Lincoln Kids Sink Their Teeth Into Dental Health

Luke Grubbs and Mason Berry practice their brushing on over-sized plastic teeth.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

Students at Lincoln Elementary School did some brushing up on the rules of proper dental care recently.

Gabby Colon and Jailyn Hoefel are getting the job done.

Leslie Swartz's Secnd Grade class took brushing and flossing teeth to a whole new level.

During National Orthodontic Health month their gym teacher Alicen Moyer incorporated the importance of taking care of your teeth into a fun team activity.

The gym was set up with cones and mats to represent teeth and tongues. Students used a toothbrush made from a pool noodle and a jump rope for floss.

Student teams of two were given two minutes to brush the teeth and tongue and then floss the teeth afterwards.

Students enjoyed the activity and then discussed the importance of brushing their teeth. Their night time brushing should be a lot easier after this activity.

Jahki Butler and Mason Hall use the over-sized floss to get in between the over-sized teeth.

Pottstown Teachers of the Year, No Tax Hike Budget

Photos by Evan Brandt

POTTSTOWN'S TEACHERS OF THE YEAR: From left, Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez, Victoria Redmond and Michele Andre from Pottstown Middle School, Treen Ferguson from Rupert Elementary, Corby Drone from Pottstown High School, Denise Schleicher from Lincoln Elementary, Lauren Emes from Franklin Elementary, Hayley Guigley from Barth Elementary and Pottstown School Board President Amy Francis.

Looking at the agenda for Monday night's Pottstown School Board meeting, you might have expected it to take a long time.

Naming a Teacher of the Year; adopting the third consecutive budget that does not raise taxes; a new $146,000 lighting scheme for outside the high school; setting in motion the replacement of stadium lights after a three-year wait -- it all sounds like a lot of time and deliberation.

But, you've got to hand it to the school board.

They took care of it all in under an hour.

Teacher of the Year, Corby Drone, with Superintendent

Stephen Rodriguez, left, and School Board President

Amy Francis, right.

First, let's dispel the suspense -- The Pottstown School District Teacher of the Year is high school math teacher Corby Drone.

Drone who has taught in Dublin, at an Ivy League college (Brown) and even spent some time as a campus policeman, brings an interesting perspective to his 11 years in the Pottstown School District.

Founder of what is now known as "The Breakfast Club," Drone offers Pop Tarts and math tutoring on Saturday mornings as well as being the Chess Club adviser.

The other Teachers of the Year from their respective school buildings can be seen below.

Michael DiDonato addresses the school board.

Michael DiDonato, middle school teacher and representative of the Federation of Pottstown Teachers echoed comments made by board member Katina Bearden, that Pottstown teachers are among the best, bring a dedication to seeing their
students and community excel which is not always found in other districts.

After the awards, the board undertook its single most important function -- adopting a preliminary budget, which will be finalized in June, and, for the third year in a row, does not raise taxes.

This year's budget of $62,021,819 is being adopted with little to no idea of what state funding will ultimately be provided by the final Pennsylvania budget.

Ain't this a wonderful system we've got going here in Pennsylvania? Budget blind and be prepared to take the blame when Harrisburg says its the school board raising your taxes. Nice easy way out for the legislators.

But far be it from me to offer an opinion on that here.....

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

When You Can Have Your Pie and Read it Too

Photos Courtesy of Pottstown School District

Luna Davilia, Lincoln fourth grader, prepares to launch a pie at her principal, Calista Boyer.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District

The students at Lincoln Elementary School understand that readers become leaders. 

Lincoln Principal Calista Boyer challenged her students to read 500 books by the end of the first marking period. 

Lincoln 4th grader Kailyn Pena is right on target with her pie.

Students not only met the goal but far exceeded it by reading 800 books during the first marking period.

All students who read at least 25 books became Lincoln Reading Stars and received a certificate along with a coupon for a free kid’s meal at Applebee’s. 

Their names were also placed in a lottery and Mrs. Boyer drew ten names of students who were designated as “pie delivery persons.” 

At a school-wide assembly, each delivery person had the opportunity to “deliver a cream pie” to Mrs. Boyer’s face.

Calista Boyer after

Calista Boyer before

The reading challenge was part of the “Books Are Your Ticket to the World" reading incentive program.” 

Lincoln students have a long history of exceeding every reading challenge they have been given.

Mrs. Boyer said, “I am more than happy to take part in any activity that encourages our students to become lifelong readers!”

By Any Calculation These Kids are Mathletes

The team winner of the Pottstown Math Olympiad came from Lincoln Elementary School.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by John Armato:

On May 19, Fourth Grade students from all four Pottstown Elementary Schools competed with each other in the second annual Math Olympiad.

More than  30 students competed as individuals and as teams to complete complex mathematics problem solving questions.

Individual Pottstown Math Olympiad winner
Makenna Franey.

In each timed round students were given 10 mathematical problems to solve.

Round one was an individual round, and round two a team round.

Team scores were a combination of the individual and team rounds.




The team winner was from Lincoln Elementary and consisted of Austin Sundstrom, Dominic DiPietro, Ariana Careme, Eric Strickland, Devon Smith.

Individual Winner was Makenna Franey from Franklin Elementary

The Goals of Math Olympiad:
To stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics
To introduce important Mathematical concepts
To teach major strategies for problem solving
To develop Mathematical flexibility in solving problems
To strengthen Mathematical intuition
To foster Mathematical creativity and ingenuity
To provide for the satisfaction, joy, and thrill of meeting challenges

Special Thanks To: Tri-County Federal Credit Union for sponsoring the event!

Lincoln Leaders

Photos courtesy of Lincoln Elementary School

From left, Kelly Mooney, Makayla Smith, Devon Smith, Kristin. Lafferty

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

Recently, the Lincoln Elementary School I'MPACT Team visited the homes of students. 

 I’MPACT is an acronym for “I'm Pottstown Action Community Team.” 

McKenna Brennan, Debra Mann, Calista Boyer,
Karen Seemann, Pat DeWald

Its mission is to “celebrate learning” with positive communication about activities happening in school. The team makes personal door-to-door visits to surprise students and their families.

Principal Calista Boyer, along with teacher representatives from each grade level, recognized students for their hard work, citizenship, and for always following the “Lincoln Merit Rules.” 

In addition to the surprised looks on students’ faces when they saw their principal at their front door they received a certificate from Applebee’s restaurant, a bookmark, and a stuffed animal that came complete with a blanket.

“It is most important for our young people to be recognized for their achievements,” Boyer said. "The award winners for the first marking period serve as role models for their classmates. Selecting one student from each class is an extremely difficult task.”

Award winners and their classroom teachers included:

Denise Schleicher and Maggie DiPietro

Kindergarten

o Imanol Gonzalez: Kari. Kindig
o McKenna Brennan: Robin Andersono Aubrey Thiele: Debra Mann

First Grade:

o Spencer Steed: Stacey VanDruff
o Jayanna Hill: Kelly Mooney
o Anaya Doana: Kristin Lafferty

Second Grade:

o Malachi McClune: Heather Kurtz
o Alexander Jimenz-Rosales: Leslie. Swartz
o JaVonna Mack: Jill Bolonski

Third Grade

o Chloe Weiss: Jenn Groff
o Devon Smith: Diane Hahn
o Makayla Smith: Mike Koman

Fourth Grade

o Johnasia Salata: Joshua Wagner/Matt Cohen
o Maggie DiPietro: Denise Schleicher/Pat DeWald
o William Levey: Mandy Wampole

Maria Jimenez, Ms. Jimenez, Alex Jimenez, and Leslie Swartz

Sustainability, Cooperation and Renovation

Photo by Evan Brandt

Officials gather and chat in Lincoln Elementary School's newly

refurbished all-purpose room before the joint meeting.

Tuesday night, Pottstown Borough Council and the Pottstown School Board held a joint meeting at Lincoln Elementary School.

The meeting began with a tour of the newly renovated and expanded building.

This was followed by a short presentation by Erica Weekley, the assistant borough manager, on the upcoming Pottstown CARES Clean-Up.

This in turn was followed by a presentation by the two to numbers crunchers in the Pottstown, Borough Finance Director Janice Lee and School District Business Manager Linda Adams, who briefed both boards on ways the two entities are working together to save money for the taxpayers both entities served.

This was following by a very interesting presentation by a planner from the Montgomery County Planning Commission on the possibility of Pottstown adopting a "municipal sustainability plan;" a presentation that was well-received and which it seems both entities support and hope to implement.

Below, as usual, are the Tweets from the meeting.

Lincoln and Franklin Confidential

Photo by Evan Brandt

Although the rest of Franklin Elementary School is scheduled to be open for first day of classes Tuesday, there is still a lot of work to be done in the all-purpose room and students will eat lunch in their classrooms for the next few weeks.

With the cooperation of the Pottstown School District, Mercury Photographer Extraordinaire John Strickler and I were given a guided tour Friday of the two renovated and expanded elementary schools that are to open  Tuesday -- Lincoln and Franklin.

Photo by Evan Brandt
It wouldn't be a visit to Lincoln without stopping to talk
with 'Mr. Bob,' quite probably Pottstown's nicest man.

Bob Kripplebauer, supervisor of buildings and grounds, was visibly excited by the prospect of new classrooms, new facilities and air conditioning in the two buildings.

Similar renovations at Barth were completed last year and work at Rupert has proven to be too much to complete on time.

Students and staff there will begin the school year where the last one ended for Rupert, in the former Edgewood School on Morris Street.

Although the professional photographer took better photos than I, some of which should be available soon in a slide show on The Mercury web site, if they're not there already, I figured Pottstownians' curiosity of what awaits them Tuesday would still be appreciated, no matter how poor the photography.

I've also embedded a short Tout video I made of the tour for those who prefer moving pictures.



So here they are, photos Tweeted as they happened in another pulse-pounding example of 'live Tweeting.'

And remember to click the blue "Read Next Page" bar to ensure full and complete reader satisfaction.

We Are Pottstown -- for 175 Years

Mercury Photo by John Strickler

On Friday and Saturday, Pottstown School District wrapped up the celebration of its 175th Anniversary with a Friday dinner at Brookside Country Club for the Foundation for Pottstown Education and a celebration Saturday at Pottstown High School that culminated in the above photo.

Here are my Tweets and Touts from Saturday's event, almost outnumbered by Tweets from Schools Superintendent Jeff Sparagana, who is new to Twitter but taking no prisoners, and a few from John J. Armato from Friday night.

(As always, remember to click the blue "Read Next Page" bar to make sure you don't miss any of those sweet, sweet Tweets.)

Oh the Books You'll Read

The Lincoln staff getting into the spirit of the day.

Courtland Yost, kindergarten, as the Cat in the Hat

OK, so this one is a little after-the-fact, but I didn't want to let it pass.

As anyone with children knows (and many without), March 2 was Read Across America Day, named in honor of the irrepressible Dr. Seuss.

At Pottstown's own Lincoln Elementary School (my neighborhood school!) the students and staff got into the spirit.

Principal Calista Boyer said "learning to read is one of the most important skills you need for success, enjoying reading will bring a lifetime of pleasure."

Whether it was the Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two, the Sneeches or the Lorax, or even the Grinch for that matter, Dr. Seuss would have felt right at home if he had stopped by Lincoln school on that day.

They say reading can brings things to life, but in this case, the folks at Lincoln brought to life what they had read.

And so, enjoy these photos of Lincoln's read spirit, conveyed by the equally irrepressible John Armato.

Jill Pluscht

Kiernan Welliever, Kindergarten

Kindergartener Michael Matos makes a good Grinch.

Kelly Mooney and Judy Friend as Sneeches

Owen Butler, Kindergarten

School Work

Photo by Evan Brandt

A worker watches a dumspter of debris being removed from the second floor of Lincoln Elementary School.

You would be hard pressed this summer to argue with the assertion that Pottstown is making an investment in education — certainly educational facilities.

Not only is work progressing on the multi-million-dollar improvement to athletic fields at The Hill School — along with the construction of new faculty housing there — but the final phase of construction is underway at Barth Elementary School.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Work is progressing on The Hill School's Far Fields project.

At the June 24 school board meeting, the board was informed that the $5 million in construction work on Barth, which now include s a new roof as well, is “a little ahead of schedule.”

School Board Vice President Robert Hartman Jr., who is also the chairman of the board’s facilities committee, said the recommendation to replace Barth’s roof came from Vic Lasher, the district’s interim facilities manager and an engineer.

In May, the board was informed of Lasher’s recommendation, along with the $665,662 price tag.

Hartman said the board decided to act on Lasher’s recommendation because of his expertise and the need to undertake the work over the summer while the Barth project is completed in order to ensure the new work was not damaged by leaks in the old roof.

It took more than one moving truck to empty Rupert 

Unlike the current roof, which is routinely overlaid with new layers of foam, the replacement roof will not need constant maintenance and will last for 20 years.

In addition to the work at Barth, this is the summer that expansion/renovation work is to begin at Lincoln, Franklin and Rupert elementary schools in Pottstown.

And, in fact, it has already begun.

No sooner had the students left on their final school day, and the teachers packed up in preparation, then the contractors arrived, bulldozers and dumpsters in tow, and began their work.

Plans call for expansion of several classrooms at all three school buildings, in addition to extensive renovations and the addition of elevators at all three.

Students will return to two of the buildings in September and work will continue while the students are at school at both Lincoln and Franklin schools.

The bulldozers are already on-site at Lincoln.

At Rupert Elementary School, the students and staff will be out of the building for the entire school year because work there is more extensive and will progress faster without having the students and staff there.

Instead, Rupert’s classes will be moved to Edgewood Elementary School which is the building the district has decided to close and potentially sell.

Taken together, the work at the four schools comes out to $24.2 million.

Relevant to the construction projects was the board’s approval Monday of spending up to $48,000 to an engineering firm to examine the roofs and building envelopes of all the district’s building except the middle school.

That report is due back within about one month, Hartman said.

In it, the consultants are likely to recommend not only the replacement of the roofs of all three elementary buildings, but also, potentially brick work at Rupert and perhaps even at the high school.

Outside Franklin Elementary, the construction fence is up and a large mound of earth is ready for use.

Lightning Strikes Blue at Lincoln

The Lincoln Lightning

Blogger's Note: More success in the Pottstown School District.

Members of the Lincoln Elementary Reading Olympics team “The Lightning” participated in the Montgomery County Reading Olympics held at Souderton High School. 

The Lightning, led by team captain Winni Weng, earned Blue Ribbon Top Honors by scoring 56 points.

Ted Freese, Lincoln Librarian and Reading Olympics sponsor, said, “Our students enjoy the element of competition in these events which allow them the opportunity to showcase their comprehension and recall skills. Participation in Reading Olympics generates a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm at Lincoln Elementary.” 

Other team members included: Alix Stewart, Assistant Captain; Emme Wolfel, Kaile Butterfield, Megan Robie, William Maddox, Melissa Coleman, Donovan Towson, Seth Jones, Somaiya Tate, Dylan Murphy, Christine Martinez, Kylie Boughter, and MiKayla Viers.

Santa's High School Helpers

From left, high school students Becky McCloy, Jake Gery, Sage Reinhart, Kelsey Shumaker, Derek Beyer, Nate Flickinger shown here at Lincoln Elementary School.

Blogger's Note: Before the holidays are too far away in the rearview mirror, let's dish out a little more credit courtesy of John Armato.

We all know that Christmas is a busy and hectic time for Santa. 

This year, he received helped from members of the Pottstown High School’s Student Government.

First graders throughout the district were encouraged to write letters to Santa. 

Members of Student Government then helped Santa by writing individual and personal response letters to each student which they hand delivered and read to students throughout the district. 

In addition to Santa’s response letter, each student received a candy cane and reindeer food to help guide the reindeer to their houses on Christmas night.

Mark Agnew, sponsor of Student Government, said, “I am so proud of the members of Student Government who came up with this idea on their own. They spent a lot of time doubling as Santa’s helpers in writing response letters to the students.”

Kelsey Shumaker, one of Santa’s helpers said, “I’m not sure who was more excited the first grade students or us when we had the opportunity to read Santa’s letters and handout his gifts. It was great knowing that the students went home that day looking forward to a visit from Santa.” 

Mercury Photo by John Strickler

Students from Pottstown High School student government also

helped pack up food for needy families during The Mercury's

Operation Holiday.

Student Government members taking part included: Becky McCloy, Jake Gery, Sage Reinhart, Kelsey Shumaker, Derek Beyer, Nate Flickinger.

Blogger's Other Note: I hasten to note here that this was not the student government's only contribution to holiday spirit. 

I worked alongside most of them just a few days before Christmas when they arrived once again to help the staff of volunteers from The Mercury and elsewhere to pack up the meals for Operation Holiday.

Forget the Oscars, Lincoln Should Get A Holiday Spirit Award

From left, students in Stacey VanDruff's first grade class are Truman McCormick, Jacob Trego, Steven Luther, Jonathan Trego, Nyasia Tunsil, Christopher Fleming and Dylan Murphy

Blogger's Note: John Armato says its never too late to get some holiday spirit!

Students at Lincoln Elementary School, with the assistance of Principal Treena Ferguson and staff, helped to bring holiday greetings to less fortunate students.

A “Giving Tree” was placed in the lobby of the school decorated with holiday ornaments and gift tags. 

Students received permission from their parents and were able to choose a tag and then purchase a toy to be donated to less fortunate students. 

The Salvation Army accepted the toys and helped distribute them to needy families during the holiday season. 

 Ferguson noted, “Our students learned a valuable lesson on giving to those less fortunate then themselves. During this holiday season our students were excited to do for others and expressed their excitement in picking an ornament and enthusiastically taking part in selecting gifts for other students. It was easy to see the real-life application of – it is truly better to give than to receive. Our thanks go out to all of the families, their kind hearts, and generous spirit in helping to make this a merry Christmas for many.”

Having an I'MPACT at Lincoln

Second grader Omar Aloui and his mom got a visit  from the
Lincoln I'MPACT Team

Blogger's Note: If some of you think that perhaps Pottstown Schools information guru John Armato is emptying his in-box in preparation for the holiday, I think the swamped staff at The Digital Notebook might have to agree with you...

The Lincoln Elementary School I'MPACT Team recognizes students’ outstanding efforts and good citizenship by making home visits to students.

(I'MPACT stands for I'm Pottstown Action Team)

Teachers, along with Principal Mrs. Treena Ferguson, made personal home visits to students who were recognized as the first marking period I’MPACT award winners. 

Teachers greeted students with noisemakers and celebration. 

From left, Jayniana Williams, Seth Jones,
Kaile Butterfield and Ariana Careme

Students received a certificate with a statement from their teacher why they earned this special award. 

Students received balloons, a certificate, and a bubblegum machine filled with M&M's. 

Attached to the bubble gum machine was as card that said they were a Magnificent and Marvelous student. 

Award winners for the first marking period included:

From left, teachers Deb Mann, Heather Kurtz,
Kayla Sabata, and Jen Groff
visit  Pre-k student Carter Worner

• Carter Worner 
• Kyra Gustaveson 
• JoVanna Mack 
• Brice Gatewood 
• Austin Sundstrom 
• Ariana Careme 
• William Levey 
• Alice Pan
• Omar Alaoui 
• Isabella Floyd 
• Jayniana Williams 
• Samantha Levey 
• Seth Jones 
• Alyssa Rulli 
• Kaile Butterfield

Teachers taking part in the home visits included: Deb Mann, Jennifer Groff, Leslie Swartz, Kayla Sabata, Heather Kurtz, Josh Wagner, Kristin Lafferty, Kacie Grimm, Robin Anderson, and Jill Bolonski.

Lincoln Principal Treena Ferguson explained about the visits: “We wanted to recognize positive achievement by our students both academically and as a role model to others. The students were excited to receive the surprise visits and parents were proud of their child's success at school."

Don't Judge a Turkey By its Cover

What do turkeys and reading have in common? Why, Lincoln Elementary School of course.

We're a little late at The Digital Notebook in reporting the strange goings on at Lincoln Elementary School, but hey, we've been busy.

It is the Holiday season you know.

What are they doing to their principal? Shocking!

Speaking of holidays, Lincoln Principal Treena Ferguson and her staff took advantage of the main fare at Thanksgiving to launch a reading contest among her students.

Perhaps inspired by her counterpart at Edgewood Elementary, Callista Boyer, who has kissed pigs and allowed herself to be turned into an ice cream sundae in order to encourage her kids to read, Ferguson and the ever-helpful Bob Fine ("Mr. Bob" to Lincoln alum) allowed themselves to be turned into turkeys.

It was the launching point for a goal of reading one million minutes in the coming year.

Looks like the students are winning.

Here's Ferguson's note to my in-box:

"We are promoting reading with our students by asking the students to read 4,000 minutes. The school goal is 1 million minutes. 

Staff at Lincoln are also logging minutes they read at home and we track the minutes read on two thermometers in one of our hallway showcases. 

The staff and students are competing to see who will read 1 million minutes first. Currently students are in the lead with over 70,000 minutes read.

Students who read 4,000 minutes receive a Friendly's meal certificate, generously donated by the Friendly's on Shoemaker Road. 

"Mr. Bob" makes a tasty-looking turkey.

We have two students who have met this goal already and some very close.

Since the students have read over 50,000 minutes we held a special assembly to encourage further reading.

All students who turned in their logs had a chance to have their name pulled to participate in a dress the principal and custodian up like a turkey relay. 

Seven students on each team used crepe paper, feathers, a beak and a sign that reads "Don't be a Turkey... Read!" to dress us up. 

So too does Ms. Ferguson.

We wanted to do something fun and silly to reinforce their efforts and encourage continued reading. 

They have done a great job responding to the challenge."

So too have the staff at Lincoln, if I do say so, in responding to the never-ending challenge of inspiring their students to learn.

Not everybody has such inventive experiences in school and many can even grow to adulthood without learning how to read, or to read well.

That's why we're supporting the YWCA's Adult Literacy Program. And you can too.

If you haven't done so already, sign your name in the form below and the program will receive $1 for each signature from an anonymous donor.

It costs you nothing but a moment of your time.

Obama Landslide at Lincoln Elementary!

Blogger's Note: School information mogul John Armato has sent us the following information about election results at Lincoln Elementary School, where President Barack Obama was the preferred candidate.

The students at Lincoln Elementary School learned valuable lessons about democracy in our country by studying the electoral process and participating in a school-wide mock election for the presidency of the United States.

Second grade students, under the direction of teachers Leslie Swartz, Heather Kurtz, and Jill Bolonski, organized the school-wide election.

Second graders were particularly excited in the days leading up to the election. Lessons in class gave students an understanding of the political parties, conventions, debates, campaigns, and electoral votes.

Each class signed up for a time to vote. Students were issued voter registration cards and as the classes approached the voting booth they were greeted by second graders who served as poll workers.

Students were given ballot sheets to cast their vote and expressed a great deal of excitement to vote for their favorite candidates.

“This experience involved learning across the curriculum for Lincoln second graders, providing a look at ‘election vocabulary,’ writing experiences, problem solving, and an overview of our American government," said Lincoln Principal Treena Ferguson. "It gave them a meaningful and relevant connection to an important event in our country and left a lasting impression on becoming a responsible citizen.”

The results of the election saw Barack Obama the winner, by a landslide, earning all 50 of the school’s electoral votes and a popular vote margin of 263-47.

(Blogger's Joke: I will leave to you gentle reader to ponder the irony of Gov. Romney's "47" votes.)

Second grade teacher Leslie Swartz evaluated the activity as a tremendous success.

 “The entire school benefited from the activity because it was relevant to what was happening in our nation, it provided an opportunity for teachers to discuss the political process, and students were able to see how a group of citizens come together in a peaceful way to exercise their right to vote; something they will do one day as an adult.”

That Warm Feeling Inside

From left, Barth Principal Ryan Oxenford, Jay Rumler from Exelon, Cindy Salerno from Exelon, Linciln Principal Treena Ferguson Lincoln Principal, Donna Christman from Exelon and Ruper Principal Matt Moyer.

Blogger's Note: Another timely submission from Pottstown Schools Information Meister John Armato:

Thanks to the efforts of the employees of Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station’s “Operation Warm” and the “Coats For Kids Foundation,” over 250 Pottstown School District elementary students will have new coats to help them stay warm during the winter months.

On hand to accept the coats on behalf of the Pottstown School District were Ryan Oxenford, Principal Barth Elementary; Treena Ferguson, Principal Lincoln Elementary; and Matt Moyer, Principal Rupert Elementary.

Tom Dougherty, Limerick Site Vice President, said, “Every child deserves a winter coat to keep them warm and healthy during the cold winter months. At Limerick Generating Station, we have always been committed to helping our neighbors and community through a variety of charitable initiatives. Partnering with the Pottstown School District on this initiative demonstrates the power of working together to meet local community needs.”

Operation Warm and the Coats For Kids Foundation have a focused mission to provide new winter coats to children.

Their vision is that every child wearing a new winter coat is warm, feels valued, and is healthy, able to regularly attend school and enjoy active outdoor play, even on cold winter days. Through funding from local businesses and corporations, Operation Warm provides coats to the local community.

Oxenford noted, “These coats will go a long way in helping many students be able to enjoy the feeling of warmth on a cold winter day and eliminate a distraction to their ability to learn. We appreciate the opportunity to work with all of our local partners to ensure that every student has an equal opportunity for success.”

Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station is located two miles southeast of Pottstown, PA, Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station Unit 1 and Unit 2 produce a total of 2,345 net megawatts (MW) of electricity - enough energy to power more than two million average American homes.

The station employs approximately 860 workers and annually donates more than $600,000 to charitable and local community organizations.

The Germ of an Idea

The Clinical Health Occupation students outside Edgewood.

Blogger's Note: Perhaps, by the time school starts up again in August, John Armato will run out of news about the previous school year.

Pottstown High School Clinical Health Occupations students, along with their teacher Michaela Johnson, did an end of year visit to the district’s five elementary schools where they met with kindergarten students and provided a mini-lesson in hand washing and poison control.

Students Janise Williams, Dawn Henderson, Daisy Miller, Christian Morant, Madison Camacho, Dominick Rodriguez, and Anika Watkins-Frazier used glitter to simulate how germs can easily spread from one person’s hands to another.

They also put on a skit where they demonstrated to children how to avoid some common household items that could harm them.

The kindergarten students showed a great deal of enthusiasm especially when they had the opportunity to “see germs” on their hands using a special glow-in-the-dark lotion called “Glo Germ” and a black light.

After applying the “Glo Germ” and looking at all the “germs” on their hands, the children had to wash their hands and place them under the black light to see if they thoroughly removed all the “germs.”

Looking for the 'Blo Germs.'

The teachable moment came when the health students taught the kindergarten students a simple hand washing song to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

At the end of the session, kindergarten students, Health Occupations students, and teachers all had an enjoyable time while learning valuable lessons to stay healthy.