News

Exeter wins BCIAA’s Sportsmanship Award

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tom legath holds BCIAA trophy photo

Athletic Director Tom Legath was presented with the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Sportsmanship Award on Monday, which is voted on by a committee of athletic directors and coaches throughout Berks County. Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Minor made the announcement during this week's Board of School Director's meeting: “I am extremely proud of this trophy,” she said. “During a year that will likely go down in history… where the world struggled with civility and manners and courtesy, our students rose above all of that and time and again at home games and away games they demonstrated to coaches around the county and athletic directors around the county that our Exeter students are the best of the best when it comes to sportsmanship.” Congratulations to all of our coaches, athletes, parents and supporters for this distinguished honor!

Exeter inducts four into Academic Hall of Fame and 50 into National Honor Society

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academic hall of fame inductees photo

The Exeter Township School District's Alumni Association and Academic Hall of Fame Committee along with the Claude W. Dundore Chapter of the National Honor Society celebrated the academic achievements of both current and past students during a moving candlelight ceremony last weekend at the Senior High. During the ceremony, Mr. Harry Koppenberg (in the photo, right), an educator in the district for nearly 40 years; along with alumni Dr. Debra Powell '78 (left), Chief of Infectious Diseases, Medical Director for Infection Prevention, and Vice Chair of Medicine at Tower Health Reading Hospital; the Hon. Richard Adams '59 (second from left), an environmental lawyer and judge of the Connecticut Family Support Court; and his wife, Mrs. Merrill Adams '60 (third from left), a former English and drama professor at Wesleyan University and founder of the Coginchaug Valley Education Foundation in Connecticut, as well as a poet and award-winning pastelist, were all honored for their contributions to society and their impact and credit they've brought to the Exeter Township School District through their achievements, volunteerism and/or work. The Academic Hall of Fame began in 2005 as a project of the Exeter Community Education Foundation and typically sees four to six inductees who are selected each year. This year's class brings the number of honorees to 70, who are then presented with a plaque, as well as their names added to a display in the Senior High's main office.

During the second part of the ceremony, the current members of the National Honor Society presented and inducted 50 new members from the Class of 2022 and 2023 into its chapter through its candle-lighting ceremony that represents the Society's four pillars: character, leadership, scholarship and service. To be considered for membership, students must be sophomores or juniors with a weighted cumulative GPA of at least 92.000, involvement in at least one school activity or club and completion of at least five community service hours. Inductees are:

Dylann Backenstoss
McKenna Barker
Juniper Bauroth-Sherman
Melody Bauroth-Sherman
Victoria Benetz
Isabella Boston
Lena Brown
Sam Brown
Mark "Frankie" Corado
James Creamer
Sean Creamer
Hayley Dietrich
Ava Gates
Deacon Hearing
Rachel Henry
Morgan Herb
Amber Herber
Emily Holliday
Sophie Johnson
Zachary Kleinfelter
Emmet Larson
Nicholas Lountzis
Leilani Martinez
Aliye McDonough
Ryan Menet

Maya Metz
Evan Miller
Nathan Morgan
Abigael Mulhare
Johnathan Newnham
Brynn Patchell
Andrew Posey
Regina Ramirez-Sastre
Lauren Ramsey
Aashveen Randhawa
Katherine Ryan
Claire Scholl
Peyton Seamans
Blake Smith
Jeanna Sottosanti
Malayna Spiller
Kyle Stech
Joseph "JR" Strauss
Anthony Tartaglia, Jr.
Brittany Truong
Summer Turczynski
Julia Weaver
Alex Wittig
Cecelia Wright
Grady Zigner

Jacksonwald families donate coats, hats and gloves to new clothing bank

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jacksonwald students collect coats for donation drive
Today, Jacksonwald APT Co-Secretary Amber Elliott, along with
Bella Elliott, Emma Elliott and Hudson Lutz, delivered the first round of donated winter coats, jackets, hats and gloves that the APT collected to the Exeter clothing closet, which is a central resource at the Administration Building for school counselors to pull items for students in need. Amber said that the response to the coat drive has been incredible so far as she thanked all of the Jacksonwald parents and students who had donated. "It was a huge collection and we are so grateful," she said.
She also mentioned that parents throughout the district could donate any gently used winter coats, jackets, hats or gloves by dropping off their items outside of the entrance to Jacksonwald. The donation box will be set up now through next Tuesday for their final collection of items for students in need.

School messages delivered YOUR way: Get ready for ParentSquare

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parentsquare

As part of Exeter's efforts to enhance communication, in the coming days you'll be receiving more information about a new communications system and app called ParentSquare, which will unify ALL of the messages you receive from your children's teachers, administrators and the district in one safe and secure place with options for you to select how and when you're notified. Parents will be able to keep track of news, activities and events from all of their children’s schools, allowing for easier communication, organization, involvement and awareness of what's happening in your kids' classrooms, clubs and activities and across the district.

With ParentSquare, parents can enjoy photos posted by teachers, fill out forms and permission slips, sign up for parent-teacher conferences and much more. School staff and parents can engage in both one-to-one and group messaging with real-time language translation. We also think that parents will enjoy the built-in calendar that allows parents to set up reminders and download events directly to their phones so that they never miss an important date or event!

With our launch set for Monday, November 15th, please stay tuned as we invite you to join us in the app or online in a few more days!

Jacksonwald STARs eat lunch surrounded by firetrucks

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STAR students at Jacksonwald received a super special treat this week as they ate lunch outside surrounded by firetrucks and firemen from the Exeter Township Fire Department! While eating, the firemen shared tips on fire safety and talked about some of the cool things their firetrucks have on board to help people during fires or emergencies. Our sincerest thanks to Sergeants Ed Weitzel and Brian Otto and firefighters/EMTs David Kemmerer, Brian Frey and Tyler Kline from the ETFD for your time and showing our students all of the great things you do to keep Exeter safe!

Quarantine Update for Students 5-11 Years Old

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As you are likely aware, this week the CDC granted emergency use authorization of Pfizer's COVID vaccine to children 5-11 years old, which opened vaccine availability to all children attending elementary and middle school. Should you so choose to have your child vaccinated, the PA Department of Health will no longer require us to quarantine your child if he or she has been identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive individual at school. To be eligible for this exemption, your child must have received both doses of the vaccine with the last dose occurring at least 2 weeks prior to exposure.

If you would like to vaccinate your child, you may find a list of vaccine providers by visiting vaccines.gov, texting your zip code to 438829, calling 800-232-0233 or calling your child's pediatrician for further information and advice. Exeter will also host a vaccine clinic at the Lausch Administration Building in the near future--please stay tuned for dates and details.