Science Olympiad
On January 7th, the Science Olympiad Team competed in the Berks County competition and finished 3rd in the County! This is the best finish ever by a Schuylkill Valley team! Members placing in individual events were as follows:
Lucas Horrell (10th) & Evan Whitmoyer (12th) won 1st place in Air Trajectory
Thoneca Akhter (11th) & Kevin Cook (12th) won 1st place in Cell Biology
Kevin Cook (12th) & James Milanek (11th) won 2nd place in Chemistry Lab
Michael Rinehart (12th) & Daniel Tetreault (12th) won 2nd place in Game On
Thoneca Akhter (11th) & Kacie Jones (11th) won 3rd place in Experimental Design
Sophie Goad (12th) & Daniel Tetreault (12th) won 4th place in Forensics
Zach Bevans (10th) & Lydia Forsythe (11th) won 4th place in Geologic Mapping
Kacie Jones (11th) & Zach Spatz (12th) won 4th place in Invasive Species
Congratulations to all the Science Olympiad competitors and to Mr. Bill Gampe and Mr. Dave Smith for preparing the students and accompanying them at the County competition.
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
Congratulations to the following students for placing in the top 5 at the FBLA Regional Leadership Conference.:
Evan Whitmoyer (12th) 1st Hospitality Management
Sam Stellwagon (12th) 1st Hospitality Management
Damon Arena (12th) 1st Accounting II
Colby Stichter (11th) 5th Sports & Entertainment Mktg.
Kasey Bubel (11th) 5th Sports & Entertainment Mktg.
The following students qualified to go to FBLA States at Hershey PA in April:
Evan Whitmoyer (12th)
Sam Stellwagon (12th)
Damon Arena (12th)
Congratulations to all the FBLA competitors and to Mrs. Patti Lacey for preparing the students and accompanying them at the County competition.
Alumni Visit
On January 8th, Schuylkill Valley alumni, Steve Kreider joined the SVHS faculty and students for an assembly which featured Steve speaking with a student panel and sharing his principles and values for success. In addition to his strong message, Steve was presented with a Schuylkill Valley lettermen’s jacket. The NFL is celebrating their 50th Anniversary in of the Super Bowl. In doing so, they will be issuing a Golden Football to Schuylkill Valley HS because of Steve Kreider’s involvement in Super Bowl XVI with the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition, SVHS has the opportunity to apply for character education programs and grants through the NFL. A special thanks to Ms. Steph Deibler and Mrs. Susan O’Regan for their planning and hard work in pulling the assembly together.
Guidance Office
Financial Aid Night
The Schuylkill Valley / Hamburg Financial Aid Night was held on January 7, 2016 between 7:00 and 9:00pm in the Schuylkill Valley Auditorium. Schuylkill Valley and Hamburg have cooperated in presenting a combined Financial Aid Night for more than 25 years. This year’s event featured the Student Aid Coordinator from Penn State Berks, Judith A. Riles, Ed.D. Judy gave an informative, down to earth presentation on the world of Financial Aid to more than 130 individuals including 40 SV families. Counselors Rick Heckrote and Sarah Reed worked to coordinate this event.
Course Selection
Course selection for the 2016-17 school year will begin on January 20th with a class meeting for rising juniors. Additional class meeting for rising sophomores, and freshmen will be held throughout February and into March. These plans include an evening presentation to parents of incoming 9th graders in early March. Special thanks to the HS Department Chairs for their ‘behind the scenes’ collaboration and to Mr. Ben Bucks for producing a hard copy of the Program of Studies for each incoming 9th grader.
Strength Club
The details for the annual bench meet are being finalized and members of the school board are encouraged to attend or even judge the event! If you are interested in evaluating the talents of students in this competition, please contact Mr. Phil Yoder. The bench meet will likely be held in late February.
Teacher Recognition
Mrs. Lisa Chillot recently earned her Google Certified Educator-Level 1 certification for demonstrating the advanced knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to implement and integrate Google for Education tools.
Mr. Bryan Binkley was invited to be an Advanced Placement Reader by the College Board’s Advance Placement program and Educational Testing Service. This invitation includes Bryan’s interaction with members of the AP Development Committee, discussion of achievement, assessment, and teaching strategies with college board faculty and AP teachers, and training in consistent application of scoring standards, used for scoring student responses.
9th Grade 1:1 Technology Initiative
In preparation for the February 1st roll out of the 1:1 Chromebooks for 9th graders, Mr. Tod Witman has offered multiple after-school Chromebook sessions for 9th grade teachers during the fall and into the winter. Mr. Michael Billman and Mr. Patrick Sasse have also convened a meeting with the HS Technology Committee on January 12th and held a question & answer session with 9th grade parents on January 13th. During a January 13th class meeting, the 9th grade class learned more about this initiative and the expectations that would accompany their responsibilities in school with the Chromebooks.
Upcoming Events
Jan. 22nd: End of the second marking period
Feb. 1st: 1:1 Chromebook distribution-9th grade