Voices of the Valley

Garnet Valley School District Community Newsletter
Voices of the Valley
Winter 2015
Volume 24, Issue II
Live, Work, & Learn
Now having the pleasure to reflect back on this winter, it’s unbelievable just how
impactful it was! Two hour delays, school closings, the cancellation of after school
activities seemed to be the norm rather than the exception the last few months.
However, with the support of this extraordinary school community, our teachers,
support staff, and administrators continued to provide our students with the very best
of the best education! From our students winning state and national awards in
academics and extracurricular activities to our teachers winning accolades for their
expertise in teaching, coaching, and directing, Mother Nature did very little to diminish the learning
in Garnet Valley.
Please enjoy reading about the phenomenal success that our district achieved this winter. Voices in
the Valley not only memorializes that our schools and students continue their strong tradition of
excellence, but it is also is a testimony to how fortunate we are to live, work, and learn in Garnet
Valley. Happy Spring!!
Dr. Marc Bertrando Instructional Calendar & The Start of 2015-2016 School Year
Most years the Instructional Calendar is approved at the monthly school board meeting in March
with very little discussion or fanfare. However, this year was different. Labor Day happens to occur
on September 7, which is the latest date that it can fall in the calendar. Traditionally, students have
returned to school on the Tuesday after Labor Day. With Labor Day occurring so late, there was
discussion about whether the students would return to school before or after Labor Day. Knowing
that there might be some strong feelings related to this decision, the district decided to poll the
families and staff.
The survey was simple and respondents needed to answer only one question; My family prefers to
begin the school year before or after Labor Day. Almost 3000 people responded to the survey and
over 60% preferred that school starts the Tuesday after Labor Day.
All of the other decisions related to the calendar were made during meetings held with the Calendar
Committee. This committee is comprised of parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, and
administrators. The Instructional Calendar will be approved at the March Board meeting and posted
on the web on Tuesday, March 17th.
Mrs. Pat Dunn
The Musical “Oliver!” is a Hit at Garnet Valley High School!
Oliver!, the musical adaption of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, first debuted in London in 1960
and then followed on Broadway in New York in 1963. Set in 1830’s London, it is the story of a lonely orphan boy in search of a home and love and his encounters with a colorful cast of characters and
entertaining situations that ultimately lead him to be reunited with his family.
(continued on page 16)
Page 2
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
GVES Jump Rope for Heart
In honor of February being heart healthy month, Garnet Valley Elementary and their Physical
Education Department completed it's annual Jump Rope For Heart event for the American Heart
Association. Staff, Students and parents were invited to
the gym to take part in different exercises that increased
Mrs. Hayes' 4th grade Class after the event &
their heart rate. As a school, GVES fundraised a total
Mrs. Kelly Owens H&PE Teacher of $10,756 for the American Heart Association.
Mrs. Kelly Owens
Colin Carr- 4th Grader
Drew Van Horn- 4th Grader GVMS Family Literacy Night
February 5th was a truly “awesome” night for Garnet Valley Middle School as we hosted its second
annual Family Literacy Night. Literacy Night was designed to enhance the connections and
collaboration between the home and school while showcasing students’ achievements across all
content areas. This year more than 200 students and their families came out to participate in a
variety of activities including stop motion animation storytelling, math and literacy games, make and
take crafts, and so much more! For our student writers, several local authors led discussions on the
writing and publishing processes, and in keeping with the Road to Awesome theme of the Middle
School, the cafeteria underwent an absolutely incredible transformation into a gallery of student
work. Student creations such as essays, genealogy projects, hero projects, science labs, math
poems, and every type of art imaginable lined the walls and filled the tables highlighting the
extraordinary talents of our middle level learners. Yes, February 5
was an “awesome” night for Garnet Valley Middle School!
Dr. Ken Acker
Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 3
National Geographic State Bee (BSES & GVMS Semifinalists)
Bethel Springs Elementary School’s fifth grader Anagha Pai
(pictured left) and Garnet Valley Middle School’s seventh grader
Brent Nevy have both been notified by the National Geographic
Society that they are semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2015
Pennsylvania National Geographic State Bee, sponsored by
Google and Plum Creek. The contest will be held in Harrisburg on
Friday, March 27, 2015.
This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee
competition, which is now in its 27th year. School Bees were held
in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout
the state to determine each school champion. School champions
then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National
Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited
up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states,
District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools
and U.S. territories to compete in the state Bees.
Each state champion will receive $100, the “National Geographic Atlas of the World, 10th Edition,” a
medal, and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee
Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 11-13, 2015. The
national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the
Society. The national champion will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all expenses
paid, to the Galápagos Islands, where he/she will experience geography firsthand through up-close
encounters with the islands’ unique wildlife and landscapes.
National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD will air the 2015 National Geographic Bee
Championship final round, moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, on Friday, May
15, at 8 p.m. ET. The final round will be aired later on public television stations.
National Geographic Society Press Release
PMEA District 12 5/6 String Fest
Congratulations go out to the following Garnet Valley
Elementary School, Bethel Springs Elementary School, and
Garnet Valley Middle School students who participated in
Tuesday's PMEA District 12 5/6 String Fest at Kennett High
School. They did an amazing job!
See picture left (left to right)
Cece Tran, Manya Ajith, Ashleigh Lustgarten, Eleri Phillips,
Kevin Glenn, Zora Mardjoko, Jashvi Desai, and Eve
Keener.
Mrs. Jenna Burke
Page 4
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
Pica’s Restaurant Surprises 1st Grade Class with Pizza Party
Part of Concord Elementary School’s first grade curriculum is
learning how to write a friendly letter. Mrs. Beth McCarry and
her first grade class thought it would be fun to write to some of
the students’ favorite companies! Seven year old, Brandon Baird wrote to Pica’s Restaurant
(located in Upper Darby, PA) about his love of Pica’s pizza. Owner, Mr. Frank Pica Jr. and his
daughter Lori surprised the class with a pizza party. The students were thrilled with the delicious
surprise! They learned good things can happen when you take the time to give a compliment.
Mrs. Beth McCarry
GVES - Pretzels for Patients
Garnet Valley Elementary School joined over 29,000 other schools across the country by
participating in a fund raising effort to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. These funds will
go to promote research and provide aid for families of patients with these illnesses. On Friday,
March 6, we celebrated our efforts with a soft pretzel for each student and staff member. Many
thanks for your generosity in support of our efforts and showing your children the importance of
charity to benefit and support others. We raised over $600 last week!
Dr. Jason Kotch
GVMS- Jags Help the Lions
Donate old glasses to the Lions: "Jags help the Lions!" The Early Act Club is collecting eyeglasses
to donate to the Lions Club. Donate old prescription eyeglasses so they can be recycled and
reused. There will be a collection box in the middle school front office and in the cafeteria. Glasses
will be collected until spring break. Thanks for your help!
GVMS E-Alert
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
Page 5
Read Across America Week
Read Across America Day is a nationwide reading celebration that takes
place annually on March 2 which is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Across the
country, thousands of schools participate by bringing together kids and
books, and Concord Elementary School hopped on board by celebrating a
Dr. Seuss book each day. On Monday we kicked off the week with crazy
hat day. On Tuesday we hosted a number of mystery readers and guest
readers from the school district and the community who dropped by to
read to our students. Wednesday we had "Dress your Best day"...both
staff and students enjoyed dressing up in celebration of Read Across
America. Classes also had a chance to win prizes by answering Dr.
Seuss trivia each morning. The boys and girls enjoyed reading all week
long in honor of Dr. Seuss.
Mrs. Vanessa Stroup
Bethel Springs Elementary School staff and
students celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss
on March 2nd as the start of Read Across
America Week. All were encouraged to don
their most Seussical coiffs and chapeaus!
Parents, GVSD staff, community members, and
even local sportscaster, Rob Ellis, came to
share their favorite stories with students. All of
the week’s activities were focused on the joy
and value of reading!
Mr. Steven Piasecki
Favorite Hat Day started the Read Across America celebration at Garnet Valley Elementary School
but the Dr. Seuss fun continues all month with March Book Madness. Each week, classes vote for
their favorite Dr. Seuss books in a
bracket tournament. Students
vote in homerooms and track the
tournament through their Study
Skills classes. One Dr. Seuss
Book will ultimately be the GVES
Champion. Who will win, we will
see!
Dr. Jason Kotch
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VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
Recent Revisions of State Assessments
Several changes have been implemented by PDE (PA Department of Education) in the last two
years regarding the PSSA tests that have affected that which will be now be assessed at all tested
grades. The revisions include a shift in content and emphasis for several of the grades, from grade 3
to 8. The changes pertain to both mathematics and ELA (English Language Arts) assessments.
On Monday, February 23, 2015, the GV curriculum supervisors met with parents/guardians of students in grades 3 to 5 from both BSES and GVES . Mrs. Susan Iocco addressed the mathematics
and science assessments and Mr. Anthony Gabriele addressed updates for the ELA assessments.
Each supervisor reviewed curricular changes that have been implemented at the elementary level.
Additionally, each shared samples of released items so that parents could develop an understanding
of the rigor of the assessments as well as the change in types of questions that will be presented to
students in the upcoming assessments in April 2015. Numerous questions were answered during
the workshop.
On Thursday, February 26, 2015, a similar workshop was held at GVMS. The format of the presentation was the same as elementary workshop.
The presentations, which include a link to the PDE website, are posted on each of the three school’s
websites. Parents/guardians unable to attend the workshops who are interested in the new changes
to the tests as well as the Pa Core Standards shifts are encouraged to review the presentations.
Mrs. Susan Iocco
Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award
Franklin Mint federal Credit Union Foundation, in partnership with Franklin Mint Credit Union and the
Delaware County Intermediate Unit recognize outstanding and innovative teachers in Delaware
County. Congratulations goes out to Concord Elementary School teacher Mike Simone for being
selected as a Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. Mike is one of 19
educators in the county to receive this award. Mike will be officially recognized at the Partners in
Education Celebration on April 30th. Way to go Mike!!!!
Dr. Marc Bertrando
Mike Simone Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award Mr. Simone and his First Grade Class Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 7
Gifts From Garnet Valley
Alex Patton, Corina Brito, Michelle Barnes, Corrine Driban, Allie
Miller, Jackie Sever, Maureen Sullivan, Sarah Ristine Jenna Hostetler, Katie Shoemaker, Lexi Kozin, Andrew
Dawson, Jake Arters, Max Selverian, Dan Lanham
Emma Blake, Jackie Sever, Lady Jag, Sean Burke,
Blake Farrell The Peer Counselors Club at Garnet Valley High School recently wrapped-up its 7th annual present
drive, Gifts from Garnet Valley. The event, which took place from December 1st to December 16th,
benefits City Team Ministries of Chester, Pa and the district’s community outreach program, Heartsto-Homes. Rallying support from teachers, students, support staff, administrators, and community
members, the Peer Counselors collected enough funds to ‘adopt and shop’ for 65 children. In addition, they were also able to provide a very generous donation to the Hearts-to-Home program, which
is dedicated to assisting families in need throughout the district.
Gifts from Garnet Valley was not the only present drive within the district, however, At Garnet Valley
Elementary School the faculty, staff, and parents were also able to collect enough donations to
‘adopt and shop’ for 72 children during their 9th annual present drive, which also benefits City Team
Ministries. All gifts for both present drives will be distributed to families in need throughout Delaware
County this Holiday Season.
Mr. Michael Longo
Super Fresh Surprises 1st Grade Class with Milk and Cookies Party
Part of Concord Elementary School’s first grade
curriculum is learning how to write a friendly
letter. Mrs. Beth McCarry and her class thought it
would be fun to write to some of the students’
favorite companies! Seven year old, Ethan Kang
wrote to Super Fresh (located in Kennett Square)
about his love of milk. Mr. Scott Jacobi (store
manager) and two of his employees surprised the
class with a milk
and cookies party.
The class learned
interesting milk
facts and donned
milk mustache
stickers. They learned that when you write a nice letter you get
something sweet in return!
Mrs. Beth McCarry
Page 8
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
News-O-Matic Below is a photo of Ms. Ruoff's 3rd grade class at Garnet Valley Elementary on News-O-Matic, an
on-line newspaper for kids that focuses on non-fiction reading. The class was selected to choose the
stories for the day. They spent about 45 minutes sharing ideas and talking with Russ Kahn, the
Editor In Chief of News-O-Matic. The articles the students ended up choosing to publish were titled
"Denmark Wants the North Pole" and "One Tricky Bird". During the Skype session they also
discussed if circus animals should be banned and some of the traditions of Hanukkah. Articles about
these topics are also featured on News-O-Matic.
Dr. Jason Kotch
Chartwells Food Services
Chartwells, Garnet Valley’s food service provider, regularly promotes
exciting food choices encouraging students to make healthy
decisions. For Example, on Personal Pizza Day students were
allowed to choose their own healthy toppings. Would it surprise you
to know that black olives were the topping of choice? New options to
come include Top Your Burger, Fruit Ice, and Waffle Bars with fruit
toppings.
March is National Nutrition Month. This year we are celebrating "Love Salad" promotions
featuring different salads as an entree options. Please check our Food Services web page for the
days we feature these salads. We are also having two fun Chef to School events at the Middle
School on the 18th and at Concord on the 19th.
Bob Ballister, Food Service Director
Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 9
GVES Mileage Club
GVES 5th Grade Top Runners (Left to Right)
Matthew Pulcinella & Ethan Everitt
GVES had another successful year of Mileage Club!
Students had the opportunity to run or walked laps on
the GVES walking trail in the fall. With the help of
GVES parent volunteers and Physical Education
Teachers all laps were recorded for prizes!
Approximately 5.5 laps around the GVES Walking trail
is one mile. The following students had the most laps
in their grade. In fifth grade- 1st place was Ethan
Everitt with 113, 2nd place was Matthew Pulcinella
with 110, in fourth grade- 1st place was George Kuney
with 129, 2nd place was Nick MeGill with 111 and in
third grade- 1st place was Zachary King and Luke
Schneeweis with 90 and 2nd place was Matthew Pun
with 87. The classes that had the most laps were the
following: Mrs. Carey's 5th grade with 544, Mrs.
Hayes' 4th grade with 801, and Mrs. LoCastro's 3rd
grade with 630. As a school, GVES ran a total of
12,586 laps approximately 2,288 miles!
Mrs. Kelly Owens
Buddy Benches
In January,
Bethel Springs
Elementary
School staff and
students held a
dedication
ceremony to
mark the
installation of
two Buddy
Benches in the school’s playground. A “Buddy Bench” is a place
for students to sit when they are seeking other students with
whom to play. All students participated in lessons to know
exactly how the Buddy Bench should be used.
Funds for the Buddy Bench were raised partly by the students
themselves, along with generous contributions from the BSES
Home and School Association and REACH 211. To add a
personal touch, a contest was held for students to design a sign
that would go behind each Buddy Bench. Pictured above are
our two contest winners—fourth grader Kaitlyn sharp and fifth
grader Vincent DeJohn.
Mr. Steven Piasecki
Bethel Springs Elementary School Buddy Bench Garnet Valley Elementary School Buddy Bench Page 10
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Volume 24, Issue II
There’s Much to Buzz About in Bethel Springs
In January Bethel Springs held a school spelling
bee in order to select students who would go on
to compete in the regional Scripps Spelling Bee
held in February at the DCIU. Pictured from left
to right are: Sanjana Balaji (Grade 3 winner),
Rathna Reddy (Grade 4 winner and school bee
champion), and Sathvik Chadive and Aaadarsh
Balaji (Grade 5 winners). Only our 5th grade
students were eligible to participate in the
regional bee at the DCIU. Fifth grader Aadarsh
Balaji placed third in the regional bee and
GVMS student (and BSES alum) Aditi Sridhar
placed second. We are proud of these
students! We thank BSES sponsors Mrs. Tara
Allen and Mrs. Heather Flynn for giving our
students this opportunity!
Mr. Steven Piasecki
February is National Children’s
Dental Health Month. Mr.
Guidetti’s first grade students and
their fifth grade buddies
participated in a lesson conducted
by local dentist and BSES parent,
Dr. Lance Panarello. Dr.
Panarello taught students about
the importance of taking care of
their teeth and about the work of
dentists.
Through the efforts of Mrs. Lynn Cashell and her 4th grade students, the staff and students of BSES
were treated to a special assembly with the Phillies Phanatic. With his usual zany antics, the
Phanatic entertained the crowd, but he also imparted a message about the importance of reading.
Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 11
Nature Trail Owling
A group of 25 students and parents braved a cold January night to go owling on the BSES Nature
Trail. The evening was facilitated by our resident bird and nature expert, Mr. Brian Quindlen. In
addition to the outdoor adventure, the group participated in a lesson led by a representative of the
Audubon society. This was arranged by BSES Nature Trail Committee chairperson, Peg Courtney.
A lot of cool and interesting owl facts were shared and the lesson included a live owl as well as an
experiment involving owl pellets. There were no owl sightings on the Trail, but it was still an
interesting and memorable experience for all!
Mr. Steven Piasecki
GVMS Good Day at Science Olympiad
The Garnet Valley Middle School Science Olympiad team, who competed on Wednesday, March
4th, in the South East Regional tournament, came in 6th. Congratulations to the students below; we
wish them well at the state tournament on April 25th.
Sai Mamidula and Vikas Rana -- 1st place in Bio Process Lab
Michael Kuoch and Justin Rheinstadter--1st, Crave the Wave
Jashvi Desai and Nathan Chen -- 4th, Entomology
Jeffrey Lin and Bethany Ho-- 4th, Fossils
Jeffrey Lin and Michael Kuoch-- 4th, Meteorology
Michael Kuoch and Sai Mamidula--1st, Road Scholar
Matt Mangine and Jashvi Desai-- 4th, Simple Machines
Justin Rheinstadter and Neeraj Shenoy-- 4th, Solar System
Abhinav Singh and Josh Shoemaker--1st, Keep the Heat
Team members, also deserving recognition: Eddie King, Serena Kothari, Matt Toner, Dylan Tran,
and Josh Wong, and alternates Eileen Feng, Paddy Prasad, Maitreyi Naikwadi, Eleri Phillips,
Aafreen Pattan, Afrah Riaz, Sarah Rossi, Arjun Manjunath, Shiva Ilayanambi and Tanuj Gaikwad.
Ms. Carolyn Kunze
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 12
Volume 24, Issue II
Strategic Technology Planning Committee Update
Increasing access to technology is essential for our students as they prepare for the future. Having a
personal learning device, such an iPad, Chromebook, or laptop, is a way to empower our students to
maximize their full potential and ensure their college and career readiness.
Understanding not only the importance of developing a long-term, strategic technology plan but also
understanding the magnitude of its effects on the district in the years to come, a technology planning
committee was formed of all stakeholders in the district. This committee is comprised of 30+
students, parents, Board members, classroom teachers, and support staff, as well as building and
district level administration. The committee is truly representative of all grade levels and content
areas of our district. The Technology Planning Committee has met on three occasions (December
4th, January 8th & 29th) and has a final meeting of the year scheduled for May 27th.
The committee’s goals are listed on the following page.
The committee used The National Educational Technology Plan’s “five essentials” as a framework to
develop a blueprint to move the Garnet Valley School District forward and for it to continue to be a
model for other districts. The National Educational Technology Plan offered a model of learning
powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five areas: learning, assessment,
teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. The committee used these five areas as a backdrop to
discuss our current instructional practices, level of collaboration among staff and students, and how
our technology is currently integrated into our classrooms. More important to the long-term plan, the
committee outlined goals and objectives in those same areas to refocus our district for the future.
Numerous hardware and software options for the classroom were examined throughout the
meetings, as well as evaluating several Learning Management Systems and our current productivity
and communication system. An in-depth analysis of our high school’s Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) policy was performed, with our high school students providing valuable feedback and
guidance to move forward.
The committee concluded our most recent meeting with productive discussions surrounding our
district’s technology procedures and policies, including social media guidelines for staff and
students, technology acceptance forms, and a parent/guardian informational letter for using Google
Apps for Education, which our district has implemented over the last few years.
The Strategic Technology Planning Committee’s final meeting is scheduled for May 27, 2015 and
will include topics such as “Technology Boot Camp” (August 24th-27th); on going ACTS (Acquiring
Classroom Technology Skills) professional development classes, and protecting student data.
I want to thank all the teachers, administrators, School Board, parents, and students who
volunteered for the committee and to those that took time out of their busy schedules to complete
surveys and provide feedback. This Strategic Technology Plan could not have materialized without
the hard work and dedication of all those involved.
Mr. Samuel Mormando
Director of Technology
Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 13
Strategic Technology Planning Committee Goals
The Strategic Technology Planning Committee’s goals are as follows:
•Develop a multi-year plan (5 years)
•Assess our infrastructure needs
•Choose the right hardware & software for students to use in the classroom
•Choose how to pilot new hardware, software, etc.
•Ensure that technology works to support curriculum and instruction
•Create a collaborative, ongoing professional development plan for all staff
•Communicate with all stakeholders throughout the entire process
•Balance cost-effective and cost-saving strategies with best educational practices
District Registration for Residents - Online Forms
Incoming families wishing to register their child for school in the Garnet Valley School District, may
now download all of the necessary forms from our website. These forms can be completed
electronically and printed or they may be printed then completed by hand. Either way, the registrant
is still required to register in person while supplying all of the necessary documentation. The online
forms shall prove to be more efficient by eliminating the need to pick up registration packets in
person. Look for the dropdown for “Registration Office” on our website under “Our District”.
(The Annual Kindergarten Registration will still be conducted at Concord Elementary School.)
Mrs. Christine Jones
Concordville Rotary Club Donates Dictionaries
The Rotary Club of Concordville Chadds Ford delivered their annual donation of dictionaries to all
third grade students in Garnet Valley Schools on Thursday, December 18.
Carol Swerden, Treasurer, and Terry Dougherty, Foundation Board member and New Generations Committee
member, met with several third grade classes to present
the dictionaries.
The Rotarians talked with the students about the club's
motto, service above self. They explained how Rotary
works to raise money and then gives the money to the
community. Events like the Chadds Ford Pumpkin Carve
help to fundraise. The club supports local schools and
organizations and even supports a school in Haiti. Making the donation of dictionaries was very appropriately
timed with it being the holiday season.
Jason M. Kotch, Ed.D.
Page 14
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Visit us on the Web at: www.garnetvalleyschools.com
Email: schoolweb@garnetvalleyschools.com
Monday, March 23rd at 6:30 PM
Garnet Valley Middle School
Important Meeting held for parents of 5th grade students. You
will receive information from the GVMS staff about the middle school program, so that you can assist your child in making
a smooth transition to this next phase of his/her school years.
Volume 24, Issue II
Thursday, March 19th, at 7PM
GVES Gym
Grade 2 Parent Meeting at GVES - Parents/
Guardians of second grade students are invited to
an informational meeting about the transition to
3rd grade at Garnet Valley Elementary. GVES staff
members will share information about the transition and about 3rd grade followed by a self-tour of
the building. We hope you can join us!
Please call the GVES Office at (610)579-4150 with
any questions.
Voices of
the Valley
Garnet Valley School District
Community Newsletter
Published by :
GVSD
80 Station Rd.
Glen Mills
PA
Second Grade Math Night:
The Concord Elementary Home & School Association
is very pleased to sponsor the 6th annual Math Night
for our second grade students. This special night
will be held at the Concord Elementary Cafeteria on
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 from 6pm to
7:30pm. The goal of this event is to encourage the
love of math in our children by having them participate in some hands-on, fun math activities, games
and puzzles. There will be prizes during this FREE
event, so sign up now!! A parent or guardian must
attend with each student.
To sign up, please email Cynthia Robinson @
cynuconn92@yahoo.com
Volume 24, Issue II
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Red Cross Blood
Drive: We need you to
help the American Red
Cross and local hospital
patients by donating blood
at the Garnet Valley Elementary School Blood
drive on Friday, March 27 from 12:005:00pm. To sign-up go
to www.redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor
code: gves.
SAVE THE DATE:
CES Annual Auction: Concord's Annual
Auction is coming up on Friday, April 10.
They have great classroom and community
baskets as well as live auction items.
Page 15
Dates from the HS:
March 20th – Band Expo
GVHS Auditorium @ 7:00 pm
March 24th – March 27th
Mid-term Exams
GV Solo Festival - Sat, April 11, 2015
Open to all Garnet Valley band, orchestra,
and piano students in grades 5-12.
Perform an instrumental solo for music adjudicators. Students will receive written
feedback and a participation medal. Signups due by March 25.
The annual silent auction will be here before we know it--the date for this
year's biggest party will be Friday, April 24th. Stay up-to-date on everything "auction" in the weeks leading up to the big
event by "liking" BSES Silent Auction on Facebook!
VOICES OF THE VALLEY
Page 16
Oliver!
(continued from cover)
Volume 24, Issue II
Photos Below
On March 6-8 Oliver! debuted on the Garnet Valley Stage, despite the challenge of a snow storm
that delayed opening night. Included in this performance were over 200 students, grades K-12 performing on the stage, along with high school students performing in the orchestra pit, working in the
production crew, and behind the production of sets that were as well done as any on Broadway.
The Garnet and White cast of characters with alternating students in lead roles included some of
the following: Fagin (played by Mikhail Kaba and Marco Newsome), the con artist who leads a band
of child pick-pockets, The Artful Dodger (played by Meghan Arters and Cara Greco), who is Fagin’s
loyal partner in crime, Nancy (played by Emily Murphy and Valentina Giribaldi) who is torn between
her love for her boyfriend, the cruel Bill Sykes(played by Kyle Erwin and Jake Arters), and her desire
to help Oliver Twist (played by Ryan Nealon and Jenna Kitchen), who she has grown fond of and
wants to save from the dangerous circumstances he has found himself in.
Over 2,500 plus patrons attending the four shows enjoyed the unique portrayals of these, as well as
other characters that round out this heart-warming story. Together with the chorus of Fagin’s gang,
the orphans and workers, they all belted out some of the classic songs well known from this show:
“Consider Yourself”, “As Long As He Needs Me”, “Food, Glorious Food,” “Oliver!“, “Oom-Pah-Pah”,
and “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two”. Each night’s performance brought the audience to their
feet for applause during the final curtain calls!
Director, Heather Arters said “I was so proud of the cast, crew, parents, volunteers, and audience
for making the show work out and allowing the kids to have all of their performances, though one a
night later, in spite of the weather. I will miss all of our seniors, but I am looking forward to Footloose and The Music Man next year”. Mrs. Arters will say goodbye to 34 seniors many of whom
have been with her through all four years of high school musical productions, and together turned in
about 134 shows between them. And they will miss her! Be sure to come out for the 2015-16 season of musical performances by the Garnet Valley Performing Arts Association at the Garnet Valley
Nora Reiss, Parent Contributor
High School. They are always a delight!
GVSD Board of School Directors:
Rosemary Fiumara, President
610-459-2302
Tracy A. Karwoski,, Vice President
610-485-6320
Mary Kay Beirne
610-361-0058
Bob Anderson
610-459-0783
Maria Deysher
610-299-8869
Greg Chestnut
610-283-5037
Scott Mayer
267-690-8425
Ralph Goldbach
215-908-6100
Richard Jones
610-662-8816
Seated with the Board:
Marc Bertrando, Ed.D.
Patricia Dunn
Vincent Citarelli, Ed.D.
Michael Puppio, Esq.
Superintendent
Assistant Superintendent
Assistant Superintendent for Human
Resources & Staff Effectiveness
Board Solicitor
John Scully
Treasurer
Margaret F. Brown
Secretary
Nancy O. Ward
Supervisor Human Resources