The D-Link
An E-Newsletter for the DASD Community February 14, 2014 - Vol 5, Issue 11 |
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Superintendent's Update |
Greetings!
I guess we shouldn't be surprised that we were hit by a major snowstorm this week. Back in February 2006 and 2007 this region experienced two of our state's heaviest snowfalls. The 2007 "Valentine's Day Storm" was the last major storm of that season. I am hoping that history repeats itself this year.
Constructing the school calendar is never an easy project. We must take into consideration contractual obligations we have made with our unions, state testing dates, statutory law as it relates to the education of children in the Commonwealth, and the likelihood of winter storm interferences. Last year, we didn't miss one day of school due to a mild winter. This year....well, I needn't remind you of the nine days we have already missed.
In the 2007, 2008, 2009 school calendar, all missed days due to snow were made up at the end of the school year. We began adding in snow days in the years that followed. This year we embedded three snow days into the school calendar, never imagining after the mild winter of 2013 that all three would be needed, let alone six more at the end of the year.
At the last school board meeting, the administration presented two draft calendars for the 2014-2015 school year. One had 5 embedded snow days, the other four, and we may even increase that number to 6 and 5 respectively with a third calendar iteration. During the discussion, it was recommended that we survey our parents about their thoughts on how best to schedule potential days lost to bad weather. Parents should expect to see this survey sometime next week.
Some parents have asked about using the one professional development day in march as a school make-up, others have asked about counting hours instead of days, some have asked about extending the school day to make up time, and others have inquired about using two spring break days a school days. There are problems with all of these options. The March PD days is contractually controlled and we would need permission from the bargaining unit to use that day as a student day.
Extending the school day throughout our K-12 program is problematic because of the length of time of the secondary day. We would also need to look at altering every bus route for all 14,000 students (non-public school students included) because of the way transportation routes are developed. Using two spring break days could be problematic because of the number of district families and staff members who may have planned family visits and trips. Because of those pre-planned vacations, staffing the schools could be problematic. The last option, counting hours, is interesting. I will need more time to investigate and develop that concept to see what effect it would have on our school calendar.
In 2010, the last student day of school was June 23rd because of days missed due to snow. As of this writing, we're out on June 19th which isn't that bad compared with dismissal dates over the past 15 years. Graduation dates for our three high schools have not changed.
We have posted the snow make-up dates on all websites and have provided you with a link to the new school calendar (see below).
Sincerely,
Dr. Larry Mussoline
Superintendent
Link to the calendar. Click here!
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DCEF Plans Summer Camp Program |
 | | DCEF Robotics Club |
The motto of the Downingtown Community Education Foundation is to "Inspire and Support" students in the Downingtown Area School District. As part of this effort, the Ed Foundation kicked off "The Experience", an after-school enrichment program for students in grades 3 - 5 last week. All 10 of the district's 10 elementary schools have one or two enrichment programs going on after-school. the programs run from 3:30 to 5:30 on Monday afternoons. Engineering, robotics and a foreign language are currently being offered. The engineering and robotics' programs were sell-outs this year, with good interest shown in the Spanish, French, Japanese and German programs.
Thanks to the success of this first program, the Foundation is surveying parents to see if there is interest in a summer enrichment program for students in grades 3 - 6. Initial plans call for a one-week program that would again feature engineering, robotics or world languages. The enrichment camp would run for five days from 9 - 12 at DHS East. Parents would be given the option of adding on pre-or post camp hours with the YMCA in Lionville.
If you are interested in having your child participate in this program,please click on this link to request more information. We are also looking for additional programs that the Foundation could offer. More details, such as cost and content, will be confirmed next week and sent to all DASD parents. This survey is for interest only and does not obligate you to register for any program. |
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Think Central | |
Elementary students have access to the ThinkCentral website. ThinkCentral K-5 is the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Web (HMH) site that allows teachers and students access to digital materials associated with one or more HMH programs used in the district. Math in Focus is one of these programs. The ThinkCentral website allows students to access their online textbook from any computer with internet access. Once students login to the site, they are able to print out homework pages from their texts and link to online activities and games. Parents can also access videos that explain more about Math in Focus and how students are learning Mathematics in classrooms throughout the district.
Some of the things a student can do at home include accessing teacher assignments, view test results, and utilize a variety of resource activities. The "Library" is the place where students can find a variety of resource material. . Students may sort by subject and select any resource to browse. They may also keep track of assignments they have completed and assignments they need to do.
When students enter the website, this screen will appear
Select our state, school district and school. then enter your child's user name and password. When students log in they can access several options that will appear on the screen. Think Central offers resources to help them at home in the "Library" section. Students can also complete assignments in the "Things To Do" section.
If you have questions about ThinkCentral, please contact your child's teacher. |
A Student's View by Emilie Gazzerro, senior, DHS West
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 The 2014 Winter Olympics, or the 22nd Winter Games are scheduled to take place February 7-23 in Sochi, Russia. 98 events in 15 winter sport disciplines will be held, and there are 88 participating nations. 12 new events debut in these Games including women's ski jumping, after lawsuits and lobbying brought equality to this once all-male event.
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| School Board News |
The School Board has approved funding for the design, bid drawings and bid specifications related to the DHS West Gymnasium upgrades. This would include a new HVAC system, gym floor and bleachers. The Board also approved electrical engineering services for the upgrades to the DHS East and West libraries and cafeterias.
Sixth grade students will be issued iPads at the beginning of the 2013 - 2014 school year to support the 21st century curricular initiatives. The Board also approved the purchase of 230 Mac Book Air computers for the freshman STEM class.
In other news, the district will begin using the Schooology Learning Management system for the STEM Academy, Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center and the DHS East and West Ivy Academy Curriculum. Schoology will replace Moodle in those four programs. |
| Around the District | |
Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek was finally able to fit in the Science Fair after rescheduling it countless times due to snow days. We appreciate the three judges who had to shuffle their schedules to be available: Neil Johnson, Eileen Hazard, and Bob Struble. We had 20 projects and 22 students participate in the competition. Results are listed below. All fourth and fifth graders will go on to compete at the Chester County Science Research Competition in March.
Bradford Heights
Bradford Heights hosted their 1st Annual Shadow Run and Wellness Fair on Saturday, Feb. 1st. The one mile run/walk was to benefit the Elliott (4th grade) and Henry (2nd grade) Johnson Special Needs Trust Fund. Elliott and Henry have Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and all proceeds will help their parents defray medical expenses. This wonderful event and the generosity of the Bradford Heights families will go a long way. We cannot thank everyone enough for the time and effort they put into making this even special.
DHS West
Congratulations to all the students that participated in the Tel Hai High School Art Show. Receiving 1st place in their category were Julia Otto, Madalyn Morley, Jolie Ngo & Grace Panetti. 2nd Place awards went to Sara Doubleday and Avery Bell. Honorable Mention are Maddie McGrail, Sara McLoone, Kelsey Behrndt, Savannah Cligget, Courtney Emerich & Hallie Smith.
Three West Band Students - Tashi Eng on Tuba, Danielle Moser on Flute and Kyle Oberholtzer on Trombone participated in the District XII concert which was held at Henderson HS on Saturday, February 8. As a result of re-auditions, Tashi Eng will be advancing to the next level and will be participating in Regional Band on March 13-15 at Unionville HS.
STEM Academy
On Friday, January 31, 2014, STEM Academy math teacher Ed Merk hosted a guest speaker, Dr. Bob Higgins, in his Algebra I class. Dr. Higgins is a career mathematician who has taught engineering students, assisted in writing and editing math textbooks, and is currently the technical director for Quantics Incorporated, a scientific consulting firm in Exton, PA. Dr. Higgins shared his passion for mathematics, what it takes to become a mathematician, and the types of companies that hire mathematicians. The students were particularly interested about learning that even Hollywood hires mathematicians to create digital animations and how digital music would not exist without mathematics. Dr. Higgins plans to make a second appearance when he will co-teach with Ed Merk about how much mathematics and programming is involved in something simple like hitting the equal sign on a calculator. |
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