Senior High

Rabid Animals Identified Near Exeter Schools

St. Lawrence Borough officials along with the Animal Rescue League of Berks County have identified a number of rabid animals along Jacksonwald Avenue and the bottom of Parkview Road near the Antietam Creek. St. Lawrence will be issuing a CODE RED this afternoon warning residents to stay away from outdoor animals and to keep their indoor pets inside and to stay vigilant for rabies symptoms. Rabies is transmitted from animal to animal or animal to people through saliva from an infected animal into an open wound--most often through a bite from an infected animal. Rabies is not transmitted through feces, urine, blood, or by petting a rabid animal.

In people, rabies symptoms first begin as a tingling or prickling area around the wound or bite and then progress into typical flu-like symptoms, which may include one or more of the following symptoms: headache, tiredness, fever, dizziness and/or loss of appetite. Rabies then progresses into mental confusion, anxiety, hallucination, etc. Rabies is FATAL if not caught early and treated by a series of vaccines.

The District is recommending that all students stay away from any outdoor animals--even if they know them--particularly in the area around Antietam Creek, which is in the park known as Happy Landings (the park that runs in between the ETSD Administration Building and the Reiffton, Junior High and Senior High campuses). If any students were recently bitten by an outdoor animal or an animal that's been unsupervised outside, please do not wait for symptoms to appear. Please seek medical attention immediately.

The District has notified coaches to keep students together with other students or coaches when practicing outside. Students who are able to take bus transportation should do so, or walk with an adult or other students. The ARL is in the process of trapping animals in the area to assess the infection level and, along with St. Lawrence Borough, will stay in contact with the District so that we can determine if any further precautionary steps need to be taken before school resumes on April 18th.

Notice: Admin Building Closed During Business Hours April 4-8

The Exeter Township Administration Building will be open to the public for the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, April 5 at 6PM; however, the building will be closed to the public during business hours from Monday, April 4 through Friday, April 8 for HVAC work. We apologize for any inconvenience. Should you have concerns or questions, please contact the District at 610-779-0700. Thank you.

It’s An Exeter Karaoke Throw-Down!

photo of Alex Brown and Saishree Mupparaju
It’s an Exeter Karaoke throw-down! Exeter Township Junior High Principal Alex Brown and Exeter Township Senior High student Saishree Mupparaju are among local “celebrities” looking for your vote to see who will perform their chosen Karaoke song live in the 1st Annual Raise Your VOiCE Celebrity Karaoke Contest. To vote for Brown or Mupparaju (as part of a trio called the “Girl Gang”) to perform, you can donate an amount of your choosing at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/berks-county-community-foundation-inc/1st-annual-raise-your-voice-celebrity-karaoke. The top three contestants who raise the most amount of money will perform live on Friday, April 29th at the GoggleWorks (or you can view the performances live via Zoom).
Mupparaju and Brown are competing against five other local Berks County “celebrities,” including Dr. Kevin Terefenko, Dr. Denny Mauro, Stephanie Delozier, Rick Perez and Rob Flowers. All proceeds from vote donations benefit VOiCEup Berks and the Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading.

Senior Joanna Knepper’s Art to be Displayed in Carnegie Hall

photo of Joanna Knepper with Carnegie Hall artwork

Exeter Township Senior High student, Joanna Knepper, will have her glass artwork displayed this June in New York City's Carnegie Hall. Knepper, a senior, received this incredible honor by receiving a National Award in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which is considered the nation's longest running and most prestigious program for creative teens in grades 7-12, according to Scholastic. More than 260,000 works of art and writing were submitted by teens in every US state, as well as US territories and Canada. From these, 2,000 works were then selected as National Award recipients--including Knepper's glass piece, "She's Lost Her Marbles." Knepper created the glass piece at the GoggleWorks over the summer during a fellowship with glass artist Maggie Gallen. Knepper said that when she began working with Gallen, Gallen asked her if she wanted to create out-of-the-box glass art. "I told her I wanted to do something non-traditional," she said. "So she helped me come up with different ways to create glass art, and in the beginning, I was very inside the box, but by the end, I felt like I had stretched my creativity," which is apropos to the stretched and frozen-in-time drips of colorful glass that emanate from her winning piece.

Knepper felt that her unusual medium definitely gave her an advantage over some of the more traditional media pieces that were submitted; an opportunity that she had thanks to her art teacher, Ms. Christina Pinkerton, who encouraged her to apply for an 8-week summer fellowship to the GoggleWorks during her junior year. Ms. Pinkerton said she was in tears when she found out that her piece had been selected. "We've been entering this competition for years, but Exeter's never had a national winner," she said proudly.

Scholastic says these awards allow students to build confidence as creative individuals; they noted that earlier winners include Andy Warhol, Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King, among others. Knepper is one of 7 students in our region to earn the national award, and the only Berks County resident to receive it. National Award winners are also considered for scholarship awards of $10,000, an honor that Knepper said may encourage her to pursue art formally in college if chosen. Congratulations to her on this amazing honor and achievement!

ETSD Names New Member During Special Voting Meeting

The Exeter Township Board of School Directors unanimously selected Robert Quinter to fill the vacated seat left by Michael Jupina’s resignation during a special voting meeting held at the Exeter Township Administration Building on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. During the meeting, the Board interviewed three candidates–Brad Fox, John Scaccia and Mr. Quinter–who applied for the unpaid seat and selected one through a vote according to Board Policy #004. Mr. Quinter will serve the rest of Mr. Jupina’s term, which expires in December 2023. 

Mr. Quinter is a 1964 graduate of Exeter, a decorated and retired Marine, and has worked in medical operations and as a Realtor as a civilian. He previously served on the ETSD Board of School Directors from 2001-2017.

To view a video of the interviews and selection process, please click HERE.

Students Earn Reading Musical Foundation Scholarships

exeter reading musical foundation scholarship winners
March is Music in our Schools month; to celebrate, we hope you'll help us congratulate the following students for receiving scholarships through the Reading Music Foundation. They are (from top left, clockwise):

  • Xadiel Benejan-Rodriguez, 12th grade, alto saxophone
  • Jillian Crotty, 7th grade, French horn
  • Grace Campling, 7th grade, double bass
  • Scarlet Jordan, 2nd grade, violin
  • Michael Jordan, 6th grade, double bass
  • Colette Jordan 5th grade, cello
  • Lily Jordan, 6th grade, double bass
Congratulations to these outstanding musicians!