CSD Insider
Centennial School District Newsletter January 2017
In This Edition
Superintendent's Corner
District Updates & Happenings
District Operations
Support Staff Spotlight
Inside Schools & Programs
Letters from Students
Announcements
Superintendent's Corner
A Message from Dr. David Baugh
We are currently at just about the half way point through this year, and it is an exciting time in our schools. We have been working on and developing a couple of ideas that many parents have noticed and kids have loved. Those ideas are Genius Hour and underpinning that idea is Growth Mindset.
Genius hour seems to have its origins in a small company called Google. Google has a policy that lets its employees spend 20% of their time working on projects that they are passionate about—apparently as much as 50% of Google’s projects have been created during this 20% of the employee’s time. If you have ever used Gmail or Google News, then you have benefited from this genius time. The other possible source, or origin ,of this educational concept (which also seems to connect back to Google), is found in best selling author Daniel Pink’s book Drive. Pink talks about companies taking the Google 20% and giving their employees at least an hour to work on new ideas and skills, which has benefited these companies with unexpected projects and returns.
In education, we use the idea of Google Time or Genius Hour to help students tap into their passions and interests with the long-range goal of making our students truly lifelong learners. Several teachers piloted the concept last year and reported profound success for their students in terms of the depth and breadth of mastery of learning. Students wound up researching, and most importantly, producing projects that were a mere glimmer in their teachers' eyes at the start of the year. With the guidance and accountability of the classroom teacher, students have been exploring a huge range of subjects and become much better at writing, editing, researching and producing a project worthy of sharing. At the expense of an hour a week, kids are, in effect, over the course of a year, getting a full week to develop a project in depth. Truly, this is a growth opportunity that taps into the skills and resources schools have to offer.
While it has proven a challenge occasionally to figure out what a student’s passions and interests are, it has proven to be both exciting and intriguing for student and teacher alike. Klinger Middle School even provided Genius Hour for the numerous students that opted out of the PSSA testing. Third grade parents got to participate in Genius Hour at McDonald Elementary school side by side with their students and loved it. Stay tuned as I am sure this movement will continue to grow and expand in the district in the year’s ahead.
Genius hour ties in well with another one of the District's interest, which is developing growth mindsets for our students. All too often our students, here and across the nation, have placed self-imposed limits on their growth and expertise. These self-imposed limits often take the form of self-talk like, “I am not good at music or math or English," and wind up all too often becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Growth Mindset, based on the ground breaking work of Carol Dweck at Stanford, is transforming the realm of human growth and potential. It has even become the curricular framework underpinning of the world famous and excellent Khan Academy, which many of our students are using, in the elementary schools up to the high school.
The growth mindset work, designed to help students over come limits to learning transcends race, socio-economic status, and at the end of the day, zip code. The research basis is incredible and truly makes a difference in kid’s lives. All too often we praise kids in ways that actually, in the long run, diminishes their initiative. Too often as a parent of teacher we might say things like, “Good job, you are really smart” or, “You sure are good at that music, math or English.” All of which leads a youngster to take fewer risks and not explore or practice in the interest of growth. If we said things like, “You did well on that test, you must have worked hard.” or, “I can see you are working hard on that subject have you tried X or Z?” to help them get better, we would be fostering the growth mindset.
As we get better at really working hard on growth mindset, we will be working in the area of deliberate practice, a concept coined by Anders Ericsson. This is the deliberate and intentional practice of desired skills. We have all heard practice makes perfect, except, we all know that isn’t really true. What we do know is that good practice makes better and bad practice actually makes worse.
For a great read and summary of both Ericsson’s work and Dwecks, please enjoy this link: “When Practice Makes Perfect: What Everyone Can Learn from Top Performers” by Daniel Willingham in his review of Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool (Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin, 2016), in Education Next, Winter 2016 (Vol. 17, #1, p. 80-81), http://bit.ly/2gzyvh0
Some other great resources include our own students talking about Genius hour at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-UI3EC580c1V0ZDVlBka3hMMXc/view?ts=586aaa7a
For more information on Genius Hour please follow this link:
http://www.geniushour.com/what-is-genius-hour/
For a really neat and short video that introduces the idea of Growth Mindset, and the Khan Academy please follow this short link https://www.khanacademy.org/resources/k-12-teachers-1/motivation-and-mindset/v/you-can-learn-anything
In short, it is an exciting time to be teaching and learning in Centennial. Be sure to talk with your children and children’s teachers and principals about these experiences and opportunities as the years unfold.
District Updates & Happenings
Centennial School District Moves to Gmail
The student Gmail accounts are part of the Google Apps for Education suite. Students will have access to Google Drive, which includes Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Forms, and Drawing. In addition, students will have Google Calendar and Gmail for academic email use. Students in grades K-8 can only use this email account with members of the Centennial community (other students and teachers). This walled garden is a protective measure to ensure students are safely learning how to use these digital tools.
Google Apps for Education is different from personal Gmail or Google Drive accounts. The online environment and accounts are managed by the school district with enhanced security features and increased Cloud storage space. Google Apps for Education will allow for greater student-to-student and student-to teacher collaboration. In addition, Google Apps for Education is free to schools so the District is able to leverage resources for additional hardware for student use.
Many school districts, colleges and universities, and businesses have moved towards Cloud-based computing for email and other features.
Preliminary 2017-18 Budget Preparation Is Underway
The District is busy preparing the preliminary 2017-18 general fund budget. The proposed preliminary budget amount and date will be set on January 24, 2017, advertised for public review on February 3, 2017, and approved on February 14, 2017. The vote on February 14th truly represents just the first of three major steps for final adoption. A proposed final budget will be approved May 2, 2017, with the final budget adopted on June 13, 2017.
The draft spending plan includes $116.2 million in expenses, with new investments in kindergarten and future-readiness (technology). The largest year-over-year increase is in pension costs, with the District’s employer share growing by nearly $1.9 million. Employer contributions are set at the state level, by the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System (PSERS) and the District has no control over the rate.
“The Commonwealth’s budget outlook is poor at best. We anticipate next to no new state funding for the coming year,” said chief financial officer Chris Berdnik. “Any solutions will be local.”
As of December 21, 2016, the District was projecting a $2.8 million deficit for 2017-18.
Shop at Home with ShopRite
Mr. Joe Cowhey, owner and operator of the Warminster ShopRite, has been a long-standing partner in education with the Centennial School District. In 2014, ShopRite opened a satellite store in William Tennent High School which is used as an educational commerce center for students. Mr. Cowhey donated the point-of-sale register and other equipment to start this venture that has served the students in work experience classes and business independent study courses. Mr. Cowhey has made generous donations to the Family and Consumer Sciences program to support the purchase of supplies, and he has been a sponsor for the high school's musical program.
This latest partnership venture with Mr. Cowhey and ShopRite will provide a direct benefit back to all the schools. The Centennial Education Foundation provides educational grants to teachers to provide enrichment programs and activities to their students. The Home and School associations provide support to the students and the schools' communities by organizing family and student events, subsidizing the costs for enrichment activities, and sponsoring activities in the schools.
Seeking Nominations for the Academic Hall of Fame
The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to honor those alumni who have gone on to significant success in life as well as other individuals who have made outstanding contributions in academia, athletics, or in the arts during their tenure at, or association with, the Centennial School District. The Centennial School District Hall of Fame comprises of three distinct entities: academic, athletic and artistic. Induction into one of the Halls of Fame will forever recognize the embodiment of our best. The success of the inductees is a reflection of the opportunities provided through the various programs offered by the Centennial School District and a commendation of the District’s mission statement: A Diverse Learning Community Where Students Succeed through Academics, Athletics, and The Arts.
Nominations will be accepted until January 15, 2017.
For more information about the Hall of Fame, visit http://www.centennialsd.org/Page/9269 or contact Mr. Matt Shade at shadma@centennialsd.org
Staying in Touch with Centennial School District and Your School
It is important for parents and guardians to update their contact information (telephone number, cell phone number, and e-mail address) in Skyward Family Access to ensure that E-Alert e-mails, text message alerts, and voice recorded messages reach them.
E-Alert e-mail is the main method of communicating pertinent information to students and their families. Text message alerts and voice recorded messages are used for emergency notifications as well as for school absence notifications. Parents and guardians can opt into receiving text message alerts. For more information about Skyward Family Access, follow this link: http://www.centennialsd.org/Page/8401
To stay up-to-date with various events and news about the schools and the District, the community can follow the District on these social media sites:
To watch School Board meetings, student-developed videos, and other events, tune into the District's cable channel: CSD-TV on Channel 36 (Verizon) and Channel 28 (Comcast).
School Board meetings are lived-streamed and can be accessed via the District website the evening of the meetings. Board Meetings live-streaming
District Operations
MealViewer as Easy as One, Two, Three
The MealViewer free mobile app is now ready for download. This mobile app has the capacity to display menus, nutritional data, and allergen information for items served at breakfast and lunch. This new feature will also act as a communication piece to display special announcements and events in your school cafeterias.
Here’s how to take advantage of this great feature:
- Go to your mobile app store, search for MealViewer, and download the free application.
- Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to search for your child’s school.
- Once you indicate the school, you can set that as your favorite so it automatically appears every time (you can add as many schools to your favorites as you need).
Once you are in the application you will see all the unique features MealViewer offers: marking favorite items so you are alerted the next time they are offered for breakfast or lunch, a rating systems for meals, and a place to provide direct feedback so we can better service your needs.
The MealViewer app is convenient for parents but it is also a great tool for the students. If your child has a smartphone, please encourage him or her to download the app and stay on top of what is cooking in their school’s cafeteria.
Schools Accepted Emailed Student Absence Notes
Parents and guardians are now able to email student absence excuse notes to the school's attendance office. Emailing an excuse note is a convenient way to ensure that a student's absence can be reconciled as a legal and excused absence. If a parent or guardian has a note from a medical professional, it can also be emailed to the attendance office along with the student's name, grade, student ID number, or homeroom teacher. All schools will continue to accept written absence excuse notes.
Emailed absence excuse notes should include the following information:
· The student's name
· The student's grade
· The student's ID number or homeroom teacher
· The date(s) of the absence
· A reason for the absence
· A contact telephone or cellphone number of parent or guardian submitting the excuse note
Parents and guardians will receive an email from the attendance office secretary confirming that the student's absence note was received by the school.
Each school has a unique email address for accepting student absence excuse notes.
Davis Elementary School
McDonald Elementary School
Willow Dale Elementary School
Klinger Middle School
Log College Middle School
William Tennent High School
Support Staff Spotlight
The Centennial School District's support staff are always working behind the scenes to support our students’ education. Whether it is preparing meals, driving buses, keeping the buildings and grounds operational, assisting in classrooms, or keeping our district organized and running smoothly, these individuals often go unnoticed, but all play an essential part in our learning community. We are proud to highlight a support staff member from each department in the coming editions of the CSD Insider.
Mr. Matt Burg Building Supervisor at Klinger Middle School
Mr. Burg said, "The crew working together to make Klinger a great school is the most rewarding part of the job." But, Mr. Burg knows the innerworkings of the school as well as anyone would know his or her own home. Klinger Middle School's crew pay closer attention to the school since it is more challenging to attend to the needs of an older building. "You know the noises," said Mr. Burg. He can walk down the hallway and discern the sound of the normal humming and buzzing from a new or unusual sound that may signal a problem. Mr. Burg gives Klinger Middle School the same attention he would to his own home, and he is the person the Operational Department relies on to make sure Klinger Middle School gets the attention it needs. By knowing the systems behind the school's wall that provide heat, electricity, and fresh air, Mr. Burg is also the person everyone at Klinger Middle School relies upon so they can be productive- and they thank him for that.
As a resident of the Centennial community, Mr. Burg and his wife, Jeanie, are proud parents of their daughter, Emily, who is a graduate of William Tennent High School. Recently accepted to the Jefferson nursing program, Emily earned a degree in biology after graduating from William Tennent High School. Mr. Burg believes that his daughter received a solid education in the Centennial School District that also contributed to her continued success in pursuing her academic and career goals.
When not caring for the needs of Klinger Middle School, Mr. Burg enjoys projects around the house and golfing with family and friends. He is a fan of all the Philadelphia sports teams. Mr. Burg also enjoys gardening, but he does share that talent with Klinger Middle School by ensuring the school's flowerbeds and landscaping are well-tended.
Klinger Middle School is a second home to Mr. Burg in many ways. He brings his diligence to work with him each day, and he spends the day making sure that everyone is warm, safe, and dry. But Mr. Burg also leaves a bit of himself with the school each day by keeping colorful annuals in the flower planters around the school in the spring and by making sure the building is immaculate during the school year.
Inside Schools & Programs
William Tennent High School Students Moved by Holocaust Survivor
Mr. Ernie Gross, a Holocaust survivor, spoke to approximately 50 sophomores from Mrs. Shannon Christine’s 10th grade Honors English class. A representative from the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center, Mr. Gross shared his experiences and his motivation; this presentation followed the students’ work with the memoir All But My Life, by Gerda Weissmann Klein. His talk inspired two sophomores, Timothy Breiner and Elyanor Adnane, to write poems.
"Journey of Understanding"
by Timothy Breiner
It was that fateful night,
When the police came and
You were asked to leave everything behind.
So afraid, yet, so brave.
Weeks you traveled on your journey;
A journey with a never-ending destination, but
You were soon separated from your family, and
Lied your way to survival.
Survival was your creed, and selfishness, a law.
If only people were kinder, would you be different?
Weeks you put in hard work;
Anything to live through this famine and
Soon it was rewarded when the Axis Powers shattered,
The U.S. flag making an appearance in Europe.
As you healed, selfishness bloomed into kindness.
Constant repetition strengthened your conscience.
Faith and forgiveness were elated to join your life and
So, you dedicated time to help spread the story of the Holocaust.
Help, show kindness to others, persevere and
Be a better person than the day before.
Never give up, and keep a sense of grit in a hard situation,
Some key lessons I learned from hearing you.
Never change your insightful words,
Because they truly need to be heard.
They inspire people day by day and
Make them follow a truly moral way.
This poem called to me when I heard the insightful words of Ernie Gross, a man who had survived and witnessed many hardships. Mr. Gross said, “I love to make people laugh; I try to make my audience laugh when I visit them.” I wonder how someone so resilient was not broken by the terrors of the Holocaust. Even after all the mental and physical scars from his past, he still had a desire to laugh with others. This is especially inspirational because Mr. Gross managed to hold on to an important piece of himself rather than let it die away during the war.
"No Longer Taken For Granted"
by Elyanor Adnane
You see, today we take what we have for granted,
We don’t think the way you do, Mr.Gross.
We’d rather spend money on ourselves,
Than those who need it the most.
We take family for granted,
We’d rather be out with friends.
You cherished what you had,
Because everything comes to an end.
You made me sit and think,
Wow, there’s so much to life.
Even with those who push and pull,
It’s not worth the negative and strife.
“I love to make people laugh,
At least ten a day.”
What a great goal to have in life,
To make someone feel that way!
I’ve realized after your presentation,
I take a lot for granted too.
A home, my family, and friends,
And people just like you.
Tzedakah, a responsibility,
To give to the needy and poor.
To spend money on donations,
To help find more than a cure.
Thank you Mr.Ernie Gross for all that you have done,
For I will never take for granted the every day rising sun.
This poem is dedicated to Mr.Ernie Gross. He inspired me to write a poem about how much we take for granted in today's world. Mr.Gross made me think about what I can do to change for the better. He explained the horrors he experienced throughout the Holocaust. His story has inspired me to give more cheer and happiness to our society and world, because maybe tomorrow we will be unable to do the actions we could have done today.
McDonald Elementary School Geniuses at Work
Log College Middle School Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports Winter Recognition Assembly
Letters from Students
Klinger Middle School Clubs: A Little Something for Everyone
I love Klinger. It is so grand and full of options for you to do. You can put your creativity to good use here. That’s why I am here to tell you about why Klinger is so amazing.
One of my personal favorite aspects of Klinger is the clubs. I have already started one as a matter of fact. It is one huge way that students can express their creativity freely. Clubs can bring people together, encourage, inspire, you name it! Clubs are wonderful things that can make a school unique. Sure, some people may have the same idea for a club, so when they are joined together, they make other people want to join, and it makes a wonderful community! There are many clubs for different interests.
There are clubs for people who want to do something academic. For people who really like to read, those people should join the Reading Olympics. It takes books that you read and turns them into a competition. You compete against other schools by learning about the book, reading it, and then it turns it into a fun game where the competition is on! There is also pizza for the winners, so that is pretty cool too. You will have a lot of fun in this club.
There are also clubs for people who like to invent things. For example, people who want to build should join the Games, Tech and So Much More Club. Alright, before I go any further, let me tell you about the Games, Tech and So Much More Club (or GTSMM for short). This is a club for a lot of things. For example, there is the engineering part, where you get to build anything you want, with the help of some materials. There is also a gaming section, where you get to create your own games, play games, and whatever else you want to do with games. Then there is the programming section, where you get to learn how to code. The list goes on and on with this club, and the best part is that everybody has a good time! This club is my personal favorite, but there are still more.
Athletic clubs are the way to go for people who want to exercise and have fun while doing it. There’s a Ski and Snowboard Club and a 6th Grade Girls Field Hockey Club for people who love to do athletic things. These clubs take athletics to a whole new level. In the Ski and Snowboard Club, you can ride and crash into piles of snow while on skis or snowboards! You slide down a mountain of snow, and you have lots of fun in the super cold weather! Then, there is the Field Hockey Club. Okay, this may upset you boys, but it is only for girls, however, that is okay with me. Field Hockey is pretty fun, so you girls should like it.
There are also clubs for people who want to develop their leadership skills. Therefore, people who plan to be leaders, should join Future Business Leaders of America Club, Student Government Club, and Builders Club. In these clubs, you get to learn leadership skills. You will work with others to come up with ways to make society better. You will have fun if you like to be a leader and help others.
Lastly, people who love to show their creativity, should join the Creative heARTS Club, Talent Show, and Baking Club. These let your mind soar as you create different things in art and baking. The Talent Show isn’t just available, yet. However, when it comes around, everybody will have fun.
In conclusion, I love the clubs and everything about Klinger. Hopefully, these clubs will carry on and more clubs will originate.
Aiden Horn
6th Grade
Klinger Middle School
Announcements
Centennial Education Foundation Anniversary Gala
Internet Essentials from Comcast
Your family may qualify for affordable Internet access and a low-cost computer. Please see the brochure below for details. To learn more or to apply, call 1-855-846-8376 or visit InternetEssentials.com.
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Employment Opportunities
Current employment opportunities are posted regularly on the Centennial School District website. Follow this link to learn more about current administrative, teaching, and support staff positions: www.centennialsd.org/jobs
District Calendar
To stay in touch with District events, follow this link to the Centennial School District calendar: http://www.centennialsd.org/Page/2
Centennial School District
District Administration
Dr. David Baugh, Superintendent
Dr. Jennifer Polinchock, Assistant Superintendent
Mr. Christopher Berdnik, Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Judith Hengst, Director of Special Education
Mr. AJ Juliani, Director of Technology and Innovation
Ms. Hannah Messner, Director of Human Resources
Ms. Catherine Perkins, Director of Teaching and Learning
Board of School Directors
Ms. Kati Driban, President
Mr. Michael Hartline, Vice President
Mr. Mark B. Miller, Assistant Secretary
Mr. Steven Adams
Mr. Charles Kleinschmidt
Ms. Jane Schrader Lynch
Ms. Dana Morgan
Dr. Andrew Pollock
Mr. David Shafter
Principals
Dr. Dennis Best, William Tennent High School
Mr. Travis Bloom, Klinger Middle School
Mr. Andrew Doster, Log College Middle School
Ms. Shawanna Coles, Davis Elementary School
Mr. Michael VanBuren, McDonald Elementary School
Dr. Michael Donnelly, Willow Dale Elementary School
Email: csdpr@centennialsd.org
Website: www.centennialsd.org
Location: 433 Centennial Road, Warminster, PA 18974
Phone: 215-441-6000
Facebook: www.facebook.com/csdinfo
Twitter: @Centennial_SD