The Abington Senior High School Odyssey of the Mind team took First Place at the World Finals held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan last week. There were 60 teams competing from around the world in the “Pandora’s Box” – Division III problem. The 12th grade student members of the team include Max Mindel, Chris Doyle, Nick Fitzpatrick, Rob Galloway, Andrew Giguere, Tara Santora, and Gil Wermeling. The coach is Mrs. Anna Mindel.
This week at the Abington School District Administration Building, State Representative Madeleine Dean sponsored a hearing on education funding in Pennsylvania. Thirteen members of the House attended the meeting where testimony was given by seven individuals including Abington School Board president Raymond McGarry, Esquire and Abington Superintendent of Schools Dr. Amy Sichel. Representative Dean provided opening and closing remarks. Also testifying was Sarah Galbally – Deputy Secretary for the Office of Policy and Planning, Office of the Pennsylvania Governor; Dr. Deborah Wheeler, Upper Dublin School District Superintendent of Schools; Cecilia Bradbury, Special Education Teacher, Philadelphia School District; Lawrence Feinberg, Circuit Rider, Campaign for Fair Education Funding, and Donna Cooper, Executive Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth. Comments included the need for a basic education funding formula that is adequate, equitable, predictable, and sustainable.
Last night, Dr. Denise Mendez, Coordinator of Mathematics and Elementary Science, presented our mathematics award winners and commented that during this school year, Abington elementary, junior, and senior high school students participated and excelled in a variety of county, state, national, and international mathematics competitions. Recognition of the senior high school winners took place as part of an earlier awards ceremony at the school. Last night, we honored award-winning students from the elementary and junior high schools.
In the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster Contest, Abington School District has a total of 19 winning posters. The contest invites students from grades K through 12, to design creative posters that must include at least two types of graphs to display the answer to an interesting question. Students may create a survey, conduct an experiment, or use published references for their data collection. Cordell Cheng at the junior high school won an honorable mention in the PA Statistics Poster Competition for his poster “How Numbers Keep You Safe” and his poster advanced to the American Statistics Poster Contest where he won an honorable mention. At Cooper Beech Elementary School, Madelyn Hill earned an honorable mention for her poster “Eye Color Connection” and Lauren O’Malley and Thomas O’Malley won an honorable mention for their poster “Pull Over.” At Highland Elementary School, winning honorable mentions were Michelle Kim, Ayana Ward, and Mesa Lion for their poster “Are You Smarter Than a Third Grader?” as well as Samantha Gill, Noah Hellerslia, Cristian Hinkel, Jeremy Jones, Robert Parker, Lila Ruch, Noelle Thomas, and Amy Wang for their poster “All About Thanksgiving.” At McKinley Elementary School, Patrick Delaney won an honorable mention for his poster “Shark Attack” and Phoebe Lee won a fourth place certificate, commemorative t-shirt, and monetary prize for her poster “Daily Use of Electronic Devices.” At Overlook Elementary School seven posters won prizes. Honorable mentions were won by Alexandra Paul for the poster, “What Do Third Graders Like To Do At Recess?”; Sebastian Botero for the poster, “Kids vs. Adults – Recycling Knowledge”; the team of Connor Penderghest and Owen Waldron for their poster “Age and Goals of Barclay’s Premiere League Strikers”; Oscar Hoffman for the poster, “Popularity of Original Greek Olympians in American Pop Culture”; Madeline Krassner for the poster, “Does Temperature of Hot Cocoa or the Type of Hot Cocoa Affect the Melting Speed of a Marshmallow?”; Lily Castiglione and Sonceria Toliver for the poster, “Never Refuse to ReUse.” Winning third place and awarded a certificate, a monetary prize, and a commemorative t-shirt, Corey Tobin for the poster, “Paper Towels.” All winning posters from each state are entered in the American Statistical Association Poster Contest and Overlook student Corey Tobin’s poster placed Third of all entries submitted from across the country; he is awarded a plaque and a $100 prize for his poster “Paper Towels.” At Rydal Elementary School, honorable mentions were won by Elena Jadach for the poster, “Don’t Miss the Bus”; Evelyn Eisenstein and Giana Dias for the poster, “Reality Check”; and Maximilian Farma for the poster, “Does Heart Rate Change with Exercise, Gender, or Age?” Awarded second place and receiving a certificate, a monetary award, and a commemorative t-shirt, Giovanni Corabi for the poster, “Stop at the Sign or Get a Fine.” Ms. Ashley Garrett’s second grade class collaborated and was awarded a second place award, a shared monetary award, and commemorative t-shirts for the poster “Teeth Stains.” The winning Rydal posters advanced to the American Statistical Association’s Poster Contest, where Giovanni Corabi won an honorable mention and plaque for his poster “Stop at the Stop Sign or Get a Fine.”
In the Atlantic Pacific Mathematics Competition the Abington Junior High School team placed FIRST in the region and receives a team plaque, which was accepted last night on behalf of the team by team high scorer Joshua Coleman.
The Pennsylvania Mathematics League is a statewide competition where students answer questions from different areas of mathematics. The goal is to encourage student interest and confidence in mathematics through solving rigorous, worthwhile problems. The McKinley Grade 6 Team placed FIRST in Montgomery County, earning an engraved plaque.
The Math Fax Competition is a national contest that consists of a series of written tests administered by grade level to the students during the course of the school year. Abington students participate in the grade 3 competition. This year a Copper Beech student has won FIRST place at both the National and Division levels; awarded MathFax trophies and certificates is Tori Barson. Also, the third grade McKinley Elementary School team won a FIRST place award in the Division/State levels and receives an engraved plaque.
The Mathematical Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools is an international competition consisting of five tests given at monthly intervals from November to March. Each test includes five problems. The awards system recognizes team and individual accomplishments. In the individual awards category, gold pins are awarded to students who finish in the top 2 percent. Silver pins are awarded to students finishing in the next 8% of all participants. The most prestigious individual award given in this competition is the George Lenchner Award, a medallion that is named for the founder of the competition. This medallion is presented to any student who achieves a perfect score for the entire year. This year Abington students won 78 silver pins, 6 gold pins, and one Lenchner Award. Honored last night were gold pin recipients: Joy Mwaria from Willow Hill Elementary School; Spencer Armon and Quinlan Finamore from Highland Elementary School; Albert Hatton from McKinley Elementary School; Valerie Neske from Roslyn Elementary School, and Claire Hayes from Rydal Elementary School. In addition, Quinlan Finamore from Highland won the Lechner Medallion for a perfect score, accomplished by less than one-half of one percent of all participants. The Highland, Rydal, and McKinley Grade 6 teams received Highest Team Achievement Plaques awarded to teams scoring in the highest 10% worldwide and the Roslyn Grade 6 team received the Certificate of Achievement awarded to teams scoring in the highest 11-20% worldwide.
Dr. Mendez concluded the mathematics awards ceremony by recognizing and thanking family members and staff who assisted in developing Abington’s outstanding students and the Board of School Directors for its continuing support of our quality mathematics program.
Last night Dr. Kelly Doyle, Supervisor of Communications Arts, presented the Abington Silver Pen Awards to outstanding student writers at our elementary schools. Sixth grade students are encouraged to develop a creative narrative essay. Each sixth grade teacher nominates an essay and then the reading consultants from each school select a school representative. Ms. Marie Reynolds, Reading Teacher at Overlook Elementary School, helped organize the awards. The students received their engraved “Silver Pen” awards from Board President Mr. Raymond McGarry and were honored by the School Board. Students met for a Writer’s Guild session to share their essays earlier yesterday afternoon. This year’s winners are: Emma McGinley, McKinley Elementary School; Trinity Rodenhaver, Overlook Elementary School; Talia Spolansky, Willow Hill Elementary School; Kyla Barnhardt, Highland Elementary School; Grace Garrett, Rydal Elementary School; Valerie Neske, Roslyn Elementary School; and Madeline Greenbaum and Phoebe Howse, Copper Beech Elementary School.
Dr. Doyle congratulated the parents and families and the students’ teachers. The program is funded by a grant from the Abington Educational Foundation.
Last night Ms. Kathy Christiana introduced the Abington Senior High School Odyssey of the Mind team that took First Place at the World Finals held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. There were 60 teams competing from around the world in the “Pandora’s Box” – Division III problem. Ms. Christiana introduced the team and video highlights of the team’s award-winning presentation, which can be seen with the video of the Board meeting on the school district cable channels: Comcast 968 and Verizon 43. The 12th grade student members of the team include Max Mindel, Christopher Doyle, Nicholas Fitzpatrick, Robert Galloway, Andrew Giguere, Tara Santora, and Gilbert Wermeling. The coach is Mrs. Anna Mindel; the team is shown here with Abington Senior High School Principal Mr. Angelo Berrios.
The 2015 Abington Senior High School Commencement has also been
added to the District cable station schedule.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf spoke today at Abington School District’s Willow Hill Elementary School in Willow Grove, PA. Attending were Superintendent Dr. Amy Sichel and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Fecher, Abington School Board Directors Mr. Daniel Kaye and Adam Share, Esq., Representative Dean, Senator Haywood, Montgomery County Commissioners Shapiro and Arkoosh, Abington Township commissioners, school principals, school district students and staff members, members of the Abington Township Police Department, and others.
Shown in photos, Dr. Sichel and School Board president Raymond McGarry, Esq. greet and welcome Governor Wolf. The Governor spoke on his budget proposal as it relates to increased education funding. Providing all children with a quality public education is the cornerstone of the Governor’s “Schools That Teach” strategy to prepare students for quality careers, further education, and helping to “rebuild the middle class.” Governor Wolf emphasized the need to have school funding be increased as well as stable and reliable. He said that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania needs to have funding for education comparable with other states. Governor Wolf encouraged a tax on gas extraction to reduce property taxes and increase education funding.
Over the past two days Abington School District has hosted with the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Delaware Valley Consortium for Excellence &Equity the “Educational Excellence Through Equity” Symposium. 250 educational leaders from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Virginia converged on Abington Senior High School to hear expert educational thought leaders’ presentations on providing educational excellence through equity – helping to ensure teaching and learning for all students.
Highlighting the symposium were excellent presentations by renowned educational experts and thought leaders Dr. Pedro Noguera and Mr. Alan Blankstein on “Courageous Leadership” and an inspiring presentation by recently appointed Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Mr. Pedro Rivera. Introducing the presenters and the symposium on the first day were Abington’s Dr. Amy Sichel and Dr. Jeffrey Fecher, Mr. James Buckheit, Executive Director of the of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Mr. Thomas Gentzel, Executive Director of the National School Boards Association, Dr. Robert Jarvis of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, and Amelia Van Name Larson of American Reading Company. Abington Senior High School students served as “Ask Me” guides for the visitors.
Dr. Sichel and Dr. Bacon presented a breakout session on the first day on “Focusing on Equity: Opportunities to Learn,” the groundbreaking initiative in Abington School District that de-tracked classes at our secondary schools, which led to the successful effort that focused on academic achievement for all students – including historically underperforming students. Other breakout sessions were presented by many educational leaders at a variety of sessions on promoting equity, organizational excellence, facing facts and fears, building sustainable relationships, advocating for every student, and getting to the core of success for students. A “Call to Action” panel moderated by Mr. Buckheit presented ideas on promoting equity for all students later in the first day.
The second day featured an inspiring presentation by Dr. Daniel Domenech, Executive Director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. Dr. Domenech spoke on how American schools are really quite successful and are improving in educating students – more so than the media presents – but he also cautioned that more work is essential to provide educational excellence for all students. Dr. Sichel and Dr. Bacon presented a breakout session on the second day on “Getting Results.” A closing session by Dr. Noguera and Mr. Blankstein reviewed the two-day theme and presented remarks and recommendations on next steps school leaders can take. Afternoon small group sessions were attended by many Abington School District administrators and principals including Dr. Jeffrey Fecher, Mr. Damon Jordan, Mr. Angelo Berrios, Dr. Ann Bacon, Dr. Jim Melchor, Ms. Mary Kirchner, Ms. Judy Bomze, Ms. Kelly Lambert, and Dr. Sichel.
This week we began the 2015-2016 school year with an opening day program Thursday morning for staff and a presentation to community members Thursday afternoon. After a rousing musical medley and the National Anthem by Abington Steamroller, Dr. Fecher introduced the program, our new administrative staff members, and new teachers.
Dr. Sichel then presented an overview of significant accomplishments of the past year by students, schools, staff, and the district. Everyone was welcomed and addressed by Abington Education Association president Ms. Debra Lee. Dr. Sichel then introduced the keynote speaker of the day, Mr. Jamie Vollmer.
Mr. Vollmer, shown here in several photos during his presentation – and with School Board members Andrea Lawful-Trainer and Daniel Kaye and Dr. Sichel – is a renowned educational thought leader and champion of public education.
Dr. Sichel explained that Mr. Vollmer was not trained as a professional educator. He became involved with school reform after successful careers in law and manufacturing. His primary goal now is to help educators and their allies remove the obstacles to progress and create schools that unfold the full potential of every child. He has worked for the past twenty-five years to help schools and their communities remove the obstacles to student learning, both in and out of school.
In Mr. Vollmer’s presentation to staff in the morning and community members in the afternoon, he uplifted the audience and praised our successes while emphasizing that we have the power to create a community-wide climate that supports rising student achievement. His message builds on the themes presented in his book, Schools Cannot Do It Alone, proclaimed by the American School Board Journal as “One of the top ten books of the year.” He provided staff members with several key thoughts, mindsets, and actions to help promote public education in Abington and throughout the country. He is an articulate champion of public schools.
At a very inspiring ceremony today at Abington Senior High School, 64 applicants became US citizens under the auspices of the Honorable Gary S. Silow, Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas and an Abington alumnus. Abington Principal Mr. Angelo Berrios greeted the new citizens and their guests and families as well as Abington civics and government students. In his introduction, Mr. Berrios described his family’s roots and heritage from countries other than the United States. Judge Silow opened his court and spoke about various aspects and positive elements of US citizenship. Melvin Roby, Supervisory Immigration Services Officer provided the motion for admission of applications and the Honorable Mark Levy, Prothonotary of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, administered the Oath of United States Citizenship. The new citizens, their families and guests, and Abington students then heard from inspirational speakers that included: Josh Shapiro, Chair of the Montgomery County Commissioners; Bruce Pancio, President of the Montgomery Bar Association; Colonel Bob DeSousa, State Director on behalf of Senator Toomey; Jonathan Grode, Co-Chair of the American Bar Association L&E Law Section Immigration Committee and an Abington graduate; Bruce Castor, Jr., Montgomery County Commissioner; Anthony Luker, another proud Abington graduate and District Director for Congressman Brendan Boyle; Valerie Arkoosh, Montgomery County Commissioner; Margery Reith, Regent of the William Penn Chapter of DAR; Frank Caiola provided a tribute to the United States flag; and student speaker Joshua Gardner, President of the Abington Senior High School Student Council. The Abington Senior High School Select Chorus performed the National Anthem and the Brass Ensemble performed “America.” The String Ensemble performed various selections in the lobby as guests and new citizens arrived. It was a very moving ceremony; it was very clear to see the pride of the individuals from around the world who became new US citizens and the enthusiasm and respect of Abington students for the new citizens.
Our Copper Beech KIND (Kids In Nature’s Defense) Club participated in the Green Apple Day of Service on September 26, 2015. Led by their advisor, Mary Ryan, students and their families helped plant a school wildlife garden filled with native plants to attract birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. They dug, prepared the soil, watered, and mulched plants that the KIND club will care for throughout the year.
Celebration theme was “School Lunch Snapshot” … sharing the best, real images of today’s school lunch programs.
Abington Schools celebrated National School Lunch Week with principals and staff donning cafeteria garb as they and school lunch staff served nutritious lunches to students. National School Lunch Week recognizes the National School Lunch Program and the 30 million children it serves every day. The program in Abington emphasizes the healthy foods that are offered daily at Abington Schools. During this week lunch program staff pointed out that school lunches are healthier than ever, with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less fat and sodium. The federally-funded National School Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced, healthy meals to students every day. The program, which has been serving the nation’s children for over 60 years, requires school meals to meet federal nutrition standards like offering fruits and vegetables every day, serving whole-grain rich foods, and limiting fat, calories, and sodium.
Shown here, principals and staff members help celebrated the week by serving lunches in our schools.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and the District 1 Committee recognize Abington Senior High School with the “Sportsmanship: The Only Missing Piece is You” award for the 2014-15 school year. The groups identify Abington’s administration, coaches, athletes, cheerleaders and fans as “the epitome of good sportsmanship.” Then at the October Executive Meeting for the Suburban One League, Abington was honored with the Sportsmanship award for the National Conference for 2014-15. Our senior student-athletes and coaches share in celebrating these awards and the commemorative banners.
Last night the Abington School Board honored Abington students whose artwork has been selected for display in the School District Administration Building. Now in its eighteenth year, selected beautiful student artwork has been on display in the Administration Building. The elementary and secondary art teachers, in conjunction with Mr. Howard Baxter, Supervisor of Music and Coordinator of Elementary Art, selected the artwork, which is placed on display for four years and then returned to the student. Last night Mr. Baxter and the art teachers presented the artwork to the Board of School Directors and the community and provided certificates to the student artists to honor their handiwork.
The following students and their art teachers were honored last night – note that the grade listed is the student’s grade last year when the artwork was created and selected: Sofia Alenkina, 4th Grade – Overlook Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Margaret Johnson; Cameron Edwards, 4th Grade – Willow Hill Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mr. Anthony Shelton; Brandon Fehnel, 2nd Grade – Rydal Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Natalie Haertsch; Cassidy Foster, 2nd Grade – Roslyn Elementary School, Art Teacher – Ms. Chelsea Schryver; Aeryn Gibbons, Kindergarten – Roslyn Elementary School, Art Teacher – Ms. Chelsea Schryver; Hannah Gillespie, 5th Grade – Copper Beech Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mr. Michael McKeough; Crystal Guzzi, 11th Grade – Abington Senior High School. Art Teacher – Ms. Nicole Caracciolo; John Harbison, 3rd Grade – Copper Beech Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mr. Michael McKeough; Collin Henry, 12th Grade – Abington Senior High School, Art Teacher – Mr. Stephen Lupo; Aidan Kaye, 5th Grade – Copper Beech Elementary School, Art Teacher – Ms. Chelsea Schryver; Madelaine Kneipp, 7th Grade – Abington Junior High School, Art Teacher – Mr. Fabio Tulli; Renee Krier, 5th Grade – Highland Elementary School, Art Teacher – Ms. Patricia Forrest; Isabella Martinez, 6th Grade – Willow Hill Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mr. Anthony Shelton; Joshua Masri, 7th Grade – Abington Junior High School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Julia Rix; Brigid McDonald, 4th Grade – McKinley Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Donna Zar; Dariya Medynska, 12th Grade – Abington Senior High School, Art Teacher – Mr. Richard Metz; Nicholas Orzhykhovsky, 12th Grade – Abington Senior High School, Art Teacher – Mr. David Ferro; Sophie Poor, 5th Grade – Rydal Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Natalie Haertsch; Gianni Rodriguez-Caceres, 7th Grade – Abington Junior High School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Julia Rix; Michael Schaible, 4th Grade – McKinley Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Donna Zar; Olivia Schrecengost, 8th Grade – Abington Junior High School, Art Teacher – Mr. Fabio Tulli; Jessica Sokolski, 6th Grade – Copper Beech Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mr. Michael McKeough; Ashley Spence, 3rd Grade – Overlook Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Margaret Johnson; Miciah Washington, 2nd Grade – Highland Elementary School, Art Teacher – Ms. Patricia Forrest; and Chloe Winters, 6th Grade – McKinley Elementary School, Art Teacher – Mrs. Donna Zar.
First grade students at Roslyn Elementary School created Pumpkin Book Reports this October. Each student chose a book and decorated the pumpkin to look like the main character of the book. First grade teachers Mrs. Jessica Adamski, Mrs. Stephanie McCuen, Ms. Jamie Shore, and Mr. Todd Shuster worked with students to create pumpkin patches of book characters as well.
Specific book characters are shown in photos of the Curious George Pumpkin, the Cat in the Hat Pumpkin, the Pinkalicious Pumpkin, the Pete the Cat Pumpkin, and the Magic Tree House Pumpkin.
Kristi Price, a modern day Philadelphia matchmaker, counseled the cast of the play that features a matchmaker from the 19th century.
“The Matchmaker” – an uproarious farce about love and money, stars the irrepressible busybody and marriage broker, Dolly Gallagher Levi. Through Dolly’s subtle machinations, several unlikely couples come together to find happiness in 19th-century New York. Horace Vandergelder, a widower who is determined to find a woman to “manage” his household, gets a run for his money from Mrs. Levi, since she intends to marry him herself!
It occurred to Kristen Caiazzo, Abington’s faculty director, that the current high school generation may know of e-harmony, zoosk.com, and match.com, but they generally use social media like Facebook and Instagram and texting to meet potential loves …so they don’t know matchmakers like the heroine in this 19th century play.
Kristi Price – a real, live, Philadelphia area matchmaker – was invited to visit during the cast’s rehearsal to counsel cast members about the joy and tribulations of matchmaking to a generation that probably does not really know what modern day matchmakers do or how they work.
The questions and discussion of modern day matchmaking were fascinating. Abington Senior High School student cast members asked how successful and widespread is matchmaking today … how much does it cost? … has Kristi Price – like Dolly Levi – ever fallen for a client? … how old is the oldest client Kristi has worked with? … is international matchmaking successful? … and much more.
The play, “The Matchmaker,” will be performed November 12, 13, and 14, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at Abington Senior High School – 900 Highland Avenue, Abington, PA. Tickets are $10 general admission and $8 for students and seniors.
In the photos:
Kindergarten students at Copper Beech enjoyed breakfast and reading with their special guests. Students invited parents, grandparents, or other important adults in their lives to read with them and share breakfast. Thank you to the Copper Beech PTA for sponsoring this great event!
On Wednesday October 21st, students and staff members at Roslyn Elementary School wore orange to show support, hope, and unity that we are united against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Each student traced his or her hand on orange construction paper. Together, we united to place the labeled hands on a unity tree that is displayed in our school lobby.
Unity Day is a movement in which students recognize that the end of bullying begins with them. This is connected to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Month in October. It’s a time when communities can unite nationwide to raise awareness of bullying prevention through events, activities, outreach, and education. The goal is to raise awareness and increase understanding of how to respond to bullying.
Last Friday close to 100 people signed up for and participated in the Abington Educational Foundation (AEF) Annual 5K Walk/Run, ranging in age from toddlers to adults. The overall winner of the event was Luke Schrader, a 7th grader at Abington Junior High School. Other age group winners were: Mike Staszkiw (age 20-29), Laurie O’Connor (age 30-39), Tiffany Turner (age 40-49), and Mike Zanetti (age 50+). Each winner received a gift card and all participants received an awesome AEF tee-shirt and were able to enjoy water, juice, and snacks following the walk/run. The event raised approximately $1500, which supports students in Abington Schools, enhancing their educational experiences and opportunities. Everyone had a fun, fantastic time!
