Summit Street School

Dear Summit Street Community,

I am honored and excited to welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year! Together, we will support our students to learn, grow, and become safe, kind, and responsible human beings. Our community is always stronger together, and I look forward to meeting all our new families, caregivers, and students and to welcoming back all our fabulous familiar faces. Thanks to the tremendous work of our summer custodial and maintenance staff, IT staff, and office staff, our school building is organized, refreshed, and ready for teaching and learning.  

This letter includes the essential information for the start of the school year. Your student’s teacher will keep you updated weekly with important classroom and school information, and you can expect our monthly Summit Up! Newsletter with additional information about our Summit community. We are a phone call or email away if you have any questions.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer, and I look forward to seeing you soon!

With gratitude and excitement,

Colleen Birner
802-857-7656
cbirner@ewsd.org
www.ewsd.org/SUM

Important Contact Information

Principal - Colleen Birner  857-7656

Office Manager- Katie Bagnall 878-1377 / Attendance Line - 857-7002

School Nurse - Brian Kelley 857-7644   

School Counselor - Ashley Cate 857-7939

Kitchen Staff - 857-7662

Complete Summit Street Staff Directory - https://schoolport.ewsd.org/ewsd_directory/staffBB/summit

Website - www.ewsd.org/SUM

Dates at a Glance 

See the EWSD calendar for the outline of the year:  https://shorturl.at/3cRmH

First Day of School - Monday, August 26, 2024

On Monday, August 26, 2024, all children will assemble near the back door of the building where the ramp is located. Line up begins at 7:30 AM and doors open at 7:35 AM. Teachers and staff will be present to welcome all students. It’s going to be a fantastic first day of school!

Kindergarten Smart Start - Thursday, August 22, at 1:30 PM

All kindergartners and their parents and caregivers are invited to our Kindergarten Smart Start! This is a chance for kindergarteners to experience what arrival and dismissal will be like. They will also get to know their classroom and classmates.. Principal Colleen Birner will answer questions from parents and caregivers.

Arrival, Dismissal, and Keeping Our Students Safe!

School Hours:    7:40 am - 2:40 pm M, T, TH, F

                              7:40 am -1:40 pm Wednesday (Early Release)

                              On-time arrival sets everyone up for a great day!

• Arrival Entrance: All on-time arrival is from the back doors near the ramp. The main office front doors should be used for tardy arrival only. We need to keep Summit Street clear for buses for both Summit and Fleming. Thank you for your cooperation with this. 

• Arrival Timing: Summit Street School line up begins at 7:30 am and doors open at 7:35 am for a 7:40 school start time. Our arrival door will close at 7:45 am. 

• Tardy Arrival: Students are tardy after 7:45 am. Please walk your child up from the back parking lot for tardy arrival as the front of the school is a bus lane in the morning. 

• Bus Arrival: All students arriving by bus transportation will arrive at the main entrance on Summit Street. Summit Staff will greet the buses, and students will be supervised outside on the playground until the doors open.

• Parking: Our drop off and pick up parking lot is the Holy Family parking lot. If you would like to park and walk with your child, or if  you are staying for a meeting or event, please use our district parking lot on School Street. This is just down the street from the Holy Family lot and connects to our playground. Summit Street is an active busy street and is not designed for car drop offs! The front of the school is a bus lane during pickup and drop off. Please refer to this link for a map and instructions for parking: Driving and Holy Family Parking Lot.docx

• Dismissal Timing: Dismissal for Summit Street School is at 2:40 pm (2:35 pm Kindergarten). Wednesdays are early release days and students are dismissed at 1:40 pm (1:35 pm Kindergarten).

• Dismissal Procedures: Students using EWSD Bus Transportation will be dismissed according to the bus schedule. Students attending EJRP Rec Kids after school programming will be dismissed to their designated areas. Kindergarten students attending EJRP Rec Kids will be escorted by adults to the EJRP bus. All other students will exit the building with their classroom teacher to their designated pick up areas out back. Students being picked up will be dismissed by their teacher as soon as their designated pick-up person is identified. 

• Following all arrival and dismissal protocols keep our students safe! Thank you for doing your part.

  
  

School Bus Sign-Up and Information 

• EWSD Transportation department is still working on the bus routes and other updated transportation information. Please keep an eye out for district communication about transportation, and I encourage you to check the EWSD transportation website throughout the month: www.ewsd.org/transportation. 

• Please note that EWSD has outlined walking zones for our various schools, and bussing is not typically available in those zones. To check the Summit walking zone please refer to the following link: https://shorturl.at/hNbvH

  
  

Reporting an Absence, Late Arrival, or Change in After School Plans

There are many ways to contact us regarding your student's attendance. Katie Bagnall is our fabulous Office Manager and your point person for attendance. Please call Katie at 802-878-1377, or email Katie at kbagnall@ewsd.org to report an absence or to share a dismissal change for your student. 

Visiting Summit Street

Our school has a security system.  At 7:45 AM all doors are locked. The only way to enter is through the main entrance. There is a small camera and button to push to let our Office Manager, Katie Bagnall, know you are outside.  Parents, caregivers, and any other visitors need to sign in at the main office and wear a visitor’s badge if they will be staying inside the building.  Please make sure you sign out and exit out of our main entrance only.  No other doors may be used as a visitor exit during the school day. Thank you for your attention to this important safety protocol.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Summit Street school is a PBIS School, and we have won state recognition for our work for the last 4 years. PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The purpose of PBIS is to promote a sense of belonging and to teach students how to be successful learners and community members. PBIS is an evidence-based framework and is used by schools nationwide to create a positive climate for learning. At Summit, we are Safe, Kind, and Responsible. We teach and recognize specific ways our students are safe, kind, and responsible throughout the day at Summit.. Ask your student from time to time how they were safe, kind, and responsible that day! 

For more information about PBIS, visit: www.pbisvermont.org/

Educational Supplies

Summit Street School provides all the required school supplies that our students need! The only optional purchase is a backpack, water bottle and a lunch/snack bag, which the school does not supply. Pencils, rulers, notebooks, crayons, markers, scissors, and everything else to make learning amazing are all provided. 

Healthy Breakfast/Lunch Options

All children will receive free breakfast and lunch this year regardless of your household income eligibility. Our EWSD Child Nutrition Program provides nutrition information and menu options. For more information, you can visit: https://schools.mealviewer.com/district/EssexWestfordSchoolDistrict,VT

School Communication

You will receive a monthly newsletter called “Summit Up!” via email to keep you up to date on all of our Summit happenings and celebrations. You can also find up to date information on our website at www.ewsd.org/SUM. If you would like a paper copy of our newsletter, please let Katie Bagnall know, and we will be sure to accommodate you. Expect a weekly communication from your student’s classroom teacher. The format of this communication will vary and your student’s teacher will provide you with all necessary details for accessing their weekly communication.

Summit Street PIE (Partners In Education)

Summit PIE is excited to support our Summit Street community! PIE  plans to meet on the second Tuesday of the month from 6:00-7:00 PM. Childcare is provided pending availability. Thanks in advance to this year’s officers Jaclyn Zofrea, Ernest Heimsath, Sarah Rizner, Nicole Bova, Erica Quick, and Joanna Chioffi. 

Volunteering

All volunteers must register with our district annually. Classroom teachers are your point of contact for receiving the volunteer form. When there are opportunities to volunteer, your student’s classroom teacher will provide a link to the volunteer form for you to fill out. 

Powerschool Mobile App 

Powerschool Mobile App is built to help families easily view and fill out forms in the mobile app on any device. It’s a great tool to have at your fingertips. Below is information for helping you get set up with the app.

• PowerSchool Mobile can be downloaded  from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

• Search for "PowerSchool". PowerSchool apps should be the first results that appear.

• Sign in to the PowerSchool Mobile App for iOS

• After you have downloaded the mobile app to your device, configure the app to recognize the server at your school district:  EWSD code is MSBF

• Then sign in to the app with your PowerSchool Student and Parent Portal username and password.

• If you do not have a PowerSchool Student and Parent Portal account, tap I Need An Account at the bottom of the first screen for complete information on how to get an account.

• To get to the Forms navigate to the "More" section on the bottom navigation pane and select "Forms", Find and complete the desired form. Please make sure that you submit all required forms.

We look forward to seeing you soon!