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Upper Merion Area School District Newsletter
Mental health issues affect more families than we realize and because these issues are not often as visible as a debilitating illness and may be viewed as a social stigma, they are not talked about as freely and can be misunderstood. The district is proud to display this banner in our high school in support of the opportunity to educate our students about mental health challenges and to encourage them to be 'Heroes of Hope'.
Welcome to UMASD's Constant Contact newsletter. You have received this edition because your email is registered with the school district.
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News from Our Elementary Schools
Candlebrook's Gregg Matzner shouted out the final results from Continental Math League headquarters in New York (drum roll, please) that Candlebrook's 4th grade team came in FIRST PLACE in both our state and our region in the Continental Math League Problem Solving Competition. Congratulations to our top problem-solving math-letes!!  | |
Pictured are 4th graders Chrisna Try, Sophia Lamesta, Raymond Eames, Connor Carlton, Aditya Madhu, Isabella LeGendre, Jason Vo, Xander Kruvczuk, and Hannah Hope. Also pictured are 3rd graders (who were first in the state!) Evan Wintersteen, Arushi Mittal and Sagufta Muktadir. Not present for the picture was 3rd grader A. Ragull Arumugan.
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Gotta love our boys of summer! The Phillies encourage kids from all over the city and suburbs to develop a passion for reading and writing, and they reward them for their efforts. One recent writing success story was that of Caley 4th grader, Sarah Adams, who honored teacher Kristin Zinicola in an essay, which was then chosen to be read at Phillies Teacher Appreciation Night, May 3rd. There was Sarah, all excited and proud to be on the field, along with her favorite teacher, who looks pretty happy and excited herself!  A Phillies reading success story comes out of Bridgeport, where 3rd grader Naomi Pirani read sooooooo much that she was chosen as a super-phantastic Most Outstanding Reader! Naomi, along with her teacher Tammy Johnston, will be guests of the Phillies at the game Friday, May 31st. Naomi will be presented with an award on the field prior to the game. Naomi also has been invited to dance on the dugout during the 7th inning stretch with that loveable Phanatic (rumor has it Naomi may politely decline but Mrs. Johnston is ready to fill in if needed!). That's PHAN-tastic! Earth Day celebrations and events took place throughout the district, including a poster contest sponsored by UM Township's Park and Recreation Department. Winners of $25 gift cards to Barnes & Noble were Candlebrook students Kayla Brown, Gina Geosits and Dennis Hosgood, as well as the entire Roberts Autism Support Class! Partnerships among schools and their neighborhoods blossom each spring around Earth Day. Many are traditions that have thrived over the years, including tending the butterfly gardens at the UM Township Building. Mrs. Heidi Regent's 4th grade class celebrated Earth Day by sprucing up the grounds and happily digging in the dirt to make a positive contribution to their environment. Superintendent Dr. Jane Callaghan and Park & Recreation Department Director Dan Russell are pictured with Mrs. Regent and her hard-working students. 
Bridgeport Elementary students partnered with Bridgeport Park & Recreation to pick up debris and plant flowers at Bridgeport Memorial Park. Look at how proud and happy the students are with the result of their efforts. Super job!
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Middle School Happenings
Viking Robotics Team members demonstrated their robots at an event in the King of Prussia Corporate Building. Our middle school partners extensively with Lockheed Martin. Their Nova Robotics Division was eager to give our students an opportunity to show off their mechanical wonders.
Never too early to think about what you want to be when you grow up! 7th graders will host 30 professionals from the community at the middle school's annual Career Day event on Tuesday, May 14th. It's a great chance to hear firsthand about a chosen career path.
May 30th is the date of the Science Fair, a showcase of the extraordinary accomplishments of 5th through 8th grade budding researchers. Students have worked for months on their Science Fair projects. First they must select and investigate topics of interest, developing a hypothesis, plan and purpose. Each year, the projects become more intricate and involved. Mark your calendar so that you are able to ponder in person the results of their scientific investigations.
The TSA State Leadership Conference held at Seven Springs Conference Center was the setting for intense competition among over 1500 secondary students. Our team, under the guidance of Matt Cullen, worked very hard to prepare for their competitive events and now have 1st Place awards in SEVEN events to add to their list of accomplishments. TSA members qualified to attend a summer conference in Orlando, Florida.
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Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6 - 10 celebrates teachers everywhere and we certainly celebrate ours - they are so fantastic! Just look at how often they are nominated by their students, peers or principals for recognition!
On Wednesday, May 3rd, guess who showed up at the middle school? Good Day's Sheinelle Jones arrived with a Fox 29 crew to surprise John Armenio with a 'Top Teacher' award! Mr. Armenio was quite shocked to say the least. He was nominated by student Cody Tiner. Pretty cool!
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What's Up at the High School
Right on the heels of the release of the movie The Great Gatsby was Upper Merion's own showman's rendering of Roaring Twenties revelry on stage for three thrilling evenings in the high school auditorium. Steven Burke's adaptation was spot on and captivated audiences from the moment the party-goers escorted you to your seat. Everyone was totally 'jazzed up' to fall under the spell of narrator Nick's tale of a bygone era - the performers were "possessed by intense life". Simply superb!
Crew is hosting its 48th Annual Invitational Regatta on Sunday, May 12th at the John Trinsey Memorial Boathouse in Bridgeport. Races are scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM. For more information about this day of competitive racing, fun rowing events and great food, please visit http://uppermerioncrew.webs.com/homeregatta.htm.
Congrats to Jason Karver, who participated in the HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) State Conference in Lancaster. Jason won Gold in the Epidemiology event; all of our medal winners are eligible to compete at the National Conference in Nashville in June.
Don't miss...
Academic Awards Banquet May 16th at Crowne Plaza 6:30 PM
Spring Band Concert May 20th at 7:00 PM
Spring Choir & Orchestra Concert May 22nd at 7:00 PM
Class of 2013 Sup and Sign May 23rd 5:30 PM
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This and That
Administrative Staff UpdateSteven Skrocki is now the Assistant to the Superintendent for Business Administration John Adiletto is now the Assistant to the Superintendent for Secondary Educational Assessment and Improvement Karen Geller is now the Middle School Principal
The district will host the 5th annual ESL Family picnic on Saturday, May 11th from 1:00 - 4:00 at Swedeland Park. The picnic is open to all ESL family members and friends. Hugely popular, the picnic encourages munching, mingling and much fun among a diverse and lively crowd.
At the May 6th board meeting, State Rep. Tim Briggs was on hand to announce the names of students who were selected as finalists in Rep. Briggs' There Ought To Be A Law essay writing contest. Dr. Callaghan and Dr. Geller are all smiles as they share a photo op with Rep. Briggs and 5th graders Gretchen Bahmueller, Lindsey Davis, Sophie Gammarino, Kimberly Gutierrez, Joseph Petruska and Ganesh Tikani. 
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And Finally...
We are closing in on the end of the school year. Our next Constant Contact will be sent out in early June. There are so many year-end activities that we can't list them all and so we encourage you to visit our website and view all the school newsletters (under Viking News), the school web pages and our calendar.
A few meetings of note are:
Finance Committee Meeting
May 20, 2013 7:00 PM HS LGI
Budget Adoption Meeting
June 3, 2013 7:00 PM HS LGI
Regular Public Board Meeting
June 3, 2013 7:30 PM HS LGI
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