SF Honors Outstanding Performers at Meeting

The Spring-Ford Area School District school board met for a regular meeting on Monday night. As a part of School Board Recognition Month, the board decided that instead of recognizing its own members, it would recognize the many students who are doing great things for the school.

Before the honors were issued, Superintendent David Goodin held a moment of silence for a ninth grade student, Kyle Kearney, who passed away over the weekend.

The first honors went to girls golf's , a senior, who was commended for her PAC-10 Individual Championship this year, after shooting an even-par 70 in 18 holes. Gilmartin qualified for the PIAA District One Golf Tournament and missed the cut for the regional competition by one stroke. She was there with her coach, Patty Lebow, for the honors.

Next, the board honored sophomore boys golfer , who won the boys PAC-10 Individual Championship this year. He shot two-over-par (72) in 18 holes at the competition. He went on to qualify for the PIAA District One Golf Tournament. He was there with his head coach, Jeff Mast, for the recognition.

The football team was also in attendance to receive recognition for winning its first PAC-10 Championship outright since 1995. It also won co-championship honors in 1998. The team made its first district appearance in history and senior was the first player in school history to be named ot the Big 33 Team.

There to receive recognition were head coach Chad Brubaker and assistant coaches Steve Schein, Jim Mich, Chad Strickler, Steve Anspach, Robert Swier, Dale Bergman, D.J. Fox, Jared Hostetler and Jamie Cutaneo, along with seniors from the football team, and the team's managers, who Brubaker said do so many things for the team throughout the year. Brubaker announced the managers as: Sydney McGill, Brandi Kenney, Natalia Vardaxis, Nicole Rudderow, Briana Shuck (not present), John Renk (not present), Angela Kenney (not present).

Finally, the Spring-Ford Golden Ram Marching band was honored for winning the in Hershey on Nov. 6. The band also received awards in high color guard, high brass, high music and high visual in the competition. This is the fifth time the band won those honors in the past six years. To receive honors were Band Director John Eckstine and a few good band members.

On hand at the meeting was World Languages Director Bruce Cope, who wanted to update the board and the public on the new MyChinese 360 course, which is done almost 100-percent virtually, with a live teacher on Skype.

"It has been what I think a good success this year," Cope said. "There have been a lot of positive comments about it. It is very difficult to find a Chinese-certified teacher. This course has given students a chance to take an online course, which they’ll need in future."

Cope brought along four star students from the class in Eric Irby, Colin Smith, Jordan Thurston and Biance Walker. The students explained the class through their own eyes.

"I really like this class," Walker said. "Because it's such a small class, there's more time for the teacher to answer individual questions. The teachers are all very friendly and are patient if we don’t get things right. It's an enjoyable class to be in."

Another student explained that three days a week, they have special assignments that their remote teacher gives to them - some are from the workbook, some are listening exercises, some are speaking exercises. Then, on the other two days, the students log on to Skype and have a video-lesson with their teacher. The teacher teaches aloud and gets on a webcam to teach how to draw and say the different characters of the written language.

"I like the Chinese class because it’s not the teacher telling us what we’re supposed to do," said Smith. "We rely on other students to learn it. I can barely pronounce English words, so it's hard sometimes. It's really fun and I'm surprised that I came to like it as much as I did. I never liked learning another language. You're learning a completely new character system and culture. It can be really difficult until you see the program and what it’s really worth."

The class hones a total of 22 students, which is enough to constitute two sections with two different teachers. Students who are interested in the program start in 10th grade and end in 12th. The language is Mandarin Chinese, which is the standard version.

"I do need to add that the one possible flaw for this could be the fact that you are absolutely, totally at the mercy of technology," said Cope. "What has saved us this year many times is [Director of Technology] Steve Reynolds and his team."

The board also highlighted its First Annual Board Back to School program in which board members elected to join teachers and students in the classroom and go through a whole day of learning what Spring-Ford students learn. Board members showed appreciation to the teachers who welcomed them into their classrooms. Individual recaps include:

• Board Member Julie Mullin – "I started my morning at in a fourth grade classroom. I showed up and my name was written in cursive on the top of my desk like every other student in room. I was handed a sheet to do math facts and I did miss one. One student, who was grading my paper, didn’t hesitate to run back to group and tell them I missed one... The teachers couldn’t have been more welcoming. I went to gym, music, spelling and math. Then, I went to , which is a school that's near and dear to my heart because my oldest two went there, and spent the day in third grade. It was an eye opener to realize what these people do in a day. I watched a teacher explain to a student how to tell time on a regular clock. You forget how hard that is to teach a child until you have to do it."
• Board Vice President Joe Ciresi – "Going back to school was an interesting experience. I started off with Spanish, and even being a former resident of Miami for 12 years, I didn’t know a thing to say... The exciting part, I'll never forget my Spanish teacher at that age, she was about 104. So, being in a classroom with teacher that is so alive is wonderful. I got up and danced with class. It was a great experience. I then went to the and learned about ancient Egypt. I think the boy next to me felt bad for me, so he kept telling me the answers. Those kids were so engaged with that smart board, I was amazed. Every kid in the class was up pointing and moving. And the teachers were even more engaged... I finished my day in Chinese [at the ] and it was all Chinese to me. The interesting thing was, at the high school level, how engaged the students were because of the computer and how they interacted with it. Every kid I talked to was thrilled to take Chinese. I recommend every board member participate in this next year.
• Board President Tom DiBello – "I started at in a second grade class. The highlight was going in and figuring out how to sit in the little chairs. I was amazed because the first thing they were working on was possessive S’s and plural S’s. They were all engaged and having a good time. It was fascinating... I later went to geometry in the and had the pleasure of spending the next hour with Mrs. Michewicz. She looked at me and said she glad I was there and then said, 'I want you to know, when people come to my classroom, they work.' And we jumped right in... I was very impressed because from the moment they came in, kids were getting situated, she started the lesson and every kid in room was engaged. When she asked a question, almost every hand in the class would go up. It was a 45 minute class and it felt like 15 minutes... The schools were impressive throughout the whole day, every teacher we visited, the kids came together and the excitement of learning going on. I was thrilled to be a part of it. I really want to hopefully continue participating over the upcoming years."
• Board Member Ed Dressler – "I started off at Oaks Elementary, which is in my neighborhood. I started in Mrs. Ricci's third grade class and was dazzled by the amount of energy she put into a 45 minute class. I can’t imagine how she does it all day long. Teaching is the highest form of entertaining. You have to put on a performance all day, every day. It's a one man or one woman show and it's a new show every day. It's a tremendous profession, a difficult profession. Having been one for 30 years, I can appreciate the fine job all the teachers did... I'd specifically like to thank Mr. Desko for bringing me in to his physics class, because that’s what I taught. He taught the class seamlessly without missing a beat and taught the difficult subject of conservation of momentum and energy. In conclusion, I would like to say I’m so proud to be a member of the board who has such wonderful teachers to work with. We are certainly a very fortunate board to have such a great group of teachers. Thank you for all the great work you do."