Welcome 2021-2022

By Press release submission

Aug 22, 2021

Pequea Elementary School issued the following announcement on Aug. 16.

Welcome back Pequea friends! We are busy gearing up and prepping for the new school year and looking forward to seeing all of you again! I am hopeful that the information below is helpful to you as you prepare for the first day of school.

We will see you on the first day of school, Monday, August 30, 2021!

Also, please mark your calendars: Our Back to School Night will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 between 4:00 – 6:00 PM. More information to come.

Dr. Shirley Murray, Principal

COVID

As the first day of school approaches, you may have questions about our practices and procedures. You can find more information about Penn Manor’s Health & Safety Plan here: https://www.pennmanor.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Penn-Manor-ESSER-Health-and-Safety-Plan-2021-2022-signed.pdf

School Supplies

If you are uncertain as to what school supplies your child is in need of, you can access the list of all grade levels at:

Pequea Grade Level Supply Lists: https://pequea.pennmanor.net/supply-lists/

If you need assistance acquiring the necessary school supplies, please contact Dr. Murray, Principal or Mrs. Semple, Guidance Counselor.

Communication

We encourage all families to subscribe to our school blog. This can be done right on our school site and is as simple as entering your email address then pressing enter. Our primary sources for communication are:

School Blog: https://pequea.pennmanor.net/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pequeaelementary/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PequeaElem

Penn Manor App

Take Penn Manor with you! The mobile app for Android and Apple phones/tablets helps you stay current with school and district news, calendar events, menus, and athletics. Plus, receive breaking updates on weather closings and other district events.

To download the app, search for Penn Manor School District on Google Play or the App Store.

Volunteers

Penn Manor School District welcomes and encourages opportunities to engage volunteers. That being said, our number one priority for all students is a safe and supportive learning environment. Pennsylvania requires all volunteers to obtain clearances. Clearances are now free for school volunteers with the exception of the FBI Criminal Background. You can learn more about the clearances required and how to get them at the PM Volunteer page: https://www.pennmanor.net/district/volunteers/

Volunteer packets with all necessary forms are available in the school office.

Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need some assistance with this.

Visitors

We ask that if you need to enter the building, you park in an appropriate parking space and use the main entrance at the front of the building only, this includes arrival and dismissal times. Visitors will not be permitted to enter from other doors during our arrival/dismissal times. We appreciate your cooperation in assisting us in the supervision and safety of all students.

Drop Off and Pickup

The layout of Pequea allows for separate entrances and exits for cars and buses. We ask that you please assist us in ensuring everyone is safe and respectful of property during this time. No cars may enter the bus driveway during the hours of 8:15 AM to 9:15 AM and 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM. All vehicles should enter the parking lot from Bauer Avenue.

As parents arrive to drop off and pick up students, they should remain in their vehicles in a single-file line and students will enter the building and exit the building independently while supervised by staff members. Please be sure you notify the office of who is picking your child up. If it is someone unknown by the school, they may be asked to show photo ID before your child is released to their care.

Please see the accompanying building map for guiding directions.

Drop Off and Pickup

We ask that you please assist us and adhere to the following procedures:

No cars may enter the bus driveway during the hours of 8:15 AM – 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM. All vehicles should enter the parking lot from Bauer Ave.

If you plan on transporting your child(ren) EVERY DAY, please email Jessi Maule at jessica.maule@pennmanor.net and she will add your name to our car rider list. Additionally, every family will be provided a sign with your last name on the first day of school. We ask that you place the sign in your passenger side window to expedite the process. We ask that you use this sign ANYTIME you are picking your child up at the car rider door.

Morning Arrival Procedures:

Students may be dropped off as early as 8:30 for breakfast in the morning. Otherwise, we ask that you not arrive or drop off prior to 8:45 AM. Staff will be there to allow your student into the building. We cannot have students corralling in the hallways in the morning so it is important that they not arrive before the designated time.

As you arrive to drop your child off, please pull in a single file line along the curb and all your child to exit the vehicle on the curb closest to the school.

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures:

In the afternoon we will make use of both the curb along the building as well as our parking lot. Please pull into the shorter line and be patient. A staff member will supervise and assist students through the crosswalk. It is extremely important that we stay in single-file lines and not pull around other vehicles to ensure student safety.

We will dismiss students with a last name beginning with A-L starting at 3:25 PM. We will then dismiss students with a last name starting with M-Z starting at 3:30 PM. Please do not arrive before your designated time slot. If you should arrive earlier, we will have to ask you to pull back around to the end of the line to not delay others from dismissing.

Walker Arrival/Dismissal Procedures:

Our friends who live in Summerfield do not have the option of district transportation. Therefore, we have two procedures for their arrival and dismissal. We ask that students are walking (not running) once they enter the school grounds.

In the morning during arrival, students are to walk along the sidewalk and cross at the crosswalk to enter the building through the gym doors with the car riders.

At the end of the day, walkers will be dismissed from the rear entrance of the building. For safety reasons, students may not cut through the parking lot or walk between cars. Additionally, students may not exit the building and enter a car within the parking lot. If you have a change in plans and would like to pick your child up, please contact the main office and we will add your child to the car rider list.

Some procedures are new and some are the same as we conducted last year. We recognize that we may need to make adjustments as the weeks go on. Our number one priority is student safety! We appreciate your cooperation in assisting us with having an orderly arrival and dismissal.

Attendance

When your child is absent, communicate with the school in one of three ways.

Email the school office and your child’s teacher
Complete the online attendance excuse note in the Sapphire Community Portal
Send a handwritten note to school with your child when they return to school.

The emails and notes should include the date and reason for the absence. It must be submitted within three school days. Notes received after three days will not be accepted and result in an unlawful absence.

Arrival after 9:00 am is considered tardy. A parent/guardian must escort his/her child into the office for any late arrival. You must provide a reason for the tardiness in writing. Notes from medical professionals for time missed from school are encouraged.

Food Services

Lunch menus are accessible on the district app and blog. Please note: paper copies of the school menu will not be sent home regularly but they can be accessed on our district blog and in the Penn Manor App.

Food Services: https://www.pennmanor.net/food-services/menus/

Here you can access information about resources and assistance with free and reduced lunch: https://www.pennmanor.net/food-services-forms-and-resources/

My School Bucks allows you to set up an account for your children and gives you the convenience of being able to:

Check cafeteria balances and see what your child has purchased.
Receive low balance alerts to remind you to add more money to his/her lunch account.
Set up automatic payments. https://www.myschoolbucks.com

Lunch Prices

Elementary Student Lunch – $2.35

Reduced Lunch – $0.40

Milk – $0.60

Adult Lunch – $3.75

Staffing:

This year our team will be made up of the following teachers and staff:

K: Mrs Carin Leisure

1: Mrs Deb Drexel and Mrs Mary Snyder

2: Miss Megan Szentesy and Miss Lauren Walker

3: Ms Melanie Allen and Mrs Kara Eshleman

4: Mrs Tammee Iddings and Mr Erik Polaski