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A Message to the ETSD Community Regarding Escaped Inmate Danelo Cavalcante

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Dear Exeter Families,

In our partnership with the Exeter Township Police Department, we have been actively monitoring the situation in northern Chester County and the search for the escaped inmate, Danelo Cavalcante. As many of you may be aware, in consultation with law enforcement, the Owen J. Roberts school district closed today following a reported sighting of a man believed to be Cavalcante in an area near their schools last night. Law enforcement also believes that he now has a firearm.

At this time, we have been assured there is no direct threat to the Exeter community and the search area for Cavalcante has not moved into Berks County. In our steadfast commitment to the safety and security of our school community, we want to assure you that our district’s Safety & Security Coordinator, Eric Seidel, as well as central office administrators, are in constant contact with the Exeter Township Police Department to receive the latest information and developments in the search for Cavalcante.

In consultation with the Exeter Police, we have been informed that there is no reason to change or disrupt the normal operations of our schools at this time. Unless otherwise advised, we will continue to hold outdoor athletics and activities (recess, physical education classes) for our students while we remain vigilant and watchful.

The PA State Police would like to reinforce the following security measures for community members to increase your awareness and caution:
Residents in the area are asked to continue to lock all external doors and windows, secure vehicles, and remain indoors. Please review your surveillance cameras and contact police if you observe anything suspicious. If you see him, do not approach. Call 911 immediately. Please call (717) 562-2987 with general tips and information.

Cavalcante is described as a male of Hispanic descent, approximately 5’0” in height and clean shaven. We’ve attached police-released photos of him. If you believe you have seen Cavalcante, please call 911 immediately.

The Exeter Township Police Department will continue to be a presence around our schools and our schools will continue to implement our universal safety procedures and protocols that are designed to keep our students and our staff in one of the safest and securest locations in the area.

Thank you.

Exeter to Host Help Center for those Affected by Berks Flooding

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The Berks County Department of Emergency Services (Berks DES), the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), and other state and county agencies and departments will open a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) tomorrow at noon at the Exeter Township Lausch Administration Building to serve county residents with needs related to the catastrophic rainstorm and flooding that occurred on Sunday, July 9. The Exeter Township Administration Building is located in Exeter at 200 Elm Street, Reading, PA 19606 (to avoid arriving at the wrong address, please ensure you use the 19606 zip code in your GPS as there are several Elm Streets in the Reading area). The MARC is open to all Berks County residents and will be open Thursday from noon to 7PM, Friday from 10AM to 7PM and on Saturday from 10AM to 4PM.

A MARC is a temporary, quick-response center where a variety of state and county agencies collect in a central location to provide direct support to community members affected by a disaster event.

The following information was provided by the County of Berks regarding the local and state agencies who will be present at the MARC (as well as the services they can provide):

  • Berks Department of Emergency Services - referrals to proper resources for individuals who have not yet reported their damage to local government
  • Berks County Area Agency on Aging – assist older affected population;
  • Office of the Attorney General – information on contractor fraud, scams, etc.
  • Department of Environmental Protection – safety advice and questions with respect to waterway management and private wells
  • Department of Human Services – document replacement assistance (i.e. birth/death certificates, etc.), disability assistance services, new benefit applicants, etc.
  • Berks County MH/DD office – crisis counseling services
  • Department of Insurance – address questions and information on conflict issues with insurance carriers
  • Department of Military and Veterans Affairs – assist with replacement of documents, info on veteran -specific programs available
  • PEMA – general MARC support, disaster recovery information, National Flood Insurance Program information
  • Penn DOT – info on their online driver services, driver’s license replacement, etc.
  • Department of Health – safety information

Berks DES would like to remind all Berks County property owners, renters, and businesses who suffered property damage in relation to the rain and flooding in the past several days to report their damage to their local municipality as quickly as possible. Your local municipality is the city, borough or township to which you pay your local taxes. Complete and accurate collection of this information could help Berks County residents and businesses qualify for additional disaster recovery programs.

For more information, please contact the County of Berks.

Exeter Again Named a Best Community for Music Education

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The Exeter Township School District was grateful and humbled to have been chosen once again as a Best Community for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation--an honor bestowed upon fewer than 800 schools throughout the nation who demonstrate outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of a well-rounded education. This is the 11th year that Exeter's received this honor, which is something that the Exeter's music department is especially proud to have received. "The recognition that we received is about the community. It's not just about our music department. It's all of the teachers, all of the parents, all of the students, all of the administrators and everybody who lives and works in Exeter," said Mrs. Melissa Crotty, the Junior High's music teacher and Exeter's music department chair.

Throughout local, regional and state events and performances, Exeter musicians won numerous accolades and ratings--proving yet again they were worthy of NAMM's awards. Below, our music department is thrilled to present the following highlights of this year's accomplishments by our musicians:

Senior High Marching Band

  • The marching band enjoyed an active season performing our field show, “Finding Joy.” The music utilized themes from Beethoven and Dvorak’s 9th symphonies as well as other motives of musical joy. We are proud of the progress we made over the fall season. We are looking forward to the upcoming Memorial Day parade and honoring military families during the Exeter Township ceremony at Forest Hills. We are thrilled and looking forward to marching in Disney’s Magic Kingdom in December. Be sure to look out for our new uniforms later this fall!

Senior High Concert Band

  • Since December, members of the concert band have enjoyed a more active winter and spring. The band was represented by Rob Tufariello (percussion), Nathan Bayer (French horn), Marissa Millar (trumpet), Faith Feldman (bass clarinet), Riley Mazur (trumpet), Ryan Cherry (trombone), and Ava Diaz (clarinet) in various MEBC and PMEA honors band festivals. In the month of March, the band traveled to Temple University to participate in the school of music’s Festival of Winds where we performed in the Temple Performing Arts Center and received clinics from world class musicians and conductors. This year’s spring concert culminated with a side by side performance with the historic Ringgold Band. It was an honor to perform with them in concert and also receive valuable feedback from respected community musicians.

Senior High Jazz Band

  • The jazz band enjoyed great success this past winter and spring having performed at the Reading Royals, the Kuztown High School Jazz Festival, the Twin Valley High School Festival and the inaugural Get JazzED scholastic jazz show at the internationally known Berks Jazz Fest in March. The band had the honor of performing at the DoubleTree Hotel, receiving valuable feedback from world class musicians and getting an amazing experience performing on a professional, world class stage. The band is definitely looking forward to returning to the Berks Jazz Fest next year and making it a tradition for the Exeter program. Several band members were also recognized at our jazz shows for outstanding solo performances with the band: Ryan Cherry, Esteban Ruiz-Velazquez, and Rob Tufariello. We will conclude the school year with a Summer Send-Off Concert on Thursday, June 1st. This concert will be an outdoor performance at Owatin Creek’s amphitheater beginning at 6:30pm. Bring chairs, blankets, and your own food as we play into the evening with other Exeter musical acts.

Senior High Orchestra

  • Orchestra has had a very good year for the 2022-2023 school year. We had a very successful Winter Concert. String Jam was a hit this year featuring all grade levels in the main gym, culminating in a performance of William Tell. In addition to our three major concerts, the Orchestra was thrilled to play for the Reiffton School. This year we had 14 students make Senior County Orchestra, 17 students make Junior County Orchestra, 2 students make District Orchestra, and 1 student make Region Orchestra. We are very proud of the achievements of these students.
  • For our Chamber Strings students we enjoyed playing this year for the National Honors Society Induction Ceremony, and playing for the Reading Royals Exeter night along with our Junior High School chamber strings friends.
  • We are excited to begin preparing for our trip to Disney World next school year.

Senior High Chorus & Concert Choirs

  • The Senior High Chorus and Concert Choirs adjusted to having a long term sub while their chorale teacher was on sabbatical. They spent classroom time learning some basic music theory as well as preparing music for 2 concerts in December and May. The following students participated in the Berks County Music Festival for grades 10-12: Rob Tuffariello, Tyler Casiano, Collin Warner, Ryan Claudfelter, Rebecca Cherry, Sarah McCarthy and Raelin Tufariello. The following freshmen were selected and participated in the Berks Junior County Music Festival: Kaelyn Reynolds, Leoni Choy, Ava Diaz and Gavin Isselmann. Four students were selected and participated in the District 10 music festival: Rebecca Cherry, Ryan Claudfelter, Rob Tuffariello, and Tyler Casiano. Rebecca Cherry also was selected for the Regional Choral Festival. 

Senior High Eaglaires

  • The EagleAires performed for the Exeter senior citizens’ annual spring meeting in March, as well as in the school concerts and pep rallies throughout the year.   

Junior High Chorus 

  • We had a very busy year performing at the Reading Royals, PA Renaissance Fair, the PA State Capitol as part of Music in our Schools Month, and the Fightin Phils. We competed in Hershey’s Music in the Parks where we placed 1st and earned the rating of Excellent. We also had nine students selected to participate in District 10 Intermediate Songfest and 14 students selected to perform with Berks County JHS County Chorus.

Junior High Orchestra

  • Junior High School Orchestra has had another successful year. Our Winter Concerts were highly successful, and String Jam was a thrill. During String Jam, both the 7th and 8th grade students enjoyed combining to play together. We enjoyed playing for the Reading Royals Exeter Night along with our SHS Chamber Orchestra friends. We also competed in Hershey;s Music in the Parks where we placed 1st in our division, 1st overall, and earned the rating of Superior. We had 17 students participate in Junior County Orchestra and one of our Bass players was chosen to participate in District Band on String Bass. We wish the 8th graders a great Senior High School musical experience.

Junior High Band

  • The Exeter Junior High School bands had an enjoyable and successful year. The 7th and 8th grade band members started the year by performing with the high school marching band at a football game. We have had two successful concerts and the year ended with the 8th grade band competing in Music in the Parks and Hershey and we placed in 2nd and received an excellent rating. Four of our band members represented our school at the Junior County Band festival and two members participated in PMEA District 10 band.

Elementary Schools

  • Reiffton Chorus performed in the Winter and Spring concerts. Eight students participated in the first ever Elementary Choral Festival in March at Oley Valley Middle School.
  • Elementary Strings and Band performed in their Winter and Spring concerts.

Individual Recognitions:

Senior High Orchestra:

  1. Frank Conte - MEBC Senior County Orchestra, PMEA District Orchestra, PMEA Regional Orchestra
  2. Emily Holliday - MEBC Senior County Orchestra, PMEA District Orchestra
  3. Nathan Bayer - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  4. Esteban Ruiz - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  5. Macy Feather - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  6. Tyler Casiano - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  7. George Hajj - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  8. Carson Frederick - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  9. Jordan Wolfe - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  10. Zach Kauffman - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  11. Charlotte Rismiller - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  12. Katie Hoover - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  13. Dylann Backenstoss - MEBC Senior County Orchestra
  14. Kendall Druzba, MEBC JHS County Orchestra
  15. Simon Bolich, MEBC JHS County Orchestra
  16. Evan Harvey, MEBC JHS County Orchestra
  17. Peyton Klein, MEBC JHS County Orchestra
  18. Ava Diaz, MEBC JHS County Orchestra
  19. Andrew Schwenck, MEBC JHS County Orchestra

Senior High Band: 

  1. Nathan Bayer - MEBC Senior County Band, PMEA District Band, PMEA Regional Band
  2. Robbie Tufariello - MEBC Senior County Band, PMEA District Band
  3. Faith Feldman - MEBC Senior County Band
  4. Riley Mazur - MEBC Senior County Band
  5. Ryan Cherry - MEBC Senior County Band
  6. Ava Diaz - MEBC JHS County Band
  7. Marissa Millar - MEBC JHS County Band

Senior High Choir:

  1. Becky Cherry - MEBC Senior County Chorus, PMEA District Chorus, PMEA Regional Chorus
  2. Robbie Tufariello - MEBC Senior County Chorus, PMEA District Chorus,
  3. Tyler Casiano - MEBC Senior County Chorus, PMEA District Chorus
  4. Ryan Claudfelter - MEBC SHS County Chorus, PMEA District Chorus
  5. Sarah McCarthy - MEBC SHS County Chorus
  6. Raelin Tufariello - MEBC SHS County Chorus
  7. Collin Warner - MEBC SHS County Chorus
  8. Daniel Pack - MEBC SHS County Chorus
  9. Ava Diaz, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  10. Leoni Choy, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  11. Kaelyn Reynolds, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  12. Gavin Isselmann, MEBC JHS County Chorus

Junior High Orchestra: 

  1. Logan Davis, 8th grade, Violin 1
  2. Dang Nguyen, 8th grade, Violin 1
  3. Aubrey Pallet, 8th grade, Violin 1
  4. Callista Schlappich, 8th grade, Violin 2
  5. Samantha Shipley, 8th grade, Viola,
  6. Morgan Kauffman, 8th grade Viola
  7. Gavin Skimski, 8th grade, Viola
  8.  Grace Campling, 8th grade, Bass 1st chair
  9. Michael Jordan, 7th grade, Bass
  10. Lilly Jordan, 7th grade, Bass
  11. Edward Farrar, 8th grade, Bass
  12. Jillian Crotty, 8th grade, French Horn, 1st chair
  13. Adam Crotty, 8th grade, Trombone

Junior High Band:

  1. Jillian Crotty - MEBC JHS County Band, PMEA District Band
  2. Adam Crotty - MEBC JHS County Band
  3. Michael Jordan, MEBC JHS County Band
  4. Grace Campling, MEBC JHS County Band, PMEA District Band

Junior High Chorus:

  1. Evianna Jones, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  2. Jacinda Motley, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  3. Samantha Shipley, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  4. Julianna McCarthy, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  5. Jillian Crotty, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  6. Callista Schlappich, MEBC JHS County Chorus, PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  7. Grace Campling, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  8. Logan Willauer, MEBC JHS County Chorus, PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  9. Kaleb Schlappich, MEBC JHS County Chorus, PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  10.  Tanner Garrett, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  11. Eddie Farrar, MEBC JHS County Chorus, PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  12. Ajus Singh, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  13. Adam Crotty, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  14.  Logan Hellwig, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  15. Yuvraj Singh, MEBC JHS County Chorus
  16. Taylor Mack - PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  17. Modallys Martinez - PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  18. Giulia Weisser - PMEA Intermediate Songfest
  19. Kiana Whetzel - PMEA Intermediate Songfest

6th Grade Songfest

  1. Matthew Bardi,  
  2. Ava Burkhart, 
  3. Claire Delewski, 
  4. Aurora Elias, 
  5. Mason Foster, 
  6. Colette Jordan, 
  7. Melanie Karasek, 
  8. Joelle Stoltzfus

Reading Music Foundation Merit Scholars: 

  1. Harrison Brumbaugh, cello, 9th grade
  2. Scarlet Jordan, violin, 3rd grade
  3. Ryan Li, violin, 6th grade
  4. Michael Jordan, bass, 7th grade
  5. Grace Campling, bass, 8th grade
  6. Colette Jordan, flute, 6th grade
  7. Molly Nemirow, Exeter Alum
  8. Robert Tufariello, percussion, 12th grade
  9. Esteban Ruiz-Velazquez, jazz, 10th grade

Students Raise Nearly 250 Trout to Release in Antietam Creek

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Veoleta Stoica (left) and Parker Benfer (right) hold their fingerling trout before releasing it into Antietam Creek (below)

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Ms. McBride scoops out a fingerling from a bucket to give to student to release into Antietam Creek

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Jeiden Acevedo carefully puts his hand over his cup with his fingerling so it didn't jump out before he had a chance to release it into Antietam Creek

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Lorane ESL students release their fingerlings into Antietam Creek

It’s not often that classroom “pets” are released into the wild–much less nearly 250 of them–but that’s exactly what happened this week when students from around the district had the opportunity to raise baby trout from eggs to “fingerlings” as part of “Trout in the Classroom.” This year, students from all three elementary buildings had the opportunity to be a part of the months-long curriculum, which is taught in classrooms throughout the US and Great Britain, and aims to teach students connections between trout, water resources, the environment and themselves by having students learn about aquarium setup, ecosystems, the life stages of fish, the environment of waterways, and then putting their knowledge to the test by raising fish from eggs to fingerlings (a young trout), eventually releasing them into an approved waterway. 

Students start by learning and setting up a cold-water fish tank in January. Soon afterwards, they receive baby fish eggs, which live in an "egg basket" until they're developed enough to eat fish food on their own and be released into the full tank. In the tank, they grow and mature until they’re old enough to survive on their own and be released into a natural waterway. Throughout the process, students learn about the life cycle of the fish as they develop from an egg to a fingerling. Students keep a journal of their learning experience by drawing pictures and writing about aquarium equipment, fish stages, ecosystems and the waterways.

In Ms. Kristen McBride’s third grade classroom, students hosted the aquarium and shared their experience with Trout in the Classroom with their third grade penpals from Mrs. Stacia Miller’s Jacksonwald classroom, with whom they started writing letters to earlier this school year. Parker Benfer from Owatin Creek said that she loved writing to her penpal Veoleta Stoica at Jacksonwald about what it was like to raise the fish–as well as other subjects such as their shared love of pizza. The two, who just met in person for the first time on Monday morning, laughed together as they held a clear cup containing their fingerling. “I really liked that we all were able to be together today and get a chance to take turns releasing the fish,” said Parker. Veoleta agreed, glancing at the fingerling swimming in her cup, and said, “Don’t you think it is just so cute?”  

At Lorane, students in all grades had an opportunity to visit with the fish in Mrs. Kellee Fries’ ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom as her ESL students acted as ambassadors, bringing their classmates up to her classroom to visit the aquarium and teach them about the life cycle of the fish and what they were learning. This allowed students to sharpen their English skills, while also learning about the life cycle of fish. Jeiden Acevedo, a fourth grader in Mrs. Marburger’s class, said he really enjoyed that he was given a leadership role to help Mrs. Fries clean and care for the aquarium. “I really enjoyed helping her change the water and helping her test the water in the tank,” he said. But he felt particularly proud when his class was invited into Mrs. Fries’ classroom to learn more about the fish and he was able to lead a lesson on how to care for aquarium water. “When my class came over, I had to teach them how to change the water because they didn’t know what to do.”

This week, on Monday, Owatin Creek and Jacksonwald released 102 fingerlings that they successfully raised into the Antietam Creek in Happy Landings, while Lorane released 136 fingerlings into the creek on Thursday. It was a bittersweet moment for many of the students who took pride in their role in helping raise the fish. “I’m glad we all had a chance to take a turn,” said Parker, as she and Veoleta held their cup together and watched their fingerling swim away in the creek. 

Jacksonwald Students Step Back in Time

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students sit in one-room schoolhouse

Students at Jacksonwald stepped back in time today as they visited Exeter's one-room schoolhouse at the corner of Oley Valley Turnpike and Route 562, located just steps away from where they currently learn and play. The school, which opened to Exeter Township students in 1st through 8th grade in 1870 (closing in 1937), still features wooden desks with spaces for ink wells, pot-belly stoves and other artifacts from the era, all of which modern-day Exeter students ogled over as they discovered just how different school was more than 150 years ago. As principal Matt Hathaway led the discussion, he asked students what they thought was missing from the schoolhouse besides computers and smartboards. "Lights!" responded one third grader. "A bathroom!" responded another, as students throughout the room made grossed-out sounds of disgust.

Although select grades and classes from Jacksonwald have visited the one-room schoolhouse throughout the years, this was the first time in recent memory that all students from the school were given the opportunity to visit and learn more about the history of the school during a single day. Principal Matt Hathaway said that many students never knew what the building was until today, and he doesn't think they'll soon forget the experience of walking into the one-room schoolhouse or envisioning what it was like to learn in the late 1800s and early 1900s. "Hours after they visited, students were still talking about the experience in their classrooms and wondering what it was like to learn as an Exeter student back then," he said. "It was truly a great experience for them and a wonderful way to expose them to our rich history right here in Exeter."

Owatin Creek Places First in Berks K’Nex STEM Challenge

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owatin creek team poses with their k'nex design

"The Blue Takis" from Owatin Creek with their solar charging recycling robot

lorane team poses with their k'nex design

"The Lorane Drops" from Lorane with their eco-friendly carwash

jacksonwald team poses with their k'nex design

“The Soaring Eagles” from Jacksonwald with their sustainable greenhouse

Using K'Nex and loads of imagination and intellect, Exeter teams from each of our elementary schools competed in the STEM Design Challenge at the BCIU this week. Placing first in the competition against 44 other elementary schools from across the county was Owatin's team of Nora Hart, Owen Kercher, Avery Manndel and Olive Weis who designed a solar charging recycling robot! Meanwhile, Jacksonwald's team of Abraham Cepeda, Bradyn Gowdy, Katie Nguyen and Anniston Stevens created a sustainable greenhouse, and Lorane's team of Anthony Cocchimiglio, Drew McClain and Shashanth Tummeti designed an eco-friendly carwash. Owatin's first place finish may allow them to compete with other winners across the state in Harrisburg this spring! We're so proud of these Eagles for their teamwork, brain power and problem solving ability! Congratulations to them all!