Jacksonwald

Exeter student is named finalist in the 2022 Audie Awards

photo of exeter's Ahnya O'Riordan and audie award

Ahnya O'Riordan holds up a copy of "Twins" and the accompanying audio book she donated to the Reiffton library. 

Exeter student Ahnya O'Riordan joined the company of Barack Obama, Jamie Foxx, Oprah Winfrey, Lin-Manuela Miranda, John Lithgow and other notable authors and performers as she was recently named a finalist for the 2022 Audie Awards, which recognize distinction in spoken word entertainment and audiobooks. Sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), Ahnya was nominated in the Multi-Voiced Performance category for her joint narration of “Twins,” which was written by Varian Johnson, and was also narrated by Grace Capeless, Mashari Bain, Malcolm Bowen, Antoinette Comer, André Blake, Armand Xavier and Rufen-Blanchette. 

Published by Scholastic, Ahnya described the book as a multi-award-winning graphic novel about twin sisters who are best friends. “Maureen and Francine do everything together and share all the same experiences. But once they start 6th grade, Francine decides she has new interests and wants to be more independent. Maureen struggles with this, but finds her own strengths along the way.” Ahnya, who voiced Maureen in the story, loved the story so much that she decided to share it with other Exeter students by donating copies of the audiobook to the Reiffton and Jacksonwald libraries. 

A performer since she was 4 years old, Ahnya said that she truly enjoyed the process of recording the story. “This project was a lot of fun. Once I booked the job, I was given the entire contents of the pages, which I had to read and get very comfortable with. I then went to a recording studio in New York City to record each line. The actor who voices my twin sister was there as well, so we were able to meet, get chemistry and record together.” 

When she heard she was named a finalist, she said that she was very excited, but also so grateful for the experience. “Everyone did such an awesome job bringing the characters to life, and I'm grateful to be a part of it! I was very excited to hear about the awards!” The winners of the Audies will be announced during a virtual ceremony hosted by Kal Penn on Friday, March 4, 2022 from 9-10PM, and can be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/c/AudiobookCommunity

Ahnya attended Exeter schools through 6th grade, and then switched to the Exeter Cyber Academy in junior high so that she could travel the world and perform as a member of Kidz Bop and pursue her musical and acting career. Now a senior, Ahnya will graduate from Exeter in June, and plans to attend college for Forensic Psychology as she continues to work as an actor. Congratulations Ahnya–we are all rooting for you on March 4th! 

Exeter students place in BCIU STEM Design Challenge

bciu stem challenge students

Jacksonwald's Engineering Elves

bciu stem challenge students

Owatin Creek's Cosmic Quad

bciu stem challenge students

Lorane's Lorane Train

Teams of fourth-grade students from Jacksonwald, Lorane and Owatin Creek dreamt up new innovations to solve modern-day problems using just K'Nex building pieces, teamwork, and a whole lotta brain power during the 2022 BCIU STEM Design Challenge held yesterday at the Berks County Intermediate Unit. The design competition challenges teams of four students from each elementary school to build a unique prototype using K'Nex building pieces. To prepare for the competition, teams spent several weeks before the competition working together to identify a modern-day problem, imagining a prototype that they could build to solve that problem, creating computer-designed blueprints and models using CAD software, and then practicing building their finalized prototype using K'Nex. Along the way, students documented the process by keeping a design notebook and writing a script for their design presentation. When the challenge day actually arrived, teams had just two hours to build their K'Nex prototype from scratch and less than two minutes to impress and wow the judges with their presentation--and Exeter certainly did just that with Jacksonwald winning "Fan Favorite" and placing second, and Owatin Creek placing third against 35 other teams of fourth and fifth graders from other Berks County schools!

Here's what our teams designed:

Jacksonwald's Engineering Elves: Lillian McCord, Colton Symonds, Peyton Shirey and Ashleigh Campbell

When describing their invention, which they called "The Hyperloop," the team said that they were inspired by Elon Musk's idea of creating a high-speed train that uses magnetic propulsion inside of a low-pressure tube. Describing their model, the team said, "The Hyperloop uses magnetic levitation, magnetic propulsion and a pressurized tube to move a pod contained within it. We were looking through futuristic inventions, and we came across the Hyperloop and we saw that it was environmentally friendly because it used solar panels, and it was super handy because it moved objects really fast. We wanted something really futuristic."

Owatin Creek's Cosmic Quad: Nora LaRosse, Ari Bluestone, Ian Littlefield and Kiersten Schower

Owatin Creek's Cosmic Quad named their human and solar-powered car prototype the "Foot Fusion 22," and said: "The vehicle we created is powered by pedaling, but it has a back-up battery, which is charged by the solar panel charging station. We were thinking about the buggies at the beach and how you pedal them, and we hope that a vehicle like this one day would help the environment and also help people get more exercise." They said that their idea took a long time to coalesce, but once they became inspired, "it just popped!"

Lorane's Lorane Train: Paige Bergey, Emma Dickerson, Brayden McCarthy and Hannah Schick

Also thinking about environmentally-friendly ways to transport people, Lorane's team designed a wind-powered car that was powered by a windmill that sat on top of the vehicle. "Our car doesn't use any gas, so it stops pollution in the air. We came up with this idea because we first thought of a solar-powered car, but since there isn't always sun but there's usually always wind, we thought that would be a better option." The team laughed because they said that when they first designed the car it had a very "wonky" shape, but that through trial and error with their CAD software, they came up with a better design that they all agreed on and finally worked after "many, many tries." Describing the competition, they said "It was so much fun! And now we want to play with K'Nex more!"

Way to go Exeter! We are excited to see where these incredible ideas may lead our next generation of inventors and engineers!

Dr. Cynthia Mierzejewski Named As Substitute Superintendent

photo of cindy mierzejewski

During their monthly voting meeting this evening, the Exeter Township Board of School Directors voted to install Dr. Cynthia Mierzejewski as substitute superintendent of the Exeter Township School District following Dr. Kimberly Minor’s resignation earlier this month. Before her retirement in 2020, Dr. Mierzejewski (pronounced “Mer-zesk-ee”) had a long career in education in Berks County, most recently serving as the superintendent of Schuylkill Valley schools from 2017 to 2020, and as assistant superintendent at Wilson from 2015 to 2017. Prior to those roles, she worked for over a decade at the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) as the Director of the Office of Professional Development and served in administrative roles in other districts in Berks County. At the heart of her leadership, however, is her experience working directly with students when she worked as a chemistry teacher for more than a dozen years at Fleetwood and Central Catholic. “Throughout my life and work here in Berks County, it’s been a joy to play a small role in the educational process of thousands of students as they’ve grown up and become dedicated and contributing members of our community. There truly is no job more important than supporting the hard work and devotion of Exeter teachers, administrators, staff, and community as we work together to create brighter and better futures for the next generation.”

Dr. Ann Hearing, ETSD Board President said, “The Board of School Directors is pleased to welcome Dr. Mierzejewski to the Exeter Township School District, and is confident that her exemplary and proven leadership will allow the District to have a secure and seamless transition as we search for a new superintendent. We look forward to introducing her to our teachers, staff, students and community in the coming days, and hope you’ll give her a warm welcome as she settles into Exeter.”

Dr. Mierzejewski will act as substitute superintendent while the Board of School Directors begins the search for a new superintendent of Exeter schools. She will begin on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

National School Counseling Week: Focus on Jacksonwald

photo of kate sowers

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 Jacksonwald’s counselor, Mrs. Kate Atkinson.

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

A: This is my 13th year as a school counselor overall. I have been at Exeter for 4 years, and before that I worked at Daniel Boone for 9 years.

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

A: After I finished my graduate program I spent a year working at the 422 Sportsplex as the Party Planning Coordinator and Coordinator for their Youth Developmental Soccer Program “Lil Kickers” while I searched for my first position as a school counselor. I learned many valuable skills from this position and had a lot of fun working with great people!

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

A: My favorite part of my job everyday is just working with the kids. I enjoy getting to know them, their different fun personalities, feeling inspired by their wonderful energy and excitement and helping them grow in different ways and past various challenges. The absolute BEST part of this job is watching a kid succeed with something that has been hard for them and seeing their confidence grow. The best reward for this career is when a student tells you that you helped them with something and that somehow you have made a positive impact in their life. That is the goal every single day and the hope that keeps me going, even on hard days.

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

A: The hardest part of my job is prioritizing student needs and trying to fit it all in during the school day! There are so many students who have needs and lost of other roles and responsibilities that we fill as school counselors and only 7.5 hours each day to try and get it all done. It is a real juggling act to try and balance all of the various needs and tasks throughout the day/week/year.

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….”

A: “… do more than listen to kids who are crying or upset at school!” Students and families today face many different challenges and school counseling has shifted a lot in the past decade to have more of a focus on proactive advocacy and social/emotional/mental health supports. I work with so many different stakeholders in a child’s life to try and help support through a challenging time, identify needs (social, emotional, behavioral, academic), and connect families and students with resources. Additionally, I teach classroom lessons on social-emotional topics, teach career-readiness lessons (3rd and 4th), and facilitate small group counseling for students with a specific needs. I tell kids all the time: “My main job is to listen, understand, and try to help you with anything that might be holding you back from being successful at school.”

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

A: Partnership in education. “It takes a village to raise a child,” and we are most successful when all adults in a child’s life are working together and supporting each other through our common goal: growing successful, confident, kind humans.

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

A: When I was little I wanted to be a teacher, just like my mom!

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

A: It is a joy and a privilege to be a part of my students’ lives and a support and resource on their educational journey. I am thankful for the teachers, administrators and staff that support our school counseling programs and the work we do with kids.  I am also thankful to all of our families for your trust and support on the home front. #BetterTogether

A Message from the ETSD Board of School Directors

The Exeter Township Board of School Directors would like to inform you that Superintendent Dr. Kimberly I. Minor has submitted her resignation with an effective date of May 3, 2022. The Board intends to act on her resignation at the next public board meeting.  The Board of School Directors is grateful for Dr. Minor’s leadership and commitment.

ETSD will be using a Flexible Instruction Day 2/4/2022

On Friday, all schools in the Exeter Township School District will utilize a Flexible Instruction Day (FID). The day will count as a school day; however, students will not report to their school buildings. Instead, they will complete their school work from home. For attendance purposes, students are required to log onto their building website and report their attendance from these links:

SENIOR HIGH
JUNIOR HIGH
REIFFTON
JACKSONWALD
LORANE
OWATIN CREEK

Please log your attendance no later than 10AM.

Students in grades 4-12 should log onto Schoology for each of their classes to receive their assignments for the day. These assignments will be posted by 9AM. Students in grades K-3 received FID assignments from their teachers and should complete the assignments for FID Day #2. These assignments are also available at the link above.

Teachers will have a dedicated office hour that they will communicate to students and answer questions throughout the day via email and voicemail.

EMA's Supper Serenade will be postponed to next Friday, February 11th. Should you have questions about the Supper Serenade's postponement, please reach out to Mrs. Crotty at macrotty@nullexetersd.org.

Enjoy the day, and please stay safe.