The Monday Memo Dec. 19, 2016

Volume 2, Issue 8

York City

School

District

Officers share holiday spirit For the past couple of days, members

of the York City Police Department’s

union (FOP 15) have been sorting, pack-

ing, bagging and delivering hundreds of

gift bags for the kids here at Hannah

Penn.

Several days ago, they asked me to

come to their office to see the mountain

of gifts they had for the kids. They spent

their days off and weekends sorting

through the masses of toys trying make

sure each gift was age appropriate. It

was a LOT of work!

On Tuesday, four members of the

York City PD came to Hannah Penn and

methodically handed out hundreds of gift

bags to all Pre-K, kindergarten and 1st

grade students.

Lt. Erik Kleynen, Sgt. Rick Barth, Of-

ficer Scott Ross and Detective Jeremy

Mayer were here most of the morning

making sure every child got a gift.

I worked with all of these guys for

decades, they are all amazing guys. What

blows me away the most though is that

Lt. Kleynen and Sgt. Barth together have

roughly 70 years service at the depart-

ment!

Rick Barth has been a York City police

officer for almost 40 years and Kleynen

has served more than 30 years! Ross and

Mayer each have served for about 22

years each. They are all veteran officers!

All four of these guys did a ton of work

and were here at Hannah Penn yester-

day because they wanted to be here.

York City and York City schools should

be very proud to have these men work-

ing their streets every day!

— By Officer Alan Clarkson,

York City School Police

Art student recognized by York College

Congratulations to York

High student Luis DeJesus,

who earned 3rd place in the

first YCASE (York Communi-

ty Art Students Exhibition)

juried art exhibit.

His piece is called “The

Hunter’s Eye.”

The event was sponsored by

York College and its art de-

partment as a partnership

between the college and local

high schools to showcase

their talented art students.

Four York High students

made it into the juried exhibi-

tion. DeJesus received a mon-

etary award and a certificate.

The event gives seniors the

opportunity to win a $20,000 scholarship to study art at

Jackson program hosts inspiring speaker

In November, Dr. Ted Sutton was the guest speaker at the Jackson K-8 after school program’s Family Night and Spaghetti Dinner. Dr. Sutton shared his inspirational story

with a packed cafeteria of students and parents.

Dr. Sutton is a former gang member from the streets of Baltimore. He was one of the gang members who was

characterized in the hit TV series “The Wire on HBO.

He shared with the crowd how a life-changing experience allowed him to leave the life he was living on the streets of

Baltimore and cut all ties with the gang life.

He explained how that experience changed him and made him realize that he had to make a change in himself and his

life before it was too late.

That change inspired him to acquire a bachelors and a masters degree, as well as a doctorate. In addition to his degrees, Dr. Sutton is CEO and founder of Sutton House

Vision, Inc.,

Dr. Sutton is also an author, TV consultant for Law & Order SVU, and a certified gang awareness instructor. He owns a recording station that has seen the likes of singers such as Mario, who himself spent time at the Sutton

House.

Dr. Sutton’s life has been changed forever in a powerful and positive way. His speech was powerful, passionate and full of meaning. I believe – No - I know he left a lasting

impression on our students and parents.

Afterwards, all in attendance enjoyed good conversation,

photo opportunities and a hot spaghetti meal.

— By Leslie Harrison-Liggins, after school coor-dinator at Jackson K-8

York College. They also have access to

a number of workshops at the college

or Marketplace Arts on Philadelphia Street.

— By William Valyo, York High art teacher

In November, Goode students, families, and staff celebrated the accomplishments of 32 honor roll students. We also honored 31 students in 3rd through 5th grade who were proficient or advanced in math and reading on the MAP test. They enjoyed some snacks and got to socialize with other families and teachers before receiving their awards. The students received honor roll pencils, pens, and a coupon

to be redeemed for a free Goode Honor Roll Student t-shirt.

The Distinguished Honor Roll students (Carlos Cedeno, Saimye Dennis, Alyssa Dix, Nilee Mariche, Kayley Michels, Airin Mong, Sarah Rueda, Destiny Washington, and Alayshia Wilhelm) also received a PRIDE pin for their academic achievement. We are looking forward

to having more students join them in the second marking period.

This fall, 4th graders in Ms. Kelly Petry’s 4th grade class at

Devers welcomed a 1st grade class into their room and

hallway. Students were able to kindle the start of an academic

friendship they will revisit in the future. Ms. Petry said she

loved seeing the 4th graders act as role models to the 1st

graders. “They were reading together this time. I can't wait to

see what project we can muster up for the next visit!” she said.

Congratulations and thank you to the Ferguson K-8 student council, who organized a canned food drive for the needy in York. The school collected 725 cans of food!

On Tuesday evening, Jackson’s grades K through 5 held their first

annual Christmas concert. The place was packed and the kids sang

their hearts out. Parents clapped, sang along and took copious

amounts of pictures. The songs ranged from the classics like

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells to Katy Perry's

"Fireworks." Grades 3, 4, and 5 played their recorders. Ms. Alisha

Miller, the music teacher at Jackson, did an outstanding job

organizing the event, preparing the students and designing the

programs.

Hannah Penn studies natural systems

It’s been a whirlwind of learning for 5th

and 6th grade here at Hannah Penn this

year. This month we have been focusing

on energy transfer within our environ-

ments and in nature.

Using links to create chains, 6th grade

was able to show the progression be-

tween producers, primary, secondary,

and tertiary consumers for a specific

animal of their choosing. To show their

understanding, students designed a

classroom food web in which they were able

to identify each element within a set ecosys-

tem.

We look forward to delving deeper into the

world around us discussing the different

biomes and the animals and plants that live in

them. Our goal is for the 6th graders to cre-

ate classroom biomes. This will give them the

opportunity to utilize their newfound

knowledge in a visually and kinesthetically

pleasing manner.

In 5th grade, they have been learning about

photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Learn-

ing that all living things are dependent on

plants has been a new and unexpected discov-

ery for the students.

Next, they will learn about the human body

and how each system interacts with each

other to make our bodies work for us. We

are having fun with all the exciting things

we’re learning and can’t wait for what’s next.

This semester comes to a close with the York

College Buddy program for McKinley and Jackson

students. The York College class led by Dr. Robyn

Maitoza worked side by side with students at York

College doing various activities like crafts, home-

work help, and touring the college. This was a pilot

run for the program and we are happy to announce

that the Buddy Program will continue its partner-

ship with Communities In Schools and schools in

the York City School District next semester. For

the college student’s hard work, they each received

a Starbucks coffee travel mug, donated by CIS part-

ner Starbucks. College students have reported to

CIS coordinators that they really enjoyed spending

time with their buddy and hope to stay in contact

throughout the years.

College, CIS partner for students

“Happy Holidays to all students, staff and parents in our School District of the City of York family. I wish you and your loved ones a safe and enjoyable holiday season. See you next

year!”

— Margie Orr, Board of School Directors President

Congratulations to Ms. Kelly Keeney. She is the district’s Teacher of the Month! In partnership with Caroline Morris and Kimmans gift shop downtown, the district is recognizing one deserving teacher every month. Ferguson Principal Melanie Still nominated Ms. Keeney "because of her ability to be a team player! She has taught for 29 years and not a lot surprises her anymore. I would like her to know that the time she puts in with her students and Girls on the Run

is appreciated!"

Art class empowers Ferguson Seventh and eighth grade stu-

dents at Ferguson K-8 have an

exciting opportunity this school

year to share their voices in art

class. The art teacher has chal-

lenged students with a choice-

based art curriculum.

Choice-based art education gives

students the opportunity to re-

spond to their own ideas and in-

terests through making art. Stu-

dents are assessed based on the quality of their ideas they take

from start to finish.

“I challenged students to start the

year by creating artwork that

shares a personal and powerful

message. I have several students

taking on national as well as local

social justice issues. I have students

creating artwork to enact change,”

art teacher Roxanne Hotaling said.

How are students engaging in

their work? Ms. Hotaling has chal-

lenged 7th and 8th grade students to

think about how artists engage

with the issues of their time.

Students were asked, “What are current social issues that impact

your life?”

As a group, students discussed social justice

issues in regards to their school community,

York City, across the country, and world-

wide.

Students engaged in powerful conversa-

tions about topics like inequality, educa-

tion, the environment, human rights and

violence. Students choose their materials

to create artwork in response to their

social topic.

Jackson engineers build bridges The 7th and 8th grade science classes at Jack-son spent time recently building popsicle bridges and then testing the strength of those bridges. The lesson focused on how bridges are engineered to withstand weight. The stu-dents were given 200 popsicle sticks and then instructed that the bridge needed to span at least 35 centimeters and be able to hold 25 pounds or more. The learning skills necessary for this project were: exploring ratio concepts, converting standard measurement into metric, and testing procedures.

The student bridges were able to hold

(support) 25 pounds.

Photo, from left to right: Karla Caban-

Santiago, Fraces Castillo, Celeste Morales,

Luis Villarini

Page 7

McKinley 2nd graders got the opportunity

to meet Lt. Godfrey and K-9 Captain Dargo

recently. Yes, he is actually a real Captain on

the police force!

Students in 2nd grade studied government

and safety and, as a follow up, wanted to

meet our very own K-9 unit here in the City

of York. Students learned many things about

Captain Dargo, like the fact that he only

knows German! When Lt. Godfrey gives

Dargo a command, he must do so in Ger-

man.

The students learned that Dargo is from

Germany and was purchased for the City of

York by our very own graduates from Wil-

liam Penn, the band LIVE! It costs about

$20,000 to buy and train a K-9 unit as train-

ing starts when the K-9 is 12-18 months old.

Dargo was trained at a K-9 Academy in

Ohio. He must be certified every year and

trains daily, often up to 16 hours a month!

Dargo even completed some of his training

at Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School.

Dargo is the only bomb-certified dog in

York County, so he can be very busy as he

may be on loan to other police forces

helping to find bombs or helping to find

people. The 2nd graders got the oppor-

tunity to see Dargo in action as Lt. God-

frey hid a training element in the school

for Dargo to find. The students watched

eagerly as Dargo sniffed items until he

quickly found the item. Then he began

barking loudly! Thank you Lt. Godfrey and

Captain Dargo!!

— By Connie Campbell, McKinley teacher

Many of us forget that in the past people couldn’t just drive down to the nearest store and buy a stick of butter. People living on farms had to churn their own butter using cream

from cows.

Second grade students at Goode traveled back in time recently to make butter. All the students took turns participat-ing in this magic science experi-ment. This experiment is defi-nitely a workout and required a

good amount of shaking.

The students sat in groups and took turns shaking a glass jar of heavy whipping cream. By shaking the heavy cream in the jar, you are forcing the fat glob-

ules to slam into one another. If they hit each other with enough force, they will simply stick togeth-er, the fat collection becoming bigger and bigger with each extra globule. The liquid left behind is

called buttermilk.

The teachers drained the liquid and the students continued shak-ing. After enough shaking, the fat globules form a chunk of butter. The students really enjoyed the activity, the conversations about the experiment, and watching how heavy cream can transform into butter. They also enjoyed eating

their creation.

— Second Grade Teachers at

Goode

Goode students travel back in time