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 Interboro High School Haverford Best Buddies 3 Elizabeth Landes Marple Newtown High School Wing Bowl Matthew Santini Pennell Elementary School Thom Houghton Delaware County Christian School DCIU Teachers Re- 4 Thomas Imburgia Cardinal O'Hara High School ceive Recognition Anne Hofmann St. Anastasia School Education Foundation 5 Carl Rosin Radnor High School Grant Awards Christina McGovern Ridley High School Hearing and Language 6 Jayne Walker Media Elementary School Staff Present at Nation- al Conference Susan Ball Academy Park High School Stephanie Santella Harvey C. Sabold Elementary School Margie Tavakalian Beverly Hills Middle School Tech-Connect 7 William Sweeney Strath Haven High School 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 Pennsylvania 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.