Primary School February Newsletter (22–23)
Important Dates
2/6: Last Home Basketball Game at Kingsley at 5 p.m.
2/9: PCO Meeting at 6 p.m. (Virtual Only)
2/10: Half day 11:30 dismissal
2/10: PCO Game Night at 6 p.m. at Intermediate School
2/15: ECS Board of Trustees Meeting at 6 p.m. at Middle School
2/17: K–5 Career Day
2/20: No School
2/22: K–5 Parent Literacy Night at 5:30 p.m. at Intermediate School
2/24: Half day 11:30 dismissal
3/1: Deadline: K–5 Yearbook Cover Competition
Dear Primary School Families,
In the last few newsletters, I shared a small paragraph regarding ME Time. Please feel free to watch this video with more information regarding ME time and read this letter describing ME Time in greater detail. This letter will be coming home in late February with specific details regarding your child. Thank you for your continued support and involvement in your child’s learning journey!
Take care, get outside, and play,
Ashley Bergman
What's new at the Primary School?
Attend the K–5 Parent Literacy Night
Join ECS for the K–5 Family Literacy Night on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, at the Intermediate School to learn more about the K–5 literacy program, how we support students’ literacy skills through a Multi-Tiered System of Supports, (MTSS), and learn strategies that can easily be implemented at home to boost your child/children’s literacy skills. Learn more and RSVP by Feb. 17…
Participate in the K–5 Yearbook Cover Competition
Submit your original design for the K-5 yearbook cover contest! The winning designs will be on the front and back covers of the 2022-2023 yearbook! Learn more and submit today!
Share Your Photos for the K–5 Yearbook
Have candid photos you'd like to share for the yearbook? Send them in by April 1.
K-5 SEL & Counseling Lesson Updates
During the month of February, counselors will be focusing on hosting Career Day (Feb. 17th) and providing additional lessons around career awareness. Teachers will continue SEL lessons around problem solving skills and using tools/strategies to help manage big/uncomfortable feelings.
This Month’s Cultural Celebrations
Our ECS community is made up of many different cultures! Once a week during Morning Meeting, we take some time to celebrate cultures, traditions and world events. During this month we are celebrating Black History Month! During this month, we celebrate the contributions African Americans have made to US History. If you would like to share something about your family's culture, please email Chelsea.Young@ecspgh.org.
In Case You Missed It
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Primary School dismisses at 11:30 a.m. on half days.
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ME TIME is a time of day where students are working on skills and strengths in Literacy or Math. Students are in groups all over our school building to support those strengths and skills. They could be working with any of the educators in our school building in numerous locations. If you would like to know more about your child’s ME TIME please reach out to your child’s homebase teacher.
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Please send in a water bottle to school with your child. We are outside often and students need to be able to bring water along.
Please put sunscreen on your child prior to school as it may be sunny while we are outside!
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Arrival
Students being brought or bused to school will be accepted between 8:10 and 8:30 a.m.
Students will be accepted at the back and front doors only.
Do not stop or park on South Braddock Avenue; South Braddock Avenue is for buses only.
If you are driving by to drop off, please turn onto Brashear Street and drop your student off at the back gate.
If you do not see an ECS staff member at the gate, please find a parking space and walk your student to the back door
If you are walking your student to the front or back door, please park either on East End Avenue or Waverly Street.
If you arrive after 8:30, you must sign your student in at the front office. When ECS operates as a closed campus due to high community spread, families will sign students in at the table in the front vestibule.
DO NOT obstruct or park in neighbors’ driveways and do not double park on the street.
Dismissal
Students will be dismissed between 3:30 and 4 p.m.
Do not stop or park on South Braddock Ave; South Braddock Ave is for buses only. All pick-up students will be dismissed from the playground space behind the school.
Please park on either East End Ave. or Waverly St.
Do not park on Brashear Street.
Do not block the ECS gate/driveway.
Do not obstruct or park in neighbors’ driveways and do not double park on the street
No child will be permitted to go to an idling or unparked car.
Make sure to bring your dismissal sign. Your child will not be released to an adult without this sign. When you see your child please make sure the supervising adult knows you have taken your child before you remove them from the backlot.
Please arrange for early dismissals prior to picking your student up prior to 3:15 p.m. Once at school, please ring the front door and sign out your student in the office. ***Please note: When ECS operates as a closed campus due to “high” community level, families will sign students out at the table in the front vestibule.***
We will NOT dismiss any student from the front doors after 3:15 p.m.
During severe weather incidents (such as thunderstorms) families should still report to the rear of the building. Students will be dismissed from the two classrooms inside the two back doors.
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Breakfast
Regular: $2
Reduced: $0.30
Adult: $2.50
Lunch
Regular: $2.85
Reduced: $0.40
Adult: $4.10
Juice and/or milk can be purchased for $0.35.
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Lunch money is collected online. No cash is accepted at school as lunch money. Schoolcafe.com is our online payment portal. You will need your student’s ID number to add funds to the account. You may also obtain your student’s lunch ID by contacting Niki Hutcherson directly at niki.hutcherson@ecspgh.org. To assist in our record keeping and accounts, ECS strongly encourages families to add funds to your child’s account (suggested $20.00) to help cover last minute purchases. Families who require an alternate payment method can email payments@ecspgh.org or contact Sarah Kegarise in the Business Office at 412-247-7970 ext.9304 Meal participation invoices will be sent out monthly. Parents may also set up balance reminders on scoolcafe.com. Small negative balances can add up, and we appreciate your help in keeping our accounts up to date.
To find your student’s id, please log on to Alma.
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If a child forgets a lunch at home, he/she/they will be provided with an ECS school lunch. Families can then add money to the child’s account. Students will not be denied a meal or given an alternate meal due to a lack of funds on the account.
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ECS has had a few reported cases of head lice in the buildings.
Head lice do not carry any disease, and their presence does not indicate unsanitary conditions. Head lice can infest anyone. Control of head lice in our school depends on prompt diagnosis and effective treatment. Your help in inspecting your child weekly throughout the school year for the presence of head lice would be greatly appreciated. Please note that whole grade head checks are not completed when lice is detected as this practice has shown to be non-productive.
We suggest the following procedure for inspecting your child for head lice:
1. Under bright light begin looking at the back of the head just above the neck area.
2. Part the hair section by section and look closely for head lice or nits (eggs). Eggs will usually be located near the scalp.
3. Depending on the length and thickness of the hair, it should take between 5 and 15 minutes to properly inspect a child's head.
Please read the ECS lice Guidelines for additional information. Due to the short life span of head lice when not on a person, the CDC does not recommend additional facilities treatment outside of ECS’s regular cleaning procedures. To learn more about the treatment and prevention/control of head lice, please visit the CDC’s website.
Primary School Hawk Highlights from Last Month!
Students went to the zoo, celebrated the 100th day of school, an in honor of MLK day, Primary students collected 1750 items for Wilkinsburg Community Ministry!
