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Please contribute your feedback for our Health & Safety Plan

As we look forward to the 2021-22 school year and a full return to in-person instruction, we are updating our Health and Safety Plans to reflect the latest guidance. These plans will then be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education so that we may receive a one-time, emergency federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant of $3.1 million, which must be used for specific programming and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’d like to share your feedback or suggestions on the development of this Health and Safety Plan and/or the utilization of the grant funds, please visit https://forms.gle/Gpjgg6rxfm5YJEzd8

Camp Invention comes to Exeter

If you thought summers were for playing and not learning, a group of Exeter students are proving that you can do both during Camp Invention. Held at Owatin Creek this week, students were all giggles as they launched rubber ducks from catapults they made, figured out how to keep water in cups with holes in the bottom and ran relay races with wet sponges to see who could fill a bucket the fastest. Packed inside all of this fun are STEM principles that come to life for campers providing them with opportunities to become innovators through teamwork and immersive, hands-on problem-solving!
We'll be hosting a second week of Camp Invention with all new activities in August. Learn more and register here: http://ow.ly/y7xd50Fh6lb

Berks native A.S. King (1988) wins Printz Award for YA novel “Dig”

“Dig,” the latest novel by Berks County native A.S. King, has been named winner of the American Library Association’s 2020 Michael L. Printz Award, given for a young-adult book that exemplifies literary excellence.

A 1988 Exeter High School graduate, King has been publishing novels for young readers for the past 10 years, establishing herself as a prominent and influential voice in the genre.

In an email, King said “Dig,” which was released last March, is set partially in Reading, though it’s a fictional setting mixed with Lititz, where she now lives.

It’s been called “stuningly original” by Kirkus Reviews and “profound” by Publishers Weekly.

All 12 of King’s novels are set in Pennsylvania, including her 2011 Printz Honor winning “Please Ignore Vera Dietz,” in which the Reading Pagoda has a speaking part and is a character.

Her 2012 novel “Ask the Passengers,” about a girl who copes with her small town’s gossip and narrow-mindedness by sending her love to the passengers in the airplanes flying overhead, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

The Printz Award was founded in 2000 to highlight the best and most literary works of excellence written for a young adult audience.

In her email, King said she never expected to win, but she’s very happy about it.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” she wrote. “It will, in time. And I’m looking forward to accepting it in Chicago at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June.”

Michal Menet plans to stay at PSU

Penn State center Michal Menet, the former Exeter standout, will return to the Nittany Lions in 2020.

The 6-4, 313-pound Menet announced Tuesday on social media that he decided to come back for his senior season and not enter the NFL Draft.

“I am not ready for my time with this football family to end yet,” he wrote on social media, “and (I) continue to enjoy every minute with my brothers. I feel I have unfinished business to take care of, including completing my Penn State degree (in psychology).”

Menet has started 24 of the last 25 games at center and is a team captain this season for Penn State (10-2), which will learn its bowl destination Sunday.

His announcement followed one Saturday by sophomore tight end Pat Freiermuth, who could have declared for the draft but decided he will return to the Lions in 2020.

“Thank you, Nittany Nation, for your unwavering support,” Menet wrote. “We still have work left to do in the 2019 season in our bowl game. But I can’t wait to be back in front of our 107K strong in Beaver Stadium.”

The return of Menet and Freiermuth boosts Penn State’s hopes for next season when the Lions could return as many as nine starters on offense and five on defense.

“I have been very blessed during my football career to have the opportunity to play at the highest level,” Menet wrote, “and to be in this position.”

Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos announced later Monday that he is forgoing his final season and will enter the NFL draft.

Wide receiver KJ Hamler, offensive tackle Will Fries, defensive end Shaka Toney, defensive tackle Antonio Shelton, cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields and safety Lamont Wade are in their third year in the Penn State program and are eligible to enter the draft.

2003 grad Beth Wysolmerski opens new store on Perkiomen Ave.

Founded in 2011 by Bethany Wysolmerski, the woman-owned and operated business known as Pink Poppy Party Shoppe started as an online store and website. The vision? Help busy moms plan and execute birthday parties.

As the business grew, the team began to specialize in creating personalized stationery, gifts, and styling for any event or occasion in life. Early in 2019, it was rebranded as Rubi & Lib Design Studio.

Wysolmerski, a 2003 Exeter graduate, is now expanding her business to include a retail storefront right in her hometown.

The new store, located at 3845 Perkiomen Avenue, will feature personalized gifts and entertainment supplies available for purchase. A walk-in studio will also be the home to personalized stationery design consultations.

“While we have been successful online, we dreamed of connecting locally with our friends in Exeter,” Rachael Powell, social media specialist, said. “We hope to help our local community create beautiful stationery, find the perfect personalized gift, and to help our customers style gorgeous parties and events with the perfect personalized decor.”

Rubi & Lib Design Studio will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, November 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m at its new storefront.

The celebration will include multiple giveaways and an in-studio discount of 25% off your entire purchase. Light refreshments will also be served.

Rubi & Lib offers save-the-dates, invitations, wedding and party favors, wedding welcome bags, personalized tableware – napkins, plates, cups, and coasters, thank you cards, cake toppers, and wedding day stationery both for your ceremony and reception. For more information, visit their website: https://rubiandlib.com/

Dr. Amanda Gallagher Whetzel – Orthodontist – Class of 2000

Meet Dr. Gallagher Whetzel

Dr. Amanda Gallagher Whetzel was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania and attended James Madison University in Virginia where she received degrees in Health Services Administration and Business. While at James Madison, Dr. Gallagher played women’s varsity field hockey and received Division I Academic-Athlete honors. She received her Doctor in Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, PA and graduated at the top of her dental school class with Summa Cum Laude recognition, was inducted into the Omicron Kappa Upsilon honorary dental society, and received the Herbert G. Lampson, M.D. Award for the most outstanding senior woman student.

Dr. Gallagher received her Orthodontics Specialty Certificate and Masters in Oral Biology (MS) from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 2011.  While at Maryland and post-residency, Dr. Gallagher participated as an Orthodontic Specialist on Craniofacial and Cleft Palate teams at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and Kernan Medical Center.  During her residency, Dr. Gallagher conducted original research focused on esthetic bracket and archwire options to achieve high-quality, esthetic orthodontic treatment for patients.

After residency, Dr. Gallagher worked as a private practice orthodontist in the suburbs of Boston, MA and then Frederick, MD.  In 2013, Dr. Gallagher purchased an existing two-office private orthodontic practice from a local retiring orthodontist.  The practice has grown significantly since that time and Dr. Gallagher relocated both offices to new, state-of-the-art facilities to provide the best patient experience possible.  These current office locations opened in Nottingham in 2016 and in Abingdon in 2017.  Dr. Gallagher focuses on patients and community in her practice and enjoys being able to design and create beautiful smiles while supporting and building confidence in her patients along the way.

Dr. Gallagher is committed to excellence in education and technology in the profession, and regularly participates in dental and orthodontic study clubs on both the local and national levels. She is an active member of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), Maryland State Society of Orthodontists (MSSO), and the Mid-Atlantic Society of Orthodontists (MASO), where she has served as Officer of Government Affairs.  She is also active in the following dental organizations: the ADA, MSDA, Baltimore County Dental Society, and Harford Cecil Dental Society, where she has served as Vice-President.  Dr. Gallagher is an Invisalign Platinum Provider, has published in the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, and has been recognized as a Top Orthodontist for the last five years in a row by Baltimore Magazine’s annual dentist peer survey.

 Dr. Gallagher’s interests are in craniofacial growth and development, as well as in the treatment of children and adults with craniofacial abnormalities.  Her previous experience as an orthodontist in a pediatric dental setting has shaped her style of treatment for all patients in a kind, caring, and compassionate way.   Dr. Gallagher is committed to technological excellence and esthetic advancements in the specialty of orthodontics, and is experienced in self-ligating brackets, Invisalign, INBRACE (lingual braces), temporary anchorage devices (TAD’s/Mini-screws), laser gingival procedures, and multi-disciplinary orthodontic treatment needs.​

Dr. Gallagher runs the practice with her husband Ben, and they live in Fallston with their three young sons.  In her spare time, Dr. Gallagher enjoys traveling, interior design, fashion and spending time with family and friends.