PTO Plus will be holding a parent meeting Sept. 17. The meeting is being held 7 p.m. in the Steckel Elementary cafeteria.

Please plan to attend if you are a parent volunteer.

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Reminder: Meet-the-teacher nights are happening this month. This is a great opportunity to start the school year meeting your child’s teacher(s) and touring his or her school. Mark your calendar, and plan to attend!

Steckel Elementary School, 6-8 p.m. Sept. 13

Whitehall High School, 6-8:30 p.m. Sept. 20

Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, 6-8 p.m. Sept. 27

There will also be a PTO Plus book fair.

Children should not accompany their parents. The presentation is solely for parents.

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If you would like to learn more about Google Classroom, plan to attend a parent meeting at Zephyr Elementary School Sept. 18. Google Classroom is used in your child’s classroom, and this informative meeting will definitely be helpful for parents.

Mark your calendar and plan to attend!

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Zephyr Elementary will be holding a family night at Rita’s Italian Ice, 2874 MacArthur Road, Sept. 19. Please come out 4-7 p.m. and support Zephyr students.

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Remember to update student information on parent portals. Whitehall-Coplay School District requests all student records be reviewed and/or updated, so the school has accurate contacts and medical records.

Instructions were included in a letter in the August mailing that has your student/user ID and a password. Parents can enter any updates by visiting update.whitehallcoplay.org.

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The Whitehall-Coplay PTO will continue to provide numerous educational and cultural programs for our students. Many of the special events could not occur without the assistance and financial support of this dedicated organization. The PTO Plus covers students in grades K-12.

During the upcoming weeks, you will receive information about becoming a member. Please enroll your family as a member. There are no commitments when you enroll.

Volunteers are welcome to actively participate in the following opportunities, including hospitality, a holiday party, school spirit events, fundraisers, publicity, book fairs, children’s day activities and other programs and special projects. Fundraising information will also be distributed. The PTO Plus exists for your child’s benefit. Please consider becoming an active member.

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Gockley Elementary School suggests parents provide a change of clothes in backpacks. Please keep a seasonally appropriate full change of clothes in your child’s backpack for use in case of spills or accidents at school.

The school keeps a limited supply of clothes in the health room and may not have the correct size for your child.

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The elementary buildings are participating in General Mills’ Box Top for Education collection program, which benefits schools. Products from this company have special Box Tops. Each Box Top is redeemed for a cash reward, which is used for student activities. Just trim the Box Tops, save in a bag at home and then send them into school to be placed in the Box Tops mailbox located outside of the school offices.

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In a few weeks, your child will be bringing home his or her first Gockley Elementary library book. The library provides a book bag, which is to be used to hold your child’s library book each week. This bag serves as protection for all library books throughout the year.

Replacement bags cost 50 cents.

Thank you for helping your child to learn the importance of good book care.

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To apply for free or reduced lunch, visit the school district website, whitehallcoplay.org, and follow the link to “School Cafe” and fill out the forms. WCSD has a computerized lunch system. Full-day students will be assigned a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the computerized lunch program. Parents may deposit money into their child’s account biweekly, quarterly or monthly.

Visit myschoolbucks.com to add money or view your child’s cafeteria account. Personal checks can also be mailed directly to your child’s school cafeteria or given to your child’s teacher any morning. Checks must be submitted at least three school days in advance to be credited to their account.

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Visit the Whitehall-Coplay School District website to stay in contact with your child’s school and upcoming activities. There are many school links that are very helpful for parents and students.

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Do you have any school news? This column is a compilation of upcoming school events in the WCSD. Teachers, administrators, parents, students, coaches, PTAs, club advisers and any other community members are invited to share their upcoming activities. Email me at jamb87@hotmail.com with “Whitehall-Coplay School News” in the subject line at least a week before an event.