Senior High

22 Eagles Commit to Collegiate Athletics on National Signing Day

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They're soon to be Nittany Lions, Golden Bears, Wildcats and more, but today, we celebrated these 22 seniors as Eagles as they signed their commitments to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level on National Signing Day.

Here's where these talented athletes will be playing and studying next year:

  • Lauren Bowers - Soccer, Wilkes University 
  • Harrison Davis - Soccer, Lebanon Valley College
  • Madeleine Forry - Volleyball, The University of Scranton
  • Nola Gautieri - Lacrosse, Penn State University
  • Lily Giering - Field Hockey, Washington and Jefferson College
  • Gabby Hassler - Cross Country and Track & Field, Chestnut Hill College
  • Alyssa Himmelreich -Soccer, Ursinus College
  • Alex Holbrook - Cross Country and Track & Field, University of Pittsburgh
  • Hannah Hurleman - Swimming, Arizona State University
  • Taylor Mentzer - Soccer, The University of North Carolina Greensboro
  • Maya Metz - Lacrosse, Robert Morris University
  • Hailee Oswald - Acrobatics and Tumbling, Quinnipiac University
  • Heidi Patten - Soccer, Point Park University
  • Logan Reber - Volleyball, Lancaster Bible College
  • Aiyana Rivera - Track & Field, LaSalle University
  • Cody Schabener - Cross Country and Track & Field, Kutztown University
  • Helene Shevick - Cross Country and Track & Field, Shippensburg University
  • Rachael Smith - Cross Country and Track & Field, Houghton College
  • Haley Speicher - Softball, Bucknell University
  • J.R. Strauss - Football, Villanova University
  • Carolina Wegman - Track & Field, Lebanon Valley College
  • Ty Yocum - Football, Merrimack College

Congratulations to all!

Student wins 1st place in SkillsUSA Division 4 Competition

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Congratulations to Vinny Biancone, a senior at Exeter and BCTC student, who placed first in Diesel Equipment Technology during the SkillsUSA District 4 competition. During the competition, Vinny had to demonstrate his knowledge and skills by taking part in a general knowledge test, diagnosing a “no-start” on a truck, adjusting and measuring wheel bearings, evaluating load and battery performance, and using tools for precision measurements. Vinny’s always been interested in cars and trucks, but turned his dream of working on them into reality when he became a student at BCTC in his sophomore year, which led to a summer job and co-op while in high school, as well as an expected employment offer at a local truck repair and service center after graduation. Vinny was selected to represent BCTC in the competition, which included students in 16 senior high and post-secondary schools in Berks, Chester, Cumberland, Lancaster and York counties. Exeter’s proud to congratulate Vinny today and recognize all of the amazing skills our BCTC and Exeter students learn--especially during February, which is Career and Technical Education month. Congratulations Vinny!

The latest edition of the 2021-22 “Talon” is here

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Under the advisement of Mr. Wisniewski, students at the Senior High have been busy gathering news about the latest world and school news, internship opportunities at the high school, and the best ways to take care of yourself and your loved one this Valentine's Day season in the latest edition of the "The Talon," the online student-run newspaper of the Senior High. Click HERE to check it out!

You’re Invited: EMA’s 3rd Annual Supper Serenade

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All are invited to slurp up some spaghetti while being sung to during EMA's 3rd Annual Supper Serenade! This enjoyable evening of fun features performances from Exeter musicians of all ages, a delicious Italian dinner, dessert, raffles and more!
Join us Friday, February 4th from 6-9PM at Reiffton. $10 per person. Purchase your tickets by Friday, January 28th by visiting: http://ow.ly/azhs50HCYAu

Health & Safety Update: Contact Tracing

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As you are aware, over the last few weeks Berks County’s COVID-19 positivity rate has more than doubled due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant. During this time, more people than ever before are COVID-19 positive in the Exeter community with multiple opportunities to become infected with this contagious illness both in and out of school buildings.

As we continue to count, monitor, report and contact trace COVID-19 rates in our school district, we have decided to discontinue personal phone calls to parents who have children who have been identified as a close contact of someone at school who tested positive for COVID-19 and continue with parent outreach and notification via ParentSquare. Please know that parents will receive a detailed email, a text and a recorded phone call with information about their child’s exposure, COVID-19 symptoms to look for, and quarantine options. As always, parents will also be encouraged to call the school nurse or their building principal should they have further concerns or questions.

Reducing the number of calls that our principals and nursing staff are making daily will allow them to get back to what they do best: Work with and care for your children when they’re at school.

We appreciate your continued support. Thank you.

Senior High Internship Program Renews Efforts to Recruit Businesses & Students

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For nearly a quarter of a century, Lorane’s Health & Physical Education teacher Mr. Mark Ricketts focused his professional career on building young and healthy bodies. But at the start of the 2021-22 school year, Mr. Ricketts made the leap to the Senior High to build something entirely new: An internship program. Settled into his new role for nearly half a school year now, Mr. Ricketts was thrilled to discuss the progress he’s made, the enthusiasm and experiences of the 11th and 12th grade students he’s overseeing in the program, and the community business connections he’s forged. We sat down recently with him to discuss this new endeavor, which is a key initiative in the Exeter Township School District’s new goal of 100% of students reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade, 100% of students performing math proficiently by the end of 7th grade and 100% of students graduating on time.

Thanks for meeting with us today to talk about this new initiative. Your new position seems to be a big leap from being an elementary Health & Physical Education teacher to now building a Senior High internship program. Why did you decide to make this change?  

I will always love my time working with elementary students and watching them develop their foundational physical and health-related skills and understanding. However, I decided to make the change from elementary teacher to Career Internship Facilitator because I saw the potential of the program and was excited to build up an important asset available to the students of our district. I have a passion for working with students and the opportunity to work with all of our juniors and seniors was too good to pass up. I also saw a great opportunity to build stronger ties with businesses and organizations in and around the Exeter community. 

In the short time you’ve been able to focus on developing and growing this program, you’ve brought on more than 50 businesses who are willing to host Exeter interns, which is remarkable! Can you tell me about some experiences that you're really excited to highlight? 

There are too many to list, but I'd be glad to highlight a couple. One of our interns works at Exeter Veterinary Hospital and has already been offered a job this summer. Celebration Villa of Exeter (formerly Elmcroft) is another business that has opened its doors and will be hosting two of our interns in the spring. Another intern is currently training in management for merchandising and fashion at Aerie in the Philadelphia Premium Outlets. The Humane Society of Reading has also generously offered our students internships this spring and coming school year. There really is something for everyone. We have a number of Exeter businesses that have been so kind–it shows me how many caring and kind professionals we have in our community.

Are there any internship opportunities that have been difficult to find? What are some of your biggest obstacles right now? 

Yes! There are some career areas that are more difficult to find internships for, such as engineering, criminal justice/law, architecture/interior design, graphic and fashion design, accounting, etc. Some specialized fields, such as aviation, can also be difficult to find opportunities for interns, too. Since we’re still a growing program, there also aren’t a lot of businesses who are aware that we have this opportunity and how easy it is to host an intern until I reach out to them. Similarly, there are some students who don’t understand how valuable an internship is for them and how this opportunity is for all students–those who plan to enter the workforce and those who plan to enter college.

Do you think there’s an opportunity for people in the Exeter community to help you grow the program? 

Absolutely! I think everyone in the Exeter community could help our students in two ways: First, I'm always looking for help in spreading the word about our program. Talking to family, friends, and business contacts about our program could open opportunities for our students. Secondly, they could help by reaching out to me with any contacts they know at businesses within 25 minutes of the Senior High so that I could get in touch with their contact to inquire if their business, or the business they work at, would be willing to host a junior or senior intern. Often, finding the right contact is the best way to grow our list of willing business partners and the internship program. 

How would people get in touch with you if they wanted to pass along a business contact or get more information?

Thanks for asking! They can reach me by email at maricketts@nullexetersd.org or they can call me at 484-663-3831.