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Junior High
ETJH Recognizes Students of the Month with Lawn Signs
Students of the Month in September and October are (from left): Jason Burns, Eric Santilo, Guilia Weisser, Adelianny Mendez-Alvarez, Dawson Genova and Kasey Ramirez.
When 7th grader Dawson Genova saw Exeter Township Junior High Principals Mr. Alex Brown and Mrs. Jennifer Cooke walking up his driveway to his house, he was immediately filled with fear and confusion. “I was like am I in so much trouble that they had to come to my house?” Seconds later, as the principals knocked on his door and staked a “Student of the Month” lawn sign in his yard, Dawson’s fear turned to extreme relief. “I didn’t even know Student of the Month was a thing,” he said with a laugh.
Actually, he wasn’t wrong. Student of the Month was not “a thing” until this year when Assistant Principal Jennifer Cooke sought out new ways to recognize positive behavior in students. Over the summer, she came up with the bright idea to purchase lawn signs and personally deliver them to students’ yards. “A lawn sign is much more visible than a certificate,” she said, “It was important to us to find a way to acknowledge and celebrate these students' accomplishments in a visible way to their family, friends, neighbors and community.”
To be awarded as Student of the Month, Mrs. Cooke asked staff to nominate students that they felt were worthy of being recognized. She then removed students’ names from the nomination form and sent the reasons for their nomination out to the staff at large to vote. Once the votes were totaled, those who received the most votes were recognized by having Mr. Brown and Mrs. Cooke personally deliver the signs and a certificate to their homes.
Like Dawson, Eric Santilo, grade 8, said he was initially confused as to why the principals were visiting his house. “I thought I was in trouble, too,” he said with a laugh. “But this (recognition) makes me feel better about myself and my accomplishments this year,” he said. “My mom was so happy,” said Kasey Ramirez, grade 7. “All day she kept saying saying, ‘I’m so proud of you for being Student of the Month.’”
Students of the Month and their reasons for nomination are as follows:
September:
- Dawson Genova, 7th grade: Dawson has been a well rounded student from day one.I don't think I have ever asked him to do anything twice. Besides his work in class, Dawson is eager to help around the room. He is respectful to his peers and his teachers and is always thinking about how to apply the things he learned in class. He asks questions about the content often and is just a pleasant student to have in your classroom.
- Kasey Ramirez, 7th grade: Kasey has gone above and beyond in class and outside of class to help a new student who only speaks spanish. Kasey helps her get to class and helps translate between when I am able to do so. She has done all of that without skipping a beat and without any complaints. She has been a huge help and a huge asset to our class, especially for this new student.
- Eric Santilo, 8th grade: Last year Eric was tardy to my class often. This year he is always on time. He has always been very respectful and kind to his peers in class. He goes out of his way to help another classmate who has some physical limitations. He is a pleasure to have in class and participates and completes his work.
- Addie Glidewell, 8th grade: Addie is always positive and on task and prepared. She has made tremendous strides with her reading abilities from 7th-8th grade. She is exceptionally kind and caring to both adults and classmates.
October:
- Jason Burns, 7th grade: Jason has done a great job in class, but also shows some great examples for stepping up and helping others. Jason had a classmate absent from class more than once (for bathroom, nurse, etc) and without being asked filled in notes for that student so that the work wasn't missing. He is kind and cooperative and really just goes the extra mile to help others.
- Adelianny Mendez-Alvarez, 7th grade: She is helpful to those who need assistance, has a positive attitude toward learning, works diligently during class, and greets teachers in the hall.
- Guilia Weisser, 8th grade: Giulia always works hard in the classroom and greets everyone with a smile. She is quick to volunteer and is always up for a challenge. She is awesome!
Congratulations to all of our Junior High Students of the Month! Please make sure if you drive by one of their homes that you honk and wave to congratulate them!
Lions Club Recognizes Talented Eagles
This year's Lions Club International Peace Poster contest invited students to "lead with compassion" by creating a poster that explored and visually expressed the peaceful future that compassionate leadership brings. From the Junior High, three 8th grade students were recognized and received cash prizes by the Exeter Township Lions Club for their outstanding interpretation of this theme through their original artwork, including third place winner, Layla Dibler (left); second place winner, Evianna Jones (center); and first place winner (right), Audrey Pallet. They were joined by a representative from the Lions Club this morning to receive their certificates as well as a hearty congratulations from the Lions Club mascot, Leo. Our warmest congratulations to our talented Eagles and our thanks to the JH's art teacher, Mrs. Kimberly Lopez and the Lions Club for their yearly support of our students and this fantastic project!
Budget Workshops Announced
As the Exeter Township School District begins to shape the budget for the 2023-24 school year, the District will hold a series of workshops to discuss budget topics with the community. Parents, taxpayers and all members of the Exeter community are invited to join us for these meetings. The schedule for the next two upcoming workshops and topics are below. The District will also post a synopsis of each budget workshop on our website shortly after each meeting.
The next two meetings are scheduled for:
October 26th at 6PM
Location: Junior High
Topic: Overview and Purpose of Workshop Meetings/Index Review
November 30th at 6PM
Location: Senior High
Topic: Revenue
Exeter’s New Supervisor of Transportation Earns National Recognition
It's National School Bus Safety week, and we're so very proud to announce that Exeter's Kaisha McCulley was recently selected as one of ten "Rising Stars" by School Transportation News, a nationwide trade magazine for school bus drivers and professionals. Ms. McCulley, who was named Exeter's Supervisor of Transportation during last night's board meeting, has been a bus driver for the district for 8 years. Last year, she became the district's permanent route substitute, which meant she had memorized every route in the district without using a GPS, and could substitute for any bus driver–a monumental task, said Ms. McCulley’s supervisor, Benjamin Bernhart, Director of Transportation. Last year, she also earned accreditation as a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation CDL school bus instructor trainer, allowing her to manage the district's training program for new and existing bus drivers.
“We’re so proud that Kaisha earned this distinction,” said Mr. Bernhart. “She is an incredibly dedicated bus driver and bus professional who is committed to safety and always learning more to enable Exeter to have the best school bus drivers. We are so very lucky to have her, and congratulate her for receiving this national recognition.”
Author Jordan Sonnenblick Drums Up Enthusiasm for Writing at ETJH
Most visiting authors usually open a school assembly with a funny story, a reading from one of their books, or some sort of PowerPoint presentation. But when Mr. Jordan Sonnenblick, the acclaimed young adult author of books such as “Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie,” and “Zen and the Art of Faking It,” came to Exeter Township Junior High today, he opened his assembly behind the drums.
Music is a central theme of many of Mr. Sonnenblick’s young adult novels, often with his teenage characters finding solace, healing or popularity behind a drum, guitar or saxophone. So it was only natural for Exeter librarian Mrs. Kate Sowers to ask Mr. Sonnenblick if he wanted to incorporate music into his assembly and play with the Junior High's famed teacher-fronted rock band, “The Early Dismissals,” when he first came to visit the school in 2018. Fast forward five years later, when Mrs. Sowers invited him back, Mr. Sonnenblick happily accepted with a light-hearted caveat, “Only if we can get the band back together.”
Besides playing the drums today, Mr. Sonnenblick will focus a full day on inspiring 7th and 8th grade students to become better writers in writing workshops, assemblies and book signings. But, somewhat ironically, it was a student who inspired him to become a writer when he was an 8th grade English teacher and had a student in his classroom who was dealing with a sibling’s cancer diagnosis. As he explained to a hushed and packed auditorium this morning, in an attempt to help her, he looked for a book where the character was going through a similar situation–and came up empty-handed. It was then that he dedicated his nights and weekends to writing a similar story, which eventually became his debut novel, “Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie.”
That book, written in 2004, is now being read by all 7th grade students in Exeter, which was a purposeful and thoughtful decision among the reading teachers to coincide with Mr. Sonnenblick’s visit as students had a chance to meet, talk with, learn from and be inspired by an author they were able to meet in person said Mrs. Sowers. “I hope Jordan’s visit today will help them learn a little bit more about the process, practice and hard work it takes to be a writer,” she said, continuing, “But I also hope that it inspires them to see that if he can do this, I can do this, and that their stories are important.”
Most visiting authors usually open a school assembly with a funny story, a reading from one of their books, or some sort of PowerPoint presentation. But when Mr. Jordan Sonnenblick, the acclaimed young adult author of books such as “Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie,” and “Zen and the Art of Faking It,” came to Exeter Township Junior High today, he opened his assembly behind the drums.
Music is a central theme of many of Mr. Sonnenblick’s young adult novels, often with his teenage characters finding solace, healing or popularity behind a drum, guitar or saxophone. So it was only natural for Exeter librarian Mrs. Kate Sowers to ask Mr. Sonnenblick if he wanted to incorporate music into his assembly and play with the Junior High's famed teacher-fronted rock band, “The Early Dismissals,” when he first came to visit the school in 2018. Fast forward five years later, when Mrs. Sowers invited him back, Mr. Sonnenblick happily accepted with a light-hearted caveat, “Only if we can get the band back together.”
Besides playing the drums today, Mr. Sonnenblick will focus a full day on inspiring 7th and 8th grade students to become better writers in writing workshops, assemblies and book signings. But, somewhat ironically, it was a student who inspired him to become a writer when he was an 8th grade English teacher and had a student in his classroom who was dealing with a sibling’s cancer diagnosis. As he explained to a hushed and packed auditorium this morning, in an attempt to help her, he looked for a book where the character was going through a similar situation–and came up empty-handed. It was then that he dedicated his nights and weekends to writing a similar story, which eventually became his debut novel, “Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie.”
That book, written in 2004, is now being read by all 7th grade students in Exeter, which was a purposeful and thoughtful decision among the reading teachers to coincide with Mr. Sonnenblick’s visit as students had a chance to meet, talk with, learn from and be inspired by an author they were able to meet in person said Mrs. Sowers. “I hope Jordan’s visit today will help them learn a little bit more about the process, practice and hard work it takes to be a writer,” she said, continuing, “But I also hope that it inspires them to see that if he can do this, I can do this, and that their stories are important.”