Dear Twinsburg Schools Family:
Welcome to the 2023/2024 school year! We are so excited to welcome our students and staff members back to school as we anticipate a wonderful year of learning and growth!
You should have received a Blackboard Connect email from me on August 3rd which defined our Soft Reopening Days which are scheduled for August 16th through 18th. Here is the schedule:
For students in Preschool through Grade 12, Soft Reopening Days are scheduled as follows:
For Preschool students:
- Parents/guardians will receive a QR code in their welcome back letter from Mrs. Turner. Parents will use the QR code to register for a thirty (30) minute meeting with their child’s teacher. Preschool students are to attend this meeting with their parent/guardian
For students in Kindergarten through Grade 6:
- Wednesday, August 16th: Students with last names beginning with A through G
- Thursday, August 17th: Students with last names beginning with H through P
- Friday, August 18th: Students with last names beginning with Q through Z
For RB Chamberlin Middle School students:
- Wednesday, August 16th: Students with last names beginning with A – L
- Thursday, August 17th: Students with last names beginning with M – Z
- Friday, August 18th: All RBC students report for school
For Twinsburg High School students:
- Wednesday, August 16th – Only students in 9th grade report for school
- Thursday, August 17th – All students, grades 9 – 12 report (abbreviated Blue/White Schedule)
- Friday, August 18th – All THS students, grades 9 – 12 report (Blue Day Schedule)
Your child’s Soft Reopening Day is considered a school day and attendance will be taken.
During this special week, students will get a chance to meet their teacher(s) and some of their classmates, to obtain their District-issued Chromebook (if they do not already have one) and complete preliminary assessments so that our teachers know a little bit about students’ mastery levels and areas that need extra stretch or intervention. Parents will receive more information about our Soft Reopening Days as well as classroom assignments/schedules directly from building principals.
Friday, August 25th is a Data Day. Our students do not have school on August 25th.
All students in Preschool through Grade 12 will report together for the first time on Monday, August 21st. Bus schedules for students in Preschool – Grade 12 are expected to be mailed on Monday, August 7th. If you have questions about transportation once you receive your bus schedule, please contact our Transportation Department at 330.486.2348.
As we get underway for another year of learning, school safety is on everyone’s mind, thus I want to share with you a few notes regarding the Twinsburg City School District’s safety procedures:
- District Emergency Management Plans for all five (5) school and the District plan have been filed with the Attorney General’s Office;
- All school buses have passed inspection by the Ohio State Highway Patrol;
- Currently, the District has three (3) School Resource Officers (SROs) assigned by the City of Twinsburg. A request has been made to the City of Twinsburg to increase SRO coverage to a total of five (5) so there would be an SRO assigned to each of our schools. If that is not possible, the District will secure SROs from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office as we did during the 2022/2023 school year;
- The District has six (6) Security Liaisons. Our Security Liaisons are assigned, primarily, to afterschool and evening events. When afterschool and evening event coverage is not needed, the Security Liaisons will be reassigned to security coverage during the school day in our schools;
- During the 2022/2023 school year, the Twinsburg City School District received approximately $500,000 in school security grants as part of Ohio’s K-12 Schools Safety Grant Program. The District used these funds, in part, to purchase additional security cameras and radios. Further, the District purchased metal detector wands. Procedures for the use of the wands are being finalized and further information will be distributed as it becomes available. As a preventative measure, it would be the intention to use the metal detector wands intermittently upon entry at our schools as well as at our District’s events;
- All visitors to our campuses must check-in through the Welcome Center;
- On August 2, 2023, the Board of Education approved revised Board of Education Policy 5136 and authorized amended Student Handbook language to include the requirement for all students to place Personal Communication Devices (PCDs) in District-purchased caddies upon entry to classrooms. Parents/guardians will be able to review this amended Student Handbook language when submitting their child’s documentation in PowerSchool;
- To support well managed learning environments, the Board of Education authorized the employment of ALE monitors for Wilcox Primary School and Samuel Bissell Elementary School and After School Detention monitors for George G. Dodge Intermediate School, RB Chamberlin Middle School, and Twinsburg High School. The District’s remaining ESSER funds will be used to support the employment of these monitors; and
- Students in Preschool – Grade 6 are able to bring a backpack of choice to school. Students in Grades 7 – 12 must store their backpack of choice in a locker for the entirety of the school day. Students in Grades 7 – 12 may carry a backpack to classes however, the backpack must be a clear backpack. No other backpack may be carried during the school day.
Additionally, our District has safety procedures and protocols which are confidential in nature and cannot be published. Safety is everyone responsibility. Thanks, in advance, for your efforts in keeping all of our Tigers safe while they are at school and on our campuses and vehicles.
I am very Tiger Proud to introduce the newest members of our staff:
Twinsburg High School
Emily Hunt – Principal
Michelle Lowden – Assistant Principal
Terry Bredenbeck – Janitor
Bonnie Peshko – Cook
RB Chamberlin Middle School
Jillian Carter – Dean of Students
District
Jim Anatra – Activities Janitor
| George G. Dodge Intermediate School
Mike Roshetko – Head Custodian
Samuel Bissell Elementary School
Katie Shobert – Administrative Assistant
Wilcox Primary School
Kathryn Santora – Speech Language Pathologist
Transportation
Rosalyn Bailey – Bus Driver
|
I want to take a moment to remind you about PowerSchool Registration, our online process for the registration of new families and the enrollment verification for our returning Tigers. PowerSchool Registration provides a secure site and offers parents the ability to complete some of the required paperwork, such as emergency medical information, in a manner that avoids the need to retype or rewrite the same information on multiple forms. PowerSchool Registration allows the District to distribute forms to our families in an electronic format which will in turn reduce costs for paper and postage. Furthermore, I believe there is an increase in the accuracy of our student information. Parents/guardians of our returning Tigers will received a separate letter in the mail or via email if you selected this option last school year, which will include important information about your PowerSchool Registration account. Included in that letter will be phone numbers and email addresses parents/guardians can use should questions arise. Parents of our incoming Kindergarten students and other students new to our school family should not expect this information as you received it during your recent registration appointment. I am very pleased that our District transitioned to this online format seven years ago as our families find the process parent-friendly and efficient.
Click here for a copy of the Student Fee Guidelines and the Student Fee Payment Form for 2023/2024. In lieu of using the Student Fee Payment Form, parents are encouraged to pay Student Fees online using the PaySchools online payment plan. Information about the online payment plan can be found on our District’s website at
www.twinsburg.k12.oh.us and by simply clicking on the “Online Payments” icon for more information. You can also visit
www.payschoolscentral.com for more information. A PaySchools user guide will be e-mailed to parents once you have registered in the system. Parents will need to know their child’s “Student ID” to register. Your child’s “Student ID” can be found in Parent Access as well as on your child’s report card. We expect the PaySchools portal to open to receive online payments the week of August 7th. Questions about PaySchools can be directed to Brian Fantone, Athletic Director/Coordinator of K-12 Student Activities at 330.486.2480 or directed to PaySchools at 877.393.6628.
Student Fees, excluding Pay-to-Participate Fees, may be paid at your child’s school by sending your check and the attached
Student Fee Payment Form to your child’s classroom teacher in a sealed envelope labeled with your child’s name. Please remember to complete and include the attached
Student Fee Payment Form in a sealed, labeled envelope. It is highly recommended that high school and middle school students wait until the second week of the school year to pay for course fees so they are certain that their schedules are set for the semester. For the 2023/2024 school year, the Board of Education authorized a $500 Family Cap for Pay-to-Participate Fees. Also, a new Payment Option Plan is available for Pay-to-Participate Fees.
Click here for the Student Fee Guidelines for more information. THS and RBC students interested in participating in fall sports should forward fees to the Athletic Office at Twinsburg High School. Please note that fees for co-curricular activities such as Band, Orchestra and High School Yearbook are considered Course Fees. As such, these Course Fees as well as other Academic Fees, may be waived for students who are eligible for the Federal Meal Program. Pay-to-Participate Fees are reduced by 50% for students who qualify for free and reduced price meals through the Federal Meal Program. If you believe that your family may qualify for the Federal Meal Program, please click on the below link and fill out the application. At the end of the application, you will be shown your approval status (Free, Reduced, or Denied because income is too high). Either way, this new online form provides a simple, discreet way to apply for benefits. If you have any questions or need a paper copy of the application for the Federal Meal Program, feel free to leave a message for Carol Friihauf at
[email protected] or by calling 330.486.2000. Here is the link to the online application:
https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application..
The link to the Waiver Form that parents/guardians need to complete and submit if their child qualifies for the Federal Lunch Program can be accessed when parents/guardians log on to their PowerSchool Registration account. Waiver Forms will also be available on the District website and at each of the school’s main offices. The completion of this form allows the District to waive or reduce the fees of qualifying students.
Our District has partnered with MySchoolBucks to give our parents the best online prepayment software for meal purchases for your child. MySchoolBucks replaces EzPay. MySchoolBucks will enable you to pay online and the money will be available to use by your child in a matter of minutes.
MySchoolBucks will also provide you with the following features:
- See current meal balances
- Make meal account prepayments
- Receive Low Balance and/or Negative Balance notifications
- Transfer meal account funds between siblings
- Set up reoccurring prepayments so that your child never runs out of money for their meals
- View detailed transactions of your child’s purchases for the 2023/2024 school year
You can create your MySchoolBucks account and make a prepaid meal payment by using this link:
https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain.action?clientKey=&requestAction=home. All you need is your child’s full name and their birthdate or their “Student ID” to register. If you have any questions concerning the online prepayment system, MySchoolBucks, please email our District Dietitian, Mark Bindus, RD.LD. at:
[email protected].
The beginning of a new school year is such an exciting time! I hope you share in our enthusiasm as we prepare to greet our Tigers beginning with our Soft Reopening Days. I look forward to seeing you at our many District and school events!
Tiger Proud!
Kathi Powers
Superintendent