What is the York Suburban School District Community Portal?

Available soon, our Community Portal is an informational hub for members of the extended York Suburban community to subscribe to District information.  Neighbors, business owners, families with pre-school age children – anyone with a desire to stay connected to YS – can register online to receive electronic updates of news and events.   Households in the District will receive a mailing with detailed instructions on how to create an account and subscribe to informational groups of interest.

We are looking forward to expanding our reach and connecting with new members of our York Suburban Community of Encouragement !

Riding the wave of enthusiasm from the summer’s political events, York Suburban gaveled in the new school year with a convention-style rally for teachers, staff and administrators on August 15.

Banners, balloons, and bunting decorated the high school auditorium as “delegates” from each building took their seats to cries of “We Are – YS!!!”   Our newest staff members were introduced amidst “smoke” and rally music, followed by welcoming speeches by supporters of our YS school community from primary to secondary.  Grateful messages were shared by Valley View and Yorkshire students, Jeffery Strine and Maya Wolpert; East York and Indian Rock alumna , Reese McKenna and Madelin Trimmer; middle school student, Ben Kenien; high school senior, Zachary Weinstein; and a special visit from Class of 2007 alumni, Dr. Jake Schroeder.  The theme of appreciation from all our constituents culminated in a heart-felt speech from YS parent, Anne Smith, whose six children have journeyed through our buildings. Keynote speakers included Board President Lynne Leopold-Sharp, Superintendent Dr. Shelly Merkle,  Assistant Superintendent Dr. Patricia Maloney, and YSEA President Dave Darrah revealing our platform of district goals for 2016-2017, achievements of 2015-2016, and reminders to strive for excellence while maintaining balance and YS Wellness.

Exit polls reveal delegates felt “energized” and “moved”  by the convention’s message plus pleasantly “surprised” by the District’s commitment to changing the status quo of the York Suburban Opening Day format.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

High school chemistry teacher, Mrs. Leigh Foy, and her husband, Dr. Gregory Foy, presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this past August. The ACS is the world’s largest scientific society with nearly 157,000 members. The Society’s 252nd National Meeting and Exposition: Chemistry of the People, by the People, for the People, featured thousands of presentations on new discoveries in science.

Dr. Foy,  an associate professor of Analytical Chemistry at York College, and Mrs. Foy collaborated to present a session on Climate Change Education to chemistry teachers. “We had over 100 teachers from all over the country in attendance at our session, so that was great,” reported Mrs. Foy.

Recent research shows that teachers need to feel more confident about the science of climate change and they need more classroom resources.  Dr. Foy developed  a “Top Ten Data Sets that Every Climate Literate Citizen Should Know” to help elevate the teacher’s climate knowledge and Mrs. Foy shared with the teachers some classroom materials to help teach climate change.  One of the valuable resources presented was a  unit on “The Other CO2 Problem – Ocean Acidification” for high school chemistry classes that Mrs. Foy developed over the summer.

Submitted by:  Kerri Henry

At the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, Braeden Hilty came up with an idea at the bus stop. His mom was asking him if everyone had a friend at school and wished there was a way to make sure everyone did.  Braeden replied, “What about a Buddy Bench?”  He shared his idea with close friends, Lena Englerth and Abigail Sprankle.  The girls saw the value of having a friend and the three agreed that Indian Rock needed a Buddy Bench.  Their first step was to raise money.  So, at the Fall Festival, the students set up a booth and charged one dollar to play the game they designed and set up.  Their poster about the Buddy Bench idea attracted kids to play the game and also earned generous donations from awesome grandparents!  Braeden, Lena, and Abigail raised a lot of money at the Fall Festival but it wasn’t quite enough so they turned to their teachers at the Rock for help.  The teachers participated in a special Casual Day to help raise the rest of the money for the Buddy Bench.   The teachers were very happy to donate money and wear jeans to work one day last spring!  Once Braeden, Lena, and Abigail had enough money to purchase a Buddy Bench, there was still work to do.  First, the students had to pick a color for the bench.  Then, the three friends went to Print-O-Stat to get plaques engraved.  Their dream and hard work became a reality when they got to see the Buddy Bench delivered to Indian Rock on the last day of school in May.  The last step was to plan a school-wide WE ROCK assembly to share the Buddy Bench with the faculty, staff, and students at Indian Rock on August 26, 2016.  Braeden, Lena, and Abigail want everyone to remember the quote that is engraved on a plaque on the Buddy Bench.  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”