Neshaminy Update
Neshaminy School District / September, 2023
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Handy School Apps for Every Neshaminy Family
Between bus schedules, lunch money, grades, and announcements, keeping up with school can feel like a full-time job. To help ease the burden, Neshaminy School District offers several free mobile apps (all available for Android and Apple iOS) that put the most important information right at your fingertips. Here’s a quick guide to five useful tools:
School Café
School Café makes managing school meals simple. Parents can check menus, review nutrition details, and even keep an eye on allergens. You can load money into your child’s account and pay online, so you don’t have to worry about forgotten lunch money. The application also allows parents to see which food items their children purchase, and limit access to certain items (such as extra snacks).
Parents and Guardians can also apply for the Free and Reduced meal program using the School Café app. This year breakfast is free for all students, and lunch is free for students whose families qualify for both free and reduced lunches. Information on the Free & Reduced Meal Program can also be found on the district website and at school main offices.
Home Access Center (HAC)
Think of Home Access Center as your window into the classroom. HAC lets you see grades, assignments, attendance records, and schedules in one place. It’s a great way to stay on top of progress and catch small issues before they become big ones.
School Messenger (with SafeArrival)
School Messenger is how schools share important news—everything from weather closings to event reminders. You can choose whether messages come as a phone call, text, or email. Neshaminy also uses the SafeArrival feature in School Messenger, which is a quick way to report absences right from your phone. Instead of sending notes or making calls, you can let the school know your child will be late or absent in just a few taps.
Safe2Say
Safe2Say is a safety app that lets students and parents anonymously report concerns like bullying, threats, or self-harm. Tips go straight to a 24/7 crisis team, who alert the school and, if needed, local authorities. It’s a simple, confidential way to help keep kids safe and prevent problems before they grow. While the app is mostly focused on students and school staff, anybody can report an issue. Safe2Say can also be accessed via a website.
If you need assistance with any of these apps, please contact the Main Office staff in your child's school.
Eighteen Neshaminy High School alumni athletes and a state championship team from the former Maple Point High School were honored as recipients of the 2025 Neshaminy All-Sports Hall of Fame award. Many of them attended an induction ceremony held in Theodore Kloos Auditorium just before the varsity football game on Friday, September 12. During the ceremony many spoke about the important roles that their coaches, teammates and families played in their athletic careers and how those people and that experience shaped and guided them as adults. Following the ceremony the group was invited on to the field between quarters of the football game and introduced to the crowd.
The following are the 2025 All-Sports Hall of Fame Inductees:
- D'Andre Pollard (2015), football
- Mark Simpson (1976), football
- Matthew Rushwick (2005), baseball
- Jeffrey D. Murtha (2012), bowling
- Brittany Calvert Sunkel (2011), bowling
- Eric Chapman (2015), cross-country
- Sharla Partlon Yakich (2001), field hockey
- Alyssa Zukowski (2015), indoor track
- Ben Matzke (2015), indoor track
- Francesca Donato (2015), lacrosse
- McKenna Mullin (2014), soccer
- Tom Foley (1984), soccer
- Vincent McGlynn (1985), soccer
- Devon Swaim (2006), soccer
- Samantha Creamer (2010), softball
- David H. Marrington (2015), track
- Michael A. Small (2007), volleyball
- The state champion 1979 Neshaminy Maple Point HS Softball team: Head coach Margie Tignor, Assistant Coaches Clarie Hillard and Barry Pesci; players Nancy Reinhold Bedesem, Susan Blaker, Sandy Sattung Borochaner, Ellen Pepper Boyce, Ellen Callahan, Sandy Cloton Callender, Lori Hyjurick, Melisa Elliot Holmes, Sharon Martin, Joanne Custodio Quinn, Karen Wagner, KJ Reimensnyder Wagner, Marke Snow Walther, Cydi Addeo Winters, Trish Hareman Zive.
Maple Point Middle School will once again honor our local veterans with a ceremony on Monday, November 10. Military veterans from any era are invited to join this Maple Point tradition to be honored and help our students understand the importance of military service and the role veterans play in American and world history. Pre-registration is required by November 3 and can be completed online at the link below.
Parents and caretakers of autistic students preparing for transition to the adult world can get some resources and advice at a seminar to be held on Thursday, October 30 at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit building at 705 North Shady Retreat Road in Doylestown from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Representatives will be on-site to share information on education, employment, and independent living options. A seminar will offer a review of Intellectual Disability and Autism services in Bucks County and the waiver system. The presentation will cover intake, eligibility, waiting lists, waivers and services available. A special presentation for students is also part of the evening.
In 2017, Pennsylvania's Department of Health established requirements for school vaccinations. Please review this document from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and consult with your child’s healthcare provider. Communication from the District will continue as a reminder of this PA Department of Health requirement.
District Policy 203 requires that “a certificate of immunization shall be maintained as part of the health record for each student, as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.” Further, the Policy states that “a student who has not been immunized per state regulations shall not be admitted to or permitted to attend district schools unless exempted for medical or religious reasons or provisionally admitted by the Superintendent or designee after beginning a multiple dose vaccine series and submitting proof of immunization or a medical certificate on or before the fifth school day of attendance.”
The requirements allow for the following exemptions: medical reason, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction. Even if your child is exempt from immunizations, he or she may be excluded from school during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak.
Communication from the District will continue as a reminder of this PA Department of Health and Policy 203’s requirements. Please contact your child’s School Nurse with questions.
BOARD, TEACHERS SIGN A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT
The Neshaminy School Board unanimously approved a three-year contract with the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers at the Tuesday, September 9 meeting. The tentative contract had previously been approved by members of the union in August. The new contract runs retroactively from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028. The new agreement builds off the 2024-2025 one-year Collective Bargaining Agreement approved in June, 2024 with changes and additions outlined in the document linked below for the new 3-year agreement. The finalized, signed document will be posted on the district website.
The contract includes an option for a lower-cost health care plan, increased preparation time for elementary teachers, and annual pay increases that vary by the number of years of experience in the step system along with modest yearly increases for co-curricular activity salaries.
The Neshaminy Support Professionals Association (NESPA), representing the district's support staff, is currently in the middle of a five-year contract which began on July 1, 2022 and runs through June 30, 2027.
🔗 2024-2025 Collective Bargaining Agreement
🔗 Approved changes and additions for the 2025-2028 agreement
BOARD EXTENDS COLLEGE PARTNERSHIPS
At the September 9 meeting, the board agreed to extend two programs that allow Neshaminy High School seniors the opportunity to earn college credits at two local institutions. The partnership with Gwynedd Mercy University in Lower Gwynedd Township has expanded to include numerous students, who can take up to 12 credits per academic year, which include a choice of Accounting I, Accounting II, Information Processing II, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics, while also maintaining three classes plus Physical Education at Neshaminy High School to ensure a true hybrid experience.
Neshaminy renewed its partnership with Bucks County Community College (in place since 2018) to include numerous students, who take two classes at the College each semester, including a required requested English and Humanities Course, while also maintaining three classes plus Physical Education at Neshaminy High School. Tuition and books are provided at no cost and transportation to and from the BCCC campus from Neshaminy High School is also provided. Students in the program accumulate 12 college credits in their senior year which can be transferred to most area colleges and universities.
STUDENT SERVICES
Families are encouraged to visit the district website for information about the following important services and policies:
- Special Education Services
- Gifted Students
- Services for Protected Handicapped Students
- Destruction of Records
- Medical Assistance
- Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
During the week of September 15-19, students around the district participated in a variety of activities to support Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month and to raise money to support cancer victims. One of the first of many community fundraisers held around the district, this was started by Poquessing Middle School student Sara Harvey several years ago, a cancer survivor herself.
On Friday, October 3 Neshaminy will celebrate the annual Pink Out during the school day and at the varsity football game at The Ridge that evening. This is another community effort to raise cancer awareness, this time for breast cancer.
Tie-breaker questions in "Are You Smarter than your Teacher" Constitution Day Game at Sandburg
Carl Sandburg held their annual Constitution Day game, "Are You Smarter than your Teacher?" to test students' knowledge of U.S. government and the Constitution. The game pits a team of students (grades 5-6, here, grades 7-8 also competed) against a team of their teachers. Social Studies teacher Anthony Vizzini hosted the event dressed in his Uncle Sam suit and hat. By the end the score was tied, resulting in a tie-breaking round (seen in the video above).
Students in the NHS Cyber Forensics & Digital Law class welcomed School Resource Officer Heyduk as a guest speaker. He shared stories from his law enforcement career, giving students a unique look at the challenges and rewards of serving the community. He also discussed how technology and digital evidence play an increasing role in modern police work — a direct link to what students learn in class.
The Neshaminy High School Guidance Department would like to inform all students and their families about a FREE Test Prep Service that is available to all Neshaminy High School Students at no cost to families. The Website is albert.io and it offers Test Prep for virtually all AP Courses, SAT’s, SAT Subject Tests, ACTs, and practice for many core subjects that do not fall under the category of college admission testing. Dozens of teachers are already using the resources of this website in the classroom to supplement their curriculum. This website can be used in combination with other print and electronic resources that your student may be using already. It allows your student to proceed in a self-directed manner through the content that they choose to focus on. It works very well on most devices so it is portable and convenient. Your student can answer Test Prep questions anywhere from a car ride to a flight to the family room sofa and the best part is that there is NO COST to your Neshaminy High School Student.
All NHS students have accounts. They just sign in to Clever, find the Albert Icon (blue Icon with a seen above), click to sign in and then they have full access to any of the Test Prep Modules.
If there are any issues or questions, please contact Christopher Capecci at ccapecci@neshaminy.org or send your student to room F205 at Neshaminy High School and have them ask for Mr. Capecci at any point before, during, or after the school day. He will answer any questions and will handle the sign in process as well.
Under a beautiful sunset, the Neshaminy community came out to enjoy the annual Homecoming football game at Harry E. Franks Stadium on Friday, September 26. The annual Homecoming Carnival was held behind the stadium (a temporary location while the field house and gateway entrance construction is being completed) and the Homecoming Dance was held on Thursday evening. The game featured a great rivalry between the Skins and the Bucks of Central Bucks West - Neshaminy came out on top with a score of 28-18, improving their record to 6-1 for the season.
The Homecoming Court was introduced before the start of the game and included the following:
- Valentina Effing and Andrew Enders
- Mia Stock and Connor Triano
- Lily Ellis and Jake Duckworth
- Hailey Christman and Noah Wallace
- Samantha Orleski and Jaxon Olszewski
At halftime the 2025 Neshaminy High School Homecoming King and Queen were announced - congratulations to Samantha Orleski and Jaxon Olszewski!
