Principal Message
PSSA Testing
The students in grades three - five at McCullough Elementary School and in the Penn-Trafford School District will be administered the PSSA – ELA, Math & Science statewide assessments during the weeks of April 15, 22 and 29, 2019. It is very important for that the students are present during the testing days. The PSSA is a state standardized assessment for ELA, Math and Science for all grade three, four and five students in Pennsylvania. The school will be following the schedule listed below for this years assessments.
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ELA - Grades 3, 4, & 5 - April 15, 16 & 17
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Math - Grades 3, 4, & 5 - April 25 & 26
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Science - Grade 4 - April 30 & May 1
Should you have any questions regarding the assessment or assessment window please feel free to contact the school office at your earliest convenience. I will be adding additional documents as they become available informing more about the testing sessions and dates. Thank you for your commitment to the school and district during the assessment period.
PSSA Information McCullough Testing Schedule.pdf
PSSA Test Design and Schedule 2019.pdf
SAFE2SAY
Penn-Trafford School District has a SAFE2SAY helpline to help prevent threats and dangers to the school community. Safe2Say is designed to assist you in reporting any wrongdoing that impacts our schools, our students or our staff – anonymously, so as to protect your privacy. For example, you may wish to report acts of violence, potential threats, bullying, harassment, suicidal comments, theft, drugs, weapons, or any other dangers that may cause harm.
SAFE2SAY HELPLINE
If you see something, say something! The Safe2Say Helpline is a convenient, confidential way for anyone to report information about situations that might affect safety at our school. You can contact Safe2Say any time of the day or night to report concerns.
In order to utilize Safe2Say Helpline to submit an anonymous tip, you can do one of the following:
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Need to use the following website: https://www.safe2saypa.org
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Call 1-844-SAF2SAY. The message is anonymous. The Safe2Say Helpline team triage your message and notify school officials, so appropriate action can be taken.
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Use the mobile app. It is available for Apple and Android devices.
Thank you for your continued support to provide a better education for all students in Penn Trafford School District. If you have any questions about the Safe2Say Helpline, please contact the school or the administration building.
PT STEAM Academy
The PT STEAM Academy will inspire a passion using hands-on lessons designed to excite and engage the mind. Our summer camps provide the opportunity for children to explore the wonders of STEAM in a friendly, curious, and exciting atmosphere. From managing fun experiments to participating in mind-blowing activities, students will come away inspired. STEAM camps are available to PT and Non-PT Students. There is limited seating ability is on a first come first serve basis. Once sections are filled students will be placed on a waiting list. All camps run Monday through Friday, 8:30am-12:00am.
https://sites.google.com/penntrafford.org/2018-pt-steam-academy/home
2Hr School Delays - Modified Kindergarten
Progress Reports
Fourth Quarter Progress Notices will be sent home with the students the week of April 23. Not all students receive progress reports. Progress notices are typically sent home to make parents / guardians aware of where the student currently stands academically at the mid point of the quarter. Parents can always check their students' powerschool account to see the current status of their student.
If you need to have your students' password please contact the school office at your earliest convenience.
Take-Home-Tuesday (THT)
Please be sure to check the Take-Home-Tuesday file on the website. If at any time you find that you cannot open a page please contact the school office.
If you are looking to include a flyer in the Take-Home-Tuesday folder, please submit all of your requests with the flyer attached as a PDF File by the Friday prior to the Tuesday for which you want your flyer posted. Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact the school.
If at any time you need to have paper copies sent home, please contact the school office.
Parent Volunteers / Clearances
McCullough Elementary School is always seeking volunteers willing to provide their expertise as well as compassion for our students. During the course of the school year many occasions arise in which the school needs volunteers. The easiest way to volunteer in our school is to join the McCullough PTO. Listed below are the clearance forms that are necessary to volunteer in the building on a regular basis, as well as the School District procedures regarding volunteerism. Please consider volunteering at the school.
"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" - Winston Churchill
Listed below are the clearances necessary to volunteer in the schools throughout the district. You need all three clearances to volunteer. The PA FBI is not necessary if you have lived in the state of Pennsylvania for 10 consecutive years. You will be required to sign a waiver for this clearance if you see the ten year criteria. I have included a list of venues where you can go if you need to have your fingerprints taken. Should you have any questions regarding the clearances, please contact the school office at your convenience. Please see the attached document for obtaining clearances.
Fingerprint Clearance Locations-Hours.pdf
New Student Registration
If you have moved into the area or have a school age child that is not currently registered for the 2016-17 school year, please contact the office. Registration is an ongoing process that is completed at the school which your child will attend. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact the school at 724-744-7441.
School Hours are 8:00AM - 4:00PM Daily
Math Pearson Successnet
Attached is the website where you can access your child's math series online. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact your child's classroom teacher or the office.
McGraw Hill Reading
Attached is the information as to how you can access your child's Reading Series online. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact your childs classroom teacher or the office.
Students of the Month
Twice a year McCullough Elementary is responsible for selecting and honoring an Elementary Student of the Month. The teachers provide the Principal with student names and the Principal then selects the individual student from the list for the award. The teachers use criteria which is not limited to but includes the following:
- Academic Growth
- Outside Activities
- Peer Relationships
- Citizenship
- Leadership
- Initiative
Backpacks-To-Go Program
As a reminder, the “Backpacks-to-Go” Program is a supplemental nutrition program that was piloted in the Penn- Trafford School District in April 2014 and went district-wide in the 2014-2015 school year. Through the “Backpacks-to-Go” program, we provide a backpack filled with easy-to-prepare meals and snacks for weekends to our children. This program was developed in response to ongoing student needs with no weekend access to the school breakfast and/or lunch program. This program will continue district-wide for the 2016-2017 school year.
Children enrolled in the program, by parent request, take home a backpack with nutritious food in a safe, easy and discreet manner on the designated Fridays. The food items and included menu suggestions may be used for breakfast, lunch and dinner for Saturday and Sunday. Some of the child-friendly foods may include: peanut butter and jelly, easy-open canned fruit, applesauce, puddings, cereal, raisins, granola bars, macaroni and cheese, soup and canned pasta.
We offer the “Backpacks-to-Go” on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month during the school year with adjustments made for holidays. These backpacks are given directly to the children without requiring their parents to pick up the food at a location.
By meeting basic needs of our children, we hope each child will be better able to focus on learning and schoolwork instead of an ‘empty feeling’ or worry about the next meal.
If you feel that your child could benefit from receiving a backpack as described above during the 2016-2017 school year or if you are able to make a donation, please contact Lauren Traill, Elementary School Counselor, at trailll@penntrafford.org or Lisa Popovich, High School Nurse, at popovichl@penntrafford.org.
School Nurse
The School Nurse at McCullough now has a direct phone line. Anytime that you need to speak to the nurse or return a phone call to her office please call 724-744-7442. This line will enable you to speak directly to her.
Forms:
Kindergarten Schedule
Lunch Accounts
When you are sending in money for your child's lunch account please be sure to write their student number on the check and place it in an envelope marked with the homeroom teachers name as well as your child's name on the front. This will help to eliminate any confusion as to the correct placement of the funds.
PowerSchool
Your child's current grades can be found on PowerSchool. Everyone should have received a letter with the child's login in July. If you did not receive this letter or are having difficulty logging into the site please contact the school.
Calendar
Please check the site calendar frequently. Events will be added to the calendar as they become available. There will also be a monthly calendar in the THT folder as well.
PTO
Welcome to the PTO section of the McCullough Elementary School website. The PTO at McCullough is very active in the school and provides many opportunities for our students. PTO meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00PM in the school library. Dates and times are posted on the monthly calendar and reminders will be will be included in the Take-Home-Tuesday file. Babysitting is provided by Community Action Program during these meetings from Penn-Trafford High School. Please consider joining the PTO and visit our website below.
Follow us on Twitter at @McCulloughElem. Announcements and messages will be posted on this site regularly. Please feel free to contact me at the school with any feedback or questions.
Student Handbooks
Little Savers Club
McCullough Elementary is proud to work in conjunction with the Westmoreland Community Federal Credit Union on teaching our students financial literacy. The Little Savers Club helps students understand the importance of saving money and making sound financial decisions. Westmoreland Community Federal Credit Union comes to the school each month in order for the students to participate in the Little Savers Program. The students make monthly deposits into their account and receive incentives for participating. I encourage everyone to participate in the program. Attached is a brochure outlining the program as well as the application and the dates when Westmoreland Community Federal Credit Union will be in school.
Clubhouse Life Little Savers Club is a perfect opportunity for your child to start learning about saving. It only takes $5 to start the account. After that, your child can earn fun prizes by making monthly deposits into their account. They can even receive a bonus deposit if they participate all school year.
You can pick up an application in the school office. For more information please call Westmoreland Community Federal Credit Union at 724-744-0670.
Little Savers Club Application.pdf
Safe Schools Helpline Reporting
Penn-Trafford School District is implementing a Safe School Helpline to help prevent threats and dangers to the school community. Safe School helpline is designed to assist you in reporting any wrongdoing that impacts our schools, our students or our staff – anonymously, so as to protect your privacy. For example, you may wish to report acts of violence, potential threats, bullying, harassment, theft, drugs, weapons, or any other dangers that may cause harm.
In addition to reporting danger, Safe School Helpline also provides a direct link to a live, trained suicide/mental health counselor 24 hours/day, 365 days/year. The helpline provides students with a place to call – anonymously – and talk through what could be the most dangerous half-hour of their life. Unfortunately, youth suicide rate has tripled in the past 30 years, and suicide is the third leading cause of death of students ages 14-19 in the United States.
SAFE SCHOOL HELPLINE
If you see something, say something! The Safe School Helpline is a convenient, confidential way for anyone to report information about situations that might affect safety at our school. You can call the number any time of the day or night to report concerns.
In order to utilize Safe School Helpline you can do one of the following:
- Need to use the following website: www.safeschoolhelpline.com
- Call 1-800-4-1-VOICE Ext 359. The message will not be traced, and you will not be identified. The Safe School Helpline team will transcribe your message and notify school officials, so appropriate action can be taken.
- TEXT: 66746, use the word TIPS
Thank you for your continued support to provide a better education for all students in Penn Trafford School District. If you have any questions about the Safe School Helpline, please contact the school or the administration building.
Title 1 Reading Websites
Policy 918 Title I Parental Involvement.pdf
Title I School Parent Involvement Policy 2018-2019.docx
ESSA Teacher Certification Notification Letter.pdf
ESSA Teacher Certification Notification Letter Spanish.pdf
Read 180 - https://h100000779.education.scholastic.com/slms/studentaccess/read180ng
System 44 - https://h100000779.education.scholastic.com/slms/studentaccess/s44ng