do better academically, socially, and emotionally in school. When your child misses school, even if it is for a few minutes, it is difficult to "catch up". Nothing substitutes participating daily in classroom activities.

Attendance does matter!
9 or Less = SUCCESS

When a student misses 2 days of school a month:

• They will miss 20 days of school a year
• They will miss approximately 30 hours of math instruction over the school year
• They will miss approximately 60 hours of reading instruction over the school year
• They will miss over 1 year of school by graduation

Remind your child that school is important and that she/he can only be absent if she/he is sick. Please try to schedule appointments and family trips outside of school hours. If your child is absent, you MUST call the school office to inform us of your child’s absence. After 3 unexcused absences, families will be contacted. After 5 unexcused absences, the attendance director will become involved. It is best practice to receive a medical excuse from a medical provider if your child is sick or must attend an appointment during school hours.

If your child is tardy, a parent or guardian MUST come into the office with the student to sign the student in.

To help you and your child to keep track of their absences, please place the form below on your refrigerator at home.

Our Title I program at New Manchester Elementary School is a school wide program. Mrs. Cole is our Title I Reading Interventionist and Mrs. Zoellers is our Title I Math Interventionist. Both teachers work on our Multi-Tiered System of Supports with our students providing interventions, resources, and support.

This school year, our Title I program will offer a variety of programs for our families. We will offer several family engagement nights throughout the year in which families and students will participate in interactive learning experiences. We will be offering academic supports for families with PD at the Printer. These will be newsletters that you can scan a QR code to learn more information about academic learning and expectations. You will find the September newsletter attached below that discusses the "Science of Reading". We will also offer opportunities to learn about our curriculum and content standards.

All families received the School - Parent Compact and the Hancock County Schools Parent Involvement Policy in the first day of school packets. These can also be found on our school website. Copies of both are also attached below along with the Hancock County Literacy Pledge.

If you have any questions about our Title I program, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Cole.

Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) is designed to represent the voice of the community's stakeholders. The councils are comprised of the principal, teachers, service personnel, parents, students, community members, and business representatives. The LSIC is directly involved with the operation of our school.

The LSIC serves an integral role in our school governance through shared decision making. The LSIC is responsible for addressing issues and fostering changes that directly impact our school.

The LSIC can provide a unique perspective and assistance to NMES to help us attain our goals and improve the education of our students.

LSIC meetings will be open to any of our stakeholders that would like to attend. Meeting dates and times will be announced on our school website. Our first meeting will be held on September 12, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. in our school cafeteria. NMES has started the process of nominations for committee members. If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Yeater at the school office.

New Manchester Elementary School is proud of our PTA commitment and involvement. The PTA provides many wonderful programs and incentives for our students.

PTA meetings are on Thursday evenings every other month. We will still have classroom presentations/performances during these meetings as well as recognizing our "Student Spotlight" of the months. The meetings will usually be held on the first Thursday of the month with the exception of December.

PTA membership is now underway. Information has been sent home with students. The information can also be found on our school website and is attached to this newsletter. Please consider joining the PTA. It is a great way to become involved in your child's education at New Manchester Elementary School.

Our PTA officers for the 2025-26 School Year

Brittany Mills Budney, President

Michael Staley, Vice President

Jessica Barron, Secretary

Sara Wolverton, Treasurer

I am so excited for the 2025-2026 school year! I want to use the September Nurse's Corner to remind parents of the West Virginia Department of Education guidelines.

• For students in Preschool, Kindergarten, and 2nd grade, proof of a yearly wellness check and dental visit is needed for their school medical file.
• If your child has had a physical or dental check within the last year, please have the physician’s office fax me your child’s record.

The school fax number is 304-564-5084.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Let’s have a Happy and Healthy School Year!!!!!

I would like to extend a heartfelt “Welcome Back!” to our Bearcat Family. As I did last year, I thought it would be a great idea to explain the role of a school counselor in this first newsletter of the 2024-2025 school year.

What a school counselor does do:

I serve ALL students at NMES, not just those struggling socially, emotionally, or behaviorally. I do preventative work by teaching social-emotional skills to all students through classroom guidance lessons. I assist students academically by teaching lessons on topics like study skills and offer individual academic assistance in the classroom to those needing help with focus or behavior management. I collaborate with our teachers regarding whole classroom concerns or those pertaining to an individual student.

Since school and personal safety remain priorities at NMES, I do anti-bullying guidance lessons in all classes with our Resource Officer and address any reports of individual bullying. I also can meet with individual students regarding safety concerns in their home or neighborhood environments.

I communicate with guardians regarding any issues of which I become aware with their child. As a licensed counselor, I provide short-term individual or group counseling with permission from the guardian. Regular updates are provided to the student’s grownups either through phone calls or Class Dojo. Students and guardians get to decide what information is shared with the respective teacher. Otherwise, the information is considered confidential.

What a school counselor does not do:

While I work with students on making positive behavior choices and understanding feelings, I do not discipline children beyond the use of our Class Dojo point system. My role is to provide Restorative Practices in situations that might warrant a Minor Offense – in lieu of punishment when appropriate.

I do not do long-term counseling because of time constraints but will gladly assist families in locating appropriate services as needed.

I do not judge students and or families for what they are experiencing. I am here to help and support students and families and connect families with resources to eliminate or significantly reduce needs.

Lastly, I do not fix problems with a “magic wand.” However, I am committed to doing everything in my power to help every student become the best possible version of themselves.

Please, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Math happens everyday, everywhere - even when washing your hands! We all know that it is important to wash your hands to keep them clean and that you should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. We can make washing your hands a fun learning experience. Try these math tips while washing your hands at home:

• Have your child count out loud to 20
• Have your child count backward from 20
• Have your child count by 2s, 5s, 10s
• Think about counting to 20 and then add 10 more. What happens if you change the first number to 11, how does that change the other number you count to?
• Have your child use numbers and math words to explain what they are doing
• Can your child come up with a different way to count

• September is known as the harvest month
• September 22 is the fall equinox. This means that the day and night hours are roughly the same
• September is the month with the most letters in its name, and its nine total letters also equal its position in the calendar, the ninth month of the year
• September is full of wacky days, including National Speak like a Pirate Day - ARR, matey!
• The first newspaper in the US was published on September 25, 1690 in Boston
• A full moon in September is known as the corn moon or the harvest moon

"It Takes a Team to Educate a Child"

Email: cyeater@k12.wv.us
Website: https://newmanchester.hancock.k12.wv.us
Location: 128 Frankfort Road, New Cumberland, WV, USA
Phone: 304-564-3242
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057713167536