Dear EHS Student and Parent

East Penn School District Emmaus High School

500 Macungie Avenue Emmaus, PA 18049-2296 (610) 965-1650 Phone (484) 519-3932 (Fax)

August 6, 2015

Dear EHS Student and Parent:

Greetings from your high school principal! I hope you have had a peaceful and relaxing summer. The custodial, guidance, teaching, and administrative staffs have been busy preparing EHS for the upcoming school year. We wait with great anticipation for our students to return on Monday, August 31st.

Please see the first-day schedule enclosed with this letter. We will follow our typical abbreviated schedule for sophomores through seniors with a late start for freshmen. Students will report to homeroom, receive their schedules and other pertinent information, and follow a condensed schedule including all periods.

In order to best serve our students, tentative student schedules for the 2015-2016 school year will be available to view on Friday, August 14th, via the Home Access Center. It is possible that staffing or other changes could occur, necessitating a change to the schedule. However, in most cases, student schedules will remain the same. All students will receive their official schedules in homeroom on the first day of school. Students received notification of their scheduled classes, with adequate time to make changes in June. The deadline for schedule changes was June 17th. Therefore, the only changes that will be honored at this time are those mistakes generated by our scheduling software. In other words, if your schedule matches the course selections you received in June, your schedule will not be changed. However, if you believe an error has been made, please do not hesitate to contact our counseling office at 610-965-1660, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and someone will be happy to assist you.

A transportation letter will be mailed on or around August 15th from Student Transportation of America (STA) which will include student bus information. Parents who have concerns with the bus information they receive are to contact STA (contact information is provided in the letter).

Emmaus High School has eliminated paper copies of progress reports, report cards and most of our yearly mailings. It is now even more important that all parents and/or guardians be signed up for the Home Access Center, eNews Alerts and provides us with updated telephone numbers for our Intouch K12 call out system.

 To sign up for Home Access Center (HAC), you will need to report to the high school main office and complete a form. Photo ID is required. This will give you access to your child’s grades, attendance, and discipline via the internet. Parents unable to access the web and who do not have HAC access may elect to continue to receive paper copies of their report cards which will be sent home with your students. Please complete the “Opt In” form attached to this letter and return to my office.

 I also encourage all parents and guardians to sign up for our EHS eNews Alerts and our electronic Principal’s Newsletter. The instructions are attached to this letter. Doing so will provide you relevant and timely information pertaining to the high school including due dates, schedule changes, recent news, emergency information, and much more.

 Updating your contact phone numbers on HAC is critical each year so that you receive important information and updates via the Intouch K12 Call Out system. Many parents send in the updated Nurse’s Office card and believe that they have adequately informed us of any changes to their telephone and/or address. This is not the case. These cards are only for the Nurse’s Office and no updates are made to your student’s information. Contact phone numbers can only be changed by you via HAC.

 The following link will direct you to the Parent Information page on the EPSD website: http://www.eastpennsd.org/parents/. From here you can access HAC and update your emergency contact information.

If you have moved:  Within the district, please submit a “Relocation” form which can be found on the EPSD website under “Parent Portal”, “Forms”, “Relocation/Withdrawal Form”. These forms must be brought to the EHS Counseling Office at your earliest convenience with the required proofs of residency. Failure to notify EPSD of your move can result in the dis- enrollment of your student.

 Outside of the district, you will need to come in to the EHS Counseling Office to sign the appropriate paperwork to withdraw your child from EHS and we can begin to prepare your child’s transcripts to send to their new school.

SENIORS – Please view the EHS website for the most up-to-date information regarding parking passes and senior photos.

Finally, The Nutrition Group, our food services provider here at EPSD, has some important updates for you that you can find by going to the EHS website and clicking the link for “Lunch Menus”.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone on August 31st. Enjoy the final days of summer.

Sincerely,

David F. Piperato (Mr. Pip) Principal

/enclosures Don’t forget to sign up for eNews!

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE TO eNEWS AND THE PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

eNews is a “one-way” electronic form of communication from the administration to the parents of EHS students. It enables the school to quickly contact you with time sensitive issues as well as encompass our resources to communicate more effectively and simultaneously be eco-friendly.

You can subscribe and/or unsubscribe to various versions via the internet. The link can be found on the EPSD website under “Parent Portal”, “e-Newsletters”, “Emmaus High School”.

SUBSCRIBE: In order to subscribe to eNews, simply logon to the above mentioned website and a window will appear. Please enter your name and email information and mail type preference. Select which forms of eNews you wish to receive via email by clicking the box next to each selection desired. Finally, click “subscribe” at the bottom.

Once you have subscribed, you will receive an email for each category requesting that you verify your email address. Please click on “click here” to verify your email address in order to complete the verification process.

UNSUBSCRIBE: In order to unsubscribe to eNews, simply logon to the website and “hit” unsubscribe and the list of what you have previously subscribed to will display and you can select what you would like to unsubscribe to. Finally, click “unsubscribe” at the bottom.

An electronic version of “The Principal’s Newsletter” is one of the selections. However, if you wish to forego the electronic version, you may stop by the EHS Main Office to pick up a copy at your convenience.

EHS Report Cards / Progress Reports “Opt In” Form Office Use Only (2015-16): Primary or Second Guardian verified: Y / N Name: ______(Second to AP for approval) (Name must be a *primary parent/guardian of student(s) listed below) *If not either – return to applicant

Address verified: Address: ______Y / N If not same – flag for Residency (Address must match the* primary parent/guardian on file) verification

Has HAC: City: ______State: PA Zip: ______Y / N If yes, no paper copies will be *(9-12 only) supplied Student’s Name: ______Student ID#: ______Grade*: ______Record updated: Y / N Student’s Name: ______Student ID#: ______Grade*: ______Date: ______By: ______

Student’s Name: ______Student ID#: ______Grade*: ______

Return completed form to Mr. Piperato, Emmaus High School, 500 Macungie Ave, Emmaus, PA 18049