A newsletter for residents & friends of the Pleasant Valley School District

2014-2015 ISSUE # 2

PLEASANT VALLEY

PV Intermediate Insights

PV Elementary Paw Prints PVE Students Have Some Bear-y Special Friends

All PVE students were given a PV Rocks Teddy Bear at the end of 2013-2014 school year. Polk students were also given the bear to welcome them to the PVE Family. The students were asked to take Teddy along with them on their summer vaca-tion. The students were encouraged to assemble pictures and stories of their adventures with their special bear friend. Some of the students had a “staycation” with their bear at home. Oth-

ers traveled to the beach, base-ball games, the park and a varie-ty of other wonderful places throughout the United States.

This project has truly taken on a life of its own. Posters were displayed at PVE for Open

House and at the District Office in the Board Room.

We congratulate each of our PVE students on the many won-derful experiences they were able to enjoy with their bear and on sharing their school pride with others, near and far, because we all know “PVE Rocks.”

See page 2 for more PVE “Paw Prints”

Lead the Way - Friday night October 3, 2014 under the lights- excitement, energy and PV spirit filled the football stadium, as our first “Lead the Way” program took off with five Pleasant Valley Inter-mediate students. (Pictured left to right) Samantha Brooks, Scott Duch, Ian Wolff, Emilee Roberti and Skylar Esposito had an oppor-tunity to participate in the pre-

game with our football players. After the pre-game, it was time to lead our HS football players on the field and lead them to the banner. Finally, our “Lead the Way” students anxiously joined hands with our football captains meet-ing the opposing team and referees on the 50 yard line for the game opening coin toss.

These students earned “Gimme 5” tickets by showing respect, being responsible, making good choices, showing pride, and being ready to learn. This is part of our Positive Behavior Support (PBS). The new Lead the Way program is one of our prizes at the PBS Zone. Students may cash in 25 “Gimme 5” tickets and be eligible to win this oppor-tunity. By promoting positive behavior, our dedicated district PV Spir-it Committee is leading our students to success.

For some it was another Friday night football game, but for those five youngsters, it was an unfor-gettable night that will be a life-long memory!

More “Insights” can be found on page 2

PVI students line up to greet their school mates as they “Lead the Way” onto the football field.

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Annual Kickball Tournament – At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, PVI students participated in the 1st ever “PVI Kickball Tournament”. Homerooms within each grade level played against each other to the elimination rounds. Elimination rounds were played within each grade level. A final champion-ship game at each grade level was played followed by a refresh-ing freeze pop for all students. The students and staff enjoyed playing friendly yet competitive games against each other. The PTO purchased 10-year trophies for each grade level. The trophies were engraved with the winning home-rooms’ names.

They were dis-played in the

showcase of the main lobby for the first month of school and then made their way to the winning classroom where they will be displayed for the remainder of the school year until this year’s tournament. Who will be the next Kickball Champions?

Back to School Week at PVI – During the 1st week of school, students attended “Welcome Back” assemblies. Students were reminded about the PBS Program and encouraged to have positive behavior. During the 2nd week of school, PVI held Open House nights for each grade level. Parents and guardians, along with students, were invited to meet the teachers and see the classrooms where the students spend their days. Classrooms were set up with information for parents, and students’ art-work was displayed on the walls. 4th grade students were excit-ed to talk all about their lockers. Students were encouraged to visit the Scholastic Book Fair hosted by the PVI PTO.

PV Intermediate Insights Continued from page 1

The opening assembly to our Positive Behavior Sup-port program brought much excitement to PVE. The teachers unveiled some exciting new prize in-centives for students caught making good choices.

The PV All Sports Club teamed up with us to offer a “Lead the Way” cash in - for bear paw tickets. Our students will receive a coupon for a free hot dog and soda or water at any PV sporting event and several other great incentives! Some other new rewards students can earn include borrowing one of the principals’ chairs for the day. They can also be a star and get their picture taken on the red carpet for the Wall of Fame.

For 100 bear paws this year, the students at PVE will get a chance to earn a Celebrity Sports Challenge with their favorite teachers. There will also be plenty of prizes and coupons to keep the kids “PAWS-I-TIVE” at PVE.

PV Elementary Paw Prints Continued from page 1

PVE students are “paws-itively” thrilled to show the bear paws they have earned for making good choices.

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PV Puts Writing in the Spotlight This Year

Many of the curricular decisions we make at Pleasant Valley are affect-ed by the data we collect regarding our students' strengths and needs in certain areas. Last year, PSSA results showed a weakness in the area of writing. This year, our students will be taking a new PSSA measur-ing student achievement in English and Language Arts. In the past, students took a reading test and a separate writing test in grades 5 and 8. As a result, we realized that we needed to prepare our students for this new assessment and for the writing they will be expected to do in the future.

This past summer, the Reading and Language Arts Task Force in part-nership with Keri Ramsay, Reading Supervisor, came together to create a plan for writing instruction and integrating writing more often in all subject areas. It was determined that all students in grades 1-6 would write every day in response to a prompt. It was agreed that each student would create five final writing pieces to publish through-out the school year. Also, specific types of writing were identified for each grade level as well as what skills should be mastered at each grade level. Social Studies and Science teachers are having their students use interactive notebooks, summarize nonfiction text, and write summar-ies about what they read. All students in grades 2 through 6 are learn-ing a strategy, called RAPS, to answer open ended questions as well. With this strategy, students are asked to restate the question, answer the question, prove the answer with evidence from the text, and sum up the answer. The goal is to have a scope and sequence in place so that students can build their writing skills from kindergarten through grade 12.

At the secondary level, teachers are preparing students for research. There are multiple opportunities throughout the year now to help students improve. Content area teachers are also integrating more writing in their instruction. Meanwhile, at PVHS, the English Depart-ment is focused on helping students improve their writing skills as well. Students are practicing making a claim and proving it with evi-dence as well as literary criticisms in English. The Social Studies De-partment engaged in a session where they scored essays together to determine what was considered a strong piece of writing as opposed to a weak one.

There are never enough hours in the day to teach everything we wish we could teach as well as we want to teach it. However, our teachers have made a commitment to improve all Pleasant Valley students' writing abilities. We are very grateful for the hours of hard work and the cooperation from our teachers. It will turn out to be well worth it!

Celebrating Homework Success at PVHS

During this past summer, Math Supervisor, Joshua Krebs met with the members of the Math Task Force for each of the buildings in our school district. The goal of these groups is to continuously review our math curriculum and identify areas of strength and weakness based on student data. In the elementary and intermediate schools the Math Task Force identified a need to educate the community on our math

curriculum. In the secondary level the task force identified a need to motivate our Algebra I students to regularly complete homework. In both areas the task force developed an action plan for the 2014-2015 school year and put it into action.

Motivating teenagers to complete homework may seem like a daunt-ing task. Nevertheless, the Math Task Force brainstormed several ideas from individualized plans to imposing stiffer penalties for not completing homework assignments. When the dust settled, it was decided to try a positive reward system with a little friendly competi-tion. This was an approach that hadn’t been tried before at this level to this magnitude at PV. With this concept as their foundation, the task force began to build the competition and rewards system. Each Algebra I teacher would monitor the weekly average of homework completion for their classes. Each of the teacher’s classes would be competing against one another to be the top class when it came to homework completion. For their efforts, the teacher would give the winning class a reward. One example of a reward being given is a freebie to be used on a quiz when a student makes a mistake.

The competition doesn’t stop there. In addition to each individual teacher’s classes competing with each other, all of the Algebra I clas-ses will compete to have the highest homework completion average for the month. Each month the winning class will earn a reward pro-vided by the building administration. A few examples of these re-wards are a bagel breakfast, pizza party, or soft pretzels. All of the reward options are designed with collaboration between the teachers and students. In addition it is important to point out that all of the rewards are affordable since they will be happening monthly throughout the school year.

It is amazing how a small reward and some friendly competition can motivate students. In this case it certainly has had a positive impact on all Algebra I classes. After the first month of implementation, the homework completion rate has risen to approximately 85% by the end of September with the winning class completing an average of 91% of their homework for the month. We are excited to see this competition continue as we now have classes with an average of 100% homework completion for a week. Since the implementation of this plan, we have observed a significant increase in homework completion and look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on student assessment scores.

Mrs. Davis’s Period 3 Algebra I class were the winners of a Bagel Breakfast served by Mr. Gress for the month of September.

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Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Back in 1992, former Governor Robert P. Casey signed into law House Bill 20 (HB 20), better known as the Children's Health Insurance Act. Through HB 20 the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was born. CHIP is a one of a kind Pennsylvania program designed to provide insurance coverage to children of families who earn too much to qualify for Medi-cal Assistance, but who cannot afford to purchase private in-surance. CHIP covers uninsured kids and teens, up to age 19, who are not eligible for Medical Assistance.

*With CHIP, children are guaranteed to receive comprehen-sive insurance coverage, including:

Immunizations

Routine check-ups

Prescription drugs

Dental care

Vision and eye care

Maternity care

Mental health benefits

Up to 90 days hospitalization/year

Durable medical equipment

Substance abuse treatment

Partial hospitalization for mental health services

Rehabilitation therapies

Home health care

Hospice and Palliative services

Medically necessary orthodontia

Autism spectrum disorder and related services (*This information is taken directly from CHIP’s PA website.) Healthy children have fewer days out of school and enjoy greater success in school. So give yourself peace of mind by obtaining health insurance for your child. CHIP applications are available in the school nurse’s office. More information may be obtained by calling 1-800-543-7199 to speak directly to a service representative or on the world wide web at www.chipcoverspakids.com. In the meantime, if you have questions please feel free to contact the school nurse.

The ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) contains more than 30 parent and public notifications that schools may be required to provide based on programs offered, the type of fund-ing utilized, and the status regarding adequate progress. The following policies address this portion of the legislation.

Section: 100 Programs Policy #105.1 Curriculum Review by Parents & Students Policy #127 Assessments Policy #138 Limited English Proficiency Policy #142 Migrant Students Section:200 Pupils Policy #209 Health Examinations/Screenings Policy #216 Student Records Policy #235 Student Rights/Surveys Policy #251 Homeless Students Section: 900 Community Policy #918 Title I Parent Involvement Policy #919 District/School Report Cards

ESEA (Elementary & Secondary Education Act) Notifications To read a complete copy of these policies (or any PVSD Board Policy), go to the school district website, www.pvbears.org. On the home page under Shortcuts (on the left side of the screen in the blue section) click Board Policies. Click on the section number, then scroll to the particular policy you are looking for. If you prefer to read a hard copy, you may contact the office of the superintendent, at 570-402-1000 ext. 1205 to request a printed copy. “A child without education, is like a bird without wings.”

~Tibetan Proverb

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Middle School Memos

High School Highlights… Parent Back to School Night took place on Wednesday, September 24. For the first time in many years, parents had the opportunity to turn the clock back and return to school. Parents followed their child’s schedule and visited with teachers throughout the night. Teachers had the opportunity to share with parents classroom procedures and cur-riculum content. The activity was well attended. Suggestion for improvements for next year were appreciated.

Fall events at the High School: The Annual Spirit Week activities began on October 20th with the battle for the “Old Oaken Bucket” football game on Friday, October 24th at Pocono Mountain East. PV remains triumphant holding on to the bucket for the sixth consecutive year. Students enjoyed participating in Spirit Week activities. The

grand finale of Spirit Week, the Homecoming football game, was played on Friday, October 31 with the annual Homecoming Dance held on Saturday, November 1.

The Annual “Trick or Treat Night” sponsored by high school students and staff was held on Tuesday, October 21st from 5:00-7:00 PM. A night of safe fun was enjoyed by all!!

Students are actively preparing for the fall drama production of “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Don’t miss the delightful performances scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 21, 22, and 23.

Students at the Pleasant Valley Middle School attended an assembly about the expectations of the Middle School and also about the Positive Behavior System. During the assembly, Principal Seiler spoke to the students about a lesson he learned from East Stroudsburg University Head Football Coach Denny Douds and a lesson that Penn State Head Football Coach James Franklin uses with his athletes, “OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE.” At first glance some people may read “OPPORTUNITY IS NO WHERE,” but Mr. Seiler pointed out to all of the students at the Middle School that “OPPORTUNITY IS NOW HERE!”

Mr. Seiler explained to the students that they will have the opportunity to do many things while at the Middle School and that everyone should use these opportunities to not only better themselves personally but to also help strengthen our school and our community.

Students were then introduced to all of the activities and clubs available at the Middle School by the advisors of each of the activi-ties and clubs. Mr. Seiler also informed all of the students that they would have the opportunity to participate in many communi-ty service projects throughout the year. Some of those projects include dress down days which benefit Our Families in Need; Food, clothing, and essential item drives to benefit the Monroe County Homeless Initiative, Veterans Assisted Living Out Reach (www.valorclinic.org), and the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network food pantry to name a few.

Through the fund-raising efforts of the PVMS Builders Club, the Art Club was able to pur-chase the supplies needed to transform this cement planter into a work of art. The message on the planter is “Grow in the Right Direction” and “Positive is Powerful”. The students in Mrs. Hinton’s classroom are responsible for main-taining the plants in the pot. This is a great example of team work between our clubs.

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FOOD SERVICES INFORMATION The PV Food Services Department, as a partner in education, is dedi-cated to providing our students and staff with a quality food service program. We are committed to serving a variety of nutritious, whole-some and appetizing foods, in a courteous and professional manner.

School menus are planned by the Director of Food Services, Beverly Hendricks, to reflect the recommended national dietary guidelines and student preferences.

Nutritious and affordable meals are served in every school each day. A complete lunch includes one entrée, choice of two vegetables and/or fruits, bread, and a choice of milk.

School meals offer students items that meet strict limits on saturated fat and portion size. Additional school lunch standards require:

Age-appropriate calorie limits

Large servings of vegetables and fruits (students must take at least one serving of produce)

A wider variety of vegetables, including dark green and red/orange vegetables and legumes

Fat-free or 1% milk (flavored milk must be fat-free)

More whole grains and

Less sodium Breakfast is also served in all of our buildings. We encourage students to participate in the breakfast program because a nutritious breakfast feeds students’ bodies as well as their minds. Students who participate in the free and reduced lunch program are also eligible to receive free or reduced breakfast.

FAQs

What are the prices of breakfast and lunch?

Breakfast: $1.25 Daily or $1.15 with Pre-pay of $11.50 or more

Lunch (Elementary): $2.40 Daily or $2.30 w/Pre-pay of $23.00 or more

Lunch (Secondary): $2.50 Daily or $ 2.40 w/Pre-pay of $24.00 or more

What is Caftrac and how does it work?

Caftrac is a computerized point of sale system installed in all of our schools. It allows pre-payment for lunches with a deposit made into a student’s account. Students give their name and four-digit pin number to the cashier to access their account.

All student account information is installed in the system. An initial deposit (cash or check payable to PVSD Cafeteria in BLUE or BLACK ink per the bank) should be brought to the cafeteria in the morning. The deposit may be placed in an envelope clearly marked with the student’s name and grade. It is also a good idea to put the student’s pin number on the check in the memo space. Funds are available immediately upon receipt by the cashier. There is a $10.00 charge for any returned checks. Cash may also be used on a daily basis.

How can I check the balance of my child’s account?

Parents/Guardians may now go on MySchoolBucks.com to check the

balance in their child’s account. Parents/Guardians may also put mon-ey on their child’s account using MySchoolBucks.com. There is no fee to use this service to setup an account , view a child’s meal purchases and balances, or setup automated email notices when a child’s meal account falls below the dollar amount specified. However, there is a $2.00 convenience fee to use the service to make an online payment. If using the service to pay for meals, the service deposits the money into the students meal account with in one or two business days.

Please Note: Parents/Guardians will be responsible to reimburse the Pleasant Valley School District for any chargeback fees caused by a sales transaction voided by the credit card issuer.

MySchoolBucks is located on the school district website under Depart-ments/Food Services.

How often does a free/reduced application need to be completed?

An application must be completed each school year. If your income changes anytime during the school year, a new application should be completed. Applications for free or reduced priced meals may be com-pleted online on the COMPASS website (www.compass.state.pa.us). If the paper “Household Meal Benefit Application” is preferred, it can be found on the school district website under Departments/Food Services. If the free or reduced priced meals application is completed through COMPASS a paper application is not needed.

Who determines what food goes on my child’s tray?

By federal law, the school cafeteria personnel must allow the child to choose what he/she wants to eat from the selections available.

What is a reimbursable lunch?

Meals that meet the government requirements for meal patterns are subsidized. For instance, the requirement for lunch includes two (2) ounces of meat or meat alternate, ¾ cup of fruit and/or vegetable, ½ pint of milk and each week eight (8) servings of bread must be offered. In order for a meal to be reimbursable, three (3) out of these five (5) food items need to be selected.

My child cannot have milk. What should I do?

Our school district offers a non-dairy fluid milk substitute to students who are eligible. In order for a student to be eligible to receive a substi-tute beverage at school, the child must have a disability, medical need, or special dietary need that does not allow him or her to drink milk. For a disabled child, this need must be declared through a doctor's note. For a non-disabled child, a written request for the substitute must be made by a medical authority or the child's parent/guardian. The substi-tution request by written statement must identify the student’s medical or other special dietary needs.

The written statement remains in effect until the parent/guardian re-vokes such statement. The substitution request needs to be on file in the cafeteria office and the nurse’s office of the building the student is attending.

Parents having any further questions are asked to call the Food Ser-vices Office at 570-402-1000 ext. 8451 or 8452.

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PVSD Honors WORLD WAR II, KOREAN WAR, and VIETNAM Veterans through “Operation Recognition” The Pleasant Valley School District Board of Education, through Policy No. 217: Gradua-tion Requirements, awards a high school di-ploma to any Veteran of World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War who:

was honorably discharged

served in the U.S. Military between Sep-tember 16, 1940 and December 31, 1946 and was a member of a high school class that graduated during the years 1941 through 1950, but did not receive a diploma due to entering the military (WWII).

served in the U.S. Military between June 27, 1950 and January 31, 1956 and was a member of a high school class that graduat-ed during the years 1951 through 1957, but did not receive a diploma due to entering the military (Korean War).

served in the U.S. Military between De-cember 1956 and April 30, 1965 and was a member of a high school class that graduat-ed during the years 1957 through 1965, but did not receive a diploma due to entering the military (Vietnam War).

During the past few years, the school district has recognized a number of our residents through this program. Any eligible veteran, who is a current resident of the Pleasant Val-ley School District, should contact the office of the superintendent, at 570-402-1000 ext. 1205 for more information or complete the application included below. Relatives of de-ceased veterans, who meet the criteria above, also may complete the application for the diploma to be awarded posthumously.

Community members are asked to help “spread the word” about this program.

Attention Parents/Guardians

SCHOOL CHILDREN IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION

Name Current Address

Phone Number

Branch of Service Dates Served

High School Attended __________________________ Dates Attended

Signature of Applicant Phone # of Applicant (if different from above)

Please return this form to Ms. Carole M. Geary, Superintendent, Pleasant Valley School District, 2233 Rt. 115 Suite 100, Brodheadsville, PA, 18322 by November 24, 2014. For further information, please call 570-402-1000, ext. 1205.

Pleasant Valley School District Operation Recognition Application (WWII/Korean War/Vietnam War Diplomas)

FOR ATTENDANCE IN ALL GRADES children need the following: 4 doses of tetanus* (1 dose on or after the 4th birthday)

4 doses of diphtheria* (1 dose on or after the 4th birthday)

3 doses of polio

2 doses of measles**

2 doses of mumps**

1 dose of rubella (German measles)**

3 doses of hepatitis B

2 doses of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine or history of disease *Usually given as DTP or DTaP or DT or Td **Usually given as MMR

Children ATTENDING 7th grade need the following:

1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap) (if 5 years has elapsed since last tetanus immunization)

1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) These requirements allow for the following exemptions: Medical reason Religious belief Philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction If your child is exempt from immunizations, he/she may be removed from school during an outbreak. Pennsylvania’s school immunization requirements can be found in 28 PA.CODE CH.23 (School Immunization)

Contact your health care provider or call 1-877 PA HEALTH for more information. Information provided by the website of

Pleasant Valley School District Administration Building 2233 Rt. 115, Suite 100 Brodheadsville, PA 18322 Phone: 570-402-1000

Excellence in Education: A Community Commitment www.pvbears.org

BOARD OF EDUCATION Mr. Steve Borger, vice president Mr. Russell Gould, president Mr. H. Charles Hoffman, treasurer Mrs. Susan Kresge Ms. Linda Micklos Mr. Len Peeters Mr. Dominick Sacci Mr. Robert Serfass Mr. Daniel Wunder Daniel M. Corveleyn, solicitor

Ms. Carole M. Geary, superintendent Mr. Kenneth V. Newman, assistant to the superintendent/ curriculum & instruction

Mr. Christopher J. Fisher, assistant to the superintendent/ professional, support & pupil services Dr. John T. Burrus, HR Director Ms. Susan H. Famularo, business manager/board secretary

Non‐profit 

Organiza on 

U.S. Postage 

PAID 

Permit #23 

Stroudsburg, PA 

ECRWSS

POSTAL CUSTOMER

PLEASANT VALLEY PROUD

Pleasant Valley School District is an equal rights and opportunities education institution and will not discrimi-nate on the basis of race, color, national origin/ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, union membership, religion or any other legally protected classification in its admissions, educational programs, activities, or employment policies. Publication of this policy is in accordance with state and federal laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Amendments of 1974 State Laws and PA Department of Education regulations concerning equal rights and opportunities. The Pleasant Valley School District’s commit-ment to non-discrimination extends to students, employees, prospective employees, and the community. For information regarding civil rights or grievance procedures, services, activities and facilities that are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, in addition to all other inquiries, please contact the Human Resources Director and Title IX and Section 504 Coordinator located in the Pleasant Valley School District Administra-tion Building, Route 115, Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, 18322. (570) 402-1000 ext. 1209.

PVESPA: PLEASANT VALLEY EDUCATION SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION Presents

Saturday, December 6, 2014 PV Intermediate School Cafeteria

11 AM - 2 PM

Photos with SANTA and MRS. CLAUS Holiday Crafts for Kids FREE Games, Puzzles, & Coloring Activities Tricky Tray and much more!

Reduced price tickets can be ordered in advance at PVE or PVI. Check your November & December building newsletters for reservation forms and more information.

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE PVESPA SCHOLARSHIP FUND ~ awarding scholarships to PV Graduating Seniors each and every year ~

PVESPA: Supporting the Commitment to Excellence in Education