Oct. 2, 2017

Volume 3, Issue 5

York City

School

District

Flexibility works for Ferguson 1st grade

The Monday Memo 2017-18

By CHELSEA MILLAN

First Grade Teacher, Ferguson K-8

For the past few years, I have been researching

flexible seating benefits and options. Even though I

was a little anxious about taking the leap and hav-

ing my desks removed, I decided to do it this year

because I will be looping with this class.

Kids are not the same as they were years ago

when desks were the only way to go. Our stu-

dents can't sit for extended periods of time, and

they shouldn't have to. Flexible seating gives them

the opportunity to move and creates some "buy-

in" as they have a choice. It also helps with some

classroom management once established.

In my classroom, we have a couch and chair,

scoop rockers, bean bag chairs, pillows, carpet

squares, standing desks, typical desks, "kid seats"

(the blue and red folding floor chairs), and tables

that are 18 inches off the ground for sitting or

kneeling. Early on, the students seemed to gravi-

tate to the couch and scoop rockers. Now that

they have been using them daily, I can see that

they each have favorite things and are starting to

pick what works best for them.

The kids really like this because they aren’t re-

quired to be in one spot all day. They can move

around a lot more and decide where they will

learn best. Of course, I always reserve the right to

move a student if they aren't picking a spot where

they can learn.

I feel as though flexible seating is making a huge

difference in terms of student behavior and atten-

tion. It was a tad rough at first, logistically speak-

ing, just because I was so used to being able to say

"put that paper in your desk." But now that I have

worked out most of the kinks, my students are

thriving.

Page 2

Devers honors York City personnel

The Devers 7/8 team hosted an "Appreciation Day" for all York City Police, Firefighters and Emergency personnel on Friday, Sept. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mayor Kim Bracey also stopped by! Students served a light breakfast of coffee, juice and coffee, and then transitioned to a light lunch of hotdogs, chips, cookies and drinks.

Younger students got to see the fire trucks, while older students inter-viewed some firefighters. During this time of remembrance of 9/11, we are taking the time to thank the emergency personnel of York City for all that they do for our city on a daily basis.

Page 3

At Jackson K-8, Ms. Hoffman and Ms. Lenker have developed an early morning tutoring program for English Learner students. The tutoring

starts at 7 a.m. and lasts until 7:45 each morning. At this time, there are 12 students attending the tutoring. As you can see in the photos, the

students are engaged in computer-based learning and cooperative learning. Ms. Lenker and Ms. Hoffman have done an outstanding job of reach-

ing out to the EL population in the building and affording the students small group and individualized tutoring to assist them in ELA.

Students at Jackson K-8 researched a city, state or country to find the five themes of geography. They represented

their research along with images on poster board folded into pentagonal shapes. The students took pride in their

project-based assignment and participated in displaying the projects in the hall outside of their classrooms.

Page 4

Counselors train peer mediators

On Sept. 20 and 21, students from all eight K-8 buildings participated in Peer Media-tion Training located at Smith STEAM Academy. School Counselors Eric Schloss-er and Chrissy Simonds trained the stu-dents in the necessary skills to be effective peer mediators. The Behavioral Specialists from each school were very involved in the workshop and will serve as coordina-tors for the program in their respective schools. Peer Mediation is a not a program that addresses bullies and their victims. In-stead, it gives students a peaceful way to solve conflict with each other. The students who participated were ac-tively involved in the learning that took place and will be excellent ambassadors of this endeavor.

Gemstones 2nd grader has skills

It is my pleasure to introduce Zachary Swoyer, a 2nd

grader at Hannah Penn who recently joined the Gem-

stones classroom. He has not stopped wowing us

since he arrived. Zach is a very responsible, motivat-

ed and confident student. He comes to school every

day with an excitement for learning and a dedication

for going above and beyond at school.

Zach pays close attention to details and makes sure

that his daily work is not only accurate, but also me-

ticulously neat and of the utmost quality. He excels in

all the subject areas. In addition to his academic ex-

cellence, I am especially impressed with his rapping,

dancing, and drawing skills!

Check out a video of Zach rapping here!

Zach is also a model student who sets a positive ex-

ample for his peers. His work ethic and focus on do-

ing well is an inspiration to his classmates and has

earned himself a leadership role in the classroom.

— Tralana Mace, Gemstones Teacher

Page 5

Students from Ms. Knaby's Life Skills Class at William Penn recently completed a community service project. They packed personal hygiene products into pocketbooks to be donated to the local homeless shelter. The personal hy-giene products were donated by Communities in Schools and district office staff. The pocketbooks were courtesy of the Thomas Brothers County Store in Biglerville, PA. The students who worked on the project were: Alyza Mejia, Leishka Rivera-Roman, Jolacesa Summers, Manny Thomas, Shameir Powell, and Tyrese Little.

McKinley principals Ms. Brown,

Ms. Mathis and Ms. Hanson

kicked off Superhero Friday

by showing the students that

they can be super heroes too.

Page 6

Not your typical book report at STEAM

By AISHA MAKAMA STEAM Academy 6th Grade Student

Congratulations! We did it!

We did an amazing job in the li-

brary. It was so nice and quiet

there. We were able to do research

for our first book project, search for

books and read on the comfy furni-

ture.

Now I know what I’m doing for my

Book Project. We can’t wait to use

the library again!

And the best part is, we earned our

last BROWNIE POINT and earned a

BROWNIE PARTY. Good job every-

one!

Keep up the PRIDE: Prepared. Re-

spectful. Integrity. Determined. En-

gaged.

— Submitted by Jennifer Swartz,

STEAM Academy 6th Grade Teacher

Students in Ms. Swartz’s class were assigned a book report project that required them to use the Engineering Design Process, Students identified a problem in the book they were reading, brainstormed a solution to the problem, illustrated that solu-

tion, and then created it. They had a choice of ways to present their projects: Video, PowerPoint, Music, Skit, Art, etc.

Page 7

EL club explores education, community

The William Penn

International College and Career Club was

created by the English Learners department

to help our EL stu-dents with the oppor-

tunity of exploring the post-secondary possi-

bilities.

These are students who, for one reason

or another, do not qualify for other pro-

grams offered at the

high school.

On Sept. 14, our stu-dents volunteered to

carry the flags of differ-ent Latin American countries for the Latin

Night celebration at

Peoples Bank Stadium.

Sixteen students and one alumni participat-

ed in this event.

Then, the next day, we accompanied Mayor Kim Bracey in "Let's Walk with Mayor Bracey" for

a healthier and happier York. Thirteen students participated.

— Madeline Skinner

Goode gathers to stomp out bullying Goode K-8 had its first Anti-Bullying Popcorn and Movie Night, and

what a huge success it was! More than 150 students and adults packed

the gym bleachers to watch “Chicken Little” on an inflatable screen

provided by the generosity of Mission Central. We enjoyed a popcorn

snack provided by Frank Theaters.

Before we watched the movie, there was a lot of fun stuff going on

with families working together to make a bullying poster in which they

traced their feet to STOMP OUT bullying. Families also worked on

bully-proof shield flip books that gave them tools when dealing with

bullies such as: Keep calm, Ask to stop, Buddy up, and Tell a trusted

adult.

Staff, parents, and students also showed their solidarity by wearing

blue shirts for bully awareness. There was a raffle and two lucky fami-

lies went home with a family movie night basket.

Page 9

On Friday, Sept. 15, the Devers 4-6 grade Emotional Sup-

port class earned the opportunity to learn how to make

vanilla milkshakes!

One of the building long-term substitute teachers, Joy

Baublitz, and teacher assistant, Amy Bermudez, guided

their students through the activity. The students learned

about the components of the blender and how ice cream,

milk, and whipped cream are all dairy products. The stu-

dents enjoyed making the milkshakes and found it amusing

to be warned to keep their hands on the blender lid so it

wouldn’t explode! Building Principal Craig Linn, was treat-

ed with a handmade shake while listening to all the aca-

demic progress the students made this week. It was a re-

warding activity that also coincided with one of the warm-

est days this week!

— Paul Andriukaitis, School Social Worker

Devers students treated to milkshakes

Last week in my chemistry classes at William Penn, the students completed a physical and chemical changes lab. When a physi-

cal change occurs, the physical properties of a substance are altered, but its chemical composition remains the same. In a chem-

ical change, there is a reaction that takes place resulting in the formation of one or more new substances with different chemi-

cal properties. The students had to conduct tests on substances and determine whether a physical or chemical change occurred

and then record their observations and conclusions. — Lacie Buxton, Chemistry Teacher