News

Students Showcase Artwork at Exeter Community Library

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Maddy Mell, 4th (Owatin Creek)
Sophie Sowers, 9th
Gavin Moser, 6th
Logan Alkons, Kindergarten (Owatin Creek)
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.

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Please Be Our Guest at ETSH’s “Beauty and the Beast”

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Starring Regina Ramirez as Belle and Jeremy Weaver as the Beast, please "Be Our Guest" as Exeter Township Senior High proudly presents Disney's classic musical, Beauty and the Beast. To tell this "Tale as Old as Time," join Jacob Weaver as Maurice, Serenity Zawilla as Chip, Danielle Russell as Babette, Collin Warner as Lumiere, Ian Lubenow as Cogsworth, Julia Weaver as Mrs. Potts, Ashton Lewars as Gaston, Nate Morgan as Lefou, Deacon Hearing as Monsieur D'Arque, Samantha Piniero as the Wardrobe and our whole cast and crew as they take audience members on an adventure in the great, wide somewhere!

Showtimes are March 10th, 11th and 12th at 7PM with a Saturday matinee at 2PM. All tickets are $10 and are available online at exeterhs.seatyourself.biz.

Senior citizens are also welcome to join us on Wednesday, March 9th at 7PM during our dress rehearsal - no tickets necessary.

PLUS! New this year, we'll have a special Meet & Greet with the characters for photos, crafts and more on Saturday, March 12th at noon. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at exeterhs.seatyourself.biz.

A message of thanks from Interim Superintendent, Dr. Mierzejewski

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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

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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! 

Dr. Cynthia Mierzejewski Named As Substitute Superintendent

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During their monthly voting meeting this evening, the Exeter Township Board of School Directors voted to install Dr. Cynthia Mierzejewski as substitute superintendent of the Exeter Township School District following Dr. Kimberly Minor’s resignation earlier this month. Before her retirement in 2020, Dr. Mierzejewski (pronounced “Mer-zesk-ee”) had a long career in education in Berks County, most recently serving as the superintendent of Schuylkill Valley schools from 2017 to 2020, and as assistant superintendent at Wilson from 2015 to 2017. Prior to those roles, she worked for over a decade at the Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) as the Director of the Office of Professional Development and served in administrative roles in other districts in Berks County. At the heart of her leadership, however, is her experience working directly with students when she worked as a chemistry teacher for more than a dozen years at Fleetwood and Central Catholic. “Throughout my life and work here in Berks County, it’s been a joy to play a small role in the educational process of thousands of students as they’ve grown up and become dedicated and contributing members of our community. There truly is no job more important than supporting the hard work and devotion of Exeter teachers, administrators, staff, and community as we work together to create brighter and better futures for the next generation.”

Dr. Ann Hearing, ETSD Board President said, “The Board of School Directors is pleased to welcome Dr. Mierzejewski to the Exeter Township School District, and is confident that her exemplary and proven leadership will allow the District to have a secure and seamless transition as we search for a new superintendent. We look forward to introducing her to our teachers, staff, students and community in the coming days, and hope you’ll give her a warm welcome as she settles into Exeter.”

Dr. Mierzejewski will act as substitute superintendent while the Board of School Directors begins the search for a new superintendent of Exeter schools. She will begin on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

National School Counseling Week: Focus on the Senior High

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This week, we’re excited to celebrate National School Counseling Week to help bring awareness to the important role that our K-12 school counselors have as they dedicate their professional lives to care for and support our students to help them achieve school success and plan for their futures. From providing safe and supportive areas for students to receive mental health or social help, to helping students remove barriers to academic success, to providing classroom lessons, to helping kids figure out “what they want to be when they grow up,” school counselors are celebrated not only this week–but every day–for the unique work they do to support all aspects of a student’s journey through school as they help each reach their potential to become his or her best. Today, we’re proud to highlight our last--but biggest--counseling team at the Senior High: Mrs. Nicole Daub (A-Dough), Mr. Owen Jones (Doughl-Hun), Mr. Bryan Lefever (Hu-Mo), Ms. Ashley Rosa (Mu-She) and Mrs. Andrea Freese (Shi-Z). Together, they're joined by Mrs. Alycia Lenhart (Student Assistance Coordinator), Mrs. Mary Matetich-Patton (Guidance Technician and Scholarship Coordinator) and Mrs. Laurie Zeiber (Secretary).

Q: How long have you been a school counselor? How long have you worked at Exeter?

Mrs. Daub: I have been working as a school counselor for 10 years--7 of those being at Exeter.
Mr. Jones: I've been a counselor since 2005, and one at Exeter since 2008.
Mr. Lefever: This is my 10th year as a school counselor and at Exeter.
Ms. Rosa: This is my 5th year as a school counselor, and I have worked at Exeter for all 5 of those years.
Mrs. Freese: 16 years! They have all been at Exeter, with my first year being at the Junior High. 

Q: Did you do anything prior to becoming a counselor? If so, what? Why did you change your career?

Mrs. Daub: During graduate school, I was a personal care assistant and paraprofessional. I worked with a student diagnosed with autism and Down's Syndrome using the Applied Behavioral Analysis approach and techniques. Immediately after completing my school counseling program, I was hired as a school counselor and have been doing that since.
Mr. Jones: I have always been a school counselor; however, I started my education as a Physical Therapy major.
Mr. Lefever: I taught in the Machine shop and Mechanical Drafting program at Lancaster County Career and Technology Center. Before that I was a Tooling Engineer.
Ms. Rosa: I knew I wanted to be a school counselor since high school.
Mrs. Freese: I was Vice President of Human Resources for Reading Truck Body, Inc. My desire to work with adolescents prompted me to pursue a masters in counseling education and leave the business world.

Q: What's your favorite part of your job?

Mrs. Daub: My favorite part of being a school counselor is meeting individually with students to help support their needs and goals, whatever those may be: academically, socially, emotionally, post-secondary, etc.
Mr. Jones: I love helping students and staff with any question or concern that they have and removing that barrier to their continued success.
Mr. Lefever: Working one-on-one with students.
Ms. Rosa: The amazing students that I work with who are inspiring, hard working, who persevere through the most challenging times. As a school counselor I work with students with a wide range of strengths, abilities and goals. I also have the best coworkers!
Mrs. Freese: Working with so many amazing students and families.

Q: What's the most challenging part of your job?

Mrs. Daub: In supporting students in all facets of their lives, we often have difficult conversations with students and families regarding sensitive topics, crises, unfortunate situations, etc. There are some days where compartmentalizing work from home is needed, but very difficult.
Mr. Jones: The most challenging part is managing the time it takes to address everyone's needs. I would love to be able to spend more time with students.
Mr. Lefever: Breaking news to parents about a crisis situation their child is in.
Ms. Rosa: Time.I wish I had more time to spend with students.
Mrs. Freese: Being able to have enough time to support students in the way I would like to.

Q: If you were talking to someone who knew nothing about your work, how would you complete this sentence? “People are surprised to learn that I….”

Mrs. Daub: ...While my day is always planned, it is fairly typical that I am not able to follow the schedule I have outlined. Our counseling doors are always open to students, and in doing so, we, as school counselors, are ready to handle the immediate needs of our students. No day is the same, and there is always the possibility of a change to what was planned.
Mr. Lefever: ...Do something different every day, no two days are alike.
Ms. Rosa: ...Utilize a zen garden in my office.
Mrs. Freese: ..Spend most days seeing students all day long.

Q: The theme for this year’s School Counseling Week is “Better Together.” What does that mean to you?

Mrs. Daub: Working together, as a team, is how we help ensure that we are supporting students in all facets of their lives to the best that we can. School counselors are constantly working together, with students and their families, with teachers and administration, and with support staff and the community to ensure the needs are being met and that supports are in place to help students meet their goals.
Mr. Owens: It means that when you are part of a wonderful team you can really make a difference in the lives of those you interact with. We all make each other better.
Mr. Lefever: It's always about a team: teachers, administrators, parents, students, counseling team, and many other support staff. There is nothing I do, that I do alone.
Ms. Rosa: I see this theme in two ways. First, I could not do my job without the support of my coworkers. We lean on each other and it makes being a school counselor at Exeter so much fun. I also see this theme being used school-wide. We are all here together for a reason. Working, learning, growing together will make us all stronger. Sometimes we need the strength from others to lift us up!
Mrs. Freese: The SH counseling team is amazing and I would not want to work as a counselor anywhere else.

Q: When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Mrs. Daub: An elementary school teacher.
Mr. Jones: I can't really remember, but I'm sure it had something to do with soccer.
Mr. Lefever: I wanted to join the military
Ms. Rosa: A lawyer
Mrs. Freese: A lawyer

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Mr. Jones: I'm blessed to be part of this team.
Ms. Rosa: In addition to being a school counselor I am the head boys/girls swim coach and the advisor of Student Council and Do Something Club. I enjoy working with all three of these groups. They are energetic and passionate about what they do.
Mrs. Freese: I often tell people that I have the best job in the world because of the amazing students I have the opportunity to work with.