Date: 9/21/23

Subject: Letters from the Eyrie 9/21/23

Hello SCE Families,

I don’t mean to confuse anyone by sending my Letters from the Eyrie out on a Thursday, but I will be out of the office tomorrow so I wanted to share updates with you before I leave. I promise it is still Thursday :) Here you go!

We have received hard copies of 2023 PSSA results for students who participated in this assessment last spring. We will be sending those documents home with students in their Friday folders tomorrow afternoon. Only students in grades 3-5 take the PSSAs and if you have a student who entered middle school this fall, their reports will be sent home from that school. 

As you may know or recall, our school now proudly displays flags that represent the countries of origins of all of our families throughout our common spaces. Mrs. Amy Sachdeva has been spearheading this effort, which was originally the idea of one of her students. She would like to continue this newly formed tradition this year by inviting new families (or families who were not able to participate last year) to share their family’s country of origin so we can add new flags to our school landscape. Please see this letter from Mrs. Sachdeva to learn more! 

As a reminder to families who drop off their children at school in the morning, please be sure to have your child exit along the sidewalk side of your vehicle each time you drop them off. We have observed an increase in students crossing the road to enter the school and safety is our top priority. Thank you for your cooperation in this effort.

In an effort to strengthen our partnerships with families, we would like to provide parents with another avenue to request support for your child if you feel that they may be encountering an obstacle to learning or success at school that might warrant some form of intervention. We have a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) team that meets weekly to review referrals related to perceived barriers to student success. As a parent, you are now able to submit a referral for your child if you would like our team to gather information and offer services as needed at school. HERE is the link to the referral form for your reference. Please note, you are always encouraged to share any concerns you have with your child’s teacher, our school counselor, or myself if you’re not sure whether or not this referral process is appropriate. We are here to help. 

Our annual Fall Harvest Parade will be held on Wednesday, October 25. I will send you more information about this event as it draws near, but I wanted to get the date on your radar for planning purposes. 

Last on my list, there is no school Monday of next week. Enjoy the extra time with your family! 

Finally, here is your weekly update from the SCE PTO:

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend (both in person and virtually) our first PTO meeting of the year!  We are truly grateful to April Rizzo and Paul Brigman for sharing about the curriculum our district uses to teach our students.  There were thought provoking questions and interesting discussion.  We're looking forward to our next meeting!  

On that note, the PTO would like to cordially invite you to attend our next PTO meeting on October 11, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Spring Creek Library.  This month's topic will be "Volunteers".  We plan to talk about the different ways you can volunteer in our schools - from in-class helpers to PTO events and after school activities, our community relies on the help of our amazing community.  We'll have special guest Shannon Messic there to answer questions.  And we will have some stations set up where you can fill out the yearly Policies & Procedures Form if you have not done so already for 2023-24.  If you are unable to attend in person, please join us via the following Google Meet Link: 

October PTO Meeting

Wednesday, October 11 · 6:00 – 7:00pm

Time zone: America/New_York

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/aam-ygiq-ntq

And speaking of meetings... Our first ever Spring Creek Mixer at Voodoo Brewing last night was a BIG success!  We met lots of new faces and connected with some familiar ones too.  A huge thank you to Voodoo for hosting us.  And thank you to all of you who made time to stop by.    Please reach out to us and let us know or comment on our Facebook page!

Spring Creek Hawk Hop donation packets will come home with your student this week.  Please feel free to share our QR code or Paypal info with friends and family who would like to donate online.  NEW to this event: Your generous donation of $100 gets your Spring Creek Hawk their very own shout-out during the dance!  Make sure you fill out the form and include it with your donation to let us know who to give the shout out to.  We are grateful for donations in any amount.  Thank you for helping us make our goal of $20,000.  

Important Save the Dates: 

1. Wednesday, October 11, 2023 - PTO Meeting @ SCE Library - "Volunteers" With Special Guest, Shannon Messic

2. Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - PTO Meeting @ SCE Library - "Extra Curriculars" Special guest Lynn Darlington

3. November 15-17 - Fall Book Fair

4. November 17 - Harvest Fest & Evening Book Fair Shopping (time TBD)

5. Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - PTO Meeting @ SCE Library - Cookie Exchange and "Hopes & Dreams for SCE"

Date: 9/15/23

Subject: Letters from the Eyrie 9/15/23

Hello SCE Families,

I hope you are all well. Fall is in the air and it is a beautiful time to get outside and enjoy the weekend! Before you go, here are my weekly updates and reminders:

• PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM!!!! The SCE PTO has decided to provide all of our students with a free SCE T-Shirt to wear in our first annual Hawk Hop on October 20. We need to know how many sizes of each shirt to order ASAP, so please be sure to complete this form for each of your children who attend SCE no later than next Thursday, September 21.  HAWK HOP T-SHIRT SIGN UP FORM 

• Monday, September 18 is Picture Day! Every student will have the opportunity to have their photo taken with their class, even if you elect to not purchase school pictures. 

• There is no school on Monday, September 25.

• Tonight is Kindergarten Night at the State High Football Game. We hope to see many of you there! 

Here is your weekly message from our PTO:

The PTO would like to thank everyone who came to our first PTO meeting of the year.  We hope you enjoyed the new format as much as we did!  We are looking forward to all the meetings to come this year.  Please join us for our next meeting on October 4, 2023 at 6:00pm in the Spring Creek Library.  The topic will be "Volunteering".  Along with special guest Shannon Messic, we will talk about how you can get involved with our school - inside and outside of the classroom.  We'll have helpers to talk about the clearance process and everything you need to know to volunteer!  We hope you can make it. 

Please join us for our Sprig Creek Mixer next Wednesday, September 20 at 6:00pm at Voodoo Brewing Co.  We'll provide light snacks (drinks are on your own).  Come and meet fellow Spring Creekers and hang out!  Voodoo is family friendly.  So stop by for a while and say hi! 

The first ever Spring Creek Hawk Hop Dance-a-thon is right around the corner!  Our "flappin' for funds" fundraiser is going to be on Friday, October 20, 2023 (rain date October 25).  Many of you have reached out about how to donate.  Don't moult your feathers - donation information is coming home next week!  If you would like to volunteer for this event, please make sure you have your clearances completed.  If you already have your clearances, please make sure your yearly volunteer form is complete and mailed in. To download the yearly volunteer form click HERE

Do you have info on a fun activity your student participates in outside of school?  Do you have a budding ballerina?  A savvy singer?  Champion chess player? Involved in a club or sport outside of school?  Our November PTO meeting topic is "Extra Curriculars" and we would love to hear from YOU!  Along with info about the school district's intramural program, we will be sharing about all the fun activities and things you can do with your student outside of the school day.  Please reach out to us at ptospringcreekelementary@gmail.com if you have an idea or would like to share at our November meeting.  

Important Save the Dates: 

1. Wednesday, September 20 - Spring Creek Mixer @ Voodoo, 6pm

2. Wednesday, October 11, 2023 - PTO Meeting @ SCE Library - "Volunteers" With Special Guest, Shannon Messic

3. Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - PTO Meeting @ SCE Library - "Extra Curriculars" Special guest TBA

4. November 15-17 - Fall Book Fair

5. November 17 - Harvest Fest & Evening Book Fair Shopping (time TBD)

Thank you all! Have a wonderful weekend.

Paul Brigman, Principal 

Date: 9/8/23

Subject: Letters from the Eyrie 9/8/23

9/8/23

Hello SCE Families,

We made it through a successful week 3 and I hope you are all well. A few quick updates and reminders for you this week:

• Next week we are back to a normal 5-day week. 

• School Picture Day is Monday, September 18.

• Next week we will begin our first round of local benchmarking assessments with MAP tests for students in grades 2-5. Here is a breakdown of information about MAP tests from our district administration. 

• We are starting to see an uptick in bus behavior challenges. Please remind your child to practice STAR behavior at all times on the bus and notify the bus driver if any inappropriate behavior is observed. Thanks for your support with this!

• If you have siblings that attend SCE and one is in kindergarten, please let your older child know that they should report directly to their classroom when arriving at school rather than escorting their younger sibling to their room. If your kindergartner is in need of any support, please let us know and we will be happy to help.

• The world famous SCE PTO asked me to share these updates with you all:

1. The Spring Creek PTO would like to cordially invite all parents and or guardians to our first monthly PTO meeting Tuesday, September 12, 6-7pm in the Spring Creek Elementary Library.  We are excited to present our new meeting format.  We'll have 10-15 minutes of PTO "business" followed by 45 minutes of community discussion.  This month's topic will be Curriculum with special guest April Rizzo to answer any questions.  We encourage any who are able to attend in person, however we will have a virtual link available as well.  The virtual link info is as follows: 

SCE PTO Monthly Meeting September 2024

Tuesday, September 12 · 6:00 – 7:00pm

Time zone: America/New_York

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/tia-mtzh-vny

2. Please join us for our first ever Spring Creek PTO Mixer!  

Where: VooDoo Brewery, 201 Elm St. (overflow parking at First National Bank)

When: Wednesday, September 20, 6pm 

What: Come and meet fellow parents and SCE folks!  It's a time to get to know each other outside of school! Some snacks provided, buy your own beverages. 

3. SAVE THE DATES 

1. PTO Meeting Wednesday, October 11, 2023. 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Volunteers, with special guest Shannon Messic

2. PTO Meeting Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Extra Curriculars, special guest TBD

3. November 15-17 Fall Book Fair

4. Friday, November 17 Fall Harvest Fest & Evening Book Fair shopping 6:00pm-8:00pm

5. PTO Meeting Wednesday, December 13, 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Hopes and Dreams for SCE & Cookie Exchange! (no special guest this month)

Have a great weekend! As always, let me know if I can be of service to you in any way.

Paul Brigman, Principal 

Date: 9/1/23

Subject: September 1, 2023

Hello Spring Creek Families,

Happy Friday! We have successfully made it through week 2 of the school year. Learning is in full swing here and I have been loving the energy in our school every day. It’s almost time for a well-deserved long weekend, but before you unplug here are a few updates and reminders:

• There is no school Monday, 9/4, in honerance of Labor Day. 

• Our school counselor, Heather Baney, asked me to share some information with you about the YMCA Backpack Program. Please see the attached documents regarding this opportunity (parent letter and registration form).

• The PTO is excited for a fantastic year of family engagement and asked me to share this message on their behalf: 

•  

On behalf of the Spring Creek Elementary PTO, I would like to extend a warm welcome to you all.  Whether you're a seasoned SCE veteran or a new family joining us this year, we are so glad to have you as a part of our SCE community!

First, I would like to introduce the PTO Executive committee.  We encourage you to reach out to any of us with any questions you may have.  We have been hard at work all summer long creating fun events and thinking of interesting PTO meeting topics for our SCE community and we can't wait to share it all with you!  

Ashley Eveleth - PTO President ashleyeveleth@gmail.com

Robyn Lawler - PTO Vice President robyn.markowitz@gmail.com

Calie Dang - PTO Treasurer calie47@gmail.com

Lindsay Keegan - PTO Media & Social Media Coordinator lindsay54ford@gmail.com 

PTO Secretary ???  (Could this be YOU? - the PTO is currently looking for a parent, teacher or guardian to take on this role.  Please reach out to one of us if you're interested!)

Second, if you have not already received the information flyer about the brand new Spring Creek Elementary Hawk Hop event in your child's daily or weekly folder, you'll see it soon.  But if you've already received it, we wanted to clarify a few things about the Hawk Hop.  We had some parents reach out with questions... so we felt like maybe we should clarify some of the details.  1. This event is in place of the Fun Run, not in addition to.  2. The event will be held during school.  No need to commit to any additional time outside of school hours!  3. We will be asking for parent volunteers closer to the event date, so please keep a lookout for that.  As a side note, if you would like to volunteer but need some direction, please reach out to us and we would be happy to help you. 

Third, the Spring Creek PTO would like to cordially invite all parents and or guardians to our first monthly PTO meeting Tuesday, September 12, 6-7pm in the Spring Creek Elementary Library.  We are excited to present our new meeting format.  We'll have 10-15 minutes of PTO "business" followed by 45 minutes of community discussion.  This month's topic will be Curriculum with special guest April Rizzo to answer any questions.  We encourage any who are able to attend in person, however we will have a virtual link available as well.  The virtual link info is as follows: 

SCE PTO Monthly Meeting September 2024

Tuesday, September 12 · 6:00 – 7:00pm

Time zone: America/New_York

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/tia-mtzh-vny

SAVE THE DATES: 

1. PTO Meeting Wednesday, October 11, 2023. 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Volunteers, with special guest Shannon Messic

2. PTO Meeting Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Extra Curriculars, special guest TBD

3. November 15-17 Fall Book Fair

4. Friday, November 17 Fall Harvest Fest & Evening Book Fair shopping 6:00pm-8:00pm

5. PTO Meeting Wednesday, December 13, 6:00-7:00pm Meeting Topic: Hopes and Dreams for SCE & Cookie Exchange! (no special guest this month)

The PTO is so grateful for each and every one of our parents and guardians.  Without you, we can't exist! We are looking forward to a fun year of connecting and community building and we can't wait to see you all at our meetings and events!

Sincerely, 

Ashley Eveleth 

President 

Spring Creek Elementary PTO 

Have a great weekend everyone! I hope you get outside…

Paul Brigman, SCE Principal 

Date: August 31. 2023

Subject: Universal Screening 

Dear 4th and 5th grade SCE Families,

In the State Area School District, we are working to find ways to support students’ behavioral and emotional needs. It is important to note that mental health experts have highlighted the significant increase of mental health needs of youth across the country. 

In the coming weeks, your child will have the opportunity to take part in a universal screening screener.  This screener is intended to help learn more about the behavioral needs and emotional well-being of each student.  Screenings will be conducted electronically in the fall and spring. 

What is the universal screening? 

The universal screening screener consists of approximately 30 questions related to students' self-perceived behavioral and emotional strengths and weaknesses.  The questions used in the screener are drawn from the BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System.  After completing the screener, students’ responses will be scored and divided into a three-tier distribution, which aligns with the Multi Tiered System of Support (MTSS) model already being used by SCASD for academic skills.

What are tiers and how do tiers impact service provision for students?

Tier 1: GREEN Students whose scores fall into Tier 1 range (approximately 80-85% of the population) are considered "normal risk" and will have access to all of the resources that currently exist in the school system (tutoring support, counseling services, extracurricular opportunities, etc.) to support healthy personal and academic growth.

Tier 2: YELLOW Students whose scores fall into Tier 2 range (approximately 10% of the population) are considered at "elevated risk" and will have access to some additional services if warranted (i.e. Student Assistance Program, educational support group counseling programs, etc.). 

Tier 3: RED Students whose scores fall into Tier 3 range (approximately 5% of the population) are considered at "extremely elevated risk" and may be provided with a list of community resources who can offer therapeutic support.

Can I see my child’s score?

Once the assessment has been administered, an email will be sent to parents and guardians with direction on how to access your child’s scores in ParentVUE.

Is my child required to participate? 

No, however we would like all our students to take part in the screener, but the screener is voluntary.  No action will be taken against the school, you, or any student if the student does not participate.  Please note that all information gathered through the screening is kept completely confidential and is not placed in your child’s academic records. 

If my child is identified in Tier 2: YELLOW or Tier 3: RED, what services are available to my child?

If you have any questions or concerns, or would like more information about the screening, please contact your child’s school counselor or the school psychologist. You will have the opportunity to view your child’s results electronically or upon request once the screening window is completed. 

You can view the entire screener and Frequently Asked Question at the following link:    https://www.scasd.org/cms/lib/PA01000006/Centricity/Domain/115/BASC3BESSStudent.pdf.  Students will complete the screener between September 8-14. We will send an email to students enrolled in the virtual academy asking them to take part in the screener as well. The screener will take no more than 30 minutes to complete.

If you do NOT want your child to take part in the screener, please email Heather Baney, school counselor, at hmb21@scasd.org by Wednesday, September 6. 

Respectfully,

Paul Brigman, SCE Principal 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Date: August 30, 2023

Subject:  Accompanying children at State High football games

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On Friday, Sept. 1, the State High varsity football team will open its season at home against Downingtown East in what looks to be an exciting matchup. 

This year, in a new protocol for home games, the District asks that adults accompany elementary and middle school students at the game. Please abide by this request and help us supervise our young fans so that they and everyone else can fully enjoy a Memorial Field “Friday Night Lights” experience.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Date: August 30, 2023

Subjet: Flexible Math Grouping

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

The purpose of this email is to provide some important information about math instruction in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. In order to better meet the math needs of each child, we create flexible math class rosters which allow us to have a flexible approach to responding to students’ needs. Prior to the beginning of each unit, we will meet to review available data and consider classroom observations as we plan for each unit. There may be times when we do not regroup students because the content is able to be taught effectively in heterogeneous classes, such as geometry and measurement concepts, for example. 

One teacher in each grade level will teach an advanced math class for students who are ready for additional extensions of the core math program and the remaining teachers will each teach mixed-ability classes - all based on the needs of the current unit. We will assess students on a regular basis through pre and post assessments and make adjustments to instructional groupings as needed. Families will receive communication at the beginning of each unit from your child’s math teacher, who may change based on the unit. 

While we will begin switching for math classes soon and our groupings are flexible and fluid in order to meet students’ needs. You can help at home by discussing these flexible groups at home and helping your child understand that there is no “good or bad” or “high or low” math class.  Classes are designed to give students what they need at that time. Our 4th grade teachers will begin flexible math grouping immediately, while 3rd and 5th grades will begin grouping after the completion of fall benchmarking and the completion of Bridges Unit 1. 

Your child’s math teacher will be reaching out to you with additional details soon. As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. 

Respectfully,

Paul Brigman, SCE Principal 

Date: August 24, 2023

Subect - Letters from the Eyrie (Spring Creek Updates)

Hello Families!

I hope your children had a positive first week of school. I had the opportunity to visit every classroom and it was energizing to experience the return to learning at SCE. Our teachers have been working hard to build connections in their classrooms and I am excited for the great things this year will bring. 

As we prepare for our first full week of school, here are a few quick updates/reminders:

• Students in grades 1-5 were taught by our teachers (and me) about appropriate behavior throughout all spaces in the school, including the school bus, on Thursday. Please take this opportunity to talk to your child about what it means to be a STAR student at SCE (showing kindness, taking responsibility, acting safely, and respecting everyone). This is particularly important to remember for students who ride the bus to and from school every day. Safety is our number one priority, so thank you in advance for reinforcing safe and appropriate bus behavior this year.

• We have already started to form a lost & found collection :) Please remember to write your child’s name on tags of attire so we can try to return articles to their owners.

• Remember that our doors lock at 8:10am, so please make sure your child is in the building before that time or we will have to buzz them in and have you sign them in late. Also, if your child’s departure plans change after noon on any day, please call the office at 814-231-5026 AND email your teacher and the attendance secretary at smf18@scasd.org. 

• We will begin our safety drills next week. Below is a message being sent out to all elementary families about our district safety drills for your reference. Our first drill will be an evacuation drill Monday morning. If you have any questions, please let me know.

•  

In an effort to promote and sustain a safe school environment and adhere to state law, we conduct multiple school safety drills throughout the year.  The purpose of these drills is to prepare, not scare, our staff and students to respond accordingly in the event of an actual emergency at school.  As such, caution and concern for student well being are exercised when conducting these drills.

Our safety drills include:

• Evacuation Drill: conducted once per month - prepares us for a substance or situation (not person) that could cause harm or danger - faculty, staff, and students evacuate the building using their room or office’s exit route and report to designated outside area for attendance

• Stay-Put Drill: conducted at least once per trimester - prepares us for a dangerous person/situation outside of the school, any peril inside the school that will not require evacuation, or a medical emergency requiring hallways to be clear - rooms are locked and secured and teaching continues

• Severe Weather Drill: conducted two times each school year - prepares us for a severe weather event in which it would be dangerous for faculty, staff, and students to be on secondary floors, near windows, or outside

• Bus Evacuation Drill: conducted two times each school year - prepares those students who ride a bus and their drivers for an emergency evacuation or situation that may occur while traveling to or from school

• Lockdown Drill: not conducted on a regular basis - prepares us for anyone inside the building that presents a danger or threat to those inside the building (i.e. possesses a weapon, alcohol/drug intoxication, threatening, etc.) - would result in running, hiding, or fighting

Building safety procedures are reviewed with students prior to each drill.

You may find it helpful to discuss these safety drills at home with your student and to reinforce that the purpose of the drills is to practice being safe.

Paul Brigman, Principal

Date: August 18, 2023

Subject - SCE Back to School Reminders

Hello SCE Families! 

It was wonderful seeing so many of you last evening at our open house. Hopefully those of you who were able to attend got a chance to meet your child’s teacher and explore your our learning spaces for this year. With the first day of school right around the corner, I wanted to share a few final reminders with you.

• The first day of school is Tuesday, August 22. Our doors will open at 7:55am. Once again, HERE is a link to our pick-up & drop-off procedures, as well as some information about absence procedures. *One important reminder regarding changes to your child’s transportation plan - teachers are not able to check email throughout the day and may not see last minute updates from you regarding pick up plans or early departures. Please always call the main office at 814-231-5026 if you need to request a last minute change to your child’s plans for that day. We also need a written note, email (include Suzanne Fritz smf18@scasd.org and your child’s teacher), or Parentvue entry, but a phone call to the school is essential in these cases. For safety reasons, we can never allow a child to leave school with any person who is not a listed guardian without written parent permission. 

• Dismissal begins at 2:53pm for kindergarten, 2:56pm for grades 1, 2, 4, and 2:58pm for grades 3, 5. All buses will depart by 3:05pm. If you are picking up your child after school, please pull the full way around the pickup loop to allow for maximum parking. 

• Kindergarten has a modified schedule on the first day of school. Students with last names A-K attend with a parent from 9:00am-10:30am and students with last names L-Z attend with a parent from 11:00pm-12:30pm. All students in Mrs. Narber’s class attend the latter session. 

• There is no school on Friday, August 25. 

• All grades have a 30 minute recess everyday. K-2 classes have an additional 15 minute recess daily. Please remember to dress your child appropriately for the weather conditions of each day and label all clothing with your child’s name. 

Water update: I was informed this morning by our physical plant director that we have had enough consecutive water tests without elevated copper level readings that we are cleared to reopen all of our hallway water fountains and water bottle filling stations. Thank you for your patience as we cautiously navigated this matter. 

I am excited to welcome all of you to the 2023-2024 school year at Spring Creek Elementary. It’s going to be a great year and I can’t wait to get to know you all better and work with you to provide your children with the best possible educational experience in our school. As always, feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions, concerns, or creative ideas. I love to collaborate! 

Respectfully,

Paul Brigman, Principal 

Date: August 2, 2023

Subject: Welcome Spring Creek Elementary Families

Hello Spring Creek Families!

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year at your neighborhood elementary school, Spring Creek! My name is Paul Brigman and I have the privilege of serving as your principal this year. This will be my second year in this role and I am thrilled to begin another journey with the students, faculty, school staff, and families of this community. If you remember nothing else from this email, please know that I am here to collaborate with you, support you, and assist you with anything you need to ensure that your child has a positive and successful experience in our school. Please do not hesitate to contact me anytime if I can be helpful to you as we embark on this exciting experience together. 

The purpose of this letter is to provide you with important information about the start of the school year and to help you know what to expect from me in terms of ongoing communication from me and from the school throughout the year. I do my best to not bombard you with emails, while ensuring that you have the information you need to best support your child at school. I will typically send out an email to families once every week or two with updates and reminders of upcoming events. I also post all of my parent emails on our school’s website so that you can reference past communications anytime as needed. You can also expect to get regular and frequent email communication from your child’s teacher with updates that are specific to your child’s classroom. In addition to those emails, you will receive sporadic communication from the SCASD central office with district-wide announcements and updates. I realize (as a SCASD parent myself) that all of this information can be overwhelming and challenging to manage at times. So once again, if you ever have a question or if anything is unclear to you as a parent, please give me a call or email me and I will do my absolute best to respond within 48 hours at the most. 

Okay, here we go…

Upcoming Dates

August 17 - SCE Open House. We will host our first annual evening open house on Thursday, August 17 from 5:45pm - 7:00pm. K-2 families are invited to attend from 5:45pm-6:15pm and 3-5 families are invited to attend from 6:30pm-7:00pm. If you have students in both grade ranges, you are welcome to stay for any length of the open house. But due to parking limitations, I ask that you honor the time frames stated above for this event. This will be a “true open house”, meaning that teachers will not be delivering presentations. I will offer a brief welcome message when families arrive, introduce our PTO president, Ashley Evelyth, and then encourage families to visit their child’s classroom, explore the school, and meet your assigned teacher. *Please note that teacher assignments for students in grades 1-5 will be released to parents sometime early in the week of August 14. 

***If you are a kindergarten family assigned to Mrs. Narber, she will hold a separate open classroom event for her families on Tuesday, August 15, from 6:00-6:30pm. (see below for more information about Kindergarten and Mrs. Narber’s modified schedule)

August 22 - First Day of School. Our school day starts promptly at 8:15, meaning instruction will begin at that time. Our doors open at 7:55am. Breakfast is available in our cafeteria for all students (free of charge) as soon as the doors open. If your child chooses to take advantage of the school breakfast, they can pick up their food/drink in the cafeteria and take it to their classroom to eat. The school day ends at 3:00pm. More information on parent drop off/pick up procedures below. 

August 25 - No school

Kindergarten First Day

The first day of school, August 22, will be a modified day for kindergarten students, which will serve as an orientation program for families. We have three kindergarten classrooms at SCE. Two of these classroom teachers, Mrs. Conklin and Mrs. Pagnotto, will host two orientation sessions, one from 9:00am-10:30am and one from 11:00am-12:30pm. If you are assigned to one of these teachers and your last name begins with A-L, plan to attend the first session. If your last name begins with M-Z, plan to attend the second session. If your work schedule conflicts with this schedule, it is fine for you to attend either session. Our third teacher is Mrs. Narber. She will be hosting only one session from 11:00am-12:30pm. We hope to have kindergarten teacher assignments solidified by next week, at which time I will email all K families with that information. 

Parents must provide transportation for kindergarten orientation on the first day of school. If possible, we request that one parent attend this program with their child and that siblings do not attend unless you have no childcare options. Our reason for this request is that classroom space is limited and we would like to give all parties present ample space to participate in the classroom orientation. If you have any questions or concerns about this just let me know. 

During orientation, teachers will go over everything you need to know about the classroom procedures for your child, including curriculum, routines, opportunities for parent involvement, growth measures, snack systems, what to bring to and from school each day, and much more. We will have a school bus on site for students to see and explore as well. 

School Supplies

Most materials needed at school are provided by classroom teachers, with the support of our amazing PTO and budgeted school funds. The only items your child will need to bring to school include a backpack for carrying materials, a lunch if your child chooses to pack food, and a water bottle filled with water (see more on water below). Chromebooks are provided to every student by the district (you should have received information about picking up a chromebook from our IT department already). If you have any questions about specific rules regarding what students can or cannot bring to school, please contact your child’s teacher first and then reach out to me if any clarification is needed. 

Parent Pick Up & Drop Off

HERE is a link to our school’s parent drop off and pick up procedures, as well as some important information about late arrivals and appointments during the school day. Please review this information and let me know if you have any questions. If you need any assistance with bus transportation, the SCASD transportation office phone number is 814-231-1033. 

Water at SCE

Early last school year, the district physical plant identified elevated copper levels in the water at our school through routine testing. Since that time, we closed our water fountains and provided all students with bottled water as a precaution. We are still working through this issue, however I want to share these important updates:

• After extensive continued testing and consultation with many authorities on the matter, we have determined that our water is safe for all non-drinking uses (i.e. handwashing, cleaning, etc.). It is, in fact, not unsafe for consumption either, but out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to keep water fountains closed since the issue was identified. 

• We believe that we have determined the cause of this issue and are currently working to resolve it. However, until we have confirmed this through additional water tests, we will continue to have bottled water available for all students to drink.

•  

I will provide you with another update as soon as I am able. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. Feel free to call me if you have specific questions. 

PTO

SCE has an amazing and generous PTO! Our PTO helps to provide teachers with classroom supplies, they support student educational experiences like field trips, they sponsor programs and events to support and celebrate the work of our educators, and so much more. There will be an evening PTO meeting every month of the school year and each meeting will have a specific theme. Our PTO president is Ashley Evelyth and she and I are excited and hopeful that this year will be full of family involvement and collaboration. We are partners in the education of your child and we want you to have an active role in the happenings of our school. Please try to join us for as many meetings as you are able to attend. The list of dates and topics is below. Ashley will periodically share communications and announcements with me and I will forward them to all families on her behalf. THANK YOU to our PTO for all that you have done for our school and all that you will do to support our teachers and students this year.

PTO Meetings (All at 6:00pm in SCE Library, remote login available) 

Sept 12 (Curriculum)

Oct 11 (Volunteering)

Nov 14 (Extracurricular Activities) 

Dec 13 (Cookies & Recipe Exchange) 

Jan 10 (school safety, cybersecurity, citizenship)

Feb 14 (celebrate Specials - Art, Music, STEM, PE, Library)

March 12 (TBD)

April 10 (Moving on, what to expect in middle school)

May 14 (how to prevent the summer slide)

I realize that this is a lot of information, but my hope is that by having it all in one document, it will be helpful for your reference. Once again, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have and enjoy these final weeks of summer. I look forward to working with you and your children this year! 

Respectfully,

Paul Brigman, Principal