October 18, 2021
It's been a productive start to the 2021 - 2022 school year. We are grateful to our families who participated in our September Virtual Back to School Nights. We hope you enjoyed meeting your student's teachers and are confident in the expectations for a successful year. Remember to visit the pdsd.org website as well as your child's school site for regular updates and inspiration!
The Activities Calendar
The 2021 - 2022 Penn-Delco School District Activities Calendar was distributed late September to all students who are the youngest in their family. If you have not received a calendar, there are extra at the Administration building and at your school buildings. You can also download the calendar parts of the calendar here.
Flu Clinic
The annual Health Heroes Flu Clinic will be held on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. Information and consent forms can be found at pdsd.org/fluclinic. Please register by Friday, October 22.
Interim Progress Reports
The month of October marks the half-way point for both elementary and secondary students. Please keep an eye out for interim progress reports. The elementary trimester ends December 3 with interim progress reports on October 19. Secondary schools will see their first marking period end on November 12 with progress reports on October 8.
Brush up on Schoology and Skyward
As the new year begins, we wanted to highlight some additional supports that are available to you to navigate technology in Penn-Delco. With the distribution of Chromebooks for all students in every grade as well as the adoption of Schoology and Skyward across the district, we understand that some families may have questions about access and navigation. Here are some helpful supports you can use to ensure you can take advantage of all the benefits of these learning and information management platforms. And remember, if you have additional questions or require technology or Chromebook support, reach out to our tech department at helpdesk@pdsd.org. 
Employment Opportunities
Penn-Delco has some employment opportunities that are posted and available at our employment link, particularly for nurses and custodians. Check it out today.
Operation Safe Stop is October 20
On Wednesday, October 20 the townships of Aston and Parkside as well as the borough of Brookhaven will be participating with Penn-Delco School District in observing National School Bus Safety Week by educating the motoring public about school bus safety.

Police officers from Aston and Brookhaven will be riding with a few of our drivers to raise awareness of on-bus safety while all communities will be patrolling our most active routes to monitor driver safety.
Operation Safe Stop is a proactive approach to educate the motoring public that passing a stopped school bus, when children are loading and unloading, is both dangerous and illegal. Any citations issued on Wednesday will be done so either electronically or discreetly away from bus traffic.

Please help us raise awareness by observing driving rules and by honoring the stop signs when a bus is loading and unloading our students. More information about bus safety can be found at the Transportation section of the pdsd.org website.
NEW! The Penn-Delco Podcast
Join Dr. George Steinhoff as he introduces you to the best Penn-Delco has to offer. Three podcasts are now loaded including the following interviews:
  • Preparing Kids for Kindergarten with Ms. Lydon and Ms. McColgan
  • PDSD Performing Arts Programs with Darren and Liz Hazlett
  • The Power of Mindfulness with PDSD Psychologist Jodi Cunniffe
  • Teaching Social Studies in 2021 with SVHS Social Studies Teachers Mr. Kochersberger and Mr. Baldys
The PDSD podcasts can be found on our homepage at pdsd.org, Apple podcasts, Spotify, or by Googling The Penn-Delco Podcast.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Elementary School Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on Monday November 22 and Tuesday, November 23 with half-days for all K - 8 students Northley Middle School student led parent conferences will be held Monday, November 22 and Tuesday, November 23. Check your principal and teacher communication for sign-up information.

All Penn-Delco students will have a half-day of school on November 24 leading into the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Health and Safety: COVID-19
Penn-Delco School District continues to monitor COVID cases and quarantine numbers. Please continue to remind your child to practice the health and safety rules for keeping our numbers as low as possible. Everyone entering a Penn-Delco building should screen for COVID symptoms BEFORE attending school using the COVID health screener. If your child has any symptoms, please refrain from sending them to school and call their school nurse.

Children should be sent to school wearing a mask. Masks are required on buses and in our school buildings. Good hygiene is also encouraged; students should wash and use our hand sanitizers supplied in every building. Review all of the current guidelines for COVID Health and Safety, including our screeners and Q and A sections at pdsd.org/COVID. Our COVID Dashboard can also be found in this section of the website. Thank you for helping us keep COVID in check in Penn-Delco!
Your next board meeting
Your Penn-Delco Board of School Directors will hold their monthly Study Session on Wednesday, October 20 at 7:30pm in the Service Center. The monthly Board meeting is on October 27th at 7:30pm. These are in-person meetings that are filmed and posted within one week on the Penn-Delco YouTube channel. Go to pdsd.org/board for all the information you need on your Board of School Directors.