The Monday Memo Jan. 23, 2017

Volume 2, Issue 11

York City

School

District

McKinley motivates with ‘bling’ The McKinley Middle School

Academy shines more than ever with

the opening of the McBling Store! Sev-

enth and eighth graders show off their

hard work and achievement by earning

Bearcat Bling and the opportunity to

visit the McBling Store. Students can

spend their Bearcat Bling on a variety of

small items, such as candy, chips, Ga-

torade and headphones. There are also

bigger-ticket items like basketballs,

phone cases and chargers. The students

are more motivated than ever in their

classes to earn the Bearcat Bling!

Bearcat Bling is given to stu-

dents who are making good choices

exemplifying PRIDE values all over the

school. The students are beyond excited

to have the opportunity to earn Bearcat

Bling and visit the McBling Store. Teach-

ers and staff have seen great changes

among all the students all around. Stu-

dents are working harder than ever!

Every Friday morning, the

McBling Store opens to the students.

Mr. Bailey and Ms. Gehris gather the

students and take them to the store.

Students are coming with simply one or

two Bling to more than 10 recently

earned Bling. Inside the store, the stu-

dents enjoy shopping and we see noth-

ing but smiles as they leave.

With the students’ motivation

running high with the potential of earn-

ing a Bearcat Bling, the success in the

classrooms continues to grow each day. The McBling Store is a great step in

right direction for our 7th and 8th grade

students!

— By Ashley Gehris, McKinley

7-8 Learning Support Teacher

On January 12, 1st and 2nd grade Davis K-8 students from

Ms. Mulrooney, Ms. Johns and Ms. Buczek’s classes went on

a field trip to the Hershey Museum to experience the

Hershey story. The children painted with chocolate and

learned about the factory and its employees in the

1900s. The children experienced many of the hands-on

activities the museum offers. Everyone had a great time.

The weather outside has not been so frightful, but the walls and classroom doors of Devers K-8 look so delightful! Staff and students

in many grade levels took on the challenge of creating winter bliss at doorways to “ring in” the cold, snow, and fun season around the

holidays. Snowmen, snowflakes, and cold weather animals were at the top of the decorating list. Devers K-8 participated in A Winter

Wonderland door-decorating contest as a way of using their creativity, but also to WIN!. All the doors and halls were so wonderfully

decorated that the special judges had difficult decisions to make. The favorites were the fifth grade hallway, room 4, room 26, room

11, and the office door. So there might not be snow outside, but there are snow and snowflakes inside our school.

We are developing additional opportunities for students to

be leaders at Ferguson K-8. The Safety Patrol/Junior

Monitors team will consist of a voluntary group of older

students helping younger students be safe throughout the

school. We will have Safety Patrol assist in crossing

students, monitoring students in the café and the bathroom

(near the café), assisting in the line movement from lunch to

class, as well as assisting with the cafeteria ladies in the

morning (picking up after breakfast). It will promote and

reinforce key social skills such as leadership, communication

and modeling positive behavior consistently. It’s another

positive incentive for positive students who want to make a

difference.

Puppets make learning fun at Goode

Giving back is routine at Jackson Jackson K-8 is in the midst of the Penny Brigade to raise money for the Dollars for

Scholars Program.

Earlier this year, Jackson students and staff also held a dress down day to raise funds

for cancer research.

Starting in February, Jackson K-8 will be participating in Student Series this year with the Pennies for Patients program! The pro-gram is scheduled to start Feb. 2, and the educational assembly to kick things off will be Monday, Jan. 30 at 9 a.m. The Amazing Kid and Super Doc assembly utilizes superheroes to explain both LLS and what cancer is. A script will be sent to the school in advance of the date of the assembly, so staff and students are able to review and select a few students to be in-volved. This program supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and helping to cure blood cancers! These are just three ways the great stu-dents and staff not only work to be suc-cessful in the classroom, but work to help

others by raising funds for worthwhile causes. Jump Rope for Heart will be coming to Jackson in the spring, so as people can see Jackson K-8 is working all school year long to give something back to the community and think about others. — Dr. Philip Livelsberger, Jackson Principal

Walk into room 44 at Goode K-8 and you might be asked, “What

would Moe and Zippy do?”

Students in Mr. David Donaldson’s Life Skills/Learning Support classroom use puppets, affectionately named Moe and Zippy, as a means to teach problem-solving skills through role play. The puppets also help students develop expressive language and cop-ing skills, which can be used in every-

day situations.

The puppets are used along with activity cards. The cards have a color-ful picture on front that illustrates a potential problem, thus setting the stage for students to use the puppets and improvise their own solutions to the problem presented in the picture. The back of the activity cards include ideas to help guide classroom discus-sion — although most of the time students are able to find solutions on their own — and a chance to prac-tice appropriate behavioral and verbal

skills through puppetry.

One such scenario has best friends Moe and Zippy arguing over who gets to play with a certain toy in the class-room. Class discussion includes look-ing at the faces of Moe and Zippy, and getting clues as to how they are feeling. Next, the class brainstorms

solutions about how Moe and Zippy can solve their problem and still remain friends. Students then volunteer to act out

a solution using the puppets.

So, while the use of puppets encourages students to use their words and good manners to solve problems, it provides the teacher an easy mnemonic when con-flicts arise, “What would Moe and Zippy

do?”

And best of all, using puppets to teach social skills is plain fun! Just ask the stu-

dents in room 44.

H. Penn empowers students to write

McKinley building student leaders

The seventh grade students in Ms.

Janel Sager’s ELA class recently wrote

essays on gun violence.

Expository writing is something that is

taught in middle school ELA classes,

though most middle school students are

reluctant to write, especially when they

know they have to write a five-

paragraph essay.

The Junior Leadership Program, offered through the after-school program at McKin-ley, is designed to develop and discover leadership qualities among the students. The program is voluntary and staff can recom-mend to the site manager those children who they recognize as having leadership potential. This is not forced upon the stu-dent, but staff will ask for the students to

volunteer.

The program is a rigorous one, but we take measures to ensure that students are not set up for failure.. All training will be commensurate to participants’ age and ma-turity. The areas that they will be trained in are problem solving, team building, coping skills, being role models, public speaking, communication skills, written and spoken

clarity and the importance of body language

A lot of the training will be in the class-room, but most of it will be done through practical application. The children will learn the art of debate. They’ll be given instruc-tions verbally and in writing to see how well they can follow them. They will in turn give

instructions verbally and in writing to others to

test and improve their communication skills.

They will also be challenged to solve problems beyond their ability to solve to see how they handle frustration. We want them to learn cop-ing skills. They will do individual and group pro-jects. At some point in the program, the chil-dren will be expected to become role models instrumental in helping staff. They will even be asked to assist with running aspects of the after

school program.

Finally, at the end of the program, all partici-pants will be required to articulate to the site managers why they entered the program. We’ll

also recognize their accomplishments.

Again, the leadership program is designed to be rigorous but also fun! Kelsey Castillo was the first to earned her leadership t-shirt. The front of the shirts are printed with the leadership mission statement, “Lead By Example,” which the students developed. Their names appear on

the back.

— Laurie Freeland, McKinley after

school site coordinator

York City Schools offering mental

health services

York High senior earns award from Human Rela-

tions Commission

York High grad carves out exotic,

uncertain career

The students were taught how to

hook the reader with their opening,

establish a thesis statement, and to add

details to their topic sentences. The

paper was set up with a cause and

effect format.

Since the topic of gun violence is at

the forefront of many urban kids’

minds, especially those who live here in

York City, Ms. Sager felt the topic

would be easier to understand and write

about. For many students, gun violence has

affected them first-hand, so they were able

to use their own life experiences to incor-

porate into the paper.

Students who thought they could not write

were able to write superior essays that

were several pages in length.

Teachers weigh in on looping By DR. BILL MCNELIS

With January winding down, I’d like to

update you on the progress of our looping

teachers across the district.

It seems like only yesterday that I visited

the traditional looping classrooms in the

fall and heard comments from teachers

like: “The benefits of having routines and

expectations already established opens the

door for more academic time. The bond

between families and teacher remains

strong, and allows more time to focus on

‘new’ students' families. I already know my

students' levels, their strengths and weak-

nesses, and this knowledge allows me to

customize my lessons to meet their needs.

I am so much more vested in their growth,

academically, as well as socially.” (Ms.

Cathy Bard, 2nd Grade at McKinley K-8)

These comments are being reiterated by

several other traditional looping teams, as

I have been meeting with them throughout

the months of December and January.

Comments from teachers in modified

looping classrooms were also positive, and

I am hearing many of the same comments

four months later. For example: “I really

am enjoying the schedule so far. I feel

refreshed after my first group leaves and

am energized to teach another new

group.” (Ms. Wendy Watters, Grades 3 & 4

ELA and Social Studies at Ferguson K-8)

Another teacher had a similar comment

and noted: “I am enjoying the looping

experience. I'm able to move at a steady

pace with my sixth graders building upon

the academic foundation and positive,

classroom culture we established last year.

The fifth graders have adjusted well to

switching classes and are demonstrating

responsibility with the handling of materi-

als. I'm excited to see the academic growth

from both groups this year.” (Ms. Talyn

Smiley, Grades 5 & 6 at McKinley K-8)

One more comment expressed by several

teachers noted that “having students from

the previous year is an advantage because

you have already started building a rapport

with the students and their parents, and

this rapport will just continue to become

stronger the second year. A final benefit is the trust you build with your co-worker

and colleague to have honest conversations

about students who may be successful in

one room and not the other. Together we

can develop positive strategies and bounce

ideas off of each other for classwork or

projects to see how we can create some

interdisciplinary lessons.” (Ms. Angela Cona-

way and Ms. Kollene Stauffer, Grades 5 & 6

at Davis K-8)

Are There Any Concerns Identified

by the WAVE 1 Looping Teams?

When asked to share some of the con-

cerns they have experienced, Ms. Conaway

and Ms. Stauffer reported: “On the con

side, 5th and 6th graders are caught in the

“middle” because we have two different

dress code policies and two different re-

port card policies. Additionally, the ELL

and Special Education services are spread

thin to support the students for the cor-

rect amount of time and/or correct assign-

ments.” They concluded by noting:

“However, we both feel the looping is a

great step for staff and students that bene-

fits will be seen in a couple of years.”

Professional Learning Community

Meeting Structure

An interesting component of the looping structure is the teacher teaming and the

Professional Learning Community (PLC)

structure incorporated this year. I asked Ms.

Monica Handler what she thought of the

structure and she said: “I would say that

PLCs run a lot smoother due to the fact

that we have multiple ways to pair up. One

day we all meet as an entire team, the next

day we meet as a content area, and the

third day we meet with our looping partner.

The communication and camaraderie is

better.”

Future Looping Events

As you can see there are many positives

about the looping structure becoming evi-dent as we have moved through this school

year. However, as we plan for converting all

of the district Grades 1-6 classes to either

the traditional or modified looping structure

on August 21, 2017, there are still many

questions that need to be answered.

The Administrative Looping Leadership

Team has begun to identify those questions

and is in the process of finding solutions.

Please stay tuned to future Monday Memos

for ongoing information regarding this initia-

tive.

In conclusion, I would like to recognize all

of the WAVE 1 looping teams, their princi-

pals and assistant principals for all of their

efforts in having this initiative start off with

such positive results.

Date Looping Activity

March 8, 2017 WAVE 1 and WAVE 2 Looping Group Training

May 10, 2017

(Tentative – Possible DL training takes precedence)

WAVE 1 Looping Team – Evaluation Year 1

WAVE 2 Looping Team Group Planning

May 24, 2017

(If needed)

WAVE 1 Looping Team – Evaluation Year 1

WAVE 2 Looping Team Group Planning

August 14 – 18, 2017

Day - To Be Determined

WAVE I and WAVE 2 Teams plan for the First

Two (2) weeks of School:

August 21, 2017 All Grades 1-6 classrooms across the district will

implement Traditional or Modified Looping

Page 6

By ROB BERNHARD Human Resources Director

Over the past year, politics have

garnered a lot of the nation’s at-

tention, and many of the players

haven’t cast the political profes-

sion or the process in the most

positive light.

However, despite everything

that’s cast a dark cloud over one

of the most sacred of institutions,

and has provided tons of fodder

for the political pundits and come-

dians alike, there are still many

positive things being driven by our

legislators within the hallowed

halls of Washington, D.C. and the

capital of the commonwealth in

Harrisburg. One such effort is the

driving force behind this article.

In 1984, Congress created the

Crime Victims Fund and it is based

on the simple premise that money

the government collects from

those who commit crimes should

be used to help those who were

the victims of crime. Pennsylvania

Republican Congressman Scott

Perry has taken up the matter

along with a bipartisan team of

other state legislators by introduc-

ing the Fairness for Crime Victims

Act.

A statement released by the con-

gressman’s office explained that

from 2010-2014, this fund collect-

ed $12 billion, but allocated only

$3.6 billion for crime victims, with

Congress using the other $8.4

billion difference for other spend-

ing.

If adopted, Perry’s bill would see

to it that payments from the fund

would rise by millions of dollars

and would be dispersed by the

U.S. Department of Justice to

states’ victims’ service groups such

as Children’s Advocacy Center,

Some politics serve our children

domestic violence shelters and rape

crisis centers to support victim com-

pensation and assistance programs.

York County is fortunate to have a

Children’s Advocacy Center, whose

mission is to reduce the trauma of

child abuse investigations; foster pro-

fessional collaboration and coopera-

tion; and provide education advocacy

regarding the prevention of child abuse

within the community.

As a member of their Board of Di-

rectors, I see firsthand statistics of the

positive impact this organization has

on the children of the York communi-

ty when faced with situations that may

involve child abuse.

Congressman Perry held a news con-

ference to unveil this proposed legisla-

tion (H.R. 3984) at the York County

Children’s Advocacy Center on Tues-

day, Jan. 17, 2017, which I had the

honor of attending.

Local officials on hand at the news

conference included York County Dis-

trict Attorney Tom Kearney, York

County Assistant District Attorney

Tim Barker and Dauphin County Dis-

trict Attorney Ed Marsico. Also pre-

sent was U.S. Senator Pat Toomey’s

State Director, Bob DeSousa.

Interestingly, Congressman Perry’s

bill is similar to legislation (S. 1495)

introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier

this year by Senator Pat Toomey.

If adopted, disbursals from the fund

would rise from $745 million in fiscal

year 2014 to $2.6 billion in fiscal year

2016. Funds for victim service groups

such as Children’s Advocacy Centers,

domestic violence shelters, and rape

crisis centers will virtually quadruple

compared to 2014 levels.

Representing the York County Children’s Advocacy Center, from left

to right: Bill Greenawalt, Betty Markle, Nichole Lehr, Kim Duffy,

Congressman Scott Perry, Deb Harrison, Jason Loper and Rob

Bernhard.