In January, Mrs. Dorene Ridgway started a Greenhouse Club at East York Elementary.  This was made possible by a grant received from the York Suburban Education Foundation.  Many thanks to Mr. Wayne Ingerto and his staff for setting up the greenhouses. The Greenhouse Business Club students are working hard and were eager to get their plants in the greenhouse. Despite the unpredictable weather, the plants are growing like crazy! Come check the progress at East York’s May Festival on Friday, May 4. All plants will be for sale, along with other Greenhouse Club projects.

Submitted by Mrs. Dorene Ridgeway

The York Suburban Education Foundation’s student-led Impact Foundation’s outreach has been rapidly expanding since its start in 2015.  A growing number of elementary students are becoming “backpack buddies” in the Food for Thought program, and students from all schools are taking home supplies from the Impact Closets. However, the increasing number of students receiving assistance means there is a need for more students willing to take a role in the organization. Students from outside the Impact Foundation board are stepping up to join in the efforts to ensure that all York Suburban students have what they need to come to school prepared for the day.

l to r: Sophia Mingora, Kenzie Park-Hubb, and Brooke Ruth

Cody O’Donnell

For their senior project, Sophia Mingora, Kenzie Park-Hubb, and Brooke Ruth chose to focus on reaching the needs of students in the high school. They see the topic as being close to home; the people they are helping are people they see every day in the halls. By interviewing Impact Foundation president, Ali Reinecker, they found out more about the current needs of students and how they could make a difference. They are currently working on a supply collection, and at the end of May, they will give a presentation on what they learned about student needs and how others can get involved.   

Another pair of seniors, Cody O’Donnell and Michael Barbera, have chosen to focus their senior project on collecting food for the Impact Closets and Food for Thought. They feel that the Impact Foundation has really made a difference in the York Suburban community, and they want to get involved to enhance the positive impact they have already seen.  

Elena Scarpato

Even younger students are getting involved in any way they can. Elena Scarpato, a second-grader at Valley View, has asked her friends to donate items like food and school supplies to Food for Thought and the Impact Closets instead of receiving presents for her birthday party at the end of April. The small sacrifices students are making can’t compare to the amazing impact IF has on York Suburban students. Students helping students is more than just a motto for the Impact Foundation; it is the real result of students getting involved in their own school community to help support their classmates and friends.

Submitted by Lilly Cook, York Suburban Junior and Impact Foundation Board Member

Junior Zoe Prats, Cellist, Makes PMEA Central Region Orchestra

York Suburban junior cello player, Zoe Prats, advanced to perform with the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Central Region Orchestra at Messiah College the weekend of March 22 and 23. After auditioning and performing in the PMEA District 7 Orchestra Festival, she advanced to the Region Orchestra Festival. Although the large snow storm from earlier in the week canceled one day of rehearsal from the festival, the students still performed an outstanding and professional-level repertoire with excellence, including parts of Holst’s The Planets, and also Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.      

 East York and Indian Rock Elementary Singers

Eight students from East York and Indian Rock Elementary Schools represented our district in the District 7 PMEA Elementary Songfest.  The songfest was held on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at Middletown Area High School. The students prepared for about two months before the concert to combine with 200 other elementary students to perform a spectacular event.  The East York students involved were: Iaire Miller-Brown, Amelia Emswiler, Cayli Huynh, and Brayden Nolan. The Indian Rock students involved were: Cami Green, Grace Bramble, Landon Mendoza, and Katie Burt.

Submitted by Mrs. Ashley Markey

Mrs. McAuliffe is proud to announce the 2018 York Suburban Middle School Art Show 

Over 900 artworks will be displayed! 

Submitted by Mrs. Molly McAuliffe

Our York Suburban family lost a pillar of our community recently.  Dr. Phillip Avillo, Jr. was an outstanding community leader who was elected to the York Suburban School Board of Directors for three terms, serving seven years as president. He also served as a member of the East York Elementary Parent Teachers Association and the York Suburban Dollars for Scholars program.

Dr. Avillo was very involved in his children’s lives, Andrew (class of 1991), Stephen (class of 1993) and Susan (class of 1997) and became a coach and mentor to countless other YS alumni over the years.

A proud veteran who served our country, Dr. Avillo was also a  strong advocate for education.  Please consider making a gift to the York Suburban Education Foundation in his memory.  While it was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that took him from this world too soon, we can honor Dr. Avillo by making a lasting impact on York Suburban students in his name.  

Contact York Suburban Education Foundation at www.ysef.org

Submitted by Ms. Jamie Vranich, York Suburban Education Foundation

2017-18 was the inaugural year for a Pre-Apprenticeship Program in Construction for York County high school seniors. Offered by Kinsley Construction, Inc. in conjunction with York County Alliance for Learning (YCAL), the program enrolled two York Suburban High School seniors, Andrew Frantz and Thomas (TJ) Hoover with eleven students from other county high schools and is slated to run again in 2018-19. In addition, the York County Manufacturers’ Association and New Concept Technology will offer a precision machining/advanced automation Pre-Apprenticeship program in 2018-19. Current high school juniors can apply to participate!

The program ran September through April and included foundation courses in blueprint reading and math, a series of on-site practicum sessions (building tiny homes), and OSHA training. Students were also introduced to all departments at Kinsley.

Funding was provided by the York County Community Foundation, South Central PA Works, and of course, Kinsley.

Photo from the closing program at Kinsley Education Center on April 19. Left to right, Karen Forrer, TJ Hoover, Andrew Frantz, Dr. Larry Redding.

Submitted by Ms. Karen Forrer