E-Matters September 2024

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, all parents and guardians in the North Penn School District will receive the monthly E-Matters and Bulletin Board newsletters. If you do not wish to receive these newsletters, you can unsubscribe through School Messenger in the "newsletter" category. Please ensure you do not unsubscribe from any other categories or you will no longer receive regular or emergency communications from your school. You can update your email address at any time through Infinite Campus.

You will also notice the newsletter is organized differently than in previous years, now centering around the 4 Es of the district: to ensure belonging, elevate learning, engage community, and exceed expectations. Each newsletter will feature stories exemplifying the work of students and staff that fall within each of the 4 Es.

• October 3: No school for students
• October 4: No school for students, teacher in-service

The full NPSD calendar, including school-specific events can be found here.

The NPSD Educational Foundation invites you to complete a survey to help guide their strategic planning. The Foundation has engaged Match Nonprofit Consulting to conduct an organizational assessment. The information you provide will be anonymous and reviewed by Match Nonprofit Consulting as part of the assessment. Please complete this survey by clicking here. Your input will help inform the organizational assessment.

Many of our schools have teams to assist new students with the transition to a new school, particularly during orientation at the beginning of the year. 8th and 9th graders at Pennbrook Middle School can apply to be a part of the WEB team, who are responsible for many things throughout the year, most notably 7th grade orientation. WEB leaders are assigned a group of students who they build relationships with during orientation and give tours of the school. The WEB leaders are also a friendly face in the hall that new students can say hello to. The program has been wildly successful at Pennbrook, helping new students feel a sense of belonging from day one in school, and providing older students with leadership skills thanks to the guidance of the Pennbrook staff who serve as WEB advisors. Pennbrook's WEB leaders certainly live up to their acronym, Where Everyone Belongs.

Did you know North Penn High School was the first high school in North America to launch a spatial computing program? Students at NPHS can learn all about virtual and augmented reality devices and create their own programs. Familiar to many of us as "VR", the spatial computing students create three-dimensional programs that run on the headsets. This gives students an edge in the competitive job market, graduating from high school with skills and knowledge many do not get until college or beyond.

Each bus transporting NPSD students is now equipped with technology to catch dangerous driving behavior around school buses. Video enforcement technology will capture the license plates of vehicles who fail to stop for school buses, putting children at risk. In partnership with local police departments, video evidence will be sent to law enforcement for review before a notice of violation is issued. As a reminder, motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses with red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. The penalty for a first-time violation is $300. Thank you to our bus drivers, local law enforcement, and safe drivers for keeping North Penn students safe!

The NPSD security team is implementing Evolv Weapons Detection as part of the district's comprehensive approach to school safety. Evolv is an artificial intelligence security system that utilizes AI to detect weapons including guns, knives, and explosives, while ignoring items that would show up on a traditional metal detector like cell phones or wheelchairs. Individuals entering a facility can proceed through security checkpoints much faster and without removing bags or personal belongings. The system was used at the Class of 2024 commencement ceremony, and will be used at future events with many community members in attendance. In addition, Evolv will be deployed randomly at NPSD schools throughout the year.

To recognize the incredible work of employees, the North Penn School District has relaunched a new employee recognition program. The North Penn Es Award recognizes staff members who exemplify the 4 Es of NPSD- ensure belonging, elevate learning, engage community, and exceed expectations. This year’s winners are Rebecca Geremia for elevating learning, Michael Flynn for ensuring belonging, Alice Murphy and Bernie Jones for engaging community, and Brent Talbot and Vivian Cao for exceeding expectations. Click on each winner's name to learn more about how they each exemplify the 4 Es.

Welcome to the new Eye on Equity! Each month will feature ways in which diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts impact our students each and every day. Equity can mean many different things for our students, and this column will discuss the ways in which equity work affects our students each and every day.

September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrating the culture, heritage, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. Next month's e-newsletter will feature ways in which Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in our schools, through library books, class projects, and more. Stay tuned!

In July, we welcomed over 50 students entering grades 1-6 to Knapp Elementary for an in-person English Language Development (ELD) summer program. This program helps to reinforce and strengthen newly acquired English language skills for students who are new to the US or are beginner English learners. The students participated in a wide range of interactive and engaging activities designed to improve oral, listening, speaking, and writing skills. Throughout the month, students not only made wonderful progress as they became more comfortable using English, they also got to make new friends and meet their teachers. Participating in this summer program made the transition back to school much smoother for families and their children!