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.

This week members of the Board of Directors of the Abington School District Educational Foundation presented an interactive program and presentation at the school district Parent Council meeting.  The presentation outlined for parents and parent  groups the goals, mission, projects, and progress of the foundation that supports innovation and program enhancement for Abington students over and above the general educational program.  Board members Ray Wells, Christine Strange, Kip Schaefer, Ellen DeStefano, Parent Council president Angel Belka, Dr. Jeffrey Fecher, and Dr. Ann Bacon discussed the Foundation, several of its major and recent projects, its teacher classroom grant program, upcoming events, and then held interactive and small group sessions with parents to obtain feedback and ideas.  The PowerPoint can be accessed here; the Foundation’s website is www.aef-pa.org.

Overlook Elementary School students and staff participated in the Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS) Junior Flower Show held at elementary schools.  Over 400 students from kindergarten to sixth grade made floral arrangements, mosaic art with grains, prints using fruits and vegetables, and “creative critters” with natural materials as well as detailed botanical drawings.  This year’s theme is “National Parks- National Treasures” and many of the projects reflected this theme.

Community partner, Kremps Florists helped first to third graders create unique floral arrangements to the joy of the students.  During rainy and snowy days, projects were created during indoor recess and with the Nature Adventure Club. The Nature Adventure Club and Overlook Flower Show are coordinated by teacher Mrs. Ellen Brown.

Overlook students were complimented by the PHS judges for fine work and enthusiasm. PHS judges came and evaluated all entries. Students earned blue, red, green or white ribbons. Channel 6 news featured the Overlook Flower Show on the 5:00 newscast on Wednesday, February 3rd.

Overlook Elementary School Principal, Carla Greene, encourages creativity and enables the Overlook Flower Show to be seen by students and parents at a school-wide evening presentation. The “Best of Show” entry will be shown at the Philadelphia Flower Show and seen by hundreds of thousands of guests; that entry will be judged for additional honors.

Congratulations to all participants, the effort of all the students, and teachers truly created Best in Show!

Abington Senior High School football team members and cheerleaders visited Overlook Elementary School to read to students in grades K-4 – to encourage and celebrate reading. It was exciting and successful for the Overlook students as well as the football players and cheerleaders!

At the recent School Board meeting, Abington Senior High School Principal Mr. Angelo Berrios introduced and honored Abington Senior High School student Leah Simmons, a member of the Abington Girls Basketball and Volleyball teams, who has been named The Intelligencer’s Girls Volleyball Player of the Year. At the January 12, 2016 Board meeting,  a video from FOX 29 News showed Leah as the FOX 29 News Athlete of the Week. In December, Leah was named by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association to the 2015 AAA All-State Team, the first Abington Girls Volleyball player to earn this All-State honor. Leah is also a starter on the Girls Basketball team. Leah received Third Team and Honorable Mention SOL National Conference All League recognition the last two seasons. The Girls Basketball team has also advanced to the quarterfinals of the State playoffs in 2014 and 2015.  This past November, Leah signed her National Letter of Intent for a scholarship to play volleyball at Canisuis College where she will continue her academic and athletic pursuits.  We are very proud of Leah!

At a recent School Board meeting, Abington Senior High School principal Mr. Angelo Berrios recognized Mr. Daniel Marsh, Abington Junior High School physical education and health teacher and the Abington Senior High School Girls Basketball Coach.  For the last eleven years, Coach Marsh has built the Abington Girls Basketball program into a perennial powerhouse in Pennsylvania.  On January 7th, 2016, Coach Marsh reached a milestone in his coaching career.  On that night, the Lady Ghosts defeated Council Rock North, 56-45, for Coach Marsh’s 200th victory at Abington and 300th career win overall. Under his coaching, Abington achieved the school’s first Girls Basketball District Championship since 1975. As the tournament’s sixth seed, the Lady Ghosts were the lowest seed ever to win a District Championship.  The Lady Ghosts achieved ten straight District 1 playoff appearances, starting in 2007 and continuing this season.  The Abington teams coached by Mr. Marsh achieved five state playoff appearances in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015.  The Girls Basketball team has also advanced to the quarterfinals of the State playoffs in 2014 and 2015.  Under Coach Marsh’s tutelage, six former Abington student-athletes have earned scholarships to Division 1 colleges.  In addition, nine student-athletes have continued their academic pursuits at various collegiate levels.  We are very proud that on the basketball court and in the classroom, Coach Marsh instills hard work and a sense of community to his players and students.  Shown here, Mr. Marsh (right) accepts Award Certificate of Appreciation from Principal Mr. Berrios (left).

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Acme Markets decided to hold a competition among area schools called “Your School Rocks with Acme” – challenging schools to compose and perform a jingle to represent the store.  Schools had to write it, sing it, and win.  That is exactly what Roslyn Elementary School did!   Ms. Mary Hernandez-Cuebas, music teacher at Roslyn, with teacher Mr. Todd Shuster on the guitar and custodian Mr. Josh O’Hannon on the drums, worked with students to develop a jingle for the Acme competition. Mr. Michael Wilkins from the Technology Department recorded the jingle.  Ms. Hernandez-Cuebas recruited six superstar Roslyn performers who enjoy singing to help with the vocals: Natalene Clemson, Chuckie Eames, Myaira Jefferson, Sam Mahood, MaryKate McKenzie and Declan Sullivan. Their jingle was the grand prize winner, which included $2500 for the school. They went to the KYW studio for a tour and to professionally record the jingle.  At the School Board meeting, Dr. Osborne introduced the students and staff members and meeting attendees heard the KYW radio interview of the students, after which the Roslyn team performed their award-winning jingle.  A short documentary of the experience can be viewed on the Roslyn School website.

Students in the after school Science Club at Willow Hill Elementary School enjoyed learning about tensile structures as they created three-dimensional shapes and performed experiments using the structures they created and bubble solutions.  They were amazed by the tensile structures they formed using simply straws, pipe cleaners, and bubble-blowing solutions. There were interesting bubble shapes created by the bubble solutions inside the created tensile shapes. The Science Club and its activities help promote science interest and knowledge and promotes the positive environment that is in our schools.

Eight Abington students, shown in the group photo, auditioned at the PMEA District 11 Chorus Festival last weekend and three students will now move on to the PMEA Region 6 Chorus Festival, to be held March 17-19 – the three students are: Peirce Robinson, Jack Sullivan, and Hunter West.

Students from Roslyn Elementary School had fun celebrating the first school day with three digits – the 100th Day of School!  Students dressed for the occasion and celebrated the achievement of 100 days of learning!

Roslyn Elementary School hosted its ninth annual Multicultural Night with many fun activities.  The night began with performances from the Abington Senior High School Step Team followed by Irish dancers from the Coyle School of Irish Dance.  Students then heard stories from various continents from Roslyn teachers.  The night was capped off with a feast of national cultural dishes parents brought to share with the school community. It was a great night of fun for all!

Highland Elementary School hosted a Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS) Junior Flower Show this week.  Students and classes displayed artwork and plant arrangements in various designated Artistic and Horticulture Classes, winning many first, second, and third place ribbons.  Two entries won “Best of Show” and will be on display at the Philadelphia Flower Show in March.

In December, Highland announced its participation in the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s Junior Flower Show and students were encouraged to submit entries in twenty-two Artistic and Horticulture Classes.  Students were able to submit entries developed at home or were able to attend workshops held after school at Highland.  Ms. Patricia Forrest and Ms. Francine Lee-Kim facilitated workshops to assist students in creating and assembling entries.

Highland’s “Best of Show” winners were Ms. Kelley’s fifth-grade class’ “totem pole,” made from recycled materials, and creatively depicting “The Story of American History”  (shown here with the class) and Danny Brusha’s creative flowering plant arrangement in a pottery flower pot (also shown here).

Prints Link Philadelphia is a collaboration of art educators in the Philadelphia region who share the excitement and versatility of printmaking with students. Twenty two prints created by Abington Senior High School art students were featured at the recent art show and reception held at the Woodmere Museum of Art, Helen Millard Children’s Gallery. In addition, the cover art that was selected for the exhibit announcement postcard was created by Zachary Simon, a junior at Abington Senior High School.

Two categories of prints created by students of art teacher Nicole Caracciolo were exhibited:

  
“Print as Protest“
Woodcuts and Linoleum Cuts

Print as Protest is a project where students learn about and research how various cultures use the medium of printmaking as a means of protest. Students then create their own linoleum cut or woodcut based on a political or social issue that they would like to protest. Student artists:

“Responding to Literature“
Woodcuts, Linoleum Cuts, and Serigraphy (with watercolor additions)

For the literature illustration project, students choose their favorite work of literature and respond to the entire work or a particular passage by creating a complementary image.  Once they have created their image, the students chose a print medium (linoleum cut, woodcut, or silk screen) to execute the final work of art.  Student artists:

Roslyn Elementary School singers were invited to Abington Jefferson Hospital this week to help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the hospital’s The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Fund Committee. Under the direction of music teacher Mrs. Mary Hernandez-Cuebas, students sang a variety of uplifting songs to the audience. Students and those in attendance enjoyed the program.

Abington Senior High School students Evangeline Hsieh, a violinist, and Elizabeth Brown, a cellist, will represent Abington in the PMEA Region VI Orchestra Festival concert. The two talented musicians have been rehearsing with 120 selected musicians who represent high schools throughout Bucks and Montgomery Counties. The three-day festival will conclude with a concert at 1:00 pm Saturday afternoon, February 27, 2016, in the auditorium of the Council Rock High School North under the direction of Ms. Rosalind Erwin. 

Students at Roslyn Elementary School created posters for the Pennsylvania Statistics Poster competition based on the research they completed on a variety of topics. According to the rules of the competition, a statistics poster is a display containing two or more related graphics that summarize a set of data, look at the data from different points of view, and answer specific questions about the data. The competition is open to all K-12 students in Pennsylvania in four grade level categories.  Cash prizes, certificates, and ribbons are awarded for first, second, third, and fourth place in each category. Certificates are awarded for honorable mentions in each category. The poster’s subject matter is the choice of the participant.  In judging, the following criteria are considered:  overall impact of the display for eye-catching appeal and visual attractiveness, and for its ability to draw in the viewer to investigate the graph or graphs; clarity of the message’s demonstration of relationships and patterns, obvious conclusions and the ability to stand alone, even without the documentation on the back of the poster; appropriateness of the graphics for the data; and creativity, neatness, and originality.

Once the entries were completed at Roslyn, posters were displayed in the school cafeteria and all classes visited the cafeteria and reviewed the creative entries.  Students and staff learned various statistics about sports, cars, pets, snack foods, countries, movies, and so much more!  There were almost one hundred posters submitted by students from kindergarten through sixth grade.  Special thanks to Mrs. Tyheshia Carmichael, Roslyn’s Curriculum Specialist, for the presentation! 

The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society.

Abington Junior High School student Alexander Kubel, pictured here with his geography teacher, Ms. Valerie Bauer, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he has been named as a semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2016 Pennsylvania National Geographic State Bee. The contest will be held at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA on Friday, April 1, 2016.

This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 28th year. School Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took an online qualifying test. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the state Bees.

Each state champion will receive $100, the National Geographic book “The National Parks: An Illustrated History” and a medal, and will journey to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 22-25, 2016. The national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. The national champion will also travel (along with one parent or guardian), all expenses paid, to Alaska’s coastal wilderness, including Glacier Bay National Park, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

If students meet the reading goals, the principal will kiss a real, live pig! At Overlook Elementary School’s One School, One Book, as part of the school’s Read Across America event on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, local community leaders gathered to help celebrate the importance of reading and literacy in Abington Schools.

This annual celebration is designed to commemorate reading, learning, and community. The special guests introduced this year’s book selection, The Adventures of a South Pole Pig: A novel of snow and courage, by Chris Kurtz, and read aloud the first chapter in individual classrooms to generate excitement.

Every family received a FREE copy of the book to read to their children following the big event today. The program is designed to create a shared reading experience within the school community, part of the school’s 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. If the school meets its goals, the principal will be “kissing a pig.”

In addition, the school’s Student Council will be capturing the theme from this year’s chosen book by sponsoring the READ TO FEED PROJECT in which students will raise money as they are reading the book to help purchase “pigs” and other livestock for struggling families who have few resources and need an ongoing source of income. This is in partnership with Heifer International.

A reception was held prior to visiting the classrooms, including a Dr. Seuss birthday cake, with students and teachers.

COMMUNITY LEADER READERS INCLUDED:

Senator Art Haywood/Pennsylvania State Senator
Chief Bill Kelly/ Abington Township Police Department
Dr. Jeffrey Fecher/Abington School District Assistant Superintendent
Firefighter Sean Blake/Abington Fire Company
Officer Roger Gillispie/Abington Township Police Department
Chief Michael Jones/Abington Fire Company
Fire Marshall Jeff Glynn/Abington Township
Commissioner Tom Hecker/Abington Township, Ward 10
Dr. Kelly Doyle/Abington Supervisor of Communication Arts, Elementary
Rev. Brian Brown/Christ Centered Church
Captain Richard Jones/Abington Fire Company
Battalion Chief Brad Nash/Abington Fire Company
Rev. Jerome Coleman/First Baptist Church of Crestmont
Mrs. Patricia Botero/Overlook PTO President
Ms. Tamika Holland Overlook Staff
Mrs. Michele Smeal/Overlook PTO President
Mr. Joshua Perlman/Overlook Elementary Curriculum Specialist
Dr. James Melchor/Abington Assistant Director of Curriculum
Lt. Kelley Warner/Abington Township Police Department
Fire Fighters Glen Cotton, Robert St. Ledger/Abington Fire Company

The student-athletes read to students and discussed the importance of reading and doing well in school.

During the month of February Rydal Elementary School made literacy a significant part of Black History Month by hosting an African American Read-In. Students in grades 4-6 read books by African American authors to students in grades kindergarten to grade 3.  Toward the end of the month and program, sixth graders read to kindergarteners at Rydal West. Other grades participated in the event throughout last week.

This event is hosted by the Black Caucus of NCTE and NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English).