Hello Summerside Families,

We are having a terrific week in our classrooms! Mrs. Duncan's 4th grade students have been working on types

of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. The students are learning how to measure mass using balance scales and

volume using measurements and graduated cylinders. The students are also learning about the Law of Conserva-

tion of Mass. In the lesson Mrs. Duncan taught, students were comparing mass and volume of two different ma-

terials. They then calculated the density of each and drew conclusions based on the mass, volume, and den-

sity. Hats off to Mrs. Duncan's 4th grade scientists!!

Teaching and learning is the heart of our school day. We also need to

take time to recognize our students for their hard work in our class-

rooms. This week we celebrated with our 5th, 4th, and 3rd grade stu-

dents who earned First Honors (all A's) and Second Honors (which is at

least 2 A's and the rest B's). Our students were treated to pizza and

drinks courtesy of our Summerside PTO. Also our honor roll students

will be recognized on our Summerside Website. A group photo of our

first honors students will be displayed in our school lobby. A sincere

congratulations to our first quarter honor roll students for their hard

work. We are proud of them!!

We have had a full slate of opportunities after school this week. Our conferences on Monday, November 10th

were a huge success. Our parents and teachers had the opportunity to meet regarding individual student progress

and to work together as a team to ensure each student is moving forward in their schoolwork. Our honor roll

pizza parties gave us an opportunity to celebrate our students academic success, and we closed out the week with

our PTO Skating Party. We will continue to provide opportunities to gather as a Summerside family to make a

difference!!

The weather is changing and we will be having outside recess to give our

kids the chance to get some fresh air and engage in active play with their

friends. Please make sure your children come to school dressed for the

colder temperatures. Students have a 30 minute recess each day and

need hats, coats, and gloves to be prepared for the colder tempera-

tures. We will be going outside every day that it is not raining/snowing

as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees with the wind child added

in.

Last but not least, we are closing in on Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for as a Summerside com-

munity. We just celebrated Veterans Day on Tuesday and it reminds us of the people who have sacrificed for

the freedoms and the community we have. Thank you to everyone for pulling together as a Summerside family

for our kids. Feel free to call me on my direct cell line Mon-Sunday, I am here to serve you! Have a nice

weekend with your family!!

-Bob Winterberger

Weekly Update

November 13, 2014

PTO Meeting & Market Day Pickup

Our next PTO meeting will be held on Thursday, November 20th at 6:30 p.m. Market day pick up is

also scheduled for November 20th at 5:00 p.m.

Picture Retakes

Picture retakes will take place on Wednesday, November19th. Lifetouch will also be here to take the

5th grade group photo. Please visit our school website for more information at www.westcler.org.

Marco’s Pizza

Our next Marco’s Pizza event is Thursday, November 20th. Please see the attached flyer for more

details and coupons!

EZ Pay

EzPay allows parents to pay the annual $50 school fee and deposit money onto their child's lunch ac-

count. To use EzPay, click the link on the left-hand side of the page.

After creating an account, you may simply log in to check your child's balances and send your pay-

ments to the school directly. In order to display your child's balance information, you must know your

child’s student ID. which you can obtain by calling Karen Fields in the school office at 947-7901.

*Ezpay has a $3 per transaction fee.

Progress Book

Progress Book allows parents and students online access to grades, interims and report cards. User-

names and passwords went home with your child in a letter explaining how to navigate Progress Book

in September. Use the link on the left-hand side of the school website www.westcler.org to access the

parent user guide and/or login to view your child's progress. Please call Karen Fields in the school of-

fice with any questions at 947-7901.

Dear Parents,

As many of you may know, Summerside 5th grade students went to Camp Campbell Gard in the fall. Our students had three educational and fun filled days. They cre-ated memories that will last a lifetime. As you may also know, camp costs per child are approximately $98. Each year we work very hard to reduce these costs for our students. In the 30 years we have been attending camp, no child has missed camp due to financial inability. For the past four years we have been using the Kroger Community Rewards program. We already have earned enough money to reduce camp costs for next year’s fifth grade students by $10! That is an amazing head start and we could not have done it without your support.

If you are willing to help our students earn more money to reduce the cost of camp, you only need to enroll your Kroger Plus Card at www.krogercommunityrewards.com . That’s how easy it is to help us earn profits! When you enroll your Kroger Plus card online, indicate that you would like your re-wards to go to Summerside Elementary. That is all there is to it. We earn 4% of each purchase. All money received from this fundraiser will go directly into a fund for reducing our students’ camp costs. Since we are doing this school wide, our goal is to make a significant reduction in cost for each student. We will continue to use this program year after year, so even if your child is in 1st grade now, the program will still be used when they are in 5th grade.

Thank you in advance for your help in keeping a 5th grade tradition at Summerside Elementary for the past 30 years!

Becky Finke

947-7935

finke_r@westcler.org

New Mobile APP

West Clermont has developed a free mobile app

for your convenience. You can get the app on

your mobile device by scanning the QR code or

by going to the proper app store for your device.

Once in the app store type in WCLS in the search

bar. The app will appear for you to install on your

device.

Keeping our schools safe and our parents informed

The West Clermont School District’s safety committee made up of district administrators, ALiCE

(Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) trainers, and local law enforcement representa-

tives from Union Township, and the Clermont County Sheriff's Office, are holding a “What's AL-

iCE," presentation for parents, on Wednesday, November 19, 6:30 PM in the Township Hall, UT

Civic Center, 4350 Aicholtz Rd.

“Schools are some of the safest places for our children because most schools practice evacuation

drills for fires and protective measures for tornadoes,” said West Clermont School District Superin-

tendent Keith Kline. “However, just like practicing monthly fire drills, it’s important to know how to

respond in the very unlikely event of an armed intruder,” he added. “Schools are required to have

practice drills throughout the school year,“ Kline stated. Students will be introduced to ALiCE prior

to the drills.

“We are in the process of updating our Emergency Operations Plan. The updated plan will put us in

alignment with the Ohio Attorney Generals recommended plan that was developed in partnership

with 38 stakeholders and leading school safety experts." WCSD Director of Operations Ed Dyer

commented.

ALiCE is supported by more than 700 law enforcement agencies around the country and complies

with the new standard of care recently developed by the Federal Department of Education, the Fed-

eral Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Emer-

gency Management Agency (FEMA).

Procedures and Processes

Volunteers-All volunteers that work on-on-one with a student or chaperone a field trip must be finger-

printed at the Main Office. There is no cost to be fingerprinted and your fingerprints are good for 5 years.

The Main Office is open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M. in the morning and from 1:00

P.M. – 4:00 P.M. in the afternoon for fingerprinting. Parents do not have to be fingerprinted to eat lunch

with their child or attend a school party.

Phone Calls and Emails for Summerside Teachers - Summerside Parents, communication is a key to

our success in providing your children the education they deserve. In order to expedite communication with

you and our Teaching Staff the best time during the day for our teachers to return your phone calls and your

emails directed to them is at 4:00p.m. each day. Our Teachers also have a window on most days from 8:30-

8:50a.m. but often are in meetings in the morning. The daily schedule is built so the teachers are teaching

students or with students from 9:05-3:45p.m. daily with a 1/2 lunch in the middle of the day. As a result, it is

not possible for teachers to check emails and make phone calls during the instructional day. If they did they

would not be teaching the students. If you need to contact a Teacher (by Phone or Email) during the instruc-

tional day and it is an emergency please call our School Office at 947-7901 and our Office Team can serve

you promptly. We are here to serve you and the process above will streamline important communication dur-

ing the school day while allowing our Teachers to focus on the important work of educating our children.

Lost and Found-At Summerside we have a process for making sure lost and found items get back to

their owner. Any items (coats, hats, gloves, lunchboxes, books, etc.) that are found are taken each day to the

Cafeteria. All students at Summerside know that during noon lunch before they head out to recess that this is

the location they can go to and find misplaced items. Our Cafeteria Supervisors make sure all items brought

to the Cafeteria are returned to their owner in the Cafeteria during noon lunch. The last week of each month

the Cafeteria Supervisors notify all students to check the lost and found each day. On the last day of the

month the lost and found items are bagged up, kept for one week and if not claimed sent to Goodwill. Lost

and found items such as glasses, purses, wallets, and money are held in the Office where they can be claimed.

Food Brought Into School (Birthday Treats) - All Students at Summerside Elementary eat the lunch

provided by the Cafeteria or Pack their lunch. On special occasions when students have birthdays and bring

in birthday treats those treats need to be dropped off in the Office first. It is our hope and expectation that

treats be store bought, clearly listing all ingredients. Our School Clinic Aide (Mrs. Robinson) checks to

see what classroom the birthday treats are for, and checks to see if any students in that class have food

allergies. At that point the treats are taken to the Cafeteria and the Cafeteria Supervisors make sure the stu-

dents received their birthday treats in the Cafeteria with their lunch. Students with a food allergy are pro-

vided at treat by the school Clinic Aid that is safe for their medical condition.

Lunch Guests - Parents/Guardians/and Grandparents are encouraged and welcome to eat lunch with

their children in the Summerside Cafeteria during their child's lunch period. Two special tables have been set

up for our noon lunch period guests. Our Guests will need to check in at the School Office, Our Office Staff

will have you sign in and provide you a security badge and will direct you to the Cafeteria from the Office

once you have checked in.

Procedures and Processes (cont.)

Hats and Toys - Hats are not permitted at any time for students to wear in the building. Once kids enter

our building the no hat rule sets the tone that we are here for schoolwork and that hats are not to be worn in the

building as a matter of respect. Toys are not permitted in the building. Toys are a distraction to learn-

ing. Students just need to bring their backpacks, books and school materials, and that is it. We are here to

learn and toys are a distraction. Playground equipment (balls, etc) will be provided by the school.

Lost Media Center Books - If a student loses a media center book the parent needs to notify Mrs. Fields

in the office regarding who your child is and what book was lost. Mrs. Fields will update the parent on the

process for paying a fee for the lost book to be replaced in the library. Once the parent pays for the lost book,

the teacher will be notified that the student may begin checking out books again.