Wildcat Weekly Update
April 15 2024
Weekly News
March Student Of the Month
On Tuesday, April 9th , we recognized our March Students of the Month. Winners represent not just their class or all of the students that a teacher has, but all of the students taking a class within that department. With over 1830 students in the high school, it is quite an honor to be selected and recognized. Congratulations to all of our award winners!
- Agri-Science Department - Larissa DeFusco '24, Aaliyah Mitchell '25
- Art Education Department - Johnathon Harvey '26, Andrew Monaco '27, Gracie Tryniszewski '27
- Business Education Department - Silja-Hinrike Bauwe '25, Aubrey Denicola '24
- English Department - Cody Leman '27, Mary Lloyd '24, Sophia Metz '24, Chris Seagraves '26
- Health & Physical Education Department - Graham Barnett '25, Noah Hails '27, Alannah McCardell '25, Charlie Moser '27
- Mathematics Department - Jessica Fatula '26, Julia Hollinger '27, Erin Wittendorf '24
- Music Education Department - Casey Davies '24, Amelia Morrow '24, Tom Pederson '25
- Naval Science (NJROTC) Department - Grace Dales '24, Garrett Hoopes '27
- Science Department - Alyssa Hess '27, Siniyah Newsuan '26, Anya Olsen '24, Mason Rothfus '25, Fiona Sanders '25
- Social Studies Department - Owen Butler '24, Tyler Parker '26, Ben Rodrigues '27, Brady Roland '27
- Technology Education Department - Riley Haring '24, Nolan McDonnell '27, Henry Mighton '24
- World Languages Department - Travis Billesbach-Scholl '27, Tyler Lachman '26, Aleksandra Shapovalov '27, Ethan Townsley '27
Integrity Crew Nomination for March
Each month our community recognizes individuals for doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. These actions may be big or small, specific to an action or general to who that person is. Congratulations to those who were recognized in the month of March and thank you for all that you do for our community! Those recognized were:
Pedro Aragon '27, Liam Ash '26, Sohum Bandyopadhyay '26, Luke Beardsley '26, Ellie Briggs '27, Jack Edwards '24, Dan Epps '24, Thais Fernandes '26, Nazzim Granger Thornton '25, Nina Hampton '26, Erik Harken '24, Declan Harrington '26, Julia Manili '24, Alison Montgomery '25, Cecelia Rosencrance '24, Mark Ryan '24, Jayla Santos '26, Abigail Smith '24, Sean Smith '24, Hailee Valerio '26, Ryan Weaver '24, Mr. Bishop, Mrs. Hendershot, Mr. Inzone, Mr. Jannotti, Mrs. Little, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Stoecker, Mrs. Walsh, and Mr. Williams.
Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind State Finals
Congratulations to our high school, Odyssey of the Mind students. Our school’s teams just completed the Pennsylvania State Finals competition on Saturday, April 6th in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania. Owen J. Roberts High School sent three teams of students to the state finals competition and our teams excelled in all portions of the competition. Two of our competing teams finished as PA State Champions with a third team taking second place honors. All three teams will be moving on in the competition and representing our school district in the World Finals Contest to be held at Iowa State University in May by virtue of their first and second place finishes.
Congratulations to state champions:
- Iris Hurlock '27, Sophia Lineman '24, Claire (DJ) Manegold '27, D’Arcy Mathis '26, Kathryn Sweitzer '26, and Hailey Wilson '25
- Sheamus Fry '25, Nathan Lineman '25, Ryan Mathews '25, Aamina Mohammad '27, Juliette Mourar '27, Will Pederson '26, and Max Zimmerman '26
Congratulations to our second place finishers:
- Jonathan Alex '27, Christian Carroll '24, Nick Cerimele '24, Aman Pothakamury '24, Julia Robinson '24, Olivia Savochka '24, and Josh Zhang '24
Indoor Percussion Competes at MAPS Events
The Indoor Percussion Ensemble traveled to Spring-Ford High School on Saturday, April 6th for the Mid Atlantic Percussion Society Prelims competition. Twenty-two PSA ensembles took the floor with our group earning 5th place and their highest score this season.
The team then traveled to Coatesville High School on Saturday, April 13th for the Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society Finals. This time, the team scored a 90.050, which earned them a 3rd place finish. The team now prepares to head to Dayton, Ohio for the WGI Percussion World Championships from April 18th through April 20th.
International Thespian Society Inducts Inaugural Class
On Monday, April 8th the high school inducted its inaugural class of seventeen students into the International Thespian Society (ITS). ITS is an honor society for students who are involved with theatre through acting, dance, stage crew, and other disciplines. Our first class of inductees is an incredibly talented group who have been involved with numerous shows and performances at the high school in recent years. Congratulations to this year's class:
- President - Sam Koury '24, Vice President - Matt Mulholland '24, Secretary - Olivia Magee '24, Treasurer - Jake Simmons '24, Junior Representative - Tom Pederson '25
- Grace Anthony '25, Serena Barone '25, Jazlynn Campbell '25, Nori Cass '24, Bella Correll '24, Peyton Flieger '25, Keygan Frederick '25, Sara Lochmann '25, Aidan McDonnell '24, Elle Wentzel '25, Cole Young '24, and Kira Young '24
High School Host Reality Fair for 11th grade Students
On Tuesday, April 9th, we partnered with three local credit unions - Citadel Credit Union, Tri County Area Federal Credit Union, and Diamond Credit Union - to host an event called the Reality Fair. Students indicated their intended level of postsecondary education - high school diploma, two-year/technical education, bachelors, masters, doctorate, which determined a budget sheet that allocates monthly income, taxes, student loan debt, etc. Students then visited various booths for deductions including rent/mortgage, groceries, internet, cable, car payment, insurance, nail salon, entertainment, etc. Once students visited all required booths and completed budget calculations, they could sit with financial advisors to review their budget sheets. The event provided students with a great opportunity to get a sense of the financial responsibilities that they will face as independent adults. Thank you to our Counseling Department for organizing and facilitating this event.
PMEA Music Performance Assessment
PMEA Music Performance Assessment
On Tuesday, April 9th, the Concert Choir and Chamber Choir participated in the PMEA Music Performance Assessment at Immaculata University. The groups got to perform three pieces for a panel of collegiate level judges and were given a clinic with one of the adjudicators. The Concert Choir and Chamber Choir received an overall rating of Superior, which is the highest rating given at the PMEA Music Performance Assessment. The ensembles were ranked in the categories of tone, intonation, accuracy, technique, and interpretation. You can access videos of their performances via this link.
Equality Alliance Hosts Day of (No) Silence
On Friday, April 12th, the Equality Alliance held their annual Day of (No) Silence. The day provides students with an opportunity to bring attention to ways that communities can be more inclusive, while also taking note of the the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools.
MiniTHon Raises Money for Fighting Childhood Cancer
On Saturday, April 13th, the high school hosted mini-THON from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm. Modeled after Penn State's THON, the event provides an opportunity for students to come together and raise money for the Four Diamonds Foundation in support of the fight to conquer childhood cancer. This year's event raised $5,299. Thank you to all who contributed, volunteered, and participated!
Senior Day for Boys Basketball took place on Thursday, February 1st, prior to the game against Norristown. We thank this group for their leadership throughout their time on the team. The Seniors recognized include:
- Jack Cashman
- Natalie Everett (manager)
- Luke Fryer
- Colin King
- Ronald Kanyangarara
- Amelia McPhie (manager)
Athletics
Unified Track & Field Team Compete in First Meet
On Thursday, April 11th, our brand new Unified Track & Field team competed in their first meet against West Chester Henderson and Sun Valley at Henderson High School. The team took 2nd place and had a great time! The team hosts its first ever meet this Friday at 3:30 pm in the stadium for anyone interested in coming out to support.
Boys Tennis Senior Day
Senior Day for Boys Tennis took place on Monday, April 8th, prior to their match against Boyertown. We celebrated a huge group of seniors and thank them for their leadership throughout their time on the team. The Seniors recognized include:
- Chase Bartolini
- Roy Chen
- Soham Deshmukh
- Daniel Epps
- Veer Kakar
- Matthew Karounos
- Owen Lake
- Talan Nguyen
- Joshua Ouyang
- Nate Pomager
- Jack Sawicki
- Brian Serfass
- Leo Simmons
- Josh Zhang
Cheerleading - Save the Date
Tryouts for the Fall and Competition Cheerleading teams will take place on May 23rd and May 24th. Any current OJR 8th through 11th grade student is welcome to come to open gyms in the Auxiliary Gym on May 13th, 14th, and 17th from 6:00 pm to 8:00pm in preparation for tryouts.
Student Opportunities
Blood Drive - Wednesday, April 17th
The spring Blood Drive will take place on Wednesday, April 17th during the school day in the Auxiliary Gymnasium. Thank you to those who signed up to support. Please see Mrs. Bailey in the nurse's office for questions.
West Chester University's Friday Night Writes
The 2024 Friday Night Writes event at West Chester University for grades 6-12 will take place on Friday, April 26th from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM. The event will be held at West Chester University’s Graduate Center and features two youth-focused writing sessions, a keynote by a local author, and dinner and dessert.
Parents, who would like to register their student(s), should use the WCWP registration link or QR code on the flyer. Spots are limited. If parents would like to learn more about the West Chester Writing Project, they are invited to browse their website.
Chester County Chamber Foundation - Youth Leadership Program
The Chester County Chamber Foundation is now seeking applications for its 2024-2025 Youth Leadership Program. The goal of this program is to create exceptional opportunities for students in Chester County to prepare them for future careers and to develop the next generation of community and business leaders. This program is open to current 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students. Please use this link to access more information about the program and to find the application. Applications are due by Friday, May 3rd.
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful - Young Ambassadors Program
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful's Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program seeks to build community stewardship by empowering young Pennsylvanian’s to become civic leaders by inspiring and engaging peers to share a vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Students currently in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade are encouraged to apply for this program. OJR has had a representative as part of this program in each of the last two years. Use this link to learn more about the program and to access the application. The application is open from now until June 10th.
OJR Hiring Summer Housekeepers
The School District is hiring summer housekeepers to aid in the refreshing of buildings in advance of the 2024-2025 school year. Students 16 or older are encouraged to apply. The positions are for four days a week (Monday - Thursday), with up to 10 hours a day of work available, and a starting rate of $18.00 per hour. This is a great opportunity for students who want a schedule that leaves evenings free and guarantees a three day weekend every week. Students can access the job description and application here.
Hopewell Furnace Welcomes Submissions for Independence Day Writing Contest
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, in collaboration with the Friends of Hopewell Furnace, is accepting essay submissions for inclusion in this year’s Independence Day programming at the park on July 4th. Students in Grades 6 – 12 are encouraged to participate with OJR students being one of sixteen eligible school districts.
High school aged students may submit a 500 word or less essay and students in grades 6 – 8 may submit a 300 word or less essay related to the prompt: What does the word liberty mean to you? Essays will be reviewed by a panel of judges with the top 3 from each grade group receiving cash awards of $125 for 1st, $100 for 2nd, and $75 for 3rd. Top 3 selectees from each grade group will also be invited to participate in the park’s Independence Day public program at 2pm on July 4th. Submissions are due Tuesday, April 30, 2024. More information is available on the website at Independence Day Writing Challenge - Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Updates from the Counseling Office
Please visit the Counseling Newsletter to stay up to date on all of the offerings from the department. New this week is an important notice for 12th grade students who will participate in athletics at the Division 1 or Division 2 level next year.
Scholarship Page Reminders
In the last two weeks, scholarships in memory of Kelsey Kramer, Kyle Hinrichs, Makenna Massi, and Evan St. Clair, in addition to the BigFly Guy, and Shandy Hill Scholarships have been posted. These are all in addition to many others posted with deadlines coming soon! Please visit the Scholarship Page for more information and good luck!
Senior Information
Senior Events and Graduation Overview
The overview of senior events and graduation is accessible here. There have not been any updates made to this document since it was originally sent. This document will serve as a resource over the next few months in preparation for the end of the year.
Graduation Yard Signs
The Lady Wildcat Basketball program has once again organized an opportunity to purchase graduation yard signs to support your 12th grade student (6th grade and 8th grade too). Support your graduate while supporting our Girls Basketball program. Please visit the ordering page on SchoolPay for additional information. Ordering is available through May 11th.
Community Baccalaureate Ceremony for the Class of 2024
A group of families and community members came together last year to independently offer a Baccalaureate Ceremony for members of the graduating class on the Sunday before graduation. Based on the success of last year's event, the group plans to offer this ceremony against this year and has asked that we share it with our community. This event is a non-denominational, faith based ceremony open to anyone who is interested in attending. More information, including how to RSVP can be found by scanning the QR code on the flyer or by using this direct link.
Juniors and Sophomores Information
Class Rings
In partnership with our vendor, OJR students are invited to order their official Owen J. Roberts High School Class Rings. The program is introduced to the sophomore class, but juniors are invited to participate as well if they haven't already. Orders are due on Tuesday, April 16th, with rings delivered to the school in September.
If you are interested in ordering a ring, the short class ring presentation is here. The digital class ring brochure is here and a student's class ring can be ordered by going to sscrings.com. A representative will be available in student lunches on April 16th and additional questions can be directed to 610-539-1330 or rings@studentservicesco.com
Parking
Student Parking Reminders
Students and families are reminded that only 11th and 12th grade students who have purchased a parking pass are eligible to drive to school. We do not have capacity for 10th grade students to drive and no 10th grade students have permits.
Students are reminded to please resolve any outstanding parking tickets that they have. 10th grade students that receive a ticket jeopardize their ability to purchase a permit in future years. 11th grade students with outstanding tickets will not be eligible to purchase a permit for 12th grade. Current seniors with outstanding tickets will not have their diplomas released until they have resolved any outstanding fees, parking tickets included.
Community Events & Information
Transition Fair for Students with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism
The high school will host a Transition Fair on Thursday, April 18th tailored to families with students aged 14 to 22 that have an intellectual disability or autism. Join us to explore resources and information for a student's journey toward post-secondary goals, focusing on employment and independent living. Please RSVP using this Form if you plan on attending.
Music Parents Organization Jazz Band Pasta Dinner
Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, pasta, and community spirit at the Owen J. Roberts Jazz Band Pasta Night event on April 26, 2024 held at Grace Assembly of God in Spring City! Get ready to sway to the smooth tunes of talented young musicians while indulging in a delicious pasta dinner, refreshing drinks, and delectable desserts. There is a 6:30 pm seating, as well as an 8:00 pm seating. For more information, to make a donation, or to purchase tickets, please visit the Music Parents Organization website.
OJRHS Theatre Arts
Join the students of OJRHS Theatre Arts as they present their 1st Annual Theatre Showcase: A night of musical performances and scenes. This will conclude our theatrical production year of A Christmas Carol and Newsies. This event will be held on Saturday, April 27th at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium. Admission is free.
Registration for Summer Enrichment and Academic Courses is Now Open
Registration for summer enrichment and academic courses is now open through Friday, June 7th. Opportunities are available for students who will be in in Kindergarten through 12th grade in the 2024-2025 school year. Please visit the full brochure for information about opportunities and to learn how to register.
Coventry Soccer Travel Soccer - Registration and Tryouts
Coventry Soccer Travel Tryouts Registration is now open. Your local travel club is doing amazing things! We're open to ALL districts and communities. Invite your friends out to join us! The club is an official Union affiliate with access to training and camps, has teams in the EDP League, has players on their age-level ODP teams as well as the Union PPP program, and has had players who have gone on to play at the collegiate level. More information and our full try out schedule is on our website or access the direct link for player registration. Please direct any questions to coventrysoccer2015@gmail.com.
Upcoming Dates of Importance
Schedule for the Week
- Monday, April 15th - Day 2 - Regular Schedule
- Tuesday, April 16th - Day 3 - Advisory Schedule
- Wednesday, April 17th - Day 4 - Regular Schedule
- Blood Drive - Auxiliary Gymnasium
- Thursday, April 18th - Day 5 - Regular Schedule
- NJROTC Awards - 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Friday, April 19th - Day 1 - Regular Schedule
Future Dates
- Wednesday, April 24th - Farm Day (Rain date April 25th)
- Thursday, April 25th - Art Show
- NAHS Induction, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
- Friday, April 26th - MPO Jazz Night - 4:30 pm - 8:00 pm
- Thursday, May 2nd - Spring Band Concert -7:00 pm
- Saturday, May 4th
- SAT Testing
- Senior Prom - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Sheraton King of Prussia
- Monday, May 6th to Friday May 17th- AP Exams - 7:30 am to 4:30pm, LGI
- Friday, May 10th - Special Olympics - 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Stadium
- Monday and Tuesday, May 13-14 - Keystones - English Exam (Modified Schedule)
- Wednesday and Thursday May 15-16 - Keystones - Algebra Exam
- Monday and Tuesday, May 20-21 - Keystones - Biology Exam (Modified Schedule)
- Thursday, May 23 - Best Buddies Lunch
- Monday, May 27 - Memorial Day - No School