• Neshaminy HS new student orientation: Tuesday, August 23, time TBA (last names A-K); Wednesday August 24, time TBA (last names L-Z)
• Middle Schools new student orientation: Thursday, August 25, times TBA
• Elementary Schools: Tuesday, August 30, Kindergarten Orientation 9:30-11am; Grades 1-4 Open House 1:30-2:30pm

On the dates below, student information will be available through Home Access Center (HAC) https://hac.neshaminy.org/HomeAccess/. Also, as a reminder, once the HAC portal is re-opened, that is a good time to check and update your Home Access contact Information (phone number and emails, etc.) to keep you informed all year long.

August 17: Elementary homeroom assignments

August 22: Middle school class assignments & all schools busing information

August 24: NHS class assignments

Questions about scheduling or Home Access Center should be directed to the Main Office staff at your child's school.

The Neshaminy Food Service Department is getting ready for a full year of providing healthy breakfast and lunch for our students! Since the federal meal subsidy enacted during the pandemic expired in June, there will be a charge for school meals during the 2022-2023 school year. Families who might be eligible for the Free & Reduced Meal Program are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to avoid gaps in coverage for their children.

Meal prices for the 2022-2023 school year can be found here.

Information and application materials for the Free & Reduced Meal Program can be found here. Oline registration through School Cafe is encouraged, but families can still apply using paper forms which are available on the District website and at each school Main Office. Families must apply for this program each school year to maintain eligibility.

Speaking of mobile apps, don't forget that Neshaminy also has a free District app that is also available at the Apple App Store and Google Play. You can customize the app to receive your student's information, calendar listings, notifications, emergency alerts and more.

A reminder from the Neshaminy Information Technology Department: We urge all students to charge and power up their Chromebooks during the summer, log in, check for updates and make sure everything is ready for the new school year. If your Chromebook needs repair, they can be dropped off at the Neshaminy High School (with an appointment).

Please follow the signs when entering the High School driveway, and proceed to door 37 (next to the bus line parking lot) This is the only location that will be available for any device issue during the summer. Please scroll down to Chromebook Help on the District website to make an appointment for any repairs. A loaner will be provided during the repair.

PLEASE make sure that any repairs that are needed are addressed well before the start of classes so that your device will be ready for the start of the new school year.

We hope our students have been participating in the Neshaminy summer reading & math activities! If not, there is still some time left to enjoy a few good books and boost the math skills. Our District Reading Specialists have posted suggested reading lists for every grade, with an emphasis on choice giving students the opportunity to find enjoyable reading material that matches their interests and reading style.

The summer math units are designed to build grade-level proficiency and remediate learning gaps. Students in grades K-6 can complete weekly lessons online using iReady My Path, while secondary students can access optional online tutorials through Apex Learning, and also complete optional math packets designed to introduce them to concepts they will be learning in each grade level and in advanced math courses at the high school.

LINK: Summer Reading Lists and Learning Opportunities

LINK: Summer Math Learning Resources and Packets

In addition, our elementary reading and math specialists have prepared the following resources for parents to help them navigate the Summer Learning Program:

LINK: Elementary Summer Math Practice Newsletter

LINK: Kickoff webinar archive for Elementary Summer Reading Program

JULY MEETING

The School Board met on Tuesday, July 26. Among the items on the agenda:

• The Board accepted the resignation of Pupil Services Director Anthony Devlin, who will be moving to a position with the Council Rock School District. Mr. Devlin has served Neshaminy for 14 years and oversaw a number of positive changes to the department including the expansion of in-house special education services, the addition of Pre-K Counts classrooms at Neshaminy and a streamlined student registration process.
• The Board heard a presentation on the condition of the spectator stands at Harry E. Franks Stadium at Neshaminy High School by Gilmore & Associates and the need for repair or replacement.

ACT 34 HEARING

An Act 34 hearing will be held on Thursday, August 18 at 7 pm in the District Board Room at Maple Point. The purpose of this hearing is to provide updated information to the community about the proposed new elementary school building on the Maple Point property. A previous Act 34 hearing for this project was held in December, 2021, but changes to the design and project budget since that time necessitate the additional hearing.

The public is invited to attend the hearing and speak during a public comment section. No votes will be taken at this hearing. The hearing documents are available for public viewing at the District office and on the District website. They will be available for at least 30 days before the Board takes votes on the updated project. The hearing will be livestreamed at www.neshaminy.org/meetings and the archived video uploaded to the School Board YouTube channel.

The next regular Board Public Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 23, 7 pm in the District Board Room at Maple Point.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Board committee meetings are open to the public and are a good opportunity to discuss specific programs and projects with committee members in a less formal, more conversational setting than the full Board meetings. The following committees will meet during the school year:

• Facilities & Planning Committee
• Educational Development Committee
• Business Operations Committee
• Policy Committee

The full schedule of meetings for the 2022-2023 school year can be found at the following link: 2022-2023 Committee Meeting Schedule

All committee meetings are held in the District Board Room at Maple Point unless otherwise noted. The public is invited to attend and participate in Board and Committee meetings. All meeting times and locations are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances; please check the District website www.neshaminy.org for any updates.

Installation of a new state-of-the-art remote-controlled high-definition video recording and livestreaming system for the Theodord Kloos Auditorium at Neshaminy High School was completed in July. The system was purchased with a $20,000 special grant from the Neshaminy Education Foundation. According to Foundation President Susan Weber, the extra donation was made possible by the increased success of various Foundation fundraising activities over the past few years, including the Harlem Wizards, memorial donations, basket raffles and generous paycheck donations by Neshaminy staff members.

"We are grateful for the generosity and commitment of the Neshaminy community to our schools, which continued even through the pandemic years," she said. "This system will let us capture and share the talents of our student performers for the entire world to see."

The video system will allow for the easy recording and livestreaming of concerts, musicals, plays, lectures and other events in the auditorium. Three remote-controlled HD cameras are permanently mounted and connected to a nearby control center. High-quality audio is available with a direct connection to the auditorium's new sound board. The system is expandable, opening up the possibility of adding connections to other parts of the building such as the TV studio, the Black Box Theater or even the athletic facility cameras for use in student productions.

Neshaminy Pre-K Counts still has a few openings for the 2022-2023 school year. If you have a child who will be 3 or 4 by September 1, 2022, and meet the income eligibility requirements, you can enroll in this FREE quality program hosted in two of our Neshaminy schools and the Lower Southampton Learning Center. Pre-K Counts is a Pennsylvania grant-funded program with generous eligibility guidelines (household income as high as $83,250 for a family of four based on 2021 tax returns).

Visit www.neshaminy.org/pkc to find out more and register.

• Roof repairs at Poquessing and Maple Point
• HVAC improvements at Neshaminy HS, Joseph Ferderbar ES and Maple Point MS
• Painting projects at Ferderbar ES, Schweitzer ES, Sandburg MS and Poquessing MS
• Concrete sidewalk repairs across the District
• Continuation of LED lighting upgrades across the District to improve efficiency
• Sanding and repainting of the stage in Theodore Kloos Auditorium at Neshaminy HS
• Site work at Neshaminy HS for the athletic fields upgrade (see article below)

These projects are in addition to regular summer tasks:

• Annual maintenance and inspection of all Neshaminy buses and vans (see video below)
• Stripping, cleaning and waxing of floors throughout the District
• Moving classroom furniture, file cabinets and shelving to accommodate updated class configurations and new teaching staff
• Replacing and repairing classroom, cafeteria and office furniture
• Distribution of educational materials such as workbooks and new textbooks
• Preparing 1:1 technology devices for incoming students and replacing those devices that have reached their end-of-life cycles

The sound of tennis balls bouncing and football pads crashing normally heard this time of year behind Harry E. Franks Stadium has been replaced by the sound of front-end loaders, excavators and dump trucks, at least temporarily. The shovels are in the dirt for the first phase of the athletic fields upgrade project at NHS.

Contractors started in June by digging up the tennis courts, baseball field and practice field. The baseball dugouts were demolished and fences removed. Currently the contractors are installing storm water drainage pipes and retention basins which will manage the water flow from all the fields once the project is completed.

Work on the football field in the stadium will not begin until at least November, which was good news for Neshaminy football fans. All four home games will be played in the stadium including Homecoming and the Pennsbury game. Other fall teams will be able to play their home games in the stadium or on other fields not affected by construction. The NHS Girls Tennis Team will play their home matches at the Frosty Hollow Tennis Center in Levittown during construction.

The hope is to have the field replacements completed by late spring. Some work will take longer including a new gateway building at the stadium that will include a snack stand, team rooms, and restroom facilities. The stadium press box will be replaced, and the District is also looking into repair or replacement of the home-side stands.

This summer, Neshaminy was fortunate to offer an Elementary Pilot Intervention Program as part of our MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) initiative. This pilot program was offered using federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds provided to the District to address learning loss. The goal of the program was to provide additional interventions for five weeks in the summer in the areas of both Reading and Math to rising first through sixth graders. This program was an invitation only program based on decisions made throughout the year using data from the District universal Screener and progress monitoring.

Twenty-five students attended the program at Joseph Ferderbar Elementary for five weeks, four days a week. While students were engaged in academic interventions, they also socialized with peers and enjoyed activities designed around weekly summer themes. Progress monitoring was completed weekly and the overall success of the pilot program will be measured using the Fall Universal Screening data.

"The children have a big smile on their face," said Tawanka ES teacher Lisa Eckelmeyer, one of several teachers spending part of their summer at Ferderbar. "The program is casual, but rigorous at the same time."

"They get a lot of personal attention. They are busy the entire two and a half hours that they are here. They're reading, they're writing, they're doing math, but I don't think they realize how hard they are working. They're actually just having fun reading stories, and working on skills."