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SUMMER 2018

BOYERTOWN AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTTo enable all students to succeed in a changing world.

Celebrating the Class of 2018

Boyertown Area School District’s Music Program Receives National RecognitionThe Boyertown Area School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. The Boyertown Area School District is one of 4% of districts across the nation receiving the prestigious award in 2018.

The Best Communities Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the Boyertown Area School District answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

“Receiving a Best Community for Music recognition is truly an honor,” said Mr. Michael Jordan, Lead Teacher for the Arts. “It is a great distinction for the music students and staff, but it really is a community effort. The award criteria

specifically takes into account all of the activities offered outside of the school district. This includes local churches, the Alumni Band, the Boyertown Area Choral Association, the Director’s Big Band, and the other organizations that offer the students an opportunity to perform beyond school.

This award recognizes that the Boyertown Area School District is leading the way with music learning opportunities as outlined in the new federal education legislation, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The legislation, signed into law in December 2015, and awaiting state implementation designates music and the arts as important elements of well-rounded education for all children.

“This award confirms what we know about our excellent programs for students in music and related arts,” said Acting District Superintendent Mr. David Krem. “It also highlights music’s vital role in our students’ overall success in school and the personal benefits of making music.”

Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. In a series

of landmark studies by scientists and researchers at Northwestern University a link was found between students in community music programs and life-long academic success, including higher high school graduation rates and college attendance.

Beyond the Northwestern research, other studies have

During the 126th commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 7, 563 graduates walked into Santander Arena to receive their diplomas. Student speakers included Class President Samuel Longacre, Class Vice-President James J. Towers, Jr., Valedictorian Taylor J. Winner, and Salutatorian Hallie E. Paules.

For more on the Class of 2018, see pages 4 & 5.

indicated that music education lays the foundation for individual excellence in group settings, creative problem solving and flexibility in work situations, as well as learning how to give and receive constructive criticism to excel.

A 2015 study, “Striking A Chord” supported by the NAMM Foundation, also outlines the overwhelm-ing desire by teachers and parents for music edu-cation opportunities for all children as part of the school curriculum.

Kindergarten RegistrationThe Boyertown Area School District is announcing kindergarten registration for the 2018-2019 school year for any district resident child that meets the age requirement of 5 years of age on or prior to September 1, 2018. The 2018-2019 academic year registration portal is available. Note, that students must be registered by August 20, 2018 to ensure first day of school start.Note that although students entering kindergarten are required to have a physical and dental examination, these exams must be completed after September 1, 2017 and no later than September 15, 2018.

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DISTRICT DIRECTORYBoyertown Area School District

911 Montgomery Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512 610-367-6031 | 610-369-7620 (fax)

www.boyertownasd.org

Board of School DirectorsDonna L. Usavage, PresidentStephen Elsier, Vice-PresidentRodney W. BoyerClay D. BreeceRuth A. DierolfJill A. DenninBrandon FooseDavid P. LewisChristine M. Neiman

District Office AdministrationDavid P. Krem, Acting SuperintendentMarybeth Torchia, Assistant SuperintendentDr. Melissa L. Woodard, Assistant SuperintendentRebecca Clouser, Chief Financial OfficerDr. J. Mia Kim, Chief Human Resources Officer

Boyertown Area Senior High School120 North Monroe Street, Boyertown, PA 19512610-369-7435Dr. Brett A. Cooper, PrincipalDr. E. Wayne Foley, Assistant PrincipalAndrew T. Maoury, Assistant PrincipalKelly B. Mason, Assistant Principal

Boyertown Middle School East 2020 Big Road, Gilbertsville, PA 19525610-754-9550 Andrew C. Ruppert, PrincipalEric J. Marsch, Assistant Principal

Boyertown Middle School West 380 South Madison Street, Boyertown, PA 19512610-369-7471TBD, PrincipalStephanie L. Landis, Assistant PrincipalDavid S. Schmaldienst, Assistant Principal

Boyertown Elementary School641 East Second Street, Boyertown, PA 19512610-369-7462 Craig R. Kehl, Principal

Colebrookdale Elementary School1001 Montgomery Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512610-369-7427 Michael R. Stoudt, Principal

Earl Elementary School22 Schoolhouse Road, Boyertown, PA 19512610-369-7504 Rachel Franco, Principal

Gilbertsville Elementary School36 Congo Road, Gilbertsville, PA 19525610-369-7485 Stephanie A. Petri, Principal

New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary School2547 Big Road, Frederick, PA 19435610-754-9580 Brian J. Rohn, Principal

Pine Forge Elementary School8 Glendale Road, Boyertown, PA 19512610-323-7609 Stephan Pron, Principal

Washington Elementary School1406 Route 100, Barto, PA 19504610-754-9589Christopher J. Iacobelli, Principal

The Boyertown Area School District Newsletter is published by the Boyertown Area School District. For questions or comments regarding this publication, please contact Kristine Parkes, MA, CFRE at kparkes@boyertownasd.org.

By Shannon Ludwig, BASH sophomore

Student Journalists Win National AwardsThree student journalists recently won awards for stories they wrote for Bashcub.com, the high school’s student-run news site.

Together, freshmen Marlaina Garczynski and Samantha Hoffman (pictured at right)won first place and $500 for the journalism program in a review-writing contest, and sophomore Casey Tremblay won a writing award for a column she wrote about attending the National March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C.

Marlaina and Samantha competed against students across the country to co-write a review of a beta version of a new app from the Edunomics Institute called Flöwan, which allows students to chat with fictitious characters. (The second-place winner was a senior from Parkland, Florida, and the third-place winner was a senior from Missouri.)

Marlaina says it was fun doing the research on the app and then writing about it.

“I liked playing the game, and as we played it, we took notes on our thoughts,” Marlaina says.

Samantha says she was excited when she got the email about winning the award.

“I was so surprised when we won, because the review was kind of harsh,” she says. “Overall, the review was positive, but we did go into detail about some errors.”

Edumonics said the honest critique helped the company improve its app.

“Each one of you made an important contribution to our finding—and fixing—bugs in Flöwan,” said a message to the reviewers on the Edunomics website. “That’s what beta testing is all about, and each participant played a significant role in

improving Flöwan.”

The Cub club plans to use the $500 to help pay to send Marlaina, Samantha, and other club members on a field trip to New York City for a student-journalism conference in the fall, club advisor Ms. Susan O’Brien says.

“They deserve it,” she adds. “They worked hard, not only on this article but on a number of articles for Bashcub.com this year.”

Casey’s “Best of SNO” writing award came from Student Newspapers Online, which is the web host for Bashcub.com and hundreds of high-school and college news sites across the country. The story she wrote, an opinion piece entitled “My Day Marching with Meaning,” about her experiences at the March for Our Lives, was published on BestofSNO.com.

“I was really excited to write about the march,” Casey says. “It is something I have always been really passionate about, and I like to write about my opinions.”

Earl Elementary Students Take a (Virtual) Trip to AlaskaWith the help of Mr. Greg Ritchie, a former Earl Elementary School educator, students at the school were taken on a virtual trip to Alaska. Mr. Ritchie and his wife, Jan, have combined their passions for wildlife, RV travel, and photography with the work they love as educator and therapist and created books about the outdoors that contain positive life lessons for children.

During his photographic presentation at Earl Elementary School, Mr. Ritchie introduced the students to Jacob, a magical bear who can change his size and even float in the air by holding onto his “happy thoughts.” Jacob is the main character in the book Jacob Visits Alaska, which was also the

focus of Mr. Ritchie’s presentation. With every slide that he put up on the screen, Mr. Ritchie brought Alaska to the students and the students kept watch for Jacob, who was “hiding” somewhere in the photo, much like in a Where’s Waldo game. When a student spotted Jacob, he or she would quickly raise a hand. It was fun to watch the stu-dents as they raced to get their arms in the air after looking closely at each slide.

Mr. Ritchie’s visit received rave reviews from the audience. From the youngest students to the fifth grade students and teachers, everyone is looking forward to their next virtual trip.

Guest Author Shares His StoryThis spring, author and illustrator Mr. Thomas F. Yezerski spent a day at Gilbertsville Elementary School speaking to the students about writing and drawing.

Mr. Yezerski began by asking the students what the words “author” and “illustrator” mean. He followed these questions by showing the students covers of the books he has written and covers of books he has illustrated. He continued by asking engaging questions, such as “What do you like to read?” and the students enthusiastically answered.

As Mr. Yezerkski continued through his Pow-erPoint presentation, he showed photos of his parents reading to him as a little boy. The students laughed when photos of a story that he wrote in the second grade and a drawing of his teddy bear appeared on the screen.

“I want to show the students that good writing and drawing is not so much magic as fixing mistakes

and using lessons I learned along the way,” he explains.

Mr. Yezerski shared with the students how he develops his story ideas. For example, his first book, Together in Pinecone Patch, is about his parents. Woven into the book’s stories were lessons about how to be a good writer and art-ist. He advised students to look, touch, listen, taste, and of course, go to school.

Mr. Yezerski is best known for his book, Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story. He talked about the book, showing the students how he came up with the idea for the story and how he developed the illustrations using real people and animals as models. He also explained the role of an editor and the benefits of writing multiple drafts of a book.

For more information on Mr. Yezerksi and his books, visit thomasfyezerski.com.

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Technology Students Shine at State ConferenceIn April, 47 students from Boyertown Middle School East and Boyertown Middle School West attended the 40th annual Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference in Champion, PA, along with their advisors, Mr. John Brass, Mrs. Erika Lucas, and Mr. Kevin Reigner. The students competed alongside 1,800 students from across the state in events such as CAD Foundations, Career Prep, Forensics Technology, Inventions and Innovations, and Mechanical Engineering.

To prepare for the conference, Boyertown students put in countless hours all year, at home and during and after school, diligently refining miniature mechanical planes, brushing up on their photography skills, and studying their computer programs. In the end, Boyertown students brought home state champions in four events and top-ten placements in 39 events.

“Determination and focus allowed our students to achieve and succeed at a high level on a very big stage,” comments Mr. Todd Kennedy, Technology and Engineering Department head. “They did an outstanding job competing and continuing to make the Boyertown Area School District a strong part of PA-TSA.”

Congratulations to the students from Boyertown Middle School West who participated in the Technology Student Association Conference: Liam Glackin, Nathan Erb, Matt Scheifley, Gavin Loshnowsky, Abby Droege, Lucas Famous, Nick McCracken, Madison Martin, Lucas Glackin, Christian Freimann, Bryton Freimann, Josh Mumie, Matthaus Gross, Chris Ogilvie, Ethan Josuweit, Aiden Nunan, Chase Toscano, Colin Burns, Phillip Angus, Sam Stock, Luke Yambor, and Finnegan Hart.

Congratulations to the students from Boyertown Middle School East who participated in the Technology Student Association Conference: Owen Bellino, Richard Black, Ciaran Black, Jacob Boughter, Sophia Carmichael, Richard DeMenno, Elijah Elwell, Noah Goldberg, Tanisha Johri, Dylan Klass, Max Kneidinger, Josh Lawn, Josh Leshinskie, Mark Longenberger, Ethan Maraldo, Brenna McGrath, Josh O’Connor, Natalie Rodriguez, Ryan Schatz, Luke Smyth, Lucas Steinmetz, Max Theisen, Hudson Wall, Ava Westrich, and Caroline Young.

For more information on the grades 6–12

Technology Student Association program, please contact Todd Kennedy, Technology and Engineering Department head, at tkennedy@boyertownasd.org.

At the high-school level, two juniors ran successful campaigns for Pennsylvania Technology Student Association State office: Joshua Famous for the office of sergeant at arms and Abigail Reigner for the office of president. For the first time in the history of Boyertown Area Senior High TSA, two Boyertown students were elected to the PA TSA State Officer Team.

The following are the events and places earned by Boyertown students:

1st Place - 3D Animation ( Joshua Famous, Brody Cuthill)

4th Place - Chapter Team ( Josie Benner, Josh Famous, Brody Cuthill, Chris Angus, Asher Hamrick, Luke Tomme)

2nd Place - Children’s Stories (Talor Bianchini, Alyssa Carlier, Hallie Paules, Autumn Doerr)

1st Place - CADD 3D Engineering (Grace DeMenno)

5th Place - CADD 3D Engineering (Garrett Witherington)

3rd Place - Digital Video Production (Abby Reigner, Carson Umberger, Jon Xhoxhi, Reid Goslin)

5th Place - Dragster Design (Kai Gabriel)

6th Place - Dragster Design (David Frisco)

2nd Place - Engineering Design (Elizabeth Clarkson, Emma Hauser, Garrett Witherington, Grace DeMenno, Jessica Hyland, Tara O’Connor)

4th Place - Engineering Design (Divyesh Johri, Kobe Rocero, Lane Adams, Tom Rohrbach, Tyler Hagmann)

7th Place - Engineering Design (Chris Angus, Brody Cuthill, Olivia Johanssen, Dan Martignetti, Kreena Patel)

7th Place - Essays on Technology ( Josie Benner)

4th Place - Fashion Design Technology (Alyssa Carlier, Autumn Doerr, Hallie Paules, Talor Bianchini)

7th Place - Future Technology Teacher (Alyssa Carlier)

8th Place - Music Production (Chris Angus, Luke Tomme, Jon Xhoxhi, Victoria Ulmer, Lane Adams)

1st Place - Prepared Presentation ( Josie Benner)

2nd Place - Promotional Marketing (Tara O’Connor)

3rd Place - Promotional Marketing (Eden Sakal)

4th Place - SciVis (Abby Reigner, Kate Poe, Reid Goslin)

1st Place - Software Development ( Josh Famous, Carson Umberger)

8th Place - Technology Bowl (Garrett Witherington, Josie Benner, Trevor Bellino)

10th Place - Transportation Modeling (David Frisco)

4th Place - Video Game Design (Asher Hamrick, Brody Cuthill, Dave Johri, Josh Famous, Kate Poe)

1st Place - Webmaster (Asher Hamrick, Carson Umberger, Dave Johri, Josh Famous, Kate Poe)

8th Place - Webmaster (Deanna Charitos, Eden Sakal, Elizabeth Clarkson, Emma Hauser)

10th Place - PA Computer Systems Troubleshooting (Kobe Rocero, Marc Soda)

2nd Place - PA Electronic Research and Experimentation (Derek Klass, Marc Soda, Olivia Johannsen, Trevor Bellino)

6th Place - PA Logo Design (Tara O’Connor)

2nd Place - PA Materials Process (Abby Reigner)

3rd Place - PA Materials Process (Bryan Martignetti)

8th Place - PA R/C Off Road Racing (Trevor Bellino, Marc Soda, Olivia Johannsen)

5th Place - PA Safety Illustration (Kate Poe)

4th Place - Chapter Team Written ( Josh Famous)

2nd Place - Technology Bowl Written ( Josie Benner)

It’s All Greek at Boyertown Elementary School

Greek statues (from left) Amela Maldonado, Lauren McKeon, Sarah Mumie, and Madeline Stehman greeted guests as they arrived at Boyertown Elementary School for the school’s annual end-of-year art show. The show’s theme, Greek and Roman History, could be found in many of the art projects that lined the school’s hallways.

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Before coming to Boyertown Area Senior High, Steven was a member of the AFROTC for two years. Upon transferring, he became a member of the NJROTC. Steven’s high score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) gave him his pick of jobs, and he has enlisted as a signals intelligence specialist.

In addition to NJROTC, Steven was a varsity athlete. He played left tackle and defensive tackle for the football team and wrestled at 220 pounds. He credits his coaches for making an impact on him, especially Coach Steven Anspach at Pottstown High School, who told Steven in his fresh-man year that he had to get serious if he wanted to improve.

Steven has also been a volunteer football coach for the Police Athlet-ic League (PAL) program and was named PAL Football Coach of the Year as a freshman.

In the classroom, Steven made the honor roll throughout high school.

Sam Bacino’s passion for art is taking her to the Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall, where she will double-major in illustration and graphic design.

This talented artist’s work has been featured in the Secondary Art Exhibit at the GoggleWorks in Reading, PA for the last two years. She also received a scholarship to take art classes at Tyler School of Art at Temple in 2017. Her preferred mediums are watercolor and paint.

Academically, Sam has earned high honors for much of her middle school and high school career. She has also taken Advanced Placement courses.

Sam credits her parents and her painting teacher, Mrs. Pamela Hendrix, for giving her the courage and confidence to pursue a career in the arts.

Outside of school, Sam has worked at Wendy’s Flowers since her junior year.

Miya Carmichael is always on the go and loves planning events. At Boyertown Area Senior High, she was active with the Mini-THON committee,

the Link Crew, and student council. She served as the secretary of the National Honor Society, sang with the concert choir, and performed in the school’s production of The Sound of Music. She also played volleyball her junior and senior years.

Outside of school, Miya played club soccer her freshman year and worked at Longacres Modern Dairy.

Miya will be attending SUNY Binghamton in New York to study

A Look at the Class of 2018Boyertown Area Senior High graduates are a diverse group who have left their mark on the school and the community. To give you a glimpse into the lives of our graduates and the paths they will take after graduation, we would like to introduce you to the following students, who represent this year’s graduating class.

Inspired by his father, Joseph Perez enrolled in the Information Technology Network-ing program through the Berks Career and Technolo-gy Center. He says that he’s never felt more excited to learn than he did when he first began to work with computers.

He attended this program for two and a half years before deciding to finish his senior year full-time at Boyertown Area Senior High. Through the program, he received his MTA Network Fundamentals Certificate.

Outside of school, Joseph started a business with his father in June 2016 called Net Connect Guy. It focuses on computer networking/infra-structure, firewalls and security, and installing home theater systems.

Joseph is very active with his church and manages the audio-visual sys-tem every Sunday as well as for the AWANA program.

Joseph has decided to enlist in the Air National Guard after graduation. He will be following in the footsteps of his brother, who is in the Army National Guard, and his father and grandfather, who served in the Air Force. Joseph hopes to work in cyber-security.

Samantha Moser is a compassionate student-athlete who dreams of being a teacher for the visu-ally impaired. She took an Introduction to Education class at Mont-

gomery County Community College through Boyertown Area Senior High’s dual-enrollment program. As part of the course, there was a pre-sentation by a Kutztown University student who is majoring in educating the visually impaired. It was this pre-sentation combined with Samantha’s shadowing of Mrs. Ruth Portonova, the high school’s vision teacher and orientation and mobility specialist, that inspired her.

Samantha, who has been swimming since she was 11 years old, was a member of the high school’s swim team. She was also a member of Youth and Government since the eighth grade. She achieved high honors each semester since seventh grade and was a member of National Honor Society, where she served as the social-media specialist.

Samantha will attend West Chester University in the fall, where she will

double major in elementary education and special education, with a minor in either K-8 math or autism.

Zack Benning’s goal is to make a difference in the world, and this active Boyertown Area Senior High graduate is well on his way.

Having played basketball since first grade, Zack played on the varsity team his junior and senior years and was co-captain his senior year. He has also played at Bob Koch Hoops for the last five years and is coaching for the first time this year.

Off the court, Zack was a member of Future Business Leaders of American and the Link Crew. However, he was most active with Youth and Govern-ment, of which he has been a member since eighth grade, and was named Lobbyist of the Year at the Pennsylva-nia Youth and Government Confer-ence in his sophomore year.

Academically, Zack made high honor roll throughout high school.

Zack will attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he was awarded a university scholarship. He chose Pitt because he loves the city and because of the engineering program, one of the top programs in the state. Zack will be an engineering major and is consid-ering studying abroad through the school’s co-op program.

Abby Fillman is an active member of her church, Hopewell Com-munity Church, and for the past two summers she has gone on mission trips—one to West Virginia and

one to Jamaica. It was these trips that inspired Abby to apply to World Race Gap Year, an organization that takes college-aged students on a journey to three continents in nine months to serve the “least of these” among real and raw community.

“After my first two trips, I realized that missions and serving others were a passion of mine,” Abby says.

Through the World Race Gap Year, Abby will travel to Guatemala, Thailand, Malaysia, and Swaziland. She will spend three months on each continent and will backpack the entire trip. During the trip, her parents can visit her once. She is nervous and excited, but knows that this is the right path for her. Abby leaves in Sep-tember and will maintain a blog where family and friends can follow her at http://ow.ly/DNqZ30kEmxM.

When Abby returns home, she will attend either Messiah College or Penn State. She has deferred admission to both schools to take a gap year. At this point, she intends to major in elementary education, with a minor in English as a second language.

At Boyertown Area Senior High, Abby played tennis her senior year and received the Good Citizens Award from the Mahanatawny Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She also made honor roll throughout high school.

Logan Miller’s grandfather introduced him to cars, and his father who taught him everything he knows about them. He has been working and saving since he was 14 to buy

his first car, a 1962 Buick.

Outside school, Logan spends most of his free time around cars, helping his grandfather and father rebuild clas-sic cars. Together, they have rebuilt a 1923 T-Bucket, a 1940 Dodge, a 1962 Buick, and a 1977 Camaro. Logan has also just started drag racing. He has also played rugby with a club team for the last four years.

At Boyertown Area Senior High, Logan was a member of the NJROTC for four years, earning both the JRROTC Air Force and Army Med-als in his sophomore year.

Logan will be attending the Auto-motive Training Center in Exton in the fall. He will major in automotive maintenance with high performance. He will be working toward acceptance into the BMW Automotive Ser-vice Technician Education Program (STEP), a free 16-week BMW-spe-cific technician education course designed to prepare students for a career with BMW.

Morgan Strauss’ dedica-tion to helping other is visible in every aspect of her life. Throughout her high school career she has completed more than 200 hours of community

service, while maintaining honors and high honors in her academics.

Through her church, New Hanover United Methodist Church, Morgan has completed three mission trips and will be traveling to Puerto Rico this summer for a week and a half to complete her fourth trip. At Boyer-town Area Senior High, Morgan has volunteered in the Life Skills class-room since ninth grade.

Morgan credits Mrs. Christy Greener for having an impact on her. “Any time I needed a person to talk to, a pep talk, or a shoulder to cry on, she was always there, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that,” Morgan says.

Morgan will attend Messiah Col-lege and will major in applied health science, with a concentration in exercise science. Her goal is to become an occupational therapist so that she can help people be the best version of themselves.

Steven Har-ing-Hewitt is a disciplined, patriotic stu-dent-athlete parlaying his ROTC experi-ence into serv-ing our country as a member of the US Army.

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apprentice electrician and work my way up the ladder.”

Riley held perfect attendance at BCTC in his senior year and was named Student of the Quarter.

A student-athlete, Riley played football from first through tenth grades. He also played hockey from seventh through eleventh grades and rugby from eighth to tenth grades.

Riley has worked at Weand Lawn and Landscaping since his sophomore year.

In her own words, Meredith Eicherly’s life goal is to be a polyglot.

After becoming friends with exchange students and participating

in a monthlong exchange program in Spain the summer before her senior year, Meredith decided to take a gap year after graduation to participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Meredith will spend a year in Santa

whose passion for history Michael finds inspiring. He appreciates Mr. Jeff Kusniez for being his first really difficult teacher and for teaching him to home in on what he was trying to say in his papers.

Michael will be attending the Australian National University in the fall. He chose this school because it is ranked 22nd in the world and costs significantly less than colleges and universities in the United States. He will pursue a dual major in environmental/sustainable science and

economics.

Riley Strouse has been a student in the Berks College and Technology Center’s electrical occupations program since his sophomore year. Riley

explains that his uncle is an electrician.

“I have enjoyed the program at BCTC,” Riley says. “After graduation, I’m going to join the IBEW as an

integrated neuroscience. She is looking forward to being as active as possible at college.

Miya would like to thank Señora Dominguez for creating a welcoming atmosphere in her classroom and for opening her eyes to languages. Miya has begun to teach herself French, Arabic, and Dutch and is considering a linguistics minor at SUNY Binghamton.

Michael Landolfa is an interesting young man whose thirst for learning has taken him down a unique path. He spent ten months studying abroad in Bosnia, and while he says it wouldn’t have been his first choice, he learned a lot about himself and how to deal with difficult people during his time there. He also met interesting people, including two of his best friends (one who lives in Canada), and had the opportunity to travel extensively through the exchange program. He was also able to pick up three languages – Bosnian, French, and German.

Michael is the first to admit that he is not a fan of school. However, he enjoys learning. His all-time favorite teacher is Mr. Steven Bleiler,

Cruz, Bolivia, where she will live with a host family and attend high school.

At Boyertown Area Senior High, Meredith was active in concert choir, show choir, and chamber choir. She was in the marching and jazz band and plays piano and guitar. She has been writing her own songs since her sophomore year.

After her gap year, Meredith will attend the University of Sydney, Australia, where she will major in international relations. Her major was influenced by the Brown University Pre-College Summer Program, in which she participated the summer before her senior year and took Spanish and international relations.

Meredith explains that the University of Sydney’s humanities program is ranked 15th in the world. And, being restless by nature, she says that many of the schools she applied to were outside of the United States.

Meredith would like to thank her parents for being open to and accepting of her goals and dreams.

A Lasting ImpressionWhen entering Middle School West, guests are immediately greeted with brilliant pieces of art throughout the hallways and in the courtyard. The murals and statues add vibrancy that makes the building stand out in the District. All of them were created by students through the years, under the guidance of former art teacher Mr. Bill Scheck. This spring, Mr. Scheck has returned to the District in a different role – as artist-in-residency at Washington and Earl Elementary Schools. There, he is working with art educator Mrs. Nancy Yurkovich and her students to create a larger-than-life fruit and vegetable mosaic mural at each school.

Mrs. Yurkovich explains that the mural is based on the theme “The Beauty of Food” and will be a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Between the fruit and vegetable tiles will be pieces of mirror and smaller colored tiles. Each child will have had a hand in their school’s mural, beginning with making a fruit or vegetable tile. At Washington Ele-mentary School, the mural will hang between the cafeteria doors. At Earl Elementary School, it will hang in the hallway by the cafeteria.

Mrs. Yurkovich’s mural work is inspired by Mr. Scheck’s work at Middle School West. He is the third artist-in-residence at Washington and the first at Earl. Mrs. Yurkovich funds the artists in residency through her Art to Remember program. She also requests funding from each school’s Home and School Association.

Fourth-grade student Bridget Hart-man, who made an asparagus tile, thinks the completed mural will be a good conversation-starter at lunch.

Her classmate, Syleste Marks, made a cucumber tile. “It has been fun working on the details of my tile,” she says. “It’s going to be amazing seeing all of our work put together.”

Mr. Scheck agrees. “There is no bigger thrill than watching the kids look at the final mural and admire what they were able to do together.”

Both murals hung before the end of this academic year.

Mrs. Yurkovich helps first grade student Ava Finegan place her piece in

Washington Elementary School’s mural.

Commencement Memories

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Students at Middle School East put in hours of rehearsal time in the weeks leading up to opening night.

A GLO activity asked the girls to create cards with positive messages for a bulletin board that hangs in the school’s hall.

Girls Help Each Other Shine at Pine Forge ElementaryIn a 2013 New York Magazine article, writer and podcast host Ann Friedman gave this advice to women intimidated by their strong, successful peers: "When you meet a woman who is intimidatingly witty, stylish, beautiful, and professionally accomplished, befriend her. Surrounding yourself with the best people doesn’t make you look worse by comparison. It makes you better."

When adolescent girls begin gossiping or excluding each other from social activities, it doesn't come from a place of cruelty, but from insecurity. They've begun to internalize the untrue notion that there isn't "enough" for all girls—enough success, enough popularity, enough praise. However, the fifth grade girls at Pine Forge Elementary School have carved a different path so that everyone can be at the top. With the help of fourth grade teacher Mrs. Deena Cohen and Middle School West school counselor Mrs. Stephenie Williams, who previously served at Pine Forge Elementary, the girls are learning that when they shine, their peers shine, too.

Girls’ Lunch Out, or GLO, is a weekly meeting for fifth grade girls that takes place on Thursdays during their lunch period. It began this school year after concerns from fifth grade teachers about relations between female students. Mrs. Cohen believed the best way to combat any toxic social relations was to create a space that encouraged positivity. “It’s hard enough to be a lady as it is,” she added. “I want to show them that they should be supportive of one another, not going against one another.”

A key component of GLO is that it’s treated as a privilege and the participants must treat each other with kindness between meetings (behavior that is observed by the fifth grade teachers) in order to be invited back. Mrs. Cohen was happy to report there have been very few instances where students were not invited back, and when infractions occurred it was only for a week at a time. In fact, the positive energy of GLO has poured out, and teachers have noticed improved behavior between female students overall.

The students say they look forward to their weekly meeting for several reasons: For Anjolena Shaner, it’s that she enjoys doing activities together and that no one gets left out. Jianna Anderson said, "I like seeing my friends from other classes." For Lillian Kerkusz, what matters is that she's enjoyed learning how to support her friends and how all the participants have grown closer. Another benefit, according to several students, is getting away from the boys during lunch.

In the spirit of women lifting up women, Mrs. Cohen doesn't act alone. She recruited Mrs. Williams to lead the weekly meet-up, and Mrs. Williams happily accepted. She wants the girls to learn that they can work together even if they are very different, and has worked to build teamwork skills they can use in middle school, high school, and college, and on into adulthood.

The lunch-hour GLO gatherings were more than a casual social time; the meeting space became one where the students work on activities, including the “marshmallow challenge.” With 20 uncooked

spaghetti strands, a yard of tape, a yard of string, a single marshmallow, and 18 minutes on the clock, the students were challenged to create a free-standing structure, with the tallest creation deemed the champion. As they built, the room was filled with giggling and team strategizing, and the time ended with proud displays of the spaghetti and marshmallow structures. There was no name-calling or jealousy, only support for one another.

GLO is looking to grow. Mrs. Cohen sees a lot of possibilities for the group and is excited to see what happens next.

A Spin on Geography ClassFor Mrs. Shana Bigham’s and Mrs. Cele Flint’s second grade classes, it quickly become a favorite activity. And truth be told, the Pine Forge Elementary School teachers loved doing it, as well.

What is it? Mystery Skype-ing!

Still confused? Mystery Skype is an educational game that connects two classrooms from different parts of the country or the world. (For readers who are not familiar with Skype, it is a free, internet-based video call program.) While Mrs. Bigham and Mrs. Flint know where (and whom) they’re calling, the students do not.

The goal of Mystery Skype is for the students to locate the other class geographically by asking yes-no questions (such as “Are you east of the Mississippi River?” and “Is your state landlocked?”). The first class to locate the other geographically wins. The classes take turns asking questions, and

one person from each class takes a turn asking a question.

The students each have their own dry-erase maps of the United States so that they can eliminate states based on the answers the other classroom gives. Once both classes have geographically located the other, the students engage one another with questions about their states, towns, and schools.

Mrs. Bigham and Mrs. Flint located classes to Skype with through social media groups for educators.

“My class loves the challenge of Mystery Skype,” says Mrs. Bigham. “I love that the activity reinforces geography, and that they are meeting students from other parts of the county. Suddenly, Oklahoma becomes real to them… Accents and all!”

Students Perform Classic Musical at Middle School EastIn early March, Middle School East students daz-zled their family, friends, and faculty members with a production of The Music Man Jr.

The Music Man is the classic musical about con man Harold Hill who comes to a small town posing as a band organizer. His plans to swindle the townsfolk are foiled when he falls in love with the town’s prim librarian, Marian Paroo. Middle School East students performed popular standards from the show like “Goodnight My Someone,” “76 Trombones,” and “Gary, Indiana,” but more impor-tantly, they dedicated 12 weeks to after-school and weekend rehearsals and created new and deeper friendships with their classmates.

Students from sixth, seventh, and eighth grade came together for this performance under the guidance of Mrs. Marcella Binkley, seventh grade English language arts teacher and drama director. Mrs. Binkley has been directing the school’s musi-cals since 2005 and said at this year’s performance that she enjoys it every year. “It’s great to see the students grow and introduce them to theater,” she added.

For the student performers, an opportunity to sing and dance with their friends is exciting. Sixth

grade students Maddie Groff, who performed in the ensemble, and Julia Derstine, who played the role of Amaryllis, both commented on how they enjoyed performing the choreography of the show.

Sharing in song has been a won-derful experience for Joey Casey, Jack Burrell, and Daniel Freed, all sixth graders, and Dylan Parker, an eighth grader, who acted as the play’s “Buffalo Bills Quar-tet.” “We’re all friends, so singing together has been a lot of fun,” said Jack.

“Being able to hit those chords at the right time is so satisfying,” added Dylan.

Although the singing and dancing are exciting for the students, what they said they love most about the musical are the bonds they create with their castmates.

Eighth grade student Jared Drabick, who played the lead role of Harold Hill, said, “I love doing the

musical because it takes kids from different groups, like band and mathletes, and brings them togeth-er.”

Sixth grade student Anastasia, who performed in the ensemble, described the cast as “one big family.”

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Assistant Superintendent Marybeth Torchia reads to a Boyertown Elementary School Class as part of the school’s

Read Across America celebration.

Imaginations Stretch in Elementary MakerspacesEducation is changing every day. From one-room schoolhouses to SmartBoards in every classroom, learning looks different for every generation. The latest innovation is makerspaces. So, what’s a maker-space?

Elementary instructional coach Mrs. Dana Kama-roff describes it as a space for “building, creation, and design.” Several schools in the Boyertown Area School District have been adding makerspaces in their buildings, including Gilbertsville and Washing-ton Elementary Schools.

When people think of makerspaces, they imagine spaces where students can program simple robots or engineer new inventions, using technology like 3D printers. While many makerspaces are associated with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the concept can encompass much more: at Gilbertsville Elementary School, Mrs. Rabecca Hester, instructional technology lead teacher and coach for Boyertown Area School District, and Mrs. Kramaroff have collaborated to create a writing makerspace.

According to Mrs. Hester, a makerspace is a place for communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, otherwise known as the “4 Cs.” “A tradi-tional writing workshop consists of a student sitting at a desk with a pencil and paper,” she says. “We wanted to introduce new materials so students could think about writing in a different way.”

The writing makerspace is filled with different kinds of paper so students can quite literally write in dif-ferent ways—for example, writing a story down the

length of a strip of cash-register tape and hanging it from the ceiling of the room. Students are also given blank cellphone and tweet templates as jumping-off points for their writing. The room feels like the writer’s room for a late-night TV show, where writers collabo-rate and bounce ideas off each other.

Students respond positively to writing in this col-laborative and fun environment. Some who wouldn’t engage with assignments at first have developed a genuine love for writing after participating in the makerspace. This is especially true for Mrs. Jean-Ma-rie Frecon’s third grade students, who had a choice of what to do on the last day of school before their winter break. Their options included watching a movie or extra recess—and Mrs. Frecon’s class unanimously chose to work in the writing makerspace.

School makerspaces can only exist with community support. Most of the materials are donated by families and parents, and the funds raised by parent-teacher associations and home-school associations and through grants from the Foundation for Boyertown Education.

Washington Elementary School has also explored makerspaces. They recently turned one of their unused classrooms into a makerspace with the help of Mr. Mike Creed, a K–12 instructional coach who began working in the District in November 2017. Accord-ing to Mr. Creed, “We've been doing makerspaces for years, just calling it by different names. When I would build a house out of sticks in my backyard, that was a makerspace.”

Before coming to the District, Mr. Creed worked with makerspaces in the Wilson School District. Those

involved a lot of technology, but he doesn't think high tech is necessary for a good makerspace. The mak-erspace at Washington Elementary School is full of recyclable materials, from cardboard boxes to plastic milk jugs. Everything can be a tool or a resource in a makerspace; the only limit is the students’ imagina-tions.

"What I really like is making connections with litera-ture," says Mr. Creed. He connects concepts in tech-nology and literature to fun and interesting lessons teachers can implement. These include a "deconstruct-ing fairytales" unit where students use the six simple machines to help fairytale characters, like assisting Little Red Riding Hood to construct a lever to fling a basket of cookies into the woods so she doesn't have to encounter the Big Bad Wolf.

Students of all levels and learning types can find challenges and opportunities in a makerspace. For those who struggle in a traditional classroom setting, the makerspace is a chance to let their imaginations run free and try several solutions to solve a problem; students who thrive in a traditional setting are chal-lenged to create without rubrics or examples. They're also given the opportunity to observe each other, ask questions, and improve on each other's work. "I encourage my students to enjoy losing and embrace the struggle, because there's always something to learn from it," adds Mr. Creed.

Ultimately, makerspaces are a place where students can fail and learn from their mistakes—“failing up,” as Mrs. Hester calls it. “We want them to learn from their failures.”

Boyertown Celebrates Read Across AmericaBoyertown Area School District joined schools across the country in celebrating the National Education Association’s 17th Annual Read Across America event. The celebration began in 1998 to celebrate the legacy of children’s-book author Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, and to encourage children to read. This year, several elementary schools across the Boyertown Area School District joined in.

Boyertown Elementary

Boyertown Elementary School got into the reading spirit with themed days based on different books. Inspired by Patricia Polacco’s The Keeping Quilt, students made “quilts” of small blankets and towels brought in from home and lay down in them on the floor while the whole building read together.

On other day, everyone had fun dressing up in “vacation shirts” inspired by Tomie de Paola’s Strega Nona Takes a Vacation.

While munching on green eggs and ham, third grade students discussed why they like Read Across America. Students Vanessa Moyeraldento, Brianna Heydt, Caroline Dennis, and Lauren Awad all agreed that having a day of reading and relaxing was the best part of the week.

Earl Elementary

Earl Elementary School joined in the fun with a visit from Boyertown Area Senior High’s National Honor Society students who acted as guest readers.

The school also participated in “stop, drop, and read” moments, where activities throughout the building stopped and everyone read together.

Colebrookdale Elementary

Colebrookdale Elementary School celebrated meeting Principal Michael Stoudt’s reading challenge by duct-taping him to a wall. The students earned this reward by reading more than 150,000 pages in four weeks!

“We’re always encouraging students to read as much as possible in school and at home, and the fact that they exceeded Mr. Stoudt’s challenge shows they are doing just that,” said Reading Specialist Ms. Jill Madsen.

The building also hosted guest readers from Boyertown Area Senior High’s National Honor Society, who read aloud to students.

New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary

New Hanover-Upper Frederick Elementary School observed the week with guest readers. Among them was board member Mr. Brandon Foose.

Pine Forge Elementary

Pine Forge Elementary School held a full week of reading activities. On Tuesday, students were treated to a visit from Mr. Greg Ritchie, author of several children’s nature books. Each student took home Mr. Ritchie’s book More Important Stuff for Kids: Florida, a book that combines photos of Florida wildlife with words of encouragement for positive behavior.

On Friday, students dressed as characters from their favorite books and were greeted by a mystery Cat in the Hat. All week, students guessed who would play

the iconic Dr. Seuss character. They were delighted to find out that it was kindergarten teacher Mrs. Caitlin Stehman who donned the striped hat. Mrs. Stehman, excited to greet the students that morning, said, “It’s a great way to get kids excited about reading all throughout the year.”

Staff and teachers joined in, dressing up as classic characters like Charlotte and Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web and Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat, and Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Boyertown Area School District is proud of its schools for taking part in this educational and memorable event. As Dr. Seuss wrote, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Foundation for Boyertown Education Hosts Donor Recognition DinnerIn early May, the Foundation for Boyertown Edu-cation hosted its first donor recognition dinner at Boyertown Area Senior High. Donors were treated to a buffet dinner, donated by Moyer’s Catering, and presentations by Boyertown Area School Dis-trict faculty and administrators who have received grants from the Foundation.Mr. Greg Herb, Foundation for Boyertown Educa-tion Board President, opened the evening’s “To-night is about you,” stated. “We want you to leave

tonight knowing how your investment has impacted our school district.”Before and after the presentations, attendees had a chance to learn more about the projects funded by the Foundation for Boyertown Education by visiting exhibits that were set-up around the room.Speakers included:• Stacey Thierry who spoke about the BEST pro-

gram at the Boyertown Area Senior High;

• Danielle Weyershaeuser who spoke about the digital microscope that she is using in her mid-dle school science classroom; and

• Matt Hathaway spoke about the Teachers in the Park Program that he developed.

Ms. Hester echoed the sentiments of her colleagues when she told the audience, “Your donations are allowing us to provide real-life skills to our students that will allow them to succeed in life … thank you.”

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Sophomore Eric Then reads an original poem at a coffeehouse performance hosted by the BASH

Performing Arts Club.

The Boyertown Bears Are Always Up for a ChallengeThis spring, the Boyertown Area School District hosted the third annual Bear Challenge, a full-day event that invited students from across the District to participate in exciting para-athletic activities that promote healthy competition and socializing among friends.

The day began with a parade of athletes. Representatives from each school proudly displayed custom-made banners as they made their grand entrance. After the parade, the athletes were divided into smaller groups so that they could move between activity stations targeted at various levels of physical ability: everything from obstacle courses to soccer kicks.

Other challenges were face painting, a bean-bag toss, and bike riding on adaptive tricycles. Each athlete was accompanied by a student volunteer known as a Bear Challenge Buddy. The buddies provided support and encouragement as the athletes completed each activity.

Boyertown Area Senior High freshmen Kelci Fontana and Emily Stankovics volunteered as Bear Challenge Buddies because they enjoy working with younger children. Both girls volunteer with TOP Soccer and thought being a Bear Challenge Buddy would be fun.

“The Bear Challenge is a huge event for our District. It is a culmination of months of training

for our athletes,” said Ms. Eydie Bennett, Boyertown Area School District’s physical therapist. “All of our athletes are winners, and all left with a custom T-shirt designed by our very own Boyertown Area Senior High students.”

Ninth-grade student Cheyanne Shaffer was one of the athletes at this year’s Bear Challenge. Her grandmother, Nancy Henry, has attended the Bear Challenge since the first year.

“It is a fabulous event,” Mrs. Henry said. “The opening ceremony is breathtaking. It’s rewarding to watch everyone participate.”

When he was a freshman, Dorian Burnell was a Bear Challenge athlete. This year, as a junior, he is volunteering as a Bear Challenge Buddy.

“I love volunteering and helping others in the community,” Dorian says. “The Bear Challenge allows the participants to gain a sense of being normal. . . . You aren’t separated like in gym class; everyone does the same thing here.”

The enthusiasm of the athletes lit up the entire room. Throughout the day, athletes, buddies, and spectators enjoyed great music, snacks and beverages, and exciting activities. The upbeat environment inspired impromptu dance contests and funny photos. It was a day that will surely not be forgotten.

“The 2018 Bear Challenge was an inspiring event, providing opportunities for all students to enjoy a little friendly competition,” Ms. Bennett said with a smile.

Students Perform Songs, Poetry at CoffeehouseBy Marlaina Garczynski, BASH freshman and Amy Hansen, BASH sophomore

The BASH Performing Arts Club hosted a coffeehouse performance in April, the first event of this type that the high school has had in a few years.

A crowd of 30 to 40 gathered in the library from 3 to 4:30 p.m. to watch their fellow students recite poetry, sing, or play an instrument. The floor was open to anyone who wanted to perform.

BASH PAC Advisor and long-term substitute Mr. Kenneth Stanley said the performance was more successful than he expected.

“I was happy to see a lot of people come out and watch, even though they weren’t performing,” he said.

Senior Charis Martin was one of three people who played the ukulele.

“Charis had some really fun songs,” said Sophomore Cadwyn Mossholder, who attended the event.

Charis said she has been playing the ukulele for about a year, and the Coffeehouse gave her an opportunity to share some songs she had written.

“It was my second live performance ever,” she said, “and the first time I played songs I’ve written live.”

The two self-written songs she performed had a humorous bent. They were “Anxiety”, about her “fear of the great outdoors” and “Love is Lowercase”, which she describes as “a passive aggressive love song.”

Freshman Solomon Goldstein recited three original poems about personal topics such as strength and change.

The night was organized by Alaina DeMenno, a drama club member who transferred to cyber school in January.

Coffee and baked goods were sold, and free popcorn was provided at the free event. Video clips from the event can be found at bashcub.com.

High School Performers Embark to Spain This SpringFrom March 22 through April 2, 144 Boyertown Area Senior High student performers traveled through Spain, performing and acting as musical diplomats for the Boyertown community and the United States.

The trip was an opportunity for students to expe-rience an international culture and perform with fellow musicians in places of artistic significance. “The students are able to do things on these trips that they couldn’t do if they traveled on their own,” says Mr. Michael Jordan, lead teacher for the arts and director of bands for Middle School West. This year, the students performed on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday in Spanish cathedrals older than the United States itself.

The first European tour of Boyertown student performers happened during the 1970s, under the leadership of Mr. Arlen Saylor. Students traveled behind the Iron Curtain to Romania, performing while accompanied by an armed escort. Since then, students have made visits across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and most recently Austria, where in 2015 students sang in the Salzburg Cathedral on Easter Sunday—the cathedral where Mozart was baptized and performed.

While many high schools offer international trips for student musicians, none has the variety Boy-ertown offers, with several ensembles, including marching band, jazz band, show choir, and concert

band. “We work with a travel company based out of London that works with us to give our students the best experience possible,” says Mr. Jordan.

During their tour, they performed in iconic cities like Barcelona and Madrid, along with smaller towns like Burgos and Palencia. They gave an especially exciting performance in Burgos, where four ensembles performed in an open-air space. In Barcelona, the marching band paraded with several Spanish marching bands

The cost for each student was $4,000, with 18 months to fundraise. “The students work hard . . . a lot of them have summer jobs to pay for their trip and ask for payments to the trip as Christmas gifts,” says Mr. Jordan.

Retirees: Thank you and Warm WishesThe Boyertown Area School District wishes the following employees the very best in their retirement:

Christine A. Rhoads, Food Service Director (25 years); Sherry A. Bealer, cafeteria worker (PFES, 25.3 years); George R. Brooks, custodi-an (MSW, 11.6 years); Vivian Coccia, cafeteria manager (GES, 21.8 years); Diane Kennedy, Title 1/instructional para (PFES, 20 years); Veronica R. Reinert, cafeteria manager (PFES, 29.5 years); Earl L. Schlegel, custodian (BASH, 10.3 years); Wendy L. Speilman, LS para/instru para (PFES, 22 years); Anita C. Stauffer, LSS para (BASH, 23 years); Carol A. Barton, 4th grade teacher (BES, 24 years); Sandra M. Beck, world language teacher (BASH, 36 years); Marilee J. Cassidy, K-12 School Counseling Coordinator (BASH, 26 years); Patricia K. Demaria, kindergarten teacher (GES, 7 years); Constance Demario, world language teacher (BASH, 29 years); Scott C. Didyoung, English/LA teacher (BASH, 34 years); Lois A. Feight, 5th grade teacher (GES, 30 years); Wendy S. Gilbert, 3rd grade teacher (NHUFES, 30.5 years); Lynn A. Grace, special education liaison (BASH, 34 years); Barbara L. Groff, 1st grade teacher (PFES, 32 years); Marcia E. Kurtz, intervention teacher (EES, 39 years); Marcia S. Landis, 2nd grade teacher (EES, 27 years); and Joseph E. Vendetti, 5th grade teacher (EES, 47 years).