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National School Counseling Week: Focus on the Senior High

photo of exeter township senior high counselors

This week, we’re excited to celebrate National School Counseling Week to help bring awareness to the important role that our K-12 school counselors have as they dedicate their professional lives to care for and support our students to help them achieve school success and plan for their futures. From providing safe and supportive areas for students to receive mental health or social help, to helping students remove barriers to academic success, to providing classroom lessons, to helping kids figure out “what they want to be when they grow up,” school counselors are celebrated not only this week–but every day–for the unique work they do to support all aspects of a student’s journey through school as they help each reach their potential to become his or her best. Today, we’re proud to highlight our last--but biggest--counseling team at the Senior High: Mrs. Nicole Daub (A-Dough), Mr. Owen Jones (Doughl-Hun), Mr. Bryan Lefever (Hu-Mo), Ms. Ashley Rosa (Mu-She) and Mrs. Andrea Freese (Shi-Z). Together, they're joined by Mrs. Alycia Lenhart (Student Assistance Coordinator), Mrs. Mary Matetich-Patton (Guidance Technician and Scholarship Coordinator) and Mrs. Laurie Zeiber (Secretary).

Q: How long have you been a school counselor? How long have you worked at Exeter?

Mrs. Daub: I have been working as a school counselor for 10 years--7 of those being at Exeter.
Mr. Jones: I've been a counselor since 2005, and one at Exeter since 2008.
Mr. Lefever: This is my 10th year as a school counselor and at Exeter.
Ms. Rosa: This is my 5th year as a school counselor, and I have worked at Exeter for all 5 of those years.
Mrs. Freese: 16 years! They have all been at Exeter, with my first year being at the Junior High. 

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a counselor? If so, what? Why did you change your career?

Mrs. Daub: During graduate school, I was a personal care assistant and paraprofessional. I worked with a student diagnosed with autism and Down's Syndrome using the Applied Behavioral Analysis approach and techniques. Immediately after completing my school counseling program, I was hired as a school counselor and have been doing that since.
Mr. Jones: I have always been a school counselor; however, I started my education as a Physical Therapy major.
Mr. Lefever: I taught in the Machine shop and Mechanical Drafting program at Lancaster County Career and Technology Center. Before that I was a Tooling Engineer.
Ms. Rosa: I knew I wanted to be a school counselor since high school.
Mrs. Freese: I was Vice President of Human Resources for Reading Truck Body, Inc. My desire to work with adolescents prompted me to pursue a masters in counseling education and leave the business world.

Q: What's your favorite part of your job?

Mrs. Daub: My favorite part of being a school counselor is meeting individually with students to help support their needs and goals, whatever those may be: academically, socially, emotionally, post-secondary, etc.
Mr. Jones: I love helping students and staff with any question or concern that they have and removing that barrier to their continued success.
Mr. Lefever: Working one-on-one with students.
Ms. Rosa: The amazing students that I work with who are inspiring, hard working, who persevere through the most challenging times. As a school counselor I work with students with a wide range of strengths, abilities and goals. I also have the best coworkers!
Mrs. Freese: Working with so many amazing students and families.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

Mrs. Daub: In supporting students in all facets of their lives, we often have difficult conversations with students and families regarding sensitive topics, crises, unfortunate situations, etc. There are some days where compartmentalizing work from home is needed, but very difficult.
Mr. Jones: The most challenging part is managing the time it takes to address everyone's needs. I would love to be able to spend more time with students.
Mr. Lefever: Breaking news to parents about a crisis situation their child is in.
Ms. Rosa: Time.I wish I had more time to spend with students.
Mrs. Freese: Being able to have enough time to support students in the way I would like to.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that I….”

Mrs. Daub: ...While my day is always planned, it is fairly typical that I am not able to follow the schedule I have outlined. Our counseling doors are always open to students, and in doing so, we, as school counselors, are ready to handle the immediate needs of our students. No day is the same, and there is always the possibility of a change to what was planned.
Mr. Lefever: ...Do something different every day, no two days are alike.
Ms. Rosa: ...Utilize a zen garden in my office.
Mrs. Freese: ..Spend most days seeing students all day long.

Q: The theme for this year’s School Counseling Week is “Better Together.” What does that mean to you?

Mrs. Daub: Working together, as a team, is how we help ensure that we are supporting students in all facets of their lives to the best that we can. School counselors are constantly working together, with students and their families, with teachers and administration, and with support staff and the community to ensure the needs are being met and that supports are in place to help students meet their goals.
Mr. Owens: It means that when you are part of a wonderful team you can really make a difference in the lives of those you interact with. We all make each other better.
Mr. Lefever: It's always about a team: teachers, administrators, parents, students, counseling team, and many other support staff. There is nothing I do, that I do alone.
Ms. Rosa: I see this theme in two ways. First, I could not do my job without the support of my coworkers. We lean on each other and it makes being a school counselor at Exeter so much fun. I also see this theme being used school-wide. We are all here together for a reason. Working, learning, growing together will make us all stronger. Sometimes we need the strength from others to lift us up!
Mrs. Freese: The SH counseling team is amazing and I would not want to work as a counselor anywhere else.

Q: When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Mrs. Daub: An elementary school teacher.
Mr. Jones: I can't really remember, but I'm sure it had something to do with soccer.
Mr. Lefever: I wanted to join the military
Ms. Rosa: A lawyer
Mrs. Freese: A lawyer

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Mr. Jones: I'm blessed to be part of this team.
Ms. Rosa: In addition to being a school counselor I am the head boys/girls swim coach and the advisor of Student Council and Do Something Club. I enjoy working with all three of these groups. They are energetic and passionate about what they do.
Mrs. Freese: I often tell people that I have the best job in the world because of the amazing students I have the opportunity to work with.

National School Counseling Week: Focus on Owatin Creek

photo of paola cordova

This week, we’re excited to celebrate National School Counseling Week to help bring awareness to the important role that our K-12 school counselors have as they dedicate their professional lives to care for and support our students to help them achieve school success and plan for their futures. From providing safe and supportive areas for students to receive mental health or social help, to helping students remove barriers to academic success, to providing classroom lessons, to helping kids figure out “what they want to be when they grow up,” school counselors are celebrated not only this week–but every day–for the unique work they do to support all aspects of a student’s journey through school as they help each reach their potential to become his or her best. Today, we’re proud to highlight another new counselor, Ms. Paola Cordova, who started working at Owatin Creek just this past year:

Q: How long have you been a school counselor? How long have you worked at Exeter?

A: This my first year at Exeter, but my second year as a school counselor.

Q: What’s your favorite part of your job?

A: The favorite part of my job is talking and listening to my students. All of my students I met are sweet and resilient human beings. They teach me something new every day. I also enjoy doing guidance lessons and groups!

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

A: There is not enough time of day to do everything that needs to be done.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that..."

A: ...I teach my students about their feelings and how to communicate with one another properly.

Q: The theme for this year’s School Counseling Week is “Better Together.” What does that mean to you?

A: "Better Together" means to me as a community (e.g., parents/guardians, students, teachers, principal and anyone who interacts with the students) can help our students, and we cannot do it alone. We need to work as a team to help our students.

Q: When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: In elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher and realtor! At a young age, I knew I loved working with people!

Reiffton Students’ Good Behavior is Rewarded by Blue-Haired Principals

It's not everyday that Reiffton students are given permission to be so bold to call their principals "Smurf" or "Sonic" and laugh as they point at their hair, but principal Dr. Greg Fries and assistant principal Mr. Joe Alcaro couldn't have been happier to be the center of their 5th and 6th graders' jokes today as they walked around Reiffton after having their hair spray painted Exeter blue this morning. It was all part of a school-wide challenge for students to earn 600 Character COWnts good-behavior tickets over a 4 week period. Reiffton students being the competitive and well-behaved bunch that they are not only met their principals' goal of 600 tickets in 4 weeks--they blew past it by earning an additional 400 on top of it!

"We've been averaging about 75 tickets a week," said Mr. Alcaro. "We wanted to up the ante, and we were so excited to see that they earned over 1,000!"

Dr. Fries said that the challenge truly created a fun atmosphere at the school over the past few weeks. "From the very beginning of the challenge, they were excited that we were willing to dye our hair blue. Every time I walked through the hallways or entered the cafeteria students came up to me to let me know how excited they would be to see me with blue hair. Several even mentioned that it looks better than my normal gray hair."

The Character COWnts program, which is now in its 9th year at Reiffton, is meant to build upon the pro-social skills taught in the homes of our students and in our elementary schools. The program focuses on the 3C's: caring, cooperation and citizenship, and was designed specifically to meet the needs of the students at Reiffton.

Although he's glad the hair dye that was used today was temporary, Dr. Fries said that he hopes the lessons learned from the challenge are more permanent. "We are extremely lucky to have such an outstanding group of students at Reiffton. Their success with this challenge demonstrates their willingness to see things from different perspectives and put the needs and feelings of others first."

TSA students win regional awards; 15 advance to state competition

More than 30 Exeter Township Senior High Technology Student Association (TSA) students attended the Pennsylvania TSA "Discover Your Journey" regional competition in Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday, February 5, 2022 to compete against students from 17 other area schools in individual or team-based categories, including video game design, photographic technology and transportation modeling. When the day's presentations were over, 15 Exeter students qualified with their technology-based projects to move on to the state competition in in April. Please check out the video to see some highlights of our students' projects!

TSA is an after-school, extracurricular club advised by Mr. Zachary Potter and Mr. Terry Lorah that meets weekly to create technology-based projects exclusively for this regional conference. Reflecting upon the students' achievements he said, "I am extremely proud of all of our club participants for their hard work and efforts. These students are taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in academic events that are not only fun, they help to improve upon important skills these students will be using in their futures."

Here are the results from the day's competition:

  • 1st Place - Engineering Design: Corinne Scherer, Sherry Heckman, Leahnessa Ortiz, Becca Zilinski
  • 1st Place - Transportation Modeling: Zachary Kauffman
  • 2nd Place - Extemporaneous Presentation: Saishree Mupparaju
  • 2nd Place - Photographic Technology: Hailey Keperling
  • 3rd Place - Video Game Design: Evan Miller, Rohan Talagadadeevi, Zach Badinger, Colson Tsakonas, Ethan Le, Prateek Kunduru
  • 3rd Place - Webmaster: Evan Miller, Rohan Talagadadeevi, Zach Badinger, Colson Tsakonas, Prateek Kunduru
  • 3rd Place - Biotechnology Design: Saishree Mupparaju, Hailey Keperling, Hansika Kunduru, Corinne Scherer, Peyton Seamans
  • 3rd Place - Scientific Visualization: Peyton Seamans, Hansika Kunduru
  • 4th Place - Digital Video Production: Katelyn Nichols, Emma Howerter
  • 4th Place - Architectural Design: Corinne Scherer, Nora Kern, Maya Metz, Leahness Ortiz, Sherry Heckman, Hayden Adams
  • 4th Place - Board Game Design: Zak Kauffman, Juniper Barouth-Sherman
  • 4th Place - Prepared Presentation: Hansika Kunduru
  • 5th Place - Essays on Technology: Sophia Jones
  • 6th Place - CAD Engineering: Richter Bogust
  • 6th Place - Debating Technological Issues: Hansika Kunduru, Sophia Jones
  • 6th Place - Dragster Design: Maya Metz
  • 8th Place - Dragster Design: Richter Bogust
  • 9th Place - Dragster Design: Katelyn Nichols
  • 10th Place - Flight Endurance: Noah Gaters

Congratulations to all!

National School Counseling Week: Focus on Lorane

photo of kaley ryan

This week, we’re excited to celebrate National School Counseling Week to help bring awareness to the important role that our K-12 school counselors have as they dedicate their professional lives to care for and support our students to help them achieve school success and plan for their futures. From providing safe and supportive areas for students to receive mental health or social help, to helping students remove barriers to academic success, to providing classroom lessons, to helping kids figure out “what they want to be when they grow up,” school counselors are celebrated not only this week–but every day–for the unique work they do to support all aspects of a student’s journey through school as they help each reach their potential to become his or her best. Today, we’re proud to highlight Lorane's counselor, who is new to the district this year. Meet Mrs. Kaley Ryan:

Q: How long have you been a school counselor? How long have you worked at Exeter?

A: This is my first year as a school counselor and my first year at Exeter!

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a counselor? If so, what? Why did you change your career?

A: I previously worked at a Behavioral Health Outpatient Center as an Employment Specialist. I then became a NeuroLogic Specialist providing School Districts with professional development on how trauma can impact the brain. Now, I am working my dream job as a School Counselor!

What’s your favorite part of your job?

A: Getting to work with students and helping them process big emotions.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

A: I wish I had more time during the day to get everything done.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that..."

A: ...I run 15 different small groups a week and meet individually with over 30 students weekly.

Q: The theme for this year’s School Counseling Week is “Better Together.” What does that mean to you?

A: "Better Together" means that the school counseling program is better together with teachers, administrators, school based mental health providers, parents and community members. When we work together, we are better able to meet the needs of our students.

Q: When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: I wanted to be a WNBA player and if that didn't work out, I wanted to be a librarian 🙂

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

A: I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with your student! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concern or just to say hello.

National School Counseling Week: Focus on Exeter Township Junior High

photo of autumn rheaume and kim shaw

This week, we’re excited to celebrate National School Counseling Week to help bring awareness to the important role that our K-12 school counselors have as they dedicate their professional lives to care for and support our students to help them achieve school success and plan for their futures. From providing safe and supportive areas for students to receive mental health or social help, to helping students remove barriers to academic success, to providing classroom lessons, to helping kids figure out “what they want to be when they grow up,” school counselors are celebrated not only this week–but every day–for the unique work they do to support all aspects of a student’s journey through school as they help each reach their potential to become his or her best. Today, we’re proud to highlight the Junior High's counseling team of Mrs. Autumn Rheaume (A-L) and Miss Kim Shaw (M-Z).

Q: How long have you been a school counselor? How long have you worked at Exeter?

A: Mrs. Rheaume: I have been a school counselor for 20 years. I have worked at Exeter for 15 years.
Miss Shaw: I have been a school counselor for 18 years. I have worked at Exeter for 8 years.

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a counselor? If so, what? Why did you change your career?

A: Mrs. Rheume: While in graduate school I worked as therapeutic support staff and as a prevention specialist with a local drug and alcohol commission.
Miss Shaw: While in graduate school I worked as therapeutic support staff and as a vocational disability evaluator.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

A: We enjoy being a part of the junior high community, not only because we work with great teachers, but also because this age is a time when kids go through multiple changes and together, as a team, we get to be a part of that journey.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

A: We cannot keep to a strict schedule because every day is different. While this is challenging, it also makes our job very interesting, which we love.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that..."

A: ...We are no longer called guidance counselors. The term changed in 1990 when the American School Counseling Association decided the job encompassed much more than career guidance. Today's school counselors assist students not only in academics and post-high school planning, but also in the areas of emotional support, family intervention and social development. Our degrees and certifications are in school counseling, not guidance.

Q: The theme for this year’s School Counseling Week is “Better Together.” What does that mean to you?

A: Collaboration with all constituents is the key to success for all students. We value the coordination with principals, teachers, parents and community members. We are also very happy to work together because we make a great team!

Q: When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: Mrs. Rheume: I wanted to be a teacher.
Miss Shaw: My uncle was the town fire chief so I thought I'd be a firefighter.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

A: We went to the same college together during the same years, but didn't know each other back then.