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From the Superintendent: Mental Health Resources

Dear Exeter Families,

This week our school community suffered a tremendous loss with the sudden and unexpected death of one of our seniors, Melody Bauroth-Sherman.  Melody by all accounts was a wonderful young woman, a scholar, a musician, an athlete, and a friend.

As the Superintendent, my mind went immediately to our students and staff and their well-being in this time of grief. To that end, we have been offering counseling here at the High School for the past two days and we will offer more counseling when students and staff return to school next week.

As the mother of three girls between the ages of 17 and 21, this hit very close to home for me.  As a parent, it is really hard to know what to do in times like these, how to support your child, and even to know if your child needs support.  This weekend, we saw students who had no direct connection to Melody experiencing the devastation of her loss, and for some, it has triggered underlying depression and they are really struggling.

There are many days between today and the return to school.  Normally, students would be here at school and our counselors would be readily available to them.  While they are home with their families this week parents, guardians, and friends may need to be even more vigilant for signs that a student is suffering and needs help.

Checking in on your child, even if you don’t think that they have any direct connection to this tragedy, is important.  If you find that they do need help here is a resource that you could use at any time:

  • RUOK: text ruOK to 484-816-7865
    • Secure, anonymous communications for 24/7 mental health response

You can also find a list of other mental health resources by clicking HERE.
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Sincerely,
Dr. Kimberly Minor
Superintendent

Exeter Launches New District Website

photo of exeter website

Featuring a news-forward focus, a clean design and community-centered content, the District launched a new website this month at the URL-friendly www.exetersd.org to refresh its online presence. New features include a day-of-the-week widget to help parents and students remember the cycle day, a consistent menu from school-to-school, a news-centered splash page with news, events and social media/ParentSquare feeds, a Community Bulletin Board for local organizations to post their registrations and events, and a grade/department-centered fly-out directory on each school's page to make it easier for you to find teachers and staff. Please make sure you click on the SCHOOLS tab to check out your school's respective site!

We're continuing to make adjustments to our mobile-friendly version and have a few other tweaks/improvements in the works, but we're eager to hear your feedback or suggestions! Please feel free to email communications@nullexetersd.org with features you'd like to see, which may be included in a future update!

Spanish Club Crafts New Annual Tradition

photo collage of craft fair

Featuring hundreds of handmade crafts, holiday treats and more, the Exeter Township Senior High's Spanish Club's first Craft Fair showcased the immense creativity and talent of dozens of student and staff artisans. Held on December 16th at the Senior High, shoppers from around Exeter picked up hand-crafted pieces of jewelry, ceramics, ornaments, drawings, paintings, treats and more! Shoppers marveled at the expansive craft collection and extraordinary local talent as they picked out pieces to keep or give as holiday gifts. Following the tremendous success of the event, the Spanish Club intends to bring back the Craft Fair next year as a new annual Exeter tradition.

Jason Zalno receives TEEAP Teacher Excellence Award

photo of jason zalno

The Technology & Engineering Education Association of Pennsylvania (TEEAP) awarded their Middle School Teacher Excellence Award to ETJH's Technology Education teacher, Mr. Jason Zalno. A teacher at Exeter for more than a decade, Mr. Zalno created many of the junior high's STEM curriculums throughout the last decade, teaching students how to apply engineering principles to global problems, such as vertical farming, hydroponics and water filtration and cleaning systems. He's also taught robotics and computer science by implementing curriculum from CODE.org and Microsoft's Micro:bit Educational Foundation.

A teacher who embraces the challenges that each day bring, Mr. Zalno says that he loves how "Every day is a different day. There's never two days that are the same--and never a lesson that is exactly the same."

The Teacher Excellence Award is one of the highest honors given to Technology and Engineering Education classroom teachers and is presented in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the profession and their students. Mr. Zalno was recognized this month by TEEAP, and learned he will now compete at an international level for an award presented by the International Technology & Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). Congratulations to Mr. Zalno!

Jennifer Dorta recognized as SHAPE PA’s Elementary Teacher of the Year

photo of jen dorta

Reiffton's Health & Physical Education teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Dorta, was named SHAPE PA's Elementary Teacher of the Year following her regional win in the spring and then her state-wide recognition later this year. A teacher in Exeter for 16 years, Mrs. Dorta is known for her enthusiastic and caring teaching style that motivates students to take care of their emotional wellness just as much as their physical health as she creates dynamic lessons for her students and collaborates with her fellow teachers to create cross-curricular learning activities. Presented with the challenges of teaching virtually at the start of the pandemic, Mrs. Dorta harnessed her creativity as she brought themes and corresponding dress-up opportunities, (such as pirate week) to keep her students engaged as they learned from home. "Social and emotional learning is very important to me," she says as she explains that her lessons often refer to the wellness triangle to encourage her students to keep their lives in balance physically, socially and mentally/emotionally.

The SHAPE PA Award stems from the SHAPE America Society of Health and Physical Educators. Every year, this group recognizes teachers from school districts in every state that have shown dedication, commitment and excellence in their school. Mrs. Dorta received her award and recognition at a banquet last month. Congratulations to Mrs. Dorta!

Mask Update

Dear Exeter Families,

The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court struck down Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate yesterday, effectively ending masking requirements in PA public schools. At this time, the Exeter Township Board of School Directors has mandated that staff and students continue to wear masks until December 15th. On Wednesday, December 15th, staff, students and visitors may choose to wear or not wear masks in all school buildings. The District will continue to ask students who are visiting the school nurse to wear a  mask, and will provide one if requested. Masks will continue to be required to be worn on school buses as per federal TSA requirements. 

At a future date, the government or the Board of School Directors could reimpose masking requirements. Please continue to monitor school communication for updates.

Thank you for your continued cooperation.