PHRC hearing information and District responseSchool Board reorganizes Front (left-right): Bob Feather, Irene M.
Boyle, Tina Hollenbach, Cyndie Bowman.
Back: David Marrington, Adam Kovitz, Stephen Pirritano, John Allen, Marty Sullivan. At the Board reorganization meeting December 5, Marty Sullivan was, once again, appointed Board President and Stephen Pirritano was appointed Vice-President. Otherwise, the composition of the Board remains the same for the upcoming calendar year. The next scheduled meeting of the full Board is Tuesday, January 8 at 7pm in the Maple Point Board Room. Holiday thank-you videoNeshaminy School District
would like to thank the many, many friends, family members, students,
staff members, business owners and neighbors who generously donated
money, food, gifts and time to make a brighter holiday for many of our
Neshaminy families. The ever-growing holiday drives are a testament to
their necessity and the caring nature of our community.
December We Build Futures Award winners
Pearl S. Buck Elementary SchoolRotating showcase highlights diversity and culture
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Pearl
S. Buck Elementary is now using their front lobby showcase to display
various artifacts from the different cultures represented within
the building. For the past month, the staff brought in pieces such as
pottery, sculptures, photos, art, and dolls to represent the parts of
their heritage to which they most connect. In the future, up to eight
Buck families per month will be able to share their own heritage by
loaning similar items for display in the showcase. |
Students make Career Connections
On November 30, the third
and fourth grade students welcomed ten parent presenters to the 3rd
annual Career Connections Day. The students observed and participated
in presentations that included construction project manager, probation
officer, auditor, veterinarian, corporate controller, special agent,
data analyst, scientist and an officer in the National Guard. Following
the career presentations, the students gave staff feedback using Google
Docs regarding the presentations and also created thank you cards for
the presenters.
Joseph Ferderbar Elementary School
Who do you think you are?
Ferderbar fourth graders
started a new project-based learning activity called Immigrant Suitcase in December.
They started by taking a virtual tour of Ellis Island on scholastic.com
to experience how more than 12 million immigrants made their first stop
in America between 1892 and 1954.
Walking Club wraps up the fall season
The end of November
marked the last day of the season for the very successful Walking
Club at Ferderbar Elementary School. During the fall and spring,
students can participate in this voluntary activity and track their
progress by scanning a QR code into iPad with help from Ferderbar
recess aides.
Herbert Hoover Elementary School
Staff song turns the holiday tables
A dozen Hoover staff
members took to the stage during a holiday singalong to deliver their
own hilarious rendition of The
Twelve Days of Christmas. This one featured a few phrases
commonly heard from students this time of year and was a huge hit with
the crowd.
Club gathers winter necessities for donation
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Students earn Hour of Code certificates
Students in all grades
across the District participated in the Hour of Code (see
article below in the Neshaminy HS section), and Hoover was no
exception.
These students earned their participation certificates from the
world-wide online technology education phenomena in early December.
Walter Miller Elementary School
Random Acts of Kindness nets $2500 in gift donations
On December 11, the
entire second grade from Walter Miller Elementary School visited the
Target store in Levittown to purchase holiday items for Family Services
Association clients. The students raised $2,500 through "Random Acts of
Kindness" to provide gifts and holiday items for sixteen children in
families facing financial difficulty who otherwise would have not been
able to afford them. Shopping lists in hand, they negotiated the aisles
at the store with help from teachers and parent volunteers, did the
math to stay within budget, and learned an important lesson about the
value
of giving.
Class joins online Hour of Code seminar
In early December, the
International Hour of Code and Computer Science Week were celebrated
supporting computer science skills in K-12 education worldwide. The
students in Kathryn Alford's 4th grade class at Walter Miller ES
participated with students across the nation in two live webinars put
on by Seesaw (interactive online software used at Neshaminy) as part of
this effort. The first one was "Jobs in Computer Science and
Engineering" which included a live Q&A. The second webinar was
titled "Girls and Coding." Neshaminy District Technology Coach Jim
Gosser was on hand to facilitate the program.
Albert Schweitzer Elementary School
Library features bright new wall murals
The Library Media Center
at Albert Schweitzer Elementary has a new colorful, child
literature-themed look thanks to funds raised during recent Scholastic
Book Fairs. An artist was hired to paint the murals with coordination
provided by Library / Academic Enrichment specialist Yazmine Adamson.
Parents learn reading strategies at workshop
On Wednesday, December 5,
families from Walter Miller Elementary, Herbert Hoover Elementary, and
Albert Schweitzer Elementary joined together to learn new strategies we
practice at school to improve spelling and decoding skills. The
strategies are used in the Neshaminy Title I Program - Reading
Horizons. This provides opportunities for students to learn how to find
phonetic patterns in words. Matt Crismon, a certified Reading Horizons
trainer, offered many tips to parents during this workshop. A similar
workshop was held at Ferderbar Elementary School for Tawanka and
Ferderbar families.
Craft show promotes C.A.R.E.S.
The staff C.A.R.E.S.
(Cooperation, Attitude, Respect, Empathy, Safety) committee hosted a
free craft night for families on November 29. Students and their
families made a variety of holiday-themed crafts that they were able to
take home and enjoyed some hot chocolate!
Tawanka Elementary School
Fourth grade delivers holiday cheer to Attleboro
The fourth grade from
Tawanka Elementary School visited the Attleboro Community in Langhorne
on December 18 to bring some holiday music to the residents there along
with some crafts they made.
FBI representative promotes cyber safety
On December 6, Federal Bureau of Investigation Senior Outreach Specialist Tanya Jeter visited Tawanka ES to present important information about cyber safety on websites and social media. She presented two age-appropriate assemblies.
Kindergarten transforms into GingerbreadLand
The kindergarten pod at Tawanka was once again magically transformed into a sea of red & white decorations as the staff and students celebrated the holidays with creativity. Parents and guardians were invited to school to help decorate actual Gingerbread Men and participate in other fun activities.
Maple Point Middle School
8th grade learns financial management
The 8th grade BCIT
students at Maple Point MS received certificates for completing the
Junior Achievement course. Junior Achievement's purpose is to inspire
and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Volunteers
from Wells Fargo taught students financial literacy skills necessary
for the 21st century. Topics included exploring career and education
options, budgeting, using credit, understanding credit score, and
financial risks.
Fifth grade provides holiday cheer to over 300 seniors
On December 20, the fifth
grade at Maple Point Middle School hosted nearly 300 grandparents and
senior friends for the annual Senior Soiree. They students and their
guests enjoyed tables full of donated holiday food together in the
cafeteria. They interviewed their guests -- asking them about
their lives and any advice they might offer -- while recording the
responses in writing. As a finale, the fifth-grade band, chorus and
orchestra performed selections of holiday music in the auditorium.
Poquessing Middle School
Interact delivers holiday thanks
The Poquessing MS
Interact Club started the holiday season off right by thanking the
Feasterville Fire Company and the Lower Southampton Police Department
with plates of homemade cookies and treats. The students also gave
treats to unsung heroes around the school like crossing guards,
cafeteria workers, custodians and bus drivers.
Animal shelter representative visits
A representative from the
Women's Animal Center (formerly the Women's Humane Society) visited the
fifth-grade Team RT at Poquessing on December 19 to speak about their
facility and mission. The students crafted toys for the shelter dogs
and cats.
NHS Science Club directs rocket launch at Poquessing
Fifth-grade rocket scientists at Poquessing Middle School went to work on some high-flying air-powered creations on November 29 with help from members of the Neshaminy HS Science Club. Once they completed their rockets, they launched them in the cafeteria with enough noisy excitement to rival a real NASA launchpad.
Carl Sandburg Middle School
Students participate in Robotics Coding Competition
Over 60 students in all grades that participated in the first annual Cyber Robotics Coding Competition (CRCC) in Pennsylvania. The competition was an online event to promote STEM and coding using a gamified platform with virtual robot simulations. Students that participated were engaged in a competitive and fun environment where they got to experience technology, software development and engineering topics.
A boot camp ran from mid-October to early November to teach the platform at various levels. Students who finished boot camp were then invited to participate in the qualifier that ran from mid-October to the end of November. The following students moved onto Qualifiers and received a certificate from CRCC: Gavin McManus, Jay Gu, Landon Mitchell and Andrew Neiman. The advisors are Sandy Romberger and Caitlin Koczynski.
Starbucks displays student artworks
Student artists at Carl Sandburg Middle School and their families crowded into the Levittown Starbucks on Lincoln Highway December 13 for an art gallery opening. The windows and walls of the coffeehouse are filled with selected paintings and drawings courtesy of a partnership forged by art teacher Brett Wallerstein last year.
“Last year this new Starbucks opened up, and I thought this was a great opportunity to do a community partnership," he said. "With the support of Principal Kelly, I was able to arrange this display and organize a family night. This is our second year in a row at Starbucks.”
As the students sipped hot chocolate and munched on baked goodies, they admired the works of their classmates along with their family members, friends and even some former students who showed up for the opening.
Addams Family musical really was a scream
One of the most-loved and
offbeat television sitcoms of all-time came to the stage at Sandburg in
December. The Addams Family musical featured two casts that brought the
story of this most unusual family to life in four colorful, energetic
performances (and one in-school performance).
Neshaminy High School
Future Business Leaders excel at regionals
Congratulations to 46 NHS
Future Business Leaders of America Regional Competition winners. The
competition was held at Delaware Valley University on Wednesday,
December 20. Along with Neshaminy, FBLA chapters from throughout Bucks
County competed in various business events. 43 Neshaminy FBLA
students qualified to compete at the state level in Hershey on
April 6, 2019.
FIRST PLACE WINNERS: Individual Events -- Julia Capaldi, Insurance & Risk Management; Sophia Capecci, Intro to Financial Math; Jack Toy, Networking Concepts; Neha Shirwalker, Spreadsheets. Team Events -- Steven Muller and Andrew Schmitz, Emerging Business Issues.
Barnes & Noble hosts NHS Book Fair Night
For the second year in a
row, the Neshaminy community enjoyed a fun night at Barnes & Noble
store in Neshaminy Mall for the Book Fair fundraiser on December 14.
The evening featured performances by talented NHS musicians and
singers, readings from NHS authors. Shoppers enjoyed Neshaminy-themed
red and blue frappuccinos in the B&N Cafe and participated in
raffles for great prizes.
Business classes tackle technology for the Hour of Code
Neshaminy once again
celebrated the International Hour of Code in early
December. Business, Computers and Information Technology (BCIT)
students at the high school explored job opportunities in the computer
science field, relative statistics for computer science college majors
and career areas for computer science in sports, construction,
agriculture, fashion, medicine, engineering, public safety and the
arts. They practiced JavaScript coding with exercises that taught
graphic positioning and design with variables.
Eighth grade BCIT students worked hard on their first Python programming experience, Toxic Jungle by Tynker, and in addition, students manipulated their Google websites using HTML code. Seventh graders explored lessons covering drag and drop coding. They worked with Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch and Code Monkey, as well as other interactive exercises. Fifth grade students used drag and drop visual blocks to write code to solve a series of puzzles with popular animated series. Fifth grade students also completed popular dance moves and songs as their programs responded to timed events and user input in order to create dance animations with code.
Hour of Code is an international effort designed to reach millions of students all across the globe for the purpose of demystifying computer science and showing that anybody can learn the basics.
Eighth grade BCIT students worked hard on their first Python programming experience, Toxic Jungle by Tynker, and in addition, students manipulated their Google websites using HTML code. Seventh graders explored lessons covering drag and drop coding. They worked with Illumination’s Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch and Code Monkey, as well as other interactive exercises. Fifth grade students used drag and drop visual blocks to write code to solve a series of puzzles with popular animated series. Fifth grade students also completed popular dance moves and songs as their programs responded to timed events and user input in order to create dance animations with code.
Hour of Code is an international effort designed to reach millions of students all across the globe for the purpose of demystifying computer science and showing that anybody can learn the basics.
Roadies stay busy, collect awards
Fresh from a winning
weekend at the Pennsylvania Thespian Conference in November, the NHS
Roadies were right back on stage December 5 with a rescheduled
performance of All I Really Need to
Know I Learned by Being a Bad
Murder Mystery and Golf,
Marriage and Other Murderous Matters on
December 13 and 14. The troupe won a Superior rating for their
production of James and the Giant Peach at the conference. Ricky Moyer,
Olivia Andrews and Tony Mamie were all named to the Hall of Fame.
Olivia Andrews was chosen for the Individual Event Showcase. Brielle Lewandowski and Ricky Moyer were awarded theatrical scholarships. An unprecedented eleven troupe members received superior ratings for their Individual Musical Theater Events qualifying them for Internationals including Connor Watson, Haley Brennan, Adrianna Fisher, Ricky Moyer, Olivia Andrews, Maddie Galvelis, Evan Sleppy, Wyatt Brennan, Melanie Moyer, Greg Drapkin and Brielle Lewandowski.
Olivia Andrews was chosen for the Individual Event Showcase. Brielle Lewandowski and Ricky Moyer were awarded theatrical scholarships. An unprecedented eleven troupe members received superior ratings for their Individual Musical Theater Events qualifying them for Internationals including Connor Watson, Haley Brennan, Adrianna Fisher, Ricky Moyer, Olivia Andrews, Maddie Galvelis, Evan Sleppy, Wyatt Brennan, Melanie Moyer, Greg Drapkin and Brielle Lewandowski.
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NHS joins Eagles charity holiday partyA group of Neshaminy HS students were on hand at the Eagles practice facility in South Philadelphia in early December to help out with the Barkann Family Healing Hearts Foundation Holiday Hearts Party. The Barkann Family Healing Hearts Foundation provides financial aid to families who are in need due to recent adversity or tragedy. The Foundation is operated by Ellen Barkann and her husband, Philadelphia sportscaster Michael Barkann. |
Holiday clinic builds football skills
Middle and high school football layers from over 30 area schools attended the first-ever Neshaminy Football Holiday Clinic on December 27.
Tentative graduation date announced
The 2018-2019 Neshaminy
HS Commencement Ceremony has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 12 at 6
pm in Harry E. Franks Stadium. Please note that this date is subject to
change due to any possible excessive weather-related closures or delays
during the winter months that causes missed instructional time. The
rain date for the ceremony will be each
following evening at the same time.
| Neshaminy Update is published monthly during the school year and distributed to the Neshaminy community via email and web. To submit comments, suggestions or news items for consideration, please email Chris Stanley, Community Relations Coordinator. |
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Neshaminy School District
2250
Langhorne-Yardley Road
Langhorne,
PA 19047
Joseph
Jones III
Superintendent
(215)
809-6000
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Neshaminy
School Board
of Directors
Marty
Sullivan - President
Stephen Pirritano - Vice President
John Allen Cyndie
Bowman
Irene M. Boyle Bob Feather
Tina
Hollenbach
Adam
J. Kovitz
David Marrington |
Mission Statement
The Neshaminy community builds
futures by empowering each child to become a productive citizen
and a lifelong learner.
