What Lies Ahead for the Class of 2017?
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PARKLAND NEWSLETTERVOLUME 50 NUMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 2017 WHAT’S INSIDE PARKLAND’S TOP 3% RECOGNIZED AT COMMENCEMENT New School Update During the Parkland graduation ceremony, students graduating within the top 3% of the class are pg. 2 Art Teacher Award recognized. The students graduating with highest honors in the top 3% of the class wore a red and gray Superintendent’s honor cord over their graduation gowns. Their names in alphabetical order are: Alexander Bushinsky, pg. 3 Message Nicholas Benjamin Carri, Victoria Cervantes, Simon Chen, Alana Marie O’Connell Dee, Rachel G. Eichman, Sunayana Jampanaboyana, Serena Claire Johnson, Aneesh Arun Kapoor, Jerry Law, Anna Y. Li, Esther Lui, Parkland Ready 21 pg. 5 Student Spotlight Sai Krishna Mallipedhi, Ana Paula Martinez, Arvind S. Parthasarathy, Ojas V. Patel, Shaumik S. Phadke, Max Prehl, Blake E. Sidleck, Lisa C. Stein, Max H. Stempel, Yogeshwar Avinash Velingker, Allison M. Wilcox, Senior Citizen Course pg. 6-7 Offerings Joshua C. Yang. Congratulations to you and all 773 of our 2017 graduates! pg. 8 New and Retiring Staff pg. 9 Arts Event Information Important Start of pg. 10 School Info pg. 11 Foundation Update ...AND MUCH MORE! Class of 2017 Exit Survey Entering College - 95% Four-Year College - 71% Two-Year College - 25% Business/Tech - 4% Workforce - 4% Military - 1% WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR THE CLASS OF 2017? 95% of the Class of 2017 will continue education at colleges, business/technical schools or the armed services This fall, one student will enroll at the U.S. Naval Academy, one student at The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina, and one will go to The Culinary Institute of America. Enrollment at Penn State University’s main campus is 47 students, and 17 will attend a Penn State branch campus. Locally, college enrollment includes DeSales University (13), Kutztown University (43), Lehigh University (6), Moravian College (10), Muhlenberg College (9), Lehigh Carbon Community College (156), and Northampton Community College (12). Some other popular choices include Bloomsburg University (29), Drexel University (10), East Stroudsburg University (9), Millersville University (8), Temple University (29), University of Pittsburgh (21), Shippensburg University (6), West Chester University (19), University of Delaware (5), and Wilkes University (7). Twelve (12) will join a branch of the military. Join Us for Homecoming Week! Homecoming Football Game and Float Parade Friday, October 6, 2017 Parkland vs. Bethlehem Catholic 2 PARKLAND NEWSLETTERSEPTEMBER 2017 NEW PARKLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL UPDATE School is Projected to Open in the Fall of 2020 Parkland is holding bi-weekly meetings with architecture firm KCBA, who has been hired to design a new elementary school in Upper Macungie Township. The school is projected to open in the fall of 2020. The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires all new building projects to undergo an Act 34 public meeting, which will outline the proposed maximum cost and financing plan for the entire project. Parkland has scheduled this to occur on November 13th at 7 PM in the Administration Center Board Room at 1210 Springhouse Rd., Allentown, PA 18104. The plan will be on display for 30 days to allow for public review and comment. The School Board will meet on Saturday, October 14, to study the building design, costs and proposed financing plan to allow them time to ask questions related to proposed costs for the project prior to the Act 34 meeting. Site progress is being made as Terraform Engineering submitted land development plans and a traffic study for review in July to the Upper Macungie Township Planning Commission. The District awaits a letter from PennDOT that will give them the green light to move forward with planning. Site utility design is in progress as water, electric, gas, and sewer plans are being reviewed. All flora and fauna studies with the Pennsylvania Game Commission are nearing an end. Throughout the summer, 3-D models were shared with vendors who were interested in bidding on various parts of the construction process. The team has been working diligently on the technical renderings for pricing and development. The photos above were shared during the July School Board meeting. The team chose to eliminate some maintenance issues by removing trees and introducing shade sails that can be pulled down or up in accordance with the sunlight conditions at any time of the day. In the picture above, you can see how the two -story literacy center and makerspaces are focal points in the courtyard. MR. SHEMONSKY NAMED 2017 ART TEACHER OF THE YEAR BY ARTSQUEST Parkland High School Art Teacher Richard Shemonsky has won the Arts Educator of the Year Linny Award, an ArtsQuest Foundation program focused on the greater Lehigh Valley’s artists, innovators and arts leaders. The Arts Educator Award is dedicated to a Lehigh Valley-based educator, teaching artist or arts administrator who has made a profound impact on students and/or the community through his or her work in the arts. An arts educator for 42 years, Shemonsky is head of Parkland High School’s Visual Arts Department and was a 2016 Superintendent Parkland Pride Award winner after being nominated by a student for his ability to ignite creativity, excellence and inspiration from the students he has in class. “The arts have long been a significant contributor to the culture, economy and quality of life in the Lehigh Valley,” says ArtsQuest Foundation Executive Director Jeff Parks. “The Linny Awards are designed to celebrate this culture of creativity by recognizing the artists, arts educators, businesses and philanthropists who live, work and support the arts in our region.” The awards are named after the late Marlene “Linny” Fowler who supported many arts programs and organizations in the region. In addition to serving on the boards of arts organizations such as the Allentown Art Museum, Baum School of Art, State Theatre and ArtsQuest, she was a mentor to many artists and was actively involved in a number of arts programs benefitting young people. 3 PARKLAND NEWSLETTERSEPTEMBER 2017 SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Parkland Community, Welcome back to the 2017-2018 school year. I hope this memo finds you enjoying the waning days of summer. Depending upon your point of view, you may be anxiously awaiting the cooler days of fall or cherishing the remaining days of the current season. In either case, all of us who are involved in education have the unique opportunity to start anew each and every September. For Parkland, the opening bell came upon us on September 5th. I am happy to share some important information regarding capital improvement initiatives that the Parkland School District has implemented. The Administration recommended and the Board subsequently approved a fifth year of a capital improvement plan that included the borrowing of approximately $10M. This will allow Parkland to maintain high quality facilities that are safe and secure, as well as mitigate financial challenges in the future that could surface if maintenance issues were ignored. This was an extremely challenging summer for our maintenance department, as we needed to perform our normal summer tasks and simultaneously complete various capital improvement projects throughout the District. This summer’s capital projects included the installation of an additional toilet facility in a classroom at Schnecksville to accommodate full-day kindergarten. Schnecksville also required work on the air conditioning unit as we needed to replace two compressors in the existing chiller. We also completed concrete and paving projects at Fogelsville, Ironton, Parkway Manor and the Upper Bus Garage at Orefield Middle School. Fogelsville received some roof work and the Parkland High School gymnasium floor was refinished. Finally, the pool liner at Parkland High School was completely replaced. As of this publication going to print, the Pennsylvania legislature has yet to approve a spending plan to balance the budget that was approved in July with a projected shortfall. Therefore, we remain in limbo as to how much funding the District will receive for the coming year, and it makes things very difficult to plan ahead. The Parkland School District uses the theme of “Academics, Arts & Athletics…..Educating the Whole Child” as a framework to guide the efforts of the entire school community. Our Core Team and Cabinet believe this theme describes those values that our administrative team, School Board and community desire in educating our youth. Our Parkland School District Comprehensive Education is anchored by three primary developmental pillars that focus upon Academics, Arts and Athletics. These remain essential areas of focus with requirements that cross-connect and reinforce each other through a variety of programs, clubs, and activities. Within these three core areas, we have established requirements for completion and advancement. We encourage you to peruse this newsletter. Inside, you will find lots of information about upcoming events. We hope you come to see a show in the Parkland High School Auditorium, which received a new sound system in the spring. Also, plan to attend our Homecoming Football Game on October 6th. The student-made float parade at half-time is a favored tradition that families will enjoy. Then, on October 13th, the Parkland High School Fall Play, “Pride and Prejudice,” will take the Parkland High School stage. Finally, I encourage you to mark your calendar to attend one of our most enjoyable events of the year, the Harlem Wizards, a basketball game filled with tricks, hoops and alley-oops, which will return to the Parkland High School Gym on February 13th to benefit the Parkland Foundation and Elementary Parent Teacher Organizations. We hope to see you soon! Sincerely, Richard T. Sniscak Superintendent of Schools Stay informed by following @ParklandSchools CHECK OUT PARKLAND TV! on Twitter or like Parkland School District on A FREE public access channel provided by RCN Cable on Facebook.