Your child`s teacher is - Punxsutawney Area School District / Overview

Your child’s teacher is:
814-938-5122
[email protected]
Superintendent
Dr. Keith Wolfe
West End Principal
Mr. Travis Monroe
West End Guidance Counselor
Mrs. Maureen Freas
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION
The Punxsutawney Area School District is an equal opportunity education
institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,
or disability in its admission procedures, educational programs, activities, or
employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX and Section 504. For
information regarding civil rights or grievance procedures, contact Gerald G.
Gigliotti (Title IX Coordinator) at Punxsutawney Area High School, 500 North
Findley Street, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. Telephone: (814) 938-5151, ext.
6531 or Karen A. Young (Section 504 Coordinator) at Punxsutawney Area High
School, 500 North Findley Street, Punxsutawney, PA 15767. Telephone: (814)
938-5151, ext. 6523.
Arrival
Drop off time is from 8:25-8:55. Upon arrival
your child will go to his/her classroom to get
unpacked and get ready to begin the day.
School begins at 8:55. Children who arrive
after 8:55 will be marked tardy.
Absence
If your child is absent from school, please send a written excuse
with your child when they return to school. The district has an
excuse form that can be used. Make sure the excuse is dated
and signed.
Sample Absence Excuse:
Joey Smith was absent on (date) because
he had a fever and was vomiting.
Parent Signature
Appointments
If your child has an appointment during the school day, please
send in a note to inform us of the appointment. Please include
the place and time of the appointment and the time that your
child will be picked up form school. You will need to take a
form from the school nurse to the appointment and have it
signed and returned to the school when your child returns.
Sample Appointment Excuse:
Joey Smith has an appointment at 1:00 on September 5 with Dr.
Little. I will pick him up at 12:30 to take him to his appointment.
Parent Signature
Bus Passes
If your child will be going home on a different bus or with
someone else who rides a different bus than the one your child
usually rides, please send a note telling me who they are going
home with and the bus number that they will be riding. I will
get your child a bus pass. Without a note, I am required to send
your child home on his/her regular bus.
Sample Bus Pass Note:
Joey Smith will need to ride Bus 24 with
Tommy Jones on September 6.
Parent Signature
Dismissal
Children will be dismissed at 3:25. If you are planning to pick up
your child after school please wait at the small side door near
the parking lot. I need to see you so I can release your child to
you. Please be patient with this process as it may be a little
slow especially until I get to know you.
If your child is a bus rider and you plan to pick him/her up at the
end of a school day, please send a note in the morning to
inform me of the change. Please try to avoid calling the school
with changes at the end of the day.
Breakfast, Snack and Lunch
Our school cafeteria uses a point-of-sale computer debit
system that allows you to prepay for meals and snack milk.
Your child will use their PIN number to make purchases. Please
use the envelope provided by the school to make a deposit
into your child’s account. (You may be able to get free or
reduced meals. Please complete and return the forms to see if
you qualify.)
A menu of breakfast and lunch choices is published on the
Punxsutawney Area School District website, in the
Punxsutawney Spirit and on Comcast Channel 18.
Breakfast is available daily until 8:45 am. The cost is $1.25/day
or $6.25/week. Please make sure your child knows if they
should be eating breakfast at school.
Our snack time is around 10:15 every day. Please send a small,
healthy item for your child. Please label the snack item with the
word “snack”, especially if your child has a packed lunch (trust
me this will eliminate a lot of confusion). You are also welcome
to send a drink for snack time. Juice boxes are welcome, but
please do not send pop! White Milk and Chocolate Milk are
available for purchase for $0.65/day. Please note: This price is
not covered under free or reduced meals, so if your child orders
snack milk you must pay for it.
Lunch is served daily at 12:45. The cost is
$2.20/day or $11.00/week. If your child
packs their lunch milk is available for
purchase for $0.65.
Money
When your child needs to bring money to school (book order,
lunch money, etc.), ALWAYS send it in a sealed envelope.
Please write the following information on the envelope:
1. Your child’s first and last name
2. The purpose of the money
3. The amount of money
4. Mrs. Young K-1
Extra Clothes
Please send in an extra set of clothes for your child. A pair of
pants, shirt, socks and underwear will be very handy in case a
spill or other accident occurs.
Building Access
For security purposes all doors to the school
are locked during the school day. All visitors,
including parents, must ring the doorbell at
the main entrance and sign-in to the building
at the elementary office.
Label Your Belongings
Please write your child’s name on all of his/her belongings
especially backpacks, jackets and lunchboxes.
Take Home Folders
Your child will bring home a folder each
day. This folder will contain papers that
were completed during the school day
and other important notes for you.
Sometimes there will be papers or forms
that need to be signed and returned to
school. You should find these papers in the
folder pocket with the label “Return to School”. PLEASE CHECK
YOUR CHILD’S FOLDER DAILY. If you need to send me a note
you can put it in your child’s folder. I check Take Home Folders
every day.
6-Day Cycle
Beginning with the 1st day of school, all days
throughout
the
year
will
be
number
consecutively from Day 1 to Day 6 in a
repeating pattern. Regardless of the day of the
week your child will have “special” classes
based on whether it is Day 1, 2, 3, etc.
Our schedule is as follows:
Day 1-Library Instruction
Day 2-Music
Day 3-Gym
Day 4- Art
Day 5-Book Exchange
Day 6-Gym
On Day 3 & Day 6 your child will need to wear play clothes and
sneakers so they will be prepared for Gym class. In order to
avoid any confusion regarding what days to dress for gym
class, I would suggest sending your child in play clothes and
sneakers everyday.
One more note about our 6-Day Cycle: If school is cancelled
on Day 4 because of weather, when we return to school we will
follow Day 4’s schedule. (This keeps us from missing our special
classes.)
Outdoor Recess
The children will be going outside for recess everyday unless it is
raining or extremely cold. Please keep this in mind when
helping your child select clothing for the day. We are very
fortunate to have a variety of playground equipment, including
some pieces for climbing. Please keep this in mind when
selecting shoes. Cowboy boots and little girls’ dress shoes are
less than ideal if your child chooses to play on this equipment.
Also, those types of shoes can be very slippery on days when
the blacktop is wet. Sneakers are ALWAYS the best choice.
Make sure your child has a coat, hat, gloves, scarf, boots, etc.
when the weather requires it.
We believe that if your child is well enough to be at school then
they are well enough to participate in outdoor recess. The
germs that cause colds thrive more readily in the heated indoor
air making it beneficial to go outside and get some fresh air. If
there is an occasion where you feel it is best for your child to
stay indoors, please send a written note and I will make
arrangements for your child to do so.
Toys
Toys brought from home may be broken or lost at school, which
may cause problems for your child and other children in the
classroom; therefore I ask that you do not bring toys from home!
The only exception to this is when your child is Star of the Week.
When your child is Star of the Week they may bring items to
show to the class during morning meeting, but all items brought
from home will be kept in their backpack after the sharing time.
Birthdays
Your child’s birthday will be a special
day in our classroom. Each child will
receive a birthday crown and
receive lots of kind words from their
classmates. If you would like to send
in a birthday treat for the class you
may, but it is optional. If you choose
to send in treats please make sure there is enough to go
around to all kids in the class. We will have the treat during
snack time. Please let me know at least 1 day in advance if
you plan to send a treat.
Parent Homework
1. Check your child’s Take Home Folder every day and
when necessary return papers and forms promptly.
2. Assist your child with homework when they have it. Please
sign all homework before they bring it back to school.
3. Read to your child every night. Research shows that
reading with a child everyday is the number one indicator
of that child becoming a successful reader and student.
4. Give your child a good start on the day with a full night’s
sleep (10-12 hours for most 5-6 year olds), and a good
breakfast at home or at school.
5. Pack a healthy snack.
6. Let me know if there are changes occurring at home that
may affect your child’s behavior or attitude at school.