The PA Department of Education (PDE) asked school districts to make a good faith effort to adhere to the day and hour requirements outlined in school code, despite forced closures in March. As students, staff, and families look to complete the 2019-20 school year, we have adjusted our school calendar. 

The following recommendations were approved by our School Board and will be important for student and family awareness.

• April 9 - Maintain Early Dismissal (Virtual)
• April 10 & 13 - Teacher In-Service Days (No new virtual learning for students)
• April 14 - School Day for Teachers, Staff, & Students (planned snow make-up day)
• May 22, June 2, June 3 – Will be full school days (Early Dismissals removed)

With these changes, June 2 will remain the date for graduation. Regarding graduation, we are maintaining our event contract with Franklin & Marshall. At the same time, we are exploring options for a virtual graduation celebration, if needed.

Thursday, June 4 is the last student day and is still an Early Dismissal.

You can find the most up to date calendars on the Hempfield School District website here.

As most of our district staff members, including teachers, specialists, counselors, principals, and technology staff, are working remotely, we are establishing systems and processes for communications. We want you to be aware that district staff members may call your household from a “blocked phone number.” While students or families may be reluctant to answer a phone call from a blocked or unknown number, we hope you will consider doing so to facilitate better communication during this time. Should you miss our call, a Hempfield School District representative will leave their contact information and message on your voicemail.

Thank you!

Governor Wolf’s closure of non-essential businesses shut down the operations for our community partner, Community Aid, including retail stores, donation centers, and bin collections. They are urging the public to hold all donations at home until further notice. As soon as state and local authorities allow, they will resume bin pickup and donation center services. Since we have Community Aid bins on our school property, they have also requested that we actively communicate and ask our audiences to hold donations until pickups can resume. Unfortunately, outdoor elements render goods unusable when donations are left outside if the collection bins are full.

Hempfield Power Packs will again be distributing at their remote sites this week. Anyone who receives a Power Pack will be on the list the volunteers have in hand. No need to get out of your car - simply give the volunteer your name, and they will get your bag. If you are picking up at a site different from last week, please email Hempfieldpowerpacks20@gmail.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2020

Arbor Park Community Center (3:00 – 5:00 p.m.)

2886 Terry Lane, Lancaster

Mountville Church of the Brethren (3:00 – 5:00 p.m.)

60 Clay Street, Mountville 

Hempfield United Methodist Church (4:00 – 6:00 p.m.)

3050 Marietta Avenue, Lancaster

East Petersburg Area Civic Center (5:00 – 7:00 p.m.)

6030 Lemon Street, East Petersburg 

Please DO NOT come for your bag if you are sick. You may send someone else to pick up your pack for your household.

Beginning Monday, April 6, Hempfield families may pick up breakfast and lunch meals two times per week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. The pick-up locations are not changing and are available at East Petersburg Elementary and Mountville Elementary between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Families can walk-in or drive-in to pick up these meals..

• Monday = provide lunches for Monday and Tuesday along with providing breakfast for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  
• Wednesday = provide lunches for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday along with providing breakfasts for Thursday and Friday.

The Hempfield Community is invited to attend a virtual meeting on Wednesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. This public meeting, led by district Superintendent Mr. Mike Bromirski, will review enrollment projections, potential options, and impact with regard to Feasibility, Enrollment, and Attendance Areas. 

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://hempfieldsd.zoom.us/j/995453805

Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

• US: +1 646 558 8656  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 669 900 9128  or +1 253 215 8782  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 346 248 7799
• Meeting/Webinar ID: 995 453 805

Though homebound with the COVID19 emergency, the students of Hempfield Happenings have published and produced this show from home, featuring:

• High school students responding to the Stay-at-Home Order,
• Profiles on the Hamiltonian Gallery and Dance Place, both in Washington DC
• Crazy 8s Middle and High School Films
• An interview with Lancaster City mayor Danene Sorace

…and more! 

 Click here to watch this video.

Please note that screenings for incoming kindergarten students are cancelled at this time.

This frequently asked questions document covers a variety of topics pertaining to our Continuity of Education, expectations, details about report cards, school calendars and more. All of the information is accurate as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Download the PDF here.

We recognize there have been periodic disruptions to your Schoology account, which may impact you during this critical time. The Schoology platform has seen a rapid increase in users on their learning management platform. As you can imagine, this can put a strain on certain areas within Schoology, which can cause interruptions within the site.  

Please know that Schoology is taking measures to rectify connectivity issues and are continuously monitoring these factors in order to minimize or eliminate the issues from recurring. Should you need to check your Schoology connectivity at any time please use: https://status.schoology.com