1 Jamison Elementary SchoolHomeroom Parent Guide
2 Jamison School Contacts:Mr. Croyle, Principal Mrs. Bradley Mrs. Carhart Jamison Home and School Contacts: Robert Miller, President Erynn Jacobsen, Vice-President Jenn O’Donnell, Vice-President Christina Davidson, Vice President Christopher Coleman, Treasurer Joanne Farrell, Secretary Andrea Offner, Co-Secretary Helen Hiemenz, Homeroom Parent Coordinator
3 Guidelines Prior to Back to School Night you should: (if possible)Please contact the teacher before Back to School Night and introduce yourself. Ask your teacher about his/her plans and expectations for parties, class trips and their expectations for you. Ask if you may introduce yourself during Back to School Night. Prior to Back to School Night you should: (if possible) Send home a letter introducing yourself and remind parents when Back to School night is scheduled. September 15th: Mrs. Summers 5:30 PM; Kindergarten 6:30 PM; PEN 7:00 PM September 22nd: First Grade 6:00 PM; Second Grade 6:45 PM; Third Grade 7:30 PM September 23rd: Fourth Grade 6:00 PM; Fifth Grade 6:45 PM; Pre-Algebra 7:00 PM; Sixth Grade 7:30 PM In this letter you should explain what parties/activities you will need volunteers for. You should also explain that you are taking a $10.00 collection per child for paper products, crafts for the parties and class gifts for the teacher (birthday, holiday and end of year). Keep in mind that the collection is completely voluntary. You may have some families who will not participate; however, their child’s name should still appear on any gifts from the class. In the past, I have found if you attach an envelope for their donation and ask them to bring their volunteer form and donation to Back to School Night it makes the collection process much easier. At Back to School Night please: Introduce yourself and try to encourage parents to get involved and attend the HSA Meetings: (As Head Homeroom Parent you should make every effort to attend the Home and School Meetings. If you cannot attend a meeting you should try and have another parent attend from your classroom.) Please see our school calendar on the Jamison Website for dates and times. Discuss the “HSA Volunteer Interest Survey” and hand out the reminder to visit our Jamison Webpage. Due to privacy laws it is the parents responsibility to disclose if their child has any allergies. Therefore, it is very important the you send an to your class asking if there are any allergies and ask the parents to contact you with “safe snack” ideas for the class parties. Attached you will find the “Peanut Safe” letter that is posted on the Jamison Website. These classes have already been established as “Peanut Safe” rooms. Please follow through with the parents to get a list of “safe snacks”.
4 Class Parties: Siblings:Your class parties should be planned in accordance with the Jamison Wellness Theme. Jamison has been a pioneer in our school district and we have been very successful! Below you will find a list of each grades parties. These are subject to change and you should always discuss with your teacher prior to sending any information home. Kindergarten: Halloween, Thanksgiving Feast, Winter, 100th Day of School, Valentine’s Day and End of the Year (FYI: Water Ice is usually bought for the end of the year party and the cost comes out of the class collected “Party Fund”.) First Grade: Halloween, Winter, 100th Day of School, Valentine’s Day and End of the Year Second Grade: Halloween, Winter, Valentine’s Day and End of the Year Third Grade: Halloween, Winter and End of the Year Fourth Grade: Halloween, Winter and End of the Year Fifth Grade: Halloween, Winter and End of the Year Sixth Grade: Halloween, Winter and End of the Year (FYI: 50% of your “Party fund” is to be reserved for the end of the year breakfast. Usually to purchase Tamanend cinch sacks. Home and School will purchase some food items and the rest of the menu will be collected from the classes. PLEASE BE CONTIOUS OF ALLERGIES.) HSA allots approximately a $1, budget for the 6th grade promotion expenses. Here are the items these funds are applied to: Flowers are ordered for the evening of promotion. (Handled by teachers) Student T-shirts are ordered after we send home a form to complete for size accuracy. (Handled by teachers) Additional field trip expenses are paid. (Handled by teachers) There is usually an amount of approximately $ to be used toward the breakfast. In the past, the volunteers purchased bagels, juice and easy to serve breakfast foods. Some parents provided food donations towards the breakfast as well. Mrs. Bieker is a great contact when planning your end of the year party. Please limit the number of parents attending the party 3/4 in grades K-2 and 3 parents for grades Do your best so that every parent has an opportunity to attend or help (i.e., send in a snack or beverage) with a party. As Homeroom Parent you are the coordinator; you do not have to attend every party. You will compile the volunteers for each party and coordinate who will attend, who will send a beverage or snack. Please remember to send out s informing your class who was chosen for which party and which duty so they can mark their calendars. Also, be sure to send a reminder the week prior to the parties. Keep all receipts you get when purchasing items using class funds (i.e., crafts, paper products and gifts). LATEX BALLOONS ARE NOT PERMITTED IN CENTRAL BUCKS SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Siblings: Please advise all parents who attend the parties that younger siblings should be left in the care of a sitter. Parents are attending the party to assist the teacher with students and their attention should be focused solely on the class.
5 Class Gifts: Communication: Photography:You will be responsible to purchase the class gift for your teachers birthday, holiday and end of the year. Library dedications are a great gift idea that helps the school as well. You can find a dedication form in this packet. A dedication will cost $17.00 (subject to change). I find it helpful to send the teacher an “All About Me” survey in the beginning of the year. I ask them to complete the survey which has questions like… “What is your favorite pass time?, Favorite restaurant?, Favorite store to shop?, Do you need anything for the classroom?” This will come in very handy when it is time to buy a gift. Communication: As a homeroom parent, it is your responsibility to keep your parents informed with regard to classroom events. You should communicate what gift was bought for the teacher (i.e., holiday, birthday, end of year). Parents are always interested in what their donation went to. You will also be the liaison between HSA and your class parents. It is VERY important to forward any information that may be sent to you onto your class. s are the best way to contact everyone in your class and the parents are counting on you to keep them well informed of important information involving school policy and/or procedures. If for some reason you have a parent in your class who does not have please be sure to print out the you sent to the rest of the class and send it home to that parent care of their child. This way you are still keeping lines of communication open. Photography: Please ask one of your parents to be the class photographer and take pictures for the yearbook. The photo volunteer MUST have a digital camera (not the camera on your cell phone), as the yearbook will be produced digitally. The photo volunteer must also have access to a computer as the page they will be creating is on-line. The photographer should contact the classroom teacher prior to the event to find out about photo opportunities. The photographer needs to arrange for a suitable time prior to visiting the classroom. The photographer will need to complete a class page to upload for the yearbook. Yearbook Representative: Erynn Jacobsen,
6 Peanut Allergy Letter CopyPEANUT SAFE CLASSROOMS: Mrs. Walsh(PM), Mrs. Tennyson, Mrs. Kovnot, Mrs. Decker, Mrs. Moelter, Mrs. Stolzenberg, Mr. Cerauli, Miss Stafford, Ms. Young, Mr. Hottenstein August 2014 Dear Parent/Guardian, This letter is to inform you that a student in your child’s classroom has a severe peanut allergy. Strict avoidance of peanut products is the only way to prevent a life threatening allergic reaction. We are asking your assistance in providing the student with a safe learning environment. If exposed to peanuts, the student may develop a life threatening allergic reaction that would require emergency medical treatment. To reduce the risk of exposure the classroom will be designated peanut safe. We are asking that you do not send in any foods which contain peanuts for individual daily class snacks or party/shared treats. It is also important to reinforce with your child that food should not be shared. Since lunch is eaten in the cafeteria, your child may bring peanut products for lunch but please pack this separately from the snack. We appreciate your support of these procedures and if you have questions, please contact me. Sincerely, Mrs. Mary Anne Canales, RN Mr. Matthew Croyle Certified School Nurse Principal
7 2014-2015 * Sample letter. Your NameI hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is settling nicely into the new school year. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your child’s _____ grade homeroom parent: Your name, phone number and address I will mostly be communicating with you through and flyers like like this one; however, you can always call me at home if you need anything. The first order of business is to let you know that BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT is _______________________ The Jamison Directory will be electronic this year and will not be available until after October 1st. If you are interested in volunteering for our class parties; Halloween, winter and end of the year (i.e., attend, send a snack or beverage) please complete the volunteer request form attached to this letter. We will also need volunteers for Yearbook, Picture Day and Science Fun Day. If I receive more parent volunteers than I need to attend each party, I will be picking out of a hat. I am taking a collection of $10.00 per child. This money will go toward purchasing a holiday, birthday and an end of the year “Thank You” gift for Teacher’s Name. The money will also provide the craft for the winter party as well as paper products for the parties throughout the year. Please bring volunteer form and donation to Back To School Night in the attached envelope. THANK YOU in advance for your participation. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you this year. Your Name
8 Halloween, Monday, October 31st* Sample volunteer form. Will need to change parties for different grades. Calling All Volunteers!!!!! Please check below what you would like to volunteer for. We will need two or three parents to attend and help with crafts, games, serving, etc. We will need to provide three snacks and juice/water for each party. Child’s Name Parent's Name Telephone Number Address Halloween, Monday, October 31st Provide Snack Provide Beverage Attend Winter Party, Date/Time TBD Valentine's Day Party, Date/Time TBD (grades K-2) End of The Year Party, Date/Time TBD Yearbook Please complete and bring to Back To School Night in attached envelope. I will compile all the requests and put together our holiday party schedule. I will try to be sure everyone gets a chance to help in some way. Thank you again for your support to help make this a great year. Your Name
9 * Sample envelope used for collection purposes.Parents address ________________________ Child’s Name _______________________________ $10.00 Collection for Teacher’s Name Class Due on Back To School Night THANK YOU in advance. Date of BTN Your name
10 * Sample Form. The form can be found on the Jamison Jet Webpage.Library Dedications Looking for a special way to commemorate a birthday, holiday, or other special occasion? Dedicate a book to the library in honor of your child, teacher or any of the staff at Jamison. Simply fill out the form below and return it to the library with a check in the amount of $17.00 made payable to Jamison Home and School Association. Name______________________________________________ Phone______________________________________________ Grade Level ________________________________________ Date of Occasion _____________________________________ Dedication to Read____________________________________