 The D-Link
An E-Newsletter for the DASD Community
November 10, 2012- Vol 5, Issue 6
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| Superintendent's Update | |
Make a note on your calendar to join us at the groundbreaking ceremony for our new sixth grade center on Dorlan Mill Road in Uwchlan. It took us a few years to get to this point, but the permits are all approved and we are ready to move ahead with our district's 16th school. Should the stars align with weather and supply chain needs, the building will open its doors in August 2014 to begin educating the current class of fourth grade students.
School Accolades:
You will read below that both DHS East and West made the AP Honor Roll again, that our DHS West band and DHS East volley ball team are moving into state competitions, and that a student received a perfect score on his three SAT tests. All these accolades are possible because our residents care about the success and future of our students. In a difficult economic climate, our school district's enrollment continues to grow. The Downingtown area has become a sought after location to raise a family, and our school district's reputation plays a major role in that decision.
Thank you all for your continued support for our students, schools and programs.
Dr. Larry Mussoline,
Superintendent
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| Election Day in the District |
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| | The Path to Lionville Elementary |
Several district schools are used as polling places during the election season and thousands of residents turned out to vote in the Presidential election.
Several of our elementary schools participated in the annual Chester County "Kids Vote" program. The Kid's Vote project kicked off in October on the steps of the Chester County Court House. Students Juliann Novitsky (DHS West) and Alex Merker (DHS East) were invited to speak to the gathering about the meaning of democracy.
DASD students were among the 27,353 Chester County students who participated in the election. Chester County students selected President Barack Obama over Governor Mitt Romney by a margin of 56.21% to 39.82% .
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Schools and Corporations Working Together | |
Lionville Middle School
Top executives from the Information Technology department at West Pharmaceutical Services visited with Mrs. Lois Grasso's 8th grade students at Lionville Middle School on November 1, 2012 to discuss various job opportunites available within the technology sector. Troy Christensen - Vice President Information Technology and Kathy Sutcliffe - Manager, Corporate Applications provided not only details about the different kinds of jobs in Information Technology but outlined statistics predicting job growth in this field through the year 2020 when most 8th graders will be entering the job market. With computer science being at the heart of job growth in the 21st century Mr. Christensen stressed the importance of today's students learning the right skills for jobs that will be available in their future.
DHS East
DHS East's AP Computer Science group escorted by teacher Fran Grieco, attended Techie Day at Vertex in Berwyn in October. The students learned about the different aspects of Information Technology positions from prgrammers, web designers, software testers and software employees. Vertex offers clients innovative tax processing solutions combining advanced technology, sophisticated software and experienced tax professionals.
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| Advertise in Kottmeyer Stadium | |
Several new advertising opportunities are available in Kottmeyer Stadium, our district's athletic stadium. These prime locations offer local businesses the opportunity to promote their companies while supporting our district's athletic program.
Contracts run from July 1, 2013 through July 1, 2014. However, if you sign on to rent an ad location before December 23, 2012, you will receive six free months of advertising (Jan, 2013 through June 30, 2013). The stadium is used for fall and spring athletic games for DHS East and DHS West, special events as well as all three high school graduations.
For more information, contact Pat McGlone at 610-269-8460, ext. 6113 or email to pmcglone@dasd.org. |
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Congratulations!
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The Downingtown West Blue and Gold Marching Band will be competing in the Cavalcade of Bands Championships in Hershey Pa. this Sunday - November 11th. The event starts at 3:15pm. The Ticket price is $12:00 per person. Last season the band finished 3rd in the A Division. This season the band is going into the event ranked second in the Yankee OPEN Division and in all of Cavalcade. There are 21 Bands in Yankee this season. This year, the band has been placed into the highest division/level for Cavalcade of Bands Championships.
Last Saturday, the band finished the regular season at the Conestoga HS competition with a second place score of 94.05 behind Upper Darby with a winning score of 94.85. DWest also won the high percussion award. This was the first time in 4 years Upper Darby did not win a percussion award in a Cavalcade of Bands show. 94.05 was also the highest score the band had ever received. The band has been working hard while quietly coming up through the rankings. At the beginning of the season, Upper Darby was 7 points ahead of them. Two weeks ago they were 3.5 points ahead. Going into Championships, we are trying to keep that momentum going.
Barry Li, a STEM Academy junior, received a score of 2400 in the last SAT round. Barry scored 800 on his math, critical reading and writing tests. Barry will be honored by the school board on November 14, 2012.
DHS East and DHS West has learned that both schools have been named to the College Board's prestigious Advanced Placement Honor Roll. The award is given to schools that open AP programs to a broader pool of students while maintaining or improving the perventage of students earning scores of 3 or higher. The majority of US colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or4 above on AP exams.
State playoffs: Our Lady Cougars Volley Ball team took care of Cardinal O'Hara in 4 games last night! They will now move on the the State Quarterfinals today @ 1:00pm vs Upper Merion at Upper Dublin HS.
OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program Trainer Grant (OBPP)
The district received approval this week for a grant / application from the Office of Safe
Schools, PA Department of Education for a training scholarship. This grant is to cover
the cost of the certification training and follow up consultation ($4200) scholarship for
the OBPP. DASD will also receive a maximum of $4500.00 as an OBPP implementation grant to cover the costs of travel, lodging and other expenses to implement the OBPP at
one school.
Meghan Dennis, guidance counselor counselor at Lionville Elementary School is the designated counselor for this training scholarship. Meghan will be providing a two day training for the Lionville Elementary School schoolwide OLWEUS BPP team in the spring.
Meghan will be attending the OBPP Trainer Certification Course in Mechanicsburg in December.
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| Elementary Updates | |
Beaver Creek
 Families enjoyed dressing up in costume to attend our PTO's Masquerade Ball. Students had fun dancing, and trick-or-treating around the school to collect candy. Dr. Lawless was seen on horseback...sort of. Students were creatively dressed in an array of costumes. Some students collected money in cute boxes designed by UNICEF and they turned in their change which filled a large container. Stay tuned for our final donation total. Click here for more BC news.Click here for more Beaver Creek news.
Bradford Heights
Bradford Heights Elementary School welcomed a colorful visitor to school this week. As you can see from the photograph, the students were delighted with the visit!
Brandywine Wallace
The results are in: Our recent Kids' Voting election mirrored the national election. We had 273 "registered" voters who visited our BW polls. President Obama won 51% of the vote; Governor Romney won 47% of votes, and independent candidates, Stein and Johnson, each took 1% of our votes. Thanks to all who made this a great learning experience for our students!
Pickering Valley
 In association with the Chester County Intermediate Unit, Pickering Valley Elementary School participated in the Kids Voting-Chester County program for the 2012 presidential election. Our Pickering Valley Voting Coordinator was Mrs. Martini. From October 31 through November 5, students had theopportunity to cast their ballots on-line for the presidential election. All students (grades 1-5) voted in the election. The majority of students voted on Thursday, November 1, which was Student Voting Day. On Student Voting Day, all students were encouraged to wear red, white, and blue. More PV News
Shamona Creek
Knowing the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the students, staff and parents of SC are anxious to help those in need.
- Mrs. Dillman, 4th grade, is helping to collect spare change in the cafeteria through an effort she calls Beach Bucks. The money collected will be donated to the Red Cross.
- The staff enjoyed a casual day in jeans and donated nearly $100 as well.
- During our Barnes and Noble Book Fair, families will have the opportunity to purchase a book to be donated to a school or library in need. Miss Carroll, our librarian, will coordinate the effort to get books to a location in New Jersey. Click here for more Shamona Creek News.
Uwchlan Hills
 Students at Uwchlan Hills Elementary School wore "stripes" to honor America's veterans. Schools across the district will be saluting our servicemen and women on Veterans Day, November 12, 2012.
West Bradford
West Bradford Elementary was a polling place to not one, but TWO precincts this week. The building was bustling from 7:00 AM to 4:00 with voters and parents joining us for parent/teacher conferences. All went smoothly...and despite the national outcome, Governor Romney won at the WB public polls. Interestingly, in a student election run by fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Patrizio, Governor Romney won the popular vote by a slim margin, but President Obama won the electoral vote! A great conversation for students! Click here for more West Bradford News
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Middle School Updates
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Downingtown Middle School
 On Monday, November 5th, Downingtown Middle School history classes held their own mock election day. Students from those classes had the chance to participate in the most authentic experience they could have by waiting in voter lines and confirming their voter registration prior to voting. Students used iPads to cast votes via Moodle which allowed for a quick tabulation of votes by the end of the school day. In the end we learned that Barack Obama won the Downingtown Middle School mock election by 13 votes.. Click here for more DMS news.
Lionville Middle School
For the past couple of years LMS has honored our Veterans by holding an assembly to recognize them for their service and to remind our students of the sacrifices made on their behalf. This year, an additional component is being added. One of our teachers has a connection with a local retirement community. About 2 weeks ago they brought several veterans from their home over to our school to be interviewed by LMS students. This Monday, after our annual assembly, we are planning to hold a reception in our auxiliary gym for those veterans as well as members of our local VFW. Our students who interviewed the veterans will be presenting a biographical report on each of them as a part of the reception.
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| High School Updates |
DHS West
 Downingtown West Aquatic Science class helped put together and distribute rain barrels to their school community as part of a water quality monitoring grant they received from the Greening Forward Foundation. The $1400 grant will be used to buy equipment associated with a stream study they will be conducting on the Beaver Creek which is located very close to the high school. The barrels were given out the Friday before "Sandy" struck the coast and just in time to collect some of the 5 or so inches of rain we received. One person who received a barrel reported that they would be able to use the collected water to flush toilets in case they were to lose electricity during the storm. Everyone who received the barrels was excited to be able to use them come summer. Click here for more DHS West news.
High School TV Studio
The district's new TV Studio at STEM has completed the installation phase of the project. Next, the STEM staff will be trained on its operation. This wonderful resource will be shared amongst our 3 High Schools. |
| Sponsors Sought |
If you are interested in being a D-Link sponsor, please contact Pat McGlone at pmcglone@dasd.org or call 610-269-8460, ext. 6113. |
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