Hempfield School District

Landisville Intermediate Center celebrated Red Ribbon Week during the last week in October. The students and staff went for a fall walk  and made signs on Friday for the students at the primary center to promote “Walk Away From Drugs Day.” The LIC students formed two lines on the quad and the LPC students walked through the formation dressed in costumes. In addition to the celebration on Friday, students also had a day that they wore red for “We are Seeing Red Day” about people who do drugs and “Sock it to Drugs Day” when students and staff wore their craziest socks.

Hempfield Homecoming festivities were held as scheduled despite the cold and rainy weather. The Foundation presented new bricks honoring friends and loved ones to be placed in the alumni plaza at 6 p.m. The Homecoming candidates and their escorts braved the weather and went onto the field at half-time. The 2008 Homecoming queen, Betsy Hunt, crowned Sarah Sceski Homecoming queen for 2009. Sarah and the other members of the Homecoming court raised at total of $3,689 for the benefit of their combined charities. The Hempfield Black Knight football team rushed onto the field in a cloud of smoke and a knight on a white horse circled the track as the football game began. The Knights prevailed and won the contest with Cedar Crest, 23-18.

Hempfield High School will hold its annual Homecoming celebration on Friday, October 16, 2009.  Festivities will take place in conjunction with Hempfield Football game with Cedar Crest High School.  Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.  The Hempfield Homecoming Queen will be crowned during the half-time ceremonies.

The 2009 Hempfield High School Homecoming candidates are:

Top Row, from Left to Right: Mackenzie Bender, Kiersten Dussinger, Marie Loiseau, Rachel Poletti
Bottom Row, from Left to Right: Kelsey Harley, Sarah Sceski, Leah Godin, Leah Wilt

This year the candidates each chose a charity to represent for the Homecoming contest. The student body  “voted” by donations given to the candidate that represented the charity of their choice.

As a part of the Homecoming festivities, alumni of Hempfield High School are invited to meet former classmates at the Wildasin Pavilion  adjacent to the Alumni Plaza. Bricks for the Alumni Plaza walkway, purchased by friends and supporters of Hempfield School District during the past year, will be dedicated at a special ceremony at the Wildasin Pavilion beginning at 6:00 p.m. Hempfield alumni are invited to attend at tour of the high school on Saturday morning at 10:00 am. Interested alums should meet at the Stanley Avenue entrance of the Hempfield High School. For more information contact the Community Relations Office.

Hempfield’s Opening Knight Band Festival brought bands from all over south central Pennsylvania to the Hempfield Stadium on Saturday night. West Chester University Band and Hempfield High School’s Black Knight band performed as exhibition bands in this show. This festival begins the band competition season for the Cavalcade of Bands. High school musicians perform not only for their school half time shows, but also compete on Saturday evenings at school band festivals for recognition and distinction in their classification. Best of luck to the Hempfield Marching Black Knight band for a terrific fall season!

Rohrerstown Elementary parents and staff proudly dedicated their new playground equipment on Friday evening, September 11 as part of an ice cream social event for students and parents.  Over the past several years the RES PTO has been working toward the goal of providing a new climber and jungle gym for the playground.

To achieve this goal, the Rohrerstown PTO created two committees – one to work on raising the funds, and the other to design and purchase the equipment through a vendor selected by the Hempfield School District. A total of $28,000 raised by students participating in the “Rohrerstown Run” – an event held in the spring of 2008 and 2009 - as well as community donations. Once the funds were secured, the design committee reviewed all of the various playground options and costs and selected enough pieces to accommodate up to 50 students at one time! The school district assisted with the cost of the installation of the equipment.

Hempfield School District welcomed 3679 elementary and 3392 secondary students back to school on Monday, August 31. According to Dr. Brenda Becker, Superintendent of Schools, the school year is off to a “great” start and students and teachers were excited to begin the 2009-2010 school year!

Hempfield School District welcomed nearly 40 new teachers to New Teacher Orientation on Wednesday, August 19. These individuals were hired by the district during the months of June, July and August. New teacher orientation is a 3 day program which prepares new faculty members for their first year as a district employee. Top district administrators welcome them and explain their roles and how the district functions. Human resources spends considerable time explaining benefits and terms of employment.  In addition to a technology orientation, the new teachers take a bus tour of the district and get an opportunity to meet with their building principals and prepare their classrooms for school.

Hempfield High School student athletes for fall sports returned to the fields and courts this week to practice for their upcoming season. Coaches and athletes will have two weeks of practice before most games are scheduled. Check the sports blog for more information on schedules. The HHS Black Knight band will also be stepping off to prepare their program and work on their halftime performances at Band Camp this week. The Opening Knight Band Festival will be held at Hempfield High School Stadium on September 19 at 4:00 p.m. Child nutrition workers will be serving lunch in the high school cafeteria to the students and coaches who will be spending the day on campus.

Date: Friday, August 21, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Hempfield HS Stadium

Special Raffles and Prizes to Benefit
The Angi Depatto Breast Cancer Fund

Coach Forgrave will be introducing the Offensive and Defensive starters and all the 2009 Seniors.  The team will be showing several plays, stunts and alignments.  Our 2009 Varsity Cheerleaders will be leading the crowd and showing their school spirit.  Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream will be available for purchase as well as items from our Spirit Store.  Click the image below to download the flyer.

Hempfield students transitioning from middle school to the high school had a opportunity to tour the high school and get some information on high school classes and routines during the high school’s Transition Camp. Students who attend “camp” will find it easier to be successful in the high school environment when they enter school on August 31.