Featuring dozens of fairytale-themed floats with students dressed as princesses, dragons, witches and more, Exeter's 2022 Homecoming Parade and Bonfire delighted hundreds of community members who came out to enjoy the display of police vehicles, firetrucks and floats. Following the conclusion of the parade, the fire department lit a huge bonfire as a DJ and Exeter's band played and people enjoyed snacks from local food trucks. Many thanks to all of the students and parents who spent hours bringing their favorite fairytales to life, and Exeter police and firefighters for taking part in the parade and bonfire! It was a happily ever after for all!
OC Names Authors of the Month – A New Writing Initiative
Owatin Creek was pleased to announce that fourth grader Nolan Fayewicz and kindergartener Willow Jones were named their inaugural "Authors of the Month" for penning their own original books. Out of more than 100 entries, Nolan was selected for his three-part series on vacations, while Willow was selected for her book about zebras.
Alisse Auchenbach, a reading specialist at OC, said that the team dreamed up the idea of having kids create their own books so that students could see the power of their thoughts on the page. "We also wanted them to be proud of making and achieving goals as writers," she said. The reading team was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response from OC students, and wound up selecting two students instead of one as Author of the Month. A selection of reading specialists and teachers judged the entries, choosing Willow's book because she focused on one specific topic and used proper capitalization and periods. Nolan's was selected for his use of punctuation and descriptive words and because he organized his writing well with transitions.
Both students received a golden quill as a prize, as well as poster recognition on the "Hall of Writers" at OC. Honorable mentions included:
- Kindergarten - Averi Reeser
- First Grade - Grace Clark
- Second Grade - Abel Myer
- Third Grade - Christopher Woram
- Fourth Grade - Avery Manndel
Congratulations to all students!
OC Student Surprised by His Dad’s Homecoming
With patriotic tunes playing from a speaker filling Owatin Creek's outdoor amphitheater, first grader Caleb Landeck was selected from his classmates and asked to stand facing the crowd and hold a "very special" flag. Standing silently at attention, Caleb waited for his next instructions as a man dressed in Army fatigues silently walked up behind him and knelt down. Caleb then felt a tap at his shoulder. Turning around slowly to his confusion and then delight, Caleb found his dad, whom he hadn't seen for almost a year. Throwing his arms his neck, Caleb hugged his dad as he lifted him up into the air to cheers from students, teachers and administrators who had come out for this very special homecoming.
Sergeant First Class Michael Landeck was finally home.
The Exeter dad is a 23-year veteran of the United States Army National Guard, has completed five tours in Bosnia, Iraq (twice) and Kuwait (twice), and received a Meritorious Service Medal during his most recent deployment to Kuwait. He's been gone and away from his family--Samantha, his wife; and his two sons Caleb (6) and Emmett (2)--since he was deployed last November. Humbled by Mike's service and his family's sacrifice, a friend of the Landecks, Lee Pace, wanted to celebrate Mike's homecoming in a "big way," by asking the school district if they'd allow Exeter first responders to escort Mike to Owatin Creek and surprise Caleb at school. Under the guise of a "pink out patriotic" assembly, Pace worked with local first responders, administrators and Principal Charlie Payne to make the surprise happen.
Happy to have her husband and the father of her sons finally home safely, Samantha said that Mike is looking forward to retirement from a career in the military, catching up with his family and young sons, and perhaps starting a career in woodworking. "I'm so very proud of him for the sacrifices he has made to serve his country and thrilled to have him home safely with our family," she said, adding as her family was surrounded by reporters, "Today was just unforgettable."
Homecoming 2022 Parade, Bonfire & Football Game Info
We're excited to see you at this year's Homecoming 2022 events!
Homecoming Parade & Bonfire: Thursday, October 6th at 6PM
The parade route begins at the Senior High's parking lot, turns right onto Woodland Ave, turns left onto East 36th St, left onto Reiff Place, left onto East 40th Street and right onto Dunham Drive to finish at Reiffton School.
The bonfire will immediate follow the conclusion of the parade with a DJ and food trucks available for those in attendance to enjoy.
Homecoming Football Game & Homecoming Court Presentation: Friday, October 7th at 7PM
The Homecoming game kicks off at 7PM on Friday when Exeter takes on Muhlenberg in Don Thomas Stadium. Current Eagles, families and our alumni are encouraged to come out for the game, our marching band field show and to see the presentation of our Homecoming Court at halftime.
For more details on Homecoming 2022, please see our website HERE.
An “Old” Tradition Begins in Kindergarten
Exeter kindergarteners across the district today were given a free book and bookmark thanks to the kind generosity of the Woman's Club of Exeter Township. This tradition, which dates back at least 30 years, is one of the club's annual events, and is closely tied to their original mission to establish a kindergarten in the township back in 1949. By 1951, the group raised the funding necessary to open a kindergarten program, operating and managing it on their own until the district added the grade level to its own programming.
Despite their long history of supporting kindergarten students in Exeter, the Woman's Club was unable to interact with kindergarten students for the last several years due to the pandemic and a shift to online kindergarten registration from an in-person event. Through those changes and challenges, the group continued to donate books to kindergarten students, but were unable to interact with the students personally. But today, that all changed as Woman's Club members came into classrooms throughout the district to hand out books and bookmarks and personally read to eager students, who were visibly excited for the story time and generous gift.
"Today was so beautiful," said Tiffany Evans, vice president of the club. "We loved being able to see their reactions to the book as we were reading it to them. It made the experience so much more rewarding."
Our deepest thanks to the Woman's Club of Exeter Township for their continued support of our kindergarteners through this tradition, as well as their ongoing support of our older students, whom they gift with scholarships and leadership opportunities annually.
Dawn Harris Appointed as Assistant Superintendent
Dawn Harris, who has served as Exeter's Director of Pupil Services since the spring of 2020, was named as the district's new Assistant Superintendent of Student Services during the Exeter Township Board of School Directors' meeting on Monday, September 19, 2022. In this role, Harris will retain all of her current duties, but will acquire more responsibilities and staff supervision, as well as serve as the acting superintendent if Superintendent Haller is unavailable. The district has been without an Assistant Superintendent since Dr. Patrick Winters left Exeter in the spring of 2021. Dr. Haller mentioned to the Board during their earlier meeting in September that she sought to fill the position so that the District had a clear chain of command in her absence, as well as to help with daily operations.
Harris has been an educator since 1997, most recently working as the Director of Pupil Services for the Schuylkill Valley School District before coming to Exeter. Throughout her 25 year career, she's managed or led instruction for students in special education at schools in Berks and Chester County. Currently, as Exeter's Director of Pupil Services, she manages staff and programming for special education and gifted education, as well as health, safety, school counseling and enrollment services.
She has two grown children and lives in Berks County with her husband, Todd, who works in law enforcement, and her three dogs.
Harris (right) was sworn in as Assistant Superintendent on Thursday by the Honorable Theresa Johnson.