ORE VALLEY ELEMENTARY
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ORE VALLEY ELEMENTARY
Dr. Brian Raab
Principal
Welcome Ore Valley Students and Families!
Welcome to another great school year at Ore Valley Elementary! I hope you had a restful and enjoyable summer filled with wonderful memories. As we approach a new school year, I am filled with excitement and anticipation for all of the incredible learning and growth opportunities that lie ahead.
Our dedicated teachers and staff are eager for the arrival of our students into classrooms that are welcoming, engaging and ready for another year of discovery and achievement. Ore Valley is committed to providing a nurturing and inspiring environment where every student can thrive!
At Ore Valley, we believe in the power of community and the importance of working together to support our students' success. We encourage parents to stay actively involved in their child's education, attend school events, and communicate regularly with teachers. Your partnership is invaluable, and together, we can make this school year a great one!
We are incredibly fortunate to have an active and dedicated PTO at Ore Valley. Our PTO plays a vital role in enhancing the educational experience of our students by organizing events, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities. Through their hard work and commitment, the PTO supports a wide range of activities and programs that benefit our entire school community.
This year, we will introduce our Wildcat Way expectations to our students—Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe. Additionally, throughout the year, we will revisit the district CARES program. The Wildcat Way and the district CARES program guide our actions and interactions, helping to create a positive and inclusive school culture where everyone feels valued and respected.
We have many exciting events and activities planned throughout the year, and I encourage you to read our monthly newsletters, teacher emails, and school messenger communications for updates and information. Let's make this year a memorable one filled with learning, laughter and growth!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the school or email me at brian.raab@dallastown.net.
Regards,
Dr. Brian Raab
Principal
Mr. Brian M. Smith
Assistant Principal
Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year at Ore Valley Elementary!
My name is Brian Smith, and I am proud to serve as the Assistant Principal at Ore Valley Elementary. I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and welcome both our returning and new Wildcat families.
This will be my eighteenth year in the Dallastown Area School District and my twelfth year as an assistant principal. Before becoming an administrator, I served as a long-term substitute teacher in first and fifth grades at York Township Elementary during the 2009–2010 school year before teaching third grade there from 2010 to 2015. During those years, I earned my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from McDaniel College. After graduating in the spring of 2015, I was honored to be hired as an assistant principal. From 2015 to 2020, I split my time between York Township and Ore Valley Elementary Schools before becoming the full-time assistant principal at Ore Valley in 2020. I am excited to continue serving the Ore Valley community for another outstanding school year.
Our theme for the 2026–2027 school year is The Wildcat Way. Throughout the year, we will focus on what it means to be respectful, responsible, and safe in everything we do. The Wildcat Way is more than a theme—it is the foundation for how we learn, build relationships, make positive choices, and support one another as a school community.
We will also continue our Choose Love Movement and Learning Through Play Initiative. Students will participate in meaningful experiences centered on courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion while engaging in play-based opportunities that help develop teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and other important life skills.
I look forward to a school year filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences. If you ever have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out. I am always happy to help.
Thank you for your continued partnership. We look forward to welcoming all of our Wildcats back for another incredible year as we embrace The Wildcat Way together!
Mr. Brian M. Smith
Assistant Principal
A SchoolMessenger email will be sent to parents/guardians containing a SignUp Genius link to register for a session.
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.
Arrival Time (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
Students are not permitted to be dropped off at school prior to 8:30 am.
Students are to arrive at Ore Valley between 8:30 am and 8:50 am. They will have the option of going directly to their classrooms or to the cafeteria for breakfast. Students are not permitted in the classrooms before 8:30 am. Breakfast will begin at 8:30 am and end at 8:50 am. All students who wish to eat breakfast will enter the building and go to the cafeteria.
All car rider students will enter the school through Door 20.
All bus rider students will enter the school through Door 16 located on the side of the gymnasium.
Students who arrive after 8:50 am will be considered tardy. By 8:50 am, students are expected to be in their classrooms and ready to start the day. Students arriving at 8:50 or after will have to be checked in at the office by a guardian.
Student drop-off – Parents/Guardians will not be allowed to drop off their children in the upper parking lot by the flagpole. Please read the section, “Student Drop-off and Pick-up,” carefully.
Students who live in the adjacent neighborhood will be allowed to walk to school.
Dismissal
Car riders, van students, walkers, and latchkey students are dismissed at 3:25 pm (see the section below “Student Drop-off and Pick-up”)
Bus students – dismissed at 3:30 pm.
For security reasons, a note or email must be sent to the SCHOOL OFFICE by 2:00 pm on the day of student pick-up indicating your intention to pick up your child. Phone requests for a change in a student’s dismissal plan will not be honored.
Afternoon Appointments
For security reasons, students with afternoon appointments need to be picked up in the front office by 3:00 pm. A note needs to be sent to school with your child. We encourage that appointments be made outside of school hours when possible.
With the buzzer system and the fast pace at the end of the day, last-minute requests for dismissal compromise security for all students.
Student Drop-off and Pick-up (IMPORTANT)
Morning Drop-off
When dropping off your child in the morning, enter from SPRINGWOOD ROAD.
Buses will unload by the gymnasium parallel with Springwood Road double parked.
The Car Rider Line will begin immediately after entering the school property via the Springwood Road entrance. Cars and school vans will follow signs and cones directing them to pull up to the front of the building by the front lobby.
Prior to 8:30, cars will pull up to the front lobby area, starting at sign #1, and cars will begin to double park.
At 8:30, staff will begin unloading double-parked cars starting with the line of cars along the flagpole, followed by the line of cars along the sidewalk.
After all double-parked cars are unloaded, staff will begin unloading the remaining cars, no longer forming two lines.
All cars and vans will exit at the SECOND CHESTNUT HILL ROAD exit. Adults will be on the sidewalks to make sure your child safely enters the building.
Please note, that the car and school van line will drive across empty parking spots down by the gymnasium.
Parents are not permitted to drop off their child in the upper parking lot next to the flagpole. This is due to safety reasons and parking lot congestion.
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.
REMINDER – Students are not permitted to be dropped off at school prior to 8:30 am.
8:30 am-8:50 am– Students enter the school through Door 16 or Door 20. ONLY DASD EMPLOYEES ARE ALLOWED ON THE ENTRANCE SIDEWALK.
After 8:50 am – Students enter the school through the front lobby. Parents/Guardians must escort the child INTO the school building.
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:
A note or email must be sent to the SCHOOL OFFICE by 2:00 pm on the day of student pick-up indicating your intention to pick up your child. The note or email must indicate the date, the student’s name, and the person who will be picking up your child. Emails can be sent to OVcarriders@dallastown.net.
The person picking up your child must arrive at school between 3:10 pm-3:25 pm and drive their car to the back of the school using the entrance from Chestnut Hill Rd (indicated on the diagram below).
**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.
Cars will park in a designated parking spot.
When the door opens for dismissal, come to the door with your identification.
Staff will check your identification and release your child to you.
Carefully exit the parking lot following the directions provided by staff members by the chain area and out near Chestnut Hill Road. Buses will also be exiting campus from this same area, so please take your time exiting.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
All people picking up their children must be in the back area by 3:25 pm, so we do not disrupt the flow of traffic. (It is a single lane coming into the back area.)
Unless there is a note/email by 2:00 pm, students will ride the bus. No exceptions!
If your child will always be a car rider, you can send one note/email indicating your desire for your child to always be on the car rider list. Please note the names of individuals who will be picking up your child.
No one will be admitted into the front entrance of the school starting at 3:25 pm until all students are dismissed. Please do not approach the front doors between 3:25 pm-3:45 pm unless there is an emergency.
Ore Valley Elementary Car Rider Maps
Where to enter and exit – off of Chestnut Hill Rd (second entrance from Springwood Rd/Chestnut Hill Rd intersection)
Back Blacktop Area
Picture Day will be held on September 25, 2026.
Picture Retake Day will be October 20, 2026.
Information for picture packages and ordering information will be shared with families after the start of the school year.
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.
Hello, Ore Valley Students!
Our librarian, Mrs. Blizzard, is excited to share information about summer reading programs! York County Libraries offers a free program over the summer, and if you return any of their reading trackers to Mrs. Blizzard next fall you will get a prize!
Wildcat Summer Reading Challenge
York County Library System Reading Tracker
Keep on reading!