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Upcoming Events
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May 27 - School in session
May 28 - Thespian Cabaret and Silent Auction, 6 p.m.
May 30 - No School -Memorial day
May 31 - 18th Annual Maroon and Gray Concert
May 31 - Community Forum on Elementary School Projects Plan at Radio Park, 7 p.m.
June 1 - State College Jazz Night, 7:30 p.m.
June 1 - Community Forum on Elementary School Projects Plan, at Houserville Elementary, 7 p.m. June 4 - SAT Testing, 7:45 a.m.
June 7 - High School Senior Awards, 7 p.m.
June 9 - Last day for students, early dismissal:
High School - 10:50 a.m. Middle -1:00 p.m. Elementary - 12:15 p.m.
June 11 - Commencement Ceremony and Concert, 11:00 a.m.
June 16, 7 p.m. Community Forum on Elementary School Projects Plan, Mount Nittany Middle School
Board Meetings:
June 13 - 7 p.m.
June 27 - 7 p.m.
For a listing of upcoming events, please see our calendar:
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Greetings!
For May, we have lots of interesting stories and milestones -- the Teacher Feature's Mary Hershey makes chemistry come alive, State High senior is picked for U.S. Physics Team, athletic teams make news, everyone is invited to community forums about elementary school projects and much more.
Please remember that you can share this newsletter with your friends by simply clicking "Forward Email" at the bottom of this screen.
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Teacher Feature
Mary Hershey Makes Chemistry Light Up
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| | Mary Hershey works with a student. |
Gummy bears may not be obvious lab material, but in Mary Hershey's chemistry class, they're popular fodder for demonstrations.
When they go up in flames, students are fired up - to the point of applause. "You are taking the gummy bear, and when it's done, it's charcoal," Hershey said. "And there's been light and heat, and it's absolutely spectacular." Such displays help Hershey's Chemistry 1 and Advanced Chemistry classes at State High understand concepts and connect with a challenging subject. "Just last week, we lit methane bubbles to teach them combustion," Hershey said. "So you can teach chemical ideas through demonstrations, and when the demonstrations are in their head, now you can draw on them to help teach and ask questions almost all year." Just as importantly, they pique students' curiosity and fuel their imagination. In other words, they make chemistry fun. It's an approach that has served Hershey well during her 28 years of teaching science at the high school. She's retiring in June, going out in style. State College Magazine named her one of its 2016 Teachers of the Year, along with two other district teachers, Lisa Harrington at Ferguson Township Elementary and Mary Robert at Radio Park Elementary. |
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You're Invited!
Community Forums on the
Elementary School Projects Plan
May 25 at Corl Street Elementary
May 31 at Radio Park Elementary
June 1 at Houserville Elementary
June 16 at Mount Nittany Middle School
The community is invited to learn more about and provide input on the District-wide Facilities Master Plan update focused on elementary schools. The district is pursuing an accelerated schedule to take advantage of significant state funding opportunities that would reduce the local tax effort necessary for funding these projects. Attend any of the meetings. Childcare will be provided. Learn more |
SCLAX Pink Out 
Courtney Kamens (l-r), Makayla Clemons, and Olivia Sneath, managers of the State High Boys' Lacrosse team, organized the first Crosse Out Cancer Pink Out at the Boys' Lacrosse game April 24. With a Pink Out bake sale of pink goodies they raised awareness and $400 for cancer research. They also contacted local businesses for assistance and organized pink T-shirts for everyone. Read More
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State High Senior Earns National Honor,
Joins 2016 U.S. Physics Team
State High senior Vincent Liu will never meet one of the teachers who helped him become an elite physics student. Theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, part of the team that created the first atomic bombs during World War II, died in 1988. His lessons, however, continue to inspire Liu. "One of my main ways to study is to read the Feynman lectures and try to derive his results myself," Liu said. Judging from a recent honor, his approach is working. In May, Liu was chosen for the 2016 U.S. Physics Team, one of 20 high school students selected on the basis of their results from the rigorous Fnet=ma exam process administered by the American Association of Physics Teachers. He's only the second State High student, after Susannah Burrows, to advance through the exam's two stages and make the team. Read more
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Seed Change Grant Grows School Gardens
The District received a grant of $26,335 from the National Farm to School Network Seed Change program last July. Seed Change jumpstarts activities that bring local food into schools and elevates food education for children. The grant was funded by the Walmart Foundation. Several vigorous school gardens already exist across the district but recently volunteers from Penn State Student Farm, PTO parents, and students helped set up the Ferguson Township Elementary school garden. State High Ag students are growing vegetable transplants for the elementary gardens, and a garden coordinator will be coordinating things this summer. The goal is to provide more student-grown produce for school cafeterias and incorporate school gardens into farm-to-school curriculum. Read more.
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Partnerships/Teamwork Help to Provide Integrated Mental Health Services
Time and again, teamwork leads to success in sports.
With fostering student mental health wellness, and much more at stake, the State College Area School District takes the same winning approach. Partnerships with the Penn State Psychological Clinic, Centre County Agencies and local providers are at the heart of the district's Integrated Mental Health Services, including a mental health screening process aimed at providing timely help to students in need. The IMH team strives to ensure all students have access to comprehensive mental health services and supports from prevention to intervention, and that families are supported in the process. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but the district makes student mental health a priority throughout the school year. Students have daily access to certified psychologists and counselors at every school, and a Home and School Visitor and Family Outreach Specialist that continue to serve as a critical liaisons between the district and families. The monthly Straight Talk series provides parents with valuable information about social and behavioral issues. At State High, counselors and administrators have supported the grassroots My Mental Health Matters student club. Read more
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Girls' Rugby Team is State Champ
State High's team is undefeated
Capping off their undefeated season the State High Girls' Rugby Team defeated last year's titleholder and then defeated their opponent to win the Division I finals. They competed in the nationals in St. Charles, Mo. for the Division I single-school national championship. Read more |
State High Jazz Festival Turns 40
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| | State High Jazz Band plays in Europe |
The State College Jazz Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary in style by inviting the famous Woody Herman Orchestra to the party.
On May 13, the acclaimed State College Area High School jazz band welcomed bands from Bellefonte Area High School, Hollidaysburg High School, Huntingdon High School, Glendale High School and Mount Nittany and Park Forest middle schools for adjudication performances in the afternoon with guest adjudicators Rich Victor and John Kovalchik, former State High band directors. Read More
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Corl Street Elementary
Project for Ecuador
Penny drive raised funds for earthquake relief
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| | Corl Street students count the donated change. |
Maria Terneus-Hayes' third grade class at Corl Street Elementary raised more than $1,500 for Ecuador earthquake victims not just to help or simply to do a good deed - but also out of love for their teacher.
Terneus-Hayes hails from Ecuador. Though her family members survived, the devastating April 16 magnitude 7.8 earthquake leveled the seaside town of Pedernales where she visited her grandparents as a child.
In solidarity, her students and Kelsey Gill's neighboring third-grade class organized a school coin drive, learning about Ecuador, making posters, talking to other classes about the disaster and collecting $1,020 over a week. After students counted the final tally of coins and bills, they received an anonymous donation of $500.
One day, they even wore yellow, blue and red - the Ecuadorean flag's colors - like the nation's citizens did en masse six days after the earthquake as a show of unity.
"The fact that these kids have gone through so much to help because they knew I'm from Ecuador, it made me cry," Terneus-Hayes said. Read more
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Mid-Penn Conference All-Stars
Girls' Lacrosse Mid-Penn Conference All-Stars (left to right) Erika Lose, Brielle Curtis, Caroline Friberg, Megan Klaus and Sally Stahl. Not pictured is Kristina Hughes. Friberg is a First Team All-Star; Klaus, Curtis and Lose are Second Team All-Stars; and Hughes and Stahl are Honorable Mention All-Stars. Stahl is the first freshman in program history to be named to a conference All-Star team.
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 State High Project Updates
The project remains on schedule.
- Classroom Unit A foundations are being formed for concrete.
- Masonry continues on Unit B, with walls going up and door and window frames taking shape.
- Several foundations are complete for Unit C, and concrete floor slabs are being poured.
- The former driver's education tower on the north side has been dismantled.
- Work continues on renovating North Building space for a data center. Access to back of the building continues to be restricted.
- Air quality tests will be conducted in both buildings on June 1.
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We hope you enjoy this news from SCASD. Let us know your comments at info@scasd.org. Sincerely,
State College Area School District
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