Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown Regional Public Library
The Pottstown
Regional Public Library will host Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities on
March 20, 2018 at 6pm.
The Cluster’s
Program Bridges Out of Poverty will
provide community leaders and residents with training to enable a better
understanding for individuals living in economic poverty.
The program features discussion about Getting
Ahead in a Just-Getting-by World, a mentored program for building a better
life.
Refreshments will be served.
To
sign-up contact Ryli Meyer, Pottstown Cluster at 610-970-5995 or Michelle
Kehoe, Pottstown Library at 610-970-6551.
According to parents and students alike, bullying and violence problems persist at Pottstown Middle School, pictured above.
As so often happens when you have one meeting per month, news kind of piled up at the Pottstown School Board meeting last night.
Four major issues were raised, although only three of them were on the agenda.
They were, in order of revelation:
A $1 million budget shortfall in the 2018-2019 budget, even if taxes were raised the maximum 3.5 percent allowed by law;
More than 25 speakers, parents and students alike, complaining about persistent violence and bullying problems in the district, particularly at Pottstown Middle school;
A board resolution speaking out against the closing of the Pottstown YMCA;
The resignation of School Board member Ron Williams and the start of the process to appoint his replacement.
Each of these will be the subject of an upcoming full-scale article in The Mercury, but for those impatient few who can't wait, here is the thumbnail version of each one.
The Budget
The finance committee has its first look at the preliminary budget for next year recently, according to committee chairman Kurt Heidel, and the picture is not good.
Heidel said preliminary budget of $63,226,970 has a $2.4 million deficit.
Raising taxes by 3.5%, the max allowed by law, would still leave a deficit of about $1 million.
For the past two years, the district has held the line on taxes and not raised them. Time will tell if that era has reached an end.
The board continues to stumble along in its deliberations about a community budget advisory board, still dickering over who whould be on it (just residents or residents and business owners?) and a date for its appointment and charge seems as distant as when it was first proposed two months ago.
Bullying and Violence
This issue has plagued the district, and particularly the middle school for more than a year.
After their son Anthony was "jumped" outside the cafeteria at the middle school, Krystal and Tony DiPietro have been agitating to get the problem under control.
Those efforts only intensified after Anthony's cousin was also attacked for trying to help Anthony and now the two have to "have each other's backs" all the time Anthony told me.
More than 25 parents and students spoke about the problem in various incarnations; online, verbal and physical attacks.
Erin Galamba said the problem goes all the way down to kindergarten where her child, at Franklin ElementarySchool, is being traumatized by another 5-year-old who continually threatens to bring weapons to school to hurt people.
"Are you going to wait until its too late? Are you going to wait until a teacher is staring down the barrel of a gun? Don't wait to make changes," said Krystal DiPietro, who then read off a list of this nation's shameful history of school shootings.
At the end of the meeting, each school board member thanked the speakers, indicated that they care, are aware of the problem and are trying to do something about it.
YMCA Closure
It was last year when it was announced the YMCA on North Adams Street would be shut down by the Philadelphia Freedome Valley YMCA and that the decision, which had not been vetted with the community, was non-negotiable.
Subsequently, an after-the-fact community committee was put together to make recommendations for how the services once provided at the building could be preserved. The committee was told keeping the facility open was not an option.
The committee, apparently, has other ideas said Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez.
He proposed, and the board unanimously adopted (with some confusion due to their new format) a resolution in which the district "adamantly opposes" the closure.
For the past week or so, former Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton has been devoting his paid advertising space in The Mercury to columns about how the decision appears to be at odds with what is the YMCA's stated mission and abandoning a low-income area in need in favor of fancy facilities in wealthy white suburbs.
Jon Corson, president of the Pottstown chapter of the NAACP, said his organization has a member on the advisory board and has discussed the closure and has "many concerns" about its impact on Pottstown.
School Board President Amy Francis, who noted she is "generations deep" in Pottstown, said she "upset about YMCA decision to leave Pottstown. It will affect students so much and its trickle-down effects will be felt for a long time. This is yet another place where advocacy for Pottstown is needed," she said.
Board Resignation
School Board member Ron Williams has submitted his resignation from the board for "personal reasons" that have nothing to do with the board or the community, Rodriguez said last night.
The term to which Williams was elected expires in December of 2019 so whomever is chosen to replace him will serve until then and, if he or she wishes to remain, must run for reelection.
The board will accept applications until April 4, and has tentatively set April 10 as the date for the public interviews, to be followed by appointment on April 16.
After the meeting, David Miller, who ran unsuccessfully for the board in November, told me he would likely submit his name but said that if Hylton, who lost his seat in the election, applies that the board would do well to choose him.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottsgrove School District.
Tarzan the Musical will be presented at the Pottsgrove Middle School on March 15, 16, and 17 at 7:00.
Tickets are on sale at the Pottsgrove Middle School office and at the door for $8.
Tarzan the Musical has a cast of 60 - 6th, 7th and 8th graders and 12 stage crew members.
The cast includes Daniel Korman as Tarzan, Makenzie Johnson as Jane, Gianna Verdone as Kala, Isaac Kumpf as Kerchak, Carissa Schechterly as Terk, Haley Trump as Young Terk, Michael Kawczynski as Young Tarzan, Jacob Windrim as Porter, and Joseph Brotschul as Clayton.
The show uses a live pit band of 8 members.
Tom Yenchick is the director and choreographer and Carole Bean is the musical director.
Rodney Boyer takes the oath of office Tuesday night after being chosen by the Boyertown Area School Board to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Robert Caso, who defeated him for the seat in the November election.
In a result that surprised few, the Boyertown Area School Board voted 5-3 to appoint Rodney Boyer to the seat left open by Robert Caso, thus diminishing by one, the block of fiscally conservative votes on the board.
School Board members Ruth Dierolf and Christine Neiman voted for William Yanalavage to fill the post while Clay Breece cast the only vote for Robert Houck.
No one on the board voted to nominate Ruth Baker, who had also applied and who, at the start of the meeting, urged the board to appoint someone who shared Caso's fiscally conservative views, which is what the voters had chosen.
That view was also echoed by Breece, Dierolf and Neiman, but the board chose Boyer, who board member Steve Elsier said seemed the most familiar with the district and board operations.
The board also voted to hire a new chief financial officer, Rebecca Clouser, C.P.A. at salary of $139,000.
Also decided was a location and date -- June 7 at the Santander Center in Reading -- for this year's high school graduation, due to the questions that remain about the safety of the high school stadium.
The board also received the first of what will be monthly reports on safety and security in the wake of last month's school shooting in Florida.
Pottstown readers discuss their team answer before providing it at the recent Reading Olympics competition at Pottstown Middle School.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottstown School District More than 100 elementary students in the Pottstown School District took part in the Olympics.
Unlike the athletes representing the United States, they did not have to travel to South Korea. Their competition took place in the Pottstown Middle School Auditorium.
Students participated in the 18th annual Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics Competition.
Diamond Credit Union has devoted 13 years and more than $30,000
to supporting the Reading Olympics Program in Pottstown Schools.
The Reading Olympics requires teams of students to read 45 books in preparation for the event. Each round of competition sees two opposing teams attempt to answer 20 questions given in rapid-fire fashion from the moderators.
After a question is asked about a book, teams huddle to determine the correct answer. One point is awarded for each correct answer and Olympic ribbons are awarded for overall performance.
The district teams qualify to compete in the annual Montgomery County Intermediate Unit competition which annually attracts over 500 teams and 7,000 participants.
The Pottstown School District program is organized by Reading Specialist Karen Neitz. The goals of the Reading Olympics are to increase students' reading for enjoyment and promote reading skills that increase achievement and academic success.
“I am always excited to see our youngsters actively engaged in reading. This event is an opportunity for students to experience teamwork and the satisfaction that comes from hard work,” said Neitz.
For the 13th consecutive year, the Pottstown School District’s Reading Olympics program has received financial support from the local Diamond Credit Union.
Branch Manager Andrea Sawchuk-Moyer said, “we are proud to partner with the Pottstown School District in their efforts to promote the skills of reading so that students may learn to read and then read to learn. It is extremely rewarding to see the glow in students’ eyes when they correctly answer one of the questions. As an organization, Diamond Credit Union is committed to being a contributing member to our community.”
John Armato, Director of Community Relations, noted, “Diamond Credit Union has been a longstanding partner of the Pottstown School District. Their financial support for the Reading Olympics Program throughout the years has totaled more than a $30,000 investment on their part in the development of educational opportunities for our students. Their programming for students also includes Diamond Credit Union representatives presenting financial literacy lessons to high school business classes. Diamond Credit Union’s continued support of the Pottstown School District is one of the reasons we say Proud to be from Pottstown.”
I've never been much of a musicals guy, at least not at the movies.
It's strange, because of how much music is a part of my life, but I always considered them kind of goofy. I mean who spontaneously breaks out in song?
To which anyone could turn to me and ask, rightly, "Oh yeah? And how many people swing from building to building on a web, or save the galaxy in a starship?"
Fair point.
But I confess I do have a soft spot for live productions.
When I was in high school, I was onstage for one play (we only did a musical every other year). But after dropping an entire section of dialog without realizing it, I decided the audience would appreciate my talents more as a member of the lighting crew.
In Pottstown, King Triton has seven lovely (and diverse) daughters.
So I have fond memories of, and an appreciation for, school productions. I was thrilled when Pottstown revived the tradition and have watched with increasing admiration as the productions keep getting better and better.
Truth be told, and this coming from a guy with an antipathy for treacly Disney fare, this year's production of "The Little Mermaid" was astounding.
I mean I am no theater hound, but I've seen professional productions on Broadway (and far inferior college productions more recently) and this was certainly in the neighborhood.
The show reached new heights of excellence on an order of magnitude above the district's already high standard.
There was nothing "halfway" about
Ursula's costume design.
Certainly, the nearly full high school auditorium Saturday afternoon spoke volumes about how the quality of the performances and the production has spread by word of mouth, the most effective kind of advertising and carried out these days on Twitter and Facebook.
The singing was truly impressive on all counts. (There were some very high notes in there repeatedly reached without apparent strain.)
The sets were innovative and evocative of the scenes they were meant to convey, and the changing of those sets was flawless; the costumes equally so, flush with bright colors and the music both precise and well-coordinated with the timing on-stage.
(One of my favorite moments was when I noticed the orchestra had donned "sea creature hats" for Donny Marte's (Sebastian the Crab) performance of "Under the Sea." Nice lobster hat Mr. Vought!)
Pottstown is developing a reputation for its productions, deservedly so, and particularly, as director Christopher Sperat noted in his poignant comments at the end of the show's run, because of "the farm team," being built among the younger students.
Matt Zipay, Gianna Kimmell and Alexandria Olvera,
Eric, Ariel and Ursula.
A pre-K teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, he proudly points out his former
students whenever he gets the chance.
The two leads, the extraordinary Matt Zipay as Prince Eric and the effusive Gianna Kimmell as Ariel, have been in all four musicals.
But that talent-in-training reaches much deeper than the freshman class.
In case you don't know, every other year Pottstown's musicals involve the entire district, with kids from elementary school on up and this was one of those years. The last one was the wildly popular production of "The Wiz."
Remember this guy?
(Word has it, Emanuel Wilkerson recently reprised his role as the Cowardly Lion," albeit it briefly, during a visit to an elementary classroom for Read Across America Day. A role he quite obviously relished, I suspect he was not hard to convince....)
And ultimately, this is the best part about Pottstown's theatrical efforts. The kids we saw wearing fish hats and tentacles swarming across the stage are literally being "schooled" not only on what musical theater is, but also in what it takes to be part of something larger than themselves and the rewards those efforts bestow.
Consider: Matt Zipay wants a career in theater and Julian Weber (King Triton) said Saturday he wants to become a director.
It seems inevitable that seven or eight years from now, one of those little fishes will be the Prince Eric or Ariel of that year's musical.
Pottstown's present and future stars.
Being in a musical is no different than being on an athletic team, there are just more people. And like athletics, it also helps to build the kind of confidence it takes to perform in front of a large group of people (hopefully without dropping dialog!).
Certainly, athletes perform. But theater teaches kids they don't need to be athletes to perform, or to be part of a team. That other talents matter too, whether its singing or dancing or, like Cole Rulli, the ability to run an entire show from back stage.
I think "fish hats" are going to be the new fashion trend.
Consider that among the people necessary and being recognized for their part in the effort were older students who were providing child care for the youngest performers. I mean talk about "it takes a village ..."
And of course, these things are not mutually exclusive.
The formidable Reilly Owens, who has lived next door to me her entire life and hilariously played Chef Louise, is anything but a one-trick pony.
Chef Louise and Scuttle (Tori Steger)
meet their fans after the performance.
In addition to her evident gift for comedy, she plays field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, the clarinet in concert and marching band and sings in the show and a capella choirs.
All in all, there were more than 150 people involved in this production.
And, like fans rooting for the home team in the stands, these district-wide musicals really seem to bring the town together.
Sebastian the Crab keeps good company.
It truly is a community experience. Saturday's audience was packed with little children. The three little girls sitting in front of Karen and I knew all the songs, they were bouncing in their seats and waving to the characters.
The mom in charge apologized to us, but there was no need. That's what should happen. They should be excited.
And the people going to the performance hopefully all know there will be kids crying and talking during the show. There will be ill-timed bathroom breaks and shout-outs to their favorite characters. That's what makes it community theater folks. It's the WHOLE community.
By the time the entire cast and crew of 'The Little Mermaid' was on stage to take their bows after the final performance Saturday night, it seemed like half of Pottstown was on stage. That's a good thing.
Speaking of which, that is another aspect of Pottstown's district-wide musical I find so appealing -- how it showcases our diversity. Students and adults of all stripes and abilities, all working together.
Andrew Green was a great "Flounder."
(I mean let's consider the fact that the doughty producer for all this theater, Bob Decker, is the same guy who teaches AP calculus. Talk about diversity!)
That this reputation for theatrical excellence is being developed amid Pottstown's diversity, and not in some of the wealthier districts that too often pat themselves on the back for the great job they're doing with kids who start the game halfway to the finish line, makes the achievement all the more significant.
Pottstown can use all the successes it can get its hands on these days. Recent losses -- think Thanksgiving football and YMCA -- can feel like a town that keeps trying to get back onto its feet keeps taking body blows.
Anything that gives us cause to hold up our heads and, to use John Armato's favorite phrase, makes us "Proud to be from Pottstown" deserves all the kudos and support we can provide.
It is harder to build up than to break down. (Hey, just because it sounds trite doesn't mean it's not true).
And Pottstown schools are building something with this program that is not only making a difference in the lives of those directly involved, but creating something we can all be proud of -- as a community.
