On November 5th, 2008 Barack Obama made history when he was elected the first African-American
President of the United States. Hillary Clinton was appointed Secretary of State.
The Phillies win the 2008 WORLD SERIES!
April 22nd will be the Pennsylvania Primary Election, which is ground-breaking because it involves both
an African-American and a female presidential candidate!
On October 18th, Mrs. Jill Dougherty, Reading Specialist won a National Teacher of the Year Award! We
are lucky to have her!
Unfortunately, October 13th claimed the lives of James Blair Heron '07 and Jim Eden of Springfield.
Our thoughts go out to those in grief.
On May 9th, Anneliese McKenna Coover was born at 9:31am, safe and sound!
I am sad to share that February 25th, 2007 we lost Mrs. Suzy Cicala, Alexis's mother, to cancer. She
was well loved by family, friends, young and old and we will remember her very fondly. She was a blessing while she was here
and one quote she loved that we should remember was "Live, Laugh, Love!"
January 4th, 2007 history was made when Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as the first woman Speaker of the
House.
Monday October 2nd the lives of innocent amish girls were lost in a school shooting in Bart Township, PA.
A male resident entered the school, dismissed the boys and teachers and shot the remaining young girls before shooting himself.
It was later found that he was struggling with mental health issues. The Amish community is working to forgive him and our
thoughts go out to the family, friends and residents of all those affected by violence.
I am sad to report that we lost Mr. Frank Culbertson, Matt's father, this summer. He was a good man
and will be fondly remembered by family, friends, neighbors and many others.
Mrs. Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., passed away on January 30, 2006.
Not only was she a support to her courageous husband, but she was a wonderful and influential woman in her own right.
I am sorry to say that both Mr. Brownlow and Mr. Hionides have recently passed away.
They are survived by their wives, children and other family members and friends. We remain in faithful support of Billy, Andy
and many others who must grieve.
It pains me to say that we lost a member of our ETR family, Mr. John Bascelli, on Tuesday August 30th.
He was a much loved member of the faculty, a great teacher, husband, father and friend. He loved making learning fun
for kids and often did funny or silly things in class. He liked to sing and even entered into "ETR Idol." While we are thankful
for those students who had the pleasure of learning with Mr. B, or King B, we are sad for those who will never have that honor.
He will be missed!
Dr. Dennis Bartow will be leaving ETR to go to the district office. To fill his position as one
of our assistant principals is Ms. Diane Simon. She comes to us from the high school and also worked in the
School District of Philadelphia for a while.
I am sorry to say that Ryan Richard Achuff, age 13, passed away in July after a long fight with a challenging
illness. He lived in Springfield with his mother, father and two brothers, Matt and Tyler. He was a member of St. Kevin's
church and loved sports. He played baseball with many of our 8th grade guys. Ryan also liked to play video games and watch
movies. He had a great sense of humor and always kept his friends and family laughing, even throughout the tough times
with his illness. Some of you may remember that Ryan came to school in the fall of 2004 and braved the hallways of the Zeta
team pod, including a locker outside of Dr. Maloney's room. I know we all wish he had had more time with us. He will be missed.
Do you have a thought, inspirational quote or a memory that you would like to share? Please email me (
coovebet@ssd.k12.pa.us) and I will post it on our bulletin board.
