Student & Staff Spotlight
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Daniel enrolled in July, 2017 and has made significant gains in this past year. He has advanced from a kindergarten to second grade reading level and has demonstrated the ability to maintain attention to classroom tasks for a full period. When Daniel feels he needs a break, he requests properly and returns to participate within the designated time.
Daniel has learned to advocate for himself when necessary and will maintain appropriate physical boundaries when engaging in conversation. He is a good friend to his classmates and appears to enjoy these relationships.
He has grown socially and academically and is ready to transition to the Lower School Program in the fall. We are all so proud of you, Daniel! Keep up the good work!
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Ms. Prestia began her career at Pathway as a teacher in 2004. She took a few years off as her family started to grow and returned to continue teaching, inspiring and impacting the lives of her students.
When Pathway started the Emotional Support Program in 2010, Ms. Prestia, along with others accepted the challenge to create a program that would serve this new population of students. After several years in the ES Program and ready for a change, she transferred to Pathway’s Lower School Program. She now holds the position as Lead Teacher in this program and enjoys a mentor role for new teachers, as well as being the point person for communication and program enrichment.
Ms. Prestia is always one of the first to volunteer for special projects, such as the Homecoming/Fall Festival event and the Pathway 5K Run/Walk. She is welcoming to students, family members and guests in a manner that demonstrates respect and builds self-esteem among those who have the good fortune of having her for a teacher.
Over the years parents of graduated students have contacted Ms. Prestia to inform her of their child’s accomplishments and to share their high regard for the positive impact she had contributing to their success. This kind of connection represents how the right teacher and right environment can positively impact a student’s life!
Thank you, Ms. Prestia for being that teacher!
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Elmwood Park Zoo is Pathway’s Newest Student Work Site
On May 7, 2018 Norristown's Elmwood Park Zoo announced they have been named the first Certified Autism Center Zoo in the world. The certification demonstrates Elmwood's completion of a training and review process aimed at providing services for individuals on the autism spectrum. In addition to this distinction, the Elmwood Park Zoo and Pathway have agreed to collaborate to have students work at the zoo as part of their career education training.
Kaitlyn McCollum, the Zoo’s Assistant Director, took Pathway’s Supervisor of Career Education, Kay Drevyanko, and several students on tour to discuss the job responsibilities which will include "caterpillar counting", working in the gardens, taking observation data on animals, gift shop maintenance, zoo tours, and of course, assisting with animal feedings. Kaitlyn had completed her student teaching at Pathway and it was wonderful to reconnect with her for this partnership.
It is expected students will be working at the zoo with the start of the ESY Program. This relationship will benefit our students, the zoo staff and most certainly the exotic animals who call the Zoo their home!
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Poetry Slam
The students in Ms. Purcell’s literature class often would say they did not like poetry due to the struggle with understanding the figurative language. Ms. Purcell responded to their challenge by creating a way to make poetry fun!
She created a lesson plan that would teach the poetry unit with a technique known as
spoken word
. This technique
relies on a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, rhymes, word play, and slang.
Spoken Word
is writing that is meant to be read out loud.
She sent the lesson plan to all of the Upper School English classes and invited them to participate. She was amazed at the positive response! All of her Literature students wrote a poem and more than half of the students performed their poem on May 4
th
in front of their teachers and classmates.
The students were assigned to write about something they wanted to see changed in the world. Given the struggles and adversity our students have experienced Ms. Purcell was hoping it would capture their attention, and it did! Originally, the Poetry Slam was to be about 30 minutes with 4 or 5 performances. Surprisingly, 18 students signed up to perform and additional time was scheduled! At the last minute, Ms. Purcell contacted her friend, Anand, to join the event and perform his own original poem. Anand has amazing rhyming skills and has been writing poetry for over 20 years. His performance ended the event with a round of applause for of all of the participants who stepped outside their comfort zone and took on the challenge.
It was a proud moment for everyone and the plan is to include this lesson into the poetry unit each year. Instead of resisting this part of the Literature curriculum, it will now be an event that the student’s will look forward to.
Thank you, Ms. Purcell, for continuing to make learning both impactful and fun!
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FORE! the kids
On May 15
th
Pathway held its 21
st
annual golf fundraising event at RiverCrest Golf Club. It was a great day for golf, to come together to honor our student ambassadors and raise funds to further enhance Pathway’s programs. The $37K raised will help to fund renovations to create a STEM + the Arts Innovation Center and an early learning center.
We are grateful to our sponsors, golfers, dinner guests, auction donors and the golf planning committee for their contributions in creating a great event. We hope to see you all next year at RiverCrest on May 16
th
, to participate in the 22
nd
golf outing,
FORE! the kids
.
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Robotics in the Garden
Pathway’s newest STEM venture includes construction of a FarmBot which is the technological answer to farm management and for students in Mr. Fullem’s Robotics Club is the highlight of their day. The students are in the construction phase of building the “Gantry”, which is part of the robot that slides along tracks. Adjustments to create less friction gave the students and Mr. Fullem ample opportunities to problem-solve and adjust Eccentric Spacers. The directions to attach the Cross-Slide, V-Wheels, a motor, tubing for watering, a Universal Tool Mount and multiple small parts also allowed the Robotics Club to use creative and sometimes inspired teamwork to succeed! The directions suggest that construction should only take 20 hours, but Mr. Fullem took full advantage of the teachable moments which have added value and time to the project’s completion.
Coding will come next…to inform the robot of the specific needs of each variety of plant in the bed. When students code the robot, it will plant, water, fertilize and harvest. The only task it will be unable to do is to care for plants that grow higher than two feet, as this will prohibit the Gantry from moving effectively. This summer’s garden project includes several herbs which will eventually find their delicious way into Pathway’s culinary classes!
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The Pathway School | 610-277-0660| www.pathwayschool.org
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