For past updates and information about USP, visit USP - FYI.

Email: universityscholars@palcs.org
Website: universityscholars.org
Location: 1585 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA, United States
Phone: (610) 344-0524
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Partners-In-Education-University-Scholars-Program-100901181701/

8/30/17 - Back-to-School Picnic, 4 to 6 PM at the Advanced Ideas Center

9/4/17 - School Closed, Labor Day

9/5/17 - First Day of School/Middle School Onsite Classes Begin

9/6/17 - High School Onsite Classes Begin

9/8/17 - USP September Community Building Day

9/27-29/17 - PALCS Peer Leadership Trip to Mifflinburg, PA

On Saturday, June 17th, the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School celebrated the graduating class of 2017. Thousands of family and friends attended the ceremony. Here are some links to relive the experience, or see what happened in case you could not make it. Scroll down to learn more about our graduates and their awards.

Here is the 2 minute recap video of the day: https://youtu.be/bVpBFOtSBAQ

The video of the entire graduation ceremony is: https://youtu.be/dr1GOHpYUaU

USP Year End Celebration and USP Graduation Photos: https://palcsuspmocktrialteam.shutterfly.com/pictures/920

PALCS Graduation Photobooth Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bz1KhQW1VOABSVcwRHpZQTBzbjQ?usp=sharing

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Andrea Johannesen, President of Partners in Education (PIE) is hosting a summer gathering at her house for parents of University Scholars Program students. There will actually be pie for all who attend.

This will be a great time to connect with friends or find ways to get involved. She will reply with her address when you RSVP to: jschoolhouse@gmail.com.

Date: Monday, July 24th

Time: 7:00 PM

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The 22 PALCS University Scholars Program seniors and graduating juniors were offered over $1,675,720 in scholarships from 40 colleges and universities. See below for a list of the schools they were accepted to, and zoom in on the pictures to see where they decided to go!

The majority of our students graduated with honors, and many earned additional awards. Here are the students who were celebrated for their superior scholarship and hard work. Congratulations!!!

PALCS Valedictorian: James Hurd (#1/290 graduates)

PALCS Salutatorian: Nicholas Serkes (#2/290 graduates)

University Scholars Program Awards:

• Bartleby Award for Superior Scholarship in English - Eliana Chow
  
• Herodotus Award for Superior Scholarship in Social Studies - Derek Shan
  
• Archimedes Award for Superior Scholarship in Science - James Hurd
  
• Euler Award for Superior Scholarship in Math - Nicholas Serkes
  
• DaVinci Award - All Around Top Scholar of the University Scholars Program - Alexander Gustafson
  

Also, Middle School Principal Karla Johnson presented Presidential Scholarship Awards to rising 9th graders Emily Scott and Lauren Wolstenholme for excellence in Math, Language Arts, and maintaining Honor Role.

Congratulations are in order for Vibha Janakiraman, '23, winner of the 2017 Deleware Concerto Competition for Young Musicians. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Dover Post:

Vibha “Janakiraman, winner of the 12 and underage bracket of the DCCYM, is a sixth-grade student at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School in West Chester, Pa. She started studying violin at age 6 with Jessica Hoffman at The Music School of Delaware’s Suzuki Academy. She currently studies with Lee Snyder at the Settlement Music School, plays in The Music School of Delaware’s Delaware Youth Symphony Orchestra and has played in PRYSM YA (Concertmaster) and PRYSM ensembles of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra.”

Vibha was also one of the performers at he Music Beyond Benefit Concert.

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PALCS/University Program seniors and graduating Juniors were accepted into the following schools:

Bloomsburg University

Boston University

Calvin College

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western University

Colby College

College of William and Mary

Cornell University

Drexel University

Elizabethtown College

Fordham University

George Mason University

George Washington University

Gordon College

Grove City College

Hope College

Houghton College

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Johns Hopkins University

Liberty University

Lock Haven University

Massachusetts College Of Liberal Arts

New York University

Northeastern University

Ohio Northern university

Penn State University

Pepperdine University

Philadelphia University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

Rutgers University

Stony Brook University

Temple University

University of Geneva

University Of Michigan

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh

University of Virginia

Villanova University

West Chester University

Wheaton College

The High School Trip to New York City was quite a show. Students participated in research at a DNA Lab, learned stage combat, watched "A Bronx Tale", spotted alumnus Benjamin Hess who was working at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and many other activities. Check out pictures of their adventures here: USP in NYC 2017. Special thanks to Heather Arnold of Historical Adventures and USP Staff Mr. Sommar, Mrs. Niedert, and Ms. Stefanski for leading the trip!

The benefit concert produced by Tessa Beazley and Audrey Emata gathered in donations of $175 for the charity. It was an awesome musical experience and we thank all those that performed and attended the event. We received a thank you letter from Music Beyond for the donation.

We would love to hear about your plans for the summer or about your achievements. Send us a message at universityscholars@palcs.org so we can share with the community, and include pictures if you can. Thanks!

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Two University Scholars teachers will pursue advanced study in their disciplines this summer at La Salle University. Mrs. Parris will spend a week delving into the the College Board's most up to date best practices for AP Language and Composition while Ms. Przeworski will be doing the same for AP Environmental Sciences.

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Recently we have learned that families have been referred to us by the Davidson Institute. This nationally renowned institution is a leader in gifted education. They maintain a website of resources and the University Scholars Program is listed there. Please feel welcome to check out the page and add a comment to help other families in Pennsylvania learn more about us: Link to Davidson Institute Page on USP.

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Mr. Stiles would like to thank the many families who have been referring our program to friends. We have seen a number of highly qualified applicants to the program in the last few months and we greatly appreciate your confidence.

On-site 8th grade is at capacity and will not be enrolling additional applicants for 2017-2018.

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If you are interested, students in grades 2-8 can learn more about their academic potential through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) Talent Search. Students have until June 30th to test as part of the 2016-17 CTY Talent Search.

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Mark Murray, the Director of IT at PALCS, is seeking students and parents who are interested in testing out a new filter for the Windows on the laptops. He would love to get some feedback on what this filter looks like from your perspective. The filter has really good reviews from the IT support team so far.

This is a great opportunity for volunteer and leadership experience, helping your community and interacting with state of the art technology. If you are interested, please send an email to Mr. Murray at mmurray@palcs.org. Write "Content Filter Pilot Volunteer" in the subject line. He can take the first six people for this pilot.

Would your student be interested in helping new PALCS families acclimate to our unique learning experience? If so, Courtney Kofeldt, the Supervisor of Educational Technology, is looking for students who may be interested in providing feedback on the new "Onboarding" courses for new families for next year. The courses are designed to help new families learn about PALCSchool, Canvas, how to submit assignments, and communicate with their teachers. Our school is on the leading edge of the educational frontier and Ms. Kofeldt is looking for intrepid and scholarly technologists who can provide her with a "kids-eye view" to help improve our instructional delivery. If you are interested, please reach out to Ms. Kofeldt at ckofeldt@palcs.org.

Mr. Stiles was on an adventure with his kids on a recent Saturday to the cliffs at Ralph Stove State Park, when a helmeted rock climber stopped and said "Mr. Stiles?" Low and behold, it was Alex Poultney, 2010 USP graduate, and graduate of Villanova with a degree in engineering. If you see him, ask him about his trips to Cambodia to prototype land mine seeking robots, or about his recent trip to San Diego to test run new ships for the Navy. The famous Kelly Peterson, 2011 USP graduate, was there too. The chance encounter reminded Mr. Stiles of the time Mr. Smith ran into Sarah Koros, class of 2015, at a market in Israel. What a small world!

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• Middle School Trip - Boston anticipated for May 2018
• High School Trip - TBA for May 2018

Here are some summer camps recommended by USP families:

• The PALCS STEM Camp at the AIC! (this just ended but will likely be back next year)
  
• Chester County Intermediate Unit Technical College: http://www.cciu.org/summer
• Delaware County Community College Dual Enrollment Program
• *NEW* - Drexel Mock Trial Experience (High School) Flyer & Application
• Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth: http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/
• New Garden Future Aviators Summer Camp: http://www.newgardenflyingfield.com/index-4.html
• Harry Potter themed "Wizarding Camp" (ages 6-13): http://www.brandywineschoolofwizardry.com/
• West Chester University Middle School Music Camp: https://www.wcupa.edu/arts-humanities/music/middleschoolMusicCamp.aspx
  

If you have a camp to recommend to our community, please send an email to universityscholars@palcs.org with the subject "Summer Camp."