Green Lane Gazette
February 2024
Important Dates in December
- 2/12 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Ticket Sales Start
- 2/14 - 12:05 Dismissal
- 2/19 - No School - President's Day
- 2/20 - Course Selection Opens for Students
- 2/23 - Course Selection Closes 3 pm
- 2/29 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Opening Night
From our Nurse
Students entering 12th grade are required to have a second dose of the MCV4 vaccine. A second dose is administered after your student's 16th birthday. Immunization compliance is required by September 9, 2024 in order to avoid school exclusion. If your student has not already received this vaccine, please make arrangements with your healthcare provider. If you do not have health insurance, an appointment can be made by contacting the Bucks County Department of Health at 267-580-3510, at no cost to you. If you have any questions, please contact our school nurse, Kelly McNeil, at 267-599-2171 or Kelly.McNeil@bristoltwpsd.org.
STOMP Out Bullying HelpChat Line
STOMP Out Bullying HelpChat Line
This HelpChat Line is a free and confidential online chat that helps youths ages 13-24 with issues around bullying and cyberbullying; as well as providing support to youths who may be at risk of suicide.
Click here to learn more about the HelpChat line:
We had an excellent attendance at the FAFSA completion event held on January 30th. This session provided valuable support to students and parents as they navigated through the financial aid application process and the new FAFSA form. Additionally, our course selection night on February 1st was a success. The counseling department is dedicated to assisting students in understanding the course selection procedure and is readily available to address any inquiries that may arise.
Digital Electronics: The DE class is geeking out on Boolean Algebra. This encompasses theorems that only work when working with binary. I have warned them to watch for classifying this information so it doesn’t affect their calculus or physics classes.
Fundamentals of Engineering 1: Students are finally bringing their build into technical drawings. If you ever took a drafting class you will recognize these schematics.
Intro to Engineering Design: The carabiner pen project is in full force. Students work in teams and each creates a part, on the program Fusion360. They then have to assemble everything using only their teammates' work. This gets interesting, everyone has to toe the line.
Sports Marketing: Students are working on a Rebrand of Truman Sports. Students are creating a new logo, mascot, and team uniforms to give the sports program a new look and identity.
Business Management: The Students in Mr. Mergard and Ms. Hassey's class have been working hard on creating a Business Plan for a hypothetical business of their choosing. There have been many great business ideas submitted these past few weeks.
Engineering Design & Development: The students have been busy designing and constructing marble sorting machines using Vex Robotics parts and RobotC programming software.
Civil Engineering & Architecture: The students continued designing their affordable houses for Habitat for Humanity. The houses were designed for various Truman Teachers.
Principles of Engineering: The students began Truss Calculations incorporating equilibrium equations and systems of Joints and angles.
English 9: The third marking period just started, students are finishing up a unit on the art of theater, with an emphasis on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The students will then move into a unit focusing on poetry, with an emphasis on figurative language. There will also be a continued focus on utilizing the R.A.C.E.S. strategy for writing constructed responses. Students will continue making progress on their personalized Reading Exact Path.
English 10: The third marking period just started, students are finishing up a unit that focuses on analyzing the role “point of view” plays in literature. The students will then move to a unit that emphasizes the skill set of identifying the theme and/or main idea of a text. Students will also be examining numerous reading and writing strategies in preparation for the Keystone Exams. Students will continue making progress on their personalized Reading Exact Path.
English 11: The third marking period just started, students have begun reading several works from the time period of literary realism. The major text that the students will examine during this month is Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Students will learn of the historical setting of the novel, which occurs during the Great Depression in the 1930s. While reading the text, students will analyze the idea of the “American Dream,” and engage with the themes of loneliness, friendship, and independence.
English 12: The third marking period just started, students are delving into the elements of drama and Shakespearean tragedy, with a specific emphasis on The Tragedy of Macbeth. After the completion of the Shakespearean play, students will begin examining the British romantic poets.
Driver Education
Driver Education students are beginning a new semester. They are always excited to use the simulators. The beginning of the course will focus on driver responsibilities and basic driving tasks.
Adapted PE
Mr. Sicilia and the Adaptive PE class have been focusing on different motor skills. Relay races have been a big hit with the students. DJ Mike has taken over the music aspect of the class. The students and Mr. Sicilia are grateful for the variety of new tunes. Every Monday, Mr. Bachman generously donates his time to assist the students in swimming, and they are having a great time!
Physical Education
PE students are beginning a new semester. They will be focusing on basketball, weight training, and volleyball. Pacer practice and test take place on Thursday’s. Locks are available for rent. We encourage everyone to lock their belongings. Good Luck everyone!!
Health and Wellness
In Health and Wellness, students begin the new semester with a mental health unit. Stress, time management, life crisis, suicide and social emotional health are components of the unit.
Recently in our Statistics class, students investigated Vitruvian Theory, where the class measured height, handspan, and armspan. They then used two-variable statistics to create a least square regression. Coincidentally, it supported the theory.
Our personal financing classes are finishing up a unit on checking and banking. The students studied a variety of topics during the unit. They learned about hidden fees associated with checking accounts. They also spent time investigating the pros and cons of online banks versus the traditional brick and mortar institutions.
Geometry students are investigating the Isosceles Triangle Theorem. Over the next few weeks, they will be locating the center of mass in triangles, and participating in the Centroid Olympic Games.
Algebra 2 students are studying polynomial functions. Their mastery of this topic will serve them well as they transition to their Pre-Calculus classes next year.
In Earth and Space science, students just finished a unit on exoplanets and the search for life in the universe. They completed an exoplanets project where they created an exoplanet using a large Styrofoam ball. They are now learning about plate tectonics. The Natural Disasters class is learning about tornadoes.
In Biology, students just completed a unit on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. In Microbiology, students are learning about viruses. In AP Biology, students just completed a unit on cell signaling pathways and cancer. In Anatomy and Physiology, students just completed a frog dissection activity. (photo attached). In Honors Biology 2, students are distinguishing bacteria and viruses. They are doing a research project where they choose one virus and one bacteria. They then compare their mechanisms and treatment options.
In Honors Chemistry, students are learning how to write balanced chemical equations. They completed empirical formulas and precipitation labs. In Academic Chemistry they are distinguishing ionic and covalent bonding. In Environmental Science, students listened to an educator from the Bucks County Heritage Conservancy running a workshop with students on watershed and water quality. (photo attached). In Forensics, students are learning about controlled substances and their classifications. They completed a project studying the dangers to the body, toxicology reports and autopsy investigations will follow.
Ms. Egan’s Civics & Government Classes: Students will be creating an original political party based on social issues important to them. Also we will be taking a look at the origins and rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and tying it to the judicial branch studies.
AP Gov: Students are doing a unit on Civil Rights where they examine laws, acts and Supreme Court decisions that have positively impacted the civil rights movement. Then the students will be researching how we balance national security with our liberties.
Contemporary Issues: Students will be delving into the inequalities of our prison system and the biggest global issues of our time.
Mr. Kotofsky’s American Pop Culture Classes: Students will be celebrating Black History Month by examining African American contributions in the world of music, film, and television entertainment, for example, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, and Jay-Z.
Ms. Wright's Civics Classes: Students will be engaging in weekly biographical studies of various Black Americans who have made lasting contributions through their activism, citizenship, and social responsibility in various areas of American life. Individuals include Jackie Robinson, Bayard Rustin, Thurgood Marshall, Marsha P. Johnson, and other folks of specific interest to students.
Ms. Wright’s AP World Class: Students completed an Industrial Revolution Shark Tank activity, collaborating on creative pitches to explain the economic significance of various industrial-era inventions and manufacturing developments.
9th Grade Western Civilizations classes are examining the Industrial Revolution’s impact on European society and beyond. Topics include inventors and inventions, positive and negative effects of industrialization, the economic philosophies of capitalism, socialism, and communism, as well as the role of government in protecting workers rights.
Hola, Ciao, and Hello! We are looking forward to speaking with all of our students about the best path for them in their quest to complete course selection. Please reach out to our teaching staff if you or your children have any questions.
Classroom Corner:
Signor Gleeson and Signorina Lezi will have their Italian classes follow the Sanremo music festival. Officially known as the Italian Song Festival (Festival della canzone italiana), this festival is held each year in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It was the inspiration for the Eurovision song contest and is the longest running annual TV competition in the world.
Unlike other awards in Italy, the Sanremo Music Festival is a competition for new songs, not an award to previous successes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanremo_Music_Festival.
Many of our Spanish classes recently completed the mid-year review. Señora Gregory had students lead small group reviews and discussions on specific topics covered in the first half of the year. Señor Maldonado has a new group of students beginning our half year Medical Spanish course.
Over 100 ELD students are working hard to complete the 4 sections (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) of the WIDA access mandatory annual testing. Information on this test can be found on the WIDA website here: https://wida.wisc.edu/assess/access.
Our Italian classes explored cultural events and learned about holiday traditions in Italy prior to winter break.
Truman Contact Information
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