11-12 Winter Newsletter - Daniel Boone Area School District

DBHS Senior Takes Part In OYW CompetitionBy Molly SeasholtzCORY SAMSEL was one of the 20 seniorgirls in Berks County selected toparticipate in the Outstanding YoungWoman competition on October 1 atKutztown High School. The competitionis judged based on five areas:scholarship and knowledge, interview,aerobics and fitness, talent, and presenceand presentation. Each categoryis worth 20 percent of the total score.At the end of the night, one senior girlis awarded the title of Berks County’sOutstanding Young Woman.The 2011 winner was Wilson High’sMaria Jiang. But just being in the competitionis a source of pride for Samsel.“Being selected for this competitionmakes me feel so great. It is hard to believethat out of all the wonderful girlsin my school, I was selected. Every girldeserves this just as much as I did!”said Samsel, a senior at Daniel BooneHigh School.On the morning of the competition,a short interview is held for each girl;Student of the MonthDaniel Boone High School student ED KIM wasnamed the Reading Eagle Science Student of theMonth for January. In the above photo, Kim standswith his nominating teachers, MRS. LAURA BITLERand MRS. TERI MILLER.her scholarship is also evaluated.During the show thatnight, two fitness routines areperformed along with two presenceand presentation routines,including a performing arts talentand an onstage impromptuquestion.“Preparing for the competitionwas a lot of work, but myexperience in the OYW competitionhas been priceless,” saidSamsel. Four-hour rehearsalswere held on Sundays that beganin August and lasted up until thecompetition. These hours were spentnot only practicing for the competitionbut getting to know the other girls.“Every girl is so relatable andfriendly,” Samsel said. “We have allbecome such great friends, some of thebest I have ever met.”Although much time and effort wasput into the competition, every minutewas well worth it, Samsel said.“None of us even remembered it was4a competition until the winners wereannounced.”She recommends that all senior girlsaudition to be in the OutstandingYoung Woman competition. “It istruly a life changing experience,” shesaid. “The show taught me that Ihave the guts to do a lot more than Ithought I could.”Molly Seasholtz is a juniorat Daniel Boone High SchoolKU Students ProvideOne-On-One HelpBirdsboro Elementary Center’s first-grade teachers andKutztown University are teaming up this year in their goalof increasing student learning. Kutztown students TIFFANYHALL, GRACE MAZZANTI, and PETER TARNOFF completedtheir Professional Semester from October to earlyDecember in the classrooms of MRS. CINDY REED, MRS.MICHELLE JARRETT, and MRS. ANN SHINGLE.During their time in the classroom the KutztownUniversity students provided one-to-one reinforcement ofconcepts; led small-group instruction during reading, mathematics,and center times; and assisted with group gamesand sportsmanship during recess time.Ms. Hall enjoyed the Kid Writing and watching thestudents sound out the words as they wrote stories. Ms.Mazzanti said she likes the variety of lessons in first gradeand facilitating the Read Alouds. Mr. Tarnoff was pleasedwith the enthusiasm of the BEC students and found theguided reading very beneficial.The three college seniors will return at the end of Januaryto complete their student teaching in these same classrooms.

From Around The Halls At BECLiving History LessonsThe students of teachers MRS. TERRIANNE FRITZ, MRS. BONNIEHERB, and MRS. JENNIFER KENNEDY had their third-grade socialstudies lessons at Birdsboro Elementary Center come to life through thepresentation of MRS. CINDY MCGEE and her son CHARLES on Dec.7. Mrs. McGee shared the life and times of the early colonists, whichcoincided with studies of the birth of the United States, the Declarationof Independence, George Washington and Ben Franklin.Mrs. McGee explained to students the difficult times and the hardwork of the early colonists. Female students were amazed to learn thatcolonial women cooked, cleaned, sewed, took care of the children, andtended the fields and animals.In the photo, Mrs. McGee shows how correspondence could be carriedin one’s tri-fold hat. Charles, a student in Mrs. Herb’s class, bringsthe history to life through his authentic clothing.Holiday Cards For VetsThird-grade students at Birdsboro Elementary Center made holidaygreeting cards for veterans in December. Students decided to honorlocal veterans after a lesson given by BEC third-grade teachers MRS.TERRIANNE FRITZ, MRS. BONNIE HERB, and MRS. JENNIFERKENNEDY.Fritz, Herb, and Kennedy explained to their students that veteranshave protected this country through service in the military and someare living in the Birdsboro community.Using their language skills the students wrote and decorated thecards. MRS. KIM BAER, custodian at BEC—and an officer in theVFW—delivered the cards.The following students proudly display their cards. Front row:JACKSON PETERSON, GENNIE SOTO. Standing from left to right:KELLYN CASNER, REANNA SCHOBER, BRIANNA KULP, andLIAM BOYER.Autumn RemembranceSecond-grade classes at Birdsboro Elementary Center participatedin hands-on learning in October and November. Secondgradeteachers MRS. ERICA ROWE, MRS. BETH BAISCH, andMRS. PAM ULRICH, and several parent volunteers incorporatedthe ‘pumpkin theme’ into a mathematics lesson Oct. 28. The studentsweighed and measured pumpkins, calculated the circumference,counted the seams, scooped out the seeds and groupedthem in piles of ten to count them.On November 22 the classes participated in a Poetry and Piespresentation. With the leadership of their teachers, the studentsrecited several poems and chants and sang seasonal songs. Theirsiblings, parents, and grandparents, were invited to the performancein the school cafeteria.6

Winter 2012Crossing the Finish LineMiddle School Teacher Completes First MarathonBy Aaron TemplinMrs. Karen Agnew neverthought she would successfully completea marathon, but on Sunday,November 20, she completed her veryfirst 26.2-mile event.Agnew, a reading teacher atDaniel Boone Middle School, ran thePhiladelphia Marathon which wassponsored primarily by the RothmanInstitute for Health. Agnew said shealways had wanted to run a marathon,but what finally persuaded her to runwas her friends.“My friends ran the marathon lastyear, and I was really impressed howall of them did it,” she said. “I alwayswanted to run one, but my friends reallypersuaded me to.”Motivation is different from training,however. Agnew said she trainedby following Hal Higdon’s MarathonGuide. She followed the second program—whichis based on pace—andshe trained for weeks, completingthree short runs during the week anda long one on the weekend.Agnew was one of more than 10,000runners who finished the event, whichwas founded in 1954 and is open toanyone over the age of 16. There areno qualifying times.Agnew set her own goal to completethe marathon in five hours. Shesuccessfully surpassed this goal byfinishing the run in four hours, thirtythreeminutes and fifty-three seconds(4:33.53). She was very happy withher time and said she would run anothermarathon but in a beautiful citylike Baltimore or San Diego.She was also thrilled that her familycame to support her.“My son Evan actually had to assistme in the last half-mile giving memotivation,” Agnew said with a laugh.“I usually finish a mile run in ten minutes.I ran and jogged most of the way,and did my best to save resting for therest stops.”Although it was a grueling event,Agnew is thrilled she completed themarathon.“I was satisfied with how the daywent and even though my muscleswere sore, it felt great to know that Icompleted such a task,” Agnew said.Aaron Templin is an eighth-grade student atDaniel Boone Middle SchoolInquiry Leads ToMaterials DonationMR. ANDREW RISSER, a fourthgradeteacher at Birdsboro ElementaryCenter, last fall explored the option ofsearching for funding for materials in hisclassroom. Risser discovered the websitedonorschoose.org through the suggestionof MS. RACHEL SCHULTZ, BEClibrarian. On the website educators canask for educational items and then waitto see if someone will fund those items.Risser asked for agenda planners forhis class and was able to receive thefunding necessary to purchase them.His students find the planners helpfulfor remembering their assignments andimproving their organization.7

Middle School Readies For Willy Wonka MusicalBy Josh CohracThis year’s musical at Daniel BooneMiddle School is “Willy Wonka”–amix of the original movie and thenewer Johnny Depp movie, said theshow’s director.“I call this a feel-good show. Plus,who doesn’t like chocolate?” saidMRS. DEBBIE SANDERS, director.Sanders, who is also the head secretaryat DBMS, said practices are goingvery well.“Students are doing an excellent jobremembering the script,” she said.Sanders said the show has a recordnumber of songs in it, so the casthas to work really hard. The cast isvery thoughtful, she said, because castmembers are trying to help each otherlearn their lines, learn the music, andhelp dance.MR. RYAN HOFFMANN, a seventhgradelanguage arts teacher, who hasbeen helping produce the play, hasbeen “a riot–he is a wonderful theatricalperson who brings a whole newperspective,” Sanders said. “We areenjoying working with each other verymuch.”The show timesfor the musical areMarch 15th, 16th,and the 17th at 7p.m. and on the18th at 2 p.m. atDBMS. The ticketscost $5, and areon sale now in themiddle school office.Sanders’ favoritecharacter from“Willy Wonka” isCharlie, because helearns to take whatever life throwsat him and turns it into a positive,Sanders said. His big song is “ThinkPositive.” It’s the message Sanderswants the audience to hear.As there is every year, there aretwo casts for the middle schoolmusical. This year Charlie is beingplayed by seventh-grader JUSTINPERKSICKETTI and eighth-graderLINDSEY MACGREGOR.Willy Wonka is being played byeighth-graders QUINN HAIR and EMIAUNGST.“I have just one word for those fourpeople – fabulous,” Sanders said.Every student who auditioned forthe musical is either part of the chorusor in a main role, Sanders said. Morethan 100 students will either performonstage or help the production bybeing a member of the stage crew.Teachers and parents will also play ahuge role in bringing “Willy Wonka”to the DBMS stage.Josh Cohrac is an eighth-grade studentat Daniel Boone Middle School8