Neshaminy Update
Neshaminy School District / September, 2023
For their 10th anniversary dance, Neshaminy High School's MiniTHON team set their sights high for this year's fundraiser. The plan was to raise at least $50,000, a new record, to benefit the Four Diamonds Foundation dedicated to helping pediatric cancer patients. Months of fundraising events led up to the final week, including raffles, restaurant nights, donation challenges, candy and t-shirt sales, "No Shave November" and a "Mini MiniTHON" by the district's three middle schools in January.
The final week included daily challenges ranging from a "stall day" (during which students could make donations to delay the start of their classes by a few minutes) to the "Pie Garstka" event during which the winners of a donation raffle had the opportunity to smash a pie on the principal.
On Friday, February 8, MiniTHON was held in Gym 3. Following several hours of games and dancing, the final total was revealed. Not only did MiniTHON reach their goal, but they also exceeded it by over $20,000 for a grand total of $70,956.
Neshaminy HS teacher Kim Montone has been the advisor for MiniTHON since the very beginning. Last year, they added Stephanie Baniewicz as a co-advisor, and this year, Sarah Veneziale, a first-year teacher, has also been lending her support.
"Over the years, we’ve received incredible backing from staff," she said, "who have helped with fundraising events, sponsoring students who may not have personal funds to donate, and chaperoning the main event. When we launched the Mini-Mini-THON, we also had strong support from middle school administration and staff."
"We fundraise across the entire district, with events like Kids Night Out for Pre-K through 4th grade, Mini-Mini-THON for 5th through 8th grades, and, of course, the High School Mini-THON event."
In the past ten years, Neshaminy Mini-THON has raised $274,409.15 for Four Diamonds. This money ensures that families never receive a bill while their child is fighting cancer, provides top-tier services at Penn State Children’s Hospital, and funds life-saving research. Recently, the researchers Four Diamonds funds had two new drugs enter clinical trials, a significant milestone that hasn’t happened in years.
A group of third to fifth-grade teachers in a pilot science program spent part of their professional development day on February 18 in a workshop with...hissing cockroaches. They were learning how to implement a module by investigating the external structure of the bugs. Though this species might not be welcome in your home, they are actually very useful to the environment since they are detritivores, meaning that they eat decaying plant and animal material, recycling nutrients from them back into the ecosystem.
On January 15, Dr. Lori DeSautels offered a parent presentation as a part of Neshaminy’s Families Connect Program titled Connections over Compliance: Adult Nervous System states through the lens of Applied Educational Neuroscience. A video archive of the webinar can be viewed below. A companion Power Point presentation can be viewed here (PDF format).
Additional archived Families Connect webinars can be found at the link below.
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.
We are looking for individuals, businesses and organizations who would like to share their STEAM expertise with the next generation to join the 2025 Expo as presenters. Please contact David Geanette at dgeanette@neshaminy.org for more information and to sign up.
- Friday, February 28: Gym Night, NHS, 6:30 pm
- Saturday, March 1: Gym Night, NHS, noon and 6:30 pm
- Monday, March 3: First day of spring sports at NHS
- Wednesday-Saturday, March 5-8: Carl Sandburg MS musical
- Wednesday-Saturday, March 5-8: Poquessing MS musical
- Wednesday, March 12: NHS Wind Ensemble / Phila. Wind Symphony concert, 7 pm
- Thursday-Sunday, March 13-16: Maple Pont MS musicals
- Saturday, March 15: Harlem Wizards at NHS, 7 pm
- Wednesday, March 19: NHS Vocal concert, 7 pm
- Monday, March 31: Schools closed / Eid-al Fitr
- Thursday, April 10: STEAM Expo, NHS, 6:30-8:30 pm
- Thursday-Friday, April 17-18: District closed / Easter holiday
- Monday, April 21: Schools closed / Act 80 day
For more events and updates please visit the district and school websites.
BOARD APPROVES LEASE AGREEMENT FOR PEARL S. BUCK ES
With the opening of Core Creek Elementary School and the transfer of students from Pearl S. Buck Elementary to their new school, the district has been in discussions as to possible uses for the old building on Top Road in Levittown. At the February 25 Board Public Meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) was approved which will enable them to immediately begin making improvements to the building for future use as one of their educational facilities. The Board also approved a five-year lease agreement with the BCIU for the building for the period of May, 2025 through May, 2030. Under the terms of the agreement, the building will be used only for educational purposes. The Intermediate Unit provides educational facilities for special needs children throughout the county.
Currently Neshaminy School District also leases the former Lower Southampton Elementary School and Samuel Everitt Elementary School to the BCIU for their programs. Neshaminy is one of the school districts that contracts with the BCIU to provide special needs services for our students.
SCOTT CONGDON APPOINTED FACILITIES DIRECTOR
At the February 11 Public Work Session (with Action Items), the Board approved hiring Scott Congdon as the Director of Facilities and Operations for the district effective February 12. Mr. Congdon had been serving as Acting District Engineer since November 2023. In that role he was involved with Facilities projects across the district, including monitoring the completion of the new Core Creek Elementary School. Mr. Congdon has an engineering degree from Widener University and worked as an engineer in the private sector for a number of years before joining Neshaminy.
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 now and SAVE! Early bird discounts apply until February 28. 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
Musical season continues at Neshaminy with four great productions at our three middle schools. Poquessing presents Beetlejuice, Junior, a musical based on the 1988 comedy horror movie. Carl Sandburg Middle School presents Beauty and the Beast, a musical based on the 1991 Disney movie.
The Sandburg musical is hosting a community book drive to go along with their musical. They are collecting new or gently used middle grade books that can be donated to different classrooms in the school to help Sandburg students develop a love of reading! Click on the image at right to learn more about this book drive and how to donate.
Maple Point Middle School is presenting two great shows - Finding Nemo Kids for performers in grades 5 and 6 and Rock of Ages for students in grades 7 and 8. Both will feature memorable music in two very different genres that will delight audiences of all ages.
Neshaminy High School is hosting an Information Night for 11th-grade students and parents who are interested in learning about Neshaminy's dual enrollment program with Bucks County Community College (BCCC). The NHS/BCCC Dual Enrollment Information Night will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 6:00pm in the high school auditorium. This is a unique opportunity for our NHS seniors to earn college credit by attending BCCC part-time during the school day.
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.
February 6 was World Read Aloud Day and Carl Sandburg's 8th grade AVID classes visited the school's 5th grade to celebrate. AVID students spoke to each class they visited about how World Read Aloud Day has celebrated the importance of sharing stories by challenging people to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud.
AVID students stressed the importance of the R (READING) in the WICOR framework on which the AVID curriculum is built. They schooled the fifth graders about the power of reading and taught them that students who read are more likely to perform better academically, have a larger vocabulary, develop critical thinking skills, improve their concentration, build empathy, and gain a deeper understanding of the world. The fifth graders were then treated to a read aloud of a short story. The 8th and 5th graders thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate the power of reading together!
On February 8, Maple Point once again partnered with their friends from AIM Angels In Motion to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and positively impact the lives of others. Dozens of Maple Point students spent their Saturday morning helping to assemble "blessing bags," which are plastic bags full of essential items such as pre-packaged food, drinks and toiletries that are delivered to homeless people in Philadelphia who are suffering from addiction. The group offers the bags in hope of helping the substance abusers with the ultimate goal of directing them to treatment and housing programs. Students also weaved ground cover blankets out of plastic shopping bags, which are also distributed to homeless people.
The event was postponed from the MLK Day weekend in January due to snow and rescheduled for February. This year 2,260 Blessing Bags were assembled. The food items were donated by Maple Point families, staff members and local businesses. A large donation was made this year by BJ's Wholesale Club at Oxford Valley.
The Artists in the Community Class at Neshaminy HS created hundreds of feather-shaped paintings on paper which were assembled into a very large and very colorful set of wings and unique photo opportunity for the school. This creation will move around the school for the next several months and will also make an appearance at the District Art Show in May.
MAPLE POINT WRESTLER WINS TOURNAMENT
Maple Point MS wrestler Mia Nesbitt won the 2025 LBCL Middle School Championship on February 1. Mia is on the Maple Point MS Wrestling team. Mia was also awarded the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the tournament. Mia will join her sister Grace next year on the NHS Girl's Wrestling Team. She also qualified for the PJW State Tournament in February.
