News from the Nest
Cardinal Pride in the Upper Dublin School District
October 2021
A Message from Dr. Yanni...
Dear Upper Dublin Community,
Is it really the end of October? It sure is! Slowly but surely we are seeing our traditions become a reality again. Last week our UDHS students celebrated spirit week, complete with alcove decorations. The week culminated in an outdoor pep rally and the Coronation Ball on Saturday evening. This week our elementary students will enjoy Halloween/fall parades (weather permitting) and field trips for our SRMS students are returning to normal, too. As your Superintendent, I am eternally grateful for our community's patience as we work through COVID-19 mitigation measures while also affording our kids with those special occasions and moments that make lasting memories.
Our fight against COVID-19 continues; however, another significant milestone is on the horizon. Last year we were able to hold vaccination clinics for our students in UDHS and SRMS. We are hoping to announce a definitive date for vaccination clinics for our students (ages 5-11) later this week. Unlike the vaccination clinics we held for our students at UDHS and SRMS, parents/guardians will need to accompany their children. Therefore, we are taking into account families' schedules as we plan the clinics. We hope that many families are able to take advantage of our vaccine clinics. Stay tuned for more information!
Please remember that next Monday (11/1/21) is a professional learning day for our staff and a day off for students. We hope that our students and families enjoy the three day weekend and get some time to relax and recharge for the week ahead!
Onward!
Dr. Steve Yanni
Social-Emotional Learning: Focusing on Students' Well-Being
- Our Students' Points of View: A Sense of Belonging - The Upper Dublin School District is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for ALL students, and it is important to hear from our students about their perceptions. As part of our ongoing empowerment work, we are participating in the Montgomery County Cultural Proficiency/Equity Student Ambassador (CPSEA) program. This work includes a Belonging Survey which students will take on November 4, 2021. We look forward to analyzing the results and reporting on the data at an upcoming Education Committee Meeting. Questions about the survey can be directed to Dr. Dan Ortiz, SRMS Principal or Mr. Bob Schultz, UDHS Principal.
- Minding Your Minds - Last week seniors were able to hear from a guest speaker of Minding Your Minds regarding the struggle of mental health and recovery. The partnership between Minding Your Minds and the District involves a goal to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, while helping others who may be suffering to know that they are not alone and that it gets better. Minding Your MInds will return on November 2, 2021 to speak to both the sophomore and junior classes.
- Mind Up for Life! Information Session for Parents/Guardians - In this interactive virtual workshop, you will learn about the MindUP curriculum and be given tools and tips on how to integrate MindUP into your home and family life. For parents/guardians, MindUP provides new techniques to better cope with and manage the challenges of work/life stress. MindUP also helps parents build healthy relationships between siblings, their children, and the community, and finally, between their children and themselves. Click here for more information and to access the event.
Student Successes Outside of the Classroom
- Marching Band - After performing prior to the homecoming game on Saturday, October 16, 2021, our Marching Cardinals, under the direction of Ms. Katie Gallagher, traveled to Upper Moreland High School to compete. Once again they brought home the first place prize! Congratulations to the students and staff and we look forward to seeing them progress toward the state competition.
- Golf: The golf season came to an end this week as Charlie Kerprich competed in the PIAA State Championships. Tuesday was pretty brutal in terms of golf conditions and Charlie did his best to play through them. Charlie shot an 85 on the day, but overall still had a very successful season.
Boys Soccer: The boys soccer team concluded their season this week as well. The team finished 8-10 on the season. With only 4 seniors on the roster, the team should return a lot next year and be in position to be successful.
Water Polo: The water polo team participated in the State Qualifying tournament this past weekend. The girls won their first game on Saturday vs. Central York 18-8. They lost in the qualifying finals to Governor Mifflin 14-8. Overall it was a very strong season for the girls. For the first time in school history the boys team qualified for the state tournament. On Saturday they defeated Reading 14-10 in the first round. Then they defeated Wissahickon 9-6 to clinch the berth in states. The team will be at North Penn the weekend of November 5th for states.
Football: The football team won vs. Council Rock North on Saturday 40-0. The team had a really balanced attack on both offense and defense. Junior Nyfise McIntyre had 3 TDs in the 2nd quarter. The team will have a bye week before beginning Districts next weekend.
Field Hockey: The girls earned the 11 seed for the upcoming playoffs. Today they will travel to West Chester East at 6PM for their first round playoff game!
- Cross Country: The boys had a solid race up in Lehigh on Friday. Matt Castronuovo finished 2nd in the Liberty Division and Gus Platt finished 3rd. Both are poised for state qualifying bids in this week's district race back up in Lehigh. The girls won the Liberty Division Championship! Mimi Pastore, Lena Shaddinger, Emily Kulak, and Brooke Reardon all had very good runs to help propel the girls to the division championship.
- Cheer: The girls will be heading to their first competition in 4 weeks. No doubt they will continue to do great things on the sidelines at our football games!
- Girls Soccer: The girls soccer team went 2-0 last week and came up just short of winning the Liberty Division title. The girls are slated to play Hatboro Horsham today at 4PM at Spark 2. If they win they will travel to Wissahickon Thursday night at 6PM.
Girls Tennis: The girls season came to an end Friday. Both doubles teams lost in the opening round of the AAA Doubles tournament. Overall a 2nd place finish in the Liberty and a couple of district qualifiers for the program. A great experience all around.
Girls Volleyball: The volleyball team finished 7-12 on the season. Unfortunately, they began to get healthy and play better volleyball a little too late. The girls will lose a few strong players due to graduation, but return a solid nucleus as well.
UD Strong! Recovery Efforts
- Fort Washington Elementary School - At the Legislative meeting last evening, the Board of School Directors approved a contract with ICS, the company that will lead the restoration efforts at FWES. Our goal is to be able to return students to FWES as quickly as we can do so safely. As a reminder, we will share a timeline for our return to FWES when we have one in place. Until you hear official plans from the District, any information you hear circulating in the community is mere conjecture. Our Tuesday updates will continue to provide updates for transparency.
- Upper Dublin High School - A temporary roof structure will be placed over the natatorium. Once the roof is completed, the rest of the facility's systems can be evaluated to determine when we can reopen the pool for use. Again, until you hear official plans from the District, any information you hear circulating in the community is mere conjecture.
- Returning the Favor - Several years agao when Hurricane Harvey impacted Houston, UDHS Mathematics teacher Mrs. Swart led a fundraising campaign that netted $10,000 for a local high school where we had an Upper Dublin connection. If you did not see the news story this week, please take a look to learn about a wonderful reciprocal outpouring. Difficult times certainly bring out the best in so many.
- UD Strong Carnival - Although the District was not directly involved in the UD Strong Carnival, we would like to thank all of our community members who supported the event. By supporting the event you are supporting the many community members who have been affected by the tornado on September 1, 2021.
Data Review - Important Milestones
Given the length of the testing window last year (some districts took advantage of testing students throughout the summer and earlier this fall), the data has not been fully released yet; therefore, the District will present on our District data in December 2021 or January 2022. As has been the District's practice, the presentation will include overall student performance as well as student subgroup performance and comparative data to our peer districts.
The timelines listed below outline when we will receive data as well as individualized student information from PDE.
COVID-19 Information
- COVID-19 Dashboard
- Quarantine information
- Changes in positivity rates and incidence rates over time
- Access to buildings by transmission level
Upper Dublin School District
Email: syanni@udsd.org
Website: www.udsd.org
Location: 1580 Fort Washington Avenue Maple Glen, PA 19002
Phone: (215) 643-8800
Facebook: facebook.com/UpperDublinSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @UpperDubSuper