Superintendent PENNSBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT • FALLSINGTON, PA • FEBRUARY 2019 County Homeless Shelter (clothing, baby items, Across the DISTRICT and paper products); and Veterans Affairs (clothing and miscellaneous items). The students sorted and organized the donated goods and also made patriotic STUDENTS JOIN TOGETHER IN fleece pillows by hand for the veterans. Well done! SERVICE ON DR. MLK, JR. DAY MATHCOUNTS TEAMS SHINE For the second consecutive year, approximately 200 AT COMPETITION students from across all ten Pennsbury elementary schools and Village Park Academy collaborated On Saturday, February 9th, teams from for a “day on” during their “day off” from school. Pennsbury’s middle schools, led by coaches With support from every other elementary Principal, Debbie Diamond, Scott Gabriele, and Colleen co-organizers Stephanie Hultquist (Edgewood) McInerney, competed in the county MATHCOUNTS and Donna McCormick-Miller (Makefield) staged competition at Christopher Dock High School in another large-scale day of service for the students. Lansdale. Charles Boehm placed 2nd and William Families and staff from each of our schools donated Penn placed 3rd overall in Bucks County! Alex specific items in order to contribute to the following Chen (Charles Boehm) won fifth place in Bucks local groups: St. Mary Medical Center (children’s County. Kevin Ye (Charles Boehm) won fourth activity kits); Falls Township Senior Center (toiletries, place in Bucks. William Penn had the following three socks, puzzle books), Connelly Center at CHOP (toiletries and gift cards for CHOP kiosks); Bucks Pennsbury elementary students gathered in service to honor Charles Boehm Middle School’s MATHCOUNTS team (above) the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Above: students created placed 2nd overall in Bucks County! fleece pillows for local veterans. www.pennsburysd.org PENNSBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT • FALLSINGTON, PA • FEBRUARY 2019 1 District highlights report students place in the top ten: Varun Patel (eighth Accounting Clerk – Financial Services, and Karen grade), Chase Lorantas (eighth grade), and Patrick Sukunda, Staff Accountant. Tenley (eighth grade). Sixth grade Charles Boehm student, Kevin Ye, will go on to compete in the State A proud member of the Pennsbury High School MATHCOUNTS competition! Class of 1976, Ms. Godzieba is also an alumnus of Manor Elementary School (grades K-6), William “This really is a testament to how strong our Penn Junior High School (grades 7-8 – now PHS math program is and the unique programming West) and Medill Bair High School (grades that we offer,” said K-12 Mathematics Curriculum 9-10, also now PHS West). She holds a Bachelor’s Coordinator, Gary McManus. Degree in Business Administration from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) as A FOND FAREWELL well as multiple professional certifications. Prior to joining Pennsbury, Ms. Godzieba worked for In just a few weeks, we will several years as a bookkeeper for the Lower Bucks bid a “Happy Retirement” to Chamber of Commerce. Pennsbury’s long-time Director of Financial Services, Joanne During the course of four decades working with Godzieba. Ms. Godzieba eight Pennsbury Superintendents, Ms. Godzieba also will move on to a new and reported to a series of six Business Administrators. well-deserved chapter of her “The key to success was being able to adapt to their life after working for the School different work styles,” she said, adding that they District for a total of 39 years. could be very different from one another. “The role of the Director of Financial Services has changed JoAnne goDziebA Imagine a time when Central quite a bit over time, as well,” she said, explaining office staff members were permitted to smoke at that state reporting requirements have evolved over their desks. Bookkeeping was done by hand – in the decades, including payroll and tax data, among pen and pencil – to maintain records of salaries, other items. “When the Pennsylvania legislature paychecks, and bills paid. The year was 1980. Ms. passed Act I to take effect in 2006, that really Godzieba began her Pennsbury career that year as changed the way we did things,” said Ms. Godzieba. a Payroll Clerk, swiftly moving up to Accounting “Act I not only restricts annual tax increases, but Supervisor, then Payroll Supervisor, and finally to also imposes stringent budget timelines and more Director of Financial Services by 1988. requested data from each school district.” As Director of Financial Services, Ms Godzieba All of this means the word “deadline” is taken is responsible for the financial accounting and very seriously in the world of Financial Services. bookkeeping of all District funds, as well as More than anything in retirement, Ms. Godzieba annual budget preparation, local, state, and federal looks forward to “not wishing my life away by audits, state reporting, and the supervision of trying to make it to that next deadline. I am excited the accounting and payroll staff. For a number of about doing what I want to do, when I want to do years, she also served as treasurer for the Bucks it.” She already has plenty of personal interests County Technical High School. Staff members who to follow through with that philosophy. Ms. currently report to Ms. Godzieba include Susan Godzieba and her husband, John, have engaged in Nicol, Supervisor of Accounting, Diane Eissler, Revolutionary War re-enacting for more than 25 Supervisor of Payroll, Dawn Nemeth, Accounting years together. Mr. Godzieba is well known locally Clerk – Student Activities, Amberlyn Seals, for having portrayed General George Washington for the Washington Crossing Historic Park for 2 FEBRUARY 2019 • PENNSBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT • FALLSINGTON, PA www.pennsburysd.org District highlights report the past ten years. Together, the Godziebas travel was a secondary English teacher and building to various historic sites along the East Coast and chairperson for the department at Charles Boehm. in Canada. They plan to continue volunteering, She joined Pennsbury in 2014 after teaching middle traveling, and gardening in the years ahead. school English for two years in Boca Raton, Florida. All of us here in Pennsbury have the greatest Ms. Lyczkowski earned a Master’s degree in admiration for Ms. Godzieba. With her strong work Educational Leadership and a K-12 Principal’s ethic and utmost professionalism, she has led the certificate at Gwynedd Mercy University. She also Financial Services department and supported the holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Business Administrator, the Superintendent, and English Education from Millersville University. the School Board through decades of continuous improvement in Pennsbury. We bid her a fond STAFF MEMBERS ATTEND STATE farewell and wish her all the best in retirement! GATHERING FOR SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Pennsbury teachers, Kris Bria, Michael Hermann, APPOINTED BY SCHOOL BOARD and Ryan Kennedy, along with Technology Department interns, Jeanmarie McGinley and At the public School Board Amanda D’Amico, recently attended a conference meeting held in January, the in Hershey that showcased a vast array of Pennsbury Board of School school technologies. According to the conference Directors appointed Corinne organizers, “The Pennsylvania Educational Lyczkowski to be an Acting Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) is a Assistant Principal at Pennsbury statewide event that provides quality programs High School for the second focused on technology in the educational field. semester of the current academic Each year, hundreds of exhibitors showcase their year. The opening was created latest technology products and services to the vast when Cherrissa Gibson, an corinne lyczkowski audience of teachers, administrators, technology Assistant Principal at PHS, was directors, school board members, and more.” selected by the Board to fill in as Acting Principal for PHS West Principal, Lisa Becker, who is taking a “The event was full of valuable ideas, and we are sabbatical leave for the second semester. eager to share these resources with our colleagues and students!” said Mr. Kennedy. As the Acting Assistant Principal, Ms. Lyczkowski’s duties will include staff evaluation, supervision, and development; evaluation and administration of instructional and educational programs; budget implementation and management; assisting with the master schedule; office management; organization of student activities; student discipline; and attendance. Since September 2018, Ms. Lyczkowski has been serving as an Administrative Intern at PHS East. Prior to that, she was appointed to serve in a similar (From left) Pennsbury’s Amanda D’Amico, Kris Bria, capacity at Charles Boehm Middle School for a year. Michael Hermann, Ryan Kennedy, and Jeanmarie McGinley Earlier in her professional career, Ms. Lyczkowski attended a technology conference in Hershey. www.pennsburysd.org PENNSBURY SCHOOL DISTRICT • FALLSINGTON, PA • FEBRUARY 2019 3 District highlights report in the SCHOOLS EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL The first annual Edgewood Elementary AFTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL school-wide service learning “Mini but Mighty THON” event took place on Valentine’s Day. “In lieu Afton students in grades four and five of classroom parties, we held a mini THON dance participated in the 2019 National Geographic event modeled after Penn State’s THON in our gym Geography Bee with over 10,000 schools across all day long!” said PTO President, Traci Curtis. the United States. Students competed for a chance “Each grade level came