Welcome to the new format for the Neshaminy Update District newsletter! Every month during the school year we bring you important information, recognitions, event promotion, District news, and of course great news from each of our schools. This newsletter is emailed to over 20,000 readers, and archived copies dating back to 2014 can be found on the District website.
This month we are pleased to debut a new format for Neshaminy Update, which will continue to be shared via email and website each month. You'll still get all the same articles and features, but the text will be easier to read on a variety of devices, whether you read on a desktop monitor or a smart phone. Photo and video display will be improved with the addition of photo galleries, embedded videos and the ability to enlarge images for easier viewing. The new format is also completely ADA-compliant for easier viewing by those who use enhancement devices.
We hope you enjoy this new look and welcome contributions or feedback.
Kevin Burns has joined Neshaminy as the Chief of Security for the District, replacing Cliff Fiedler, who retired at the end of June. Kevin recently retired from the Bristol Township Police Department after 31 years of service as a Sergeant. There he had varied assignments such as serving as a D.A.R.E. Officer, and serving as a liaison between the police department, the Bristol Township School District and the Bucks County Technical High School on matters of school safety and active shooter policies and training. He has been touring the District since his hire, meeting staff and engaging with students.
"I look forward to building strong relationships with the Neshaminy community and providing a safe and secure environment for our students to obtain the best education possible," he said.
- Raffle tickets for a chance to win two tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles / Dallas Cowboys game on December 22, 2019 are available for purchase at all school Main Offices. Chances are $5 each. The winner will be notified on November 22.
- The NEF is hosting a Dining for Dollars event at Bertucci's (Oxford Valley Mall location) on Monday & Tuesday, November 4 & 5. Up to 25% of each order will be donated back to the NEF for lunch and dinner, dine-in, take-out or delivery.
Third grade students investigated the strength of Bess beetles during October. One investigation sought to determine the amount of paper clips a Bess beetle could pull. How many? "The observed pulling strength ranged from thirty eight to seventy five paper clips. That means at least one of the beetles was able to pull about 110 grams of weight - approximately 2.6 ounces - which is about fifty times their own weight. In human numbers, a person weighing 150 pounds would have to pull 7,500 pounds." Now you know!
The children at Walter Miller were treated to a dog-gone, delightful visit from children’s author and illustrator Deborah Deeken and her three-year-old therapy dog Chance. Ms. Deeken, who retired as an art teacher with Neshaminy School District, shared the process of writing and how her dog Chance inspired her to write. She emphasized that you must believe in yourself and challenge yourself to do things you didn’t even know you could do. The highlight of the assembly, however, was being entertained by Chance and his delightful tricks.
On Friday, September 27th, all students and staff participated in our C.A.R.E.S. kickoff for the 2019-2020 school year. Students visited five stations to talk about and apply skills that are associated with our C.A.R.E.S. acronym -- Cooperation, Positive Attitude, Respect, Empathy, and Safety. It was a beautiful afternoon of sunshine where we built on our school community and shared expectations for the year
Maple Point once again celebrated the US Constitution by inviting guest speakers to talk with students in each grade about their involvement with our guiding document in September and October. This speaker series has become a school tradition, during which students are able to connect concept with reality by hearing about local and national real-world applications of Constitutional issues.
Speakers this year included Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, Pennsylvania State Representative Frank Farry; US Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Middletown Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla and Officer Melissa Robison, Middletown Township Supervisor Amy Strouse and LevittownNow.com editor Tom Sofield. Pennsylvania District Attorney Josh Shapiro helped the effort by creating a personalized video that was shared with the students of Maple Point.
Poquessing’s Student Council celebrated its annual Red Ribbon Week during the last week of October. In support of #StandUpNeshaminy, students were asked to Stand Up against Vaping and for those people, activities and values that are important to them. Each day had a different theme. For example, there was “We Stand Up Together” Twin Day, "Stand Up and Be Who You Want to Be” on Halloween and even “VSCO over Vaping” Day. In addition, students wore a different sticker each day reminding them of the dangers of Vaping. Finally, Student Council decorated the school with both red ribbons and Stand Up Neshaminy materials. It was a great week and one that we hope will help students understand the value of who they are and the importance of staying away from vaping.
The Neshaminy HS Marching Band held their annual Kaleidoscope of Bands on Saturday, October 26. Over 1000 musicians, color guard and supporters filled the field as bands from Bensalem High School, Council Rock High School North, Council Rock High School South, Harry S. Truman High School, Montgomery High School, East Stroudsburg HS South, Easton Area High School and Cherry Hill High School East competed. The Neshaminy HS Marching Band performed their show, titled Beyond. Their show featured an out-worldy collection of music including Dark Side of the Moon by Paul Lovatt-Cooper, New World by Bjork and 160BPM by Hans Zimmer.
On October 25, the Interact Club at Neshaminy HS held a movie night with the Pixar film, Coco. This is their first fundraiser of the year for the Sunshine Foundation, which provides "dreams" for chronically ill children such as trips to Disneyworld. This year Interact is working to send a young girl, Leani, and her family to Disney.
On October 26, Interact Club members volunteered at Olde Langhorne Harvest Day operating a face-painting table for the Rotary Club, which sponsors the Interact and EarlyAct clubs at Neshaminy.
