Roller Pride

Teacher Appreciation Week is here! Join us as we celebrate our SHSD Teachers all week long by sharing posts, images, and positive messages throughout social media.

Last month, 4th grade students of Mrs. Dawson and students in Ms. Keeney's Art II class collaborated to create a piece of artwork to accompany the 4th graders' street poems. In March, Dawson's students enjoyed a poem titled, "Street Music" by Arnold Adoff, which included many examples of onomatopoeia (sound words) celebrating the sights, sounds, people, and rhythms of the city. The students were assigned to write their own street poems including the sights and sounds in their own towns of Steelton or Highspire.

Then, students from Ms. Keeny's class met with the young authors and collaborated to help them create a piece of artwork that brought their poems to life. Thank you to both Ms. Dawson and Ms. Keeney for working together to bring their students this amazing experience!

The Steelton-Highspire School District is pleased to announce that sophomore Neema Mwerma was awarded the grand prize, in the 11th annual Student Financial Literacy Scholarship Competition sponsored by Harrisburg University, Members 1st Federal Credit Union and Pennsylvania Auditor General, Tim DeFoor. Please review the press release below from the Department of the Auditor General to learn more.

PRESS RELEASE:

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology President Dr. Eric Darr, Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor and Members 1st Federal Credit today announced the winners of a statewide financial literacy competition for students in Grades 9-12.

“It’s hard to understate the importance of financial literacy in today’s world,” said Harrisburg University President, Dr. Eric Darr. “Young adults who know how money works are far better prepared to support their families and maintain healthy spending habits. We are grateful for the chance to continue this impactful collaboration between Harrisburg University, Members 1st Federal Credit Union, and the office of the Auditor General. I want to thank each and every student who shared their thoughts with us in this competition and extend hearty congratulations to our winners. You’ve made Pennsylvania proud.”

The top winners were selected out of 94 entrants across 24 counties who submitted poems or essays on the theme, “What Does Financial Literacy Mean to Me?”

The winners are:

• First Place ($2,500 prize): Neema Mwemera, 10th Grade, Steelton-Highspire Jr./Sr. High School, Dauphin County

• Second Place ($1,500 prize): Ashley Rodriguez, 11th Grade, William Allen High School, Lehigh County

• Third Place ($1000 prize tie): John Ademuwagun, 11th Grade, Milton Hershey School, Dauphin County

• Third Place ($1000 prize tie): Caleb Masshardt, 12th Grade, Cedar Cliff High School, Cumberland County

• Honorable mentions ($500 prize): Martina Ferriolo, 11th Grade, Louis E. Dieruff High School, Lehigh County; Savannah Harrell, 11th Grade, Bishop McDevitt High School, Dauphin County; Ava Santanna, 12th Grade, Bishop McDevitt High School, Dauphin County

In addition to the cash prize, every student who submitted an entry to the 11th Annual Financial Literacy Competition will receive a $1,000 tuition scholarship when enrolling as a full-time student at Harrisburg University.

“It’s never too early to start learning how to be smart with your money,” Auditor General DeFoor said. “If you know how money works, you’re in a better position to understand where it’s going and you’re able to hold government accountable for how it’s being spent. The winners of this year’s competition have shown they know the importance of being financially literate.”

“Having a strong grasp of personal finance is crucial for the next generation to make informed decisions as they grow older. Competitions like this play a pivotal role in teaching youth how to plan for their future and manage their finances effectively,” said Chad Adams, Chief Relationship Officer for Members 1st. “On behalf of Members 1st, we sincerely congratulate this year’s competition winners. Thank you to the Department of the Auditor General and Harrisburg University for hosting this crucial initiative and sharing in our mission of financially equipping our region’s youth.”

This was the 11th year that Harrisburg University of Science and Technology has organized this competition. Monetary prizes were provided by Harrisburg University; no taxpayer funds were used. Learn more about the Department of the Auditor General online at www.PaAuditor.gov. Pictures and video of the event will be posted online at PAcast.com.

Congratulations to Ciana Cancel who won the Silver medal for Painting and Cayla Westbrook who won the Silver Medal for Photography at the Harrisburg Area NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technical and Scientific Olympics(ACT-SO) competition. The awards ceremony for the competition was held on Saturday, April 27th. Both received awards of $350 to accompany their medals as well as several personal proclamations and citations. IN addition, thank you to Mrs. Warner, Transition and Co-op Coordinator, who helped them through the registration process and helped them prepare for the competition. Job well done by all!!

Steelton-Highspire senior Davyon Lewis was awarded the Tom Buskey Student Achievement Award on Friday, May 3rd during a ceremony held at the Capital Area Intermediate Unit. The Tom Buskey Student Achievement Awards recognize graduating seniors for their "“hard work and dedication in overcoming personal challenges, leading towards successful transition to life after high school.”

Congratulations to Davyon on this achievement!

Keystone Scholars is Pennsylvania’s statewide Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program. It sets the expectation at birth for every child in Pennsylvania to pursue some form of post-high school education by providing a $100 automatic, at-birth investment for higher education savings to every child born or adopted by Pennsylvania residents on or after January 1, 2019. Money can be used between the ages of 18-29 for postsecondary expenses, including vocational and technical schools, qualified apprenticeships, 2–4-year college and graduate school programs.

Keystone Scholars has three primary goals:

• Help parents maintain high expectations for their child’s future education.
• Cultivate a future-focused identity in children.
• Prompt parents to start saving as early as possible to give funds the longest time to grow.

Research shows:

• Children with college savings in their name – even if that amount is modest – are three times more likely to pursue postsecondary education and four times more likely to graduate.
• CSAs have large positive effects on savings for college at age 12, with largest effects among disadvantaged children by race, income, and parent’s education.
• CSAs complement efforts to reduce inequality in early education, facilitate college completion, and improve post-college financial health.
• CSA effects extend beyond children, reducing maternal depression and increasing parental educational expectations for their children.
• Predicted household income and net worth are higher for adults who received parental financial support for college than for those receiving no such support.

Eligible families can claim and register their child’s account at pa529.com/keystone/ by entering:

• Child’s date of birth,
• State File Number from the child’s PA birth certificate, and
• Zip code on file when the child was born.

Once registered, families may open their own companion PA 529 account and link their Keystone Scholars account to contribute to their savings journey.

The Intergovernmental Committee made up of SHSD School Board Members, Steelton Borough Officials, and Highspire Borough Officials invites you to join us as we celebrate the Class of 2024 with a graduation procession through our communities.

This event will take place on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at 6pm. Show your support by decorating your homes and porches in blue, gray and white. Seniors should arrive at the high school parking lot by 4:30pm if they want to decorate their cars at the school, or they can come already prepared at 5:30pm to line up for the procession.

On Wednesday, May 8th we celebrate National School Nurse Day. School Nurses care for the entire school population, especially the most vulnerable, playing an essential role in keeping all students in school, healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

www.schoolnurseday.org

Counselor for grades K-2: Mrs. Lopez, glopez@shsd.k12.pa.us

Counselor for grades 3-6: Mrs. Rash, jrash@shsd.k12.pa.us

Counselor for grades 7-9: Ms. Sunday, bsunday@shsd.k12.pa.us

Counselor for grades 10-12: Mrs. Albert, aalbert@shsd.k12.pa.us

College & Career Counselor K-12: Vacant

Guidance Administrative Assistant: Ms. Navickas, jnavickas@shsd.k12.pa.us

Please visit this link for information regarding upcoming SAT testing dates and registration instructions: https://www.shsd.k12.pa.us/Page/4845

The Jr/Sr high school counseling office maintains a list of current scholarship opportunities for students. Please visit this link to view those opportunities: Scholarship Opportunities

• 5/8: Early Dismissal - Staff In-Service
• 5/10: Prom
• 5/24: Early Dismissal - Students & Staff
• 5/27: Schools & Offices Closed - Memorial Day Holiday
• 6/2: Class of 2024 Senior Procession (see flyers for more information)
• 6/5: Early Dismissal - Staff In-Service, HS Graduation
• 6/6: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - Early Dismissal (Students & Staff)