Pennbrook Middle School

Friday, February 20, 2015

“D” Day

Cycle 18

School Day 106/Remaining Days 73

May the force be with you.

Volunteer Corps members are needed to help at the Montgomery Elementary Multicultural Night on Friday, March 6th from 6:30pm-9pm.10 volunteers are needed.Signups are in the guidance office. Please stop down to sign up – you will need to provide your own ride.

Ski and snowboard club:

TODAY’S weather is a high of 18 (feels like -5) and a low of 2 (feels like -24) degrees. Please come prepared to the mountain with gloves, hats, face protection and jackets appropriate for this type of weather.

Once the sun is in it will be cold. Please pack hand warmers!!!!

If we see that you are not properly prepared to be outside in this weather we will ask that you remain indoors.

March Madness will take place on Tuesday, February 24th, after school. Each team will have 5 players. Students will sign up in the Guidance Office and each team will sign up under a color and that team will wear that color shirt on February 24th. Signups will end TODAY, Friday, February 20th. If you have any questions please see Mr. Lucas in Room 60.

There will be a meeting on Thursday February26th, 2015 3-4:15pm in the Audion at the high school for all field hockey players that are interested in trying out for the 2015 team this August. Information willbe given out regarding spring workouts, spring league, and summer camp. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Pennbrook’s Spring Musical DAKOTA will be performed on March 12th, 13th and 14th at 7:30PM in the auditorium. Tickets are $8 each. Students can get an order form from their homeroom teachers and others can by emailing . Order today—tickets are going fast and sellouts are expected!

Earth Day is fast approaching. The Enact/Green Team club is selling Earth Day T-shirts. If you are interested see Mrs. Gregory in room 78. The shirts are $7 each.

We are looking for more poetry and short story submissions for Pennbrook’s publication, Penn to Paper. In addition, for those of you looking to join clubs this season, literary magazine is the place to be. We would like to recruit some more people to help us publish works of writing. If you’re interested, please see Mrs. Sinkinson in room 15 or Mrs. Mermelstein in room 16 for more details.

Any girl in 8th – 11th grade interested in high school fall soccer is welcome to attend weight training sessions at the high school from 4-5 every Tuesday and Thursday. If you have any questions, please contact Coach Dehner at .

The next Adventure Club trip will beFriday, February 27th. We are heading to Bear Creek to snow tube. If you are in the Adventure Club and would like to attend this trip, pick up a form on the kiosk in front of the main office. Once the trip fills up, we will make announcement. First come, first served.

Attention Student Council Freshman Dance Committee members, we will be meeting in room 62 during lunch study every C day. Please see Miss Pearcey or Miss Seiler for a pass.

Replacement ID’s can now be made by Mrs. Lancia in Guidance for $3.00. Stop by during Lunch Study.

Math Support is available every morning at 7:40AM in room 52. Don’t forget to bring your math book! The math center will be in room 89 during lunch study. All students are welcome. Passes will be given by your homeroom teacher.

Sports

Pennbrook:

7/8 Boys Basketball @ Indian Crest/Dismiss at 2:10

High School:

For sports information/questions, please call 215-853-1603 or email Mrs.

McConaghy at

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

To schedule an appointment with Mr. Galante, please call 215-853-1600 or email Mrs. Garifalos at

Dropping Items Off for Students:Students will be paged to come and pick up items ONLY at the following times:

1.End of Period 2 (9:45)

2.During Lunch Study (11:20-11:53)

3.End of Period 7 (2:10)

Also, as per Mr. Galante, no student can be called out of class to pick up an item. Students who are expecting items to be dropped off, are encouraged to stop by Mrs. Behrens’ desk between periods.

Student Absences: All absences should be made by a phone call, note, email or fax. If you have reported the absence to attendance by anyone of these means, you DO NOT have to notify the school in any other way. If your student arrives late, they must present an excuse for tardiness at the attendance office. If a phone call, email, note or fax is not received by the attendance office, the absence will be unexcused.

Email:

(please note that you must have the underscore _ before the PBAttendance when emailing)

Fax: 215-699-0151 Attn: Attendance Office

Call: Mrs. Bowers at 215-853-1602 or the main office at 215-699-9287

Days Absent:When a student is absent for three or more days a request can be made for missed assignments through Mrs. Behrens or Mrs. Bowers by emailingYou can also check your student’s teacher’s web page on Pennbrook’s website. Most teachers post their assignments on a regular basis.

Vacation:If going on vacation during the school year please make sure to send a note at leastone week in advance to the Attendance Office. If your absence will exceed ten school days, you will need to contact Mrs. Amy Keller, Registrar, at 215-368-0400 to make an appointment to re-register before returning to school.

Student Pickup: For questions or information on picking up your child during the school day, please call 215-853-1601 or email Mrs. Behrens at

Lunch Accounts:Remember to put money into your child’s lunch account. It is very easy with the new program: and follow the on-screen instructions to create an account. There is also a toll free number (1-866-821-0306) that families can call to make payments and check their student’s account, if they do not have access to the internet. There is a charge of 4.75% each time a deposit is made through MyPaymentsPlus. Please note these fees do not go to NPSD, but is the cost of online transactions with MyPaymentsPlus. Families can benefit by this system because it allows you to: make payments using a credit card, debit card or check; check account balances online and via a toll free phone number; auto-pay a student’s account when it reaches a low balance; receive notifications when a student’s account balance is low; view a student account balance 24/7; monitor student purchases to what they are purchasing; inform the cafeteria staff about your child’s food allergies which will enable a computerized reminder system to prompt cashiers to review the student’s purchase for possible reactions.

Visitors:All visitors to Pennbrook are required to show their NPSD staff ID or a driver’s license at our reception desk. If you are coming to an IEP, Team or Teacher meeting or to volunteer, you must show your license and register with our new security system.

Student Illness/Nurse:Students should not be using cell phones to call home when they are ill. Students need to visit the Nurse and the Nurse should contact the parents to come and pick up their student. Please remind your children regarding this rule.

Id Cards are available from Mrs. Lancia in the Guidance Office for $3.00.

Late Bus: North Penn School District runs a late bus every Tuesday and Thursday. Students are picked up from Pennbrook at 5:15PM.

Bus Pass Reminder:In order to ride home with a friend on a different bus, a student must get a bus pass from the main office. Each student must have a note from a parent authorizing the bus pass and must include the names of all students involved, the date and a parent’s signature. If a note is forgotten, only then, can an email be sent in its place by no later than 10:00AM of that day. The email address is . Verbals over the phone are not acceptable. Also, all requests must be made by the end of Lunch Study; which is 11:53. Bus Passes will not be given out after this time. NO bus passes on early dismissal days per Transportation Department.

INFORMATION CHANGES:If the home address, home/cell phone number or guardianship of your child changes, please contact the Guidance Secretary, Mrs. Lancia at or call 215-853-1610.