On Wednesday, September 28, York Suburban High School was identified as a United States Department of Education (USDOE) National Blue Ribbon School under the category of Exemplary High Performing School. This is a prestigious and unique honor. This year, YSHS was one of just 54 public high schools nationwide and one of just 11 Pennsylvania public schools of any level to receive the honor. YSHS is also the first mid-state public high school to be recognized since Hershey High School was recognized in 1994-95. Dr. Ellis talked about the award: “I am so pleased that our high school could receive this recognition. While none of the student body or the faculty do this for awards, it is always great to have others recognize the outstanding work that happens at our school. I am privileged to work with such an outstanding staff and student body every day. This is truly their award.”

The USDOE explains the award and its purpose on its Blue Ribbon Website: “The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging content.” What is most exciting is the designation opens up additional opportunities for our school system to dialog with other Blue Ribbon schools to share best practices and learn from each other as we all strive to continually improve our schools.

The recognition comes after the state recognized the high school for its outstanding test scores in February 2016. From there, the high school submitted an application to be fully recognized as a Blue Ribbon school.  The school’s Blue Ribbon Profile Page can be accessed at National Blue Ribbon Schools . This page includes a link to the application and a brief description of what makes YSHS such an exceptional place.  

The faculty first learned of the potential for recognition last spring and the entire faculty contributed to the application process by completing surveys and providing information regarding what makes York Suburban High School unique.  The administration worked through the spring to complete and submit the application and learned in mid-September that YSHS would be recognized. Dr. Ellis shared the news with the student body and faculty via Newslink, the school’s TV Show, and then the faculty celebrated the accomplishment after school.  Dr. Ellis will also visit each district school to share the celebration with them.  He is presenting a customized “Blue Ribbon Feeder School” banner to each school to recognize the key role those buildings play in the development of the students. Dr. Ellis shared the community-wide nature of the award in his message to High School parents: “While the award recognizes our  school, it is truly a district-wide honor and is shared with all members of the York Suburban community.  Without the exemplary teachers in our elementary and middle schools who provide the outstanding foundation for our students, and without the tremendous support of our family and community members, such recognition would not be possible.”  The District also highlighted the accomplishment at the October 14 home football game with banner presentation to members of the student body, faculty, administration, and school board.  All attendees also received a magnet recognizing the accomplishment.  York Suburban will also be formally recognized at the National Blue Ribbon School ceremony in Washington D.C. on November 7 and 8.  Dr. Michele Merkle, YSSD Superintendent, Dr. Brian Ellis, YSHS Principal, and Mr. David Wickenheiser, YSHS Math Teacher, will be recognized and receive the award from the United States Secretary of Education, Dr. John King. They will also have the opportunity to network and attend workshops with other Blue Ribbon winners from across the nation.  Dr. Ellis shared his excitement regarding the ceremony: “It will certainly be exciting to be in Washington D.C. to be recognized, but I am most looking forward to learning from colleagues at the many other outstanding schools across our nation.”

York Suburban will continue to celebrate the recognition throughout the upcoming year and looks forward to finding ways to utilize the honor to continue to grow and improve the school.

Submitted by Dr. Brian Ellis

Homecoming always means a great week of YS Proud spirit!  York Suburban High School has many traditions beginning the weekend prior to Homecoming and culminating with a dance on Saturday evening.   This year’s Homecoming theme was the fittingly the Olympics.   Interestingly, the Olympic rings match our various class colors and each class decorated hallways in their respective yellow, blue, green, and black.  The senior class decorated the center hallway with scenes from Africa including elephants and pyramids, and created a gold medal with the name of every member of Class of 2017.   The week also included spirit days for the student body such as: wear red, white, and blue, dress like a tourist, dress as your favorite athlete, and wear class colors. We ended the week with our traditional spirit attire: ORANGE AND BLACK!

Student Council organized the traditional Thursday night homecoming activities, beginning with Powder Puff Football games matching the classes and culminating with a game between the student champion junior team and the YSSD faculty team.  The final game went to overtime but ultimately, the faculty team prevailed!  Tucked in between, thousands of YS students and families turned out for the annual parade and packed “the hill” for what many called the “biggest bonfire” in YS history. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade came together to share their YS Pride and do the Trojan Rumble!

On Friday, the YSHS student body came together for the annual Homecoming Pep Rally.   Students heard from Dr. Ellis who shared all the great exploits of our marching band and fall sports teams, the cheerleaders who led the student body in many cheers, and the football captains who not only psyched up the crowd but also praised their classmates for being the greatest cheering section in York County.  But the highlight of the pep rally occurred when Ayden Ziegler, a fourth grader from East York Elementary  battling cancer, escorted homecoming court member Georgia DuMars to her seat.   The entire high school student body stood up to cheer and applaud with four fingers raised to celebrate this courageous young man.   Ayden brought the crowd to their feet again when he was asked to say a few words.  He simply said, “Beat Kennard-Dale”.

The football team honored Ayden’s request Friday evening with a 42-6 win over Kennard-Dale.   The homecoming festivities wrapped up on Saturday evening with the annual Homecoming Dance in the Gymnasium, with more than 500 YSHS students and guests enjoying an evening of dancing and sharing memories from a great Homecoming Week.   Homecoming Week at York Suburban is one of the most spirited weeks of the year and Homecoming 2016 exemplified that yet again.   The entire York Suburban community, from preschoolers to alumni and parents, came together to celebrate the unique and special place that is YS.

Front Row: Lucy Cook, Elizabeth Huh
Back Row: Daniel Lee, Jack Schultz, Thomas Moyer

The High School recently learned that seven York Suburban seniors have been recognized as part of the National Merit Scholarship Program.  Five students: Lucy Cook, Megan Hunt, Daniel Lee, Thomas Moyer, and Jack Schultz, were recognized as National Merit Commended Students.  Two students: Elizabeth Huh and Molly Sargen are currently recognized as National Merit Semi-finalists and remain eligible for the finalist standing!  

Each year only approximately 50,000 students out of the 1.6 million students nationwide earn National Merit recognition.  The students earn their recognition by performing in the top two to three percent of all students on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) during their junior year.   These seven students are now eligible for a special pool of scholarships only available to students recognized in the National Merit program.  The awards can range from small scholarships to full-tuition scholarships at various higher education institutions around the country.

Submitted by Kristie Kopp

On October 7, York Suburban Middle School students celebrated everything about being in middle school on one special day called “Caught in the Middle” Day!  Students spent the entire day participating in activities that encouraged mental, physical and social growth..  Students were given an opportunity to explore their interests and hobbies by attending self-selected workshops, presented by community members that strengthen current passions or explore new ones.  They ended the day in the auditorium with a special assembly from Rachel’s Challenge whose mission is to motivate and equip students to start and sustain a chain reaction of kindness and compassion in their schools and communities.

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