Teacher Hopes Shows Can Save Music at CW Henry

A music teacher at CW Henry invites residents to several upcoming music shows to help the music program.

Nikki Paulino teaches music, chorus, theater and dance at the CW Henry School in Mt. Airy, and at her school, just like other schools across the city, the music program is under attack for budget reasons. In order to fight back, Paulino has invited the community to attend several of the school's upcoming musical programs to see what's worth saving. "Our school is in West Mt. Airy, a community that is full of music and cultural diversity," Paulino said in an e-mail.  "Taking away our instrumental teachers is detrimental to the community, as well as the entire city of Philadelphia." With that, Paulino has invited everyone to the annaul concert on May 28, at 7 p.m. "I am inviting you to help me plead my case to those who think they know …

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Students, Teachers and Parents Rally for Education

Stakeholders from all over Northwest Philadelphia gather in Gorgas Park to protest the city's education budget.

Parents, teachers and students gathered in Gorgas Park in Roxborough on Monday night to rally in protest against the proposed school district cuts and closing of schools. “We have people here from all over the Northwest,” said parent organizer Rebecca Poyourow.  “There are people here from Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill as well as Roxborough and Manayunk. Kids and parents as well as a few teachers and principals held up signs that said things like “save our schools,” and “we need sports.” Sabra Townsend has a child who attends the Dobson School, and she was there to speak for the special education students in the district. “All children should have the right to an education,” Townsend said.  “A special education child is just as deserving of …

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Who's Speaking at Commencement?

Find out who'll give the addresses at local college graduations for the Class of 2013.

Here are the Class of 2013 undergraduate commencement speakers for some Philadelphia-area colleges, in chronological order. Information is obtained by the schools' websites unless otherwise noted. Valley Forge Christian College, Friday, May 3: Pastor Mark Batterson  Penn State Brandywine, Saturday, May 4: David H. Lipson Jr., a 1978 Penn State graduate and the president of the company that publishes Philadelphia Magazine St. Joseph's University, Saturday, May 11: Elisabeth A. Hagen, a 1991 graduate and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Undersecretary for Food Safety Chestnut Hill College, Saturday, May 11: Mary Louise Quinlan, author of “The God Box: Sharing My Mother’s Gift of Faith, Love, and Letting Go”  Rosemont College, Saturday, …

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Students, Teachers and Parents Rally at CW Henry

The CW Henry Community held a rally on Thursday to protest the proposed budget for the Philadelphia School District.

Parents, teachers and students gathered in front of the CW Henry School on Thursday to rally in opposition to the proposed budget cuts by the Philadelphia School District. Henry teacher and union representative Emily Adeshigbin organized the rally, as the school district considers multimillion dollar cuts that would have effects districtwide. The school district has already announced multiple school closings due to budget considerations including Germantown High School.

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C.W. Henry Plans First Ever Fit Fest

The Mt. Airy elementary school has a fitness festival in the works for June.

C.W. Henry and its Parent Teacher Organization plan to launch a festival in June that will help promote healthy living in the student body as well as the community. Organizers have dubbed the event the First Annual Fit Fest, and proceeds from the event will help fund school programs including Playworks. Playworks is a national program that provides structured and safe play time that promotes teamwork, problem solving, leadership and inclusiveness. “At Henry, our goals include supporting a positive school climate and focusing on instructional enhancement.  Playworks engages all children in healthy and inclusive physical activities that support learning,” said Henry Principal Fatima Rogers.  “We encourage all to come out to Fit Fest to …

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Greater Philly's High Schools Make 'Best-Of' List

Check out which schools from Greater Philadelphia are considered the best, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Several Philadelphia-area high schools—including Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Radnor High School in Radnor, Lower Merion High School in Lower Merion and Great Valley High School in Malvern—have made U.S. News and World Report’s list of 2013’s Best High Schools. More than 150 schools from Pennsylvania made the list, released Tuesday. U.S. News and World Report looked at more than 21,000 public schools across the country, according to its website.  It “implemented … [a] comprehensive rankings methodology, which is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those that are college bound, and that it must be able produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully …

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Project Learn School Hosts Yard Sale

The school will hold a yard and bake sale to raise money on Saturday.

Patch 101

Post Your Senior's College Destination: Patch 101

Proud parents (and students) can get the word out whenever they want, via Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy Patch's homepage and daily email newsletter.

  Your kid's finishing high school and has chosen a college, maybe even a major. It's big news in your household, obviously. And it's news here, too, at Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy Patch, where every item in our community Announcements section is posted by Patch users with something to share. Sometimes it's a college enrollment, or an all-star team selection, or a hiring, promotion, retirement, birthday or anniversary. Pretty much anything goes, and it couldn't be simpler to post. Once you've submitted your announcement, a Patch editor will be automatically notified, at which point it can be featured on the homepage and in the next morning's daily Patch email newsletter. You may see it linked on Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy Patch's Facebook and/or …

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Germantown High School to Close

Germantown High School will be closed by the Philadelphia School District.

The following is a press release from the Philadelphia School District. The School Reform Commission (SRC) approved Thursday several program relocations, mergers and consolidations along with the closure of 23 schools as part of District’s commitment to better align programs and resources with student needs. The District began work in 2010 on developing a long-range Facilities Master Plan to standardize grade configurations, increase school utilization and reduce excess building capacity. Last December, the District initially recommended 37 schools for closure. As a result of extensive community feedback and comments, more than a dozen recommendations were modified in February. The District’s final recommendation was to close 29 buildings…

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