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community communicator an informational publication for residents of the perkiomen valley school district volume xxii no 1 fall 2008 welcome to the 2008-09 school year

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2 new school board member sworn in mr gerry barnefiher was sworn in as a new member of the perkiomen valley board of school directors on monday september 8 mr barnefiher a skippack township resident with four children in the district will take over the vacant seat left open by former board member joan dahl mr barnefiher will serve the unexpired term of mrs dahl until the next general election in 2009 at that time he may seek re-election for the remainder of mrs dahls s term which continues through 2011 mr gerry barnefiher was sworn in as a member of the perkiomen valley school board by amy hurd pvsd director of finance and notary public the pvsd administrative team welcomes your comments 610 489-8506 dr clifford rogers superintendent crogers@pvsd.org barbara russell assistant to the superintendent k-5 brussell@pvsd.org dr grace l cisek assistant to the superintendent 6-12 gcisek@pvsd.org judith a roth director of special education jroth@pvsd.org julia aulett asst director of special ed jaulett@pvsd.org brian allebach director of human resources ballebach@pvsd.org amy hurd director of finance ahurd@pvsd.org district office jim weaver business administrator jweaver@pvsd.org beth yaksich director of food services byaksich@pvsd.org scott clemmer director of operations sclemmer@pvsd.org janet heacock payroll and benefits supervisor jheacock@pvsd.org michelle brown school/community relations mbrown@pvsd.org scott fuhrman assistant to the principal sfuhrman@pvsd.org cyndi lewis house principal cylewis@pvsd.org larry glanski athletic director lglanski@pvsd.org dr rockwell finley mental health coordinator rfinley@pvsd.org amy sacks assistant principal asacks@pvsd.org evergreen elementary school 610 409-9751 kim minor principal kminor@pvsd.org schwenksville elementary school 484 961-7064 pauline galiardi principal pgaliardi@pvsd.org pv middle school west 484 977-7210 ryan stanson-marsh principal rmarsh@pvsd.org seamus clune assistant principal sclune@pvsd.org 610 489-1230 john romanoski high school principal jromanoski@pvsd.org mark stipa house principal mstipa@pvsd.org pv high school skippack elementary school 610 409-6060 kim boyd principal kboyd@pvsd.org pv middle school east 610 409-8580 patti scott interim principal pscott@pvsd.org south elementary school 610 489-2991 michelle cinciripino principal mcinciripino@pvsd.org

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3 video wall marks impressive addition to high school students at perkiomen valley high school now encounter a high-tech experience in the school s science and technology building the school recently installed a video wall comprised of seven 47-inch flat screen high definition tvs that broadcast a multitude of information fed via the internet videos cable tv and pcs the video wall was designed and installed by john steyer a staff member of the montgomery county intermediate unit technology and information services the tv monitors are connected for internet/pc capability and are wired to an audiovisual system with dvd player the tvs can display the same information or a blend of seven different feeds high school principal john romanoski envisions using the wall to advertise and inform students it s a wonderful way to showcase our school for instance we can advertise club activities show athletic events students at graduation or display educational videos other monitors may scroll school information students and faculty for the high school s tv studio will also be challenged to think of creative ways to use the video wall romanoski plans to approach the chamber of commerce to see if area businesses would like to advertise on the wall using commercials that the communications students would write and produce pv middle school east holds anti-bullying poster contest pv middle school east has a new school logo against bullying that is showcased in the main hallway a poster and slogan contest was held early in the school year to introduce the olweus bullying prevention program which is being implemented at the middle school and high school levels students were invited to design a poster and slogan that would remind us how to treat others the winner julia capriotti an 8th grader redesigned the viking mascots shown shaking hands with the new motto don t offend-be a friend the olweus bullying prevention program relies on school home and community to work in coordination to prevent students from being bullied bullying is when a student is exposed repeatedly and over time to negative actions on the part of one or more students as part of the program pv middle school east has adopted and posted rules throughout the building addressing the issue of bullying the school is asking students to make a difference by agreeing to the following rules 1 we will not bully others 2 we will try to help others who are being bullied 3 we will try to include students who are left out 4 if we know someone is being bullied we will tell an adult at school or at home contest participants left to right julia capriotti nicholas capriotti irene yeom and drew pearson the poster and slogan contest was the first of several initiatives that will introduce the olweus bullying prevention program to students at east culminating in an all student body kick-off assembly in january to introduce this exciting new program.

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4 parents staff and students helping to make post-prom safe perkiomen valley high school is excited to announce that the 2009 w.a.v.e wild alternative viking entertainment theme is catch the wave escape to atlantis the event will take place on friday april 24 2009 from 11:00 p.m until 5:00 a.m at the high school immediately following the junior/senior prom this community and family-sponsored event which is provided free of charge for all juniors and seniors and their dates is a drugand alcohol-free safe alternative for these young adults several fundraisers will be held for post-prom for more information go to the community events section on the pvsd website see page 5 of this newsletter for details · clothing drive november 14-16 2008 the trappe building 29 e first avenue trappe pa · beef beverage fundraiser january 10 2009 westover country club jeffersonville pa evergreen elementary uses interactive technology for students the need to assess students quickly and accurately is an imperative focus in instruction teachers at all grade levels are striving to meet the individual needs of the students in their classrooms last year evergreen elementary school implemented the senteo interactive response system which enables teachers to utilize one more resource to meet the diverse learning styles of students the system which was purchased with a generous grant from the pvsd foundation is used in ms ingram s fourth-grade class and mrs barnes first-grade class the system includes a remote control device for each student in the classroom and a receiver that allows teachers to send informa4th grade students lloyd boyts tion to each greta sheppleman and spencer balent device and to receive student responses the system increases one-to-one interaction by allowing teachers to survey and engage students and to personalize the learning environment the children sign into the system using an assigned pin number and their responses are sent to the teacher s computer via radio frequency students inputted responses are immediately tallied and can then be displayed on the interactive whiteboard or solely on the teacher s computer teachers can easily create and grade quizzes tests or informal assessments instantly using the senteo system the system enables students in ms ingram s fourthgrade class to 4th grade student amelie luegmayr take their wordand 1st grade student sean mcdonnell ly wise vocabulary tests once the children have completed their tests they receive their scores immediately without having to wait for the teacher to score their assessments the teacher can then print out the results of the tests to be shared with the parents at home in completing a test in this fashion ms ingram s class has saved over fifty sheets of paper per test the senteo system creates an engaging and exciting way for children to interact with and use technology the senteo is like having your own little personal computer and it s pretty neat to have ryan cook 4th grade student from evergreen elementary school

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5 pv middle school west students participate in election process decision 08 our senses have been bombarded with information to help us with the voting process while we were busy voting for our candidates the students at middle school west were also reviewing the candidates and voting for their choice for our nation s next leader under the guidance of 8th grade social studies teachers sean murphy and amy costigan and ats teacher bobbi portnoy west s students worked their way through the campaign process mrs portnoy started the process by having her students create and post campaign posters around the school they were also responsible for creating youtube style videos and doing informal polling among students and staff eventually the constituents of west had to register to vote this was done during the lunch periods in addition to registering voters each homeroom participated in a random drawing to determine the state they would represent for electoral votes official voting machines were provided by montgomery county s election commission and on our election day october 24th the registered voters of pvmswest cast a ballot for the candidate of their choice homerooms voted throughout the day and current election results were announced periodically following the election the results of the voting were used in math and social studies classes to analyze the results pv high school art students experience plein air painting art student kaitlyn barber what s happening around town the perkiomen valley school district website www.pvsd.org has a new section called community events which features upcoming events and information from community organizations to access all of the exciting events happening in the perkiomen valley go to the district website at www.pvsd.org click on the about us category on the left of the page and then click on community events.

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6 skippack elementary students learn how to blog responsibly what do a multimedia episodic digital fiction story blogging and genre have in common for that matter what does any of that mean fifth grade students at skippack elementary are about to find out technology teacher brian love and librarian kirsten petro have teamed up to provide a unique learning experience incorporating current technology trends in the students world mr love has created a blog called ibard for 5th grade students through the skippack website a blog short for web log provides a space for commentary on a particular subject he is teaching them how to blog safely what an acceptable posting looks like and how to create a secure user identity concurrently mrs petro is teaching students in the library about book genres and story elements such as character setting sequence climax and resolution after all this groundwork is set students will be introduced to the popular online multimedia digital fiction story called inanimate alice after watching the first episode students will post responses to ibard on a question regarding story elements in inanimate alice additionally bloggers will be able to read their peers contributions and comment on those as well new questions will be posted regularly giving students opportunities for reflection and writing as well as deeper content understanding all in a fun interactive environment not only does the project meet students where they are on the web but it provides a venue for all students to discuss a book in depth at their own pace students who may feel uncomfortable responding in front of their peers in a classroom setting will be able to join the discussion in the anonymous environment of the blog as users are assigned a code name when they log in to the site mr love mrs petro and the fifth grade teaching team will patrol the site monitoring postings for appropriateness and providing positive feedback and encouragement for the budding bloggers south elementary students show off their patriotism

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7 superintendent s letter continued from page 1 as you see on the enrollment report to the right pv is experiencing continued growth we have 150 more students in our classrooms this september than we started with last year as we continue to expand we must plan strategically to accommodate each student with adequate space appropriate instruction varied programs and personalized services the members of our board of school directors have been working to provide guidance and support for the many varied and important initiatives designed to achieve our mission of enabling our students to reach their highest potential and to ensure educational opportunities for all it is our intent to assure the continued best use of the resources available and to provide a great education with the most bang for the buck as always we would love to hear your ideas about how we are doing dr clifford l rogers superintendent 2008-09 enrollment report perkiomen valley high school pv middle school east pv middle school west evergreen elementary school schwenksville elementary school skippack elementary school south elementary school total this year as of september 2008 total last year as of september 2007 1,641 814 625 701 619 741 653 5,812 5,660 programs for eligible or protected handicapped students in compliance with state and federal law notice is hereby given by the perkiomen valley school district that it conducts ongoing identification activities as part of its school program for the purpose of identifying disabled students who may be in need of special education and related services eligible students individualized services and programs are available for the children who are determined to need specially designed instruction due to the following conditions 1 autism/pervasive development disorder 2 blindness or visual impairment 3 deafness or hearing impairment 4 developmental delay 5 mentally gifted 6 mental retardation 7 multihandicapped 8 neurological impairment 9 other health impairments 10 physical disability 11 serious emotional disturbance 12 specific learning disability 13 speech and language impairment if you believe that your school-aged child may be in need of special education services and related programs or young child age 3 to school-age may be in need of early intervention screening and evaluation processes designed to assess the needs of the child and his/her eligibility are available to you at no cost upon written request you may request screening and evaluation at any time whether or not your child is enrolled in the district s public school program requests for evaluation and screening are to be made in writing to mrs judith roth director of special education three iron bridge drive collegeville pa 19426 to provide equal opportunity to participate in and obtain the benefits of the school programs and extracurricular activities to the maximum extent appropriate to the student s abilities in order to qualify as a protected handicapped student the child must be school-age with a physical or mental disability which substantially limits or prohibits participation in or access to an aspect of the school program these services and protections for protected handicapped students are distinct from those applicable to all eligible or exceptional students enrolled or seeking enrollment in special education programs in compliance with state law the perkiomen valley school district provides services designed to meet the unique needs of gifted students the perkiomen valley school district identifies gifted students on a case-by-case basis according to state law and district policy such students may possess superior iq scores or meet multiple criteria indicating gifted ability if your child is suspected to be in need of such services you will be notified of evaluation procedures if you believe your school-age child may qualify for gifted education services you may contact the district at any time to request determination of eligibility please note that entitlement to gifted services includes only those rights provided for by pennsylvania law for further information on the rights of parents and children provision of services evaluation and screening including purpose time and location and rights to due process procedures you may contact in writing the person listed above or any building principal confidentialilty all information gathered about your child is subject to the confidentiality provisions contained in federal and state law the district has policies and procedures in effect governing the collection maintenance destruction and disclosure to third parties of this information for information about these policies and procein compliance with state and federal law the perkiomen valley dures as well as rights of confidentiality and access to educational school district will provide to each protected handicapped stu records you may contact in writing the person named above or any dent without discrimination or cost to the student or family those building principal related aids services or accommodations which are needed

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8 schwenksville elementary students learn about apples the extended day kindergarten classes at schwenksville elementary school recently learned all about apples they listened to stories about johnny appleseed learned apple songs and finger plays and wrote apple stories in math students weighed measured graphed and sorted apples at the end of the unit each class made an apple pie the students learned how to read a recipe measure ingredients and follow directions a lesson on fractions and equal parts was taught when it came time to eat the pies who knew learning could be so much yummy news from the health services department medical conditions your child s medical safety is very important to us if your child has a serious medical condition such as a life threatening food allergy or insect sting allergy requiring the administration of an epipen diabetes or severe seizure disorder we encourage you to inform your child s bus driver please contact the district s transportation contractor student transportation of america sta directly at 610 489-9110 emergency forms a student emergency form was sent home with each student at the beginning of the school year please complete the form and return to your child s school as soon as possible this important information will assist your child s school nurse in contacting you if your child is sick or injured or has a medical emergency please continue to update the school nurse if your contact information phone numbers for home and work emergency contacts address should change during the school year non-profit org u.s postage paid collegeville pa permit #7 perkiomen valley school district 3 iron bridge drive collegeville pa 19426 board of directors lori snyder president randy bennett vice president gerry barnefiher lynn bigelow john king diane landes bonnie neiman capt sam schweigert david warren brian allebach nonmember secretary amy hurd non-member treasurer brian subers solicitor dr clifford l rogers superintendent the community communicator is mailed to all residents of the perkiomen valley school district please send all comments and suggestions to michelle brown school community relations coordinator at 610 489-8506 or mbrown@pvsd.org www.pvsd.org the perkiomen valley school district is an equal opportunity education institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race color national origin sex or handicap in its activities programs or employment practices as required by title vi title ix and section 504.

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