IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
SAFE SCHOOL – To ensure that we have a safe and calm environment, we are asking that adults drop their children off at their lines in the yard. Please DO NOT follow your child into the school building.
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WELCOME DESK – A welcome desk is now in place on the first floor landing
upon entering our school building.
All adults will be directed to the office. Students who are late will receive their late passes at the
welcome desk and will proceed directly to classrooms. NO parents / guardians will be allowed to walk students
to their classrooms. For more
information, check out the Home & School News, which is included with this
newsletter.
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CHECK IN AT THE OFFICE – Upon entering our school building, we ask all adults to check in at the office and to have photo ID ready. This is our expectation for parents coming for parent meetings, IEP meetings, field trip chaperones, volunteers, classroom activities, etc.
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INCLEMENT WEATHER - During indoor admission, students may enter the building at 8:05 a.m. for breakfast only. At 8:20 a.m. all students will be admitted into the building and will go directly to their classrooms. A safety or staff member will escort students in K through 2nd grade. For the safety of all of our students, we ask that parents do not enter the building.
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EARLY DISMISSALS – Any parent or guardian removing a child from the building for an early dismissal should only be doing so for urgent matters and must present picture ID at the office. All children will come to the office for early dismissal. NO parent or guardian will be allowed to walk to his/her child’s classroom to retrieve him/her for early dismissal. Additionally, children will not be signed out between 2:30 – 3:00 PM. Parents must wait for dismissal.
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EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO – Please ensure that your emergency contact information is updated in the office and with your child’s teacher. Also list this information in your child’s student planner.
NO SMOKING ON SCHOOL GROUNDS – Reminder that as a safety and health precaution, no one is allowed to smoke while on school grounds. Please help to keep our children safe. Thank you! |
SCHOOLNET / ACCESSING YOUR CHILD'S GRADESThe School District of Philadelphia has provided students and families access to grades and other information through Schoolnet. All students have usernames and passwords. If you are not aware of this feature or would like more information, please speak with your child’s teacher during parent conference time. Thank you!
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"TIE TUESDAY"We are continuing our “Tie Tuesdays” by encouraging all staff members and students to wear ties. Students are asked to wear their ties over their school uniforms on these days.
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StudentNet & REPORT CARD INFORMATION FOR READING GRADES
All students in grades 1-8 receive grades in Reading, as well as an Instructional Reading Level, on their report cards. (Children in Kindergarten just receive an Instructional Reading Level.) Your child’s Instructional Reading Level is a combination of formal assessments, informal assessments, and classroom work.
The Reading Level does provide guidelines for our students’ grades in the area of Reading.
The chart below provides some information about how that works.
Letter Grade Instructional Reading Level
A At or Above Grade Level
B At or Above Grade Level
C At Grade Level / No more than a year below
D 1 ½ to 2 years below grade level
F More than 2 years below grade level
When using StudentNet to access your child’s current grades, the guidelines discussed above ARE NOT taken into consideration. That does not happen until the END of each marking period.
For Example:
Student A is in 5th grade and receiving a 90% overall average in Reading, however they are reading at a 4th grade reading level (1 year below where they should be). On the report card, the highest grade that Student A can receive is a “C.”
This is just one scenario of how our students’ grades are affected by these guidelines. Our staff wanted to make you aware of these guidelines as you receive interims and additional reports about your child’s reading grade. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.
The Reading Level does provide guidelines for our students’ grades in the area of Reading.
The chart below provides some information about how that works.
Letter Grade Instructional Reading Level
A At or Above Grade Level
B At or Above Grade Level
C At Grade Level / No more than a year below
D 1 ½ to 2 years below grade level
F More than 2 years below grade level
When using StudentNet to access your child’s current grades, the guidelines discussed above ARE NOT taken into consideration. That does not happen until the END of each marking period.
For Example:
Student A is in 5th grade and receiving a 90% overall average in Reading, however they are reading at a 4th grade reading level (1 year below where they should be). On the report card, the highest grade that Student A can receive is a “C.”
This is just one scenario of how our students’ grades are affected by these guidelines. Our staff wanted to make you aware of these guidelines as you receive interims and additional reports about your child’s reading grade. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.
LICEUnfortunately, there have been multiple cases of head lice identified at our school. Boys and girls at all grade levels have been affected. We are asking you to check your child’s hair nightly. If your child has head lice, treat immediately and notify the school nurse at (215) 952-6355 or the principal, so that we can communicate with other parents. Please check out the following website in order to understand the best ways to detect and treat lice. http://licebites.com/. Thank you for your cooperation.
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THE FLUIf your child is sick with flu-like symptoms, it is recommended that they stay home for at least 24-hours after the fever is gone, without the use of a fever reducing medicine. Remind your child to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue whenever they cough or sneeze, and to clean their hands with warm water and soap or hand sanitizer after every cough or sneeze. If you need any assistance, Nurse Ann is in the building on Mondays and Fridays.
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MEDICINES / MEDICATIONSPlease note that any child requiring medication to be administered during the school day MUST speak with either the School Nurse (Mondays and Fridays) and/or the School Principal. A doctor’s note and doctor’s orders must accompany these medications.
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HOMEWORK DETENTIONStudents in 5th through 8th grades who do not have their homework completed will serve a lunch detention in the basement. Students will be given a reasonable time to eat and then they are to do their homework. After 3 occurrences, the principal will set up a meeting with the parents. We want our students to be prepared for high school and college and one step is holding them responsible.
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ADMISSION & DISMISSAL INFOWith the increased number of students, we need to enforce a safe admission and dismissal procedure. Parents please speak to your students about walking through both of the schoolyards. In the morning, staff are pulling into the Ritner Street Parking Area and students should not walk through. At dismissal time, both the Wolf Street Yard and the Ritner Street Parking Area have cars pulling in and out. This is for the safety of all of our children.
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SCHOOL HOURSThe bell rings at 8:28a.m. every morning in the schoolyard. Students are expected to report to their lines. Children should not be entering the school without their classroom and teachers. School begins exactly at 8:30a.m. Dismissal for Kindergarten is 2:55p.m. All other classes will be dismissed at 3:00p.m.
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WEAPONS ACT 26
Reminder! PA Law requires the arrest and expulsion of any student found in possession of a weapon on school property, in a school program, or while traveling to or from school. The law defines a weapon to include any knife, cutting instrument, firearm and any other instrument or tool capable of inflicting serious bodily injury. Please take some time to explain this Law to your child.
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BREAKFAST
Starting at 8:05a.m. every morning, students in 1st through 8th grade will be able to get breakfast in the cafeteria. At 8:20a.m., breakfast will be over and students will return to the schoolyard. Students in Kindergarten will receive breakfast after 8:30a.m.
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EMERGENCY CLOSINGS
The School District makes all closing announcements on KYW1060am. The school office does not know until it is announced on the radio. Please do not call the office and ask. Once we know, we will send out a phone message to all of our families.
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CELL PHONES
School District Policy states that students are not to have electronic devices, cell phones, iPODS, etc. in school. If a child is found with any of these devices, they will be taken. The first time it will be returned to the parent. The second time it will not be returned.
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VOLUNTEERS
Sharswood is looking for volunteers to help in classrooms and during lunch/recess. If you are interested, for the safety of all of our students you will need to obtain a Child Abuse Clearance and a Criminal Record Check. Once obtained, we will put you to work. Any assistance would greatly be appreciated.
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ATTENDANCE
Ms. Poulos and Mr. Allen, the School Counselors, will address all attendance issues this year. They will be meeting with students and parents. It has been proven that students who attend school on a regular basis do better in school. The School District realizes that health concerns can keep a child home. We are asking that every effort be made for your child to attend school everyday. Students with poor attendance are being automatically sent to Truancy Court by the School District. In the upper grades, students with excessive absences can be eliminated from trips and special activities. Please make sure you write a note when your child is absent. Absences of more than three days, must have a doctor’s note. Also, any child with excessive absences must have a doctor’s note. Vacations are not an excused absence and will be viewed as parental neglect.