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Ten More Students to Continue their Athletic Careers

a group of athletes sit in front of a school banner

From left to right: Back row: Michael Sherman, Frank Conte. Front row: Cassandra Miller, Hayden Adams, Joshua Brown, Joshua Hole, Rebecca Cherry, Bryanna Shunk, Kalie Mierzwinski and Addie Devage

a group of sit on stage

Today, ten more senior Eagles symbolically signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level following graduation. These talented athletes will be playing for the following teams next year:

  • Hayden Adams - Franklin and Marshall College- Track & Field
  • Joshua Brown - Franklin and Marshall College- Track & Field
  • Rebecca Cherry - Lebanon Valley College - Track & Field
  • Frank Conte - Elizabethtown College - Cross Country and Track & Field
  • Addie Devage- Eastern University- Field Hockey
  • Joshua Hole - Chatham University - Soccer
  • Kalie Mierzwinski - Millersville University - Cheerleading
  • Cassandra Miller - Longwood University - Cross Country and Track & Field
  • Michael Sherman - York College - Cross Country
  • Bryanna Shunk - West Chester University- Cheerleading

These athletes join the 18 athletes who signed their letters of intent on National Signing Day in February. Congratulations to all!

Students Win “Best Medical Device” in PA Governor’s STEM Competition

a small group of students hold their stem competition poster

Seniors Alex Nerney (left), Connor Stoltzfus (middle), Sophia Jones (second from right), Hansika Kunduru (right) and junior Richter Bogust (second from left).

Seniors Alex Nerney (left), Connor Stoltzfus (middle), Sophia Jones (second from right), Hansika Kunduru (right) and junior Richter Bogust (second from left) won the award for the Best Medical Device in the final round of the PA Governor’s STEM Competition, held last week in Harrisburg. The students were one of the top 20 finalists from student groups across Pennsylvania. Their medical device is an app called “Blue Alert” that monitors the amount of blue light that a user is exposed to, which can disrupt sleep patterns. Their accompanying app collects data from the blue light sensor along with user-entered data, such as meals and caffeine intake, to give users a “sleep score” that allows them to make decisions to improve their sleep patterns.

The students partnered with a local health-based non-profit, My Gut Instinct, as well as a professor from Penn State Berks to build the blue light sensor to collect data and develop the accompanying app to log and interpret the data. 

Junior Richter Bogust said that the team was inspired to create the app because of the explosion of blue light exposure in modern-day society through the use of smart phones, computers and screens--and is something that his peers are regularly exposed to with these devices. “In our own lives, we realized that we’re affected by blue light more than you’d think. However, we found that almost everyone is affected by blue light in some way since people are often on their phones before bed, or use lights that emit blue light.”

Mr. Zach Potter, advisor to the students, commended the students for their exceptional work with the protoype. “I am always proud of students like these, who despite all of their commitments to academics, athletics, family, friends, jobs and more, make time to complete an incredible project like this. Their commitment to themselves and to building the skills they will need to be successful later in life is admirable.”

Internship Spotlight: Donnie Beiber at Trace Pheasantry

a student stands in front of quail eggs

Donnie Beiber is a senior completing an internship with Trace Pheasantry in Douglassville, a hatchery for pheasants, chukars, quail and partridges. Zach Trace, owner, said that he was initially nervous about taking on high school intern since he is only a few years out of high school himself, but Donnie’s quickly proven to be an asset to his farm. “Donnie has been very eager to learn and reminds me to explain things to him when he doesn’t understand. Donnie always shows up when he’s supposed to and causes no stress. Donnie has helped me on many projects and he has provided his own insight and even taught me things I didn’t know. He’s a hard worker and more than just an extra set of hands. He has been very beneficial to my company.”

Donnie, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation?
My plans after high school are to go to a trade school and get certified for heavy equipment operations.

Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?
My internship is just a way of being able to get out of the classroom and be able to help out on the farm while learning many different things that pertain to farming and life skills. A typical day on the farm consists of showing up at 11 and doing some busy work for an hour till the 12-1 lunch break, then after that we work at finishing the main objectives for the day, which is "whatever the boss writes on the list that has to be finished for the day." Then after 3, we go and collect eggs, take them back to the hatchery and wash them.

How did you select your internship? Did someone help you select it? Did you seek out the opportunity on your own? Were you asked to do the internship?
I chose the internship because I believe farming is a dying culture and I wanted to do something I enjoy.

What do you like most about your internship?
What I like most about my internship is the fact that I can be out of the school and enjoy the outdoors for several hours instead of being cooped up in a classroom.

And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?
I think the internship program is one of the best programs Exeter has to offer. It's not a lot of work for a great reward of being able to intern somewhere you like or are interested in. Also, if you do well at being an intern, your employer may even offer you a job.

Lorane Third Graders Participate in Egg-Cellent Annual Science Project

teachers standing on the roof of their school drop packages to the ground

Olivia Seifert, a third grader in Mrs. Whitney's class, smiles and holds up her unbroken egg as her teachers and classmates cheer for her successful egg drop project. 

Using stuffed animals, car sponges, foam blocks, birthday balloons or many other imaginative contraptions to protect a raw egg from a drop off the roof of their school, third graders at Lorane Elementary became engineers yesterday as they tested their knowledge and application of Newton’s Laws. With their teachers standing on the roof of the school, students waited with bated breath as their teachers tossed their handcrafted packages, excitedly scrambling over to the ground to inspect their egg once it had reached the ground, cheering for a successful delivery, or being consoled by classmates for an egg-splosive landing.

Mrs. Taylor Fasig, third grade teacher at Lorane, said that the annual egg drop offers students a unique and enjoyable way to combine their creativity with their knowledge of scientific principles. “The restrictions for this project are pretty minimal since we know the students are just beginning to understand the concepts required for the project,” she said. “We tell the students that there are two ways to protect an egg when dropping it: They need to either slow down the acceleration by using something like a parachute or they need to reduce the force on the egg by providing cushioning… Afterward, we discuss if their egg survived and brainstorm why the egg may not have survived and what they would do differently next time.”

Beyond testing their brain power, Mrs. Fasig says that the activity brings out the best in her students. “The friendly competition ensures that all of the students do their best work and try their hardest, and many of them choose to work with a partner so they are gaining teamwork skills as well.”

This is the fourth year that all third grade classes participated in the most egg-cellent science project together, which is something their teachers say they look forward to all year.

District Presents 2024-27 Comprehensive Plan Draft

Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Josh Hoyt, presented the district's 2024-27 Comprehensive Plan, which lays out the mission, vision and goals of the district for 2024-27. In the draft, Dr. Hoyt identified three key priorities for the district:

  • The district will improve the curriculum articulation and the associated instructional practice to ensure that students meet the goal of increased proficiency in grade 3 ELA
  • The district will address the need for improved math proficiency in grade 7 and the need for vertical curricular and instructional alignment in grades K-8 so that students can meet the goal of increasing math proficiency
  • The district will continue to improve its graduation rate.

To view the slideshow presentation, please navigate through the slideshow on this page. To read the draft of the full plan, please click HERE.

Rachel Schwenk ’20 Earns President’s Award from Rider University

headshot of college student dressed in black

Rachel Schwenk '20 is one of the recipients of this year’s top three awards for graduating students at Rider University. Awards were presented to the awardees at a luncheon held in their honor on April 26.

“The accomplishments of these hardworking and talented students have distinguished them among their peers and their honors are well deserved,” says Rider President Gregory G. Dell'Omo, Ph.D. “These individuals truly embody Rider’s commitment to excellence. Given the extent of their accomplishments, I have no doubt that they will continue to excel in their future endeavors. Each is an inspiration to other students, and collectively, they have contributed so much to our campus community.”

The President’s Award recognizes graduating seniors who demonstrate exemplary leadership skills, academic achievement, service to the University and extracurricular involvement. This year’s President’s Award recipients are Rachel Schwenk and another Rider student, Zachary Fernandez.

Schwenk is a marketing major with a minor in business analytics. A member of the track and field team, Schwenk serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of Morgan’s Message, an organization that works to support and strengthen student-athlete mental health.

“My journey at Rider began during the pandemic,” notes Schwenk, “but I found solace in my teammates, classmates and professors. It is so rewarding to look back on myself as a freshman and see how far I’ve come. I’m beyond thankful for every opportunity and challenge that I’ve been presented and for those who have cheered me on along the way. Rider University will forever be a place that I call home.”

Schwenk assists freshmen business majors as a senior mentor for the Business Living and Learning Community, is a member of the Norm Brodsky College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and participated in the American Marketing Association Case Study competition. Her service reached beyond campus through her work with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County and the Hopewell Valley Mobile Food Pantry. During her time at Rider she earned a 3.98 GPA.