March 5, 2025

At Cumberland Valley School District, our students are living the Portrait of an Eagle every day. Since its launch in Spring 2022, the Portrait of an Eagle has been guiding how we teach and learn, with more than 100 community partners—including parents, high school students, business leaders, and staff—helping shape this vision. The Portrait of an Eagle identifies seven key competencies: Adaptability, Confidence, Communication, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Responsibility, and Empathy.

These skills and dispositions aren’t just ideas on paper—they’re things our students are practicing every day in real, meaningful ways. From collaborating on projects that require strong communication and problem-solving, to demonstrating adaptability and empathy during group activities, students are consistently honing these competencies in their classrooms and beyond.

Our staff is dedicated to fostering these essential skills through instruction and creating environments that challenge students to take responsibility for their learning and actions. Through this intentional focus, Cumberland Valley students are equipped to graduate not just with knowledge, but with the skills and mindset they need to succeed in a dynamic world.

To learn more about how we’re bringing the Portrait of an Eagle to life, be sure to watch our new video highlighting these competencies in action across the district!

A big congrats to the CVHS LifeSmarts team for being crowned the 2025 LifeSmarts State Champions! After an intense competition hosted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, they powered through every round, defeating North East High School in the final.

LifeSmarts is a consumer education competition testing students on personal finance, health, technology, the environment, and consumer rights. And now, CVHS' LifeSmarts team has earned a spot in the 2025 National LifeSmarts Championship in Chicago this April! They’ll be competing for the prestigious Florence Kelley Cup, scholarships, and incredible prizes.

Congrats, Eagles—We are #CVProud of you. Good luck at STATES!

(L-R): Jude Elamir, Bud Aichele, Luke Greenawalt, Sibi Shanmugam, and Raiyan Bakshi.

*Photo credit: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

At Silver Spring Elementary, 2nd grade students have been enjoying an "egg-ceptional" experience through an Eagle Foundation grant. With the help of Cumberland County 4-H, they dove into the fascinating world of embryology, carefully nurturing eggs throughout their development. The excitement reached a peak when the chicks finally hatched, and the students were thrilled to meet their new feathery friends!

Top left: Hampden Elementary students had a blast playing school-wide BINGO to celebrate earning 20,000 House points! They racked up points all year by being responsible, respectful, safe, and kind, and showing off their Portrait of an Eagle skills, both in and out of the classroom! What a fun way to reward their hard work!

Top center: Winding Creek Elementary students had a blast stepping into the future by dressing up as their future selves! From judges and rangers to soccer players, volcanologists, singers, and doctors, the career possibilities were endless—and so much fun to see!

Top right: CV's Mini-THON rocked the 2025 Man Pageant with lots of laughs, singing, dancing, and fun, all while raising money to fight pediatric cancer! Thanks to everyone's generosity, they raised an incredible $29,206.63 FOR THE KIDS! We appreciate all the donations that made this possible!

Bottom left: Monroe Elementary students and families had an awesome time at Bingo Night! With lively energy and fantastic staff callers—Mrs. Biddle, Mr. Davis, and Mrs. Flickinger—the night was a hit, and they even sold out of food! What a fun-filled evening!

Bottom center: The Mountain View Players are ready to "Seize the Day" with their exciting performances of Disney's Newsies Jr. this weekend! Don’t miss your chance to see these talented young performers shine Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, or Sunday at 2 PM. Grab your tickets and get ready to feel like you're the "King of New York!"

Bottom right: Sporting Hill Elementary students celebrated Read Across America Week by wearing their favorite hats and shades while enjoying the warm weather. They spent some time reading with buddies outside, making the most of the perfect day to dive into a good book!

Beginning in April, the Cumberland Valley School District will spotlight members of the Class of 2025 and share their future plans on the district’s social media platforms.

This initiative, called the #PortraitOfAnEagle Senior Spotlight, is designed to honor CV seniors and celebrate their next steps—whether that’s attending college, pursuing trade school, entering military service, or beginning a career they've prepared for during high school.

Click here for more information.

*Due to uploading an image, you will need a Google account to fill out the form.

Congratulations to CV's 2025 Swimming and Diving Individual Event PIAA District III Champions:

• Boys 100 Breaststroke: Bode Groh

• Girls 100 Butterfly: Addison Buckman

• Boys 200 Freestyle Relay: Mitch Hearn, Bode Groh, David Socks, and Wyatt Boland

A well-deserved victory for all your dedication and determination! We are #CVProud of you!

This week, we're celebrating National School Social Worker Week and the incredible impact our CV School Social Workers have on our students, families, and staff. They go above and beyond, providing emotional support and connecting families with vital resources to help students thrive both inside and outside the classroom.

This year's theme, “Unite to Ignite: Celebrating our Impact,” highlights the resilience, passion, and dedication school social workers bring to fostering growth and positive change in our community. Thank you, CV Social Workers for your hard work and the difference you make every day!

Congratulations to the CV Boys Swimming and Diving team for capturing the 2025 PIAA District III Championship this past weekend! Their victory marks a historic return to the top after nearly two decades—19 years since their last championship in 2006!

Congrats, Eagles— your hard work, dedication, and team spirit paid off big time! We are #CVProud of you!

[Not pictured: Cash Whitteker and Jack Klemunes]

We’re continuously working to enhance our website and ensure it meets the needs of our community. Your feedback is essential in helping us create a more user-friendly and informative experience. By taking a few minutes to complete our short survey, you’ll provide valuable insights that will guide us in making improvements. We greatly appreciate your participation and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

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Kindergarten registration for the 2025-2026 school year is NOW OPEN! To be eligible for enrollment, children must be five years old on or before September 1, 2025.

*Please note: Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, Middlesex Elementary School will transition from a full-day to a half-day Kindergarten schedule. This adjustment will bring Middlesex in line with our other elementary schools, which currently operate on a half-day Kindergarten model.

Visit www.cvschools.org/registration for details and to get started.

Help spread the word with any CV families who have a future Kindergartener! We can't wait to welcome the Class of 2038!

Summer Enrichment Camp:

Eagle Foundation Summer Enrichment Packet posted!

The Eagle Foundation is excited to share our Summer of Opportunities camp packet! With so many great options, we're sure that you will find something that your student will be interested in. Camp registration is now OPEN!

You can find all the camp information here: https://tinyurl.com/EFSummerCamps

Questions? Call Gabrielle Chidester, at 717-697-8261, ext. 13310 or email at gchidester@cvschools.org

Honorees Announced for the Annual Recognition Dinner hosted by the Eagle Foundation

The Eagle Foundation is delighted to announce the slate of honorees for the 27th annual recognition dinner on Friday, April 11th. Please take a moment to congratulate those you know on the list and be sure to join us for the Cumberland Valley red-and-white celebration!  You can view the details and RSVP form here.

Commitment to Excellence Award Recipient:
Colleen Staton CV9, Principal

Cumberland Valley Stars:

• Gabrielle Barrick Silver Spring, Emotional Support Teacher

• Angela Choate Sporting Hill, Instructional Coach

• Ashley Garrett Winding Creek, First Grade Teacher

• Jacyln Gingrich CV9, English Teacher

• Jason Haley High School, History Teacher

• Kaitlyn Kamara Monroe, Instructional Coach

• Pete Mashinski High School, Social Studies Teacher

• Becca McMillen Hampden, Fifth Grade Teacher

• Justin Piazza Green Ridge, Instructional Coach

• Jennifer Pierce Middlesex, Art Teacher

• Roger Riegel Mountain View, Assistant Principal

• Amy Schade Shaull, Music Teacher

• Patrick Stager Eagle View, 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher

• Michelle Zettlemoyer DO/DSF, Director of Human Resources

From Our Transportation Department

Like many other schools locally and nationally, we are experiencing a significant shortage of school bus and van drivers at Cumberland Valley School District. This shortage has affected, and will continue to affect, the transportation services we provide to our students. Our contractors are actively working to hire new drivers, and we are committed to ensuring that all students receive a ride to and from school. However, please be aware that this may require last-minute modifications to routes and stop times, which we will communicate to parents as quickly as possible.

Notifications of delays will be sent via text and email to the contact information listed in Skyward. To ensure you receive these notifications, please verify that your phone numbers and email addresses are up to date in Skyward.

When we have information about delays exceeding 20 minutes, we will notify you as soon as possible. Please understand that our Transportation Office is often overwhelmed with calls and may not be able to answer all inquiries immediately. We kindly ask that phone calls be reserved for emergencies, such as a missing child. For non-urgent matters, please email us at transportation@cvschools.org.

If you know anyone interested in becoming a school bus or van driver for Cumberland Valley School District, please encourage them to reach out to one of our Transportation Contractors. There are great part-time opportunities available!

Transportation Contractors:

• Kauffman Bus: 717-737-3396

• Miller & Sons: 717-258-3371

• Rohrer Bus: 717-958-3811

Thank you for your understanding and support!

The Cumberland Valley School District will have four school board seats available on the Cumberland County 2025 Municipal Primary Ballot. Serving as a school board director is an important opportunity to influence the future of our schools, students, and community by making decisions on policies, curriculum, budgeting, and district growth.

For more information, please click here.

Upcoming School Board Meetings

Unless otherwise advertised, all meetings begin at 7 p.m. and will take place in the District Office Board Room (6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg)

• Monday, March 17, 2025

• Monday, April 7, 2025

• Tuesday, April 22, 2025

A full list of School Board and committee meeting dates is available by clicking here.

Updates:

• The Athletic Committee will not meet on Tuesday, March 11, as there are no agenda items to discuss. The next meeting is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

• The Board of School Directors will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, 2025, for the purpose of discussing the 2025-2026 budget. The meeting will take place in the District Office Boardroom, 6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA.

• The Board of School Directors will hold an Intergovernmental Meeting with township, county, and state officials at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, 2025. The meeting will take place in the District Office Boardroom, 6746 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA.

Quick Access

• Board Agendas - Posted a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

• Committee Assignments - 2024-2025 Board committee/advisory group assignments.

• Meeting Minutes - Posted to BoardDocs approved by the Board of School Directors.

• Watch Live - School Board meetings are live-streamed to our website.