DCIU Update DCIU Update

Delaware CountyDelaware Intermediate County Intermediate Unit #25 Unit #25 FebruaryFebruary-March-March 2012 2012 A Word FromA Word Dr. From O’Shea Dr. Larry O’Shea

Greetings from the Office of the Executive Director. I hope you had an enjoyable Spring break. We are pleased to announce the 2012 Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award winners. The Delaware County Intermediate Unit and the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (FMFCU) Foundation will honor these “stars” of Delaware County education at the 2012 Partners in Learning Celebration on April 19, 2012 at 5:00 pm at the Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center in Drexel Hill, PA: Inside this issue: Mindy Nguyen-Balli Chester Upland School of the Arts Speech Staff Uses 2 Marie Neeson Chichester Middle School Hands-on Learning Mary Acchione DCIU DCTS Students Make 2 Shanna McGarry Garnet Valley Elementary School Fuel-Efficient Design Michelle May Manoa Elementary School Susan Maze Haverford Best Buddies 3 Elizabeth Landes Marple Newtown High School Wing Bowl Matthew Santini Pennell Elementary School Thom Houghton Delaware County DCIU Teachers Re- 4 Thomas Imburgia Cardinal O'Hara High School ceive Recognition Anne Hofmann St. Anastasia School Education Foundation 5 Carl Rosin Grant Awards Christina McGovern Hearing and Language 6 Jayne Walker Media Elementary School Staff Present at Nation- al Conference Susan Ball Stephanie Santella Harvey C. Sabold Elementary School Margie Tavakalian Beverly Hills Middle School Tech-Connect 7 William Sweeney Jennifer Cifuni Bell Avenue Elementary HR Corner 8 FMFCU Foundation, in partnership with DCIU, established the Excellence in Teaching Award to give special distinction to those exceptional, innovative teachers in Delaware County who have had a strong and lasting influence on their students. This award honors one educator from each of Delaware County’s 15 pub- lic school districts and one from DCIU, along with three non-public educators. Each honoree receives a $500 cash award, a commemorative keepsake and $1,000 to benefit his or her school. The dinner event also will honor all the students who participated in the 2011-2012 season of the Delco Hi-Q academic quiz competition. Among them is the elite 21- member All Delco Hi-Q Team. In addition, the three top place finishers of the 2012 season will receive their awards: first place Garnet Valley, second place Penncrest and third place Delco Christian. Page 2 DCIU Update

Speech & Language EI Staff Use Hands-On Learning

In Early Intervention, our teachers and speech-language therapists incorporate creative language-based, hands-on activities into their lessons. More and more research is showing that children learn best through hands-on activities. From an evolutionary perspective, our ancestors learned through playing, experi- menting, and discovering the world around them. Cooking and baking are great ways to provide preschoolers with this kind of hands-on learning experience. These activities give students an opportunity to learn language (vocabulary, following directions), math (counting, measuring), and science (describing, predicting) skills in a functional way. These activities are multi-sensory; students learn through seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting. The students are rewarded for their participation and hard work with a tasty treat. Bon appetit!

HVAC Students Show Off Fuel-Efficient Designs

Steve Davis and Tim Bradley, both seniors in the DCTS HVAC program, designed and assembled this two-zone hydronic heating system that used copper baseboard heating elements. This is the type of heating system that is found in most residential hot water heating systems. The operation of the system depends on the hot water heater heating the water to a temperature of 165 degrees. A circulator pump moves the water through each of the zones. A thermostat controls each zone. When the thermo- stat calls for heat, it sends a signal to open a zone valve and at the same time turns on the circulator pump. The zone valve stays open until the thermostat is satisfied. The advantage to having zones is that a house can be divided into zones and only the portion of the house that needs heat is heated. This makes the system more economical to run as well as creating a more comfortable environment. This is just one example of the high-quality skills our DCTS students are acquiring. They are being well-prepared to enter the workforce with skills that give them an edge over other graduates. Page 3 DCIU Update

Haverford Best Buddies Hold Annual Wing Bowl

Best Buddies is a global movement aimed to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through friendship, leadership, and community. At Haverford, our chapter is renowned for over a decade of success. Last year, our chapter was presented with the Chapter of the Year award for our efforts in partnership, integration, and fundraising. Our biggest fundraiser, the Wing Bowl, is a buffalo wing eating contest between students and faculty. The top 10 fundraising teachers and students compete against each other in a series of rounds. The five student participants: “Jaws” (Jr. Gavin Vanstone) , “C-$” (Sr. Charles Tiffany), “Rated -R-Wing Star” (Soph. Tevin Dix), “Incredible Bulk” (Jr. Edward Gillespie), and “Wing King” (Sr. Jordan White). Unfortunately this year, due to an illness, Jordan was unable to participate, but in true Best Buddies style his seat was not vacant. “The Queen Winger,” (Mrs. Vera McBride), a teaching as- sistant in the DCIU classroom filled in for him. These 5 contestants compete against each other trying to out-eat their competitors within their allotted ten minutes. Each participant is announced by his/her wing name, while their title song is playing and they are escorted with their chosen entourage. A winner is announced then the teachers “The Colonel” (Mr. Lare), “La Wingadora,” (Mrs. MacConnell), “Chicken Little,” (Mr. Seifert), “Chicken Bones,” (Mr. Howe), and “Buffalo Bradley” (Mr. Bradley) do the same. The qualifiers of both rounds advance to a three-minute speed round. This year, the student finalist, “Jaws” managed to beat our reigning champion, Spanish teacher “La Wingadora” by a single wing. “Jaws” received a $100 cash prize, a personal trophy and his name engraved on the large trophy that is on display in the school building, plus the satisfaction of being the second student champion the event has ever had. Overall, our chapter raised close to $1,300, our great- est success to date. In the future, our program will continue to grow and to flourish with the dedication and support of our members, our school, and our community allowing our mission to impact thousands of individuals.

Hearing and Language Supervisor Featured in Town Talk Newspaper

Congratulations are in order for Marsha Dworkin, Hearing and Language Program Supervisor, for 1) her pending retirement after 37 years with DCIU and 2) for recently being featured as Profile of the Week in the Town Talk newspaper. The article details Marsha’s illustrious career with DCIU and her impact on the organization and the children and families she has served over the nearly four decades. Page 4 DCIU Update DCIU Teacher Named 2012 Delco Excellence in Teaching Awardee

DCIU is proud to announce that Mary Ellen Mary Acchione Acchione, teacher in the DCIU MDS Program at Coopertown Elementary School in the Haverford School District, will receive the 2012 Delaware County Excellence in Teaching Award on April 19. She will be honored along with colleagues from our 15 school districts and nonpublic schools, Delco Hi-Q winners, and Delco Hi-Q Hall of Honor Inductee, at the annual Partners in Learning Celebration. The event begins at 5:00 pm and will be held at the Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center, Drexel Hill, PA. Mary was nominated by a colleague , who said, “I am in my 17th year of teaching and I know many fine teachers, but once in a while one emerges that seems to extend the gift of teaching…I see a person who is inspirational, motivational, and full of love for her students." Mary was selected by a team from the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union and the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. In addition to the upcoming celebration, Mary and the other awardees had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Pat Meehan on April 11 to discuss important issues affecting public education. Congratulations to Mary and best wishes for continued success!

Head Start Teacher Honored by Acme Markets

Mary Simmonds, Head Start Instructor at Rockbourne Falls was recently honored by Acme Markets as Teacher of the Month for her positive attitude, professionalism and dedication to her students and families and the Head Start Program. According to John Kelley, Store Director, the Acme stores in District 2 (Philadelphia, Delaware County/ PA region), all participate in the Teacher of the Month program. “Teachers are nominated to receive this award and anyone can nominate a teacher...parents, students, co-workers, etc.,” stated Mr. Kelley. A committee reviews the nominations and decides on a winner. Mary Simmonds was the John Kelley, Acme Store Director, DCIU Head winner for the month of February. Start Teacher, Mary Simmonds, and Kim The committee was impressed with Mary’s Shivone, Acme Front End Manager nomination and were excited to present her with this honor. Nominated by fellow staff members, Mary received a cake, a bouquet of flowers and a Teacher of the Month bag filled with other gifts from Acme, including a gift card and tee-shirt. Congratulations to Mary Simmonds for such a wonderful tribute to her success as a teacher! Page 5 DCIU Update

Head Start Receive Visits from Local Police Officers

In an effort to help teach the children at the Madison Head Start Center about important people in the community, and to show them examples of positive role models, Head Start staff invited officers from the City of Chester Police Department to visit with the children. Officer Matt Donohue went to the D Building where he joined the children for lunch and demonstrated the use of handcuffs. Officer Donohue was actually off duty so he got dressed just to go in and visit the children. Officer Robert Jones went to the A Building and gave away badge stickers. The police officers enthusiastically shared their time and their profession with the children and the kids were very excited and in awe!

Don Guanella Students Have Fun with Cartoon Photos

A previous issue of the DCIU Update included an article and photos about the wonderful renovations to parts of the Don Guanella building housing our DCIU programs. Staff members worked after hours to complete the project, and during school hours, students looked forward to helping with the artwork. They have continued to beautify the hallways with bright, colorful, creative paintings, which most recently includes a render- ing of Citizen’s Bank Park, home of the Phillies. Also in taking photos of their work, staff and students discovered the use of an app that converts a regular photo into a cartoon, as you can see in the photos. They had lots of fun with this app. The pride that they all take in their school and in their work shines brightly!

Page 6 DCIU Update EI Speech-Language Incorporate Thematic Learning Stations Jayne Collins, EI Speech-Language Therapist, planned and set up thematic learning stations in the motor room at Marple Education Center, basing all activities on Winter/Valentine’s Day themes. The stations included games and activities that incorporated language concepts, answering questions, listening, following directions, motor skills, social and play skills and literacy skills. Some of the activities included Jumping in the “Snow,” Penguin Bowling, Read-a-loud story on Winter Animals and a Valentine’s craft. Each therapist/itinerant education teacher brought their student(s) to the themed room for the last 10 minutes of their therapy sessions and were able to visit each of the stations. The students love these themed activities- it gives them a chance to interact with each other, have fun and feel motivated to come to therapy.

Hearing and Language Staff Present at National Conference

Agnes Habony, Caitlin Gilmartin, and Dr. Irene Merenda presented at the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) annual convention on February 21 on the topic “Best Practices in Assessment and Consultation: The Hard of Hearing/ Deaf Student in Mainstream Settings.” This focused on teaching School Psychologists how to understand the framework of an evaluation of a student with hearing loss, including the basics of audiology, assessment modifications and accommodations, and suggestions for accommodations. Participants had an opportuni- ty to participate in a demonstration of Hearing Loss as well as ask specific questions. The co-presenters represented a partner- ship that allowed for expertise, enthusiasm, and current research and the program was well received. Attendees represented School Psychologists and graduate students from across the country. Page 7 DCIU Update

DCIU Education Foundation 2012 Grants Awards

Using an IPad2 to Support Communication, Literacy, Suicide Toolkit for the School Community (0065) and Math (0056) Theresa Erbacher, Kathy Kircher Mary Ellen Acchione, Carol Pollack, Leanne Pool/Jennifer Project Total: $1000.00 Hertwig Project Total: $996.27 Recognizing Students Positive Behavior (0066) Kelly Fager/Joe Pardini “A CUT ABOVE” (0057) Project Total: $635.26 Warren Andersmith/Chris Moritzen Project Total: $1000.00 Reading and Articulation Practice (0067) Sandra Falcone/Marsha Dworkin Kidini Karate Bully Prevention & Child Safety Total Project: $120.00 Program (0058) Lisa Barlow/Renee Bell Facilitating Social Activities (0068) Project Total: $916.00 Patty Frederick, Barbara Lefferts, Barbara Burger Total Project: $1000.00 Increase Access to Switches for Students with Multiple Disabilities (0059) Elementary and Secondary Pottery Grant (0069) Katherine Bercaw/Melinda St. George Caitlin Gilmartin/Joe Pardini Project Total $1000.00 Project Total: $538.36

Navigation Newcomer (0060) Culinary Exploration Program (0070) Andrea Bitner/Joe Flynn Christine Loesche/Kyle Kanter Project Total: $950.00 Total Project: $667.16

Read Naturally/Read Live (0061) Autistic Support Program (0071) Michele Bohannon/Marsha Dworkin Mike Mallee/Joe Pardini Project Total: $599.00 Total Project: $1000.00 iPad with the Porloquo2Go Language Application for Hi-Pro USB Hearing Aid Programming Box (0072) School Age Students (0062) Irene Merenda/Marsha Dworkin Joanne Brogan/Melinda St. George Total Project: $1000.00 Project Total: $937.95 Healthy Choices Start Early (0073) AED Trainers (0063) Judith Oranzi/Jeanette Alexander Richard Caruth/S. Ryan Coughlan Total Project: $1000.00 Project Total: $902.50 Horticultural Activity (0076) Onsite Music Therapy with “Music Works” (0064) Andria Saia/Jack Curtin Maryanne DiPerri, Joanne Mallon/Melissa Hance Total Project: $1000.00 Project Total: $875.00 Active Socialization through Arts & Crafts (0077) Making Healthy Choices: Eat Well, Play Well (0074) Helene Stanley/Andria Saia Helen Pitts/Linda Lomas Total Project: $1000.00 Project Total: $1000.00 Hands-on Training Equipment (0078) Galaxy Tablet for Interactive Classroom (0075) Paul Tresca/S. Ryan Coughlan Anthony Rogers/Chris Moritzen Total Project: $993.66 Project Total: $593.99 Total: 23 Grants @ $19,725.15

Grant funds must be used by March 7, 2013. Page 8 DCIU Update

Tech-Connect February 2012

Published by the Technology Department to provide important information for DCIU staff.

Daily Events

Please note the new addition of our “Daily Events” link on our home page. By clicking this link and allowing WMP to open, you will see the same events that are displayed on our main lobby monitors. At this point the link is only valid at sites within our network, but I will keep you posted when it will also be active off site and from home.

Smart Board Software I have gotten a few calls about Smart Board Notebook activation key. Please visit the shared Q Drive and open the interactive board folder. You will find the activation key I have been using since 2008.

Saving documents and files Long gone is the floppy disc; the CD is not too far behind. The quickest easiest way to save files, pho- tos, music, or any data is becoming the USB flash drive; aka- thumb drive. They can be seen attached to lanyards hanging around the necks of users. They are relatively inexpensive and can hold large quan- tities of data. They are much more stable than the floppy and more convenient than the CD rom. The use is the easiest by far; plug the USB drive into an empty USB slot on the computer and it will mount next to your hard drive under the MY COMPUTER area. Once mounted you can drag and drop your file into the drive; copy and paste your items; or simply do a save as from any open document and path over to the flash drive.

* The main intent of the USB drive is for file transfer and sharing; it is not intended to be your backup. Continue to use your network H: drive for backups.

The HR Department is pleased to bring you this health and wellness information each month on behalf of IBX and HMS and Gallagher/BPI. DELAWARE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE Get Your Plate in Shape UNIT

200 Yale Ave. Low carb, no carb, high protein, vegan, paleo, Morton, PA 19070 low cal, low fat, low sugar. Too many diets, too Phone: 610-938-9000 much information! How can you make sure that Fax: 610-938-9887 you're eating healthy meals that provide the Email: [email protected] nutrition you need? March is National Nutrition Month, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests you "get your plate in shape" with the following tips:

 Make half your plate fruit and vegetables. Eat a variety of veggies throughout the day. Instead of candy, have some fruit for a snack. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables and fruit. Just be sure to pick reduced- or low-sodium canned veggies and canned fruit packed in juice, not syrup.  Choose whole grains. Go for oatmeal, brown rice, and 100% whole grain bread and pasta.  Vary your protein. In addition to lean meat, poultry, and eggs, eat seafood, WWW.DCIU.ORG nuts, and beans, which are all great protein sources.  Cut back on sodium. About 90% of Americans over the age of 2 eat too much sodium (salt). Too much sodium can increase a person's risk for high blood pressure.  Cut back on empty calories from sugar and fats. Pastries, candy, chips, and buttered popcorn are tasty, but all contain empty calories. Eat foods like these in moderation. Need more tips? Visit the Nutrition Center on ibxpress.com. Just log on to www.ibxpress.com, and click on the WebMD® tab at the top of the page. The Nutrition Center is located under the Health Tools tab. There you'll find resources and tools for counting calories, tracking your diet, even selecting healthy fast foods (yes, they exist).

Independence Blue Cross

DCIU Zumba Fitness Classes:  Marple Education Center, Tuesdays, 4:00-4:45 pm (send email to [email protected] to RSVP and for further information)  Pennington School, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:15-5:00 pm

DCIU Yoga Classes:  Morton, Mondays and Thursdays, 4:45-5:45 These classes are appropriate for all levels from beginner to experienced!

(Please wear appropriate attire, comfortable sneakers, bring a towel, bottled water and a donation for the instructors of $5-7 for each class.)