Upper Darby School District

Bywood Elementary School held their first annual pumpkin decorating contest this week, with each grade level team, along with the specials & life skills teams, entering a specially designed display with a winner to be determined tomorrow! Who do you think made the best pumpkin display, and should win the contest?

This event begins at 4 PM today! Register at the link on the flier!

The administration at Drexel Hill Middle School wanted to thank all of their teachers for the great job they've been doing with distance learning!

Mr. Gornizky & Mrs. Valori from Walter M. Senkow Elementary School used Red Ribbon Week to show that even superheroes wear masks!

As part of their celebration of Red Ribbon Week, students and staff at Garrettford Elementary School spent yesterday figuratively "dreaming of a drug-free life" by wearing their pajamas to school!

Last evening, Dr. Daniel McGarry, Superintendent of Schools, announced that the Upper Darby School District will continue to remain in a virtual learning model until further notice. We know that there are many families anxiously waiting to learn about the next steps in the educational experience for their child this school year. Please visit our district's YouTube page at the link below to view the live stream of last night's board meeting: https://youtu.be/IsIjpj5y22g?t=11...05 At this time, the District is facing complications with staffing as a result of the pandemic. The staffing concerns will prevent the District from a return to in-person flexible instruction in November. Only students in our Autistic Support, Life Skills Support, and Multi-Disability Support programs will return to in-person learning on November 5th for grades K-12. For these students only, full days of in-person instruction will be provided four (4) days per week and for one (1) half-day on Wednesday in the A.M. for all grades. For students who are not in these identified programs, we will remain in virtual learning at this time. We are aware that the pandemic, along with racial tensions in our country, and the transition to virtual learning has been stressful for our students and families. We recognize the social and emotional toll all of this has had on our students, staff, and community. We understand it is important to have students in front of teachers and that the social and supportive benefits that come with in-person instruction are priceless. These issues are complex and ever-changing. We want to navigate this difficult time with care, and balance the safety and health of our students and our staff during this COVID-19 pandemic. In lieu of these complexities, the District intends to respond to school reopening with continued flexibility.

Students and teachers from Walter M. Senkow Elementary School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15th to October 15th, throughout all areas of instruction to celebrate the histories, traditions, and cultures for those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America! Students participated in activities within their homerooms and related arts, which you can see in this video!

In addition to their masks, The Upper Darby High School library staff have now added some stylish librarian aprons to their personal protective equipment!

Fifth grade students in Mrs. Bangs' class at Highland Park Elementary School recently completed a group assignment to come up with an invention and slideshow presentation, and one group went above and beyond, creating a website and advertisement for their invention! Check it out!

Join us for this event tonight! Pre-registration ends at 3:00 p.m., so please let us know if you are coming before then!

Starting at 6PM tonight, we'll be live streaming our monthly Education & Pupil Services and Finance & Operations committee meetings on our district YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/c/UpperDarbySchoolDistrict)! To provide for public comment during the special Board Meeting and questions/input during the Committee Meetings, we have also established an email address and phone number that will allow the Board to receive those items prior to, during, and up to the end of each... meeting. You can email your comments to: [email protected] Or call 610 789 7200, ext. 2000 As with any public items offered during other Board and Committee meetings, your email must include your full name and residential address, but under these procedures please also include which meeting you are referencing and which agenda item. At the end of each of the meetings, the opportunity for public comment related to that meeting will be closed. To be clear, all comments for each meeting must be received by the end of that meeting, and the same for each meeting thereafter. We will follow our three (3) minute time limit for comments (including comments submitted through the public comment email and phone number), but we will make sure comments are included in their entirety in the record. As a reminder, the Board will be considering and taking action on the MOUs for both Clifton PAL and Clifton Boys Club this evening. This is a special voting meeting and will follow our already scheduled committee meetings, which we anticipate will end around 7:30 PM. If you would like to comment or participate in the special meeting, there are two ways to do so: 1. You can arrive at the high school. We will check your temperature, ask you to make sure that you do not have any symptoms indicating that you are sick. 2. We will ask you to wait outside of the Board room until it is time for public comment on the MOUs. Or, you can send an email to [email protected]. You must provide your name, address, and state that you would like to comment on the Use of Facilities Report: MOUs Clifton PAL. The same would have to happen for the Boys Club. The Committee Meeting agendas for tonight’s meetings can be found on our district website!

In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the students and staff at Westbrook Park Elementary School pledged to be drug free, and created a song and dance about staying away from drugs! Enjoy!

Last Friday, students at Walter M. Senkow Elementary School attended TheConservationCaper, a virtual assembly facilitated by The National Theatre for Children and PECO which focused on teaching students the importance of not wasting energy and easy ways toconserveit!