|
 The D-Link
An E-Newsletter for the DASD Community
January 13, 2013 - Vol 4, Issue 9 |
Thank you to our D-Link sponsor of the week!
The Chester County Community Foundation proudly sponsors the Brett A. Mickens Scholarship Fund. To read more about Brett Mickens and this Scholarship fund, please click here.
To donate online visit: www.chescocf.org Click "CCCF Fund Listing" and look for "Brett Mickens Scholarship Fund
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Superintendent's Column |
Greetings:
I want to take this opportunity to thank nine of the district's hardest working volunteers. Jane Bertone, Barbara Hurt-Simmons, Colleen Cranney, Carl Croft, Jackie Fenn, Jaime Mehler, Suzanne Simonelli, Tom Ost-Prisco and Bob Yorczyk are the nine members of the DASD School Board. This group meets weekly to establish a vision for our educational program, design a structure to achieve that vision, ensure schools are accountable to their community and advocate continuous improvement in student learning.
As citizen leaders, these individual board members face complex and demanding challenges, yet few people fully understand the scope and far-reaching implications of their responsibilities. Their job entails an endless string of meetings, appearances at school functions, and countless nights and weekends pouring over multiple reams of reports, agendas, proposals and other information they receive each week.
Time spent in board meetings represents just a fraction of the hours school board members spend being involved in their districts. They keep abreast of the latest trends in educational leadership by attending and working hard at training sessions and conferences. Those who are committee chairs meet with administrative liaisons before each month's committee meeting to discuss and review agenda items. In addition to their one regular monthly meeting, our members attend weekly policy, curriculum, finance, facility, governance and personnel meetings and work with outside agencies such as DARC and Communities That Care. Whether crafting policies, hiring administrators, listening to staff and student concerns or recognizing outstanding programs, our board members work hard in this voluntary, unpaid position.
Our school board members wear many hats in the outside world. However, they don a collective hat when they get down to the business of leading this district. Though individually they may have differing perspectives on certain issues, their role as a board is to consistently strive toward a common goal of helping our students achieve.
In acknowledgement of this dedicated service, January is designated School Director Recognition Month. This is a time for us to show our appreciation to the nine men and women who provide grassroots governance of our public schools. In making complex and sometimes difficult decisions these nine members are contributing to the successful achievement of our public school students.
If you run into one of our board members this month, make a special effort to tell each director that his or her hard work has been noticed and is truly appreciated.
Dr. Larry Mussoline,
Superintendent
Left to Right Bottom Row: Jackie Fenn, President Jane Bertone, Vice President Barbara Hurt-Simmons, Colleen Cranney
Left to Right Top Row: Bob Yorczyk, Carl Croft, Jaime Mehler, Suzanne Simonelli, Tom Ost-Prisco, Dr. Larry Mussoline, Superintendent.
|
|
|
|
| Redistricting Update |
The Redistricting Steering Committee met on Tuesday, January 8, 2013. The committee received all emails and letters received from the community. Members reviewed an updated elementary attendance map designed by McKissick and Associates. The committee feels that this option best reflects the six redistricting criteria approved by both the School Board and Redistricting Steering Committee at the beginning of this process. These include, but are not limited to, increasing population in underutilized schools while decreasing populations of schools at or near capacity, keeping neighborhoods together, student enrollment trends, transportation efficiencies, economic and racial diversity and the impact of feeder patterns on the middle and high schools.
The committee made additional minor changes and modifications to the McKissick map. McKissick will incorporate these additional changes and present the updated map to the committee at their next meeting on Monday, January 14, 2013. At the January 14, 2013 meeting, the committee will take a final vote on their elementary recommendation and begin discussions on possible high school redistricting options. Members will also determine a timeline and process to present their recommendations to the public |
| SAT Scores are tops in the state! | |
The Best SAT Scores in Pennsylvania's High Schools
Both DHS East and DHS West in the Top Tier of All Schools
DHS East and DHS West students' SAT scores place them in the top tier of the 619 high schools in Pennsylvania. DHS East ranks 26th (up one ranking from last year) and DHS West now ranks 33rd (up 23 places from 2011). Both high schools placed 4th and 5th among Chester County schools - coming behind 3rd place Unionville, 4th ranked Tredyffrin-Easttown and 8th ranked Great Valley.
Congratulations to all who helped our students succeed!
This link shows the top 43 schools in Pennsylvania. (please note that several schools tied) If you wish to read the Philadelphia Inquirer article with all high school scores and rankings - including a quote from DHS West Principal Tom Mulvey, click here.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130106_Best__worst_of_area_s_SATs.html
|
| School Board News | |
Board Approves New Security Measures
At the School Board's January meeting, upgraded security cameras for Downingtown High School East, Downingtown Middle School and Lionville Middle School were approved. The new digital cameras will replace the aging analog ones currently installed at East and the two middle schools. Access controls, an intercom and a camera for the front of the STEM Academy were also approved.
These improvements are part of a comprehensive security plan developed by the Facilities Department with assistance from state and local law enforcement officials. As part of the Board's facility committee's five year maintenance plan, a variety of upgrades to school security throughout the district has been planned.
You may have a new school board representative
In an effort to ensure equal representation throughout the district, the Downingtown Area School Board submitted a new school board director representation map to the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. The Court has approved the new representation map and it goes into effect this month. Changes were made to precincts in Upper Uwchlan, East Caln, Uwchlan, Downingtown and West Bradford. Please check the table below to see which director now represents your community. An asterick signifies that a precinct was changed from one director to another in the 2013 reapportionment map.
East Brandywine N1, N3, S - Carl Croft (Term expires 2015)
East Caln 1*, Uwchlan 2, 8* - Colleen Cranney (Term expires 2015)
East Caln 2*, West Bradford 2, 4 - Thomas Ost-Prisco (Term expires 2013)
Downingtown WN, EE, EW, WS* - Jane Bertone (Term expires 2015)
Upper Uwchlan 3*, West Pikeland - Barbara Hurt Simmons (Term expires 2013)
Upper Uwchlan 1*, 2*, Wallace - Jackie Fenn (Term expires 2015)
Uwchlan 1, 3, 5, 9* - Robert Yorczyk (Term expires 2013)
Uwchlan 6*, 7 - Suzanne Simonelli (Term expires 2013)
West Bradford 1, 3, 5 - Jaime Mehler (Term expires 2015)
|
| Keystone Awards | |
Left to Right Bottom Row: Dr. Lawrence Mussoline, SC Julie DiMino, BC Dawn Lawless, BW Linda Leib, LE Dr. Marcy Hessinger, SM Leigh Abbott, DHS West Tom Mulvey
Left to Right Top Row: LMS Jon Ross BH Dr. Mike Solon, PV Joe Fernandes, WB Chuck Menos, DHS East Paul Hurley, EW Nick Argonish, UH Bob Giering
The Pennsylvania Department of Education Keystone Recognition awards were recently bestowed on 1429 public schools that achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. The state education department has partnered with the Pennsylvania Association of Federal Program Coordinators since 2004 to present the award "as a public recognition of the quality work and commitment shown by students and educators". The Keystone Recognition plaque was recently presented to the principals of Beaver Creek, Brandywine Wallace, Bradford Heights, East Ward, Lionville Elementary, Pickering Valley, Shamona Creek, Springton Manor, Uwchlan Hills, West Bradford, Lionville Middle School, DHS East and DHS West.
|
| Community Compliments | 
The Downingtown Community Education Foundation received three Community Compliment Donations this month. A DCEF "Community Compliment" expresses a parent or community member's appreciation for the great job a staff member has done and the impact he/she has had on the education of a child.
Compliments were received for Beaver Creek teacher Susan Welk and Lionville Elementary teachers Donna Koch and Stephanie Cole. The three teachers receive a "Star" card announcing the compliment.
A Recommended donation for a parent or DASD friend to make a Community Compliment is $10.00. These funds help support the DCEF's funding of our Teacher Venture Grant/Classroom Projects funding. Over $750 dollars has been raised through this program since its inception last year. Here is a full list of staff members who have been honored with a compliment.
Stephanie Cole, LE
Donna Koch, LE
Susan Welk, BC
Lauren Wardrop, LMS
Lauren Reybitz,
Matthew Dzuinycz, LMS
Robert Ruch, LMS
Tina Forsythe, DHS West
Nicole Lipkin, DHS West
Gale Soneson, LE
Becky Desmond, DHS West
If you wish to make a Community Compliment to honor a DASD staff member, please click here. http://dasd-sharepoint.dasd.org/District/DCEF/Pages/Compliments.aspx
|
| Around the District | |
Bradford Heights
Ms. Siegfried, Mrs. Patterson, and Mrs. Lineburger held their winter concert on Wednesday, Dec. 19th. The students did an amazing job, as usual. The audience was excited to hear such wonderful music by their peers. Mrs. Lineburger had the chorus accompanied by Nolan Graham, the son of our 4th grade teacher Mrs. Graham. Dr. Solon helped accompany the orchestra, as well as the band. During the band portion of the concert, other teachers and staff participated: Dr. Solon, Mrs. Devitis, Mrs. Wise, Mrs. Graham, Mr. Pron, and even Mrs. Lineburger were seen on stage. The students are always thrilled to have the participation of staff members.
The bittersweet part of the week came with the retirement of Mrs. Lineburger, our music teacher. She has been an integral part of Bradford Heights for many years. Her dedication to the students of our school will be missed. During our school sing-a-long on Friday, the school honored her with her picture on the Wall of Fame, along with a song written and sung by Mrs. Midiri. We wish her good Luck and best wishes in her retirement.
Brandywine Wallace
Meghan Maslanka, Julian Williams, Elli Gasser, and Zoe Ennis are the first BW students whose artwork has been chosen to be displayed at the Exton Square Mall. Congratulations to these talented students and thanks to art teacher, Mrs. Rosario, for making sure that BW is well represented.
Our building data team met at the end of December and they are already working with teachers in grades 3-5 in using Study Island to support students and to assist in directed PSSA preparation. This week, BW received another Keystone Recognition Award from the Pennsylvania Department of Education in recognition of the school's AYP status during the past two years.
This week, members of the Crime Victims Center returned to BW to present sessions on Internet safety for our students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Thanks to our guidance counselor, Mrs. Nolan, for coordinating these important visits.
Pickering Valley
Although our hometown Eagles didn't get to the Super Bowl this year, the fifth grade classes in DASD would like to celebrate their own Souper Bowl by helping others. They are encouraging every 5th grade student to bring in a can a soup/food to be placed in the boxes located in the lobby or outside the 5th grade classrooms as directed by their teachers. The fifth grades hope to take hundreds of cans of food to the Lord's Pantry to help others during this time of fun. Their collective goal is 800 cans! Donations are due by Friday, February 1, 2013.
On January 4, 2013, over thirty 4th and 5th graders participated in the 1st round of the Pickering Valley Geography Bee. Ten finalists made it to the exciting playoff round on Wednesday January 9th. Pickering Valley's 2013 Geography Bee champion was 5th Grader, Peter Stepenosky, with 2nd place going to Sowmya Vemulapalli and third place going to Gabby Reece. Peter will now move on to participate in the Geography Bee at the state level. Good luck, Peter!
Uwchlan Hills
 Art Goes to School is at Uwchlan Hills School between January 7 and January 17, 2013. Art Goes to School is a Volunteer Program that benefits each of our 10 DASD elementary schools. The program is run by volunteers in the Downingtown community. The volunteers visit each school once a year for two weeks. The presentations occur during the regular Art Class time for students in Grades 2-3-4-5. Art Goes to School is a crash course in Art History; the presenter brings in a variety of Art Prints, and students learn about famous works of art, the lives of different artists, and various art vocabulary words and artistic techniques. It's a wonderful program that reinforces the Visual Art curriculum.
The Art Goes to School volunteers who have created the schedule for Uwchlan Hills School are Anne Suss and Jeanne Bousum. The Art Goes to School volunteers who are presenting this year are Arlene Jeffers, Sheila Cain, Nancy Berger, Linda Ward, Nancy McAvoy.
The Art Goes to School portfolio of artwork this year includes approximately 30 works, by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and Fernand L�ger. Artworks from artists born in Pennsylvania are also included in this year's portfolio, and they include Andy Warhol, Mary Cassatt, and Andrew Wyeth. Students are learning about the differences between Still Life, Portraits, Genre Paintings, Landscapes, and Abstract Art. UHES Art Teacher, Krissy Krygiel Evans, is thrilled by the Art Goes to School presenters and the enthusiasm and variety of information that they bring to Art Class. Students are increasing their knowledge of Art History, developing their Art Criticism skills, and improving their ability to use proper Art Vocabulary in conversation. THANK YOU, Art Goes to School, for all that you bring to Uwchlan Hills School.
Shamona Creek
It is always exciting to visit classrooms informally to see different teaching strategies being used and to observe student learning. What did I see this week???
- Kindergartners using iPads to reinforce reading readiness skills
- First graders using laptops adeptly and another class circling key vocabulary to help solve word problems in math
- Second graders graphing their own progress on addition /subtraction math fact fluency with goals and another class using Judy Blume chapter books for a literature study
- Third graders wearing name tags with a multiplication fact. "Hello, My Name is: 7x8." (They had to use the product when talking to that student...Do you want to play tag 56?)
- Fourth graders working on Study Island to review a number of math concepts and a class who earned sneaker tags that said..."I had a great day in math!"
- Fifth graders reading non-fiction and using text structure and graphic organizers to increase comprehension
- IST and teachers assessing for mid-year reading benchmarks using AIMSweb and F&P to identify appropriate groups for RtII and guided reading
I also had the pleasure of substituting in the library for an afternoon
The Downingtown West Student Council facilitated the making and sending of nearly 300 cards and letters to the families of the Sandy Hook victims.
For the winter holiday, Downingtown West science teacher, Amanda Combs, and her family hiked the "other Inca trail" through the Andean region of Peru for 8 days. They crossed the pass between Salkantay and Humantay mountains at an elevation of over 15,200 feet. The broad range of altitudes allowed them to experience more than 20 distinct climates. They also spent 2 days at Machu Picchu hiking and learning about the current understandings of Incan history and culture.
Ms. Combs hiked to a primary school and visited with the student pictured. Many students would walk three hours EACH way to have the privilege of attending school. They left home at 5 am to hike 6 or more miles to school traveling up and down thousands of feet in elevation, often in muddy conditions. The school day is from 8 am to 1 pm. When they arrive home at 4 pm, the students then do family chores. The Andean homes are frequently mud brick with thatch roofs and contain one room.
The Stage West Drama Club will conclude their 2012-2013 season with the modern comedy "Fashionably Late" on Thursday and Friday, January 24th & 25th at 7:00pm in the West auditorium. Tickets are sold at the door for $5.00.
STEM Academy Downingtown STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) Academy students exceeded their goal to provide holiday cheer to local families, by collecting hundreds of new toys and gifts. The presents, donated and wrapped by the STEM Academy students as part of the school's Community Outreach program, were given to children and their parents this Christmas through the Community, Youth and Women's Alliance (CYWA) of Coatesville
|
| Thank you to our sponsor: The Brett Micken Scholarship Fund |
 The Chester County Community Foundation proudly sponsors the Brett A. Mickens Scholarship Fund.
Brett Alexander Mickens was born on July 31, 1964 and he accomplished much during the 47 years he lived. This devoted husband, father of five, and loving grandfather was also a valued colleague, friend and community leader. He was an exceptionally skilled Technology Associate whose professional resume' included service with the Downingtown Area School District, the Chester County Intermediate Unit and the New York City Board of Education.
Brett died suddenly on November 16, 2011. To honor Brett's memory, this scholarship fund has been established through the Chester County Community Foundation by two of Brett's close friends, Dr. Levi Wingard and Mr. Harlan Smith, and will be awarded annually to a Downingtown Area School District student who pursues post-secondary education at a college, university or vocational school.
You can donate online at www.chescocf.org Click "CCCF Fund Listing" and look for "Brett Mickens Scholarship Fund
|
|
Questions or comments? Send an email to pmcglone@dasd.org
|
|
|
|
|
