Shawnee Elementary Teachers Cook for Safe Harbor

Fourth grade teachers at Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township recently visited Safe Harbor of Easton where they cooked a meal.

Shawnee Sharks Care. And that caring showed when fourth grade teachers from Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township recently visited Safe Harbor of Easton where they donated food and cooked a meal. "The overwhelming kindness of the students warmed the hearts and bellies of the residents of Safe Harbor," said Elizabeth Bilinski, a Shawnee fourth-grade teacher. Teachers cooked a meal there on March 1 for people at Safe Harbor, a transitional home for single men and women. Bilinski said the meal would not have been possible without the help of students, who have been learning in class the importance of giving back to the community and helping others. "The goal of this initiative was to tell Easton that Shawnee Sharks care!" Bilinski said…

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Storytelling Session at Shawnee Elementary [Video]

Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township celebrated International Storytelling Thursday.

She placed an elephant hat on her head and began to tell a tale. Renowned storyteller Kristin Pedemonti visited Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township Thursday for several sessions celebrating international storytelling. Appearing in a morning assembly before kindergarten, 3rd-grade and 4th-grade students, Pedemonti had children laughing as she told the story of an elephant on a journey who finds a few friends along the way. Students cheered and clapped and raised their hands to be volunteers as Pedemonti picked one girl to serve as a rabbit. Pedemonti is the recipient of the National Storytelling Network 2011 International StoryBridge Oracle Award for her work bridging cultures through story. Pedemonti was there to help celebrate …

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Letter: Too Many Half Days in Easton Area School District

Shawnee Elementary School parents says that half days shouldn't count as full days in meeting 180-day school mandate.

Dear Patch.com, I agree with you 100 percent about your My View column on Nov. 18 in which you stated that children aren't spending enough time in school these days. Thank you for finally writing about this. Last year, I wrote to State. Rep. Joe Emrick and to Secretary of Education Tomalis about the missed number of days at the elementary school level here in the Easton Area School District. In the 2010-2011 school year, we had a total of 26 half-days... the 12:25 dismissal time. That equals 78 hours of missed in-class instruction, because the usual full school day goes until 3:25. I found that number alarming, and I do not understand how that can be acceptable with state requirements. On the official 2010–2011 school calendar, a total of …

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My View

Are Children Spending Enough Time in School?

The November calendar shows a short month for students in the Easton Area School District.

The complaints are numerous. Parents in the Easton Area School District are wondering why their children aren't in school so much these days. They complain about it at parent pickup. They moan about it on Facebook. And they express unhappiness about trying to find childcare for half-days and off days because they are working full-time jobs. One parent even told me that when you count up the days, children will only be in elementary schools -- at least in Shawnee Elementary School where my son attends -- for nine full days during November. OK, I count 10. But still. Are children spending enough time in school to learn anything? By state law, children must go to school 180 days throughout the school year. But November seems to be a lost …

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My View

My View: The Wrong Way to Teach 9/11

Easton Area School District lesson on teaching children about Sept.11 attacks was inappropriate.

"Teach Your Children Well." We hope that our educators always have that in mind when they teach our children. But educators in the Easton Area School District failed on how some children were taught about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. Yes, everyone in our country needs to know -- and never forget -- the brutal attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, destroyed the World Trade Center towers in New York City and brought our country to its knees. Sept. 11 will be a day on which we should mourn the loss of lives and always remember what our nation went through on that tragic day, which shook America to its core. But do children who are 9 and 10 years old need to watch the horrific highlights of the attack: the smoldering towers…

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EASD Sheds Security Guards

The Easton Area School District has done away with security guards at its schools.

When people now arrive at the front of an Easton Area elementary school and hit the buzzer to get inside, a security guard would buzz them in. Not anymore. The Easton Area School District has done away with security guards, yet another casualty of an off-season that saw more than 100 teachers and 50 staffers lose their jobs in the wake of closing a budget deficit. Security guards at Cheston, Forks, Palmer, March, Shawnee, Tracy and Paxinosa elementary schools were eliminated as part of the Easton Area School District's layoffs for 2012-13, according to the Express-Times. Shawnee Elementary Principal Josephine Galloway said her school staff is adjusting to personnel cuts. She did not go into detail about how many staff were lost and what …

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Forks Principal Excited to Start School

Josephine Galloway, principal of Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township, is ready for 'fresh start' to another school year.

Josephine Galloway has the same reaction toward starting the school year as anyone else. "I have jitters every year," Galloway said Tuesday, on the school's second day. Galloway is the principal of Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township. And while her job is year-round, she still enjoys when the new school year comes around. "It's an exciting time, to see the faces of kindergarten students who are having their first experience with school," she said. "I like the feeling, the excitement, of children getting off the buses. It's a unique experience. It never gets old." Like most schools in the Easton Area School District, Galloway suffered some staffing losses. The district cut about 100 teachers and 50 staff personnel over the summer to…

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My View

My View: Start School After Labor Day

There's no reason why school districts can't begin the year like most others do -- after the Labor Day holiday.

When I was growing up, I savored my last day off before school started. I would usually spend the day at our lake community in northern New Jersey shooting hoops and enjoying the last few hours of sunshine before the chaos of classes and homework returned. After all, it was the last "unofficial" day of summer -- Labor Day. And that's how students should spend the last day of their summers -- at home on summer vacation. There's no reason school needs to start any earlier. It's kind of silly how some school districts in Pennsylvania -- like the Easton Area School District -- start the new year before summer is "unofficially" over. What's the point? The school schedule is stupid anyway. Students -- like those at Shawnee Elementary School in …

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Is There a Doctor in the House?

This student poses as Dr. J., the great basketball player Julius Erving, during a wax museum at Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township.

In our Photo of the Week, this student portrays the great basketball player Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J., during a Wax Museum held on one of the last days of school. Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township provided the program to give children the opportunity to learn about famous people, dress up like them and give guests a presentation about them. This student showed off Dr. J's famous Afro and holds a basketball in his Philadelphia 76ers jersey. So what conversation might Dr. J. have had in the wax museum with other famous people like Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein? We'd like to read your caption. Write a caption of what you think Dr. J. might say. The best caption might even get you a prize!

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Elvis Hasn't Left This Building

Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township held a wax museum in which students dressed up as famous people and gave presentations about their character.

In our Photo of the Week, Elvis Presley chats it up during a Wax Museum held on one of the last days of school. Shawnee Elementary School in Forks Township provided the program to give children the opportunity to learn about famous people, dress up like them and give guests a presentation about them. This student portrayed the latter-day Elvis, best known as the "Las Vegas" Elvis. So what is he talking about? Are they discussing his sideburns or cool suit? Or what it's like to be a "Hound Dog" who likes a little "Jailhouse Rock?" We'd like to read your caption. Write a caption of what you think Elvis is saying or doing in the comments. The best caption might even get you a prize!

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