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Beaver Creek (Mrs. Lawless)
It was great to have students back in our schools! With the exception of some transportation issues, the week was great and everyone has settled nicely into a routine. Our five newly hired teachers are fitting right in. I want to thank the entire staff at Beaver Creek for pulling together for a smooth opening despite the challenges that Hurricane Irene gave us. We were fortunate to not have any damage.
Both our Open House last week (for kindergarteners and new families) and our Back-to-
School Night this week were very well attended. These types of transition activities are
so important for our families and we are appreciative of their participation.
Professional development for teachers continued this week. Prior to watching a Sir Ken
Robinson video on changing educational paradigms, we each wrote down one thing that
we would change about education that would improve learning for our students.
Afterwards, we partnered up to discuss one thing from the video that we either wholeheartedly agreed with or completely disagreed with.
Finally, we are thankful for the incredible effort put forth by an enthusiastic group of parent volunteers who on Saturday, as the hurricane was rolling in, worked feverishly to re-landscape sections of our gardens in front of the school as well as tidy up existing gardens. Many parents and businesses donated time, mulch and plants. The school looks great!
Bradford Heights (Mr. Solon)
Last week we had our combined Open House and Back to School Nights which went very well. These nights provided the opportunity for parents to meet their child's teacher and to learn first hand what the expectations are both academically and organizationally for the school year. With the start of school, we are now busy getting to know the students. We are all looking forward to a tremendous year with the students and parents of this great school.
We have a few new staff members this year that we would like to welcome to Bradford
Heights. Mrs. Lauren DePalma will be teaching fourth grade, Miss Lauren Albero will be teaching fifth grade, and Miss Emily Howard will be teaching Art. Also joining us are
Mrs. Kathie Orendorff and Mrs. Barbara Norris for our Gifted Support program.
I am pleased to announce that Bradford Heights made Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP
for the 2011 PSSA test administration. The hard work of our students, teachers, parent
volunteers and parents helped us to make significant gains across all subgroups.
We will be having our Back to School Picnic on September 8th. We will be opening the
Time Capsule created 20 years ago. Our first Home and School meeting will be held on
September 15th.
Brandywine Wallace (Mrs. Leib)
The new school year is off to a great start at Brandywine Wallace! Many families visited the school during our Building Walkthrough last week and our Home & School held a play date at the East Brandywine Park for all kindergarten students. Nearly 400 smiling students have now arrived and are settling into new routines at school. We began the year with a welcome assembly where students met the entire BW staff of caring educators who work as a team to promote student growth and achievement.
We held our Back to School Nights on Tuesday (Grades K-2) and Wednesday (Grades 3-5) as teachers welcomed parents to classrooms to give a brief overview of the coming year.
Despite some persistent phone issues, we have had a great opening week. To celebrate the successful end of our first week of school, staff and students participated in Phillies Friday by wearing Phillies gear or red shirts to school.
East Ward (Mr. Argonish)
We had a wonderful start to the school year at East Ward! The first day, each class received a visit from their principal, Mr. Argonish. The visit included a discussion of believing in themselves and giving their best effort. Next week we will present our school-wide positive behavior support program.
We have a few new faces to start the year at East Ward. Lauren Hunter and Sean Evans are with us in fifth grade for eight weeks while Mrs. Gerth and Dawson are on maternity leave. Brittany Lund is in fourth grade for the next eight weeks while Mrs. Ellis is on maternity as well. We have two health and physical education teachers who are spending between four and eight weeks while Mrs. Goncharoff and Mr. Matys are out on medical leaves. All of our substitutes have made a very smooth transition! Ms. Drew has our new classroom for students with multiple disabilities up and running. The students seem to be adjusting quite well to their new teacher and school. Mrs. Roy is our new 0.5 kindergarten teacher. Although newly contracted, she is a familiar face as she was previously a LTS in kindergarten last year.
Over the summer, with the help of our EW families working through the summer, our
Giving Garden yielded 85 pounds of produce this summer for the Chester County Food
Bank & The Lord's Pantry. This brings our total harvest since starting our garden last fall to over 219 pounds!
Our Data Teams have begun their work to ensure EW students find success. Last year's initiative (RACE) with regard to enhancing students' responses to open-ended questions will continue. Each team will also be identifying strategies to benefit individual students. Every Tuesday morning, grade level teams will be meeting to plan and brainstorm strategies that will benefit students.
Lionville Elementary (Dr. Hessinger)
Handicapped Ramp Installed
Many thanks to the facilities department for their prompt response to a request to install a ramp for one of our special kindergartners.
Learning At LE
Students are already writing in journals, building their reading stamina for independent
reading, and diving into mathematics.
Gleaning Garden
The LE gleaning garden has already produced approximately 230 pounds of fresh
vegetables and spices that have been donated to the Lord's Pantry in Downingtown. LE
families and staff have been working the garden since the first planting last spring. The
garden will continue throughout the early fall.
Pickering Valley (Mr. Fernandes)
Pickering Valley is off to a great start this year with 672 students. Nine additional
students attend Shamona Creek for the full day Kindergarten program this year. A big
thanks to the transportation department for all their hard work in coordinating the bus
schedules which are running on time. I'm working with the staff to coordinate all of the
scheduled assessments that take place at this time of year and will be meeting to
establish our professional goals. A special thanks to all of our teachers and staff
members for their dedication on supporting our students and parents as. They have
made great efforts towards making them feel welcome as they establish a working
relationship for a successful the school year.
Shamona Creek (Mrs. Welsh)
Teachers kicked off the year with a very productive professional development day. In
addition to the Technology Academy activities, we learned about the 5 non-negotiables
of Differentiated Instruction. The focus was on creating supporting learning
environments. This was a wonderful stepping stone to introducing our new Positive
Behavior Support plan for Shamona Creek. A committee met this summer to develop
consistent rules and expectations for our school. An incentive program will be
implemented to reinforce good choices. (More to come on PBS.) Staff reviewed our PSSAscores and celebrated another year of making the AYP targets. At our next faculty meeting, we will write SMART goals, based on identified areas of need.
The first day of school brought may smiles, but no power! With the help of a generator,
lighting was provided in all essential areas of the building and interruption to instruction
was minimal. Thanks to Peco, we were back up and running by Tuesday morning.
We look forward to seeing parents at our Back to School nights on Wednesday, Sept. 7
(Grades 3-5) and Thursday, Sept. 8 (K- Gr. 2).
Downingtown Middle (Mr. Indeglio)
We welcomed our sixth graders to the DMS family. So far, we have been extremely
impressed with their transitioning style. They are mature, have a high level of concern,
and are serious learners. We look forward to a great year with our new additions.
Despite a hurricane, many students, without power, still stepped up to the testing
schedule with great attitudes and wonderful work ethic. DMS spent Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday of this week completing benchmark 4Sight testing. Our
Academic Advisor prepared all materials well ahead of time. The custodians did an
awesome job of transporting laptop carts to classrooms so teachers could proctor
without a hitch. Congrats to all for a job well done.
Ildi Brown, our Academic Advisor, spent Wednesday in Dr. Patricia Gysling's class at
West Chester University. Ildi trained the college students so they can begin tutoring
DMS students beginning next week. The university students are well equipped to begin
math tutoring to our targeted students. We are appreciative of the solid partnership we
have with WCU.
DMS welcomed the high energy Magazine Dude Doug Mostrom to our school today.
Doug's company 6Star Fundraising helps us with magazine sales to the community.
Proceeds from this fundraiser go directly into team accounts for student activities. We
have high hopes for a successful fundraising event.
STEM Academy (Mr. Fiore)
The Academy had a wonderful opening! Students received their laptops on August 24th. Students received a brief training from their peers on the iHelp Team on how to use their new computer. 410 students attended the distribution in which the Home and School Association sponsored an ice cream social for all attendees. In addition, Aramark sold food and drinks in the student commons.
The first day(s) of school was a great success. The feedback from students and parents was better than expected. Here are some quotes from our parent emails:
- All I can say is my son comes home everyday with something amazing to say aboutSTEM. You and your staff have done a magnificent job and I just wanted to let you know how excited he is. Thank you to everyone for a terrific start to a great year. This school is going to rock the state of Pennsylvania and then some
- My son is very excited and this is the first time in his school years that he wakes up on time and looks forward to getting to the school. I am so happy.
- Kudos to you, and your staff this first week of school!!!! All three of my boys, three schools, have come home both tired and happy these past few days. Patrick is on Cloud 9 at STEM, thriving, as are his peers in this wonderful state-of-the-art facility. Do you know the kids have already dubbed the Knowledge Commons as the "Kno Co"? It's very exciting for their class to be the first to experience this new style of collaborative learning, primarily via technology, and the faculty seem to be really well-versed in their key role as facilitators . While cleaning up dinner tonight, I had some virtual guests in my kitchen- Patrick's classmates, skyping as they communicate and collaborate on a history project- talk about 21st Century! What I personally LOVE about this is that it is a unique and meaningful way for me to get to know his peers, as well as "overhear" them share their thoughts, ideas, and background knowledge. Surprisingly they seem to be "on task" the whole time! I've chatted a bit with his classmates, getting their feedback thus far on STEM, and the overall consensus is more than a "two thumbs up"! The students really love the freedom and empowerment given to them to explore and demonstrate their knowledge. I wish you could see how this plays out on the homefront, it is really priceless!
International Baccalaureate Update
Our final step in the IB authorization process is a visit from the authorization team. They will be here at the academy on October 20th and 21st. They will wish to speak directly to students, teachers, administration, parents and board members. The primary objective of the visit is to confirm that what was submitted in writing is actually taking place and to ensure that there is support on all levels for student success in the Diploma Programme. Every step of the application process has been a huge success, and we anticipate that this is will be nothing more than a formality-though an important one! As soon as the IB notifies us of the agenda for those days, we will provide it to the
Board.
9-11 Symposium
On Friday, September 9, the Academy will be conducting a 9-11 Symposium as a way of Remembering our Past, Embracing the Future. The keynote for the day will be: 9.11
Rise, Reconnect, Remember. Discovery Education is commemorating this event by
celebrating the communities, stories, and resiliency represented by Americans most
impacted by the tragic events of the day. This is a live presentation and panel discussion in which students can respond/ask questions
http://911newyorkevent.eventbrite.com/.
Clubs and Competitions
The Academy was approved to compete in the Zero Robotics SPHERES Challenge
2011 in which students will use programming, robotics, and engineering skills to
manipulate satellites at the International Space Station. More information to
follow as we progress through the competition stages.
We are currently creating our clubs based upon student interest and staff abilities.
Some clubs that have already begun are Academic Competition and Student
Council planning.
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