On June 6th, the Central Bucks School District held its Retirement and Recognition Reception. The district honored 76 retirees and thanked them for their many years of service.
The district also honored 23 teachers and staff with Apple Awards for valuable, innovative contributions above and beyond their job description. Read more about our Apple Award winners below.
Sharon Reiner
Administrative Services Center
Commitment and Dedication
Sharon has worked in Central Bucks for 25 years and has spent the last 13 as the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent. She has served the last five Superintendents in Central Bucks and has served the school board secretary. She is a consummate professional who has made Central Bucks a wonderful place for students, staff, and parents. Her dedication and hard work have made a lasting impact.
Christine Dollarton, Carrie Vice and Matthew Oberecker
Cold Spring Elementary
Young Innovator’s Day
Christine, Carrie, and Matt worked to create the first Young Innovator’s Day that took place at Cold Spring on April 5th which was made possible through an Innovative Learning grant from CB Cares Educational Foundation. They engaged students in robotics, coding, rocket creation, and other intriguing, innovative activities. Community members, parents, and the Franklin Institute assisted in organizing this great day of learning.
Steve Siliani, Kirsten Siliani, and Luke Hadfield
CB East
Unified Sports Program
Steve, Kirsten, and Luke started the Unified Sports program, which allows students with intellectual disabilities, other disabilities, and no disabilities to compete on a track and field team together. This Special Olympics sponsored program gave 13 CB East students the opportunity to compete against neighboring schools, and CB East also hosted its first-ever home meet. Students competed in the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter dash, the 800-meter run, the 4x100-meter relay, the shot put, and mini-javelin.
Laurel Podraza
Manager of Information Technology Service
Revolutionary Ideas in Technology
Laurel Podraza has been integral in implementing significant changes to improve the Technology and Innovation department. She redefined the roles of the District Helpdesk to better support Central Bucks technology users. She also oversaw the new website design, the new logo design and the technical support for the 1 to 1 laptop initiative.
Jennifer Moyer and Matthew Alderfer
Groveland Elementary
AAA Safety Patrol
Jennifer and Matthew installed the first ever AAA Safety Patrol at Groveland. The Safety Patrol, which has students posted in buses, the bus platform, car rider loop and hallways, assists with making sure arrival and dismissal are safe and efficient. Groveland is one of only ten schools nationwide to be a part of this AAA program and received a $500 grant from AAA.
Amy Logue and Brian Yannarella
Linden Elementary
Linden News Studio
Amy and Brian created the first news studio for Linden. The studio was designed to inform the school community of important events using student-created newscasts. The students learned an incredible amount and were able to tour the CBS‑3 news studio in Philadelphia to help them prepare for their newscasts.
Francis Chapman, Cassie Cocca, Alison Binckley and Amy Brown
Mill Creek Elementary
CREEKERS’ Code
This group worked to create CREEKERS’ Code and a way to build a cohesive environment in Mill Creek. CREEKERS’ Code stands for Cooperation, Respect, Excellence, Effort, Kindness, Empathy, Responsibility, and Respect. Students received monthly whole school lessons basked on CREEKERS’ Code that were engaging and motivational for students.
Karen Yuknus and Stephanie Byrne
Titus Elementary
Read Across Titus
Karen and Stephanie created Read Across Titus to celebrate reading at Titus Elementary. Based on Dr. Seuss’ Read Across America, community members came to read to students. There were whole school readings through the school’s in-house TV station and there was a book swap so every student got to go home with 2–3 new books. CB South seniors also participated in the through the CB South Forum Buddy Project, and over 50 seniors joined their buddy classes as volunteers for the day.
Susan Furfari
Tohickon Middle School
Iron Chef
Susan started an Iron Chef program at Tohickon. Based on the popular television show “Iron Chef America,” Tohickon students worked with volunteer staff members to create culinary creations in one hour. The recipes were brought in by students, and the staff members judges evaluated a winner based on taste and appearance.
Amy Calderoni and Stephanie Ripley
Unami Middle School
Math Family Fun Night
Amy and Stephanie coordinated Math Family Fun Night at Unami. The event was designed for elementary students from across the district, with Unami students running games for the younger students to play. Games including math bingo, fishing for math, math hoops, Kahoot! Math and more. Twelve raffle baskets with math-related items and games were compiled from community businesses. Math Family Fun Night was made possible through an Innovative Learning grant from CB Cares Educational Foundation.
Mark Hayden
CB West
STEM Research Club
Mark is the adviser to CB West’s STEM research club, which includes students from other schools throughout the district. Students in the club engage in research projects in STEM fields, and many students have entered local, county regional, state and international level competitions. Some students have received patents on their projects, and since its inception, the club members have earned over $1 million in scholarships.
William Wade
Facilities and Energy Management Operations Department
Exemplary Leadership
William has done a wonderful job leading the FEMO department in the maintenance of grounds. He has improved the safety and playability in district athletic fields and has done so with a positive, “can do” attitude. He will also work on any task, no matter how big or small. His attitude has been contagious to other members of the FEMO department, and he raised the level of expectations for athletic field quality throughout the district.
Carrie Vice and Jason Fillette
Warwick Elementary
PEN Project Based Learning Initiative
Carrie and Jason implemented PEN Project Based Learning into Central Bucks classrooms. Project Based Learning is an innovative instructional format where students select many aspects of their assignment and are motivated by real-world problems. Carrie and Jason helped colleagues teach the student-lead Invention Machine PBL Unit which empowered students and prepared them for the district-wide Invention Convention.