What’s coming up

April?

2nd

6th

School resumes from Spring Break Pennell’s first SPRING FEST 12 – 4 pm

8th

through

19th

9th

3rd, 4th, 5th Grade PSSA Math and Reading Assessment

PTL Meeting 6:30 pm / Library

23rd Reading Olympics

Competition Marple-Newtown H.S. 7:00 pm

24th and 25th

4th Grade PSSA Science Assessment

26th May 2nd

1:15 Early Dismissal / Teacher In-service

Spring Art Fest and Chorus Concert 7 pm / gymnasium

PENNELL IN PRINT

APRIL 2013

PENNELL ELEMENTARY

3300 RICHARD ROAD * ASTON, PA 19014 * 610.497.6300 x 7500

PENNELL ELEMENTARY NEWSLETTER

Happy April Parents!

The 2013 Jump-a-thon was a HUGE Success! Pennell physical education teacher, Mr.

Clark organized another tremendous Jump-a-thon that resulted in an equally

tremendous donation to the American Heart Association! Thanks to the Pennell

community, Pennell Elementary raised $7,000! Combined with the other district

elementary schools, Penn-Delco donated over $20,000 to the American Heart

Association! Way to go!

The results of the Jump-a-thon further demonstrate the incredible generosity of the

Pennell community, and our drive to support health and wellness within Pennell’s

academic program. Our “Fit 2 Learn” theme has produced some wonderful results so

far. In fact, Mr. Clark was recently notified that the American Heart Association is

recognizing Pennell Elementary as a “Fit Friendly” work place!

Thank you for your continued efforts to support Pennell Elementary!

Best regards,

Mr. Shawn Dutkiewicz, Pennell Principal

Pictured left to right: 1st Grader, Megan Sarosy, Aston/Coebourn Phys. Ed. Teacher, Mrs.

Johnston, American Heart Association Representative, Pennell/Parkside Phys. Ed. Teacher,

Mr. Clark, 1st Grader, Sammy Ziviello.

The Pennell JUMP-A-THON was a Success!

Led by our Physical Education

teacher, Mr. Clark, Pennell

students participated in another

successful Jump-a-thon event!

Pictured below, students

participate in Mr. Clark’s Jump-a-

thon stations.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MARCH’S CORE ESSENTIAL OF THE MONTH RECIPIENTS!

The following students were recognized for showing the core value of HONESTY!

KINDERGARTEN - 1ST GRADE RECIPIENTS

Justin Celentino 101

Jordan Hand 101

Jack Leiby 103

Bruce O’Donnell 103

Oseiga Iyobhebhe 107

Arianna English 107

Katie Kuehl 107

Mikya Jackson 101

Delaney Kilgore 101

Luke Novak 108

Sarah Kunze 108

Luke Novak 108

Patrick Willey 109

Juliana Valente 109

2ND GRADE RECIPIENTS

Amanda Southern 210

Andrea DeSantis 210

Jason Papotto 211

Emma Parkhill 211

Sean Blake 212

Samantha Westenberger 212

Gianna Zivello 211

Sam Park 210

3RD GRADE RECIPIENTS

Bridget Nearey 206

Hannah McGroary 206

Joe Holloman 208

Hailey Twardowski 208

Joyce Cardwell 209

Jakob Steffy 209

Erin Kelly 206

Marqus Dorazio 206

4TH GRADE RECIPIENTS

Patrick Gill 203

Madison Schaefer 203

Mitchell Resnick 204

Grace Pena 204

Alyssa Shockley 205

Ryan Nearey 205

Tyler Davidson 203

Brandon Cairy 203

5TH GRADE RECIPIENTS

Gabbie Lobb 200

Randy Marker 200

Destin Pagan 201

Jessica Hastings 201

Kassidy Lambert 202

Josh Gindle 202

Zach Seddon 200

Jalyn Slaughter 201

WHAT’S ON THE FRIDGE THIS MONTH?

Each month, Pennell focuses on a core value/essential that we hope students will practice and apply in their daily lives. We recognize students who exemplify our core essentials by giving them “team tickets”. Team tickets are awarded to students and then displayed in our lobby. At the end of the month, students who received a team ticket are chosen randomly to have lunch with the Principal, Mr. Dutkiewicz.

APRIL’S MONTHLY VALUE: FRIENDSHIP Spending time with someone you trust and enjoy.

JUST FOR FUN: What was your favorite toy when you were

younger? Why?

DISCUSSION STARTER: In the movie Toy Story, all the toys

in Andy’s room look up to the boy’s favorite cowboy,

Woody. Then, on Andy’s birthday Andy gets a new toy—a

spaceman called Buzz Lightyear. When Woody sees what

Buzz can do, he gets jealous. He’s afraid that Andy has

forgotten him. But after a series of events that leads both

toys to work together through dangers and mishaps, Woody

comes to realize there is enough room for both of them in

Andy’s life.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you have a “best friend?” Has there ever been a time when you thought they suddenly liked someone else better than you?

How did you feel or what did you do when that happened? What can you do to prevent jealousy from ruining a good friendship? What are some things you can do with others to help make your friendship grow stronger?

Rest –

K-2: Enemy Pie by: Derek Munson; It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the

house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to

get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the

enemy!

3-5: The Faithful Friend by: Robert D. San Souci; On the lush tropical island of Martinique lives Clement

and Hippolyte, two inseparable friends. When Clement falls in love with the beautiful Pauline, Hippolyte

agrees to join his best friend on his journey to propose marriage. But when Pauline accepts Clement’s

proposal, it enrages her uncle Monsieur Zabocat—reputed to be a quimboiseur, a wizard. To prevent the

wedding, the old wizard lures Hippolyte into a deadly trap, forcing him to choose between his friend’s

safety and his own.

Experience – The friends your child chooses are critical influences in their lives. Ask your child what qualities he

or she looks for in a friend and why it is important to have friends you can trust. After talking about true friends,

plan a weekend this month to host a fun slumber party with the friends your child most trusts and enjoys. Plan

the party together with your child, then sit back and enjoy watching him or her grow healthy relationships!

CORE ESSENTIALS: VALUE OF THE MONTH

With Scholastic Reading Counts your child participates in an independent reading

program that tracks their success on the books they read, in and out of school. This

technology-based program creates a personalized and engaging learning environment

that ensures independent reading accountability.

This year, our school-wide Reading Counts goal is 113,000,000!

As of March 22nd 2013: Congrats to the students who have read at least 950,000 words!

Students Total Words Read

Jalyn Slaughter 3,535,194

Darren Panusky 3,258,840

Sara Chodak 2,655,461

Chelsea Hendrix 2.509,998

Colin Bradley 2,357,360

Nicole Buscaglia 2,000,060

Kelsey Celestino 1,911,793

Christian Hansen 1,747,073

Devin Widmaier 1,743,114

Shannon Purfield 1,477,831

Randy Marker 1,249,413

Jenna Ford 1,303,671

Ryley Marker 1,240,903

Sophia Pantuliano 1,237,674

Shalane Buck 1,149,319

Luke Rice 1,147,218

Abigail Otsyina 1,106,672

Zachary Seddon 1,087,320

Jacqueline Oldham 1,086,109

Justin Hassel 1,082,259

Nicholas Maiale 1,068,657

Ava Ruggieri 1,066,292

Brett Michaels 1,001,571

Emmanuel Otsyina 959,210

Erin Kelly 903,869

READING COUNTS

Technology…Transforming

Teaching and Learning

By Barbara Hagerty, Instructional Technology Coordinator

Online learning has become an important aspect to education. Higher education has been using online tools

for a number of years to share content and have students collaborate on projects. Having the ability to do so

in the K-12 environment will better prepare our students for college. As higher education has continued to

utilize online learning, a number of businesses have also incorporated it to train their employees. In

addition to training, businesses can work globally through the use of online collaboration.

In Penn-Delco School District, we use My Big Campus. My Big

Campus is a safe, social networking site that allows students and

teachers to share information and work together. My Big Campus

allows for online file storage, submission of schoolwork to the

teacher, collaboration among peers, and is monitored for use and

language. If you have access to the Internet, you have access to My

Big Campus. Links to access the website are listed below in the

Home/School Connection. In addition to the website, there are

mobile apps available for both Android and iOS devices that can be

downloaded for free.

A new feature to My Big Campus is the Parent Portal. The Parent Portal allows you to view the groups that

your student(s) are a part of, view their schoolwork, and their online activity. To sign up for a free Parent

Portal account, visit our parent resource page at http://www.pdsd.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=4445.

We welcome you to be part of the My Big Campus online community as we continue to prepare our students

for college and career readiness.

Home/School Connection:

My Big Campus App available through Android and iTunes Market for free

My Big Campus website for student access: http://www.mybigcampus.com/

My Big Campus website for parent access: http://parents.mybigcampus.com/

Penn-Delco School District Digital Citizenship page:

http://www.pdsd.org//site/Default.aspx?PageID=4444

SPOTLIGHT ON CURRICULUM