Downingtown Area School District

The D-Link
News from the Downingtown Area School District
October 31, 2010 - Vol 3, Issue 2
In This Issue
Happy Halloween!
What's Happening?
Two New Signs~
Energy Savings
School Updates
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From the Superintendent
SuperintendentGreetings!

As part of our district's strategic goal to improve communications, I am going to being sharing with you a more robust update of what is happening in our schools in the Rapport Card, on my new web page and in the D-Link. 

 Each week, district administrators are asked to send me a review of their school and department's accomplishments and efforts.  These updates are then shared with the Board and with fellow administrators to keep us all up to date on what is happening in our schools.   I will be sharing the important information contained in these updates with you as well as with our community in the weeks ahead.  

Enjoy this beautiful fall weather.
 
Dr. Larry Mussoline,
Superintendent
Happy Halloween!
homecoming2010The Downingtown Borough held its annual Halloween Parade and DASD was well represented.  The Blue and Gold Band participated as did dozens of ghouls, goblins and princesses from many of our elementary schools.  The fine weather and the weekend holiday brought out hundreds to enjoy this annual tradition.

On the left are the two homecoming courts from DHS East and West.
What's Happening?
Carly

Cabbage Plants at LE - Each year, "Bonnie Plants" distributes free cabbage plants to third graders across the country to foster an interest in gardening and the environment. Cabbages are delivered to students whose teachers have signed up to participate. Students in these third grade classrooms each get their very own cabbage to plant, take care of and harvest. As part of the program, Bonnie gives a $1,000 award to one student in each state


Carly Sharamatew, a student at Lionville Elementary School, has been declared the Pennsylvania winner of a $1,000 scholarship . The award will be presented to Carly at a school assembly sponsored by Bonnie Plants and the U.S. Department of Agriculture! She will also receive a framed certificate. Carly submitted her entry as a third grade student in Mrs. Wood's class last year. She is now in fourth grade in Mrs. Scotto's class. Carly's cabbage weighed 25 lbs. and spanned 44 inches! She donated the huge cabbage to the Lord's Pantry in Downingtown.

 

renaissanceLong live the Queen at BW - Thanks to the Brandywine Wallace PTO, the New Jersey Renaissance Theater Players came to the school on Friday, October 29, 2010. Joined by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth I and her entourage, the students enjoyed a day of heralding, Shakespeare, jousting, music and other activities.  As you can see from the photo on the right, the students also enjoyed dressing up and joining the Queen in the fun and informative activities.  The students had previously built model castles and decorated banners. 

 

lmsreadingParent/Student Reading Groups at LMS - On Thursday, October 14, 2010 students on Lionville Middle School's Team 8D braved the wind and rain to participate in a book discussion group with their parents. Three student-led groups of 15-17 people discussed Lois Lowry's Newbery Award-winning novel The Giver. The novel, which examines the importance of individuality in the larger society, forms part of the eighth grade curriculum.  English teacher Deborah Kearney and her students prepared a series of questions to use in the groups beforehand. The groups met in the Lionville Middle school library at 7 pm to share ideas and snacks. In addition to Mrs. Kearney, teacher Sallie Seidel, counselor Sue McGrath, and principal Jonathan Ross acted as facilitators for each group of parents and students. Another book group to discuss Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry will take place second marking period in response to the overwhelmingly positive reactions from participants.
A new look!
DHS SignYou may notice the two new signs that were donated to us last week. 

At DHS East, the PTO organized an effort to place signage on the building and above the front doors. 






alumni signAt the newly named Downingtown Alumni Athletic Complex encompassing the Kottmeyer and DiSerafino fields, you can spy the new sign donated by the Downingtown Alumni Organization.  Thank you to both groups for their generous contributions to our school district.  
Energy Plan Highlights
Downingtown has always been very aggressive at keeping buildings running efficiently and has put many controls and practices in place to run lean and efficient. However, there is always room for improvement; and keeping up with best practices, modern integrated controls, and efficient lighting is a constantly evolving task. Therefore, DASD has embarked on a new round of energy savings projects which began this summer.  We narrowed the field to three ESCO's based on their submitted plans and had those three companies present to a District panel their approach and methodology.

We chose CM3 to tackle the task in three areas:
  • Lighting - there were six schools that demonstrated a significant return on investment to upgrade lamps and ballasts to save kilowatt usage and therefore money.
  • HVAC - there were two facets to improve in this area. We had several types of controls and several generations of controls which prompted a controls upgrade in seven schools so we could universally respond and adjust to facility scheduling, set point adjustment, degree day changes, etc. We also re-commissioned the fieldcontrols and operables in these buildings to ensure proper operation of the field devices such as dampers and valves.
  • Education - knowing how we use energy and reducing waste is a sure way to save money. Practical Energy Solutions has been hired to help educate our faculty and staff and offer behavior modification ideas to reduce waste. 
The lighting upgrades have taken place over the summer and after hours since school started and controls upgrades took place mostly behind the scenes so some teachers may not have been aware of those details. Superintendent Mussoline presented an overview of the District's Energy Initiative in a video presentation to all staff as part of the opening day/welcome back program. Practical Energy Solutions and our Facilities Staff began presenting to faculty and staff members in each building on September 1st. They have presented to 13 of 14 schools (7 in Sept and 6 in Oct) with Pickering Valley as the final school on November 3rd. Once we kick off the program in each school, we will continue to meet with energy teams in each building and work with Principals to address issues, brainstorm ideas, and implement changes. Practical Energy will share utility usage and program information with staff and students through on-line access.

The District goal to start the campaign is a 10% reduction in usage for year one. The implementation of these programs and upgrades will save the district approximately $300,000 per year.
The measurement and verification of
District Updates

Brandywine Wallace (Leib)
Former BW student and current State Representative Curt Schroder visited Brandywine Wallace this week to help prepare fourth graders for their visit to the State Capitol in Harrisburg next week. Representative Schroder explained to students about the many aspects of his job and about the process for a bill to become law. He also emphasized the importance of working hard in school and completing homework for any career goal.

The Renaissance Faire came to the Shire of Brandywine on Friday with actors from the New Jersey Renaissance Faire providing a variety of activities for our fifth graders. There was much merriment and frivolity as students completed a circuit of experiences to support cross-curricular areas including language arts, social studies, art, physical education, and music.

The excitement continued on Friday evening, with Halloween activities including a parade, haunted library, and bonfire. Special thanks go to the many people who made this Fall Festival spectacular. We appreciate the assistance of Lee Snodgrass and Scott Millward and their facilities team, Chief Joe Edwards and the East Brandywine Fire Department, Steve Hedrick and John Rock, Inc., and the many Home and School volunteers who organized, decorated, and managed these activities. Everyone had a terrific time!

 

Lionville Elementary (Hemingway)

Our school was pleased to receive a visit on Thursday morning from Downingtown East's Cross Country Captains Taylor Carcella, Kevin Dastalfo, Tory Mullane, Biz Weiler, and Ryan White. Thank you to the Rising Stars for reminding our students about the importance of good nutrition and wellness.


All students in Lionville participated in hearing, vision and height/weight screenings conducted by the school nurse, Mrs. Montemuro, and parent volunteers.
We were excited to have a special visit by our superintendent, Dr. Mussoline, on Thursday. He visited every classroom to observe our students participating in their fun learning activities. Students enjoyed meeting Mr. Hemingway's boss! They also enjoyed showing off  how much they are learning this year.


We are looking forward to starting our new Homework Clubnext Monday. Callie Frazer Walker and Katie Martini, two seniors at East High School, are ready to help our students complete their homework assignments and to practice new learning skills introduced in our school classrooms.

 

Pickering Valley (Fernandes)

On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, State Representative Curt Schroder addressed our second graders at an assembly about citizenship and community. The students learned about rights and duties of a citizen and the importance of volunteering in their community. Representative Schroder emphasized that students could make a difference in their community and to speak up when they saw a need for change. He also discussed his role in the community and his responsibilities as the 155th Legislative District's State Representative in Harrisburg. The students were very interested in Representative Schroder's job and how he spent his day. They especially liked learning that he had attended Brandywine Wallace and was a graduate of DASD!


Shamona Creek (Welsh)

Fifth grade students worked in cooperative groups to create castles as part of their study of the Renaissance. In the past, this project was completed at home as a long term assignment. In keeping with 21st Century learning skills, this year students worked together in a collaborative manner. Many parent volunteers helped facilitate the afternoon project. The final products are on display in the fifth grade hallway.


Student in grade 3 used estimation skills as they counted seeds and measured the circumference of pumpkins. It was a messy, but engaging way to reinforce the skills being taught!


Uwchlan Hills (Davis)

This week was a howling success at Uwchlan Hills Elementary. It is an exciting time of the year as the leaves burst forth such radiant colors and the children prepare for Halloween. Academics competing with the selection of a costume can be difficult. It has helped us rebound from the Phillies (and the Eagles) losing.


Over the weekend a crew of gifted students and their parents assisted Mrs. Barbara Norris in a beautification project at Uwchlan Hills. The students and parents worked to restore the neglected flower bed around our flagpole. Old bushes and stumps were removed, the soil was turned, new bushes and bulbs were planted, and mulch was spread. We thank Mrs. Norris and these families for their efforts.


We started our pro-social behavior program this week. We have staff members seeking out students as they excel in the areas of responsibility, caring, respect, cooperation, and safety. Students are given a certificate and asked to take the certificate to the office where they receive a pat on the back  and a charm bracelet to wear or hang on their back pack. Seeking the positive can change our focus and help us see the good things the students and staff do every day.


Our Librarian, Kathy Panetti and her assistant, Marcia Pennington, held a new book review for the staff to get a first glance at our new library books. The books are beautiful and will serve the children of UH for many years to come.


We hosted the Board of Education Wednesday evening for their Facilities and Finance Committee meetings. It is wonderful having our Board members visiting our school. We truly appreciate all they do to support the education of our students.


Thursday was favorite college team attire day. We were thrilled to see all those children wearing their favorite team colors, especially the blue and white of Penn State University!


We ended our dress-up week with Goofy Garb, Crazy Clothes, Outlandish Outfit, Awesome Attire, or Freaky Threads Day on Friday in honor of the Halloween celebration. We had some interesting outfits that were donned at dawn for the last day of the week


West Bradford (Clegg)
The final numbers are in! It is with great pleasure that I inform you of how much money West Bradford Elementary School raised for Kenzie's Kure and JDRF to help find a cure for type 1 diabetes. We raised an astonishing $6,858.75!!! That's AMAZING!

Judy Young, author of Lazy Days of Summer spent the entire day educating and entertaining the students at West Bradford on Friday, October 29. The students learned poems and unique historical facts about a variety of traditional games described in her book, as well as the writing process of both poetry and nonfiction. Then, the student's had the opportunity to do what kids love: PLAY! as they try out some of the games from the book. At the end of the day, the students returned the happiness by sharing their many costumes during our annual Halloween parade.


On Wednesday, October 27 and Thursday October 28 our students in grades 4 and five participated in a field test for the PSSA science diagnostic test. The field test gave our students and staff an insight into the future of PSSA testing as we explored the possibilities of the completely on-line assessment tools being field tested by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.


On November 2 our building will be fully occupied, as we will be used as the polling location for two different precincts in West Bradford Township. While the community will be using the gym and library for voting, our staff will occupy the multipurpose room to participate in a staff development workshop that focuses on our building goal for differentiating instruction.


DMS (Indeglio)

Spirit Week is rolling along with awesome events that brought huge participation from our students! We had Neon/Tie Day, Team Day, Twin Day, and Orange and Black Day! All of the guys and ghouls have been represented this week! The 6th grade dance was also scheduled for after school on Friday! It was a spook-tacular time!


During our faculty meeting this week, our Academic Advisor gave all teachers a mini-course refresher on navigating through Performance Tracker. By drilling down in to data, teachers learned how to pull up specific data on specific students. This knowledge will be beneficial for driving instruction and developing differentiated lessons for students.


At this time, all 4Sight data has been organized for teachers. Each teacher learned how to pull up specific reports on students or individual classes. We look forward to progress during the next testing session.


Our Community Homework Club is off to a great start. Students are getting help with homework, helping one another, and sharing dinner with us. Thanks to our WCU tutors, Dr. Singleton, Cathy Tsakeris, and Anthony Brown for working with our students.


DMS has partnered with WCU once again for our tutoring program. Fifteen WCU secondary and elementary math majors work with our students two mornings a week during REACH. We are lucky to have these math wizards tutoring our students. Thank you goes to our teachers who keep the tutors updated on what concepts they are working on in class..


The DMS and West 9th grade Cross Country teams are competing in an inter-squad competition on Nov. 3rd. This is a first of its kind and tee-shirts are being made for the "Rock Raymond Rumble!"


Downingtown Middle School Ski and Snowboard Club is underway with an overwhelming amount of student interest this year. The Club purpose is to familiarize students with the sport of skiing and snowboarding, to instruct young sixth, seventh and eighth graders on the fundamentals of skiing through lessons obtained from professional instructors at Bear Creek Mountain Resort and to provide a fun, social experience during our six scheduled Friday afternoon trips. Registration is taking place now at DMS and the Friday evening trips are planned throughout the months of January and February along with a special Winter Weekend to Okemo Mountain Ski Resort in Ludlow, Vermont. Each year over one hundred and fifty club members enjoy learning to ski and snowboard, exercise and socialize with one another and teacher chaperones. Advisors Ryan McLaughlin, Rita Griffin, and Donna Jackson are looking forward to a wonderful winter ski season and are available for any questions pertaining to the club. Think Snow and learn a new sport or enhance the skills you already have.


During National Education Week, November 15-20, 2010, Downingtown Middle School Girls Basketball, the American Cancer Society's Coacher's Vs. Cancer Initiative, Wendell August of Main Street Exton and Jack's Camera's in West Whiteland Towne Center Exton are teaming up to Slam Dunk cancer. For everyone making a purchase at the Wendell August Exton location (103 Woodcutter St.) during National Education Week and mentioning Downingtown Middle School or the American Cancer Society, 20% of their purchase will be donated to the Coaches Vs. Cancer Initiative.Additionally, Jack's Camera's is providing 8x10 original wildlife photographs taken by DMS Science Teacher and Girls Basketball Coach Gary Gittis. Each photograph will sell for $25 unframed or $35 framed with all proceeds going directly toward the Coaches Vs. Cancer Initiative. Photographs will be available for purchase all week at Wendell August with larger sizes available for purchase at Jack's Cameras in the West Whiteland Towne Center.So please stop by Wendell August any time during National Education Week November 15-20, 2010, and help in the battle to Slam Dunk cancer!

Mrs. Schumann and Mr. McLaughlin, in a joint effort with Mrs. Pershall of the DEEP department, are wrapping up our story telling unit with the students writing and presenting original suspense stories. Students will be presenting Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

The DMS musical, Beauty and the Beast, has been cast and rehearsals are up and running!

Mrs. McGladdery's 4th per. class sent a very special birthday card to the Queenof Spain, H.M. Sofia . We sent the letter to the Embassy of Spain in Washington DC, Diplomatic Portfolio. The Ambassador will visit the Palace on Monday, Nov. 1st so it will be there the day before her birthday.

Last Friday, the students and staff participated in a PINK OUT where everyone wore pink and donated $1 to the American Cancer Society. We raised over $750!


Lionville Middle (Ross)

 

Team 8A went to Gettysburg this week and had a great time. Team 8A is also working on a Veteran's Day Celebration and has made a "Wall of Honor" to recognize the sacrifices made by relatives, friends, and loved ones who have served our country in the military services.


Congratulations to the girls and boys Cross Country teams for both winning the Chesmont Cross Country League Championships. This is the second year both teams came home as champions. Amanda Koser was the overall girls champion, Jessica Squeri and Andrea Squeri also earned medals, finishing 5th and 6th respectively.


Jason White and Lucas Iacovino were the top boy finishers, finishing 3rd and 4th.

The 6B Bobcat team has been collecting funds in a Spare Change Challenge  in an effort to raise both money and awareness for CureSearch, an organization that funds research focused on curing childhood cancers. Because many of our 135 students and their families share the unfortunate experience of having their lives touched by cancer, we were inspired to join together in an effort to spare some change to make a change . Through bake sales, pretzel sales, bracelet making, ribbon selling, and donations, the 6B Bobcat team was able to raise an amazing $1847.00 that will be donated to CureSearch. Thank you to all that helped to contribute to this worthy cause! Go to www.curesearch.org for more information.


On Thursday, October 21, 2010, 7th grade Gifted Support students attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Lionville captured FIRST place in the Theater Competition for the performance of Act II, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The Artistic Director and the Vocal Coach who judged the performance praise how our cast and crew worked admirably together. Bravos go to: Anna Kremer (Beatrice), Luv Lyer (Benedick), Joe Shanley (Claudio), Alayne Pleasanton (Leonata), Haley Beckman (Presenter), Brian Lill (Don Pedro), Anna Hewitt (Juggler), Cameron Zach (Tree), Aliabir Memon (Tree), and Chris Hasbani (Tree). Revelers were: Anna Cote, Cathy Ann, Annabelle Williams, Daniel Kefer, Jenni Faust, Isuru Amarasekera, Ravi Ramanathan, Monica Mohler, Orunima Chakraborti, Shanon 'Dwyer, and Morgan Furlong. Lauren Judkins's poster depicting a knight on horseback won Third Place in the Poster Competition. Chris Buccellato, Sara Korsunsky, Erin Kalbach, and Josh Mills earned a Special Merit in the Heraldry Competition with a banner whose shield represented Lionville's athletics, languages, academics, drama/music and friendship. The school motto: Pride, Enthusiasm and Success framed their creative artwork. Christina Murray, played the flute and accompanied by Katelyn Kirchner, earned a Special Merit in the Madrigal Competition with a beautiful song entitled  Light O'Love  from Much Ado About Nothing. Evan Diewald and Annabelle Williams were dubbed Lord and Lady by Queen Elizabeth and her court for their dedication to academics and sports. We are very proud of our students' accomplishments.

 


DHSE (Hurley)

We are delighted to announce the Commended Students who have placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test as high school juniors last year. We congratulate these students, some of the most academically talented in the nation, on this honor. Congratulations to Philip Aitken, Priya Arya, Sameul Barnett, Edward Colligon, Xiaolei Cong, Carly Lucas, Brain McPeak, Emilia Plater-Zyberk, John Popeck, Megan Siverling, Emily Solenberger, Lauren Tecce, Allison Wright,and Brian Yu.


The annual East/West football game is always a great sporting event. This year, with the bonfire and student council sponsored barbeque Thursday evening and a rousing pep rally on Friday, both of which helped to generate even more excitement, was no exception. Over 1000 students attended the game and as part of a very spirited student section, helped to cheer the East Cougars to a 42 to 28 victory over West. With two more wins the Cougars can clinch sole possession of the Ches-Mont National League title.


Field Hockey had an exciting 2-0 win over Strath Haven in the 1st round of the District Playoffs on travel to OJR for the 2nd round.


Girls soccer will host CB South in the 2nd round of District playoffs on Thursday night at 7pm @ DiSerafino Stadium.


Volleyball won the first round of District play vs West Chester


STEM Academy Update (Fiore)

After meeting with Dr. Mussoline, Dr. Watson, Dr. Hessinger, and Mr. Reed, it was determined that it would be too difficult to discern 450 students from the 788 applications in a fair manner. The overwhelming response from our students and community is very exciting and it is imperative that we ensure that the selection process does not possess any bias. To meet that end, it is recommended that we conduct a random lottery for selection of the 456 students to the STEM Academy. The lottery process would break up the applicants into the following areas:

· 10th grade East (114)

o Male (57)

o Female (57)

· 10th Grade West (114)

o Male (57)

o Female (57)

· 9th Grade East (114)

o Male (57)

o Female (57)

· 9th Grade West (114)

o Male (57)

o Female (57)

We would select an even number of students from each grade level, gender, and building. This would give us an even split from East and West as well as keep our gender separation equal. I am exploring a few computerized lottery systems that schools across the nation use. The group felt that this should be a public lottery to ensure transparency. Once we discuss this at the Board Curriculum Council meeting, we can then move forward with logistics for the lottery- date, time, manner, etc.

 

Chester County Community Television

With the assistance of Alray Johnson from CCTV Live, we have a video for businesses to hear our pitch for partnership that is available via the web. Here is the link to the video: http://3ctvlive.com/stem_fiore_10_25_10.cfm.