Posted by Dr. David Zerbe on 9/24/2021
These first few weeks of school have been amazing!
Students have returned in person!!! The feeling in the classrooms and hallways is electric! The buildings are filled with such positive energy and excitement that it brings much needed normalcy to our lives.
As parents, you recognize this from the feedback you receive from your child at the end of each day. I feel this from the feedback that I get from parents as I welcomed you back during the recent meet the teacher nights. It was really good seeing and speaking with you all. To see the huge turnout of parents shows your commitment to your child and to this school community. I was appreciative of all the positive feedback from parents regarding the work that our teachers are doing and how their child(ren) are enjoying being back in school.
So – THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The feeling that your children get each and every day and the feeling that you get when you visit our school stems from the culture that our building principals have led and our staff have embraced. The nurturing environment in each of our schools provides the best opportunity for your child’s success.
Together, our staff provides a healthy, safe, engaging, supported and challenging school environment and one that provides a distinct advantage for your child(ren).
The culture within our schools and our school community allows for a true partnership among parents, teachers and staff to support all children in their academic and social/emotional growth. Thank you to our principals for being our culture leaders! Thank you to our staff for building strong relationships with our students! We have tremendous appreciation of our parents and community for their continued support.
In this month’s episode of the Community Conversations video series, Dr. Deb Euker, Woodland Elementary School principal, helps outline the importance of School Culture. Watch the video here.
Our Methacton students – past and present – achieve so many things that make us proud every day. Another alumni who makes us Methacton Proud is Miriah Rutledge – MHS ’09. Read her Alumni Spotlight profile here.
Now let’s take a look at some of the outstanding events and achievements that took place across the district in September.
Arrowhead Elementary School
Check out the progress being made at the new Arrowhead building! In the following video you will see the future main entrance, the gymnasium area, the gym stage, the administration area, and future classrooms.
Mrs. Hobson’s class read the book, If I Built a School, by Chris Van Dusen. Then, using their amazing STEM skills, they built their own versions of new school buildings!
The Arrowhead Home & School Committee welcomed back our students and teachers with some superb signs for their first day of school!
Eagleville Elementary School
Mrs. Kraus, Mx. Shuey, and Mrs. DiRenzo spruced up the hallways at Eagleville! During construction, our teachers added some temporary inspiring artwork to the walls to make everyone’s walk to class more fun.
In support of our 2021-22 school year theme, Building Our Future, Eagleville teachers arrived to the first day of school in construction gear!
Eagleville students and teachers are already utilizing our outdoor classrooms for some fresh air and sunshine!
Woodland Elementary School
September was all about the start of the new school year and the beginning of our 2021-22 school year theme, Building Our Future! Woodland decorated bulletin boards and wore construction hats to celebrate. We are all excited about the opportunities that will occur this year!
Woodland was thrilled to have our in-person ice cream social! Over 120 families came out to enjoy Zwahlen’s ice cream and catch up with old Woodland friends. Families brought camping chairs and set up anywhere on the fields or black tops. Everyone was conscious and respectful of the social distancing guidelines put in place.
In honor of September’s Patriot Day and Constitution Day, students and staff completed activities that fostered pride in our country. The whole school wore red, white, and blue on both days! Dr. Euker also sent a video on both days to all families subscribed to her newsletter.
Worcester Elementary School
On the first day of school at Worcester, students were welcomed by teachers dressed as construction workers, ready to “Build Our Future”! Additionally, the State Police from the Skippack Barracks were there to welcome our students.
Parents volunteered their time and joined us in the cafeteria and library. It was great to see our children’s parents back inside Worcester!
Worcester welcomed parents back to school on September 13th during Back to School Night! Our teachers did an excellent job presenting information about Methacton School District, Worcester, and our student’s curriculum.
Skyview Upper Elementary School
To kick off Start with Hello Week, Skyview students participated in an empathy project that empowers students to end social isolation. Our students created posters during their lunch time to help spread the word. The posters are exhibited throughout Skyview in 50 different languages!
Skyview students are holding a gently used shoe drive to help support our community and those in need of additional shoes. This drive helps support our project around empathy as we think about “walking in someone else’s shoes”.
We are beginning to recognize students who have been Pillar-ific! We are excited to continue this Skyview weekly tradition and look forward to recognizing students who show they are trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, caring and are good citizens!
Arcola Intermediate School
We are off to a fantastic in-person start at Arcola!
State Representative Joe Webster visited Arcola! Rep. Webster and our students had an informative conversation about Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Our students learned about the important role The Constitution plays in American citizen’s daily lives. Rep. Webster also shared about his personal experience working for the US Air Force at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.
As part of our 2021-22 school year theme, Building Our Future, everyone at Arcola is working hard on building connections! Forming quality connections allows us to cultivate a positive school culture and flourishing community at Arcola.
Methacton High School
Cathy Denshaw was selected to the Teacher Advisory Council for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia! Ms. Denshaw will work with the leaders of the museum and +100 teachers across the country to promote the great in person and virtual programs at the museum. She will be virtually connecting her AP US Government classes to some of the programs at the museum. These programs involve constitutional experts, judges, politicians, and political media experts!
The MHS Theatre Company has started rehearsals for our fall play, The Dining Room, which will be performed November 11th through 13th. We have 30 cast members and we are working on building our technical crew over the next few weeks. Our first read-thru was Monday, September 13th. It was amazing to have everyone in the auditorium again to kick off what promises to be a memorable season!
We have 11 National Merit Semi-Finalists representing Methacton High School! Congratulations students!
Our Freight Farm is being delivered soon! Our student and teacher team is anxiously awaiting the arrival to be able to dig into getting this amazing program started.
Our Art Department hosted Painting with a Snack during orientation. They also hosted an art critique from The Savannah College of Art and Design to review student portfolios.
Orientation back to school was a great success! Students enjoyed getting to know their teachers and classmates during the first few days of school. Students picked opportunities that sounded fun to them—ping pong, flag football, corn hole, can jam, jumbo tricycles, painting with a snack, swimming, and trivia were just a few of the choices available to students.
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Sincerely,
Dr. David Zerbe
Superintendent of Schools
