Green Lane Gazette
October 2024
Important Dates
- 10/3-10/4 - No School - Rosh Hashana
- 10/7 - Progress Reports
- 10/9 - Homecoming Dance 6-9 PM
- 10/14-10/18 - Spirit Week
- 10/16 - PSAT Exams - Only 10th and 11th Grade students attend
- 10/16 - Asynchronous Day for 9th and 12th grade students
- 10/17 - Tier 2 Second Period
- 10/18 - Homecoming
- 10/24 -Healthy Family Habits at Benjamin Franklin Middle School 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Message from the Principal
Dear parents and guardians,
Unfortunately we are in an era where social media can negatively influence our students and/or create trends/"challenges" that are often detrimental to a healthy and secure school environment. I'm reaching out to you today about one of these recent "challenges" so you can talk to your students about it and discourage them from participating.
A recent trend is to steal, grab, or take decorations, tags, laces, and other adornments from student backpacks. These items tend to have no real monetary value, but are simply decorative items which are unique to specific brands and bags. However, there are trends on TikTok and Instagram to show off how many of these tags an individual can collect (sometimes stealing them from the bags on store racks). Additionally, with the specific brand Sprayground there is a belief that if someone submits 10 of the Sprayground tags, they will receive a voucher for a free bag. That is 100% a myth, confirmed by the owner/creator of Sprayground on an Instagram video attached below.
Please speak with your students about these myths and challenges that exist. Discourage them from participating in this behavior and explain to them that taking or ripping off the tags from another person's bag will be handled as theft or vandalism by building administration. Thank you for your cooperation and support
We are excited to announce to all parents of 9th to 11th graders that your students have full access to IXL, a powerful tool designed to help them take charge of their learning. Through IXL, students can work on their personalized action plans, and targeted skill plans for Keystone Algebra, Literature, and Biology. These tailored plans help ensure they are on track for academic success, whether they need extra practice or want to challenge themselves. Encourage your child to take advantage of this valuable resource today!
Cap & Gown Orders
Attention Parents/Guardians of the Class of 2025!
This Tuesday, October 8th, representatives will be in school during lunches to accept orders for your student's Cap & Gown for graduation.
You can either go to www.sscgradstore.com to enter SSC's online store and securely place your order, or have your student hand in the envelope they received with the order form and payment ($35 cash or money order only) on Tuesday.
If you have any questions, please call Student Services Company at 610-539-1330 or email them at gowns@studentservicesco.com
Thank you!
Technology Insurance Fee
Protect your student's Chromebook from accidental damage and costly repairs by purchasing a technology insurance fee for the 2024-2025 school year. All purchases can be made through the Parent Portal in Infinite Campus. Review this flyer for more details.
$35 today can save $100's later!
As the new school year is underway, all students in grades nine through eleven have taken the IXL Snapshot, which is a diagnostic tool that provides valuable and individualized data on the skill levels for each student. This is especially helpful for 9th and 10th grade students, as they prepare for the task of taking the State’s Keystone Reading Exam. Students will be able to be provided more individualized instruction and practice, further developing their skill sets, while also developing a growth mindset through discussion and the help of their teachers.
English 9: Students are completing an examination of the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” with a focus on plot, characterization, and conflict. Students are also being introduced to the R.A.C.E.S. strategy for writing constructed responses.
English 10: Students are focused on the literary elements of plot and setting, with a close analysis in short stories such as “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket.” The students will move into a closer examination of characters within literature, with a focus on direct and indirect characterization
English 11: Students are examining early American texts, currently focusing on an introduction to Puritan authors while analyzing their plain style. Students will be introduced to new literary terms, such as inversion and parallelism.
English 12: Students are currently focused on creating college and career-ready goals, while also examining Anglo-Saxon texts, with an emphasis on Beowulf.
Driver Education
Driver Education students have been learning the fundamental concepts of driving. The first two units have focused on driver responsibility, the IPDE process, graduated licensing programs, and the understanding of signs, signals, and roadway markings.
Unified PE
Unified PE has been developing stretching routines and allowing various students to take the lead in these stretches. They have also completed a soccer unit, where students enjoyed a variety of stations, including dribbling, shooting on goal, and passing. Next up is gameplay!
Physical Education
PE students have been enjoying the outdoors and the nice weather. After their dynamic warm-up, they have been participating in various games, with volleyball, football, walking, and soccer being their favorites. Classes will continue to go outside for as long as possible, so please remember to bring warm clothing as the temperatures drop.
Health and Wellness
In Health and Wellness, students have been focusing on good character, mental health, and stress management. There has been significant attention on the effects of social media.
Truman High School is excited to announce that the online program, IXL, is available to all 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students this year. IXL offers numerous benefits for students, especially as they prepare for the Keystone Algebra Exams. With its comprehensive and interactive approach, IXL allows students to practice key algebraic concepts at their own pace, ensuring mastery before moving on to more advanced topics. The program provides immediate feedback on each problem, helping students understand their mistakes and reinforcing the correct methods. This personalized approach ensures that students can focus on areas where they need improvement, which is particularly useful for exam preparation.
IXL is aligned with state standards, meaning the skills and topics covered on IXL directly correlate with what students will encounter on the Keystone Algebra Exams. The program will be especially beneficial to students who may be required to take the exam for a second time. IXL can be personally tailored to each student, which means someone who may have only struggled in one small area of Keystone-eligible material will be able to focus on that particular concept.
If you would like to see the IXL program for yourself, ask your student for a preview. Our 9-11 graders can access the program through our district’s clever.com website. If your student took the Keystone Algebra Exam in the spring of 2024, and you are curious about their results, the district expects to be mailing home the results in the next few weeks.
Anatomy-Students have been learning dissecting terms and orientation. They performed their first dissection on pickles. (photos attached)
Biology
The biology classes learned about basic principles of biology including: characteristics that all life share, cell structures and their functions, and how life is organized. The students prepared and observed slides of their cheek cells under a microscope, drawing and identifying the cell structures they saw. In Honors Biology 2, students have been reviewing genetics and going into further depth on some of the topics that they covered in Biology.
Chemistry
Students completed a unit on science practices including laboratory safety and measurements. They conducted investigations on density, hydrated crystals and separation techniques. AP Chemistry students completed a unit on thermochemistry. They conducted a calorimetry experiment to predict the final temperature of a system and to measure heat transfer.
The League of Women Voters and our social studies department conducted a voter registration drive in the cafeteria during our lunch periods on Friday 9/27. The volunteers from the League of Women Voters had very positive interactions with our students and staff and hope to return in the spring to assist with voter registration for students who will be 18 years of age by the primary elections.
Ms. Egan’s AP Government class did some research into past and present threats to democracy creating presentations and mind maps with possible solutions.
Her Civics classes researched what it means to be a citizen and what responsibilities citizens have.
Our American Studies teachers have begun implementing a new textbook program called “US History Interactive.” from Savvas Learning Company. Our teachers and students will be able to utilize a comprehensive, standards-based collection of print and digital content through the Savvas Realize Platform.
Basic Clothing and Resources 4 Living
Clothing Crocheters are starting their donated baby hats for premature babies!
Resourceful Resources 4 Living Kiddos are starting to develop their GO BAGS - electronically - part of their survival disaster preparedness learning segment.
Civil Engineering and Architecture - Students researched, designed, and modeled Architectural Features.
PRINCIPLES OF ENGINEERING:
Students have been working on calculating the Mechanical Advantage of various simple Machines.
UNIFIED STEM CLASS:
The students have been working to build floor plans with Balsa wood members. The students also assembled various models.
CAPSTONE:
The students have begun the year by learning how to operate all 3D printers, Laser cutter, and Design Methods in Autodesk Fusion.
Introduction to Business:
Students are learning the basics of how businesses operate, make decisions, and interact with the economy. To develop important skills, we engage in team-building activities where students work together, solve problems, and build communication and collaboration skills.
One of our key projects is a real-life marketplace activity where students create, market, and sell products. In collaboration with the engineering department, we are currently designing and producing custom Phillies keychains using laser printing technology.
Sculpture: Students researched everything Apple in Bucks County - history, where to pick, botany - and then each student made an apple and each class worked as a team to make a tree to hang the apples on
Hola, Ciao, and Hello! Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. It was a pleasure to meet some of you at back to school night. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you have questions or concerns at any point between now and the end of the school year.
Teacher Spotlight- Señora Reynalda Robertson (new to Truman)
Classroom Corner -
Spanish classes are celebrating Hispanic Heritage month (September 15-October 15) with a variety of historical and cultural projects.
Italian 1 is working on learning how to greet each other in Italian, how to count, and how to talk about different items we can find in the classroom.
ELD classes recently completed a culture share project.
Truman Contact Information
267-599-2210
APP: https://harry-s-truman-high-school.edlioweb.app/#/home
Instagram:@officialharrystrumanhsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/bristoltownshipschooldistrict
Twitter: @TrumanTigerBTSD