West Chester Area School District

Dear WCASD Community,

As the month dedicated to giving thanks and showing gratitude begins, I want to again start this message with a simple thank you to our entire WCASD community. Thanks to the many efforts of our staff, families, and community, we are consistently making great progress toward achieving our mission of educating and inspiring our students to achieve their personal best.

Speaking of achieving personal bests, you will see throughout this newsletter that our former students, current students, and staff are reaching their unique goals or building the skills to do so in the future each day. From former students saving lives and playing in the World Series to current students competing in regional conferences and staff receiving recognition for their tireless dedication, we are grateful for every single opportunity we have to cheer each other on.

Before your nights and inboxes fill with fall shows and concerts, I would just like to wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family!

To make sure that you don’t miss any of the events coming up for the WCASD, check out the list of upcoming events below and our Celebrate the Arts Flyer.

Important Dates:

November: National Native American Heritage Month | National Scholarship Month

November 3: Parenting in the LBGTQIA+ Community Parent Workshop | 6:30 p.m.

November 5: Gifted PAC Craft Fair | 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

November 8: Teacher Inservice

November 8: General Election Day in PA

November 8: National STEM/STEAM Day

November 11: Veterans Day

November 13-19: American Education Week

November 14: Combined Pupil Services and Education Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.

November 16: Support Professional's Day

November 18: Substitute Educator's Day

November 21: Parent Conferences (Elementary - Half Day; Middle & High School - Full Day)

November 21: Property & Finance Committee Meeting | 6:30 p.m.

November 22: Parent Conferences (Elementary - Half Day; High School - Full Day)

November 23: Parent Conferences AM; Teacher Inservice

November 24: Thanksgiving Day

November 24-25: School and District Offices Closed

November 28: School Board Meeting | 7:00 p.m.

Join Dr. Sokolowski and Elementary School student, Brandon, for the fourth video in the Two Questions in Two Minutes Video Series to hear some of our favorite advice and how we recognize the importance of bus safety. For more Two Questions in Two Minutes Videos, visit our Youtube Playlist.

In case you missed it, we celebrated our 18 principals on WCASD's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram throughout October! Here's round up of their favorite memories and moments as principals!

Thank you, Ava, Gioia and Matthew, for sharing an informative and entertaining report on the many great things happening at Greystone Elementary.

We would also like to recognize and thank our School Board Vice President, Mr. Gary Bevilacqua, for eight years of school board service to the West Chester Area School District!

The West Chester Area School District was recognized by The Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) for its commitment to visual arts education with the endorsement of Outstanding Visual Arts Community 2022. PAEA empowers its members to transform their practices, students, colleagues, and communities to build a strong art education culture and citizenry.

To learn how districts receiving this endorsement demonstrate the importance of their visual arts programs, click the blue button!

A group of fifth grade students spent some time with local seniors and residents at Bellingham Retirement Community.

They played games, completed puzzles, and had a great time spending some of the afternoon together!

Recently, 23 Rustin students traveled to the University of Virginia for the UVA Model United Nations Conference. Teams from many high schools in the mid-Atlantic region were in attendance. From famine and disease to human trafficking, food instability and nuclear disarmament to trade imbalances, these students spent the weekend discussing issues and strategizing solutions all while representing their schools and making new friendships.

The Rustin team represented WCASD very well and their sponsors, Rustin teachers Mark Winfield and Matt Taglang, were proud of them for earning several commendations. Congratulations to all of the students who participated. Some special recognitions include:

• Best Delegate Award: Emma Bowers and Rachel Ariadne Stetter for representing the People's Republic of China on the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
  
• Honorable Mention: Natalie Monahan and Anika Chaudhary representing the country of India on the Committee on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
• Verbal Commendation: Molly McCoy and Malini Upadhyay representing the country of South Korea on the Economic and Financial Committee.
• Verbal Commendation: Cacilia Rollet and Isabella Pizzi representing the country of Venezuela in the International Coffee Organization.

Crafts, raffles, and food, oh my! This is one event you won't want to miss!

Henderson students completed various math problems in order to receive post-it notes that would help them form a complete Halloween image.

Do you think you could solve some of these problems?

During Fire Prevention Week, the West Chester Area School District’s Greystone, Starkweather, and Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School kindergartners received special visits from the Fame Fire Company of West Chester.

Firefighters Sean McCausland, Will Romano, Bob Torrens, and Emily Williams talked with students about the importance of fire safety, explained how smoke detectors work, demonstrated what firefighters and their gear look like during an emergency, and gave tours of different firetrucks.

Read the rest of the article on the MyChesco.com website by clicking the button!

Mrs. Trombley received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Millersville University Department of Applied Engineering, Safety & Technology at the TEEAP (Technology and Engineering Educator’s Association of Pennsylvania) Awards Program on October 21, 2022.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Trombley thanked the WCASD. “This prestigious award would never have been possible without the long term support of the WCASD, allowing me to pursue assorted professional development opportunities during my teaching career,” said Trombley.

Congratulations, Joanne! We are so lucky and grateful to have you at WCASD!

In a large room buzzing with conversations about mental health and wellness, one resource is silent. A grin is obvious, and a tail is wagging, however, as Marley—the Chester County Sheriff’s Office’s (CCSO) comfort K-9 and the nation’s first United States Police Canine Association-certified police therapy dog—demonstrates his skill in helping people reduce stress.

Marley and his partner Sgt. Janis Pickell from the CCSO were among the dozens of resource providers who greeted visitors to the West Chester Area School District’s Mental Health Share event on Oct. 11.

To read the full article in the Chester County Press, please click the button!

Thank you to Principal Southmayd and our awesome Fern Hill 5th graders for giving School Board President, Sue Tiernan, School Board Member, Karen Herrmann, and some of our administrators an exciting tour of Fern Hill Elementary School. Go, Bobcats!

The Second Annual Padres Latinos Resource Fair was held on Thursday, October 27, 2022, and featured an impressive list of participants and resources from across the county coming to share information in Spanish and activities with children and families.

Some of the families attending also brought delicious food to share with each other as well!

Chas McCormick, a native of West Chester and Henderson High School Alumni, plays in the World Series with the Houston Astros. Even though we're still rooting for the Phillies, we'll be cheering Chas on too!

To see NBC10’s Johnny Archer speak with Chas' family and former coaches, click the blue button!

The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce and WSFS Bank are teaming up once again to host the Annual Holiday Toy Drive sponsored by WSFS Bank. K-12 WCASD students helped design and decorate the boxes in their Art classes - look for the boxes on display in businesses around West Chester!

It was all fun and games at East High School's Homecoming Pep Rally...at least until the musical chairs came out - then the real competition began!

From games and tug of war to dances and cheers, it was a great afternoon to show off school spirit.

Henderson students enjoyed some great weather and awesome homecoming fun with a pep rally, carnival, games, and more!

Great job to the student council members, staff, and everyone who made the exciting homecoming traditions and new experiences extra special this year.

Rustin's got spirit, yes they do! Rustin's got spirit, how 'bout you?

School spirit filled the stadium in preparation for homecoming as students competed to win tug of war, listened to the band, dunked water on staff, and more.

As part of National School Bus Safety Week, which ran October 16- 22, the West Chester Area School District (WCASD) teamed up with local police departments, Krapf School Bus, and the Chester County Department of Emergency Services for the 27th annual Operation Safe Stop.

Huge thank you to everyone who participated for keeping our students safe as they travel to and from school!

We want to thank all of our parents and families for their patience with us as we kicked off the new school year! We also know that there may still be some who are not receiving Schoology emails from the correct school, still receiving them after your child has graduated, or are having difficulty logging in at all.

If you are experiencing any of those issues, please reach out to Schoology_Support@wcasd.net for assistance.

Henderson High School graduate and former Mary C. Howse student, Nicole Rowe, joined West Whiteland Fire Department on a visit back to MCH last month!

When Nicole was in MCH Kindergarten teacher, Kathy Baer's, class in Kindergarten they were visited the fire department also visited young students to teach them about fire safety and now, as a firefighter, Nicole was able to share her knowledge and MCH pride with the current students.

The WCASD East High School Senior football players recently presented teachers and staff, who made in impact on them, with their away game jersey to be worn at a game along with a special thank you letter.

Join us on Thursday, November 3, 2022, for a parent workshop focused on parenting in the LGBTQIA+ community as well as youth with LGBTQIA+ parents.

This virtual workshop will begin at 6:30 p.m. and we do require those participating to register in order to receive the Zoom link. Interested in attending? Click the flyers below!

The West Chester Area Education is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to supplement creative, meaningful, real-world experiences for students in the West Chester Area School District.

Please consider helping us help our students this Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022!

At various times throughout the year, community members may request a review of instructional materials or books related to the WCASD. When this occurs, the Superintendent can create a committee to review the material in question. Parents and community members are an important part of the committee and review process.

If you would be interested and willing to serve on review committee if the need should arise, we encourage you to complete a brief interest form by clicking the blue button.

Did you know that the WCASD offers a Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program designed to assist Senior Citizens with the burden of Real Estate Taxes? In return for volunteering their services through this program, senior citizens may be entitled to a rebate of property taxes in accordance with the guidelines outlined on our Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program webpage.

Before applying to the program, we encourage those interested to review the attached brochure below and the guidelines on our website.