Senior High

Exeter SHS to Present “The Little Mermaid”

A group of young people pose for a photo in front of a stage set for a production of The Little Mermaid. They are all wearing shirts that say 'The Little Mermaid' and the date 'March 2025'.

(From left to right): Leoni Choy as Flotsam; Ryan Claudfelter as Ursula; Leandra Mateo-Torres as Jetsam; Anthony Greene as King Triton; Jillian Crotty as Ariel; Giulia Weisser as Flounder; Daria Orphanos as Scuttle; and Josiah Miranda as Sebastian.

Audiences at Exeter Township Senior High School will go under the sea in this year's musical production of the beloved Disney classic, "The Little Mermaid," playing on March 13th and 14th at 7PM and March 15th and 16th at 2PM in the school’s auditorium. Based on one of Hans Christian Andersen's most beloved stories and the classic animated film, Disney's “The Little Mermaid” is a hauntingly beautiful love story for the ages. With music by eight-time Academy Award winner, Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater and a compelling book by Doug Wright, this fishy fable will capture your heart with its irresistible songs, including "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," and "Part of Your World." Featuring some of the best-known songs from the past 30 years, audiences will be delighted with the show’s irresistible characters and magical music that are sure to make a splash with audiences young and old.

Exeter Township Senior High School’s cast includes (from left to right):

  • Leoni Choy as Flotsam
  • Ryan Claudfelter as Ursula
  • Leandra Mateo-Torres as Jetsam
  • Anthony Greene as King Triton
  • Jillian Crotty as Ariel
  • Giulia Weisser as Flouder
  • Daria Orphanos as Scuttle
  • Josiah Miranda as Sebastian

The musical will be played on March 13th and 14th at 7PM and March 15th and 16th at 2PM at Exeter Township Senior High School,  201 East 37th Street; Reading, PA 19606. Purchase tickets at the door or in advance for $15 at https://exeterhsmusical.seatyourself.biz.

15 Exeter Students Qualify for District & Regional Music Festivals

students with musical instruments stand in the corner of a room

Orchestra (from left to right): Jillian Crotty, Amy Ipsen, Lily Jordan, Michael Jordan, Harrison Brumbaugh, Grace Campling, Esteban Ruiz-Velasquez and Dang Nguyen.

students holding instruments stand in front of a PMEA banner on a stage

Band (from left to right): Riley Mazur, Jordan Wolfe and Jillian Crotty

students stand in front of a PMEA banner in a school hallway

Chorus (from left to right): Leoni Choy, Jillian Crotty, Adam Crotty, Alison Applegate, Anthony Greene and Ryan Claudfelter

Congratulations to 15 Exeter music students who auditioned and were selected to represent Exeter at district and regional music festivals hosted by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA).

The PMEA District 10 Festival, which selects students from Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Pike and Schuylkill counties, took place in January and February. Exeter students who were selected to perform were:

Orchestra:

  • Esteban Ruiz-Velasquez
  • Amy Ipsen
  • Harrison Brumbaugh
  • Grace Campling
  • Michael Jordan
  • Lily Jordan
  • Dang Nguyen
  • Jillian Crotty

Band:

  • Jillian Crotty
  • Riley Mazur
  • Jordan Wolfe

Chorus:

  • Alison Applegate
  • Jillian Crotty
  • Leoni Choy
  • Ryan Claudfelter
  • Adam Crotty
  • Anthony Greene

Students who participated in Districts re-auditioned for PMEA Regionals, which includes eight additional counties. Orchestra recently played over the weekend, with Band and Chorus scheduled for performances in March. Students who were selected for this honor include:

Orchestra:

  • Esteban Ruiz-Velasquez
  • Amy Ipsen
  • Harrison Brumbaugh
  • Grace Campling
  • Jillian Crotty

Band:

  • Jillian Crotty
  • Riley Mazur

Chorus:

  • Jillian Crotty
  • Adam Crotty

Our warmest congratulations to these talented musicians for this incredible accomplishment!

TSA Earns Six 1st Place Ribbons in Regional Competition

a group of students stands in a classroom holding ribbons from a competition

More than 30 Exeter Township Senior High Technology Student Association (TSA) students attended the Pennsylvania TSA "Tune into Technology" regional competition in Stroudsburg in late January to compete against students from 17 other area schools in individual or team-based categories, including video game design, photographic technology and transportation modeling. This year, students competed in over 25 different individual and team events, with Exeter earning six 1st place ribbons and 18 students qualifying with their technology-based projects to move on to the state competition in April.

Teams and individuals from Exeter who earned ribbons were:

1st Place Winners:

  • Board Game Design Team
  • CAD Engineering, Richter Bogust
  • Flight Endurance, Luke Zawilla
  • Manufacturing Prototype Team
  • Tech. Problem Solving Team
  • STEM Mass Media Team

2nd Place Winners:

  • Music Production Team
  • PA Robotics Team

3rd Place Winners:

  • PA Materials Processing, Dylan Holland
  • PA RC Off Road Team

Congratulations to the whole TSA team, who are:

  • Richter Bogust
  • Zander Bogust
  • Alex Boyer
  • Cooper Devlin
  • Ava Diaz
  • Sterling Elbourne
  • Jonah Gates
  • Dariel Gorre-Ndaiye
  • Julian Greb
  • Dylan Holland
  • Emma Howerter
  • Sirius Hunter
  • Alison Istenes
  • Morgan Kauffman
  • Haley Leal
  • Ella Mackey
  • Cody Manning
  • Tai Morgan
  • Katelyn Nichols
  • Ethan Papich
  • Sarah Patterson
  • Kaitlin Rears
  • Aubrey Ridge
  • Andrew Schwenk
  • Leighton Sharpe
  • Abi Starnes
  • Kal'el Tyler
  • Jocelyn Wert
  • Luke Zawilla

Eagles Nest Cafe Wakes Up SHS Lobby

students stand behind a counter with a menu above them
student puts creamer into a coffee cup with teacher's help
student hands a coffee to a staff member
student uses a pos system while a teacher overlooks his work
student hands a bag of cookies to a staff member

Business was booming this morning at the soft opening of the Eagles Nest Cafe, a newly-envisioned space at the Senior High that brought tables, chairs and a coffee bar to wake up a lifeless lobby outside of the gym and cafeteria. Proudly wearing their Eagles Nest Cafe aprons, students in Mrs. Missy Losito’s Crossroads program operated a credit card POS system, prepared specialty coffees and handed out baked treats they had made earlier in the week to staff members, who were stuffing their tip jar with cash and filling their hearts with smiles as they saw the long-awaited cafe stir to life. 

Funded through the Exeter Community Education Foundation (ECEF), the cafe allows Crossroads students, who are transitional students ages 18-21, additional opportunities to learn the world of work while still being supported and guided by teachers and job coaches. The idea to serve coffee began when Mrs. Losito moved to the SHS from the JHS and started rolling around a coffee cart outfitted with carafes, cups, creamers, sweeteners and homemade treats every other Friday on paydays as she and her students went door-to-door to serve teachers in their rooms. Soon, the coffee cart expanded from one, to two, and eventually three, as it grew in popularity among the staff. Looking to provide even further opportunities for her students to learn how to operate POS systems, take and fulfill more complex orders, stock inventory and experience what it’s like to work in a “real life” cafe, Mrs. Losito partnered with ECEF to bring the Eagles Nest Cafe to life this past year as the Foundation bought chairs, tables, equipment, a credit card POS system and all of the supplies needed to transform the previously-empty lobby into an inviting and warm space for staff and students to relax, study and enjoy conversation over a cup of coffee. Seeing it brought to life today, she said “it made her heart happy” to see her students at work as they were high-fived by staff and their peers who congratulated them on their opening day. 

While the cafe will continue to only operate on a limited basis for staff for the near future, if there’s interest and the manpower to support it, Mrs. Losito would love to see the cafe expand its operations to support more frequent service, as well as potentially offering approved food and drink items to students.

ECEF Executive Director, Ang Cooke, attended the soft opening today with a lump in her throat and a whole lot of pride in her heart. “This one is extra special,” she said as she thought of the Foundation’s work to expand their Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program with local businesses, which provided the funds for the cafe. “Working alongside the district and Corbett, Inc. (who furnished the space) to create a new chapter for the Eagle's Nest Cafe and bring real-life work experience to the students in the Crossroads program has been so amazing and a testament to the opportunities the EITC program can bring to Exeter,” she said. “This,” she said as she pointed to the entire lobby, “is only possible thanks to our generous EITC donors who continue to believe in providing opportunities to our Exeter students.”

Internship Spotlight: Ariel Soto at Negron Law

an internship spotlight flyer featuring a high school girl

Ariel Soto is a senior who just completed her fall internship at Negron Law, LLC, a general practice law firm located in Reading. While there, Ariel handled general clerical work while getting a chance to observe first-hand what daily work is like for the firm's owner, Shay Negron. Ms. Negron said that she was pleased to be a part of Exeter's internship program this year, and said it was "refreshing reminder" about how businesses can play a part in helping educate students. "Having an intern at Negron Law benefits the community, clients and students. The additional assistance, informative questions and curious insights interns bring is an enormous benefit," she said.

Q: Ariel, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?
A: I decided I want to be a lawyer, so after graduation I will work to save for college. I am a part of early graduation in January to save money for college. I really want to go to West Chester because of their psychology program. I also want to go to the University of Pittsburgh to study psychology as well. Later on I will go to law school.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?
A: I help Attorney Shay with paperwork almost everyday like photocopies, paper copies, and organizing electronic files. Even if I am not doing something at the firm I am always learning from Attorney Shay.
Q: 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? 
A: My civics teacher, Mr. Witkowski helped me find my internship. He also helped me find my passion for law again. I always wanted to be a lawyer but I lost it my sophomore year into my junior year.
Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?
A: This internship is helping me build confidence in the law world. This is important because you have to have confidence in this field or you are going to get walked over. This is also teaching me what an in-depth day of being a lawyer is like.
Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like? 
A: I really like making the physical client files she has at the firm. I like everything here that helps me better myself.

Internship Spotlight: Zori Casiano at Exeter Smiles

an internship spotlight flyer featuring a high school girl

Zori Casiano recently completed an internship at Exeter Smiles, an orthodontic office located near the Senior High. While there, Zori helped the staff with their daily tasks while having a chance to observe orthodontists. Chelsea Stine, Administrative Manager, said that having an intern this past semester allowed her staff to "thrive." She said, "Zori is able to take on necessary daily tasks that would otherwise be the responsibility of our staff. The staff love the extra helping hand as it frees them up to focus on our patients." Furthermore, she said that opening the office to interns has been a rewarding experience for her staff and their business as they see interns learn and take on more responsibilities throughout their semester. "It's a privilege to help give the students their first on-the-job experience. It's a career they're interested in, which makes it that much more rewarding to see them build confidence. The more time you put into teaching them, the greater the benefit to you and your company. Plus, I'm always on the lookout for future employees!"

Q: Zori, can you tell us a bit about what your plans are for after graduation? Have you selected a college and a major?

A: After graduation, I want to go to Pennsylvania College of Technology and major in Biology.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your internship? What does a typical day look like for you?

A: A typical day at my internship I would walk in and say hello to everyone and then grab a mask. I would put all the clean tools away and wait for them to bring me more.

Q: 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? 

A: With the help of Mr. Ricketts I found the right internship for me.

Q: Do you think your internship is helping you feel more confident about your decision to go to college and pursue your major?

A: Yes, it made me more confident about my decision to go into dentistry. All the new skills and challenges.

Q: What do you like most about your internship? Is there anything you don't like? 

A: The most thing that I liked about my internship was just the whole experience overall and seeing what the dentists do. I also liked how the people were so welcoming. There was nothing that I disliked.

Q: And finally, what would be your advice to a high school student who's thinking about Exeter's internship program?

A: Follow your dreams and do what makes you feel happy. Get the experience and try things out. If you find a career that interests you the must go for it.