RINGING IN THE 2019/20 SCHOOL YEAR
On Monday, August 19, UCFSD faculty and staff kicked off the start of the school year with Convocation! The morning started with sounds from the very talented UHS Drum Line and UHS Chorale. Speakers included John Nolen, Christa Fazio, Scott Broomall, Jeff Hellrung, Sam Jokhi, and John Sanville. Highlights of the morning included welcoming the new teachers and the district's Service video which highlights this year's theme: Service Above Self.
Take a look at the featured videos as well as a video with the highlights from Convocation!
BOARD MEETING RECAP AUGUST 19, 2019
Click here to view the full agenda and all documents.
All board meetings are filmed and may be viewed on the District’s YouTube channel.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Sanville welcomed everyone to the meeting and to the end of the summer. He shared some highlight’s from Convocation and announced this year’s theme - Service Above Self. He looks forward to welcoming back our 4100 students.
Retiree Recognition
Ms. Sharon Baillie was recognized for her years of service at UCF. Ms. Baillie has been the benefits specialist for the past 23 years. Mr. Cochran shared that Ms. Baillie has had a stellar career at UCF and revealed a box of thank you notes from employees who have been impacted by her work.
Student Representative’s Report
The board welcomed Ms. Evanko as the new student representative who will be joining Ms. Elvin at the meetings this year.
Ms. Evanko mentioned that the students have received their schedules and that it is a symbol that summer is quickly ending and the school year is about to begin.
Ms. Elvin shared her enthusiasm for the school year to begin, highlighting the upcoming SHOC event for new students and the highly anticipated Lunch and Learn.
Action Items and Committee Reports
In Curriculum, the Get More Math contract was approved. This is replacing the former program used at the middle school, Study Island. The new program allows students to progress independently at their own pace and advance once they master a skill, revisiting that skill periodically to reaffirm competency.
The Board also approved a middle school trip to NYC (March 2020) for Spanish students who wish to take part in an immersive experience in Spanish Harlem. This is an overnight trip and this will be the first year they are offering this trip.
A Blended Learning Professional Development opportunity with the CCIU was also approved. The CCIU will train staff on blended learning in preparation for future blended learning opportunities at the high school.
In Facilities, the Board approved the replacement Chiller form Chadds Ford Elementary School. The chiller has already been installed and is currently keeping Chadds Ford Elementary cool!
Additionally, a Supplemental Agreement to K&W's contract for the structural evaluation of the existing barn was approved.
In Finance, the School Board approved an agreement with The Retirement Advantage to provide an actuarial valuation for the district since our prior firm has backed out of GASB 75 reporting. GASB 75 is an accounting standard released by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) that deals with reporting OPEB (other post-employment benefits) costs (post-employment costs other than pensions).
The District issued new debt and refunded some existing debt this past spring. PDE requires the District to submit a PlanCon Part K package which has been approved by the Board in order for them to make necessary changes to the old debt reimbursements and the new debt reimbursement (refunded debt portion only).
In Policy, 913-AG1 (Commercialism in Schools and on School Property) was approved. This is a new administrative guideline outlining how the District will handle advertising on school property, such as athletic field ads, and scoreboard signage.
Upcoming Meetings
- Curriculum & Instruction Meeting - September 9 at 4:30 PM
- School Board Work Session - September 9 at 7 PM
- School Board Meeting - September 16 at 7:30 PM
All meetings are held in the District Office's large conference room (DO-14).
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
UNIONVILLE MEN'S & WOMEN'S SOCCER AT TALEN ENERGY STADIUM | September 3 | Women play at 5:00 pm | Men play at 7:30 pm | See Details
JAVA WITH JOHN | September 4 at 1:30-3:30 pm in DO 14 | See Details
UCFSD BIKE DRIVE | Collection Days: September 14 & October 12 from 9 am to Noon | Clean Up Day: October 26 | See Details
U-PRISE MEETING | September 18 from 6-7:30 pm in DO 14 | Learn more about U-PRISE!
UHS MARCHING BAND USED MUSIC INSTRUMENT SALE | September 22 from Noon to 3 pm | See Details
JOHN O'SULLIVAN VISIT | Author of this year's Community Read, Changing the Game, will be speaking on September 23 at 7:00 pm at UHS. This event is free and open to the public. | Learn More
ATHLETICS SPECIAL EVENTS | Youth Night at UHS: September 13 | Military Appreciation Night: September 20 | Homecoming: September 27 | Senior Night: October 25 | See full UCFSD game schedule!
UNIONVILLE COMMUNITY FAIR | October 4-6 | Fair events will be starting on September 7 and taking place throughout the month. | See all of this year's events!
Take a look at our Community Bulletin Board for more events going on throughout the UCF community!
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is encouraging the community to participate in a summer book read. Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids is a national bestselling book by John O’Sullivan. In Changing the Game, O’Sullivan draws upon three decades of high-level playing and coaching experience to take readers behind the scenes of competitive youth sports and demonstrates how they have changed from being a fun pastime to an ultra-competitive enterprise. He then teaches parents that the secret to raising happy, high performing children begins by helping them attain a positive mindset and an enjoyable youth sports environment. O’Sullivan believes that by following seven actionable principles of high performance outlined in the book, parents can give their children a competitive edge, while at the same time making youth sports a positive experience for their family and their community.
Forty million American children play youth sports, but 70 percent drop out by age 13. "That's three out of four kids," John O’ Sullivan said. "It's simply not fun anymore."
“When I first started as the Supervisor of Athletics at Unionville, a parent gave me a copy of Changing the Game,” stated Pat Crater, Supervisor of Athletics for Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. “We had a great conversation about our perspectives on sports. Sure, competing to win is part of interscholastic sports, but our program is so much more. And this book reminds us of what is truly important in a young athlete’s experience.”
In his book, O'Sullivan asserts that parents and coaches criticize performance and put too much pressure on their kids to be better, to win games, and to land sports scholarships. Only 2 percent of high school athletes win scholarships (of these, the average is less than $11,000). "This is the race to nowhere," O'Sullivan added.
The book made its way around the district and it soon became clear that the message would be meaningful to a wider audience. While the book is written to parents of young athletes, the key takeaways from Changing the Game can apply to many aspects of a child’s life, not just sports.
“It's about celebrating our kids and letting them flourish while empowering them to pursue their passions, whatever those may be,” stated Dr. Leah Reider, Director of Pupil Services for Unionville-Chadds Ford School District.
As part of the district’s wellness efforts, the district looks for opportunities that focus on the whole child and that can have a meaningful impact on the overall student experience. During the June school board meeting, school board directors supported the selection of Changing the Game as a recommended community book read and approved John O’Sullivan’s speaking engagement scheduled for the fall.
“We have done community book reads in the past,” Reider said. “The message in Changing the Game directly connects to many of our wellness standards. The book is geared for parents, but we want everyone to read it―coaches, teachers, school board members, the community" she said, adding the book is not solely about sports.
“I think that this is a very important read, not only for our coaches, who are all reading it, but for the athletes' parents, and really for any parent and any adult who works with kids. Our marching band director is reading it,” Crater added.
The author of the book, John O’Sullivan, will be coming to speak to the community on September 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Unionville High School auditorium. The district is encouraging the UCF community to read Changing the Game before O’Sullivan’s special visit. The event is open to the public and neighboring school districts and communities are welcomed to attend.
Copies of Changing the Game are available to sign out from lending libraries located in the main office at each UCF school building. The book is also available for purchase on Amazon.
“We do the best job of educating our students at UCFSD,” stated Crater. “We spare no expense in professional development for our teachers and administrators. This is our opportunity to invest in the experience that our kids get after 2:43 p.m.; whatever they may be involved in.”
To learn more about John O’Sullivan and Changing the Game, visit https://www.ucfsd.org/wellness/changing-the-game.
New Online Payment System for Food Service and Chromebook Fees
The District is now using RevTrak as our new payment software for food service payments district-wide and for Chromebook fees at the middle school and high school. Below please find information that may assist you with this transition.
Click here for a how-to guide on setting up your RevTrak account.
Click the button below to create or sign in to your RevTrak account.
PTO Directory
The continuing mission of the PTO is to make UCF a better place by promoting school spirit, supporting student activities, raising funds for the benefit of the school, and providing a forum for parents to discuss issues as needed. We encourage everyone to play an active role in the education and success of their child!
The Annual Directory is a service (and a UCF PTO tradition) we are pleased to offer that helps foster connections between families.This year’s directory will be bigger and better than ever. To increase its usefulness (and save a few trees) we will be providing a digital version of the directory.
The digital directory is free and will be available in PowerSchool in the Parent Portal
To be listed in the directory provide your contact information online using this link: 2019-2020 UCF PTO Directory - Information Input Form
DEADLINES
The deadline for filling out the Directory Input Form is: September 25
Directories will be available on October 1.