On the brand-new turf field at Harry E. Franks Stadium, 692 Neshaminy seniors celebrated the completion of their education at Neshaminy on a sunny, warm but breezy Wednesday evening, June 14. Their families and friends packed the new stands end-to-end on both sides of the field which had only been completed days before the ceremony. Following recent tradition, the graduates marched on to the field from the high school in two rows which separated as they entered the stadium before taking their seats. This year marks the 128th commencement ceremony at Neshaminy.
The ceremony began with music from the Neshaminy HS Concert Band, directed for the last time by Michael Lipton, who is retiring after 36 years. During the ceremony Mr. Lipton handed his baton to music teacher Michael Pettis, who will be taking over as Band Director next year. The National Anthem was performed by members of the Senior Choir under the direction of Kristin Nichols. Stephen Garstka, who is completing his first year as principal at Neshaminy High School, introduced the first two speakers, Class Vice-President John Spina and Class Historian Briana Plescha. Both recalled some of the challenges their class faced, including being the first to spend fifth grade in middle school back in September, 2015 after the grade configuration was changed in the district. In March, 2020 their first year at high school was cut short due to the pandemic.
Following a performance of the traditional Neshaminy song, "We Are One" by the Senior Choir, School Board President Tina Hollenbach addressed the graduates, including her own son Zachary. She also spoke about the challenges the class faced, telling them that they handled it all with "grace and dignity."
The five members of the Student Council took to the stage to share recollections with their classmates. Jaclyn Oseredzuk, Jasmine Smart, Mackenzie Sanko, Sean Curley and Alexandra Jamieson recalled some of the spirit, community outreach and fundraising highlights of the year including helping out with freshman orientation, the return of Mr. Neshaminy, Homecoming, the Pink Out and Blue Out football games.
Mr. Garstka presented the Class of 2023 to School Board members Ms. Hollenbach and Marty Sullivan, followed by the roll call of the graduates. Neshaminy HS teachers James Maloney and Kim Montone had the honor (and responsibility!) of reading the names for the presentation. As the roll call concluded and the excitement level among the graduates rose, Class President Jonatan Lopez came to the podium as the final speaker of the day. He thanked his parents for emigrating to the United States for a better life and thanked his teachers and his classmates for their friendship and support.
"I would also like to thank Neshaminy for giving us the best four years here, for giving us our best friends, and even giving some of us our special loved ones, he said. "I challenge everyone here to be excited for the unknown, to see that unknown future will unfold itself," he added, before ending the ceremony by dismissing his classmates with a boisterous tossing of the graduation caps.
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Neshaminy School District Title I is excited to announce the Foxy Readers and Writers contest winner, Albert Schweitzer Elementary School kindergartener Jacob Finsterbusch who wrote and photographed, Hello,There, Ducks!
According to Reading Specialist Kimberly Maurizi, choosing the winner was a very difficult decision as they had many amazing book entries. Students that attended the Title I Literacy Night: A Foxy Way to Learn Your ABCs had the opportunity to enter the contest. Jacob’s book captured the spirit of the contest with his original photographs and nonfiction text about his visit to Core Creek Park where he encounters the topic of his book, ducks. Congratulations to Jacob and all the other book contest authors for a job well done!
The Neshaminy Coalition for Youth podcast interview with Miss Pennsylvania, Alysa Bainbridge is available for download. This podcast, hosted by Neshaminy HS students, addresses the topic of mental health, which was Miss Pennsylvania’s platform, and the social impact initiative that she founded to address stigma, support recovery, and encourage individuals struggling with mental health challenges to get the help they need and deserve.
When the crowd left the field at Harry E. Franks Stadium for the last time in October, 2022, there was no guarantee that the senior class would be able to return in June to celebrate their graduation ceremony on the new field. Though work had already begun on replacing the baseball, softball, multipurpose fields and the tennis courts at that point, the stadium was just starting to undergo its transformation and uncertainties about weather and possible supply chain issues loomed. The scope of the project increased when a decision was made to replace the 60-year-old concrete bleachers for safety and maintenance reasons.
The goal was to have the stadium field and stands ready for the graduation ceremony on June 14. Luckily the winter proved to be a mild one, with little precipitation and moderate temperatures. Site preparation started in the Spring of 2022 with a new underground storm drainage system and field preparation for baseball, softball and the practice field (to be reborn as a multipurpose field used for practice and competition). The first artificial turf appeared in November, and the contractors maintained a steady pace throughout the winter and spring. The NHS baseball team was the first to use their new field, and the reviews from players and coaches were positive.
With stadium demolition completed by January, construction shifted into high gear in the spring. The new metal bleachers were assembled in days, and the new press box lifted into place in one morning. Extensive electrical work was completed, and the new video scoreboard was installed and connected. The sub-surface of the new 8-lane track was paved. Stadium field preparation work was delayed slightly by several days of rain in March but proceeded steadily after that. The new turf field was installed in mid-May at the same time as new fencing and temporary landscaping.
The final pieces of the project are scheduled to be completed in the upcoming months. These include installing the tennis and track surfaces, adding additional bleachers for the multipurpose field, baseball and softball fields, building a new ticket gate / field house at the stadium and rebuilding the Football Hall of Fame.
Agenda Highlights
The following items were among those considered for approval at the July 27 Board Public Meeting:
- The Board approved by an 8-0 vote the sale of the Oliver Heckman Elementary School building and property on the Middletown Township / Langhorne Borough border to the Erin Development Company of Yardley, PA for $3.2 million, subject to completion of the terms and agreement of the sale. Heckman closed after the 2015-2016 school year as part of the District's Road Map plan to modernize facilities and align them with student population changes now and into the future. The school opened in 1966 and the property includes 8.2 acres of land at 201 Cherry Street in Langhorne. Since the closure the building has remained vacant.
- The Board approved a contract to continue using the Safe2Say Something service, which provides a mobile phone app, website, phone service and related monitoring and reporting service that allows students and staff to anonymously report threats and safety issues. The service is contracted through the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and is used by many area school districts.
- The Board voted to continue the School Resource Officer program with the Middletown Township Police Department for the schools in their jurisdictions.
- Approved a service agreement for $5.05 million with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit for special education services.
If you're looking for the summer reading packets and math learning opportunity information, you can find them here: https://www.neshaminy.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=45865
It is important to encourage children to engage in both reading and math activities throughout the summer to reduce the “summer slide.” Summer slide is the loss of academic skills and knowledge over the course of a lengthy break. To ensure students are engaged in learning during the summer break, Neshaminy is pleased to offer activities and incentives for all students. While the summer reading is required for certain students, the math tutorials are optional but highly recommended. Please visit the link above for more information.
Every year, Neshaminy School District requires each returning student entering fifth and ninth grade to re-register for the 2023-2024 school year. The purpose is to ensure that all student information, including home addresses and contact information is correct and current as the students move into new buildings for the next phase of their education at Neshaminy.
Parents and guardians can quickly and easily complete this process online by visiting www.neshaminy.org/rv59 or scanning the QR code at the right with a mobile device. All re-verifications should be completed by July 1, 2023.
Summer is a busy time for the Information Technology staff at Neshaminy! They are checking in devices returned by graduating seniors, getting new devices ready for incoming kindergarten students, recycling old devices at the end of their service life and preparing new devices for use.
Students who are experiencing problems with their Chromebooks can make an appointment to have them repaired over the summer on Mondays and Wednesdays between 9am - 2pm at Neshaminy HS. No unscheduled repairs will be accepted, please call 215-809-6576 to schedule an appointment and visit the Neshaminy 1:1 Technology website for more information.
Neshaminy Pre-K Counts is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 program year. This is a grant-based program funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that provides FREE, high-quality pre-kindergarten education to families who meet the generous financial guidelines (household income as high as $90,000 for a family of four) and student age requirements.
Neshaminy is pleased to host this program in several classrooms located in our schools. The exact number of classrooms and their location will be announced in July once the Pennsylvania state budget is passed, and funding secured.
Please visit www.neshaminy.org/pkc to learn more about the Pre-K Counts program and to apply.
In 2017, Pennsylvania's Department of Health established requirements for school vaccinations. Please review this document from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and consult with your child’s healthcare provider. Communication from the District will continue as a reminder of this PA Department of Health requirement.
District Policy 203 requires that “a certificate of immunization shall be maintained as part of the health record for each student, as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.” Further, the Policy states that “a student who has not been immunized per state regulations shall not be admitted to or permitted to attend district schools unless exempted for medical or religious reasons or provisionally admitted by the Superintendent or designee after beginning a multiple dose vaccine series and submitting proof of immunization or a medical certificate on or before the fifth school day of attendance.”
The requirements allow for the following exemptions: medical reason, religious belief, or philosophical/strong moral or ethical conviction. Even if your child is exempt from immunizations, he or she may be excluded from school during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak.
Communication from the District will continue as a reminder of this PA Department of Health and Policy 203’s requirements. Please contact your child’s School Nurse with questions.
Thank you to everybody that donated to the Neshaminy Education Foundation End-of-Year Staff Appreciation Campaign! The cards were printed and delivered to the recipients during the final week of school. This campaign raised over $1800 for the NEF.
Congratulations to the two winners in the NEF Spring Basket Raffle. Dom Foti, a teacher at Poquessing Middle School, and Linda Crocker, a community supporter, are each enjoying a collection of gift cards to local restaurants, the Middletown Country Club and Shady Brook Farm. Stay tuned for the always-popular Eagles tickets raffle coming up in September!
Donors wanted! If you have season tickets to the Eagles, other Philadelphia sports teams or other upcoming events and would like to donate a game to the NEF for a raffle, please contact Chris Stanley at cstanley@neshaminy.org.
In May and June, kindergarten students at Albert Schweitzer ES were introduced to the engineering process through hands on activities. They used their creativity and understanding of materials, tools, math and science to design various technologies.
Through the engineering process, the students created a trash collector that could be used to clean up trash in a pond. They demonstrated one way to help keep the earth clean.
Students and staff at Joseph Ferderbar ES prepared a very special surprise send-off assembly for their Principal, Mr. Andre Modica who is retiring after 16 years at Neshaminy. The entire school sang a modified version of a Frank Sinatra (one of his favorites) song in his honor, as well as wearing paper mustaches and ties that they created just for the occasion. Mr. Modica has held a few administrative positions during his time at Neshaminy, including eight years as Principal at Samuel Everitt ES and Assistant Principal at Maple Point MS. He will be replaced by Dr. Sinead Doherty, currently an assistant principal at Butler Elementary School in Chalfont.
TruMark Financial Credit Union recently hosted its 16th annual Financial Jeopardy competition in Fort Washington. The Financial Jeopardy competition tested students’ personal finance knowledge in categories such as banking, credit, taxes, budgeting, and investments. To enter the competition, Mrs. Hall & Mrs. Michael from the NHS BCIT department nominated 12th grade student, Daniel Schoen (3rd from right), to participate. Dan came in 2nd place winning a $3,000 scholarship! Dan plans on using the scholarship to pursue a career in finance. Congratulations Dan!
NHS Class of 2023 graduate and Neshaminy Interact Club Core Member Allison Sperling has been working on her Gold Award in Girl Scouts all year long. The Gold Award, the equivalent of the Eagle Scout Award for Boy Scouts, has them consider an issue in their community and then find a way to act collaboratively to improve the problem. Allie's multi-faceted project addresses the proliferation of single-use plastics by educating students, collecting the plastic and then creating Eco-Bricks by tightly packing the plastic into water bottles. She then created cob by mixing soil, water and straw which was then used to bind the bricks together. Allie was supported throughout the year by the Interact Club, students in Mr. Bursk's, Ms. Drake's, Mrs. Hays's, Ms. McGee's, Mrs. Rippert's and Mr. Rocco's classes along with community support from Home Depot, The Feasterville and Langhorne Rotaries, and her Girl Scout troop. The finished planter will cure over the summer and will be formally dedicated in the fall.
This school year, 58 Neshaminy High School students were enrolled in the Gwynedd Mercy University (GMU) Dual Enrollment program. Students taking Honors Accounting 2, Honors Accounting 3, Honors Microeconomics, Honors Macroeconomics or Honors Information Technology 2 are eligible to participate in this partnership with GMU. Dual enrollment is an educational partnership that can be advantageous for students when planning for undergraduate study. It prepares the student for a fast-paced college classroom in the first semester and helps students succeed. In June, students received college transcripts from GMU. The student transcripts show three college credits for each Dual Enrollment course taken at Neshaminy High School through the BCIT Department for a total of 198 credits for the school year. These credits are transferable to other universities should the students choose to not attend GMU.
Hugh Cooperman, 60, passed away on June 12, 2023. A 1980 graduate of Neshaminy HS, Hugh was employed with Neshaminy for over 33 years, holding several positions over the years including a school bus driver, hall aide, nurse's assistant, and night custodian. He was the Head Custodian at Maple Point Middle School at the time of his passing.
He was a volunteer EMT with Penndel Middletown Emergency Squad for the last 40 years and held many positions including Chief of the organization at one time. He loved being part of the Squad family and he dedicated his life to helping others.
He was also "Santa 8", riding on the firetruck on Christmas Eve for many years for the Penndel Fire Company, Station 8 as well as for Middletown Township. He brought smiles to so many children over the years.
