CSD Insider
Centennial School District Newsletter September 2016
In This Edition
Superintendent's Corner
District Updates & Happenings
District Operations
Inside Schools & Programs
Announcements
Superintendent's Corner
A Message from Dr. Baugh
I hope you had a terrific Labor Day holiday weekend. It has been a very successful opening in that the few ripples were relatively minor—mostly around transportation issues, which were ironed out quickly. Fortunately we have a good and competent team working on these “bumps” in the road.
Currently the District is evaluating moving towards propane buses if it can be determined that they are cost effective. I have had the chance to get on our loaner propane bus for a tour. It is a dandy bus- much quieter and better for the environment. Questions remain around fuel efficiency and learning all about the new mechanical systems. It becomes a question about the trade off between purchase price and fuel mileage.
It is an exciting time to be in education because of so many new opportunities to consider to increase both operational and educational efficiency. The District has two major initiatives this year. We are focusing on helping our students develop growth mindset, which is based on the latest neurobiology of brain plasticity and the research of Carol Dweck. Growth mindset is basically the idea that with hard work, good teaching or coaching, and commitment over time we can all get better at what we set our minds and hearts too. It is the opposite of fixed mindset, which we have all experienced, where we believe we are not, and never can be, good at something. All babies are born with a growth mindset, some keep it forever, and some lose it through fear of failure or negative role modeling. The next month or two will be spent teaching students how their brains work, how to make them stronger through focused or deliberate practice, and getting a better idea of what growth mindset can be and how it can make a difference in anyone’s life.
The second big idea is to develop a distributed leadership model for teaching and learning. While your students won’t experience this directly, they will see other teachers starting to coach one another. Each school is developing “go to” experts in six various disciplines whose primary responsibility, after their teaching, is to help other teachers get much better. We know that the single greatest thing we can do to help our classrooms get better is to develop teacher expertise and teacher quality.
To support our goals, we have been focusing a lot of energy around preparing our professional development offerings over the next year. One of our main focal points is a literacy underpinning K-12. All of life is a literacy event, and this seems to make real sense. We also strive to ensure that all youngsters leave third grade on the correct reading level. To keep things moving on a large scale, we are using the six aspects of the distributed leadership project (reading/language arts, math, science, social studies, special education with STEM at the elementary level and student support services at the secondary level) as a way of defining the various professional development buckets ,but with a strong literacy aspect.
Additionally, as part of this we are developing the calendar for 2018-19 school year. The School Board has already approved 2017-18 school year calendar. Various groups will begin reviewing the calendar, and we will try to get this to the School Board for full review by end of October.
We thank our teachers, administration, and support personnel for a quiet and orderly opening. The schools were beautiful on opening day and classrooms ready to go! We look forward to continuing our partnership with our families for the 2016-2017 school year.
District Updates & Happenings
Centennial School District Rolls Out a Propane-Fueled Bus
Centennial School District is exploring the cost effectiveness of propane-fueled buses as part of its multi-year school bus replacement cycle. Brightbill Body Works, who was awarded the District's most recent bid for 77-passenger buses, provided a propane-fueled bus for the District to conduct a two-week evaluation. The District plans to analyze the cost effectiveness of switching the fleet over to propane through its replacement cycle.
Many school districts across the nation are converting their diesel bus fleets to propane buses. School districts are looking at the long-term cost savings for propane buses as a way to manage operational expenditures.
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
New Breakfast and Lunch Prices for the 2016-2017 School Year
The new breakfast and lunch prices will be as follows:
Breakfast
Elementary Schools $1.25
Middle Schools $1.50
High School $1.75
Lunch
Elementary Schools $2.60
Middle Schools $2.75
High School $3.00
The Food Service Department uses Skyward, the same student information system parents/guardians can access to check their child’s grades and progress. Once logged into Skyward through the Family Portal, parents/guardians can click on the “Food Service” tab to see student balances along with daily purchases.
A parent/guardian can make deposits to their child's account in the following ways:
- Check, cash, or money orders can be given directly to the cafeteria.
- Use E-Funds for Schools to make an online payment.
E-Funds for Schools is an easy way to make a one-time deposit, set up reoccurring payments, and/or receive balance notifications.
To open an E-Funds for Schools account, follow this link: https://eps.mvpbanking.com/cgi-bin/efs/login.pl?access=55703
Sign Up for E-Funds for Schools for School Meal Payments
The Centennial School District's Food Service Department knows that parents and guardians rely on their services to provide healthy meals for their child. There are two programs that allow parents and guardians to monitor their child's purchases and check food service account balances.
The Centennial School District Food and Nutrition Department uses Skyward, the same program parents can use to check their child’s grades and progress. Once logged into Skyward through the Family Portal, parents/guardians can click on the “Food Service” tab to see student balances along with daily purchases.
Parents/guardians can make deposits to their child's account in the following ways:
- · Check, cash, or money orders can be given directly to the cafeteria.
- · Parents and guardians can use E-funds for Schools to make an online payment.
E-Funds for Schools is an easy way to make a one-time deposit, set up reoccurring payments, and/or receive balance notifications. Click on this site to access E-Funds for Schools https://eps.mvpbanking.com/cgi-bin/efs/login.pl?access=55703 E-Funds for Schools also has a mobile application.
Automated Calls for Student Absences
The Centennial School District is using the automated phone call feature in School Messenger to make attendance calls. If your child is absent from school, you will be notified via a voice message that will come to the primary number listed in Skyward. In addition, an e-mail will be sent to the first e-mail address listed in Skyward. Elementary school calls will be made at 10:00 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. for afternoon kindergarten. Middle school calls will be made at 11:00 a.m. High school calls will be made at 10:45 a.m. and at 2:30 p.m. for morning Middle Bucks Institute of Technology students.
Parents and guardians should update the primary, or first, phone number and e-mail in Skyward to receive the automated phone calls and e-mails. If an automated call is made and you believe it to be in error, the contact information for your child’s attendance office will be included in the message.
Notifying parents/guardians about a student's absence is an important safety measure. While most parents/guardians know that their child is absent due to an illness or excusable reason, this notification can be a proactive way to address issues. Parents and guardians are reminded that all absences require an excuse note within three days of the absence.
Emailing Student Absence Excuse Notes
Centennial School District's Volunteer Policy
The Centennial School District recognizes that volunteers and helpers can make valuable contributions to the schools. The District encourages volunteers and helpers in the classrooms and to support of programs.
The Centennial School Board Policy 916 provides provides guidelines for becoming a volunteer:http://www.centennialsd.org/cms/lib4/PA01001061/Centricity/Domain/8/916%20Volunteers%20FINAL.pdf
Recent changes have been made to the District's volunteer policy as a result of legislation. The Centennial School District recognizes three classifications of volunteers: (1) volunteers, (2) helpers, and (3) visitors. Volunteers are defined as individuals: (a) who are responsible for the care, supervision, guidance, or control of children, and (b) who will have regular and repeated contact with children. Helpers may have more limited access to classrooms and programs. Helpers work in tandem with teachers and other volunteers to provide support to an event in or outside of school. Visitors are adults, parents, or guardians who are visiting the school to participate in an event or observe an event and who are not providing any services to the district or its students and who have no responsibilities.
Volunteers will need to complete a Volunteer Disclosure Form, obtain required clearances, and have a tuberculosis test.
For more information about our Volunteer process and policy, please visit: http://www.centennialsd.org/Page/6813. If you have any questions, please contact Volunteer@Centennialsd.org.
Inside Schools & Programs
Dr. Best Supports Summer School Learning
Conference X at William Tennent High School on August 11, 2016 was the official readout competition for the three teams from William Tennent High School and the two teams from Wissahickon High School. In addition, Conference X included presenters from the healthcare, medical research, manufacturing, and marketing communities. These presenters served as mentors for the students throughout the development process. The conference included an exhibit display for the educational kits, information booths for the supporting foundations, an informational video, and photo gallery. A video documentary was created throughout the process, and the entire conference was streamed live on Facebook.
Each of the five teams tackled a different disease. Here is a listing of each team and their accomplishments at the readout:
Team All "In" from Wissahickon High School focused on Alzheimer’s Disease and will attend the Medicine X Conference at Stanford University.
o Ethan Baim
o Becca Hong
o Ryan Zhao
Team "Jade" from William Tennent High School focused on breast cancer and will attend the Medicine X Conference at Stanford University.
o Spencer Fairall
o Victoria Alanis
o Cayla Yannuzzi
Team "Harmonia" from William Tennent High School focused on Leukemia and will attend the D-Pharm Conference in Boston.
o Joe Makkar
o Leah Miller
o Ian Yannuzzi
Team "Vega" from William Tennent High School focused on migraines and will attend the D-Pharm Conference in Boston.
o Jamie Gray
o Matthew Kraus
o Mary-Lyn Williams
Team "Idesta" from Wissahickon High School focused on Lupus.
o Jenna Feltes
o Eawon Goucher
o Peter Labick
The STEAM Team, Al Catarro, community partnerships coordinator and business teacher, Ignacio Jayo, biology teacher, Rena Freidant, art teacher, and Steven Beal, science teacher leader, began this innovative partnership initiative in the summer of 2015. They plan to support the students' efforts and accomplishments from the summer of 2016 by identifying a commercial market for the educational kits in the mass market. The STEAM Team is also hoping to increase the scale of Conference X with sponsorship and the addition of more high school teams.
Long term, the STEAM Team has developed a model for how school should be in order to prepare students for the expectations and challenges of college and career. Instructional leaders attempt to balance the tension between student achievement and authentic learning. When the landscape of student achievement has a laser-like focus on high stakes assessment, there is little opportunity for students to develop the skills and academic experiences they will need to actually be successful in college and the workforce. William Tennent High School’s STEAM Team is not only addressing the challenges of closing the achievement gap, it is also expanding school performance to embrace meaningful and purposeful learning experiences. School needs to be about student-centered, hybrid, opportunities for organic learning.
Mr. Bloom's Welcome Back Message for Klinger Middle School
Klinger Middle School is off to a fantastic start with all their students. The students have done a wonderful job of transitioning from summer vacation and are acclimating themselves to our new middle school schedule. The administration, faculty and staff are excited about many of the new tools coming to Klinger Middle School during the 2016-17 school year.
Klinger Middle School's goal is to continuously communicate with students and families about what takes place at Klinger Middle School throughout the day. Klinger Middle School has a Facebook page @klingermiddleschool and an Instagram account @klinger_ms Klinger also has a hashtag #1klinger so students and staff can also post about events that take place in their classrooms and around the building. In addition, Klinger Middle School has begun sending out a bi-weekly newsletter about upcoming events. Parents/guardians can sign-up to receive this newsletter by accessing the school's website or following one of our social media tools. The newsletter will include upcoming events, highlights, pictures, and videos.
Our goal is to flatten the walls and bring parents along for the journey of middle school life. Klinger Middle School wants to show its community the great students they have at Klinger Middle School.
Mr. Doster Says, "Log College Middle School Is Off and Running"
The students of Log College Middle School are back and in full swing for the 2016-2017 school year. Their excitement and enthusiasm for the opportunities in front them, fills the halls and classrooms each and every day.
There are many new and innovative things happening at Log College. Two of the bigger opportunities for students this year come in the form of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative and the resource period, which runs on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule.
The BYOD initiative is off to a great start with infusing the "everyday" technology that our students have into their learning activities throughout their day. Students have begun, and will continue to use their phones, tablets, and laptops to take control of, and personalize, their learning, while bringing a heightened level of collaboration and new information into a more customized learning experience.
The new resource period that is a part of our students' schedule three days per week will add time for our students to create and innovate with their peers across the Log College Middle School, Klinger Middle School, and beyond. During this class time, our goal is to allow for our students' natural curiosity and creativity to take hold and extend beyond our schoolhouse walls. We are working to provide a "proving ground" for students to acquire real-world research skills, improve writing and presentation skills, collaborate with classmates across a broad range, think critically, pose questions to real-world issues and create possible solutions through improved collaboration, and to drive what our students want to learn about.
This is truly and exciting time to be a Centennial School District Student!
Ms. Coles' Voice in Leading the Charge for Family Involvement at Davis Elementary School
In June, the elementary school principals attended the Literacy is for Life Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania. One of the Keynote Speakers was Dr. Steven Constantino and his session was entitled, “Engaging Every Family: Five Simple Principles.” Each participant also received a copy of his book with the same title as an incentive to begin the work in our schools.
The session was eye opening for me because we were challenged to empower every family to be involved with the education of their children and to build relationships with all of our families. This is a huge task for schools of our size. One of the critical points that resonated with me is the idea that, “If families truly have a choice as to where their children will receive an education, will they choose our school district? Our School?” The follow up question was even more intriguing, “What is so compelling about our product that a customer will choose it over the growing list of options.” This hit home because as an educator and a parent, I have always strived to ensure every child in my care receives the same high quality education I would want for my children. Understanding that parents have a choice, and we want our families to willingly choose us was exciting to me. Finding ways to let our families to know they are valuable and we appreciate them entrusting their children to us is a top priority for the staff at Davis Elementary School.
The five principles that Dr. Constantino teaches are:
· A Culture That Engages Every Family
· Communicate Effectively and Build Relationships
· Empower Every Family
· Engage Every Family in Decision Making
· Engage The Greater Community
The Davis Elementary School faculty and staff is committed to finding ways to engage every family, and we look forward to expanding this initiative next summer.
Mr. VanBuren Shares Initiatives that Help Students Grow Their Minds and Mindsets
McDonald Elementary School welcomes our returning Bulldogs. Our opening week of school was full of excitement and we are thrilled to kick off another year of growth with all of our McDonald Elementary School families and community members.
As the summer months rolled in, McDonald Elementary School was excited to offer a brand new program that turned into a success for our community and faculty alike. This summer, our library offered summer hours to new and returning Bulldogs. Those attending had the opportunity to hear from a guest reader, participate in a book discussion, and choose library books that could be shared at home with family and friends. We had a great turnout for these sessions, and we are excited about offering the same program in future summers. Dr. Baugh, Mr. VanBuren, and Mrs. Frantz were among the guest readers, and they truly enjoyed their time interacting with the families that participated in the program. This program would not have been a success without Mrs. Cheryl Wolf and Mrs. Joanne Brown, McDonald Elementary School's librarians. We thank them for opening the library doors and donating their time to our students. We truly appreciate everyone who came out to see us and share in our love of literacy.
This year at McDonald Elementary School, we are exploring the topic of growth mindsets and what this looks like for teachers, students, and families across all grade levels. Our goal is to come together to believe in the “Power of Yet." We want to create learning environments where students have the opportunity to use perseverance and grit to conquer challenges that present themselves throughout the year. A student may not meet immediate success with each new learning they encounter. Our goal is to change the mindset of our learning community from: “I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this….yet." Just think of the power in that one little word. By saying “I can’t do this…yet," we are empowering our students to push through the challenges they face in order to make continued positive progress. We are excited about supporting our students, faculty, and community in their journey with the “Power of Yet." We believe this creates limitless boundaries from which our learners can grow.
Dr. Donnelly Tells the Story Through Hashtags
Willow Dale has had a presence on Twitter for a couple of years. During that time, pictures and updates about all of the awesome things that are going on have been posted to the account, archiving an insider's perspective of our school. During each day, Dr. Donnelly and Mr. Julius visit classrooms, chat with students in the hallways, and even spend time in the lunchroom and on the playground. Throughout their travels, pictures are taken and short comments are added to capture the activities. Always, the hashtag, #pumapride, is included so each post can be tracked and reflected back on Willow Dale.
This year, in an effort to expand connections and to include student voice, a Student Twitter Center has been established. While students will not be actively tweeting on social media, they will be provided with "twitter sheets" so that they can write their tweets/messages. As they go to lunch, they can drop their tweets in the Twitter box (a locked box on the wall). Every few days, Dr. Donnelly will open the box and tweet the messages that the students are sharing. This is all about telling the Willow Dale story from the perspective of not only adults, but students, as well. Be sure to not only follow us on Twitter (@Willow_Dale_ES), but also read our tweets as they live post to the Willow Dale school site on the Centennial webpage.
Announcements
Free and Reduced Meal Applications
The Centennial School District Food and Nutrition Department is now accepting free and reduced meal applications for the 2016-17 school year. The application can be submitted at www.paschoolmeals.com
Free and reduced meal applications by sub submitted each year by October 10, 2016. If a student received a free or reduced meal last school year, a new application must be submitted this year.
For questions, contact the Food and Nutrition Department at 215-441-6000 Ext. 11013.
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.
Follow Us on Facebook
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. A. J. Juliani, Director of Technology and Innovation
Ms. Hannah Messner, Director of Human Resources
Ms. Catherine Perkins, Director of Teaching and Learning
Mr. Timothy Trzaska, Director of Operations
Board of School Directors
Mr. Charles Kleinschmidt, President
Mr. David Shafter, Vice President
Ms. Kati Driban, Assistant Secretary
Mr. Steven Adams
Mr. Michael Hartline
Mr. Mark B. Miller
Ms. Dana Morgan
Dr. Andrew Pollock
Ms. Jane Schrader Lynch
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