ORE VALLEY ELEMENTARY

Principal Welcome

Dr. Stephanie Ferree

Director of Elementary Education

Interim Principal-OVE

Welcome Ore Valley Students and Families!


I am excited to introduce myself to you as the Interim Principal at Ore Valley Elementary School.  I have spent the last 29 years within the school district and actually started my teaching career as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher at Ore Valley.  I am excited to be returning home to support the Ore Valley community.  I will be working closely with Mr. Smith and the Ore Valley staff to ensure that the opening of the 2023-24 school year and the months to come are efficient and smooth.  Please reach out via email at stephanie.ferree@dallastown.net or by contacting the school office at (717) 505-5051, if you have any questions or needs.


I look forward to meeting you and working with you in the coming months.



Dr. Stephanie Ferree


Director of Elementary Education

Interim Ore Valley Elementary Principal

Mr. Brian M. Smith

Assistant Principal

Welcome to the 2023/2024 school year at Ore Valley!  My name is Brian Smith and I am the Assistant Principal at Ore Valley Elementary.  I just want to take a moment to introduce myself.  This will be my fifteenth year in the Dallastown Area School District, my ninth as an assistant principal.  Prior to becoming an assistant principal, I worked at York Township Elementary as a long-term substitute in the first and fifth grades during the 2009/2010 school year.  Then I had the pleasure of teaching third grade for five years at YT, from 2010 to 2015.  During my five years of teaching third grade, I attended McDaniel College to earn my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.  I graduated from McDaniel in the spring of 2015 and was hired as an assistant principal shortly after.  I spent 2015 to 2020 splitting my time as an assistant principal at both York Township and Ore Valley Elementary Schools.  During the 2020/2021 school year, I transitioned to the full-time assistant principal at Ore Valley.  I am excited to continue as the full-time assistant principal at Ore Valley during the 2023/2024 school year.  

This year we will continue our Choose Love Movement and Learning Through Play Initiative.  Throughout the year, the students will engage in fun-filled activities focused on courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion.  Weaved into all of this, the students will also engage in time to play games, learning various life skills related to game playing.  I look forward to a school year filled with learning, fun, and engagement.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact me.

Thank you for your time,


Mr. Brian M. Smith


Assistant Principal

Meet the Teacher Night & Kindergarten Mini-Sessions

A SchoolMessenger email will be sent to parents/guardians containing a SignUp Genius link to register for a session.

OVE/YT K-3 Back to School Orientation Information
OVE/YT Kindergarten Back to School Orientation Information

Student Handbook

Our Student Handbook has gone electronic.  You can view all important information at any time throughout the school year.  Please make sure you read the handbook and complete the parent sign-off in Skyward.  

Car Rider Information

Arrival Time (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)

 

Students are not permitted to be dropped off at school prior to 8:25 am.

 

Dismissal

 

Afternoon Appointments

  

Student Drop-off and Pick-up (IMPORTANT)

Morning Drop-off

 

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL CAR RIDERS ARRIVE BETWEEN 8:35 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. THIS WILL HELP TO AVOID TRAFFIC CONGESTION.

Prior to 8:50 am, all students will enter through Door 16 or Door 20. No students will be allowed to enter the building through the front lobby doors unless being escorted into the building by an adult.


Afternoon Pick-up (IMPORTANT)

 

The Dallastown Area School District’s elementary administrators have worked on creating consistent student pick-up protocols for the end of the school day. Although each K-3 building will be using these protocols as the foundation for its school’s procedures, each building is responsible for developing its own specific routines to meet its building’s needs. Therefore, Ore Valley has established these procedures for students who will be car riders at the end of the school day.

 

Afternoon Car Rider Procedures:

 

**IMPORTANT FOR THIS YEAR – Due to congestion of cars backing up onto Chestnut Hill Road, as well as a fire lane and safety concerns, car rider parents/guardians are NOT to enter school property before 3:10 pm. The chain will be removed at 3:10 pm.


IMPORTANT NOTES:

Morning Car Rider Map

Ore Valley Elementary car rider map

Dismissal Car Rider Diagram #1

Where to enter and exit – off of Chestnut Hill Rd (second entrance from Springwood Rd/Chestnut Hill Rd intersection) 

Dismissal Car Rider Diagram #2

Back Blacktop Area

School Supplies

School supplies are not required at the elementary buildings.  Teachers will communicate with families if they have a specific request for their classroom.

Picture Day

Picture Day will be held on September 14, 2023.

Picture Retake Day will be October 17, 2023.

Information for picture packages and ordering information will be shared with families after the start of the school year.


Choose Love

Our school, along with the other K-3 buildings in the district, will be incorporating fun, engaging, Learning Through Play activities and a program called Choose Love for Schools which plays an important role in promoting students' social and emotional well-being, and academic and personal success. It also enhances our classroom and school climate, making it a place where students are safe, compassionate, connected, and able to thrive. 

The Choose Love for Schools Program is a comprehensive curriculum that supports, nurtures, and fosters the whole child. Students will learn skills and tools they will use throughout their lives, to be honest, trustworthy, caring and compassionate, self-disciplined, intellectually curious, fair, and respectful. 

Students learn how to thoughtfully respond by choosing love. The program’s foundation is a formula: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action = Choosing Love. We use courage daily to choose love over fear. Practicing gratitude helps us focus on what we have. Forgiveness is the key to healthy relationships and compassion in action helps us connect with and help others. 


We hope you will share in this journey with your children, asking questions about what they have learned and enjoying the benefits of the program as well. Please check out the Choose Love At Home Program for families and caregivers. You can learn alongside your children and incorporate these skills and tools to promote Social and Emotional Learning in your home, and even within yourself! www.chooselovemovement.org. 

PTO Information

OV Site PTO Information

Summer Reading

Hello, incoming first, second, and third-grade students!

SummerQuest 2023/ Wildcat Readers ROAR Calendar:  Continue reading over the summer for at least 15 minutes each day.  After reading to your child or your child reading to you, check off the box for that day. Bring this calendar with you (it doesn’t have to be completely filled) on the first day of school for a special reward in September. 


Keep on reading!


K-2 Happy Summer Reading Link


2023 OV Summer Reading Calendar