Back to School Resources

 ANNUAL UPDATES, SIGN-OFFS, AND SKYWARD INFO

At the start of each school year, we ask families to please update important information and complete annual sign-offs in Skyward. These forms will be live and available for completion in the coming weeks. You are encouraged to complete this vital information prior to the first day of school.

As a reminder, parents/guardians may access their Skyward Family Access portal at the following web address: https://skyward.cvschools.org/.
 

 BUS SCHEDULES & GENERAL TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

GENERAL INFORMATION: Transportation guidelines, safety tips, and more available by clicking here to view our Transportation Department webpage.

BUS SCHEDULES: Individual student bus schedules are available throughout the year by logging into Skyward Family Access Center and clicking on the transportation tile. The 2023-24 bus assignments will be released on or around August 9, 2023. Once released, you are asked to please log into your Skyward Family Access Center account to verify that your child's pick-up and drop-off location is accurate. We ask that you please also double-check Skyward prior to the first day of school as bus assignments and pickup and drop off times may be slightly altered due to daily enrollment changes. As always, please have your child at their stop five minutes prior to the listed stop time. Should you log into your Skyward Parent Portal account and you do NOT see your child’s bus information, please contact the Transportation Department at [email protected].

REMINDERS: It is commonplace for transportation delays to occur at the beginning of each school year. These delays often work themselves out during the first few weeks as drivers better familiarize themselves with their routes, as students learn to navigate their new building and/or bus location, and as student enrollment stabilizes. This is especially true as our transportation contractors continue to face challenges associated with bus/van driver shortages. We appreciate your understanding, patience, and support as we work through these delays.
 

 CALENDARS

Please click here to view the 2023-24 academic calendar, as approved by the Board of School Directors.

 

 COMMUNICATION

DISTRICT COMMUNICATION: The district utilizes SchoolMessenger as our automated notification system. To ensure you receive email and telephone communication from the district throughout the school year, please make sure that all of your contact information is up-to-date in your Skyward Family Access account. You also have the option to opt into text messaging, should you so choose. Text messaging is used as a mode of communication during inclement weather, emergencies, and bus delays, and to draw attention to other important updates from the district. If you are new to the district, or if you have not previously opted into text alerts, you may do so by following the directions available by clicking here.

In addition to SchoolMessenger, individual teachers and/or buildings may use other modes of communication throughout the year (Schoology, Skyward, SeeSaw, etc).

SOCIAL MEDIA: To increase our communication efforts, you may follow us on Facebook (@cvschools) and Twitter (@cvsdnews). Please ensure that you follow our official accounts to guarantee the most accurate information.

OFFICIAL DISTRICT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS: Please click here to view a chart that illustrates the various ways you can stay connected with Cumberland Valley School District through our official communication channels.
 

 FOOD SERVICE

The Governor’s Office announced recently that all Pennsylvania schoolchildren, regardless of family income, will receive free breakfast during the 2023-24 school year.

Of important note, this is for breakfast ONLY during the 2023-24 school year.

As a reminder, if your child qualifies for free meals through the State (also known as direct certified) or if you completed a free/reduced application after July 1, 2023, and have received a letter stating your child is eligible to receive free/reduced meals, their school lunch will also be FREE. If you have any question regarding your child’s meal status, please do not hesitate to contact the Food Service office.

Families who are not direct certified or who have not already completed an application for the 2023-24 school year are encouraged to CLICK HERE to complete a free/reduced meals application, which is available any time throughout the year, to determine eligibility. An application is not required for PA's 2023-24 free breakfast program.

Please click here for more information on meal payments and how to place money into your child’s SchoolCafe account.

If you have additional questions, please call (717) 697-8261 and follow the prompts to reach the Food Service Department in our District Office/District Support Facility.

2023-24 meal prices
Elementary Lunch - $3.25
Secondary Lunch - $3.50
Adult Breakfast - $2.85
Adult Lunch - $4.50
   

 HEALTH INFORMATION

Please visit our Nursing Department webpage for more information on physical exams, dental exams, and immunizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health establishes requirements for these exams and immunizations by grade level. The Nursing Department webpage also provides information on health screenings, illnesses, and medication distribution policies, in addition to access to many required health forms.
  

 INCLEMENT WEATHER

Cumberland Valley School District was again utilize up to five Flexible Instruction Days (FID) for inclement weather for the 2023-24 school year.

As we did last year, the District will plan to follow either a 2-hour delay schedule or a Flexible Instruction Day during inclement weather, unless otherwise noted in our automated message. Should inclement weather be forecast after students have already arrived for the day, there may be a need for an unscheduled early dismissal. It is important that you listen to any message in its entirety to be certain of the schedule for that day.

2-HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE: In the event of inclement weather, the District may need to use a delayed opening (with modified kindergarten) schedule. The 2-hour delay schedule by building is listed on this page under “Schedules by Building (including 2-hour delay schedules).”

FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTION DAY (FID): During Flexible Instruction Days (remote learning), students will receive learning activities and assignments at home in order to provide continuity of instruction. On these days, families should look for communication from principals and/or teachers regarding specific school and class schedules for the day.

Should we require more than five days of closure due to weather, the District would likely add additional days to the calendar and plan to make up these days during scheduled holiday breaks or at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

COMMUNICATION REGARDING INCLEMENT WEATHER: The District maintains a variety of ways to communicate delays, cancellations, and closings to our community and staff. Once a decision is made, notification generally begins within about 15 minutes. Current notification systems include:

District website (www.cvschools.org)

Automated calling & text alert system (For parents/guardians and staff only - you must register to receive text alerts.)

Email blasts (For parents/guardians only based upon email address(es) provided in Skyward.)

Twitter (@CVSDnews) and Facebook (facebook.com/CVschools)

Media (if time permits and typically only in cases of unscheduled early dismissals)

Please ensure that contact information - to include both home contacts and emergency contacts - for your child(ren) is up-to-date in Skyward as this is what is used to reach families in the event of an emergency, a change in schedule due to weather, transportation delays, etc. You are able to make changes to this information as needed throughout the school year.

If there is ever a time that you do not receive a phone call or text message, but you think there is a chance of a delay/closure, please check our website or official district social media accounts. Barring any major outage, our website is the first place that we update.
 

 REGISTRATION

Please reach out to our Central Registration office should you need to register a new student prior to the start of, or during, the school year. Contact information and registration instructions are available by clicking here.
 

 SCHEDULES BY BUILDING (including 2-hour delays + planned early dismissals)

The daily instructional day schedule for the 2023-24 school year is as listed below. NOTE: Hours in which the building is open and students are permitted to enter for the start of the day vary by building. The schedule below is the instructional day schedule for each building.

Green Ridge, Middlesex*, Monroe, and Silver Spring Elementary Schools:

*Middlesex kindergarten hours differ from this schedule: Please contact the building with questions.

Hampden, Shaull, Sporting Hill, and Winding Creek Elementary Schools:

2-Hour Delay Schedule:
In the event of inclement weather, the district may potentially use a delayed opening schedule.

Green Ridge, Middlesex, Monroe, Silver Spring:
Extended Day Kindergarten and Grades 1-5: 11:10 AM-3:50 PM
Kindergarten AM: 11:10 AM-12:50 PM
Kindergarten PM: 2:10 PM-3:50 PM

Hampden, Shaull, Sporting Hill, Winding Creek:
Extended Day Kindergarten and Grades 1-5: 11:15 AM-3:55 PM
Kindergarten AM: 11:15 AM-12:55 PM
Kindergarten PM: 2:15 PM-3:55 PM
    

 SCHOOL SUPPLIES

ELEMENTARY: As we have done in previous years, we will provide all needed elementary classroom and student supplies for the new school year. We encourage elementary students to bring a backpack to school along with earbuds/headphones for personal use as part of our classroom instruction. Students should bring a water bottle to school for personal use throughout the day.  

SECONDARY: Individual teachers and/or grade-level teams will provide students with specific items that they may need for their class during the upcoming school year. Students should bring a water bottle to school for personal use throughout the day.

CVVA: Families of 9th grade students and students newly enrolled in CVVA will be contacted regarding pickup of a school-issued computer.
 

 TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS (ELEMENTARY)

Elementary teacher assignments will be released on the afternoon of August 4, 2023. We will communicate directly with elementary families via email closer to release date regarding how this information may be accessed.

Communication was sent in late July to incoming kindergarten families to make them aware of whether their kindergartener has been assigned to our AM or PM session. Please reach out to your child's building principal with any specific questions about this assignment.
 

 TECHNOLOGY

1:1 TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE: The District believes that supplying a device for all students is essential to their learning and development. Consistency in grade-level devices is essential to implementation of our curriculum, instruction, and assessment, while also allowing for sufficient support operations. More details about the program can be found on the Technology section of the District website.

In addition, a vital part of this program is partnering with our students and parents to ensure the devices are cared for and maintain good working conditions. We understand damage happens and offer families an insurance program to offset the costs of any damage that may occur. Details about the program and how to opt into the program are available on this subpage of the Technology 1:1 Program website.

TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT: At any time throughout the year, you may reach out to our Technology Helpdesk for technical assistance. We ask that if your child has had any technology device issues from their summer use of the device they submit tickets now and get them addressed before the start of school.

Staff and Students may go to https://helpdesk.cvschools.org to sign in and create a Technology helpdesk ticket. Parents/Guardians may click here to create a Technology helpdesk ticket, as needed. This information is also available on our website at www.cvschools.org/parents.