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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! 

Students Take Part in the Tradition of a Spelling Bee in a Not-So-Traditional Time

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In this age of auto-correct and Grammarly, you may have thought that the art of spelling was d-e-a-d, but students at Reiffton and the Junior High still participate in a yearly traditional Spelling Bee to show off their skills as they tackle words such as “vuvuzela” (a plastic horn) or “excoriation” (chronic skin picking), both of which won 7th grader Casey Grzywacz (left) a first place finish for the Junior High; and “liability,” (being responsible for something), which won 5th grader Rinith Musuku (right) a first place finish for Reiffton. “I enjoy watching students excel at a skill that, in the 21st century, might be considered a lost art,” said Mrs. Cheryl Larson, a Junior High English & Language Arts teacher and advisor to the Bee for the past 28 years. But despite students spending hours voluntarily pouring over spelling lists with parents, classmates and friends to prepare for the traditional contest, the pandemic changed the actual day-of competition in schools as E.W. Scripps now offers school-level Bees in a virtual format instead of with students grouped together in a cafeteria or auditorium. “It was kind of odd,” admitted Casey, who has been participating since 3rd grade. “Doing it on the computer was so weird to me because it’s just so different listening to an AI (artificial intelligence)’s voice.” But despite the virtual format of this year’s contest, both students said their hard work and hours of preparation paid off. “It was a lot of work, but my parents are so proud of me,” beamed Rinith, who also won last year’s Bee in 4th grade. 

Mrs. Larson, who believes that some students are gifted with the natural ability to spell well, is also so proud of Casey and Rinith, as well the 35 students who voluntarily participated and competed in the Bee–and hopeful that students can return to a more traditional Spelling Bee next year, which is what both Casey and Rinith are participating in when they advance to the regional Bee competition to be held in person on Sunday, March 13th in Wilkes-Barre. Please help us wish them lots of l-u-c-k in the next round!

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.

Reiffton Students’ Good Behavior is Rewarded by Blue-Haired Principals

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It's not everyday that Reiffton students are given permission to be so bold to call their principals "Smurf" or "Sonic" and laugh as they point at their hair, but principal Dr. Greg Fries and assistant principal Mr. Joe Alcaro couldn't have been happier to be the center of their 5th and 6th graders' jokes today as they walked around Reiffton after having their hair spray painted Exeter blue this morning. It was all part of a school-wide challenge for students to earn 600 Character COWnts good-behavior tickets over a 4 week period. Reiffton students being the competitive and well-behaved bunch that they are not only met their principals' goal of 600 tickets in 4 weeks--they blew past it by earning an additional 400 on top of it!

"We've been averaging about 75 tickets a week," said Mr. Alcaro. "We wanted to up the ante, and we were so excited to see that they earned over 1,000!"

Dr. Fries said that the challenge truly created a fun atmosphere at the school over the past few weeks. "From the very beginning of the challenge, they were excited that we were willing to dye our hair blue. Every time I walked through the hallways or entered the cafeteria students came up to me to let me know how excited they would be to see me with blue hair. Several even mentioned that it looks better than my normal gray hair."

The Character COWnts program, which is now in its 9th year at Reiffton, is meant to build upon the pro-social skills taught in the homes of our students and in our elementary schools. The program focuses on the 3C's: caring, cooperation and citizenship, and was designed specifically to meet the needs of the students at Reiffton.

Although he's glad the hair dye that was used today was temporary, Dr. Fries said that he hopes the lessons learned from the challenge are more permanent. "We are extremely lucky to have such an outstanding group of students at Reiffton. Their success with this challenge demonstrates their willingness to see things from different perspectives and put the needs and feelings of others first."

National School Counseling Week: Focus on Reiffton

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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 Reiffton's counselors, Mrs. Diana Ricci (A-K) and Ms. Emily Seeberger (L-Z):

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

A: Mrs. Ricci started as a school counselor in September of 2008, and Ms. Seeberger started in December of 2014. We have both worked in Exeter for our entire careers.

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

Ms. Seeberger: Prior to becoming a school counselor, I worked as a Summer Camp Coordinator for a day camp. This job was an awesome stepping stone before I began my role as a school counselor.

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

Both: Encouraging students and helping them discover their strengths and how they are unique.

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

Both: Prioritizing the needs of our students. They are all important so sometimes it is hard to make a decision to focus on one need over another.

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….”

Both: People are surprised that we work to develop a relationship with every one of our students and do not just respond to crises. We do this through individual sessions, small group counseling and classroom lessons.

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

A: We have found the most success with our students when several members of the school support team (teacher, school counselor, parent, principal) work together. With different perspectives we can come together to better meet the student’s needs.

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

Ms. Seeberger: When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be an archeologist or an artist.  I loved exploring, learning and finding new ways to be creative!  

Mrs. Ricci: I wanted to be a teacher or a concert pianist.  I still love music and have incorporated that into my small groups and lessons.

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

Both: Together we bring color into our students’ lives. With the support and collaboration of all staff at Reiffton, here is a small snapshot of what we have been able to accomplish so far this year:

  • 111 Classroom lessons
  • 116 Small group sessions
  • 125 Relaxing recess student experiences (calm recess in the counseling suite)
  • 974 Individual student sessions