Donegal townlively.com
JANUARY 1, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Donegal students blast off into learning BY CATHY MOLITORIS
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n December, students at Donegal Intermediate School took a field trip far away. Far, far away. The school embarked on a unit of study about space, with depar tments including art, music, physical education, STEM and the library providing out-of-this-world curricula. “We each personally have an interest in space in general and NASA’s recent missions - the James Webb telescope and
the Ar temis mission to the moon,” explained STEM teacher Nicole Shoemaker. “In addition, when I was teaching sixth grade, I realized that many students did not have a clear understanding of the basic structure of our solar system and the universe beyond our solar system. Then, we realized we had the opportunity to borrow the Starlab from the (Lancaster-Lebanon IU13) after completing training. So, we started building a unit full of information and experiences for students, and each year it has changed and evolved a bit.”
Cheerleaders enjoy a perfect season BY CATHY MOLITORIS
sixth-graders learned about the James Webb telescope. “At a grade-appropriate level, each grade level does some research related to their topic, a hands-on project related to their topic, and then experiences the Starlab planetarium,” Wulfkuhle shared. “Sometimes we are also able to incorporate a movie or documentary and/or a Minecraft world related to their topic.” In physical education classes, students completed “astronaut training,” learning how astronauts prepare to experience outer space, said teachers Dan Leighlitner and Sherrie Witmer. “We would like to see students
As a cheerleader for Donegal Youth Cheerleading, Lillie Smith wants people to know the depth of the sport. “You don’t just wave pom poms and yell cheers,” she said. “You do a lot of fun things!” For the members of the Green and White teams - for students in grades four to six and one through three, respectively - this past season has been particularly fun. The teams won all first-place and grand champion honors at their three local competitions this past fall. Competitions took place in Elizabethtown, Manheim Tow nship and Hemp f ield school districts. An exhibition was also held at Donegal High School. “ Teams are from all over Lancaster and Lebanon county youth cheer programs, ranging from five to nine teams in each division,” explained Liz Smith, who coaches the Green Team. “ The grand champion was against all first- through sixthgrade teams combined.” Each competition requires the team members to perfect their routines. “The girls are judged on cheer, dance, tumbling and stunting,” Liz shared. Part of the Donegal Braves football and cheerleading
See Learning pg 4
See Cheerleaders pg 2
Students complete an astronaut fitness challenge.
This was the first year departments across the school collaborated on the space unit. “We are always looking to captivate our students in the area of health and fitness,” said librarian Andrew Wulfkuhle. “Collaborating with other specialists will help our lessons be more engaging and educational. While each of our specialty areas are different, trying to find ways to coordinate and collaborate between us make the students excited and the learning experience richer and more rigorous.” For art, students learned about the chemical compositions of different planets and how those
affect the planets’ colors. They created artwork inspired by planetary palettes, using phosphorescent paint that will glow in a large blacklight gallery. “This art installation will be an immersive experience on display at the Celebrate the Arts Night art show at Donegal Intermediate School in May,” said art teacher Kelly McCart. Each grade level focused on a different aspect of space for the STEM and librar y units. Third-graders learned about the solar system, and fourth grade studied Mars and the Mars Rover. Fifth-graders explored the Artemis mission to the moon, and
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“We hope they will also develop their own natural curiosity and desire to learn and understand the world around them.”
VOL LXV • NO 47