PAS News
Penn Alexander School New Playground – Open for Play!
August 19, 2020 – The day has finally arrived! The new Penn Alexander School playground is officially open for play. We are all very excited for our West Philadelphia community to have a new, safe and fun place to play! The playground represents completion of Phase One of the Outdoor Space Reimagined Initiative launched in 2017?.
Designed by the award winning landscape architectural firm Ground Reconsidered, the playground features Berliner elements and two tone safety surface inspired from a robust stakeholder outreach effort, that included students, teachers, and the surrounding community.
The primary feature – Jupiter and Net House consists of 2-net climbers, connected by a rope bridge. The slides, interior platforms, and ladders offer a variety of play experience and reflect student drawings that emphasized swings, slides, and very tall structures. The double bay Cloud 9 swings satisfy the desire for swings and social elements. Fun, colorful hard rubber balls can be used for play or seating. The Picadilly Circle spinner reflects the students much loved original playground spinner.
We appreciate the generous donations from individuals in the neighborhood, Playground Collaborative members including the Home and School Association, Spruce Hill Community Association, and the Parent-Infant Center – and businesses in the community that helped PAS make the new playground a reality for West Philadelphia. An official ribbon cutting to publicly acknowledge the many members of our community for making this playground possible is forthcoming.
Play Safe
We remind users to follow the City of Philadelphia and CDC guidelines when playing on the equipment:
– Wear a face mask
– Bring hand sanitizer to clean your hands before and after play
– Stay 6 feet apart
– Limit users to no more than 20
Gift to PAS: An Immigrant Alphabet – Letters H and W
Penn Alexander has received two alphabet letters of the #iAlphabet project from Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture. The 11’x16’ letters “H” (happiness in Bengali) and “W” (water in Arabic ) have been installed on the exterior gym wall along 43rd Street. The Immigrant Alphabet is a public art installation produced by Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture featuring the work of artist Wendy Ewald in collaboration with eighteen Northeast High School students exploring their immigrant experiences. The book America, Border, Culture, Dreamer: The Young Immigrant Experience from A to Z features the banner images and student narratives. #iAlphabet was displayed at the Municipal Services Building in Center City Philadelphia from September 2017 through July 2018. An official unveiling of the banners at PAS will take place on January 25, 2020. The other letters of the alphabet appear around the city. More at www.ialphabet.org
Banners of the letters “H” and “W” are installed at PAS on exterior gym wall, along 43rd Street.
7th Grade Science Class at PAS – Tree research project and Website Design
If you see a tree on our PAS campus that is wearing a tag with a QR code – take out your smartphone to learn about the tree!
Ms. Kearney’s 7th graders created websites using Google Sites tools, and linked their tree websites to QR codes that can be scanned by a smartphone camera. Directions for scanning the QR codes are attached to each tree that is part of the project. By visiting the student made websites, visitors will learn about the tree’s habitat, its ability to process CO2 and a host of other facts about the trees that are native to our neighborhood.
4th Grade Winner ! YOUNG WRITERS’ CRAZY CREATURES CONTEST
Congratulations to Ella Johnstone for her award from Young Writers. Her piece “The Dizard” will be included in the publication Crazy Creatures 2019 – Adventures From Pennsylvania.
Ella’s story was selected from over 8,000 entries. For more info on Young Writers, visit www.youngwritersusa.com. Young Writers encourages young writers to read, write and enjoy poetry as well as creative writing. Having work published boosts confidence, nurtures creative talent and showcases creativity.
MATH PARTNERSHIP
Mrs. Maria Ottinger (4GR), Ms. Maryann Milewski (2GR), Ms. Anna Varano (3GR) and Ms. Tia Larese (3GR) along with Dr. Ding of Temple University, and four other School District of Philadelphia teachers have been accepted to present their proposal Enhancing Elementary Mathematics Instruction: A U.S.-China Collaboration at the 2019 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual research conference in San Diego, CA on April 1-3.
Ms. Milewski and Ms. Varano: The teaching of worked examples: Chinese approaches in U.S. classrooms.
Ms. Larese, Ms. Milewski, Mrs. Ottinger, & Ms. Varano: Introducing Investigations math games in China: Successes and surprises.
This research is the result of a multi-year NSF grant to improve math achievement in elementary schools.
PAS ROBOTICS
Congratulations to the PAS robotics teams for advancing to the Penn FIRST Lego League Championship to be held on February 9, 2019.
On December 15th at the qualifier held at Central High School, Team Tesla took the First Place Champions award and Roboticks earned the 1st Place Programming Award.
PAS 5th Grade Blue Ribbon winners at Philly Dancing Classrooms Semester Finals !
Congratulations to PAS 5GR Team Violet for earning gold at the Dancing Classrooms Philly Semester Final Colors of the Rainbow Team Match held at Community Academy of Philadelphia on December 17th.
The team will advance to the Grand Final on June 2. The competition is the culmination of an intense 10 week program in which students learn six social dances under the direction of a teaching artist. The residency is an in-school, standards-based social and emotional learning program that cultivates essential life skills proven essential to life long health and well-being.
Congratulations to twelve member team –
Hanane Ali, Hannah Bush, Liliana DeMartinis, Nora Diffily-Kenney, Drew Feldman, Syncere Johnson, Kate Moore, Emmet Mullins, Joseph Ninness, Nico Simonet, Natjaya Supattarasakda-Tucker, Nate VanDean
PAS student winners at 2018 WHYY Youth Media Awards !
Each year the WHYY Youth Media program holds an event to honor the work of local student filmmakers. Over 300 youth-created films were entered. Eighteen made it through to the final round for Middle School and High School categories. This year, a team of 7th graders and a team of 8th graders each won an award for their films.
“The Gayborhood”
by Colin Bowerman, Finn Giddings, and Tahsin Zaman
Third Place Winner – Middle School Documentary
“The Tape”
by Jett Bolker, Austen Cho, and Mario Guglielmi
First Place Winner – Middle School Open Category
LOWER SCHOOL LITERARY MAGAZINE
5th Graders Violet Brenner and Betsy Okrent have published The Palette, a literary magazine for the lower school!
It contains artwork, poetry and more . . .
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| Betsy Okrent |
Violet Brenner |
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PAS Science Teacher Stephanie Kearney recognized as Edmentum’s Educator of the Year finalist!
Earlier this year, educational software company Edmentum asked their customers to tell their own success stories or nominate fellow educators who are making an impact on the lives of students. Now, it’s time to announce the winners of the third annual Edmentum Educator of the Year Awards! With so many incredible stories of amazing educators, selecting the winners was an incredibly difficult task.
This year’s winners not only stood out as teachers devoted to the achievements of their students, but also as educators who model what it means to be a champion of technology in the classroom. Middle School literacy teacher Ms. Mikolajewski nominated Mrs. Kearney for this year’s award –
“Stephanie integrates technology effectively in all aspects of her instruction, but what I wanted to point out most was her devotion to making Science real world applicable for her students through project-based learning. Over the past three years, she has gained multiple grants to extend her student’s learning beyond the classroom. In two of the past three years, our school’s robotics team which she sponsors has won the city competition and competed at the National LEGO League championships. This year’s team developed a rainwater purifying system. She is a dedicated and devoted teacher, she’s hardworking, committed, and effective. She has made an impact on not only the students she teaches, but also the community. Our students are more environmentally aware and committed to becoming engaged citizens because of her.”
– Julie Mikolajewski, Middle School Literacy Teacher (6-8) at Penn Alexander
PAS Librarian Jayne Downing recognized for her participation in Regional Leaders Academy.
Our librarian Ms. Downing was recognized recently by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association as a regional leader in the Regional Leaders Academy for PA school librarians.
PA MIDDLE SCHOOL STATE COMPUTER FAIR WINNERS !
On May 23rd, 4 Middle School teams traveled to Dickinson College to compete in the PA State Computer Fair. Teams entered in categories of Logo Design, Website Design, Digital Video, and Graphic Design. Our Logo team of 7th grader Angela Zhu and 8th grader Jadyn Wagner took home the 1st Place Award, and their logo design will be featured in all promotional materials for the 2019 State Fair.
7th graders Austen Cho, Jett Bolker, and Mario Guglielmi won 3rd place for their digital video “The Tape.” Congratulations to all of the students who participated this year!
PA MIDDLE SCHOOL STATE COMPUTER FAIR WINNERS !
On May 23rd, 4 Middle School teams traveled to Dickinson College to compete in the PA State Computer Fair. Teams entered in categories of Logo Design, Website Design, Digital Video, and Graphic Design. Our Logo team of 7th grader Angela Zhu and 8th grader Jadyn Wagner took home the 1st Place Award, and their logo design will be featured in all promotional materials for the 2019 State Fair.
7th graders Austen Cho, Jett Bolker, and Mario Guglielmi won 3rd place for their digital video “The Tape.” Congratulations to all of the students who participated this year!
PAS READING OLYMPICS TEAMS WIN 1st PLACE AWARDS !
The Philadelphia Reading Olympics enlists students from fourth through eighth grade from across the Philadelphia. The students are required to read a wide variety of genres over the course of many months in their respective schools. Throughout the year, students talk, debate, and discuss their books with each other and their teacher coaches. Students gather together in May to answer questions about the books. The groups work together to answer questions and earn points based on their answers.
On May 23, 2018 both the Intermediate and Middle School Penn Alexander Reading Olympics teams competed in READS’s Annual Event at St. Joseph’s University. The competition is the culminating event where students are able to showcase their knowledge about twelve to fourteen books of various genres that they have read throughout the school year. After three rounds of questions and answers, all six PAS teams walked away with Blue Ribbons, the highest achievement.
PAS READING OLYMPICS TEAMS WIN 1st PLACE AWARDS !
The Philadelphia Reading Olympics enlists students from fourth through eighth grade from across the Philadelphia. The students are required to read a wide variety of genres over the course of many months in their respective schools. Throughout the year, students talk, debate, and discuss their books with each other and their teacher coaches. Students gather together in May to answer questions about the books. The groups work together to answer questions and earn points based on their answers.
On May 23, 2018 both the Intermediate and Middle School Penn Alexander Reading Olympics teams competed in READS’s Annual Event at St. Joseph’s University. The competition is the culminating event where students are able to showcase their knowledge about twelve to fourteen books of various genres that they have read throughout the school year. After three rounds of questions and answers, all six PAS teams walked away with Blue Ribbons, the highest achievement.
Middle School students participate in 2018 Regional Computer Fair
March 23, 2018
Congratulations to our Penn Alexander Middle School students who won 5 awards at the Philly TEC and Regional Computer Fair held at the Education Center on March 23rd.
1st Place – Digital Video
Austen Cho, Jett Bolker, Mario Guglielmi
1st Place – Logo Design
Jadyn Wagner, Angela Zhu
1st Place – Website Design
Ethan Lazar, Jeffrey Zheng
2nd Place – Animation
Angel Estes, Alassane Diallo, Jabree Brown
1st Place – Graphic Design
Miles Menasion, Aidan Perner, David Kouassi
Digital Art
River Bunster, Adrian Chui, Mageed Abdoun
The 1st Place Digital Video can be viewed HERE
Middle School students participate in 2018 Regional Computer Fair
March 23, 2018
Congratulations to our Penn Alexander Middle School students who won 5 awards at the Philly TEC and Regional Computer Fair held at the Education Center on March 23rd.
1st Place – Digital Video
Austen Cho, Jett Bolker, Mario Guglielmi
1st Place – Logo Design
Jadyn Wagner, Angela Zhu
1st Place – Website Design
Ethan Lazar, Jeffrey Zheng
2nd Place – Animation
Angel Estes, Alassane Diallo, Jabree Brown
1st Place – Graphic Design
Miles Menasion, Aidan Perner, David Kouassi
Digital Art
River Bunster, Adrian Chui, Mageed Abdoun
The 1st Place Digital Video can be viewed HERE
PAS ROBOTICS TEAM WINS 1st PLACE AWARD !
Congrats to our Penn Alexander First LEGO League Robotics teams for competing at the regional championship at The University of Pennsylvania on February 10th, 2018. They will be bringing home the 1st place STRATEGY & INNOVATION AWARD & 1st PLACE CHAMPIONS AWARD! Shout out to Coach Kearney for her mentorship!
5th Graders win Semi-Finals in Ballroom Dance !
December 13th, 2017
Congratulations to our Penn Alexander 5th grade ballroom dancers for winning gold at the Dancing Classrooms Philly “Colors of the Rainbow Team Match” semi-finals.
The Colors of the Rainbow Team Match is an optional ballroom dance competition for schools participating in the Dancing Classrooms Philly In-School Residency Program. The Colors of the Rainbow Team Match events bring together Dancing Classrooms Philly school communities from around the region. The events help children from different backgrounds realize that they are all part of a larger family, united in its members’ love of ballroom dance. The events confirm Dancing Classrooms Philly’s core values of elegance, respect, self-confidence, teamwork, and cooperative goal-setting.
(From Dancing Classrooms Philly – HERE)
PAS earns 2018 Nature Works Everywhere Grant
Under the leadership of middle school science teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Kearney, 7th graders will embark on a year-long effort to design and build a living building called the Green House for the school’s garden space. This cross-curricular project between science, math, art, and literacy will take students through the process of designing a building that is space, water, and energy efficient. Students will investigate local issues such as energy and water consumption that affect our lives and the environment. Following set requirements for sustainability and cost, they will use math and art to plan and design a structure to serve as an education hub of our garden. Students bring their prior knowledge of working with scale drawings as they have make blueprints in art and mapped GSI tools on school grounds. They will advance their knowledge to plan something that can actually be built – a “living” garden shed that we will call the Green House.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
HOUR OF CODE
December 6th, 2017
To kick off instructional units on computer coding, students in grades K to 8 completed a variety of coding activities during the week of December 4th in our computer lab. Students in our lower school are learning to drag and drop graphical blocks of code in apps like Scratch, or at the code.org website. Middle School students are working toward the creation of their own programs in the Python programming language.
LEFT TO RIGHT – 2nd Gr. teacher Maryann Milewski-Moskal, 3rd Gr. teachers Anna Varano, Tia Larese, and 4th Gr. teacher Maria Ottinger
Cross-cultural Research Project
November, 2017
Four Penn Alexander teachers were selected to travel to China this summer, as part of a cross-cultural research project with Temple University. The project, “CAREER: Algebraic Knowledge for Teaching: A Cross-cultural Perspective,” is a 5-year mathematical research project that enables elementary teachers to better develop students’ algebraic thinking. The teachers will have the opportunity to collaborate with math educators in Nanjing, China, and have the opportunity to learn more about the country and its culture.
Learn more about the program HERE
7th Graders win 1st Place at 2017 WHYY Youth Media Awards
Austen Cho and Mario Guglielmi created a short digital video called CONSOLE during the 2016-2017 school year. It was accepted into the Middle School Narrative Film category of the WHYY Youth Media Awards, where it won 1st place. Over 230 youth-created films were entered by students in grades 6 through 12. Fifteen made it through to the final round of films that were screened on October 4th, 2017.
The video can be viewed HERE
Austen Cho & Mario Guglielmi with their WHYY awards on October 4th, 2017
2017 Middle School Computer Fair
Penn Alexander Middle School students competed in the categories of Coding, Digital Video, Web Page Design, Graphic Design, Logo Design, and Animation at the Annual Middle Grades Regional Computer Fair held in April, 2016. 6th grade students also competed in the Philly TEC Showcase in the categories of Digital Art & Multimedia presentations. During the fair, students participated in workshops focused on Web page creation and HTML programming, pixel art, and the new Smart Amp “shared spaces” collaboration tools. Students won 1st Place in 5 categories this year, and will move on to the PA State Middle School Computer Fair.
Learn more about the SDP Philly TEC Showcase
2017 Broad Street Runners !
Over 20 Penn Alexander students and 10 staff members completed the 10 Mile Broad Street Run on May 7th, 2017. Thanks to all of our Teacher Leaders who organized another successful year for our Students Run Philly Style program. Special thanks to Ms. Schaffer who led our SRPS program, and motivated our PAS team to the finish line!
MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS DAY !
On March 21st, Penn Alexander’s instrumental music students from grades 3, 4, and 5 performed along with their teachers Mrs. Wilkinson (Strings), and Mr. Bechtold (Woodwinds and brass) – and Mrs. Muse led the audience in song as we celebrated music at PAS!
National Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Sheila A. Sydnor receives 2016 Bell Principal Award
Retired, founding Principal Sheila Sydnor is one of 7 US principals who have been awarded the 2016 Bell Principal Award by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.
Since its founding under Ms. Sydnor’s leadership, Penn Alexander has not only provided an excellent education to its students, but has also been a powerful force for neighborhood renewal and a national model for how a racially, ethnically, and socio-economically diverse and high-achieving public elementary school can be created and thrive.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
Penn Alexander School is named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School
September 28, 2016
PENN ALEXANDER SCHOOL IS NAMED ONE OF THE BEST IN THE NATION
U.S. Secretary of Education, John B. King, Jr., announced today that the Penn Alexander School has been named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School. Penn Alexander is one among 279 public and 50 private schools receiving this honor.
Schools are nominated for the award by the state department of education, and then complete a comprehensive application about school practices. Schools may apply for status as Exemplary High Performing—among the top schools in a state—or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing—schools making the fastest progress in the their state in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
Principal Michael Farrell, former Principal Sheila Sydnor, and Philadelphia District Superintendent Dr. William Hite will represent Penn Alexander
at a two-day awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., to celebrate their hard-won achievements. For more information about the National Blue Ribbon Schools program, please visit http://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/
A Book a Day Project Returning to PAS for 2016-17
Parent Sibylla Shekerdjiska-Benatova, of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts has been awarded funding for the third year of A Book a Day Project. This initiative donates eight books each month to Penn Alexander and the Lea Schools. Since the project started, 200 hardcover books have been hand selected and donated to each school’s library. Each title is carefully coordinated to enrich the school.
Recent titles include
The Right Word, by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet
One Word from Sophia, by Jim Averbeck and Yasmeen Ismail
The World in a Second, by Isabel Minhós Martins
Lost in NYC, by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio García Sánchez
Special Delivery, by Philip C. Stead and Matthew Cordell
Mr. Frank, by Irene Luxbacher
The Most Wonderful Thing in the World, by Veronique Massenot and Vanessa Hie
Little White Duck, by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez
Madame Eiffel: The Love Story of the Eiffel Tower, by Alice Brière-Haquet and Csil
Who Will Comfort Toffle, by Tove Jansson
My Name is Yoon, by Helen Recorvits and Gabi Swiatkowska
Last modified: August 25, 2020
