Volume 7 Issue 4

Change

Effect

Improve

Change

Effect

Improve

A newsletter for the students, families and friends of River Rock

River G River Rock Gator April/May/June 2012

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2012 Graduation

On May 31st, friends, families, staff and school district representatives came together with seniors from the Day Treatment, Hellam, Red Lion and Spring Grove Campuses for an afternoon of celebration. River Rock Academy’s Graduation was held at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion where 33 students participated. On June 6th, a second River Rock Academy Graduation was held for seniors from the Carlisle, Newville, Shiremanstown and West Perry Campuses. Celebrated at West Shore Evangelical Church in Mechanicsburg, 25 students participated in this ceremony. Patti Shatto-Young welcomed guests and expressed gratitude to all who attended. She shared, “At River Rock Academy, we believe that we have a uniquely important obligation and opportunity to change, effect and improve the life of every student we meet. This graduation ceremony provides us with a chance to celebrate and recognize the changes, no matter how big or small, these students have made. Thank you for entrusting your student in our care.” During the ceremony, each student bravely came to the microphone to speak about someone who has made a big difference in his or her life and present that person with an engraved Impact Award. While River Rock recognizes that it takes many people to help students make positive changes in their lives, this Impact Award empowered the students to select someone they wanted to honor on this

special occasion. Quotes such as “you pushed me to do better,” “if it weren’t for you I would have given up” and “you stood by me even when I made mistakes” were just a few of the touching words heard from the graduates. Representatives from the student’s home school districts joined the campus directors and counselors on stage to present diplomas and River Rock Academy certificates.

NHL Greats Judge Chili Cook-Off

Money and fame…too often we think that will solve our problems and put us on ‘easy street.’ But more often than not, sports celebrities have difficult pasts and struggles that create challenges throughout their lives. In May, two NHL greats came to share their stories with students at the Hellam Campus. Stéphane Matteau, a former standout member of the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers and Ian Laperrière, a current member of the Philadelphia Flyers who has been unable to play since the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April of 2010 due to post-concussion syndrome visited. First they circled up in the class-room along with York Judge Ronald Haskell for small group discussion. The athletes told stories of their struggles and encouraged the students to set goals and remain positive during tough times. When asked why they would take the time to visit with the students at Hellam Campus, Laper-rière said, “We all have our struggles. It’s good to

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Pianist and vocalist, Toni Phillips presented meaningful songs at the York ceremony and Leah Holmes, wife of Carlisle Campus teacher Nate Holmes, treated the Cumberland area crowd to beautiful violin music. A video sharing photographs from the year was shown. Each student received a copy of this DVD as well as a framed photograph of him or herself in cap and gown. Steve Capoferri and Bob Howard also recognized staff that completed the school year with perfect attendance. See page 5 for a complete list of those honored. As the students turned their tassels, they officially left the ceremony as high school graduates. River Rock Academy is proud of each individual and honored to have served him or her in our programs. We look forward to hearing how future goals are accomplished and wish each graduate the very best.

Graduate Referring School District Award Recipient

Carlisle Campus Amanda Beitler Middletown Area School District Kelly Leib Michael E. Detwiler Big Spring School District Mr. & Mrs. Neidigh Seth E. Lynch South Middleton School District Adrian Lantz Michael J. Sullivan Cumberland Valley School District J ennifer Long Shakur A. Tennant Mechanicsburg Area School District Paul Bigham

Day Treatment Jaquane M. Balls School District of the City of York Shontae Balls Jeffrey Bentz South Western School District Darlene Fearson Ashley Cornett South Eastern School District Deborah Shade Tia Garrett Dover Area School District Stachia Crall Blake Hallett Northeastern School District Amy Moody Ryan Small-Conn School District of the City of York Sam Torres

Hellam Campus Chris James Anderson Eastern York School District Laryssa Hertel Rachelle Marie Banks York Suburban School District Rachel Wherley & Robert Banks Dylan Godfrey Red Lion Area School District Michael & Michelle Godfrey Codi Hibbard Eastern York School District Amanda Burt Margarita Maldonado York Suburban School District Jen Meyers Andrew Ritz Eastern York School District Chris Ritz, Sr. James Swartz Eastern York School District Jennifer Reichard & Karl Munscher James Waltemyer York Suburban School District Lisa Waltemyer

Newville Campus Joshua Blessing Big Spring School District Mike Blessing Dedra Brought Juniata School District Macie Baumgardner Jacob Shank Carlisle Area School District Bonnie Shank Andrew Teats Big Spring School District Chester Teats Kevin Wardecker Carlisle Area School District Sue Karichner & Monica Bradshaw Emandalee Whitcomb Big Spring School District Teresa Markham

Red Lion Campus Brandon S. Ashley Red Lion Area School District Amy Robinson Yaelimar Caraballo Dallastown Area School District Dolores Arzola Sarah Ewing Red Lion Area School District Heather Ewing Troy Hall Red Lion Area School District Malinda Miller Robert E. Korte, Jr. Red Lion Area School District Robert Korte, Sr. Daniel Paul Loder South Eastern School District Pamela Loder Benjamin Lutz Red Lion Area School District Stephanie Lutz Hannah Miller South Eastern School District Kathy Mensinger Andrew Pepler Dallastown Area School District Wes Franklin Douglas E. Rhoads Dallastown Area School District River Rock Academy

Your schooling may be over, but remember that your education still continues.

~Author Unknown

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(Continued from page 1) Graduate Referring School District Award Recipient

Shiremanstown Campus Kody Bahn Northern York County School District Shelly Thomas Adaam Ben Ezra Derry Township School District John Tantala Bethani Curry Camp Hill School District Julie Vallati Kristen Kellison Northern York County School District Tasha Wicks-Forman Mariah Kroh-Pulcher East Pennsboro Area School District Lorena Kroh Javontay Newton Carlisle Area School District Jennifer Long Nicholas Oneufer Northern York County School District Dan Oneufer Emmanuel Rameau Central Dauphin School District River Rock Academy Jordan Rohrbaugh Mechanicsburg Area School District Nicole McCloskey Shawn Strahosky East Pennsboro Area School District Robert & Carol Strahosky Joshua Stum Mechanicsburg Area School District Paul Bigham Tasha Wicks-Forman South Middleton School District Audrey Wicks Adam Wiestling Middletown Area School Distinct Elliot Singer

Spring Grove Campus Shawn Hawk Littlestown Area School District Belinda Hawk Kyle Hershey West York Area School District Ryan Wall Donald Linton Hanover Public School District Edithe Nalley Donald Mennapace Gettysburg Area School District Tony Brady Aaron Mummert Spring Grove Area School District Christine Kenney Kayla Seaks Dover Area School District Jennifer Wall Justin Shelleman South Western School District Pamela Shelleman Dylan Standridge Spring Grove Area School District Leslie & Carol Bowser Ryan Vance Spring Grove Area School District Shirley Thomas

West Perry Campus Adam E. Norman, Jr. West Perry School District Adam Hardesty

The following students also graduated but did not take part in the graduation ceremony:

Carlisle Campus– Jacob Bell, Cumberland Valley School District; Lucas E. Chacon, Carlisle Area School District; Gabriel J. Zeigler, Mechanicsburg Area School District; Day Treatment– Chelsey Lynn Frock, Conewago Valley School District; Shaquan Olds, West York Area School District; David Powell, Conewago Valley School District; Jade Mykol Jones, Dallastown Area School District; Joshua Rexroth, South Western School District; Ronald Whittaker, Southern York County School District; Hellam Campus– Kyle Gerlitzki, Dallastown Area School District; Zachary Perry, York Suburban School District; Chris Ritz, Eastern York School District; Red Lion Campus– Justin Dubbs, Eastern York School District; Nickolas Leal, South Eastern School District; Newville Campus– Jean Luc Gelinas, Big Spring School District; Chance Johnson, Shippensburg School District; Shiremanstown Campus– Alexander Markham, Middletown Area School District; Zachary Speraw, Mechanicsburg Area School District; Spring Grove Campus–William Bowles, South Western School District; Jason Gibson, Littlestown Area School District; Kyle Iriarte, Gettysburg Area School District; Martin Manzo-Madrigal, Spring Grove Area School District; Molly Schue, Dallastown Area School District; Michael Shorb, South Western School District; Na’Quan Wintermyers, Dover Area School District; West Perry Campus– Malena K. Cassel, West Perry School District

be able to open up and talk to each other and share those struggles. It makes me feel good knowing I might help someone find their dream.” Matteau also benefitted from listen-ing to the students and said, “I en-joyed the interaction with the kids and liked how they felt comfortable talking with us.” All three visitors were then kind enough to judge a Chili Cook-Off held between the four York area River Rock Campuses. Each recipe was unique and the judges enjoyed something about each bowl of chili. In the end, Spring Grove students Dustin Sentz, Kyle Iriarte and Da-kota Wagner were awarded first prize for their chili full of peppers, onions and what they called the key ingredient—Penn State University hot sauce. Also creating delicious recipes for the Chili Cook-Off were Jeffrey Bentz, Katelynn Reyes and Ricardo Rios from Day Treatment, Chelsea Roschel, Brian Middleton and James Waltemyer from Hellam and Daniel Loder, Hannah Miller and Joshua Raivel from Red Lion. Danielle Peters from the Colum-bia Food Bank brought a cake to thank the Hellam Campus students for all their hard work volunteering at the Food Bank during the school year. “We are really going to miss them this summer. The kids work so hard,” she said. Thanks so much to all of our visitors for taking the time to make this a special day!

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What a school year it has been! Weather made the headlines with extreme flooding in September, snow in October, virtually no snow in the winter and record high spring temperatures. Thousands of combined hours of community service among the River Rock campuses made for many memorable and rewarding experiences for students and staff alike. Countless educational trips broadened our students’ perspectives and taught them things they couldn’t learn in the classroom. Many guest speakers on topics ranging from abstinence to dangers of drugs to post-graduate opportunities to bullying gave of their time to help make a difference. So you can only imagine how difficult it was to have each campus director name a highlight from the school year when there were so many to choose from. Here is just a glimpse of some memories and highlights of the 2011-12 school year.

Carlisle Campus Director Steve Cutia

Relationships were built and lessons learned by the students who participated in a two-day camping trip in the fall. The trip to the Flight 93 Memorial where lives were sacrificed on September 11th was mean-

ingful and emotional. The dedication of those who participated in the Dickinson College Art Show was a tremendous way to wrap up the year.

Day Treatment Program Director Brian Billman

The Day Treatment program assisted the Jackson Township community in constructing the first recreational facility in the township, Stone Ledge Park. Students assisted community volunteers in

assembling the playground equipment and landscaping the area. The park is a beautiful addition to the area and the student’s hard work was recognized in the local paper.

Hellam Campus Director Brian Link

The students overall work with the Veterans in the Tri-County area throughout the school year has enlightened and shown them the values of America’s freedoms. It has driven our students in many ways

towards taking advantage of our rights of being Americans.

Red Lion Campus Director Jill Crouse-Wolf

Our students completed many community service hours at various sites including the Red Lion Food Bank, Red Lion Youth Center and Shady Pine Farms. We had the privilege of listening to many

guest speakers from K-Pets, Human Life Services, Rulon Gard-ner, Army War College and many more. A wide variety of field trips and special activities were also enjoyed throughout the year.

Shiremanstown Campus Director John Dechert

We are very pleased to have played a part in the successful graduation of 15 of our students, many of whom we have worked with and developed relation-ships with for several years. Winning the recent debate

championship for the first time was one highlight of many this year.

Spring Grove Campus Director Brandon Hoff

Visiting and helping at Cross Keys Brethren Home monthly was a great way for students to develop relationships with their residents. Assisting with the United Way Toy Drive again this year was very

rewarding for our staff and students alike. Helping House of Hope with a fundraiser and visiting the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. were also highlights this year.

Newville Campus Director Shawn Witmer

Our successful Novel Challenge that led to our students reading 175 novels was part of our phenomenal year. We also had a wonderful parent advisory meeting in which 21 parents participated. I also would like to

mention the continuous growth of our program with both staff and student enrollment while maintaining high quality outcomes for those we serve.

West Perry Campus Director Austin Myers

Our biggest highlights of the year were how well our kids did bringing in items for the student council canned food drive and the relationships built through our community partnership with Generations Day

Care. Both of these inspired our kids to do really well and push forward through many different situations.

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River Rock Students of the Month

April

Carlisle Campus

Red Lion Campus

Newville Campus

Shiremanstown Campus

Spring Grove Campus

West Perry Campus

Carlisle Campus

Day Treatment Campus

Hellam Campus

Newville Campus

Red Lion Campus

Shiremanstown Campus

West Perry Campus

Day Treatment Campus

Shawn Bucher & Kyle Shindel

Michael Deihl & Mikael Bigler

Kyle Gerlitzki & Michael Meinl (not pictured)

Joshua Raivel

Ieisha Hughes & Colton Mattus

James McKee

Adam Norman

Terrence Davis & Raymond Bruno-Carrasquillo

Abrielle Stafford & Tyler Daugherty

Keturah Robinson & Edward Hilferty

Taylor Smith

Tasha Wicks-Forman & Bethani Curry

Lacey Crenshaw

Angel Frey & Austin Anderson

Austin Stambaugh & Robert Kelley

May

Spring Grove Campus

Hellam Campus

Rosa Pagan-Martinez

The Students of the Month for April and May have been announced. Students are selected based on their behavior, grades, attendance and positive attitude. Congratulations and keep up the great work!

Our first day of school is August 27.

Have a safe and enjoyable

summer!

Looking Ahead

Staff Perfect Attendance

River Rock Academy recently honored 32 staff members who achieved perfect attendance during the 2011-12 school year with a spe-cial dinner and an engraved award. Thank you for your dedication and congratulations on this accomplish-ment! Carlisle Campus: Andre Ander-son, Jon Fritz, Nate Holmes, Kelly Leib, Jennifer Long, John Walton, Stephen Young Day Treatment: Kip Aldinger, Terry Choate, Tracy McClintock Hellam Campus: Eden Barbush, Karl Munscher, Stacy Williams Newville Campus: Monica Brad-shaw, Jason Creek, Donna Gano, Mike Hiles, Kaitlin Kasper, Troy Snyder Red Lion Campus: Charlie Ja-cobs, Janice Thoman Shiremanstown Campus: Rob Bozart, Kari Cover, Brad Gilmore, John Tantala Spring Grove Campus: Lora Bil-let, Pat Craig, Kevin Deane, Dave Neumayer, Ryan Wall West Perry Campus: Justin Mattes, Joe O’Toole

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River Rock Perfect Attendance

Carlisle Campus

April Barrick, Austin; Bechtel, Deni*; Evans, Mason Donald; Ross, David

May Bechtel, Deni; Detwiler, Michael; Evans, Mason Donald; Fanzo, Jeremiah; Jimenez, Tyler; Kelley, Robert*; Shindel, Kyle

Day Treatment

April Crippen, Derrick; Mendoza, Angel; Pough, Shavar; Rivera, Wilhen

May Mendoza, Angel; Page, Joshua; Pough, Shavar; Reyes, Katelynn*; Sills, Edjzahnae

Hellam Campus

April Balmos, Jefferson; Frey, Angel*; Graffious, Ryan; Harris, Dashan; Lindon, Tyler; Manees, Bryan; Pietrusza, Joseph; Smith, Kai; Waltemyer, James

May Dodson, Marvin; Frey, Angel; Harris, Dashan; Holtzinger, Elijah; Lindon, Tyler; Manees, Bryan

Newville Campus

April Crider, Dillon; Deihl, Michael; Helman, Joseph; Hoffman, Cody; Perry, John*; Sterling, Damien; Stoner, Dalton; Strait, Brittany; Thissen, Tyler; Waldon, Michael; Yeomans, Aaron

May Burdge, Joshua; Crider, Dillon*; Diaz, Stevenlee; Graham, Joseph; Hoffman, Cody; Marsico, Kobe; McGeehan, Justin; Perry, John;

Shank, Joshua; Sterling, Damien; Stine, Tyler; Thissen, Tyler

Red Lion Campus

April Dettinger, Kyle; Enfield, Dylan; Evans, Tracy*; Fields, Tay-Quan; Gaskill, Courtney; McEowen, Dylan; Miller, Laken; Myers, Alyssa; Noon, Cody; Palmer, Gabriel; Pitman, Clay

May Clark, Elijah; Craft, Jeremiah; Dettinger, Kyle; Evans, Tracy; Gaskill, Courtney; Holzer, Kyle; Lewis, Justin*; Lighty, Jason; McEowen, Dylan

Shiremanstown Campus

April Becker, Christopher; Brookin, Jayni; Burkey, Zachary; Fish, Christopher; Hughes, Ieisha; Sterner, Joseph; Stum, Joshua; Thomas, Dan; Wicks-Forman, Tasha*

May Allard, Ryan; Anderson, Lucas; Bahn, Kody; Becker, Christopher; Burkey, Zachary; Curry, Bethani*; Fife, Hunter; Lombardo, Jeremy; Mattus, Colton; Smith, Brittanie; Snell, Blayke; Sterner, Joseph; Stum, Joshua; Wicks-Forman, Tasha; Wiestling, Adam

Spring Grove Campus

April Daugherty, Tyler*; Eckert, Dalton; Fox, Zane; Kutsch, Tyler; McKee, James; Moody, Justin; Mundy III, Harry; Myers, Tristan; Ness, Ricky; Sentz, Dustin; Shahan, Ian; Spangler, Shandom

May Biddulph, Katlynn; Brownson, Jordan; Castro-Sweeney, NaQuaj;

Clark, Stephanie; Daugherty, Tyler; Franklin, Kyle; Guthrie, Sydney; Kutsch, Tyler; Mejia, Diego; Myers, Tristan; Simpson, Kyle*; Spangler, Shandom

West Perry Campus

April Garvey, Eric; Groce, Zachery; McKeehan, Michael*; Smith, Bryson

May Arndt, Gauge; Garvey, Eric; Kenny, Joseph; Smith, Bryson*

The students listed below had perfect attendance for April and May. They were rewarded with a River Rock snack gift card. Students who had perfect monthly attendance and spent no time in the resource room were entered into a

contest. One student from each campus was selected at random. April’s winners received Rita’s Ice gift cards and May’s winners received Starbucks Coffee gift cards. Contest winners have a * next to their name. Congratulations to all the students!

Serving the Community

Students at the Spring Grove Campus participated in games with the residents

of Windy Hill Senior Center

Shiremanstown Campus students timed runners at the track events for the Special

Olympics held at Dickinson College

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Shiremanstown Campus winners Adaam Ben Ezra, Tasha Wicks-

Forman, and Alexander Markham

Two Debates Held in Spring

Lively debate competitions took place this spring with two separate events and four River Rock Campuses participating in each event. First, the Hellam, Red Lion and Spring Grove Campuses met at Day Treatment where the topics were lowering the drinking age to 18 and abortion. An impressed group of judges said selecting a winner was an extremely tough decision. Ultimately, Spring Grove won by one point. Organizer and Spring Grove Campus Teacher Dave Neumayer thought this was the best debate ever and said, “I personally thought it was an excel-lent display of talent by all of the students. I agreed with the judges that the time, effort and research by the students showed tremendously during the competition.” Thank you to Mary Jane’s Restaurant and owner Mr. Kale for preparing a delicious lunch enjoyed after the debates. Also, thank you to Sue Burkholder, Mary Anne Ragland and Lois Gunnet for judging. The Spring Grove champions were Anna Bell, Stephanie Clark, Shoneci Collins and Jared Graham. Runners up from Hellam were Faith Grove, Sierra Paden, Joseph Pietrusza and James Waltemyer. Participants from Day Treat-ment were Brad Greene and Katelynn Reyes and from Red Lion, Austin Birley, Kyle Dettinger, Hannah Miller and Clay Pitman. Students from the Carlisle Campus hosted a tournament held between their students, and those from the Newville, Shiremanstown and West Perry Campuses. Much effort was also put into this event by organizer Andre Anderson, Carlisle Campus Counselor and all of the students who prepared material for their debate. Thank you to Amy Brown and Tom Harrier from NHS for judging. Topics at the debate competition included cuts to federal government mili-tary spending, cuts in spending for education in Pennsylvania and the firing of Penn State legend Joe Paterno. The Shiremanstown team of Adaam Ben Ezra, Alexander Markham and Tasha Wicks-Forman claimed victory by defeating the West Perry team of Gauge Arndt, Malena Cassel, Eric Garvey and Dakota Mills in the final round. Julia Diffenbaugh, Tyler Morris and David Ross from Carlisle participated as well as Kobe Marsico, Arianna Ott and Johnathan Shunk from Newville. All students are commended for their fine work and participation!

Spring Grove Campus winners Stephanie Clark, Shoneci Collins,

Jared Graham, and Anna Bell

Professional artist Elva Hurst visited the Shiremanstown Campus to speak to students about her upbringing in the Amish community and how she came to discover her love of art. She presented her ‘Chalk Talk’ complete with music, special lighting and nar-ration as she created a beautiful piece of artwork illustrating American pa-triotism.

Students who successfully earned an A on their dinner etiquette and table manners test in Todd Roberts Social Skills class earned a trip to the Acco-mac Inn. They received a tour of the building and a behind the scenes look at what it takes to run a successful restaurant. Teri Hotzinger, Assistant to the President of the Accomac and Andre Ebert, Executive Chef took time to explain the business and ca-reers in the restaurant industry. They explained the importance of team-work, flexibility, problem solving and taking pride in ones work to be successful.

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Art Project with Dickinson College is a Great Experience For All

As part of a special project with Dickinson College, four students from River Rock Academy’s Carlisle Campus spent months working with four college students to develop personal art projects. Their creations were designed to ex-press the positive and negative influences in their lives. Both the River Rock and Dickinson College students found this to be an enriching and rewarding experience. Alex-ander Andrews, Jeremiah Fanzo, Cheyenne Hill and Mary Staggs were the students from River Rock who participated. Dickinson College students Nataleigh Kohn, Ziann Lee, Melissa Osborn and Michael Tucker were their mentors throughout the project. A special Art Show displaying the designs created by the students was held on the evening of April 18th on the Dick-inson College campus. It was a memorable evening full of smiles and satisfaction in seeing the creative ways the stu-dents expressed various aspects of their lives. Thank you to the Dickinson College students who worked so hard to help Alexander, Jeremiah, Cheyenne and Mary achieve this accomplishment. Here is what they had to say about their experiences in working with the River Rock stu-dents.

Nataleigh Kohn “This experience was extremely rewarding and eye-opening. The project's grand finale, the art show, served as a meaningful testament to the thought and hard work that was put in by all parties involved. I will never forget the smiles on the kids' faces as they got the chance to proudly display and explain their own work to a roomful of eager and listen-ing observers.”

Michael Tucker “Working at River Rock this semester has been an awesome experience. The students we worked with were great. I believe they learned a lot about themselves through the artwork they completed. It was a great opportunity for them to reflect back on the positive and negative decisions they have made in their lives. The self-reflection process shows them that they can be successful and do anything they put their mind to.”

Melissa Osborn “The process of getting to the art show was most exciting for me. The kids started out very shy and unsure of us but by the end they were talkative and excited about seeing us every week. I'll never forget Mary standing in the front office one of the final weeks of the project. She had all her supplies ready and was waiting for me to arrive because she was so anxious to get another part of her project completed. The kids were so wonderful to work with and I would love to have another opportunity to volunteer at River Rock.”

Ziann Lee “I am so sad that the art show is over! This experience has definitely exceeded my expectations. Every week, I was surprised by the students' enthusiasm and by how much they had achieved within the hour. Not only was I surprised by their progress, I was also surprised by how much the eight of us bonded as a group. I think this project was a great suc-cess and we are all so proud of their hard work and their final pieces. I feel extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in this experience!”

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The River Rock Gator is written, compiled, edited and designed by

Wendy Capoferri and Barbara Rodgers in the interest of RRA students, parents

and Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry and York County

School Districts.

RRA Administrators

Steve Capoferri – CEO Patti Shatto-Young – CBO

Bob Howard – COO

Schmoyer Named Coach of the Year

Following his most successful season as Dover High School’s Varsity Bas-ketball Coach, Brian Schmoyer was recently named YAIAA Coach of the Year. Schmoyer, a Behavior Counselor at River Rock Academy’s Red Lion Campus, led his team to a YAIAA Division II title and the program’s first state playoff appearance in 22 years. The York Daily Record reported that as Coach of the Year, Schmoyer’s Eagles excelled with solid leadership, discipline and consistency. So it’s no surprise that he exhibits the same qualities at River Rock with an additional twist of comedy. Jill Crouse-Wolf, Campus Director, says, “All of the students and staff love Brian’s comical person-ality and when they are having a bad day Brian is there to make them laugh. Brian does a great job building positive relationships with the students, which is evident in his every day interactions with them. His hard work and dedi-cation to River Rock Academy is greatly appreciated and we are very proud of his Coach of the Year award.”

River Rock Reaches Out 5k Benefits Children’s Home of York

The 2nd Annual River Rock Reaches Out 5k and Fun Run was held in April at John Rudy Park and was a great success with 122 participants running in the race. This year, River Rock was committed to donating 100% of the money raised to the Children’s Home of York. As the oldest existing child and family centered social service agency in York County, Children's Home of York provides comprehensive, accredited, community-based services to stabi-lize and strengthen children and families in need. Over $8000 was presented to Children’s Home of York President Laurie Anne Spagnola the day of the event. She remarked, “The weather was fantastic for the Run and the support from River Rock Academy made all of the kids and staff from Children's Home of York feel like we had winged feet! Children's Home borrowed the wings from the River Rock angels who demonstrated a great commitment to our cause! Thanks to all of the young people, staff, friends and family members who made this event an amazing success. A special shout out to Jennifer Long for coordinating the Run!” Ms. Long, Carlisle Campus Counselor, also had assistance from commit-tee members Jordan Rickert, Spring Grove Counselor, and Karl Munscher, Hellam Campus Behavior Manager, as well as many other staff and student volunteers. Carlisle Campus students Akira Bastiany, Nygel Jenkins, David Ross, Jay-son Staggs and Mary Staggs helped the day of the event in various ways. One rewarding job they had was placing medals around the necks of the more than 50 children who participated in the Fun Run. Many River Rock Academy staff members as well as Spring Grove Campus students Kyle Hershey and Katlynn Biddulph ran in the 5k—great job Kyle and Katlynn! Michael Schab and Amy Doll were the overall top male and female finish-ers. Prizes were also awarded to the top three place winners in seven age cate-gories. Staff members from each River Rock Campus donated items that were put into themed baskets and given away as door prizes after the race. A special thank you goes out to the sponsors of River Rock Reaches Out 5k and Fun Run: Utility Keystone Trailer Sales, IB Abel Inc., Flying Feet Sport Shoes, KBM Industries, Metro Bank, Ricke Bros. Auto Group, Trout, Ebersole & Groff LLP and Skechers.

River Rock Academy Administration

268 West Beaver Street Suite 109B Hellam, PA 17406

Three basic behavioral norms that are the foundation of River Rock Academy are:

• No student has the right to hurt, intimidate, or ridicule another student. • Education and the classroom are sacred. • Our school is sacred and we will always protect its property and belongings. April/May/June 2012

Looking strong as the Shiremanstown Campus

students take part in a team building activity

Tiffanie Falkenstein from ITT Technical Institute shares

different career options with Red Lion Campus students

Campus Happenings

Spring Grove Campus students spread mulch at the playground

and picnic area for the North Hanover YMCA

Eighteen students from the West Perry Campus

earned a trip to a Harrisburg Senators

baseball game

Carlisle Campus students had an enjoyable day

exploring and learning at the Philadelphia Zoo

Hellam Campus students learned about the Amish culture while

touring a farm and home in Lancaster

Students from the Newville Campus interested in the fields of engineering or mechanical work toured

HACC Midtown

Day Treatment students posed with mascot Down Town and had fun cheering for the York

Revolution baseball team