Dr. Sichel, Dr. Bacon, and three teams from Abington presented and attended the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System (SAS) Institute this week as part of the Governor’s Expanding Excellence Pilot Mentoring Grant Program. Dr. Doyle and Ms. Marbury presented on writing; Dr. Mendez and Dr. Osborne presented on mathematics; and Dr. Melchor and Ms. Viola developed a presentation on science. Feedback from the sessions was that the teams did a terrific job of their presentations and that Abington knows how to “do it right” regarding student achievement and continuous improvement.

Ms. Nicholson and Ms. Bowlin’s Kindergarten classes holding up some of the bears.

The Copper Beech community donated over 100 NEW teddy bears and stuffed animals to the “Bears That Care” program, a program that works with hospitals, shelters, day care centers, and not-for-profit organizations to distribute them to children affected by a disaster or serious illness.

“Engineers in the making” at Willow Hill Elementary School as students create tensile structures during science enrichment!

This video was produced by the Abington School District Technology Department. It features students as well as teachers serving on the Chromebook mentor team. This technology works extremely well and is an excellent tool to integrate technology into the curriculum. The cloud-based Chromebooks promote collaborative work, critical thinking, and creativity by providing fast, reliable access to resources and information on the “cloud” or Internet. Students with access rights, and teachers can access their projects at any time from any location. Use of the Chromebooks makes the technology more affordable and sustainable. Mentors at each school have been instrumental in integrating the technology, working with students and with other teachers. The excellent video presentation can be viewed on our website with materials from last night’s Board meeting. Videography by Richard Greene.

Roslyn Elementary School students, staff, and families celebrated that the school is a very diverse community on February 19, 2015 at its 8th Annual Multicultural Night. Teachers read the book “The Colors of Us” by Karen Katz. Students and parents participated in making paper dolls that were a reflection of themselves and their cultures. The community also celebrated Chinese New Year through various crafts. An Italian dance group demonstrated dance moves and everyone enjoyed an international food tasting!

Overlook Elementary Celebrates “Read Across America”
with Community Leaders Reading to Classes

Overlook Elementary School’s fourth annual One School, One Book was held this week as part of the school’s Read Across America event on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Monday, March 2.  Local community reader-leaders helped celebrate the importance of reading and literacy to Abington School District! This annual celebration commemorates reading, learning, and community. The special guests introduced this year’s award-winning book, The One and Only Ivan, by Kate DiCamillo, about an easygoing gorilla living at the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, and read aloud the first chapter to generate excitement.

As part of Overlook’s One School, One Book program, a single “chapter book” is chosen and every family at Overlook receives a copy to read at home over the course of the month. The program is designed to create a shared reading experience within the school community, part of the initiative to encourage families to read together at home. Throughout the month, there are daily trivia questions, a website where students can listen to their favorite teachers read aloud from the book, and a shared class writing journal.

In recognition of the book and program, the Overlook PTO has made possible that the school has adopted a Western Lowland Gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo!

Celebrity leader readers included:

• Tracy Panella, Abington School Board Director and parent
• William Kelly, Abington Chief of Police
• Josh Shapiro, Chair, Montgomery County Commissioners
• Mike Jones, Abington Fire Chief
• Leigh Altadonna, former Abington School District Assistant Superintendent
• Kelly Doyle, Abington School District Supervisor of Communication Arts
• Richard Jones, Abington Assistant Fire Chief
• Patricia Botero, Overlook PTO President
• James Melchor, Abington School District Assistant Director of Curriculum
• Elise Melchor, Overlook teacher
• Joseph Hoeffel, former Congressman
• Thomas Hecker, Abington Commissioner
• Pastor Matthew D. George
• Denise Mendez, Abington School District Coordinator of Mathematics

Dr. Sichel honored with AASA Distinguished Service Award

Dr. Amy Sichel was honored at the AASA National Conference on Education with The School Superintendents Association  (AASA) Distinguished Service Award.  At the Conference, Dr. Sichel was a speaker, moderator, and panel member.  The award is given annually to AASA members who exhibit exemplary leadership throughout their careers and who have enhanced the profession of school administration. AASA explains that the award is presented to awardees that have brought honor to themselves, their colleagues and their profession; given exemplary service to their state or national professional association; and made significant contributions to the field of education through their service, writings and other activities.

United States Secretary of Defense, Dr. Ashton Carter, visited Abington Senior High School today as the first stop on his Force of the Future tour.

A 1972 graduate of Abington Senior High School, Secretary Carter addressed an assembly of students, teachers, former classmates and friends, and guests on his visions for the future, the important factors related to our country and to national security, as well as his goal to excite young adults, who are among the best and the brightest, to be inspired to be a part of our country’s future in the military or as civilians working with associated careers. He was introduced by Abington junior Kayla Roberts who in her excellent speech described Secretary Carter’s educational and career background and highlights. Kayla stated that she hopes to go into the Air Force ROTC while in college, majoring in computer science or cyber security.

Secretary Carter spread the message that many opportunities with or supporting our country exist in the fields of technology, communication, intelligence, and the sciences, which provide very meaningful and valuable services to our citizens, to our country, and around the world. Dr. Carter was very complimentary about his education at Abington High School and the reputation of and education provided today by the high school. He repeated the slogan from his time at Abington – “Abington: First in the alphabet, first in achievement, and first in athletics.”

Students posed questions to Secretary Carter including his experiences at Abington High School; what courses he liked best; his visions for combating terrorists in the air and on the ground; assuring the opportunities and safety of women in the military; and how he has applied his Abington education to his career.

Secretary Carter also met with several former classmates, teachers, friends, and local officials today, reminiscing about times spent living in Abington and at Abington Senior High School. Before he left the high school today he was interviewed by Savannah Guthrie of NBC national news from New York.

Photos:

• Ashton Carter visit, including friends and faculty.
• More photos from Secretary Carter’s visit are available on the Department of Defense website.  Click on “Photo Essays” and/or “Videos” from the drop down menu.
• Also, photos available at the Department of Defense Flickr website.

Articles: 

• The Philadelphia Inquirer
• The Reporter
• Montgomery News
• NewsWorks
• The Intelligencer (need to be an on-line subscriber for the full article)
• DoD News
• Stars and Stripes

Video:

• Video with Savannah Guthrie on NBC TODAY, interviewed at an Abington Senior High School classroom (after the 30 second commercial)

Transcript of Secretary Carter’s Speech:

• Remarks by Secretary Carter on the Force of the Future to Students at Abington High School in Abington, Pennsylvania

For more information about Secretary Carter’s education, career, and background, visit http://www.defense.gov/bios/secdef/

This slideshow features photos of Secretary Carter’s friends and Abington School District faculty he met with during  his recent visit.  Click here to see the website news story about his visit and links to articles, more photos, video, and the transcript of Secretary Carter’s speech.

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Secretary Carter’s visit including friends and faculty

Congratulations to Mrs. Linda Hagarty’s 5th grade class at Copper Beech Elementary School on winning a special award assembly staring the Phillie Phanatic in the “Be a Phanatic About Reading Contest” sponsored by Comcast. The program encourages students to read for a minimum of 15 minutes a day and complete reading logs to help improve their literacy skills. To qualify for a Phanatic visit, the children report their progress to their teachers via their reading logs and the teachers report to the Phillies how the children have done in their reading endeavors. From that progress report, the top performing classrooms were selected for a Phanatic visit and assembly. The Phanatic visited Copper Beech on April 10th and was enjoyed by the entire school.

Abington Teams Excel at Odyssey of the Mind State Competition.
Rydal and the High School Move on to World Competitions.

Congratulations to the Abington teams that competed in the Odyssey of the Mind State Competition held last weekend at Berwick High School in Berwick, Pennsylvania.  Five Abington teams that won regional competitions – the teams from Copper Beech, Rydal, and Highland Elementary Schools and Abington Junior and Senior High Schools –  competed.  Two teams have now moved on to the World Competition to be held in May at Michigan State University.  Congratulations to the senior high school team members for their first place win:  Max Mindel, Gilbert Wermeling, Tara Santora, Christopher Doyle, Nicholas Fitzpatrick, Robert Galloway, and Andrew Giguere and their coach, Mrs. Anna Mindel.  Congratulations to the Rydal Elementary School team members for their second place win: Molly Cleary, Grace Garrett, Benjamin Hayes, Claire Hayes, Zoe Freedman, Oliver Otto, and Ethan Weilheimer and their coaches Mrs. Andrea Otto and Mrs. Hilary Hayes. Copper Beech won a fifth place award; Highland won s seventh place award, and the junior high school won a sixth place award.  Good luck to the high school and Rydal teams next month at the world competition!

Abington Chess Team Wins First Place National Title.
Team Has Won Three State & Three National Titles This Year.

Last night the Abington Senior High School Chess Team was honored by the Abington School Board.  According to team coach Shawn Simmons, 2014-2015 has been, without a doubt, the most successful season for the Abington Chess Team. The team has brought home Three State Titles from the Pennsylvania State Chess Federation and Three National Titles from the United States Chess Federation. At the State Tournament in March the team took home two of the three State Team titles. The u1300 team of Robbie Durham, Nat Cheng, Aajay Gauthier, and Sasha Serebriiskiii won this title for the first time in Abington’s history.  The team of Brian Ouzomgi, Andrew Nolan, Dennis Phan, and Timmy Ferry took the U1000 State Team Title for Abington for the third time in a row.

The team then competed at the National Tournament in Columbus, Ohio in early April. This tournament featured over 1500 of the top players in the country and the Abington team competed with over 40 teams in their division, winning three of the five division National titles!

Robbie Durham, a junior, scored 7-0 to capture the u1200 division’s title;  this individual title is the highest achievement any Abington student has earned at a national competition.  Robbie earned a combined 12-0 at States and Nationals, a record unprecedented.   Powered by Robbie’s score, the u1200 team won the first place National team title.  Robbie’s score, combined with the scores of Andew Nolan, Sasha Serebriiskii, Nat Cheng, and Aajay Gauthier’s pushed the Ghosts ahead of the three leading other high school teams.  In addition, sophomore Dennis Phan went 7-0 in the u800 section to clinch the team’s third title at the national competition. Mr. Simmons thanked the School Board, School and District Administration, and the community for their continued support of the chess team program.

Memorial Field Re-Dedicated This Week by
Abington School District and Penn State Abington

The newly upgraded, beautiful Memorial Field was re-dedicated at ceremonies this week.  According to Dr. Amy Sichel, this has been a wonderful collaborative project of Penn State Abington and Abington School District.  Memorial Field, at the old Abington High School, was originally constructed in 1947.  Now, 67 years later, in conjunction with Penn State Abington, Memorial Field has been significantly upgraded and renovated.  Penn State Abington has covered the costs of the over five million dollar project.  Under this arrangement the Memorial Field property will continue to be owned and managed by the school district. This project is truly “win-win-win” –  a win for Penn State Abington, a win for Abington School District, and a win for the Abington and Rockledge communities that will be using the facility.  Attending and speaking at the re-dedication ceremony, emceed by Abington Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fecher, were Dr. Karen Wiley Sandler, Chancellor of Penn State Abington; Abington Superintendent of Schools Dr. Amy Sichel; School Board Vice-President Mrs. Michele Tinsman representing the Board of School Directors; and Abington Township Commissioner Steven Kline.  The Abington Marching Ghosts performed the National Anthem and, after the ribbon cutting, student athletes from Abington Senior High School and Penn State Abington did a victory lap around the new track.

Abington Students Are First- and Third-Place Winners of Congressional Art Awards.

Artwork Will Hang in US Capitol and Congressman Boyle’s Washington DC Office for One Year.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Congressman Brendan Boyle announced on Sunday that two Abington students’ artwork has been selected for Congressional Art Awards.  Gabrielle Monterosso, a senior at Abington Senior High School, won FIRST PLACE and sophomore Maria Molyashcha won the THIRD PLACE award.  The US Congressional Institute of Art promotes the arts and, since 1982, has invited high school students to submit artwork for the competition.  In Congressman Boyle’s district, 35 student entries were submitted.  Although only one will be displayed in the US Capitol Building, Congressman Boyle said that the artwork submitted was so impressive, he extended the competition in his district to three winners – with the second and third place winners’ artwork to be displayed in his Washington DC office.  Judges for Congressman Boyle’s 13th District competition included art professors and deans from Penn State Abington, Arcadia University, Tyler School of Art, and the University of the Arts.  The Abington winners are students of Abington Senior High School art teacher Nicole Caracciolo, shown here with the students and Congressman Boyle.

17th Annual Abington School District Art Fest

Highlighting the artistic talents of our students

March 17-19, 2015

Willow Hill Elementary School’s  “Reading Night” was a celebration of reading and literature that involved parents, guardians, and family as well as students and staff.  The Willow Hill community values the family night focused on reading.  Countless studies have shown a strong connection between time spent reading and success both in and out of school.  Willow Hill families know that reading strengthens skills, creates bonds between families when books are shared together, and broadens horizons.  Families attending with their children enjoyed a number of activities that included:

• Character Museum and Parade – older students acted as characters in their favorite book in a wax museum setting.  Younger students parade the room dressed as their favorite character.
• Painted Chair Circle – students enjoyed reading one of the many books that have inspired custom-painted chairs.  Chairs are normally used in classrooms as rewards for having read a lot!
• Book Swap Table – students can bring a book and take a new book to enjoy.
• Read Around the Room – students can travel around the room listening to great books read by our teachers and 6th grade volunteers.

DSCN2291

DSCN2293

DSCN2292

DSCN2319

DSCN2316

DSCN2314

DSCN2313

DSCN2318

DSCN2311

DSCN2310

DSCN2309

DSCN2308

DSCN2306

DSCN2305

DSCN2304

DSCN2302

DSCN2301

McKinley Elementary School teacher Ms. Tricia Livingood was honored at the Abington School Board meeting last night for being selected as one of the 23 finalists for the Voices of Inspiration Award for Teaching Excellence created by Freedom Credit Union and the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.  The award was created to recognize and reward teachers throughout Montgomery County for their commitment to students, families, and communities.  

Nominations are based on a teacher’s contributions or performance during this school year or for cumulative efforts over many years.  Nominations are submitted by students, parents, coworkers, administrators, or other school employees.  According to the award materials, teachers who are selected demonstrate an extraordinary dedication to teaching young people, while exhibiting the qualities that represent a truly inspirational educator. 

According to Dr. Charles Lentz, principal of McKinley Elementary School, (pictured here with Ms. Livingood) “The McKinley community was thrilled to have Ms. Tricia Livingood selected as the finalist for Abington School District this year as she truly exemplifies the Abington motto, ‘Excellence is our Standard’.”  He continued, “Ms. Livingood is an amazing educator who goes above and beyond for her students, providing them with an instructional environment that meets their individual learning needs.  Through the creation of a classroom that is infused with technology, inspiring learning activities, and differentiated instruction, Ms. Livingood has been able to meet and exceed the instructional needs of her students.  Through many special touches she brings to her classes, Ms. Livingood brings something special to her classroom.” 

Ms. Livingood has served on the school district technology team and as the building technology mentor, working on numerous curriculum committees, and other district-wide committees.  Ms. Livingood received recognition as a finalist in the Voices of Inspiration Award competition at a banquet held at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit last week. 

Abington School Board president, Raymond McGarry, Esquire, noted that excellence in teamwork among teachers and staff is what helps make Abington schools so special, as evidenced by Ms. Livingood’s co-workers who attended the school board meeting to support and honor her.

Today students at all grade levels had a morning of scientific discovery as they worked through hands on, inquiry based activities in each classroom.  Activities included volcanoes, earthquakes, and fossils for kindergarten students; polymers and density for first grade;  buoyancy, color science, and kaleidoscopes for second grade; polymers for third grade;  air and gasses for fourth grade; physics and chemistry for fifth grade; and biology and forensics for sixth grade.  Activities were led by teachers as well as 11th and 12th grade Abington Senior High School volunteer students and adult and parent volunteers.  In the afternoon sixth grade “CSI team” students worked to solve the “Case of the Missing Cookies.”  It was a wonderful learning day for everyone!

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Yesterday the 3rd grade students at McKinley Elementary School performed for parents and friends during the Live Wax Museum.  Students researched facts about famous people and wrote a research report. The culminating activity was the Wax Museum performance where students came alive and acted like the famous people. 

IMG_1378

IMG_1376

IMG_1368

IMG_1367

IMG_1363

IMG_1362

IMG_1361

IMG_1358