This morning, 9/20/21, Penn Manor High School telephones are experiencing intermittent problems. We have had a number of dropped calls. If you need us to call you, please email and we will find a way to connect with you.

Thanks,

Baron H. Jones

Welcome to Penn Manor High School’s fall virtual “Back to School Night.” The faculty members at PMHS have created individual videos to provide parents with an overview of high school course requirements and expectations for the fall semester.  If a parent wants to schedule a virtual meeting with a teacher, please email the teacher directly to schedule a follow-up appointment.  Teacher email addresses and their classroom video(s) can be found by clicking the “Teacher Video Clips” link found later in this email.  If you have additional questions, please contact Mr. Jones at baron.jones@pennmanor.net.

 Back To School Night – Teacher Video Clips

On Tuesday, August 31, 2021, the Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an order that requires the wearing of face coverings at schools starting on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.

The order is issued pursuant to authority granted to the Department of Health under the Disease Prevention and Control Law, 35 P.S. Section 521.5, and requires that all teachers, students, staff and visitors wear a face covering indoors at school. Furthermore, the order states that it does not impact the obligation of schools to comply with CDC requirements concerning masking on school buses.

As a public school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Penn Manor School District is required by law to comply with this order.

Penn Manor will use the same procedure followed during the 2020-2021 school year in considering face covering medical exception requests from parents/guardians. Parents/guardians will need to provide documentation from a medical provider by completing a Face Covering Order Exception Request Form from their child’s school and submitting it to the building principal.

The Penn Manor Board of School Directors will meet on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of Penn Manor High School. At the beginning of all school board meetings, there is a public comment period. If you are interested in speaking during that time, the school board respectfully requests that you pre-register here so that an appropriate amount of time can be allocated for public comments. The school board will be accepting comments regarding the face coverings order during the meeting; however, the school board is not scheduled to take a vote on the order.

The school district is obligated to comply with the provisions of the face coverings order, including during school board meetings, unless or until a court of competent jurisdiction issues an injunction against the Acting Secretary of Health regarding the implementation and enforcement of the order.

The school board agenda will be posted to the school district website by the end of the day on Friday, September 3, and will be available here.

The timing of the face coverings order is unfortunate and disappointing, coming as it does with the 2021-2022 school year already under way. It creates a new challenge for Penn Manor community members, students and our school employees. That being said, it will not deter Penn Manor from making this school year the best that it can be, and we will continue to adjust as needed in order to provide an outstanding educational program for our students.

For more details about the face coverings order and Penn Manor’s Health and Safety Plan, please click on these links:

• Order of the Acting Secretary of the PA Department of Health
  Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Order from the PA Department of Education
• Penn Manor COVID-19 Resources Page
• 2021-2022 ESSR Health and Safety

Meet the Teacher Night is scheduled for September 1.  The program will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  This is an open house drop-in format.  In order to minimize the number of people in the classrooms at one time, we are asking that parents visit the school anytime during their designated time period, as teachers will not be delivering formal presentations. Additionally, children are asked to stay home. 

Families with the last names A through M are asked to participate from  6:00 to 6:45.

Families N-Z are asked to participate from 7:15 to 8:00.

Please read the following letter from Penn Manor superintendent Mike Leichliter regarding procedures at our schools for the new year.

Dear Penn Manor Families,

We have a few updates to share with you as we approach the 2021-2022 school year, which begins on Monday, August 30, 2021. 

PA Department of Education Health & Safety Plan: In preparation for the 2021-2022 school year, the Penn Manor Board of School Directors approved a Health & Safety Plan during its board meeting on July 12, 2021. Penn Manor’s  PA Department of Education (PDE) Health & Safety Plan is posted on the district website here. Key components of the plan include the following:

• Mask Wearing: At this time, the wearing of masks/face coverings in our schools will be at the discretion of students, families, staff and visitors. As a result of an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), face coverings are expected to be worn on all forms of public transportation, including school buses.
• Vaccinations: The PA Department of Health (PA DoH) is not requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students or staff to attend school. 
• Cleaning & Disinfecting: The district will follow pandemic procedures for cleaning and sanitizing spaces, surfaces and other areas each night. 
• Physical Distancing: Physical distancing of three feet will be implemented to the greatest extent practicable inside our schools.
• Contact Tracing/Quarantining/Isolation: The district requests that all families/individuals prescreen for symptoms prior to entering school each day. Students with symptoms will be sent to the school nurse for assessment. Principals and nurses will be in contact with the PA Department of Health (PA DoH) as necessary regarding reporting and/or monitoring of COVID cases involving Penn Manor students or staff. Upon notification of a positive case, the district will follow the directives provided by the PA DoH regarding contact tracing, isolation and quarantines. All quarantine directives will be issued to affected individuals directly by the PA DoH. Students or staff who are exposed to a COVID-positive individual will not need to be quarantined if they have been fully vaccinated (with proof of vaccination) and are symptom free (as per PA DoH guidelines).
• Public Reporting of COVID-19 Cases/Quarantines/Closures: The district will not be sending daily emails regarding new COVID-19 cases in school buildings. Because there currently is no guidance from the PA Department of Education regarding mandatory building closures, the district will consult with local and state health officials on an as-needed basis to determine whether to switch schools to a full virtual format and to report information to the public. 
• Free breakfasts and lunches: We are pleased to announce that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allowing schools to offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students in grades K-12 through the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Families should complete the 2021-2022 Free/Reduced Lunch application as there are additional benefits (such as reduced internet costs) for those who qualify.
• School menus: Penn Manor School District’s food distributor is currently experiencing labor and product shortages. As a result, some food products we use may be unavailable, so published menus may not match what is being served in our cafeterias in the coming weeks. Please bear with us during these challenges, and know that we will do our best to get the products we need so our meals are nutritious and our menus are accurate.  

We look forward to the start of the 2021-2022 school year. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s principal. Thank you for your continued support as we safely open our schools.

Sincerely,

Michael G. Leichliter, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Attention students attending CTC and students who will be parking at Comet Field:  

Please review the procedures listed below for updates about CTC and the bus shuttle information to/from Comet Field.

Morning Commute:
There will be 4 shuttle buses at Comet Field that will transport students to the high school.  These buses will load by the field house and will leave at 7:29 a.m. to arrive at the high school by 7:31 a.m.

Full day CTC students were assigned a parking spot at Comet Field.  There will be two CTC buses that will pick up student drivers to take them to full day CTC programs at Comet Field.  These buses will load below the field house and will leave at 7:30 a.m. 
Bus 49 to Willow Street
Bus 175 to Mt Joy and Brownstown

Additionally, there will be 2 buses at the high school to transport students to full day CTC campuses
Bus 249 to Willow Street will be in space 1
Bus 224 to Mt. Joy and Brownstown will be in space 2  

Mid Day CTC transport:
Bus 175 will load at the main entrance outside of the office. This bus will stop by Comet Field to drop off juniors who will be driving to CTC before heading to Willow Street.
Half day CTC dismissal times will vary based on the Flex Day.
            – On Block 1, 2 and  Friday Flex days students will be dismissed at 11:15 a.m.
            – On Block 3 and 4 Flex Days students will be dismissed at 10:30 a.m.  

Afternoon Dismissal:
Bus 49 from Willow Street will return from CTC to Comet Field before heading to the high school
Bus 175 from Mt Joy and Brownstown will return from CTC to Comet Field before heading to the high school 
Bus 249 and 224 will return from CTC directly to the high school
There will be 4 shuttle buses that will transport students to Comet Field.  Students will be dismissed from class at 2:40  p.m. to ride the shuttle buses. The buses will leave for Comet Field by 2:44 p.m.  
The shuttle buses will be parked in spots 27, 28, 29 and 30 (Close to the cafeteria entrance) and will be labeled.

It was so great to see so many of you last night at New Student Orientation! We hope that you are feeling a bit more comfortable coming to the high school next week and look forward to getting to know you! Penn Manor High School is a special place! Share your pictures from the photo booth using this link!
It’s a great day to be a comet!!

We are excited to welcome all incoming 9th graders, new students to PMHS, and any student who was in virtual school last school year to attend our new student orientation. Students/guardians are invited to attend our orientation on Thursday, Aug 26 which will begin at 6:30PM in the auditorium. We will have a brief introduction and then students will be permitted to tour their schedule. Please plan to park by the parking deck and enter through that entrance. Looking forward to a great year and meeting everyone soon!

If you are unable  to attend on Thursday evening, the building will be open from 8AM-3PM on Friday, August 27th. There will be structured tours of the building every hour (ex: 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 etc.). Tours will begin at the athletic office (right inside the doors near the parking deck).