Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Division of Federal Programs honors the top five percent of performing Title I schools in Pennsylvania. This year, Willow Hill Elementary School was selected as one of 168 schools as a “2017 Distinguished Title I School.”

Last spring, Willow Hill was designated as a “2015-2016 Title I Reward for High Progress School.” This placed Willow Hill in the highest five percent of Title I schools in the state, based on aggregate progress in closing the achievement gap in reading and mathematics for PSSA combined for the All Student group and for the Historically Under performing Student group.  In addition, to achieve this designation, Willow Hill met all four Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) that included: test participation for all students, attendance rate for all students, closing the achievement gap in mathematics and reading for all students, and closing the achievement gap in mathematics and reading for Historically Under performing students. 

This week the Abington Board of School Directors recognized and honored the Willow Hill students, staff, Principal, Mr. Damon Jordan, and the administrative team for this accomplishment. Willow Hill will be honored as a “2017 Title I Distinguished School” at the Title I Improving Schools’ Performance Conference on January 30, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Additionally at the Conference, Dr. Sichel and Mr. Jordan will be presenting on our “Opportunities to Learn” Initiative with a specific focus on Willow Hill Elementary School.

Dr. Sichel and Mr. Jordan pose in the photo with students, staff, and parents at Willow Hill.

Highland Elementary School held a Day of Service activity in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. yesterday.  Faculty, students, and families assembled care packages to benefit the Cradles to Crayons nonprofit that provides essential items to children living in homeless or low-income situations.

For the past eleven years, faculty, students, and families of Highland have exemplified the dream and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by participating in a Day of Service at the school.  Beginning on Monday, December 19, 2016, Highland launched a drive to collect donations for Cradles to Crayons.  Students donated socks, hats, gloves, scarves, gently used coats, and toiletries. 

Faculty, students, and families of Highland signed in, created banners, and assembled the care packages yesterday.  The recipients of these packages will benefit from the efforts of their time and compassion.  What better way to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., an awesome, innovative thinker and humanitarian?

Highland’s Annual Martin Luther King, Jr.  Day of Service is officially registered on the United Way’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service website.  The organization provided the Highland volunteers with t-shirts. 

Students and teachers today at Willow Hill Elementary School created and performed an energetic, wonderful assembly to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Kindergarten students performed “This Little Light of Mine”; first grade students performed the wonderful “The Crayon Box”; second grade students performed “Dr. King’s Dream – What a Wonderful World”; third grade students performed “His Dream Lives On”; fifth grade students performed “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars; and sixth grade students performed “Stand by You.”  In addition, a student from each class was given the Willow Hill Elementary Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award who best exemplifies Dr. King’s philosophy of courage, dignity, compassion, and humility on a continuous basis.

Copper Beech students attended a whole-school assembly today where they celebrated the life and teachings of Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. and learned what they can do to live his dream through demonstrating C.A.R.E.S. (Cooperation, Attitude, Respect, Empathy, and Safety) and resolving conflicts peacefully.  Students performed songs and poems for peace and watched a video reminder of the school’s anti-bullying rules.  Students who exemplified the values of Dr. King were recognized with Peace Awards.

First grade students in Mr. Todd Shuster’s class at Roslyn Elementary School are learning and understanding “place value” to the 10s place, 100s place and even 1000s place. The students are learning how to compare numbers to determine which is larger. The number scroll is a method for practicing numbers and recognizing patterns. The students completed charts that have been taped together to create a long scroll of numbers.

Each student begins with a hundreds chart that is a grid of 100 squares. The standard chart contains 10 rows with 10 squares in each row. The layout helps first graders easily identify patterns in numbers. For example, the digit in the ones place is the same down each column. The first column from top to bottom is: 1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81 and 91. The students can see how the numbers repeat as they look down the columns. The more hundreds charts that get added to the scroll, the higher the final number.

The first graders in Mr. Shuster’s class participated in a Number Scroll Contest that introduced and reinforced the concept of place value. The students set goals and worked hard to achieve silver (700) or gold status (1,000), as they completed their number scrolls and scrolled their way to fame. Here they are proudly displaying their scrolls, almost all of which achieved gold status!

The two pictures are the first grade students showing off their scrolls with Mr. Shuster, their first grade teacher and Dr. Osborne, Principal of Roslyn School.

McKinley Elementary is taking the Follett Challenge! This program, sponsored by Follett Learning, was created to find and reward schools for their work applying technology, content, and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy, and promote critical thinking. As part of the competition, we created a short video about our celebration of reading inspired by the book The One and Only Ivan. Now we need your help to win part of a $200,000 prize package!

Please support us by viewing our video and voting for our submission via the following link: https://follettchallenge.com/videos/846. Twenty percent of our total score is based on how well we spread the word about our video and earn votes. You can cast one vote per day January 23rd-27th, so please visit often!

Thank you for your support. Your vote could make the difference in helping McKinley win the Follett Challenge!

Mr. Price, a sixth grade teacher at Copper Beech Elementary School, led a group of students to perform a day of service on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The group picked up trash on the fields behind the school.

Click to view the agenda on the BoardDocs website

Abington Senior High School Sculpture/Ceramics students, Yanira Gonzales Rivas, Elisabetta DiSalvo, and Maddy Hill will be showing their work in Tyler School of Art’s 7th Annual “Clay Programs of Excellence in Philadelphia Area High Schools” exhibition. The show runs from January 12th until Sunday January 29th, 2017 when a closing reception will take place from 2:00-4:00 pm with demonstrations and tours of the crafts areas in Tyler’s new building. Tyler School of Art
Crafts/ Ceramics Dept. is located at 2001 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122

At the School Board meeting this week, the Board, Mr. Berrios, and Mr. Tagliaferro were pleased to present and recognize 20 Abington Senior High School students for their accomplishments in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2017 based on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and the National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test (NMSQT). 

The Board honored as National Merit Commended Students: William Abel, Leah Barbacane, Eileen Burner, Samantha Gable, Clara LaBrake, Ryan Lancaster, Andrew Nolan, Abigail Serridge, Aleksandr Sherstyuk, Peter Van Buren, Margaret Wermeling, Hunter West, and Maya Wills.

Selected by the National Merit Scholarship Program and honored by the Board as SemiFinalists were:  Margaret Davis, Roni Fishbein, and Lillian Sall, who now are considered for Finalist status. 

Selected and named as Scholars or Honorable Mentions in the 2017 National Hispanic Scholar Recognition Program and honored by the Board were:  Nicholas Cerdera, Alan Garcia, and Hunter West. 

Lastly, every year several outstanding students, such as Emily Elson, are considered as a candidate for Special Scholarships provided by corporations and business organizations. To be considered for a Special Scholarship, students must meet the sponsor’s criteria and the entry requirements of the National Merit Scholarship Program and submit an entry form to the sponsor organization.  Students in the Special Scholarship program will be notified in the coming weeks of their scholarships.

Abington received recognition on the College Board’s 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll based on data from 2014 to 2016. The annual AP District Honor Roll recognized Abington for increasing access to Advanced Placement course work while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on the AP Exams.

In 2014, 322 Abington students completed at least one AP exam; in 2016, 425 students completed at least one AP exam. In 2016 Abington students completed 1128 AP exams with 84% scoring 3 or higher. 

Abington is one of only 433 school districts in the United States and Canada to be honored by the College Board with this award.  Abington Senior High School principal Mr. Berrios made a presentation on the award at the School Board meeting this week;  his presentation PowerPoint can be viewed with the materials from the January 10, 2017 School Board meeting on the school district website – www.abington.k12.pa.us.

Copper Beech Elementary School held a school-wide “PAWS to Party” celebration to recognize students who completed the school’s three-month “PAWS to Read” reading challenge.  Students who read independently for 15 minutes each day from October through December were invited to attend this fun celebration, which is a play on the word “PAWS” (pause) since the school’s mascot is the Cougar.  Each grade level partied for one period during the day where students participated in a variety of fun activities to celebrate their efforts.  Prizes of books and journals were awarded to students during the day who met the challenge.  It was hoped that this celebration of reading will inspire more students to participate in the school’s additional “PAWS to Read” program over the next three months.

Last Friday, nine 8th grade string students from Abington Junior High School participated in the annual PMEA String Fest held at Lower Moreland School District. The students rehearsed throughout the day under the direction of guest conductor Mr. Ronald W. De Grandis. The day concluded with a concert performance in the evening for family and guests. The students from the junior high school were: Kirsten Lee, Valerie Neske, Madeline Greenbaum, Spencer Armon, Katherine Rogers, Grace Garrett, Skye Fellus, Katelynn Lee, and Yuliana Fartzchuk. In addition, Yuliana Fartachuk and Kirsten Lee were selected by audition and featured as soloists for two of the ensemble pieces.

Last week, Rydal Elementary School students, staff, and families hosted a multicultural night that featured a variety of stations displaying their country and/or culture. The evening celebrated Rydal’s diversity as attendees enjoyed different cultural foods, performances, displays, and arts and crafts activities. Over 20 countries were on display!

Highland Elementary School’s PTO hosted its Annual Science Fair, which was a great success. Students from Kindergarten through Grade 6 presented exciting science entries that were displayed for the school community. This year’s science fair featured over 60 exciting science presentations. Students developed projects such as: chemical reactions with rocks, electrical circuits, models of the solar system, and the melting time of chocolate.

Today Abington Senior High School celebrated senior George Reid’s National Letter of Intent signing to play Division I Football at Temple University.  Abington football coach Kevin Conlin described George as a “team leader and hard worker, second to none;   George is always the first one at practices and the last to leave.”  In addition, he is an outstanding student with an excellent academic record.  Among his many achievements, George received the 2017 Maxwell Football Club’s “Mini Max” Award, was named to many local and state conference teams, and was a featured player in the “100 Players in 100 Days” report. 

This past year George scored 31 catches for 642 yards and six touchdowns, four interceptions, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.  In 2015 he was named the Number One Receiver among SE Montgomery and Upper Bucks County high schools.  Coach Conlin thanked George for his team leadership and accomplishments this year in Coach Conlin’s first year as head varsity football coach.

George’s teammates and fellow students cheered George as an excellent highlight video produced by Abington student Zion Miller was shown and as he signed the National Letter of Intent.

George is pictured here with his parents and sister and also with Coach Conlin and Abington Athletic Director Todd Vaccaro.

The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General’s Education and Outreach Unit challenged ninth-graders across the entire Commonwealth to create a short video Public Service Announcement (PSA) containing an anti-drug message that would appeal to their peers.

The Abington Junior High School team of Isabella DiPasquale, Emily Gill, Margaret Hanley and Alicia Whisman led by teacher Ms. Beth Nord placed first out of more than 30 entries submitted.

Rachel Hooper, District Representative to Senator Haywood, presented a Senate Proclamation of Congratulations to the Junior High School and Citations to each student today at the school.

The Proclamation states that the Senate is always pleased to recognize young citizens who, through their outstanding achievements, bring great distinction to themselves, their communities, and the Commonwealth.

At an Abington School Board meeting, the School Board honored the students and teacher and their award-winning PSA was shown. The PSA can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnZ-b_Mv5ho

Ms. Julianne Petersen, Abington Junior High School Assistant Principal, received the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies Leadership Award at its annual conference this fall.  The Council presents this award to an individual who is dedicated to social studies and is a recognized leader for promoting innovation and creative instruction, motivating others to excellence, and advocating for high quality and research-driven instructional practices in the classroom.

Ms. Petersen was recognized for her work as Social Studies Supervisor in Abington School District.  Ms. Petersen encouraged teachers to design and implement instruction with a focus on global and societal considerations important to helping students become contributing members of global society.  Ms. Petersen’s efforts have produced a strong and viable K-12 social studies program that is an exemplary model.

Today, Rachel Hooper, District Representative to Senator Haywood, presented a Senate Proclamation of Congratulations to Ms. Peterson.  The Proclamation states that the Senate of Pennsylvania takes great pleasure in recognizing those citizens who, through dedication and excellence, contribute in a meaningful way to the well-being of their communities and ultimately to all the people of this great Commonwealth.  The Proclamation continues; “Through Ms. Peterson’s many initiatives to benefit her community and by her personal example, she clearly reflects the true spirit and mission of the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies.”

Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Division of Federal Programs honors the top five percent of high performing Title I schools in Pennsylvania. This year, Willow Hill Elementary School was selected as one of 168 schools as a “2017 Distinguished Title I School.” At a recent School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Sichel proudly announced that Willow Hill Elementary School was awarded a $50,000 Title I Reward Innovation Grant!  Pictured here are Dr. Sichel and Willow Hill Principal Mr. Damon Jordan receiving the Keystone Award for Academic Excellence at Pennsylvania’s Title I Improving Schools’ Performance Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, which recognized 2017 Distinguished Title I Schools. Congratulations to Mr. Jordan and the Willow Hill staff!

Juwan Adams is a 9th grade Abington Junior High School student earning all A’s and B’s, a National Junior Honor Society scholar, an executive board member for the V.I.B.E. and I.M.A.G.I.N.E. leadership program, an Abington Marching Ghost, and he is undergoing treatment three times weekly for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. 

Juwan has not let cancer stand in the way of his goals; most recently he challenged his peers to help build a library for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). What began as an idea he shared with his family sparked a movement for the entire Abington Junior High School community. 

Juwan hoped his passion for learning and reading would be felt by the patients at CHOP as they too endured their treatment. With the help of Overlook Elementary School, 9,500 books were collected to fill the Oncology floor for patients like Juwan receiving treatment. 

The entire English Department challenged their classrooms for bragging rights to collect the most books and make Juwan’s vision a reality. With the help of the V.I.B.E. and I.M.A.G.I.N.E. student leaders, Juwan was able to label each book in his honor. Juwan’s family initially planned to deliver the books by car, however the generosity of his peers required the need to rent a truck. 

All books were packed by fellow V.I.B.E and I.M.A.G.I.N.E students in the truck and left Abington Junior High School for delivery to CHOP.  There were so many books that Juwan’s father realized he would have to make two delivery trips!

Juwan and his father were interviewed by TV station 6ABC for his incredible accomplishment.