7th Grade Math

Today I sat in on the 7th grade advanced algebra class during period 3. The discussion today was on ratio's. Does anybody remember what sports you could use ratios in? Mrs. Fink did a great job explaining ratios and providing you with some great real world examples. I hope everyone did well on their test.

Rommelt Track & Field Day

Today was the 5th & 6th grade Track & Field Day. What a beautiful day to be out on the football field and competing. It was a great time had by all. Did you place during Track & Field Day. If so, send me a comment and tell me what place you came in and in what event. It sounded like the 5th grade champion was Mr. Brown's Class and the 6th grade champion was Mrs. Ogden's Class. Way to go. Congratulations to all our place winners.

September Students of the Month

I would like to congratulate our September Students of the Month. Each grade level has chosen a few students to be recognized for their outstanding efforts through the month of September. They are:

5th Grade - Twix Picks: Brock Jones, Olivia Lorson, Lexi Holtzman, & Carter Alexander

6th Grade - M-azing Mounties: Kiersten Betz, Jennifer Jackson, Taylor Koser, & Dakota Rosenberg

7th Grade - Students of the Month: Andrew Gipe and Rachel Wonderlich

8th Grade - Student of the Month: Samantha Reasner and Hunter Rosenberg

Congratulations to all of you and keep up the great work.

PTO Fall Festival Was Another Big Hit!

I would like to thank everybody that came out to the Elementary PTO Fall Festival on Friday Night. It was a great time for everybody and there was a lot of great food. Most importantly it was a great time for the kids. I had a chance to talk to a lot of people while selling tickets.

Did you win a basket? I actually won a basket this year for my wife. It was a Fall Decorations basket with a lot of candles in it. My daughter also won a basket this year. She won a basket filled with cat supplies. We don't own a cat, but my son's girlfriend does, so she got the basket.

A special thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this great community event. It takes a lot of work, so please thank the PTO for all their hard work for our students. I know I am thankful for everything they do for us.

Sailor Visits Rommelt!

Did you see the article in the newspaper about one of our 6th grade students brothers stopping in to surprise him while home on leave from the Navy. Michael D. got quite the surprise yesterday. I would like to thanks all the teachers and students for giving Michaels brother quite the hereo's welcome. I would also like to give a special thanks to Mrs. Ogden for helping to arrange everything and making it such a great surprise. I am blessed to have such a great staff. If you missed the article I have copied it below from the Sun Gazette.

Sailor drops by to surprise brother
By MIKE REUTHER of the Williamsport Sun Gazette

The thunderous applause of children filling a hallway of Rommelt Elementary School greeted U.S. Navy Seaman Scott Miller as he strode past them Friday. Decked out in his Navy whites and accompanied by a small entourage, including his mother and father-in-law, Miller walked into a classroom of sixth graders where he paused for a moment before barking the order, “Front and center, Michael Depasquale.” One of the students immediately went to the front of the room and embraced his big brother.

Miller, on leave from his home station in Norfolk, Va., was in South Williamsport Friday for an overnight visit with his family. Next month, he ships out for Iraq where he has already served one tour of duty. Miller is the son of Korin Hurley and the step-son of Gary Hurley, both of South Williamsport, who were on hand for the surprise school visit. His mother said she is happy he came home. “I’m so thrilled,” she said. “I am so proud of him. I think of him every day.”

Miller, a graduate of Muhlenberg High School in Reading, said he occasionally visits Lycoming County. “This is something I wanted to do,” he said of the surprise school visit with his little brother. The two share a common interests in music, television shows and paintball.

He joined the Navy nearly four years ago to “see the world” and plans on making the Navy a career. The sight of Miller in his Navy uniform seemed to pique the curiosity of the sixth graders. One male student wanted to know what kind of guns or artillery he had used.“Many,” Miller responded. When he asked the students if any of them had siblings in the military, a few hands shot up. Miller said his job in the Navy involves munitions and putting bombs on airplanes.

And then all too soon, the classroom visit was over.“Where are we going now?” Miller asked his mother. “We are going to walk down the hall and you are going to be embarrassed again,” she said. And once again, Miller was met with that thunderous applause of children as he moved past them.

PTO Fall Festival

The annual Elementary PTO Fall Festival will be held tomorrow evening from 5:30 - 8:00 pm in the high school gyms. This has been a great time for everyone in the past, and I am sure this year won't be any different. I will be selling tickets. I hope to see you there.

Rommelt Study Skills/Recess Block

We are working very hard at developing a study skills block at the end of the day. The study skills block will occur 3 times a week at the end of the day and will replace recess. We will break the students out into smaller groups to allow them to work on reading skills development. I will post more information as the study skills block gets developed.

My Apologies

I would like to apologize for my lack of postings the last few weeks. I have finally gotten a lot of things caught up and will be making posts a few times a week. I am looking forward to posting about all of the great things that are going on in grades 5-8.

Rommelt Open House

On Wednesday, September 12th, we will have our annual 5th & 6th Grade Open House at the Rommelt Building. The open house will begin at 6:30 pm and we will begin in the Auditorium. Following a few opening remarks and an introduction on the teaching staff, we will send you to your child's home room to begin.

This is a great time for you to meet the teachers and get a brief introduction to the education expectations of the teachers. We hope to see you Wednesday evening.

Joe Pa Returns to the Sidelines and PSU Wins Easily

It was a beautiful suuny day in Happy Valley and 107,600 fans turned out to see the Nittany Lions open the 2007 football season against Florida International University. One of the biggest enjoyments of the day was seeing the 81-year old Joe Paterno run onto the field with the Nittany Lions. (If you remember last season, Joe Pa broke his leg in a game at Wisconsin when he got hit by a PSU and Wisconsin player on the sidelines).

Although the Lions didn't play a particularly strong opening opponent, it did serve as a tune-up game for them. Penn State handled FIU in every aspect of the game. I only hope they can get the running game working before next weeks game with the Fighting Irish.

The final triumphant of the day, was sitting at the tailgate party and watching Michigan get beat by 1AA Appalachian State (Sorry, Riley - I know your a Michigan Fan. I bet the Michigan Flag won't be flying at your house for a while). It was fun watching the game. It reminded me of March Madness and always cheering on the big underdogs. (Remember when Bucknell beat Kansas a few years ago in March Madness). As much fun as it was watching Michigan get beat, the question that comes up is "How much will this loss hurt the Big Ten Conference?"

Anyway, I had a great time in Happy Valley on Saturday and I can't wait until the PSU vs. ND game this weekend in State College. I wish I had tickets, but watching it at home will be just as much fun seeing Charlie Weis take one on the chin. It will also give me an opportunity to collect back from a friendly wager that I lost last year from Ryan K. Hey, Ryan are you going to be painting your car in blue and gold again this year?

South Boys Soccer Opens Season with a "W"

The boys soccer team opened their 2007 soccer season with a big win at Mansfield. The boys played outstanding defense in the 1st half and opened a 3-0 lead. Mansfield fought back only to end up losing the game by a 4-3 score. Logan Yerger scored 2 goals, with Austin McNeil and Devin Killian scoring the other two goals.

The JV team also opened their season with a 2-1 win at Mansfield. Matt Desanto scored both goals for South. South's next game is Tuesday at Benton.

1st Week of School

This past week was a very successful opening of school. We only had a few small bumps this week, but they all got worked out. The biggest hurdle was small schedule changes that we had to make to the 8th grade schedules. We had them all worked out by Friday morning and the 8h graders will all get revised schedules on Tuesday morning. I would like to thank all the teachers, students, and parents for a great opening week. Thanks for all your hard work and patience. We are looking forward to a great school year. And remember if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your child's teacher or email me.