News

Merriment meets Exeter Students at Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

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Huzzah! Throngs of junior and senior high masters and mistresses and lords and ladies merrily attended the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire last week to sing, act and soak up history–and just be soaked thanks to the rainy weather. The joint field trip saw junior high music students perform for the festival goers, and Mrs. Burkhart’s 8th grade accelerated social studies class took part in a wedding, watched jousting matches and noshed on turkey legs and exotic jerky. Senior high students from Mr. Wickstrom’s Creative Expressions class performed a scene from “Macbeth” in a theater competition, which students spent a month preparing for in class by rehearsing lines, assembling props and creating costumes–as well as gory special effects for a vengeful ghost. 

Nay. Although Exeter’s theatrical and musical performances did not win the day, Mr. Wickstrom said that the students left feeling great about their efforts and learned a lot throughout the experience. Mrs. Burkhart agreed. “The experience they had outside the classroom was absolutely amazing! I think students loved the most that everyone at the faire stayed in character and interacted with them throughout the day.”

Two Exeter Students Take Home “Top Company” During PFEW Camp

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students pose in classroom

Pictured: Sydney Steinmetz, Malayna Spiller, Isaiah Choy, Johnathan Newnham and Owen Davis. (Missing: Madison Monroe) 

Along with more than 2,000 students and 250 business executives from across Pennsylvania, six Exeter students took a week out of their summer this past year to adopt an underperforming fictitious business, manage it through computer simulations and hands-on activities, and present their results to a panel of judges in an effort to beat out their competition and earn the title of “Top Company.” Working in teams with students across the state, Exeter’s Isaiah Choy, Owen Davis, Madison Monroe, Johnathan Newnham, Malayna Spiller and Sydney Steinmetz participated in the competition during various times in the summer and were placed on different teams. During their experience, they were mentored by business leaders and motivational speakers as they were immersed into the business world to handle finance, marketing, management, production and more. At the end of the competition, Sydney’s and Isaiah’s teams both won “Top Company” during their respective weeks of the competition. 

Sherri McGaffin, an Exeter business teacher who teaches courses on marketing, entrepreneurship and business law, encourages students (and their parents) to consider the week-long experience, which also gives students a taste of college life as they live in a dormitory at either Lycoming College or Pennsylvania College of Technology–both of whom offer scholarships up to $20,000 to camp graduates if they choose to attend that college after graduation. Explaining how the experience provides a real glimpse into the world of business and is a unique channel for resume building and networking, Mrs. McGaffin added, “Every student who’s attended says nothing but wonderful things about it.”

Students, who are a mix of juniors and seniors, also said that the experience really helped solidify their plans after high school. Malayna said she was initially interested in pursuing a career in graphic design or finance, but she said that experience changed her mind, “I just really fell in love with marketing during the week.” Isaiah had planned to go to college for accounting, and was glad he had the opportunity to act as CFO of his fictitious company. “It really amplified my passion for accounting,” he said. “It made me realize that this is what I really want to do.”

Homecoming King & Queen Crowned; Matt Bauer wins 100th game

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Congratulations to Chase Cupitt and Becca Zilinski who were crowned Homecoming King and Queen tonight at halftime during Exeter's win over Muhlenberg. The game was also a milestone victory for head football coach Matt Bauer, who celebrated his 100th win with his team and his family.
Chase and Becca were joined by their Court, who included Kyle Stech, Sean Creamer, Brandon Davis, Matthew Dorn, Regina Ramirez-Sastre, Aashveen Randhawa, Summer Turczynski and Abby Renninger. Congratulations to all!

Homecoming Parade & Bonfire Brings Fairytales to Life

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Featuring dozens of fairytale-themed floats with students dressed as princesses, dragons, witches and more, Exeter's 2022 Homecoming Parade and Bonfire delighted hundreds of community members who came out to enjoy the display of police vehicles, firetrucks and floats. Following the conclusion of the parade, the fire department lit a huge bonfire as a DJ and Exeter's band played and people enjoyed snacks from local food trucks. Many thanks to all of the students and parents who spent hours bringing their favorite fairytales to life, and Exeter police and firefighters for taking part in the parade and bonfire! It was a happily ever after for all!

Homecoming 2022 Parade, Bonfire & Football Game Info

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hoco parade route 22

We're excited to see you at this year's Homecoming 2022 events!

Homecoming Parade & Bonfire: Thursday, October 6th at 6PM

The parade route begins at the Senior High's parking lot, turns right onto Woodland Ave, turns left onto East 36th St, left onto Reiff Place, left onto East 40th Street and right onto Dunham Drive to finish at Reiffton School.

The bonfire will immediate follow the conclusion of the parade with a DJ and food trucks available for those in attendance to enjoy.

Homecoming Football Game & Homecoming Court Presentation: Friday, October 7th at 7PM

The Homecoming game kicks off at 7PM on Friday when Exeter takes on Muhlenberg in Don Thomas Stadium. Current Eagles, families and our alumni are encouraged to come out for the game, our marching band field show and to see the presentation of our Homecoming Court at halftime.

For more details on Homecoming 2022, please see our website HERE.

Dawn Harris Appointed as Assistant Superintendent

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dawn harris sworn in by judge johnson

Dawn Harris, who has served as Exeter's Director of Pupil Services since the spring of 2020, was named as the district's new Assistant Superintendent of Student Services during the Exeter Township Board of School Directors' meeting on Monday, September 19, 2022. In this role, Harris will retain all of her current duties, but will acquire more responsibilities and staff supervision, as well as serve as the acting superintendent if Superintendent Haller is unavailable. The district has been without an Assistant Superintendent since Dr. Patrick Winters left Exeter in the spring of 2021. Dr. Haller mentioned to the Board during their earlier meeting in September that she sought to fill the position so that the District had a clear chain of command in her absence, as well as to help with daily operations.

Harris has been an educator since 1997, most recently working as the Director of Pupil Services for the Schuylkill Valley School District before coming to Exeter. Throughout her 25 year career, she's managed or led instruction for students in special education at schools in Berks and Chester County. Currently, as Exeter's Director of Pupil Services, she manages staff and programming for special education and gifted education, as well as health, safety, school counseling and enrollment services.

She has two grown children and lives in Berks County with her husband, Todd, who works in law enforcement, and her three dogs.

Harris (right) was sworn in as Assistant Superintendent on Thursday by the Honorable Theresa Johnson.