Owatin Creek

Pair of Exeter Bus Transportation Professionals Earns Recognition

photo of ben bernhart and kaisha mcculley

Benjamin Bernhart, Director of Transportation for the Exeter Township School District, has been approved for initial status as a Pennsylvania Certified School Transportation Professional by the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO). Mr. Bernhart has been employed by the district since 2018, initially as the Assistant Transportation Supervisor, and then taking over as the Director of Transportation in August of 2021. 

In order to be granted the professional certification status by PASBO, a school business official must meet high personal, ethical and professional standards established for the certification program. These include formal education, experience and continuing education. Once attained, the certification must be renewed every four years through a program of professional development. 

A published author of more than 75 publications and magazine articles about transportation and railroads, including the training manual, "The Complex Relationship between School Buses and Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing," Mr. Bernhart’s truly inspired by both the history and modern-day methods of getting people from point A to point B. Moreover, he's a true advocate for his drivers, mechanics and staff, and driven by a desire to always learn more and become better at his career, which is evident by the numerous certifications and awards he's received, including being one of the top four contestants in the Berks County School Bus Safety Competition in 2017 and 2019 and earning a Special Needs Transportation certificate from the National Association for Pupil Transportation that only 32 people in the US have been so honored to have earned. 

During their meeting earlier this month, the Exeter Township School District Board of Directors recognized Mr. Bernhart by saying, “We are grateful for Ben's commitment to the students of the district. His training and experience go well above what’s required by the state because of his passion to provide the absolute best, safest transportation for them as they are transported to and from school, and because he deeply believes that parents deserve peace of mind that their children are in the best possible hands as they are on their way to learn.” 

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Kaisha D.J. McCulley, a permanent substitute bus driver for the Exeter Township School District, recently completed the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation CDL school bus instructor training course. Those who complete this course are able to instruct and teach all aspects of CDL B licenses for school buses and trucks. Through this certification, Ms. McCulley is also able to provide training that meets the new extensive United Stated Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's CDL training guidelines. To be accepted to the program, Ms. McCulley had to be recommended by a school administration and have a spotless driver's license record for the past three years. 

Ms. McCulley’s supervisor, Benjamin Bernhart, Director of Transportation, said that she’s an invaluable asset to the district. “As a substitute driver, she has to know every road within the entire district and all 207 different run routes Exeter operates on a daily basis. This is an extremely difficult challenge and can be very nerve racking; however, she approaches this matter with a cheerful positive attitude. Parents love her as she always had the best interest of students at heart.” Mr. Bernhart added, “She is an exceptional school bus driver and should be recognized as such.” 

Elementary Students Collect Over $2k in Coins For Local Organizations

photo of jacksonwald students with exeter firefighters
photo of owatin creek students and mostly muttz

A penny saved may be a penny earned, but when students from Jacksonwald and Owatin Creek gave away their pennies (nickels, dimes and quarters, too) they earned a lot of thanks from area organizations who benefitted from their big hearts!

During the 100th day of school celebrations in late February, both elementary schools upped the ante on the spirit week by seeing which class could raise the most amount of money by donating coins and choosing a local organization to donate their collection to. Besides having fun with the friendly competition, students enjoyed practicing their money counting skills and tallying up their donations at the end of the week. After the final counts were in, Jacksonwald collected an astonishing $1,520.53 to donate to the Exeter Township Fire Department, and Owatin Creek collected an incredible $729.78 to donate to Mostly Muttz, a local animal rescue.

Recently, the classes who raised the most presented their donations to representatives at each organization: They are Mrs. Conrow's 3rd grade class at Jacksonwald and Mrs. Daniel's 1st grade class at Owatin Creek. Thanks to students and their families at both schools for participating; they say money may not buy happiness, but your donations certainly earned lots of smiles!

Students Showcase Artwork at Exeter Community Library

exeter students pose with their artwork
Maddy Mell, 4th (Owatin Creek)
exeter students pose with their artwork
Sophie Sowers, 9th
exeter students pose with their artwork
Gavin Moser, 6th
exeter students pose with their artwork
Logan Alkons, Kindergarten (Owatin Creek)
exeter students pose with their artwork
Joel Aponte, 8th (top)

From portraits to paintings to sculptures and more, a variety of selected artwork from the talented students in K-12 is now on display at the Exeter Community Library in celebration of Youth Art Month. Youth Art Month is an annual observance to encourage support for quality school art programs and provides a forum for supporting skills that are fostered through classroom experiences in the visual arts. The free exhibit, which is showcased in the library's lobby, is open during library hours, which are 9AM to 7PM on Monday and Tuesday, 9AM-6PM on Wednesday, 9AM to 4PM on Thursday and Friday, and 8AM to 3PM on Saturday. The library is closed on Sunday. The exhibit runs through the end of March.

youth art month flyer

Students celebrate Read Across America week with a special guest reader

photo of cindy mierzejewski
photo of kristine schmidt's 1st grade class

As part of Read Across America Week, Interim Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Mierzejewski dropped in as a guest reader and surprised Mrs. Schmidt's first grade class at Jacksonwald today when she read "The Most Magnificent Thing," by Ashley Spires. A story about imagination and perseverance when things don't go your way, the charming book was selected by Jacksonwald's Reading Specialist, Mrs. Becky Bush, according to the theme of "Positive Leadership," which is one of the school's daily reading themes for the week that highlight virtues such as "Glorious Kindness," "Selfless Courage," "Invincible Grit," and "Brainy Creativity."

Enjoyed throughout the District and beyond, Read Across America is the nation's largest celebration of reading that aims to motivate students to become lifelong and devoted readers every single day of the year. To bring books easily to students, Mrs. Bush curated a virtual bookshelf based upon the school's themes and shared it digitally with both students and their families to inspire Jacksonwald students' blossoming love of literacy--which was certainly on full display as Mrs. Schmidt's students delighted in being read to by Dr. Mierzejewski today.

Look for more reading celebrations in the District this week as we honor our love of literacy!

A message of thanks from Interim Superintendent, Dr. Mierzejewski

Dear Exeter Families,

It has been such a pleasure to be welcomed so warmly to the Exeter community this week! Thank you to all of the parents, teachers, staff, students, and community members who have taken time out of their busy schedules to call, write, or stop by and say “hello.” I feel very fortunate to be here, and I am eager to get to work to serve our students and staff as I uphold and strengthen the tradition of excellence that Exeter’s always been known for. 

Although my tenure at Exeter will only be for a few months as I help guide the District through this transition as the Board of School Directors searches for a new superintendent, please know that you are always welcome to reach out with any questions or concerns, or simply to say hello. I truly look forward to getting to know you, our schools, and the Exeter community better in the coming days.

Warmly,
Dr. Cindy Mierzejewski, Interim Superintendent

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!