The D-Link
An E-Newsletter for the DASD Community May 5, 2014 - Vol 5, Issue 16 |
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 | | Dr. Lawrence Mussoline |
Greetings from the Superintendent!
I'd first like to express my
condolences to all DASD families
who were hard hit in the recent storm. The images that resulted from last week's six inch rainfall were heartbreaking. Throughout the district we heard reports of damaged cars and flooded homes and businesses. Comparatively speaking, our district facilities did well and there is little damage to report. Thank you to all the first responders who worked throughout the night to ensure that our families were safe.
On a more brighter note, the school district weathered the spring rankings of schools and school districts pretty well this year.
For example, the annual U.S. News and World report rankings were released last week and our two comprehensive high schools, DHS East and DHS West, made the list for the very first time. U.S. News published the rankings under the heading "Best High School for 2014," which is somewhat misleading. The rankings are based on data from the U.S. Department of Education for the 2011-12 school year. The STEM Academy was not rated as it has not been open for the requisite four years.
In the article, DHS East is ranked as the #27 best high school in Pennsylvania and #1089 in the United States. DHS West is almost a mirror image at #31 in the state and #1194 in the nation. These numbers were determined from data collected by Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research, one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world.
Another news outlet, the Pittsburgh Business Times (PBT), issued its rankings on April 11, 2014 and named the Downingtown Area School District the 22nd best school district in Pennsylvania. What is even more encouraging is that our district moved up two places from 2013. The PBT notes that its rankings are based on students' scores on the Pennsylvania System
of School Assessment, or PSSA, exam, and the Keystone Exam. Students in grades three through eight are ranked using three years of PSSA scores. Students in grade 11 are ranked based on PSSA scores from 2011 and 2012 and Keystone Exam scores for 2013. Though we look at three years of scores, the current year is given the most weight.
And lastly, the DHS East Academic Team brought home the State Championship trophy on Friday afternoon. Following four grueling rounds of play, our Cougars finished at the top. The last time a DHS team won this coveted prize was in 2002.
My congratulations to our students, our teachers, administrators, school board members, parents and community on these wonderful achievements.
Enjoy the warm and dry week ahead!
Sincerely,
Larry Mussoline,
Superintendent |
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Looking for a Great Summer Program for Your Child? | |
The "Experience" Summer Program is a one-week (4 half-days) program for DASD students in grades 3 - 6. The "Experience" will consist of four fun, hands-on programs; Lego Robotics, Engineering, Forensic Science and World Languages.
The classes will run from 9 A.M. to 12 noon, and be taught by highly qualified educational professionals who currently teach in the Downingtown Area School District.
Click here for more information, or to sign up now! |
| #1 in the STATE! | |
 DHS East has boasting rights today thanks to the school's Academic Team. The team placed first in the annual state competition in Hershey on Friday. Daily Local News Story
The team is coached by Darryl McCauley. Student leader is senior Neil Vinjamuri. Members of the A team include Nick Wu, Vis Lanka and Zack Weber. Angela Cai, Victoria Pan, Neal Alex, Varun Gridhar and Sarah Schiefersten were also in attendance as back up. Megan Harley, Erin Breslin, Kakaushik Manuchinti, Matt Roberts and Sarah Scheiferstein are also on the team.
The A team has also won two National Academic Quiz Tournaments and have qualified for the National compeitions in Washington DC on May 24th.
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Earth Day |
 | | Beaver Creek |
All students at Beaver Creek enjoyed an absolutely lovely day for our Earth Day Walkathon. Funds raised will be used to continue to "green" our school. Families were encouraged to walk with the students and some parents volunteered to help with "stamping" cards each lap.
Shamona Creek really knows how to celebrate Earth Week! Each day we collected different items to be sent to various organizations to be recycled. Shoes and jeans for the needy, items for the SPCA, and pens and crayons to be recycled, were deposited in the lobby and shipped out to be reused. It was also Earth Spirit week at the Creek. The students wore green and blue on Tuesday, Recycled items on Wednesday and Tie Dye on Thursday. There were also two school wide recycling projects going on as well. Each student in the school painted a brick to line our flower beds, and during Art class they worked on beautiful Mosaic tile pictures to be hung on the front of our raised gardens. Those students in our Planet Patrol club have been working hard to make Earth Week meaningful for everyone. We truly show we care about our Earth.
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A Student's View by Emilie Gazzerro, senior, DHS West
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 On Friday, April 25th, DHS West enjoyed its second annual Day Without Hate! After hearing about the tragedy at Virginia Tech in 2007, a small committee of students and staff from Standley Lake High School of Colorado felt that they needed to do something to make a difference in the more frequent acts of school violence. They brainstormed ideas on how to stop school violence, and decided to dedicate a day in which staff and students would wear white to create unity. This student-led effort reached DHS West last year and is organized by the Student Council.
Giant white posters with quotes such as "Forgive and Forget", "Think Peace", and "Surround yourself with people who make you happy" fill the hallways. Music is played in between classes such as "Mean" by Taylor Swift, "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera and "Brave" by Sara Bareilles, which spread positive, kind messages to the students who feel united in their matching white shirts. Challenges are made such as to compliment someone you don't know, or to smile at three people before your next class.
At lunch, students could trace their hand and write their own inspirational message such as "Be happy!", "Do what you love!", "Make someone smile", or "it gets better". They could also write and send messages to their peers with friendly thoughts and compliments, or write a "well wish" that would hang in the cafeteria. But that's not all! Random sticky notes reading "Be yourself!", "You are appreciated", or "Smile, you are valued!" are found all over the lockers. The best part about A Day Without Hate is not the music or the supportive notes, but the lasting effect that the students feel and carry into our everyday lives. Click here to view more pictures!
 | | Austin Seaman, Hailey Barnhill, Katy Steffen, Vashaili Ashtakala, Sam Brady and Emmy Bebee pose for a picture on A Day Without Hate. |
 | | Amy Soster, Maddie McGrail, Tabi Loftus, Ben Calabro and Dieter Willenbrock celebrate A Day Without Hate during lunch. |
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Diversity Committee
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The Downingtown Area School District's Diversity Committee is looking to partner with the community in order to establish a speaker series for our students. We would like our students to hear about the challenges and success stories of our graduates. Have you had to overcome a challenge related to your individual diversity, or have experienced great professional and/or education success? Please join us as a speaker in this new program. If you have suggestions or would like to apply, please contact Dr. Robert Reed, (rreed@dasd.org) with your name, contact information, and brief biography.
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2014 Downingtown Community Education Foundation Celebratory Breakfast |
In partnership with many local companies, the Downingtown Community Education Foundation is helping the district meet its mission to educate all students to meet the challenges of a global society by providing innovative educational programs that instill the 21st century skills required for future success.
Please join us on Friday, May 16th for a celebratory breakfast in which to learn about opportunities for you or your company to become involved with the Foundation to enhance the education of DASD students. During this program you will hear directly from students and teachers as they showcase some of the projects funded by the DCEF.
Click here to learn more!
Click here to purchase your ticket for the breakfast!
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Around the District | |
The STEM Academy help its annual Golf Outing on April 28th at Whitford Country Club.
DHS East
The 2014 Julia Kivlin Volleyball Tournament was held on Friday, April 4 at DHS East. It was a fantastic evening of friends, family, and fun as we honored Julia Kivlin's memory while raising money for the CHOP Foundation for Pediatric Brain Cancer Research. The tournament raised $4620.00!
Once again, Team DC, made up of teachers from LMS, DMS, and district employees defended their title with a win over The San Francisco Tan Pants. Attached is a picture of the tournament champions, Team DC: (from left to right): Eric Glass, Kevin Kivlin, Lee Ann Rumpf, Paul Heggie, Sonya Legere, Eric Hopton, Steph Reimers, and Helen Kivlin, missing from picture is Dr. Rob Ruch.
On April 12th several DHS West Latin students attended the awards banquet
for the Philadelphia Classical Society competition. The results were as follows: Academic competition:
Magna cum laude (highest possible for academic): Jake Kirschner
Cum laude: Jenna Simcox, Katie Byrnes, Sam Hug; and Megan Driscoll
Traditional Artistry competition/Painting:
Magna cum laude: Julie Durdaller
Cum laude: Julia Driscoll
Sketch and Drawing:
Summa cum laude: Catherine Byrd
Magna cum laude: Sam Hug; Emily Kleaver; and Rebecca Grier
Cum laude: Tyler Bourgeois; Collin Bartok; and Meg Camden
Literary competition:
Magna cum laude: Jake Springer
Cum laude: Kyra Lefkof; Nicholas Sun; Jake Kirschner; Tori Ennis; David War; Jenna Garber; and Ellie Fabry
This was quite an accomplishment for these students, in a competition that involved 21 local schools,
LMS
On Saturday, April 26, twenty-eight members of Lionville's Anime club went to the Zenkaikon Anime convention in Lancaster, Pa. The members of the club, who ranged from 6th to 8th grade, were able to dress in what is called "cosplay," or dress as a character found in anime cartoons and animated movies. They were able to participate in workshops, witness costume judging, walk around and meet other anime devotees, and purchase keepsakes to remember their time at the convention. All the students represented Lionville with pride, and were examples of just how terrific Downingtown students really are. Kudos to Mr. Ross for helping the club get the field trip for this year, and to Mrs. Zito (Claire Zito's mom. Claire is the club president), and Mrs. Spina (member Carly Spina's mom) for joining Mr. Peck on the trip. This was the Anime Club's first field trip and we are excited that it was such a success. The 6th and 7th graders are already looking forward to next year!
Beaver Creek
Principal Dr. Lawless, IST (Mrs. Grimes and Mrs. Hemphill), our Guidance Counselor Mrs. Miller, and the PTO welcomed a group of parents while a new batch of incoming preschool age children buddied up with current kindergarten students during our annual Kindergarten Round Up. Topics covered included full day vs. half day, literacy, math, Aimsweb progress monitoring, K screening, and other expectations. The little ones got to take a ride on the big yellow bus! Parents were given a Beaver Creek folder full of valuable information including a countdown calendar to the first day of school, an activities calendar, and a free book meant to be read together (one side the parent reads aloud and the other easier side the child reads aloud).
Beaver Creek also thanks Mrs. Threadgill, Mrs. Poole and Mrs. Litterio for helping prepare our students for the Reading Olympics competition.
Bradford Heights
Reading Olympics is a very exciting event here at Bradford Heights. This year we had 42 participants. These students were given the task of reading a variety of books to then compete against other teams in the area. The questions are broken into three rounds and in each round of questions appeared to become more challenging, but our students rose to the challenge and did an amazing job. The students have been working very hard with the guidance of Mrs. Knaster (librarian), Mrs. Mack (IST), and Mrs. Siegel (IST).
Our Reading Olympians made us especially proud with their sportsmanship, great behavior, and hard work during the county competition on Tuesday. We had lots of fun while sharing our reading knowledge. Special thanks go to our Reading Olympics Coordinator, Ms. DiMartin, Coaches Mrs. Sachs, Mr. Hoffmann, and Mrs. Fisher and our score-keeping volunteer Miss Laudenslager.
East Ward
Earlier in the year, second graders studied community workers. Recently, they had a special treat when a team of FBI agents visited for an assembly. The students heard all about how to become an agent and had the chance to see some of the equipment used by real FBI agents. At the end of the assembly the students went outside to get an up-close look at the vehicles that the agents drive.
Pickering Valley
On Friday, April 25th, Pickering Valley was fortunate once again to have Sara Stoetzel and Hope Hessler (and their parents) present grades 3-5 with a TEDx assembly on Inventions. Special presenters included Aidan Cunniffe and Garrett Brown. Aidan shared his knowledge of creating and designing websites, introduced us to his "Design Your Own App" technology, and reinforced to students that you can do and be anything no matter how young you are. Garrett was the initial creator of the stop motion camera, the sky camera used at football games and the Steadicam - his Oscar winning camera (technology) that was used in Rocky, Indianna Jones and hundreds of other popular The Steadicam allows videographers to run with the camera and give live action motion shots that were stable enough to watch comfortably. He also expressed how even the most basic of tools can be used to invent the coolest technologies. The assembly was a huge hit and we look forward to more like this next year!
Uwchlan Hills
Uwhclan Hills welcomed students from East Ward and Lionville who have been redistricted and will attend our school next year. Each student was greeted by their pen-pal, buddy and escorted to the classrooms to meet the teachers and enjoy special activities. Mr. Giering gave each visiting student a pencil imprinted with Uwchlan Hills Elementary. Students left UH with big smiles, ready to join the UH families in August!
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| Kudos |
Chester County Envirothon Champions
On Thursday, May 1st the Chester County Envirothon Competition took place at Hibernia County Park with many public and private schools entered in the event. Lionville Middle School competed with 3 Teams comprised of 5 students. Lionville A Team with Co-Captains Dana Bubka and Alex Koblish with team members Lauryn Bender, Malaika Paralkar, and Katherine Pan earning the 1st place trophy. B Team was led by Captain Michael Bandru, and teammates Brian Lefko, George Firtze, Srikar Govindarajula, and Peter Bond. Team C's Captain is Rahul Rao, along with teammates Samuel Zhang, Shawn Trego, Tyson Farrell, Liam Sadler, and Rahul Ukani. It was an exciting moment when Team C won the Forestry category. LMS Ecology Club Advisors are Kim Pierce and Fran Holberg.
In the High School competition, DEHS Ecology Club Team won the event. The A Team was Captained by DEHS student Angela Cai with Geoffrey Cobb from STEM Academy, and East students Travis Bender, Aarchi Talati, and Bradley Measel. The DEHS B Team was represented by Shaivya Choudhary, Cole Fisher, Tom Klufas, Miranda Lessor, and Peter Lin. The A Team scored exceptionally in the tested categories of Forestry, Aquatics, Soil, Wildlife, and Sustainable Agriculture, the current issue. The DEHS Team will be representing Chester County in the State Envirothon competition held May 20th and 21st at Susquehanna University. Winners of the PA State Competition will advance to the International Canon Envirothon held this summer. We wish our DASD students the best of luck as they represent our County at the State competition! DEHS Ecology Club Advisor is Thad VanGilder.
Matthew Todd won the high school level 2014 Shining Star Award for the Downingtown Area School District! Matthew was nominated by his English teacher because of his growth as a student and his excellent self-advocacy and achievement. He participates in many after school programs including Homework Club and Homework Helpers, where he goes to the local Elementary school to help students with their work. He has made substantial progress towards his goal this year, due entirely to his hard work and determination. Matthew will receive a certificate of achievement, a trophy, and a coupon to open a $200 share certificate at Keystone FCU.
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