Fall 2012 Newsletter - Exeter Township School District

Exeter Township School District
Vol. 38 No. 1
Fall 2012
From the Desk of Dr. Beverly Martin, Superintendent
Greetings to the Exeter School
Families and Members of the Community!
As I write this article the first quarter of the 2012-2013 school year is already coming to a close. Thus far, it
has proven to be a year of great challenge and opportunity! We are facing
yet another difficult budget year, but
I’m pleased that, through careful and
strategic planning, we have been able
to preserve our critical programs and
staff. It is teachers who make a difference in the learning that students take
from our programs, and we must ensure
that we continue to hire and retain the
best. We are in the middle of a myriad
of very exciting but demanding curricular changes that will help our students
grow as 21st century learners, and we
need strong, effective teachers to make
learning challenging and relevant.
As many of you are aware, we
moved our administrative offices from
their former smaller location on
Perkiomen Avenue to a larger space in
the former M.L. Lausch School. We
were able to move our technology and
our special education departments to
our new offices, freeing up needed
space for instructional programs at the
high school and at Reiffton School.
Since we still had rooms unused at
Lausch, we were able to enter into a
(continued on page 2)
Lorane Volunteer Helps Obtain Library Funding
Through a letter written by Roseva Doaty, a grandmother of a former Lorane student and library volunteer, the Lorane library received a $3,500 donation from J.P.Mascaro for new
library materials. Saying “Thank You” to J.P. Mascaro are: (back row, left to right) Roseva
Doaty, Principal Christy Haller, and Librarian Devon Guarderas; (front row, left to right)
students Johnathan Newnham, Rohan Talagadadeevi, Brooke Esposito, Brianna Esposito,
James Danko, and Sara Rose Gibney. Read more about this in Good News on page 5.
Owatin Creek
Named 2012 Green
School of the Year
The Owatin Creek Elementary
School has received the 2012 Green
School of the Year Award from the
U.S. Green Building Council, Central
Pennsylvania Chapter. The USGBC is
committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and
energy-saving green buildings. The
award was presented to representatives
from EI Associates, the architectural
firm which designed the school, at a
ceremony on October 19 at Armstrong
Industries in Lancaster, PA.
Awards were presented to winners
in nine categories. EI Associates entered Owatin Creek in the categories of
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Project of the Year
and Green School of the Year.
Owatin Creek School houses students in grades K-4 and opened in August of 2011. The building has
achieved LEED® Gold Certification
under the LEED® for Schools 2.0 Version. The School qualified for eight
points under Sustainable Sites, four
points under Water Efficiency, fourteen
points under Energy and Atmosphere,
four points under Materials and Resources, twelve points for Indoor Environmental Quality and four points under Innovation and Design Process. Some sustainable features include: ground source heat pumps; daylighting and views; low flow fixtures
and aerators on faucets; roof mounted
Photovoltaic Solar Panels; and a vegetative wall.
2
Healthy Changes in
Our School Cafeterias
Gloria L. Clay, SNS
Food Service Supervisor
The Healthy Hunger-Free Act of
2010 was passed by the federal government to improve the nutritional value
of school lunches. Some of the changes
as a result of the new law are listed
below.
 Students must choose a fruit or
vegetable as part of their meal in
order to receive the meal price.
 Age-appropriate calorie levels
were established.
 A wider variety of vegetables,
including dark green and red/
orange vegetables and legumes
must be offered weekly.

Fat-free or 1% milk (flavored
milk must be fat-free) must be
served.
 At least 50 % of grains must be
whole grains.
 The amount of protein in meals
allowed per week is reduced.
 Lower sodium limits were established.
We’re always working to offer
ETSD students healthier and tastier
choices. Seasonal locally grown fruits
and vegetables are purchased, and we
currently serve 80% of our grains as
whole grains. School meals are a great
value and a huge convenience for busy
families too! Please feel free to view
the menus on the district web-site. This
year you can log into eFunds to check
student meal account balances and
transactions at no charge. A convenience fee will be charged for on-line
deposits.
ETSD Newsletter
From the Desk of Dr. Beverly Martin
lease agreement with Manito, Inc., a
state approved school for secondary
alternative education students. There
are three Manito staff members and
about 6 students that we welcome as
neighbors at Lausch.
Owatin Creek Elementary School
has been awarded LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design)
Certification at the gold level, which
entitles the district to additional reimbursement from the state. In addition,
the school has been recognized as
“Green School of the Year” by the central PA chapter of the U.S. Council on
Green Buildings. We are very proud of
the recognition that our new school has
earned, and of the work that went into
making it a reality.
We also lost our assistant superintendent, Dr. Warren Mata, to a new
position as superintendent of the
Schuylkill Valley School District. We
are happy for him and for his new district, but we also miss him very much.
We are currently in the search process
for his replacement, and hope to have a
new assistant superintendent in place in
the spring of 2013.
(continued from page 1)
While budget concerns continue to
be prominent in our minds, we are
proud of the many efforts that our staff
and administrators have made to secure additional funding for programs
and resources the District cannot afford. We have a small but resourceful
cadre of volunteers who work tirelessly to raise money for the Exeter Community Education Foundation. The
proceeds from those efforts go directly
to provide classroom technology,
grants for special classroom projects
and scholarships for deserving Exeter
students who enroll in highly competitive universities. The Foundation has
funded over $75,000 of resources for
classrooms and scholarships over the
last four years. Please consider giving
it your support through its fundraisers
throughout the year! In addition,
teachers have successfully applied for
grants from a variety of sources, including area businesses.
Have a wonderful rest of the
school year, and my thanks for your
continued support of our district, our
schools, and our students and staff!
Senior Citizens Tax Rebate Program
The Volunteer Tax Rebate Program for senior citizens is designed to provide
assistance for senior citizens in paying real estate taxes and to provide the district
with citizens’ skills and time. The program is open to residents of Exeter Township School District, 60 years of age or older, who have a household income of
less than $35,000 and are owners of residential property.
In exchange for a tax credit, senior citizens can volunteer to work in a classroom, library, cafeteria, office, playground, or outside groundskeeping. Interested
senior citizens should submit completed “Senior Volunteer Application” and
“Financial Needs Assessment Information” forms to the business office at 200
Elm Street. The law requires that new volunteers must also submit the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check, the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, and the Federal Criminal History (FBI fingerprint).
After a senior is approved for the program, a record of volunteered time
must be kept by the volunteer and the department/building office. Every hour of
service provided to the district (maximum of 100 hours from January 2013 to
June 2013), $5.99 of credit will be set aside towards a rebate on the next fiscal
year’s property tax bill (maximum of $599.00 or the amount of property tax if
less than $599.00). At the end of the district’s fiscal year (e.g. end of June 2013),
the business office will calculate the dollars earned during that fiscal year, review
the amounts with the superintendent, present the total list to the Board of School
Directors for approval, and issue a rebate check after the volunteer has paid his/
her next fiscal year property tax bill (e.g. issued in July 2013).
Fall 2012
Exeter Community Education
Foundation Provides Financial Support
for Programs and Scholarships
During the 2011-12 school term ECEF generously donated $32,700 to the district to support programs and provide
scholarships. This funding goes a long way to provide resources that are no longer available through local, state and
federal sources. Specifically, $2,000 was used to provide two
scholarships for graduating seniors; $8,500 provided minigrants to teachers who submitted grant proposals; and $22,200
was used to purchase three i-Pod carts that each contain 30
i-Pod Touch units for classrooms, along with training for 18
teachers.
Financial support can only be sustained through parents
and residents supporting the fundraising activities of ECEF.
Those include the annual golf tournament in August, the Giant
and Redner grocery gift card sales, and the Gift with a Future.
(See below)
ECEF Needs Your Help and
One Way is the “Gift with a Future”
Show your appreciation to someone who is a special mentor in your child’s life. This could be your child’s teacher,
coach, librarian, bus driver, family member or daycare provider. It could simply be to honor your child for excellent academic performance, service achievement, positive attitude or
ANY accomplishment. Whatever the reason, your donation
will help the foundation’s efforts to enhance and enrich student
programs throughout the Exeter Township School District.
This is a great holiday or anytime gift to show that you care.
Printed notification informs the honoree that a donation has
been made to ECEF by the donor. All contributions are tax
deductible to the extent allowed by law. ECEF is a 501(C)(3)
entity.
Visit www.ExeterEducationFoundation.org for a “Gift
with a Future” form or for more information on ECEF.
The Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF) is
a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the education
of students in ETSD. ECEF is an independent public charity
dedicated to encouraging community-wide participation and
philanthropy, including post-secondary scholarships, in order
to enhance and expand enrichment opportunities of all students. The mission of the Foundation is to secure resources for
our students to support programs for which sufficient funds are
not available from federal, state, and local public
sources. These programs will
promote excellence in learning
and mobilize community support for enhancing the quality of
education in the Exeter Township School District.
3
JHS Students Learn About
the Dangers of Cyber-Bullying
John Arty, Assistant Principal
On Thursday, October 4 the Exeter Junior High APT
sponsored Detective Chaz Balogh to speak to the student body
on the use of social media and the law. Detective Balogh is
from Luzerne County and has worked in this role for the past
24 years. He is also a computer crime specialist and is actively
involved helping schools in Luzerne County cope with four
recent teenage suicides. In addition, Detective Balogh is a
trained Olweus instructor, and therefore, was the perfect match
to speak to ETJHS students. Detective Balogh used a nononsense approach to help educate students about cyberbullying, bullying, sexting, and the law. His message was well
received by the students, faculty, staff, and administration.
The faculty is using the assembly as a springboard into
one of many Olweus (anti-bullying program) classroom meetings throughout the school term. All JHS students are actively
involved with Olweus and meet as a homeroom on a bimonthly basis. The teachers/staff instruct students with the
strategies to use when they are a victim or a bystander of a
bullying situation. The Junior High is now in the fifth year
using the Olweus model. A special thanks to the APT and officers Kim Ericke and Melissa DeMotta for helping to fund
this important assembly. Also, a special thanks to teachers
Karen Hartranft and Dena Burkhart for making the recommendation to invite Detective Balogh to the Junior High. They both
attended a conference at the BCIU last spring in which Detective Balogh was the main speaker.
“Students Helping Students” Club
Welcomes New Students to ETSHS
The “Students Helping Students” Club, under the direction of Advisor
Deborah Lambdin, hosts a reception for all students who are new to
ETSHS.
Fall 2012
Reiffton School To Celebrate 10th Anniversary
Dr. Gregory Fries, Principal
Most of us share the feeling that as
we get older, time seems to speed up.
This may explain why it’s so difficult
to believe that this year already marks
the tenth anniversary of Reiffton
School. When Reiffton opened on
Tuesday, August 26, 2003, a total of
641 students walked through the doors
of our beautiful new building for the
first time! That year we had 12 sections of fifth grade and 12 sections of
sixth grade. Those students are now 20
and 21 years old!
Each year the previous sixth grade
class chooses a theme for the incoming
fifth and sixth grade classes. This
year’s theme is “Explore the Wonders
of Learning.” Our teachers work hard
to encourage our students to “explore
the wonders of learning” and to see for
themselves all of the opportunities that
learning opens up for every person.
Every year our goal is to provide a
quality education for our students and
challenge them to utilize the
knowledge and skills learned here, applying them throughout their lives at
school and beyond.
Over the years we have been extremely fortunate to have had many
outstanding Artist in Residence opportunities for our students. The theme of
this year’s Artist in Residence program
is Pennsylvania German Culture/
Remembering the Herbein Farm. This
will be a yearlong celebration of Reiffton’s ten-year anniversary. In the fall
and spring we will have art students
from Kutztown University come to
Reiffton to work with our students for
Arts Day. This year’s visiting artists
will be Joel Gori and Rich Houck.
They will be creating an original story
involving the Pennsylvania-German
heritage. On Wednesday, June 5, we
will be having our PennsylvaniaGerman Culture Day with invited
guests demonstrating skills typical of
the Pennsylvania-German culture.
Activities will include square dancing,
broom making, spinning on a wheel,
hex sign painting, music, singing, and
more.
Our Morning Reading Club con-
tinues to be a great success. This year,
in addition to hosting reader’s theatre
and providing time for students to read
quietly each morning, our Morning
Reading Club will serve as the springboard for the “Readers Are Leaders”
initiative. Some of the Reading Club
students will be volunteering their time
to help the community through reading. Students will read to therapy dogs
in person and will also be recorded
with an i-Pod as they read. These recordings will be put on CDs for the
purpose of training rescue and therapy
dogs. Often dogs have difficulty listening to commands given by children
and women. This will give the dogs an
opportunity to learn to listen to children’s commands. The second activity
is through the Heifer Project, a part of
the Read to Feed program. Students
will work to raise money to buy chicks
to be raised by people in African villages.
In addition to following their interests in art, reading, and community
service, our students have fantastic
opportunities to explore the wonders of
learning music. They are already getting excited to show their friends and
families what they are preparing, and
our holiday concerts will set the spirit
for December at Reiffton. In order to
allow more space for parents and families to enjoy the concerts, we have decided to again have our concerts in the
senior high school auditorium. We had
over 900 people attend our winter concerts last year! Mrs. Claus, Ms. Kline,
and Mrs. Keebler have been working
very hard to prepare their students for
the first concerts of the school year.
This year’s sixth grade holiday concert
will take place on Thursday, December
6 and the fifth grade concert will be
held on Tuesday, December 11. Both
concerts will begin at 4:15 p.m. and the
doors will open at 3:45 p.m. Our students always work very hard over the
course of the first half of the year
learning songs and how to play their
instruments. Hopefully you can join
us in allowing them to share their accomplishments!
4
Exeter High
School Eagles
Alumni Association
Membership in the Association is
open to all Exeter High School graduates and lifetime dues are $10. Each
year 20 percent of the money donated
to the Association is distributed in
scholarships to graduating seniors. The
goal for this year is to award $6,000 in
scholarships.
Goals of the Association
1. Promote the support of alumni,
graduating students, staff, friends,
and the community.
2. Foster fellowship among the members for friendship and networking
to re-establish a close relationship
among the members.
3. Reconnect the graduates of Exeter
High School and support the development of the Exeter Township
School District for generations of
new students.
4. Initiate and encourage projects
which would benefit the students
of the Exeter Township School
District.
5. Establish a scholarship fund to
enable future graduates to continue
their academic careers.
The current officers are:
President
Larry Houp
1st Vice Pres.
Cindy
Formiconi Kohl
2nd Vice Pres. Brad Kissam
Secretary
Dawn Mohn
Treas./Historian Julie
Maurer Huckleberry
Publicity
Diane Arndt Benner
Comptroller
Bob Brizek
For more information phone 610779-7105 or visit the district website
www.exeter.k12.pa.us and click on the
Parents & Community link and then
the Alumni link.
ETSD Newsletter
5
We’re Proud of These Good News Items!
 Roseva Doaty, a grandmother of a
former Lorane student, has been volunteering in the Lorane library for many
years. She wrote a letter to J. P. Mascaro & Sons about the library, and their
company donated $3,500 for new library materials. Through their efforts,
they are giving Librarian Devon
Guarderas the opportunity to turn reluctant readers into lifelong readers,
see the excitement on students’ faces
when they discover the newest installment of a favorite series, and support
the classroom curriculum and common
core standards with brand new nonfiction e-books. All Lorane teachers share
the e-books with their students through
the use of their interactive white
boards. A sincere thanks is extended
to Roseva Doaty!
 Throughout the months of September and October, the SHS Spanish
Club collected costumes to be given to
the food pantry at Reformation
Church. Spanish Club participants
Steph Scheirer, Steven Piech and Katelyn Piech, along with the Spanish Club
President Jeff Crosby and advisors
Tammy DeFusco and Kelsey Billie recently went to the church to deliver the costumes they collected. The
drive was a huge success thanks to the
generosity of all of the families in the
district and the students and staff at the
SHS.
 The ETSHS Fitness Department
recently had students complete the
President’s Challenge Fitness challenge, which recognizes students for
their level of physical fitness in five
activities. They are curl-ups, shuttle
run, mile run, pull-ups or right angle
push-ups, and V-sit reach or sit and
reach. To earn this award, students
must score at or above the 85th percentile in all five activities.
The PE teachers want to thank and
congratulate all students for their positive attitude and effort. The following
students achieved the President’s Challenge Fitness Award: Grade 9 - Averi
Desjardins, Lexi Einsig, James Harkness, Keyshawn Slythe, Jessica Stout;
Grade 10 - Korey Brickel, Joannah
Einsig, Joe Evans, Marissa Gottschall,
Lexy Krufka, Jordan Napkora,Tori
Waldman; Grade 11 - Andrew Bennett,
Bryce Borneman, Oliver Knabb, Jordan Lewis, Eli Lopez, Tristan Watts;
and Grade 12 - Shyann Echols, Noah
Evanish, Ashley Hiltebeitel, Gabryele
Pochron, Lauren Ruhnke, Derek
Stump, and Maggie Wallner.
 JHS technology teacher Jason Zalno
was awarded a $500 grant from the
First Energy Corporation for a wind
energy unit, after being trained this past
summer in Bar Harbor, Maine by KidWind. KidWind is a comprehensive
interdisciplinary wind energy curriculum developed for middle and high
schools. The advanced, interdisciplinary wind energy curriculum incorporates a wide range of subjects and the
lessons use real, unbiased scientific
data and real-life scenarios to help students learn to think critically so they
can make informed decisions about
wind energy in the future. The grant
funds will be used to purchase materials to build miniature wind turbines
and test equipment to test the efficiency of the turbines and blade designs
that the students will produce.
 The Orchestral Exchange began
four years ago under the direction of
SHS music teacher Brian Mishler. It
started with the ETSHS Orchestra hosting the Governor Mifflin SHS Orchestra. Students from the two schools collaborate for an exciting day of music
making, learning, and socialization.
This year Exeter musicians teamed up
with Oley students on November 13th.
The students rehearsed for two hours,
followed by an afternoon performance
for Reiffton and junior high students.
Later that day, performers heard a performance by members of the PSU
string department. During dinner, students had time to socialize and share
experiences with their peers from Oley.
An evening concert for parents and
members of the community concluded
the day’s events. The theme for the
ETSHS Orchestra's 2012-2013 season
is "The Great Russians." The first
presentation focuses on music from the
pens of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. Other works will include an
exciting overture by Meyer, some Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens, and Mozart.
 The “Exeter's Got Talent” show
sponsored by the SHS Students Opposed to Destructive Activities or
“SODA” club (formerly SADD) was a
huge success on November 14. A portion of the proceeds were donated to
the Exeter Police canine unit and the
Animal Rescue League.
 SHS English teacher Marijo Smith
recently published a novel. Karen
(Loeb) Heard, an Exeter Alum, graphic
artist and close friend of Marijo designed the cover. Angela Batluck, a
former ETSHS English teacher, researched and chose many of the quotes
that are used to begin each chapter. The
title of the novel is Broken Heart Trail
by Marijo Smith. All profits from the
novel will be donated to various organizations that help ease the burden of
families in Berks County suffering
from poverty, hardship, or loss.
 Senior Sarah Brzostek finished 12th
at the PIAA District III Championship
Cross Country race on October 24 and
took 42nd in the PIAA State Championships. She did a personal best, beating
her time by 15 seconds !
Sarah Brzostek
ETSD Newsletter
6
Are You Willing to Speak About Your Career?
The Academic Rigor Committee, the Guidance Department and the A.P.T. at the SHS are working on career initiatives to help students gain a better understanding of the careers available to them and the resources they will need to
succeed beyond high school. Beginning with the 2012-13
school year, this group will begin gathering a database of interested individuals who would be willing to be classroom
speakers or allow students to participate in a job shadowing
opportunity at the place of employment. There are plans that
eventually career panels could be scheduled so students have
the opportunity to meet face to face with various individuals
in a career field of their interest. These career panel presentations would be held during the school day. Four to five speakers would present a brief overview of their jobs and be available for a question and answer session. To begin, people who
are involved in the following areas are being pursued: Health
Science, Engineering, Science and Math, Business and Finance, Computer Information and Technology, Law and Government Services, Communications and Journalism, The Arts,
Construction and Home Repair, Sales and Marketing, Education and Hospitality and Tourism.
These career explorations will be directly tied to the academic curriculum. By having speakers come to the school and
by allowing students to participate in their work day, students
will be exposed to a wide variety of career options which will
help them when choosing and scheduling classes, and deciding
if or where they would like to further their education. If you
are interested in helping with this endeavor, please contact:
Anne Thomas, Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher and
Exeter SHS APT President, at amthomas@exeter.k12.pa.us;
Elizabeth Ziegler, Guidance Counselor at emziegler@exeter.k12.pa.us; or Serry Gallagher, Guidance Counselor
at sggallagher@exeter.k12.pa.us
You Are Invited!
National Honor Society and
Academic Hall of Fame
Induction Ceremonies
Sat., December 8
SHS Aud.
3 p.m.
Treats for Troops a Huge Success!
Dr. Palacios, a local dentist, and Dr. Petras, a local orthodontist teamed up with Owatin Creek to send Halloween candy to our troops overseas. Students were asked to bring in
candy donations to school on November 1st and 2nd. Although some were skeptical, students happily and excitedly
took on the challenge. On Thursday and Friday mornings,
teachers watched students bring in pounds and pounds of candy for our troops. Friday morning was a morning of anticipation, for every classroom placed their candy outside their door
to be weighed and their classroom participation was
tracked. The classes who had the most participants and the
most candy (by the pound) would receive an extra physical
education class. As the day went on, students worked diligently on letters, cards, and pictures to be included with their
candy.
The event culminated with a school-wide assembly on
Friday afternoon. Students had the amazing opportunity to
hear from Captain DiMartini and Marine Corporal McHugh
on what it's like to be serving overseas and receive care packages like the ones from Owatin Creek. (Corporal McHugh is
the son of fourth grade teacher Jayne McHugh.) Students
were recognized who had parents and/or siblings currently
serving overseas as well. Then the march began. Students
approached the stage in an attempt to fill a large American
flag box, made by Dr. Petras, with candy. So much candy,
1,071 pounds to be exact, was donated that boxes filled the
stage around the flag. Moreover, students filled a large box
with all of their cards, letters, and pictures. What a truly
amazing learning experience it was for everyone.
Students in Stephen Dibler’s third grade Owatin Creek class eagerly
Fall 2012
Introducing the New District Eagle and Logo
Thanks to SHS art specialist John White, the district is excited to have a newly
designed eagle and logos. (One of those logos is printed above.) John teaches digital
imaging and fundamentals of design and serves as the yearbook advisor. He was a
graphic designer at William Fox Munroe Inc. prior to earning a teaching certificate
from Kutztown University. Noticing that the district had been using numerous older
eagle designs and logos, John volunteered to create the new images. The fresh, attractive designs and eagle were used in the 2012-13 Activities Calendar and are being
incorporated in publications throughout this school term. Thanks to John White for his
willingness to share his talents and skills!
In an effort to save printing and mailing costs, copies of the 2012-13 Activities
Calendar were sent home with students and not mailed to all district households. If
you haven’t received a copy and would like one, visit any school office or the district
administrative office at MLLausch, now located at 200 Elm Street.
Students Design Fitness Plans Using i-Pods
Lorane third graders Gabrielle Hassler (left) and Savannah Mosteller use i-Pods, purchased
with ECEF funding, to research fitness plans. This project was created by PE teacher Mark
Ricketts. In the first day of the physical education class cycle, third and fourth graders research
and create individual workout routines and then try the exercises. In the class periods that
follow and after warming up, students perform their complete workout routines. They learn
about the need for rest during a workout and the need to vary the type of exercise.
7
Dec 6
6th Grade Holiday Concert
SHS aud
4:15 p.m.
Dec 6
7th Grade Winter Concert
SHS aud
7:30 p.m.
Dec 11
5th Grade Holiday Concert
SHS aud
4:15 p.m.
Dec 11
8th Grade Winter Concert
SHS aud
7:30 p.m.
Dec 13
SHS Winter Choral Concert
SHS aud
7:30 p.m.
Dec 14
J-wald Winter Concert
J-wald
2 p.m.
Dec 18
SHS Winter Orchestra
Concert
SHS aud
7:30 p.m.
Giant A+
Rewards Program
From October 2012 through
March 31, 2013, Exeter Schools have
the opportunity to earn cash through
the Giant A+ School Rewards Program.
After you register your Giant
bonus card, each shopping trip at Giant
using your BONUSCARD earns
CASH for our schools! Each month,
the amount of CASH awarded will be
updated on the Giant website. You
can track the amount of points you
earn for our schools by checking your
grocery receipt. Schools will receive a
check at the end of the program and
the money can be used for any of our
school’s educational needs.
Log on to:
http://www.giantfoodstores.com/aplus/
to register online or dial 1-888-4484642 to register your card over the
phone.
The I. D. numbers for the Exeter
schools are:
Jacksonwald
04225
Lorane
04226
Owatin Creek
05857
Reiffton
04223
Exeter Junior High
04228
Exeter Senior High
04221
8
Helping
You
Plan
Ahead
Due to Hurricane Sandy, it was necessary to close schools on October 29th
and 30th due to loss of electricity and
two inclement weather days were
used. As per the published district
calendar, Monday, March 25 and
Tuesday, March 26 will now be
school days and not
part of the spring
vacation.
Fall 2012
Inclement Weather & Emergency Reminders
A decision to close school or have a late start due to inclement weather is usually made by 6 a.m. As soon as the decision is made, information will be disseminated to students, parents, and staff using Connect-ED, the telephone messaging
service. Messages for late starts and closings are forwarded to home phone numbers. Emergency communications, including early dismissals, will be forwarded to
all phone numbers listed for each student. This includes a parent’s home, cell, and
work phone, if provided to the district.
Closing, late starts, and early dismissal announcements will also be broadcast
on local television and radio. The following television stations will air the message:
WFMZ Channel 69, WCAU Channel 10, and WPVI Channel 6. Radio stations that
will announce the message are: 830 AM, 1340 AM, 107.5 FM, 96 FM, 99.9 FM, Y102 FM, and 100.7 FM. The information is also available at www.wfmz.com.
It is imperative that young children know where they should go and what
they should do if a parent is not at home and there is a need for an unexpected
early dismissal. In order to avoid a problem, please
prepare children for this potential circumstance.
If there is a need to delay the opening of school for
two hours, a modified schedule will be used for kindergarten. The adjusted schedule will be: AM kindergarten (11
a.m. to 12:50 p.m.) and PM kindergarten (1:50 to 3:40
p.m.).
WHAT’S INSIDE . . .
Greetings from the Superintendent  Owatin Creek Named Green School of the Year
Exeter Community Education Foundation News  Reiffton Celebrates “Ten” with Many Activities
Healthy Changes in the Cafeterias  Good News Items  Senior Citizen Tax Rebate Information
The Exeter Township School District is an equal opportunity educational institution and in compliance with the requirements of Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The district will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, national origin, disability, or handicap. For information regarding civil rights or grievance
procedures, contact Don W. Cramer, Compliance Officer, 3650 Perkiomen Ave., Reading, PA 19606.
Questions, suggestions, and/or information concerning
the NEWSLETTER should be directed to Don W. Cramer,
Editor, in the Instructional Support Services Office.
POSTAL CUSTOMER
EXETER TOWNSHIP
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Carrier Route Presort
Non-profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Reading, PA
Permit No. 810
BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
Robert Quinter, Jr., President
Dr. David Bender, Vice President
James Brady, Jr. • Russell Diesinger
Carole Kutscher • Patricia O’Brien-Pieja
Dr. Kathleen Muzevich • Joseph Staub • Andrew Yawger
Appointees: Anne C. Guydish, Secretary
Kathlene M. Tschudy, Treasurer
The NEWSLETTER is the official publication of the
Exeter Township School District
Reading, PA 19606
200 Elm Street
Telephone: 610-779-0700 FAX: 610-779-7104
www.exeter.k12.pa.us
Beverly Martin, Ed.D., Superintendent