The Giving Tree 2008
Once again the Patton Middle School has made a difference for those less fortunate in the area. This year over 500 families were invited to attend the weekend charity event at the Kennett Meeting House. This number increases every year and has significantly jumped this year do to the economy. It gave us great pride to deliver our donation to the Kennett Community Services Organization. Our hearts are warmed by the generosity of our Patton family. A special thank you to Mrs. Ann Ferron, the driving force behind the Giving Tree here at Patton Middle School. Thank you to everyone for the outstanding support you give the "Giving Tree" project every year. Together we make a difference in more ways then one. Merry Christmas and may you have a happy and healthy New Year!

Patton Gives Back - Teacher for a Day!
Congratulations to everyone involved with the Patton Gives Back in organizing the Teacher for a Day program, especially Mrs. DiGregorio for all her efforts in making the day a huge success. We had 53 teachers participate, over 1100 tickets sold, countless students vying for the chance to be their favorite teacher and we raised $1400 for the Johnson family -- $700 in raffle tickets and $700 matched by our very generous Student Council. A big thank-you to everyone. And check out the great photos from the day right here!

Martin Luther King Day of Service
Join us for a morning of service to our community. On January 19th, our school community is conducting a day of Service from 9:00 am-12:00 pm in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. On this day we will offer the first ever MLK Community Computer Camp. Students from both the middle school and high schoolwill have an opportunity to volunteer to help community members with computer applications -- surfing the web, using search tools, using web-based email, and specific individual questions that our community members may have about using computers. If you like computers and would like to serve on MLK Day, we need your help on January 19! There will be mandatory training and organization night at Unionville Elementary School on Wednesday January 7 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm for all students interested in participating. Sign-up for the MLK Community Camp Training Night by emailing mlkday@ucfsd.org. Please note: you must attend the training to volunteer for the Computer Camp.

Let's Play Lacrosse Winter Camp 2009
For students in grades 3rd through 11th, this camp will take place on four Saturdays: January 10, January 31, February 7 and February 21. In just 4 two-hour sessions gain the advantage of: top level skill and tactical instruction, coaches with proven teaching abilities, scrimmages with immediate coaching feedback, step-ahead preseason preparation and intensity awards at each session. For a registration form go to www.ucfsd.org/girlslax For more information contact Wendy Landry at letsplaylax@verizon.net

Check Out the Patton Podcasts
Don't forget to check out the many podcasts created by our students, by visiting the Patton Podcast page at cfpms.ucfsd.org/Podcasts. What is a podcast? A “podcast” is an audio or video file available on the Internet for you to listen to and/or watch. It can be manually downloaded and played on your computer or iPod or other mobile device or it you can "subscribe" to a podcast and automatically receive the podcast when a new episode is available. The Patton podcasts include Mystery podcasts by the 7th grade AT classes, podcasts from our Digital Communications classes as well as podcasts from HawkTV. Podcasts are becoming more and more common in our everyday lives and are available from many traditional media outlets such as ESPN, PBS and CNN as well as many new outlets avaialble only though the Internet. Check out the Podcast section of the iTunes store for the many FREE podcasts available.

UCFEF and USC Form Alliance
The Unionville Chadds Ford Education Foundation (UCFEF) has formed a strategic alliance with the Unionville Sports Council (USC) in order to develop joint programs that benefit all students in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. A motion was unanimously approved by the Education Foundation’s board on November 12, 2008, that acknowledges the importance of both community organizations and the need to support a holistic approach to educational excellence. The organizations have agreed to endorse and support the goals of each other through a series of communication materials, joint events, and campaigns. Their first joint project will be THE FIELD campaign that assists the school district in funding a synthetic surface on the stadium field. For more information on this announcement, click here.