Good Stuff: From Oxford to Downingtown, people-powered news

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The fun & popular Good Stuff Column is here delivering you a week-ending smile! Got ‘good stuff’ you’d like to share?  Email ki*@ch*********.com (submissions are subject to editorial review.)

GoodStuffPower of the PenPatton Middle School’s Julie Griswold takes home FIRST place (6th grade division) in the Daughters of the American Revolution – Chester County Chapter, American History Essay Contest. Julie’s essay will move on to compete for the PA state title next. Congratulations & good luck Julie!

‘Cause it’s All About that Bass (clef), ‘Bout that Bass (clef), NO Treble… Congratulations to Avon Grove High’s Matthew “Bert” McCutchen (trombone), Joshua Brown (tuba) and Thomas Wehrle (tuba) on being selected to participate in the PMEA Region VI Band Festival scheduled for Feb. 12-14 at Upper Merion High School…

Artistic FREEdomArt Partners, 524 Lincoln Hwy, Coatesville, continues its mission of making art accessible to EVERYONE. Winter 2015 Studio classes being the week of February 2 and are F-R-E-E to residents of the greater Coatesville area. To register for a class, learn more or to donate to this awesome cause visit www.artpartnersstudio.org…

Bustin’ the MOVE & a Truckload of Food… A Times ‘Shout-Out’ to Kennett Middle School for doubling last year’s efforts and collecting nearly 3,000 food items for the Kennett Food Cupboard. The following winning home rooms collected the most food and have won FREE DANCE TICKETS: 8th Grade – Mrs. Doll, 7th Grade – Mr. Engel, 6th grade – Mr. Saikin

Terrific Two…Congrats to Chester County mom & small business owner, Erica “FEEL-the-Burn!” Burns, on celebrating her FitRyde Studio’s (Rte. 202 – West Chester) 2nd anniversary February 1st!  www.fitryde.com…

Global Giving…Congratulations to Henderson High’s World Language Honor Society students for surpassing their fundraising goal of $2,900 ebabling them to package and provide more than 10,000 meals for international relief agency Stop Hunger Now. Students from 28 language classes have already raised $3,200 toward this cause…

Love Me Some LEGOs…Patton Middle School 7th graders Adarsh Gadagkar, Darshak Gadagkar, and Arnav Patel teamed up with Garnet Valley 8th grader, Anaiya Pateland and competed in the recent FLL Qualifiers placing in the top 4. Team “Pain in the Necks” (!) move on to the Regionals – February 14th…good luck to these talented “Pains in the Necks!”

HonorsOxford Area High’s Madeline Robinson and Bradley “Mr. Spirit” Way were honored as Oxford Rotary Club Seniors of the Month – January. ‘Hats off’ to you on being recognized as outstanding student-citizens; your future is bright!

These Gals GOT GAME!Bishop Shanahan Girls Varsity Basketball won the Ches-Mont National Division and are moving on to playoffs. The Eagles are unbeaten in the League (just sayin’…) and boast an impressive 16-2 overall record…congratulations!

Tired of ‘Deflate-Gate?’ Check Out These Gridiron Greats:...Henderson High’s senior Bryan White was selected as a D-Tackle for the Pennsylvania Team – 2015 Big 33 Football Classic. Bryan is only the 4th Henderson football player to  be selected to the Big 33 Football team; he will move on to become a Villanova Wildcat this fall… Unionville High’s senior Alex Pechin was selected as a 2014 Mini Max High School Award winner for the State of Pennsylvania. The sixty-one players were selected from schools located in Districts 1, 3, 11 and 12 in the eastern half of Pennsylvania. Players were nominated by their coaches and were evaluated based on criteria that included: football performance, academics and community service…

Running Like the Wind…Two Unionville High Cross Country runners were recently given all-state recognition. For the second consecutive year, Olivia Young and Kacie Breeding were named as part of the all-state team. Way to go ladies!

The Human Family… Congratulations to Salesianum’s Justin McCartney ’15; the grand prize winner of ‘Sallies’ Unidiverse Essay Contest.  Students were asked about their experiences with diversity; and how they, or we, as a community can work to uphold St. Francis’ idea of “unidiversity.” Grade level winners are: Jhalil Younger ’15, Dakota Tampanella ’17, Patrick Lyons ’16 and Nick Grant ’18.  To read Justin’s winning essay, visit: salesianum.org/students/justin-mccartney-unidiverse Congratulations to these fine young writers!

Less “Taxing”VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) returns to La Communidad Hispana – KSQ with FREE tax preparation every Saturday starting February 7 through April 11, 2015 from 9:00AM – 2:00PM .  NO appointment needed; translation services will be provided.  Learn more at chestercountyfreetaxes.org

Business Acumen…32 students from Kennett High’s Future Business Leaders of America Club (FBLA) have qualified to participate in the upcoming State-wide FBLA competition. Students will be competing in a variety of categories from Agribusiness to Parlimentary Procedure. The popular KHS’ FBLA Club has a history of high achievement at both the state and national levels…

Lah-la-la-la-la-la-LAHHH!…Eleven Unionville High choir students competed in the PMEA District Chorus Festival; ten advanced to PMEA Regional Choir Festival: Sopranos: Sophia Maloney, Karalyn Joseph; Altos: Angela Kodokian, Julia Trigg; Tenors: Abu Akki, Drew Moses, Linghai Wang; Basses: Justin Bowen, Samir Streatfield, Allen Zhu. UHS has more students competing than any other choral music program in the District….congratulations!

All You Need is Love…Grab your Valentine and/or friends and join the Kennett After Prom Committee – Friday, February 13th, from 6-10pm, at The Red Clay Room – KSQ.  Tickets are $50 and include dinner, drinks, dancing (live band), party games, and silent auction. This is Kennett After Prom’s largest fundraiser; proceeds benefit the KHS’ popular After Prom Party  and helps keep area teens safe on one of the biggest social nights of the year.  The After Prom Committee requests your RSVP by February 10th, please.  For tickets visit: www.kennettafterprom.org/all-you-need-is-love (This is a 21 and over event.)

Saturday Night Lights  “6.0”… The YMCA of Greater Brandywine now has the popular “SNL” at SIX Chester County branches: Brandywine YMCA – Coatesville; Jennersville YMCA – West Grove; Kennett Area YMCA -Kennett Square; Lionville Community YMCA – Exton; West Chester Area YMCA – West Chester; and Upper Main Line YMCA  – Berwyn. “SNL” “turns on the lights”, for kids in 4th-12th grade  (check your local Y calendar to confirm schedule.) From 7:30 to 10:00 pm kids can swim, play and have fun. Special events like dance nights, pizza nights, extreme dodgeball, obstacle races and three-point basketball competitions are scheduled throughout the year. It’s FREE for members & open to non-members for a nominal fee ($3-$6). Parental permission is required; activities are supervised by trained Y staff and kids hang-out in age-appropriate groups. For more information visit www.ymcagbw.org or visit your local branch…

Coatesville Area Library is the PLACE TO BE in February…Here’s just a sampling of the FREE cool stuff happening: Mondays 10:30-11:15 AM -Story Time Yoga (caregivers and kids under 5), Mondays 6:15 -7:30 PM – Women’s Gentle Restorative Yoga; February 7 1:30 – 3PM Kids Valentines Party; February 19th The Art of Poetry by Arts Holding Hands and Hearts, Inc. www.artsholdinghandsandhearts.com , February 20th, 6:30 PM – Family Movie Night: ‘Happy Feet.’ For a full calendar of free events & happenings visit: www.coatesvillearealibrary.org

Fun FundraiserBishop Shanahan High School is hosting a ‘Tailgate for the Turf’ Beef ‘n Beer fundraiser on February 7th at Bishop Shanahan. The Tailgate is a part of Bishop Shanahan’s Turf Campaign.  The Campaign’s goal is to provide the funding to transform the current stadium and track by adding artificial turf, lights and making track renovations. Shanahan is currently one of only schools in the Ches-Mont League that have a turf field. Tickets are still available at www.shanahan.org

It’s a Wild, Wild, LifeTrail Creek Outfitters Wild & Scenic Film Festival, February 26 – 27, Chesco Historical Society, 225 North High Street; West Chester. Tickets: $25 for one night; $45 for both nights. Tickets include an evening of environmental short films, Dogfish Head beer, Paradocx wine, and light hors d’oeuvres catered by Nourish Juice Bar & Cafe. Proceeds from the event equally benefit The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County & Stroud Water Research Center. To purchase tickets visit: trailcreekoutfitters.bigcartel.com

Boys of Summer…the new Kennett Square Mohicans, vintage baseball club, is seeking players, umpires, historians and fans. To be a part of the fun contact mo********@gm***.com or visit their FaceBook Page – Kennett Square Mohicans.

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