Penn Wood Elementary HSA

Join us for some fun events during the 2024-25 school year!

September

13 - Deadline for Back-to-School sign ups (Directory, Pretzel Fridays, Homeroom Parent and Volunteering Form)
16 - Garden Club Fall Session Begins, 8:15 a.m. (4th & 5th Graders register HERE)
18 - Half day, Dine & Donate @ Bierhaul Thornton, 12-9 p.m.
20 - Pretzel Fridays begin
27 - Fall FUNdraiser Pep Rally (during school)

October

3 - No School
6 - Classroom Party SignUpGenius Released
8 - Crime Scene Science assembly
9 - School Picture Day
10 - Home & School Meeting @ 6 p.m. in the library (all are welcome!)
11 - Fall FUNdraiser donations due (donate HERE), Family Movie Night (DATE CHANGED from October 4)
18 - Fall FUNdraiser Dance Party (during school)
25 - Prized Pumpkin Social, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
31 - Halloween Parade & Classroom Parties, 2 p.m.

Help support Penn Wood and our students by donating to this year's Fall FUNdraiser. This is Home & School's biggest fundraiser, providing two thirds of our funds. The money raised supports the students through experiences like study trips and assemblies, and extracurricular activities like Science Day.

Students can win prizes for donations made on/before October 11! Any amount receives a prize and helps the school.

Click HERE for more information and to make a contribution!

Some important Fall FUNdraiser dates:

September 27 - Pep Rally during school where students will learn the Fall FUNdraiser dance
October 11 - Fall FUNdraiser donations due to qualify for prizes
October 18 - Fall FUNdraiser Dance Party during school to announce the total amount raised and to celebrate
October 28 - Oasis Night Out for Fall FUNdraiser prize winners

Thank you for your support!

back to school signups

Check out the following back-to-school sign ups that should be completed by Friday, September 13:

1. online directory preferences

Online Directory Preferences - Don't miss out on birthday parties and playdates! Update your contact info for the directory by:

Register or log in to this website
Go to "My Account"
Click on "Family Information" to update your child's teacher info, add any new Penn Wood students, and confirm your contact info.
Go to "Directory Publish Preferences" to update your preferences of what contact info is shown in the school Online Directory.

2. Penn wood homeroom parent & volunteering form

Complete the 2024-25 Penn Wood Homeroom Parent & Volunteering Form to:

Volunteer to be a classroom Homeroom Parent: Our teachers appreciate having one parent contact throughout the year for classroom needs (e.g. communicate classroom needs, organize class gifts, and help encourage class community overall). If multiple parents volunteer for the same classroom, a lottery will be held after September 13. More questions? See the attached Penn Wood Homeroom Parent Responsibilities document or contact Julie Finnegan at weareteamfinnegan@gmail.com.
Express interest in becoming a Home & School committee chair or getting involved in a committee (e.g. 5th Grade Committee).

3. pretzel Fridays

Pretzel Fridays are back! The 5th grade class will offer a chance for students to order regular mini soft pretzels from Philly Pretzel Factory in West Chester. The pretzels will be delivered to classrooms each full day Friday starting on September 20. Orders are due by September 13.

Pretzel Order Form

** No orders for half days or holidays and no make-up/refunds for snow days** The pretzels are traditional soft pretzels in the "mini" size.** Please complete one order per student and wait to checkout & pay for all orders at once.If you have any questions, please email pwe5thgrade@gmail.com.

garden club - fall 2024

Join the Penn Wood Garden Club HERE! This is for 4th & 5th graders only.

Dine & Donate @ Bierhaul

Meet friends or take your family out to Bierhaul in Thornton on Wednesday, September 18 and support Penn Wood! The students have a half day of school that day so stop for lunch or head there for dinner!

A portion of ALL food sales that day will be donated back to Penn Wood so make sure to share with your family and friends. Thanks for your support!

Thank you for your support!

PENN WOOD SPIRIT BLANKET FUNDRAISER

A limited quantity of Penn Wood blankets are available to purchase. These blankets will make the perfect gift! They are warm, soft, 50X60 and have plenty of Penn Wood spirit.

If interested, please contact Lauren Nealon at lmooney23@gmail.com.

classroom party sign up

Classroom parties are a favorite Penn Wood tradition and will use a SignUpGenius for all three parties at once.

Three volunteers will be able to sign up for each classroom per party. Party volunteers will plan the snacks & activities. More details and guidelines will be sent from Home & School to the volunteers closer to the date of each party.

Be sure to read the rules below BEFORE signing up. Some of these rules increase the chances that each student will have a parent volunteer at one of their class parties during the year. Thank you in advance for being considerate!

Please only sign up once for each child and once per day (parties may be the same time for different grades.)
Volunteers from the same household are limited to ONE party per child.
You must have all three volunteer clearances on file with Penn Wood's main office to volunteer. (See https://www.wcasd.net/domain/1039 for more information.)
You cannot bring siblings.
We recognize there may not be a spot for everyone who wants to volunteer. There will be two Alternate spots per classroom per party so if you do not get a spot, you can sign up as an alternate and you may be contacted if any of the original volunteers cannot attend. You can also keep your eye out for other volunteer opportunities on PennWoodHSA.com.

Penn Wood Classroom Party Sign Up:

The link for 2024-25 school year will be available in September/October 2024!

If you have any questions, please contact pennwoodhomeandschool@gmail.com.

school store

The PWE School Store is open Tuesday & Thursday mornings before school from 8:30-9:00 a.m. The store is set up in between the cafeteria & gym and sells everything from school supplies (crayons, folders, erasers) to fun things (keychains, bookmarks, squeeze balls, bendable pencils) to PWE gear (stickers, bracelets, maybe more to come!). Everything is priced between $0.10 and $2.00.

Volunteers: We rely on volunteers to run the store and can’t open without them! Please consider signing up for next school year when the spots open– it’s quick (30 min), your kid(s) will LOVE helping you run it, and the PWE students really enjoy shopping. Volunteer clearances are required.

All Parents: Some kids have come in with special money ($2 bills, dollar coins), so you may want to check what they’re bringing in so they don’t part with special tooth fairy or other occasion gifts!

Thank you in advance for your support of the School Store!

Penn Wood chocolate bowl 2024-25

Our Penn Wood teachers and staff enjoy a chocolate treat, mints, and even hard candy every so often. Home & School started a bowl of chocolate in 2020 and we would like to keep this going.

If you would like to send a big bag or 2 of individually wrapped candies, please sign up HERE.

It doesn't have to be the exact date you signed up for but that week would be great. You can send candy in with your student and label the bag "Penn Wood Chocolate Bowl" or drop off to the main office. There are about 60 staff members.

Thank you!

Keep scanning those receipts to earn money for our school!

Download the Box Tops for Education app HERE

Search for Penn Wood Elementary School

Our Home & School Association helps Penn Wood thrive with volunteers like you, so THANK YOU! Want to get more involved in the 2024-25 school year? There are many different ways to do this based on your individual interests and availability. You can:

1. See current Volunteer Opportunities under the My Account section of this website at any time. If you're new to volunteering, don't hesitate to reach out to the contact listed in the SignUpGenius with any questions.

2. Attend an upcoming Home & School meeting. Schedule is below and all are welcome!

3. Read more about all of Home & School's Committees under the "Our Team & Activities" tab.

4. Work towards getting your volunteer clearances on file and up-to-date with the main office. These clearances will be needed for certain volunteer positions when in the presence of students (e.g. field trips, classroom parties). For more information, visit https://www.wcasd.net/domain/1039.5.

Email pennwoodhomeandschool@gmail.com with any questions!

penn wood cares

Penn Wood Home & School is thankful for the generous community support we've received over the years from these local and Penn Wood family-owned/operated businesses. Please consider supporting these local restaurants and businesses in the future. If your business would like to be added to the list, please email us at pennwoodhomeandschool@gmail.com. #pennwoodcares

Bierhaul - 341 Thornton Road, Thornton 19373
Chick-fil-A - 20 State Farm Drive, Glen Mills, PA 19342
Dia Doce - 100 South High Street, WC
Dairy Queen Westtown Marketplace - 1502 WC Pike, West Chester
Duck Donuts - Dilworthtown Crossing,1353 Wilmington Pike, WC
Duffer's - 192 Rt 352, Glen Mills
FarmerJawn at Westtown - 1225 E. Street Road, WC
Freddy's - 1302 Wilmington Pike, WC
Lia's Catering - 1405 Meetinghouse Rd, Boothwyn, PA 19061
Limoncello - 9 N. Walnut St, WC & 499 E. Uwchlan Ave, Chester Springs
Lo Piccolo's Pizza - 629 South Chester Rd, WC
Mae's West Chester - 39 W. Gay Street, WC
Nothing Bundt Cakes - 143 W Lincoln Hwy, Exton
The Olive Tree - 231 W. Lancaster Ave, Paoli
Philly Pretzel Factory - 1075 West Chester Pike, WC
Piatto Pizza - 1105 West Chester Pike, WC
Pica's West Chester - 1233 West Chester Pike, WC
PJ Whelihan’s West Chester - 1347 Wilmington Pike, WC
The Salty Cow - 840 E. Street Rd, WC
Scoops 'N Smiles - 6 E. Gay Street, WC
sweetFrog - 600 Town Centre Drive, Suite 8, Glen Mills
Wedgewood Gardens - 1890 Middletown Rd, Glen Mills

Home & SCHOOL Meetings

General Meetings are held in-person at school at 6 p.m. in the library. See the 2024-25 meeting schedule below!

All are welcome!

October 10, November 14, January 9, February 13, March 13, April 10, and May 8

Email pennwoodhomeandschool@gmail.com with any questions.

Welcome to all the new and returning Penn Wood families! We look forward to connecting with you this year. Please take some time to review some ways to connect & support Home & School below:

CONNECT & SUPPORT

Please also take some time to review the items below to best connect and support Home & School:

Register or log in to this website - this is your “one stop shop” for all things Home & School.
Access the Online Directory under the Directory section of this website. This is a secure part of this website so you must log in to view. The more people that join, the more useful it is for play dates & birthday parties.
- Need to update information? Log in to this website then go to My Account --> Family Information to update your child's teacher info, add any new Penn Wood students, and confirm your contact info. Please note: these updates do not flow back to the district's Parent Portal.
- Need to update what info is included in the Directory? Go to My Account --> Directory Publish Preferences to update your preferences of what contact info is shown.
Download the Membership Toolkit app (app version of pennwoodhsa.com) for easy access to HSA event info, signups, online payments, directory & more.
Have your clearances on file with the Penn Wood office so you’re ready to volunteer.
Sign up for text reminders - download the Remind app and join class @pwehsa.
Join & invite PWE friends to our private “Penn Wood Home and School” Facebook group to ask/learn from member questions. Make sure to answer the security questions.
Don't forget to scan your receipts into the Box Tops app and earn money for Penn Wood Elementary.