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Owatin Creek Elementary

Grades K-4 | 610-406-4580

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Directory

Owatin Creek ELEMENTARY

5000 Boyertown Pike | Reading, PA 19606
(610) 406-4580

Click Here For A District Directory
  • Office

    x8002 Charlie Payne, Principal
    x8000 Karla Tryon, Attendance Secretary
    x8004 Andrea Williams, Secretary

  • Counselor & Psychologist

    x8031 Paola Cordova, School Counselor K-2
    x8141 Emily Perri, School Counselor 3-4
    x8032 Joanne Miano, Psychologist

  • Nurse

    x8006 Susan Templin

  • Technology Support

    x8016 Kristin Kenagy

Note: Faculty phone numbers go to voice mail during school hours

  • Kindergarten

    x8207 Meghan Motze
    x8203 Melissa Murphy
    x8205 Karen Okonski
    x8201 Christine Vogt
    x8206 Wendy Warchol

  • Grade 1

    x8225 Stephanie Arnold
    x8226 Francine Daniels
    x8216 Cristina Stoudt
    x8223 Amy Wright
    x8224 Catherine Zervanos

  • Grade 2

    x8234 Meghan Bezler
    x8235 Marjorie Haines
    x8215 Thomas Hirshorn
    x8236 Danielle Jupina
    x8237 Kimberly Smith

  • Grade 3

    x8122 Brooke Beane
    x8124 Joseph Bertolet
    x8121 Stephanie Douglas
    x8123 Kristen McBride
    x8114 Carole Moyer

  • Grade 4

    x8132 Alisse Auchenbach
    x8148 Marie Clark
    x8134 Steven Dibler
    x8133 Alexandra Schlotzhauer
    x8135 Karina Tramont

  • Reading & Intervention Specialists

    x8249 Tina Greth, Reading Specialist
    x8146 Tiffany Mell, Reading Specialist
    x8246 Jennifer Schuster, Reading Specialist

  • Special Education

    x8232 Dana Caron, Life Skills
    x8125 Jennifer Elliott, Learning Support
    x8131 Erika Moyer, Learning Support
    x8214 Taylor Schollenberger, Learning Support
    x8245 Kathleen Walker, Gifted
    x8221 Jill Weaver, Life Skills

  • Specials

    x8410 Diana Bogust, Physical Education
    x8441 Britta Hyneman, Art
    x8423 Amanda Mrenna, Music
    x8415 Emily Reppert, Instrumental Music
    x8014 Allison Swoyer, Library

  • Therapists

    x8417 Jessica Dimitriadis, Occupational & Physical Therapist
    x8248 Sydney Manwiller, Speech Therapist
    x8417 Monika Touri, Occupational & Physical Therapist

Home » Mrs. Whitney Collects 10,000 Cans of Play-Doh to Honor Student She Never Taught
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Mrs. Whitney's 3rd grade class poses with the 2,000 cans of Play-Doh they've collected so far this year.

For nearly a decade, Lorane Elementary’s third-grade teacher Josie Whitney has spent the month of March honoring a little boy who she never knew and never had a chance to attend the school where she teaches.

When school started in the fall of 2012, she found out that Jason Heckman, the 3-year-old brother of her third-grade student, Sherry Heckman, was diagnosed with cancer. Then, just a few months later, Mrs. Whitney lost her own father when he passed away in January of 2013. Heartbreakingly, Jason then passed away from his illness in May–coincidentally, on Mrs. Whitney’s father’s birthday. “Having just lost my dad a few months before we lost Jason, I was a mess. I immediately reached out to his parents and walked over to their house during my planning period and asked what I could do to help. Jason’s mom mentioned that Jason loved fishing–and so did my dad, so my connection to his family felt even stronger–and that he loved playing with Play-Doh when he was receiving treatment at CHOP.” Jason’s mom explained that the children’s hospital was always in need of new cans of Play-Doh since the toy cannot be sanitized in between uses and has to be tossed after a single use. “That’s when I decided to have a Play-Doh drive to honor Jason and keep his name alive for his family,” said Mrs. Whitney.

In the following school year of 2014, Mrs. Whitney began organizing a school-wide Play-Doh collection annually every March to honor and remember Jason. To date, she’s collected over 10,000 cans of Play-Doh to donate to CHOP, even when she had to pause the collection in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. She hopes her collection this year may prove to be the best year yet–she said she’s collected just over 2,000 cans since the month-long drive began on March 1st. 

Although the drive was borne out of an excruciatingly sad event, Mrs. Whitney said that she sees joy in the students who choose to participate and her own students who get excited when the donations roll in by helping her count the donated cans each day as a math exercise. “Students love seeing me in the hallways at school and shouting, ‘I have Play-Doh for you, Mrs. Whitney!’” She also said her heart’s filled with gratitude when she sees her social media posts shared and donations come in from beyond the Lorane Elementary community, too. “The parents of a student this year have also promised to match the Play-Doh donations that their son receives. It’s truly blossomed into a community event.”

Mrs. Whitney also feels fortunate to continue to be connected to the Heckman family, even though it’s been a long time since Sherry, who’s now a senior, has walked the halls of Lorane Elementary. “I currently have their son Neo in my class,” she says, also mentioning that she also taught Brody, who’s now in 8th grade. “This drive is all about Jason and what donations can do for children in need. Even small donations add up to help,” she says, “And it all helps their families, too.” 

If you’d be interested in contributing to Mrs. Whitney’s Play-Doh drive, you can drop donations of new cans of Play-Doh off at Lorane Elementary between the hours of 9AM to 4PM or deliver new cans of Play-Doh through Amazon, WalMart, Target or other online retailers to the school:  

Lorane Elementary
Attention: Josie Whitney
699 Rittenhouse Drive
Reading, PA 19606

Lorane Elementary’s Play-Doh drive runs through the end of March, just in time to celebrate Jason’s birthday; he would have turned 13 on April 10, 2022. 

Owatin Creek Elementary School

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Address & Contact Info

  • 5000 Boyertown Pike
    Reading, PA 19606

  • Phone:
    610-406-4580

  • Fax:
    610-898-0910

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Our Schools

Exeter Township Senior High

Exeter Township Junior High

Reiffton School

Jacksonwald Elementary

Lorane Elementary

Owatin Creek Elementary