Neshaminy Update
Neshaminy School District / September, 2023
February 27 was an unexpected birthday - birth day actually - for Walter Miller Reading Specialist Genevieve Peto. She was pregnant with her third child and began feeling poorly while teaching in her classroom during the morning hours. Around lunch time her colleagues noticed she didn't look well, and summoned school nurse Stephanie Frisco, who quickly recognized that this case was something urgent. She brought Genevieve to her office in a wheelchair and summoned emergency responders, but before they could arrive, Genevieve's baby was born right there in the nurse's office. Both mother and child were fine, and baby Cora weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces.
The 2025 Neshaminy STEAM Expo will be held on Thursday, April 10 from 6:30-8:30 pm at Neshaminy High School. Since it was founded in 2015, this celebration of all things Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math has grown to become one of the most beloved and well-attended educational events in the district and a great night for students and their families. Enjoy dozens of activities, crafts, hands-on experiments from Neshaminy High School students, teachers, community organizations and much more!
- Monday, March 31: Schools closed / Eid-al Fitr
- Tuesday, April 1: Neshaminy HS scholarship application deadlines
- Thursday, April 10: STEAM Expo, Neshaminy HS, 6:30-8:30 pm
- Monday, April 14: District Jazz Festival, Neshaminy HS, 7 pm
- Thursday-Friday, April 17-18: District Closed, Easter holiday
- Monday, April 21: Schools Closed, Act 80 day
- Wednesday, April 23: Registration deadline for SUNset Challenge (see article below)
- Monday, April 28: District Secondary Orchestra Festival, Neshaminy HS, 7 pm
- Friday, May 2: Neshaminy HS Jazz Festival, 7 pm
- May 5-16: Neshaminy HS AP Exams
For more events and updates please visit the district and school websites.
The Neshaminy School District Pre-K Counts program and the Family Services Association of Bucks County have partnered for a series of supportive gatherings for parents and guardians of preschoolers. The next session will be held on Wednesday, April 9 at the Lower Southampton Public Library at 10:30 am. This month's topics are the library's resources. The meeting will include tour of the library facilities.
Families with infants, preschool and school-age children are invited to attend. Refreshments will be provided. Children are welcome to attend with their caregivers. These meet-ups are free, but pre-registration is required. Sign up at the link below.
BOARD APPOINTS NEW HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
The School Board unanimously approved the appointment of Felicity S. Hanks as the Human Resources Director of Neshaminy School District effective July 1, 2025. She will be replacing Kelly Kozik, who has been in the position since June 2019. Ms. Hanks is currently the Director of Human Resources at Lower Merion School District and held the same position at Bensalem Township School District from 2017-2021. She was a practicing attorney in Yardley, Princeton and Newtown from 2010 to 2017 specializing in labor and employment law along with other commercial matters. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
BOARD APPROVES SCHOOL ADMINISTRATON CHANGES
At the March 25 School Board Public Meeting, four administrative changes were approved. These follow the retirement of Carl Sandburg Middle School Principal Dawn Kelly in December and the upcoming retirement of Core Creek Elementary School Principal Brian Kern at the end of this school year:
- Joseph Ferderbar ES Principal Sinead Doherty (left) will be stepping in to replace Brian Kern who is retiring as Principal at Core Creek ES at the end of June.
- Kristen McCreary, currently serving as an Assistant Principal at Maple Point, will transition into the role of Principal at Joseph Ferderbar Elementary July 1. Kristen also served as the Coordinator of Student Affairs at Tawanka Elementary.
- Caryn Cozza, the current Coordinator of Student Affairs at Herbert Hoover, will be joining the administrative team at Maple Point as an Assistant Principal.
- James Kelly, who has previously served in two Acting Assistant Principal roles and as a Coordinator of Student Affairs, will be the new Assistant Principal at Carl Sandburg MS starting July 1. He will be taking over for Derek Albarran, who was recently appointed Principal at Sandburg.
If you are the parent or guardian of a future kindergarten or first-grade student (or know somebody else who has one), we encourage you (or them) to register for the new school year as soon as possible. The process begins with a visit to the Neshaminy Central Registration website (link below) where you can fill out registration forms, upload documents and get more information. Age requirements are as follows:
- To be eligible for kindergarten, children must be five (5) years of age on or before September 1, 2025.
- To be eligible for first grade, children must be six (6) years of age on or before September 1, 2025.
Questions can be directed to the Central Registration office at 215-809-6547.
Neshaminy's Pre-K Counts preschool program is gearing up for the next school year! Registration is now open for 2025-2026. Pre-K Counts is a state grant-funded program that offers a high-quality FREE preschool for children whose families meet financial qualification guidelines. For the 2025-2026 school year, a family of four can earn up to 96,450 (household income) to qualify! Neshaminy is pleased to host several classes of Pre-K Counts preschool within our district borders, including several in our Neshaminy schools.
Pre-K Counts is available to children who turn 3 or 4 years of age by September 1, 2025. To find out more about Pre-K Counts at Neshaminy and to complete a registration application, pleae visit the link below.
2025-2026 registration for the Preschool Lab at Neshaminy HS is now open. This unique part-time program, part of the Family and Consumer Science program at the high school, is available for 3- and 4-year-olds with birthdays on or before 3/31/2022. Students in the Child Development and Parenting classes at the high school under the guidance of FCS faculty actively work with the young children in a fully equipped preschool classroom. The lab offers two sessions per day (8:25 am - 10:40 am and 11:45 am - 1:50 pm) four days a week (Monday - Thursday) from mid-October through May when the high school is in session. The fee for the entire year is $425. For more information and to register, please visit Family & Consumer Science / Preschool Laboratory Information (neshaminy.org), fill out the registration form or call 215-809-6680.
The Fifth Annual SUNset Challenge 2K/5K running race will be held on Friday, May 16 at Maple Point Middle School. Registration is open - sign up by April 23 to guarantee a race t-shirt. Join hundreds of other Neshaminy families and friends from all around the district for this great evening race. Plus, lots of extras including race t-shirts, music, food, giveaways and more. All runners will be chipped and the race digitally timed. Don't miss out on this great Neshaminy race, register today at www.sunsetchallenge.org
Summer will be here before we know it and Neshaminy Summer Stock is gearing up with three great shows! Summer Stock has been a tradition of the Neshaminy School District, and the Neshaminy Summer Programs for over fifty years. The program was built to give students the opportunity to "put on a show," and has evolved into a program where students learn all aspects of theater. The three shows that will be performed are:
- Main Stage: The Sponge Bob Musical (grades 8-12)
- Theater Workshop: The Lightning Thief (grades 5-7)
- Summer Stock Showcase: Whodunit? (grades 2-4)
Space for this popular program fills up fast. Register at www.neshaminysummerstock.com.
The World-Famous Harlem Wizards returned to Neshaminy on Saturday, March 15 in a fundraising game to benefit the Neshaminy Education Foundation. Over 1000 fans filled the stands in Gym 3 at the high school to witness a team made up of Neshaminy teachers and support staff once again try to beat the Wizards at a very entertaining and high-energy game they have been playing across the country and world since 1962. This year the Neshaminy "Dream Team" consisted of 19 players and was coached by Core Creek Elementary School Physical Education Teacher Brooke Lesser.
The Wizards have been playing each year at Neshaminy since 2017 (except for pandemic years). The game is a fundraiser for the Neshaminy Education Foundation, earning over $20,000 that will be used for the NEF classroom grant program and to fund several scholarships for graduating Neshaminy HS seniors. This year the game was sponsored by the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers, who also funded the Dream Team's custom game shirts.
Neshaminy will be participating in a large multi-district job fair next month on Tuesday, April 8 in Lansdale. The event will include 50 school districts from the region and cover certified, support and administrative positions along with early childhood education, ESL and special education. Registration is required and can be completed by scanning the QR code on the poster or visiting the link below.
Pennsylvania Required Immunizations for Attendance All Grades (K -12)
To protect children from serious diseases, immunizations are required for attendance at any school in Pennsylvania, per 28 Pa. Code, Chapter 23, Subchapter C. Any student not complying with the regulations may be excluded from school (not attend) until such provisions are met per Neshaminy School Board Policy #203. More information is available HERE.
Homelessness Resources
Life is uncertain, but your child’s education doesn’t have to be. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act can help provide school stability for your child if you do not have a permanent home. More information is available HERE. Additional information and resources can be found on the district website here.
Public Notices
Neshaminy School District is required to provide annual public notice for the following: Special Education Services, Gifted Students, Services for Protected Handicapped Students, Destruction of Records, Medical Assistance, and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). These notices are available on the Neshaminy district website HERE.
Neshaminy School Board members Erin Brosius and Carlos Rodriguez along with district Cabinet members, administrators, and over 20 Carl Sandburg students were Guest Readers at Albert Schweitzer Elementary School to celebrate their love for reading during Read Across America Literacy Week in early March. Students dressed as their favorite Dr. Seuss characters, and guest readers brought their favorite books or chose from a selection of Dr. Seuss classics and read to every single homeroom in the school during these special visits. Carl Sandburg volunteers were performers from their ‘Beauty and the Beast’ play and came in costume to read. Students loved hearing about favorite books and authors of the Guest Readers, and it was wonderful to have alumni and representatives from across the district share in this special reading celebration!
On March 27 the Bucks County Intermediate Unit held their annual Art Gallery Reception. This event celebrates the incredible artistic talents of students across our region, showcasing one remarkable piece of art from each of the 13 school districts, the Bucks IU, and several nonpublic schools. The Gallery is located in the BCIU office in Doylestown and the artworks will be on display until December. This year, Neshaminy art teachers chose a work by artist Isaiah Leonard, a 5th-grade student at Carl Sandburg Middle School. Isaiah’s captivating artwork, titled 1 of 1, will be on display for thousands to enjoy. Congratulations, Isaiah, and Sandburg art teacher Samantha Rola for making Neshaminy proud!
On March 20, Maple Point held their annual Coaches vs. Cancer charity basketball game, a sold-out double-header featuring the 7th and 8th grade teams from Sandburg and Maple Point. Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide fundraising effort that has raised over $100 million since 1993 for cancer research. Maple Point's tournament is the largest (in dollars raised) in the Philadelphia region, and even in the northeast, including tournaments held at high schools. Before the games, stories of cancer patients in the district and in the community are shared and they are honored by the students. Maple Point students and staff raise the money for Coaches vs. Cancer through ticket sales, raffle baskets, t-shirt sales, food sales and donations from the entire community.
The NHS Interact Club sponsored their annual Neshaminy's Got Talent on Thursday, March 20. While this is a showcase of the phenomenal talent at NHS, its main purpose is to raise money for the Sunshine Foundation, a local organization that answers dreams to children with lifelong chronic illnesses and conditions from income-limited families. Three "dreamers" were granted their dreams at at the show: Alexandria with Trisomy 21 will receive a gazebo where she can enjoy nature and use her new art supplies; Caleb, who has Common Variable Immunodeficiency, loves nature and will get to explore the North Carolina beaches and tide pools; and Ahmar, who has epilepsy and Level 3 Severe Autism, will get to meet Mickey, Pluto, Tigger and Tiana in Disneyworld. This year's production included singing, dancing, speed cubing and rock bands with the top prizes for Judge's Choice and Fan Fav both going to the band Ascension.
In March the AP Chemistry students at Neshaminy High School took part in the 2025 US National Chemistry Olympiad sponsored by the American Chemical Society. This is a multilevel competition that begins with the local exam. Students who perform well can be chosen to compete at the National level and ends with students competing at the International Level.
On March 12, students in the Business Math and Financial Literacy clases at Neshaminy HS got a taste of life after high school thanks to the TruMark Financial Credit Union Financial Reality Fair. The students were tasked with preparing a budget based on real-world necessities and luxuries such as housing, food, clothing, utilities, transportation, communication and entertainment. The students were given worksheets and had to make budget decisions based on real-world income samples and their future needs and lifestyle choices. Volunteers from TruMark and the community guided them through these decisions. At the end the students spun a wheel that offered either an income bonus or an unexpected bill to add to their budget.
Nicholas Felus will be the next Head Football Coach for the Skins, leading a legendary program into a new era.
Mr. Felus comes to Neshaminy after serving as Head Football Coach for Penn Cambria High School in Cresson, Pennsylvania since 2019. Prior to that he was the Head Football Coach at Altoona Area High School from 2016-2019 and the Offensive Coordinator, Quarterback and Wide Receivers Coach at Coatesville Area High School from 2009-2016. He is a graduate of Penn Cambria High School (Class of 1996), Lock Haven University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and West Virginia University where he earned a master’s degree in educational leadership.
In 2024, Penn Cambria finished with a 14-1 record, won their first District Championship in school history, and went to the PIAA state AAA semifinal round. Mr. Felus was named the Coach of the Year by the Altoona Mirror and District 6 Coach of the Year by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association for his efforts.
He is replacing Steve Wilmot, who resigned on January 23 after 20 years as an Assistant Coach and 10 years at Head Coach for Neshaminy High School.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Nicholas Felus as the new head coach of the Neshaminy football program,” said Neshaminy High School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Lisa Pennington. “With his passion, leadership, and dedication to the game, we are excited for the future of our team under his guidance.”
“Coach Felus brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to excellence that will inspire our players both on and off the field. We look forward to seeing the hard work, determination, and success that lie ahead. I ask our community to join me in offering Coach Felus a warm Neshaminy welcome to Heartbreak Ridge.”
