CYSD E-News Weekly  
December 4, 2015 

A Closer Look
Central York High School's Approach to Customizing Education for 9-12 Learners 


 
Central York High School's faculty, staff and administration are continuously striving to find ways to empower learners in Grades 9-12 with opportunities to customize their high school education experience.

The Apollo Program is one way in which the High School is introducing this approach to students this school year. Here's how it works:
  • "Apollo" combines Art, English and Social Studies into one course.
  • There are three teachers - one for each of the above subjects - who collaborate to create one curriculum for the "Apollo" students.
  • Every student in Apollo acquires and practices eight research-based thinking skills (compare/contrast, contextualization, perspective, etc.) across all three content areas in a project-based environment.
  • Students do not move from one class to two to three, but remain in the Apollo class for four hours.
  • Projects are assessed with rubrics developed by the students, and each rubric is comprised of three of those eight thinking skills.
In addition to their projects, students in the "Apollo" program are challenged to self-organize by completing individual assessments for each thinking skill in all three subject areas - but only when they are ready for them and within the marking period.  

The "Apollo" program challenged teachers and administrators to reimagine education and remove barriers to student agency. The results have been felt by teachers such as Ward and, most importantly, our students.
 
Deborah Dadeboe, an eleventh grade student of Central York High School, said the Apollo program's removal of traditional scheduling and class structure enabled her to have more input into her learning.
 
"We choose the lessons we attend, how we will apply skills and concepts to our projects and set deadlines for ourselves," Dadeboe said. "Having the choice in the matter makes me want to learn, makes me want to come to school."

In addition to Apollo, please take a moment to view the video included, above, and learn more about the opportunities provided to our students throughout their high school experience.

(Note: The video, above, was produced by Diemo Productions, co-owned by 2005 CYHS Alumnus Greg Timmons).  
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COMMUNITY FLYERS NOW POSTED ONLINE

Flyers for upcoming and ongoing opportunities for CYSD families are now available on the district website and school websites.

Please be sure to visit our website to view & download information on great opportunities for students & families happening now in our community.


 Click here for more!
 
SCHOOL BOARD TO MEET DEC. 7 

The Central York School District Board of School Directors will hold its public Reorganization & Planning meetings Monday, December 7, 2015, at the Educational Service Center, 775 Marion Road, York.

The Reorganization Meeting will begin at 7PM. The Planning Meeting will begin at the conclusion of the Reorganization Meeting, at approximately 7:15PM.

During the Reorganization Meeting, newly elected Board members will be sworn in, and the Board will elect a new President and Vice President.

Meeting agendas are available online via the following link and at each meeting.

 
 
CYMS Will Host "Schoology Information Workshop" for Parents/Guardians of 4th-8th Grade Learners 
Please RSVP to attend this event via the following link: 


Help CYSD Invite OPRAH WINFREY To Keynote
District's 10th Annual Diversity Celebration 
 
 
The Central York School District Diversity Education Committee needs your help! We are inviting Oprah Winfrey to speak at our 10th Annual Diversity Celebration ~ via a video invitation you can view, above.

Please take a moment to view the video, then SHARE it with your friends, family and colleagues on social media. Make sure all posts include @centralyorksd and @oprah so that your posts appear in both the Central York School District and Oprah social media feeds. If you are sharing on Twitter, please use the #OPRAH so that you appear in her Twitter feed.

Thank you, and start sharing!!
 
Special Thanks to "The Link" - Central York's Student-Run PR
Agency, for the production of this video. 
Parents/Guardians Invited to Attend Upcoming "Mass Customized Learning" Forums  

Central York School District's School Board, Administration, Faculty & Staff, Parents/Guardians and Community members have been working together for the past few years to determine how we can best support our K-12 learners with a customized education experience designed to best meet each individual student's needs while preparing them for success in school and beyond.
Although a lot of the conversations about customized learning started with our Comprehensive Planning Process, and continued through several public Town Meetings and School Board meetings, we are still hoping for more opportunities to engage directly with parents/guardians about what this means for our schools. 

We are currently in the planning stages and talking about many different ways that we can provide the best learning experience for our students and families - and we definitely need input from our parents and guardians to help with this process!

Here are some upcoming opportunities to dialogue directly with the administration, learn more, share concerns and gain a better understanding of what MCL is - and is not.

MCL Parent/Guardian Forums
  • 11AM-12:30PM December 15

You do not need to RSVP for this session. All forums will be held in the Board Room of the Educational Service Center, 775 Marion Road, York.

If you unable to attend, we encourage you to contact Dr. Snell, Superintendent, at (717 ) 846-6789, ext. 1208, and schedule a time to speak with him about any questions or concerns you may have on this or any other topic. We hope you can join us!

Central York Aquatics Program Now Offers
Online Registration For Swim Sessions 
swimming-photos-header.jpg


Registration is now open for Central York School District's Winter Aquatics Program, and there are now two convenient ways for participants to sign up for sessions.

Register Online
Participants may pay with VISA, Discover or Master Card debit or credit cards. The Central York Web Store accepts online payments 24/7 through a secure site provided by RevTrak, a national credit card payment processor. You will need the following information to register: Your name, address, phone number, email address and the name & birth dates of any family member you wish to register. You can access the Web Store link to register by visiting our Aquatics webpage at: http://www.cysd.k12.pa.us/community/aquatics_department

Register By Phone
For participants without Internet access, or those must pay cash or check, please call Mrs. Jane Bauer, Aquatics Secretary at (717) 846-6789 ext. 1316. You will need the following information: Your name, address, phone number and the name & birth dates of any family member you wish to register. If there is vacancy in the desired program(s), you will be asked to mail in your payment to: Aquatics Secretary, 601 Mundis Mill Rd, York,
PA 17406. Checks should be made payable to "CYSD."

Click here to view and download a copy of the brochure. 


Join CYSD Faculty & Students to Celebrate
"Hour of Code,"Computer Science Education Week  
Central York School District teachers and learners of all ages will participate locally in "Hour of Code" events throughout next week. Hour of Code is an international effort to encourage people of all ages - anywhere in the world - to try coding for at least one hour during Computer Science Education Week (December 7-13, 2015).

Within Central York School District, the Central York High School student iTeam has created many resources to support faculty, staff, families and students interested in participating. Visit their website to explore information on Hour of Code ideas, links to fun sites for all ages, and more.

In addition, CYHS iTeam members will join other District faculty, staff and students in a free Family Coding Adventures event that is open to the community.  This event will be held Wednesday, December 9, at FuseYork (the old East York Post Office Building at 31 Mills Street, York, PA, 17402). Click here to view an event flyer.  

Roundtown Students Collecting Pantry Items

CYSD Collecting Gently Used Music Instruments for Student Musicians In Need  

trumpet.jpg Not sure what to do with the violin or flute your child no longer plays? Consider donating your old, gently used musical instruments to Central York School District to benefit student musicians in need. 

Central York School District is now collecting used musical instruments that can be refurbished, cleaned and donated to students who want to participate in band or orchestra but have financial barriers to purchasing an instrument of their own. (Please note - the District is not collecting pianos at this time).  Music Department faculty and staff will refurbish, clean and distribute donated instruments to students as needed throughout the year.

If you wish to donate an instrument, please bring it to the Educational Service Center, 775 Marion Road, York, PA, during business hours (7:30AM-4PM).  All donations are tax-deductible.  

Please contact Julie Randall Romig, Director of Communications and Marketing, with any questions about this program at (717) 846-6789, ext. 1292 or via email at jromig@cysd.k12.pa.us.