Haverford Happenings

A select group of students nationwide are honored each year as National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist or Commended students. Out of the 1.5 million students who take the PSAT/NMSQT® tests, about 34,000 of the 50,000 high scorers receive Letters of Commendation, and about 16,000 (of the 50K) qualified as Semi-Finalists across the country. We are very proud of our scholars!

Semi-Finalist: Genevieve Chermside, John Delevan, Taylor Flynn

Commended Scholars: Elaine Dong, Emily Gallagher, Brian Heckler, Jared Johnson, Elise C. Justman, Amy Li, Christopher Lin, Abigail Lint, Joshua Krakow, Khue Nguyen, Elizabeth Peta, Eliot Raynor, Anastasia Westrate, Jeffrey Yue

National Hispanic Recognition Award: Gian Buonviri, Isabella Vazquez-Janik, Jorge Tecedor

National African American Recognition Award: Gideon Dayo, Leena Fadul, Nathanael Zewdie

The School District of Haverford Township educates a number of students who are complex learners. Many use multimodal communication including Augmentative Alternative Communication systems [AAC], gestures, symbols, signs, vocalizations, facial expressions and/or natural speech to communicate. Those who do not use natural speech often have AAC devices such as speech generating devices, communication books, or core vocabulary boards that they carry or wear throughout their school day allowing them to point to symbols to communicate. This presents a problem on the playground during elementary recess. It is hard to play while holding a communication device or book, and it may not always be safe to wear the devices while playing on the equipment. The Haverford speech-language pathologists received a grant from the Haverford Township Educational Foundation to install vocabulary boards on each elementary school playground in the district.

Because our school playgrounds are recreational areas for every student on campus, the boards could foster belonging, inclusion, and equity amongst our elementary school communities reaching approximately 3000 students, and growing, across the district. This project will have a substantial impact on our target population of complex learners in special programs in Chestnutwold, Coopertown, Lynnewood, and Manoa, in addition to Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals, Speech-Language Impaired students, English language learners, Autistic students, and social skills learners. Exposure to playground communication boards will also benefit neighbors in our community using the district playgrounds outside of school hours.

The School District of Haverford Township introduces the Stopfinder app, allowing parents and guardians to track their children’s bus accurately in real-time. The easy-to-use app is secure, so only authorized users will have access to school bus information.

On October 9, 2023, you will receive an e-mail invitation from the District to register prior to

accessing you student’s transportation schedule. Stopfinder can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play. The primary e-mail address that is currently in PowerSchool will be used for Stopfinder setup.

What the App Can Do

• View your student’s daily transportation assignments.
• Securely share your student’s schedule with caregivers (sub-subscribers).
• Receive notifications and updates related to transportation.
• Create GeoAlerts that will notify you when the bus has arrived or departed from the assigned bus stop and/or school.
• Send private messages to the Transportation Department.

Install the App

Stopfinder is available for download in the App Store and Google Play.

Click to learn more about Stopfinder features:

https://www.mytransfinder.com/mytf/videos/StopfinderApp.mp4

Stopfinder Quick Start Guide

Students identified as eligible for reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) will not be charged for their meals this school year. We encourage every family to apply for free or reduced-price meals as a qualified application may also provide additional federal program benefits. Did you know the income guidelines have been updated for 2023-2024?

Please review the eligibility information for your household here.

APPLY: Click here to complete the application.

INSTRUCTIONS: Click here for School Cafe instructions, or watch this video for instructions on using School Cafe.

The Free and Reduced Lunch application must be completed every year. If you do not complete the application by October 18th, your child will no longer be designated as Free and Reduced Lunch for 2023-2024.

October marks the celebration of a special group of leaders in our community – our school principals. These dedicated individuals play a pivotal role in shaping our students’ futures and the trajectory of our education system.

This month-long celebration is an opportunity to recognize and thank our principals for their unwavering dedication, exceptional leadership, and remarkable impact on student success. Join us this October as we extend our gratitude to these transformative figures.

Starting the day with Morning Meeting creates a positive classroom atmosphere, builds a sense of community among students, and promotes social-emotional learning.

You can learn more about Morning Meeting with Dr. Reusche in the first 60 Seconds with the Superintendent for the 2023-24 school year.

National Food Service Employee Day occurs annually on September 25. It is a day set aside to recognize, appreciate, and thank the staff that works in the food service industry. Our food service staff hard work and dedication shines through everything they do, and their efforts have made a real difference to our students.

Today and every day, we are thankful to our custodial staff for their crucial role in maintaining a clean and safe environment. Their job often goes beyond cleaning and maintenance; they create a positive atmosphere in our school. Their friendly smiles and willingness to go the extra mile make a difference in the lives of our students, teachers, and staff.

September 15-October 15

3-People to Know:

1. Sonia Sotomayor- As the first Latina Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor has served since August 8, 200 on the Supreme Court of the United States. Both of her parents were born in Puerto Rico.
   

2. Lin-Manuel Miranda- A an actor, singer, lyricist, composer, playwright, and producer, he created two Broadway musicals—In the Heights and Hamilton—and starred in both of them. He also wrote music for Disney's Moana, appeared in Mary Poppins Returns, and more.
   

3. Lisa Fernandez- A Puerto Rican American, she started her softball career as a right-handed pitcher for the UCLA Bruins, where she won two National Championships and was selected as a four-time, first-team All-American. Fernandez also received the Pan American gold medal three times and she won three Olympic gold medals for softball.

Explore our virtual library.

Filipino American History Month

German American Heritage Month

Global Diversity Awareness Month

Italian American Heritage Month

LGBTQ History Month

National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Polish American Heritage Month

Bullying Prevention Month

German American Heritage Day

"Going Gold" raises awareness and support for children facing cancer during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September. The color gold symbolizes how precious children are and the resiliency of childhood cancer heroes. Unlike other awareness ribbons that symbolize one specific disease, the childhood cancer ribbon represents dozens of diseases. Many of our students participated in a gold/yellow day at school during September, where the students and staff wore clothing and engaged in activities supporting these families to show they are not alone.

The FORDS will suit up in honor of an individual, an organization or someone who deserves recognition for a life changing struggle. Join the Havertown community immediately following the football game to celebrate our honorees.

DATE: October 6, 2023
KICK-OFF: 6:00 PM
CEREMONY: Approximately 7:45PM - Immediately following the game, honorees, sponsors, and athletes will walk across the field while being recognized. Jerseys will be presented at this time.

As Coach of the girls track and field team Amber Jenkins has accrued the following accolades:

• Delaware County Championship Back-to-Back Team Champions

• Central League Team Champions

• District I Team Runner-Ups

• State Team Champions!

• First state title in school history

• First Delaware County School to win state title since 2006

• 13 New School Records established this spring season.

As a Junior at HHS Olivia Cieslak has earned recognition in the following categories:

• All State First Team in the 800 and 1600m relay

• All State third team 4x400m relay

• State Champion in both 1600 and 800 meters

• First Delco girl to win 1600 state title since 1993

• School Records in 800, 1600, 3200 meters, 4x400 and distance medley relays

• Delaware County Records in 800 and 1600 meters

• Ranked top 10 All-Time fastest in Pennsylvania history for both 800 and 1600 meter

Olivia Cieslak- All- state third team 4x400m relay
Sydney Jones- All-state second team high jump
Riona O’Neil All-state third team 4x400m relay

Colette Wagner All-state third team 4x400m relay

Morgan Elliott All- state third team 4x400m relay (Track at Richmond University)
Aubrey Leneweaver All-state second team 300m hurdle, All- state third team 4x400m relay (Track at Pitt)
Molly Carpenter (Throwing at Pitt)
Sarah Vandevere

PSBA honored Larry Feinberg for his 24 years of dedicated service as a school board member, serving Haverford's students, staff, and families.

The School Board and District Administration spent the morning with our Transportation Department to thank them for a smooth start to the school year.

The School District of Haverford Township utilizes BoardDocs, an online, paperless resource for all school board meetings. Here you can find the agenda, meeting minutes, video replay, and board policies. The meetings are live-streamed on YouTube.

Regular and Committee Board Meetings will be held at Oakmont Administration Building.

Upcoming Meetings:

• October 5: Regular School Board Meeting
• October 12: Finance and Facilities Meeting beginning at 6:30 PM
• October 12: Curriculum and Pupil Services beginning at 7:15 PM
• October 19th: Regular School Board Meeting
• October 26th: Policy Committee Meeting 7:00PM

All presentations and videos can be found on BoardDocs.

RESCHEDULED TO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 - (PREVIOUSLY October 23)

Math Night at Chatham Park Cafeteria from 7-8 PM

• Information about the elementary math program, Eureka math and how the math program develops from K-5.

RESCHEDULED TO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13 - (PREVIOUSLY October 19)

Math Night at the MS Library from 7-8 PM

• Information about the 6-8 math program, Illustrative math and how the math program develops from 6-8th grade and prepares students for high school math.

October 31: In-service (early dismissal for all students)

The PSAT will be held October 31st for all interested 9-11th grade college-bound students.

November 2-4: HHS Fall Musical "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

November 4: Discover Day

The mission of the School District of Haverford Township is to educate and to inspire a community of lifelong learners who become well-rounded global citizens.

Website: https://www.haverford.k12.pa.us/
Location: 50 East Eagle Road, Havertown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-853-5900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haverfordsd.net
Twitter: @haverfordsd