Lenape Smoke Signals
Week of April 5 - April 9
Upcoming Events
- April 5 - No School
- April 9 - End of 3rd Marking Period - Dismissal at 10:45
- April 14, 3:00 - Career & Community Spotlight
- April 15, 9:00 - Parent Council Meeting
- April 22 - ELA PSSA for 7th & 8th Grade
- April 29 - ELA & Math PSSA for 7th & 8th Grade
- May 5, 3:00 - Career & Community Spotlight
- May 6 - Math PSSA for 7th & 8th Grade and Science PSSA for 8th Grade
Student Spotlight: Aiden Bercic
Aiden Bercik entered a drum solo competition with his private teacher and tied for 1st place. Scroll to the 19:30 mark in the video and you can see him rock out!
Student Spotlight: National History Day
Ben Jiminez: 1st Place, Individual Website – "FDR’s Fireside Chats: Reassuring a Fearful Nation" https://site.nhd.org/81289685
Cheryl Liu: 3rd Place, Individual Website – "Cave Paintings and Symbols: Communication Through the Arts" https://site.nhd.org/40036394
Ava Dale and Yashmita Gollapalli: 3rd Place, Junior Group Documentary - “Yellow Journalism”
Kailyn Angelitis: 2nd Place, Junior Individual Performance - “Bastille Day”
Emma Heim and Katelyn Mills: 3rd Place, Junior Group Exhibit - “Women’s Suffrage Movement”
Clara Lee: 3rd Place, Senior Category Individual Paper - “Communication throughout History for the Blind Community”
Art Scholarship Fundraiser
Support the CB Art Scholarship Fund by purchasing an original design on a T-shirt for $12. All proceeds go to one high school senior at each CB high school to pursue future art dreams! Sale dates start now until April 24th. Click here for the order form.
PSSA Information
This note serves to provide an update to families about PSSA testing and scheduling in our school this year. As noted in district communication earlier this month, both the U.S. Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Education are requiring all school districts to administer PSSA testing for the 2020-2021 school year. The testing window has been extended so that districts can maintain compliance with their Health and Safety Plans.
Lenape Testing Schedule
English Language Arts - 7th & 8th grades
Thursday, April 22nd AM
Thursday, April 22nd PM
Thursday, April 29th AM
Mathematics - 7th & 8th grades
Thursday, April 29th PM
Thursday, May 6th AM
Science - 8th grade
Thursday, May 6th PM
Testing of Virtual Academy Students
Testing is only available in-person and on-site, and each virtual student will be scheduled to take the test in his/her/their homeschool. We remain committed to adhering to the guidelines in our district’s Health and Safety Plan. Virtual students will test in the cafeteria. While the majority of the day will be devoted to testing, students will attend their elective classes. Virtual students will remain in the cafeteria to access these classes remotely on testing days.
Parent Right to Opt-Out
Chapter 4 of Title 22 of the Pa. Code (22 Pa. Code 4.4) provides the right of parents/guardians to excuse their child from the state assessment if, upon inspection of the testing materials, they find the assessment to be in conflict with their religious or philosophical beliefs. Please visit the CBSD Assessment Website for information about how to request to exclude a child from state testing. Parents requesting to opt-out their child from testing must submit a request by April 5, 2021.
Transportation
All students (with the exception of walkers), including virtual students, have been assigned a bus route. Your children may take their bus to and from school on testing days. If you prefer to drive your student to and from school for testing and wish to pick them up in the middle of the day when they are finished, please let us know.
If you have further questions or concerns, please contact Lauren Dowd at ladowd@cbsd.org or 267-893-2800.
Algebra Keystone Exam: Save the Date
Honor Roll Certificates
Counselors' Corner
Career & Community Spotlight
April 14th at 3:00 – Join us for a Live Teams event featuring Erv Hall who represents the Business Management & Administration Cluster. Erv has quite a story to share. In addition to being a former Olympic Silver medalist for high hurdles, he has held key positions in Fortune 100 companies. You will see that his resume is unique and impressive. Sultan Thomas, Lenape 7th grader, will be our moderator.
May 5th at 3:00 – Our last spotlight will be a Live Teams event spotlighting Lenape Valley Foundation. For more than 60 years, Lenape Valley Foundation has provided assistance, compassion, and hope to thousands of children, adults, and families within our community. Nicole Wolf, Director of Training and Education, is responsible for expanding and enhancing community education initiatives, increasing awareness of behavioral health challenges, and improving access to treatment and other supports. We are fortunate to have this wonderful resource right in our Doylestown community. Mikayla and Ashlyn Bradley, Lenape 7th graders, will moderate this Spotlight.
Lenape students who participate will earn a prize entry for each event they attend. At the end of the year, a drawing will be held – 3 winners will receive a Lenape gear prize basket!
Clear the Vapor Conference
Prevention Resources and Education for Parents
YMCA Programs
The following free programs are offered by the Bucks County YMCA. Click the links to learn more:
Must join by May 31, 2021 | All branches of YMCA of Bucks County
Providing all 7th graders of Bucks County a free, annual teen membership; fostering youth development and healthy living.
Begins April 6 or September 28 | Doylestown, Fairless Hills, Quakertown
A free, 12-week wellness program for girls in 7th-10th grade, designed to strengthen self-esteem, positive relationships and overall health. They are currently enrolling participants for the program beginning April 6, 2021! This 12 week program will meet virtually, every Tuesday night from 6:00-7:30. Throughout the program the girls will go over a variety of topics all aimed at strengthening their self-esteem, encouraging positive relationships and improving their overall health. We will be bringing in a variety of guest speakers, going over topics like social media, handling stress and positive self-image. Participating in this program includes a free 12 week Teen Membership, giving your students access to all the Y has to offer. Check it out at this link – program starts soon!
MBIT Summer Career Exploration
Repeated Announcements
Attendance Updates
5-Day Traditional Students
- Absences – Students will be coded as absent if they are not physically present in school. The attendance code will be changed to “Excused” once we have the communication from the parent/guardian (students cannot excuse themselves). Please email our attendance office at lenapeattendance@cbsd.org or call 267-893-2820 If a communication is not received from a parent/guardian, the student absence will be coded as “Unexcused.” Students are permitted to join classes online through teacher Teams links (not required and at parent discretion), but the absence will remain.
- Virtual Present – This code will no longer be used for regular school attendance. We expect 5-day students to attend in person each day. This code will only be used under the following circumstances as approved by the school nurse:
- Quarantine (positive case or close contact from COVID Case)
- Prolonged illnesses (3 days consecutive or more)
Online Students
- Absences – Students will be coded as absent for the following reasons:
- If they do not attend class or sign on the Teams call
- If they sign on but leave the call before instructed to do so
- If they do not engage at the instruction of the teacher
- The attendance code will be changed to “Excused” once we have the communication from the parent/guardian (students cannot excuse themselves). Please email our attendance office at lenapeattendance@cbsd.org or call 267-893-2820. If a communication is not received from a parent/guardian, the student absence will be coded as “Unexcused.”
Changing Option from 5-Day to Online
Parents requesting to switch students from the 5-Day Traditional to Online learning model option for the marking period may make this request by emailing gsaullo@cbsd.org and ladowd@cbsd.org.
Parents will have the option for students to return to the traditional 5-Day Model again at the beginning of the 4th marking period.
Note – Students cannot move “back and forth” between models during the marking period.
The school must have documentation within 3 days of an absence. Students with 3 or more unexcused absences may be required to have a SAIP (Student Attendance Intervention Plan) meeting with parents/guardians, counselors, and administration.
Peer Tutoring
Sports & Extracurricular Information
Athletic Health and Safety Plan
Spring Sports Masking Letter
Lenape Extracurricular Activities
News from the Nurse
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we all are facing different amounts of stress than ever before. The CDC suggests several tips to reduce stress:
- Take care of yourself – eat healthy, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, give yourself a break if you feel stressed.
- Discuss your problems with a trusted source.
- Avoid drugs and alcohol.
- Recognize when you need more help – know when to talk to the School Nurse, Psychologist, Social Worker or Guidance Counselor if things continue.
Breakfast & Lunch Reminder
Grab and Go Meals
Please note the following changes to our pickup schedule due to the upcoming break.
- Meal distribution for virtual students will not take place on Thursday, April 1 or Monday, April 5.
- Students will receive additional meals on Monday, March 29, and distribution will also take place on Tuesday, April 6.
- Distribution will return to the normal Monday/Thursday schedule on Thursday, April 8.
Recursos Para Padres Hispanohablantes
Abajo se encuentran recursos en Español para padres y guardianos de los estudiantes de Central Bucks.
Request for Family Travel
Families are required to submit a request for family travel form whenever there will be a planned absence from school. The updated travel form can be found here.
Safe2Say
Safe2Say is a valuable resource that has been set up by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide a method for anyone to report a concern about a student or group of students 24/7. Please note some important reminders about the use of Safe2Say:
- If you put in a tip, please check back often for communications. The tip line is monitored 24/7 at the state level. The tip is sent to the school and/or police if it is deemed "Life Safety" immediately. It is sent in the morning if it is determined to be "Non-Life Safety."
- It is important to include as much information as possible. If you have evidence of your concerns, please share that evidence via the tip or with us. You can attach pictures and videos in the Safe2Say system.
Please remember that Safe2Say is statewide system that is used in collaboration with the State Attorney's Office, emergency responders, and school officials. It is important to know that tips are reviewed on the state level before being passed to the local police and/or school authorities. Please consider the purpose of your tip - Is it to provide another person with a way to receive help? Is it preventing an act of violence? Is it something that needs to involve local and state authorities? While the system is anonymous, abuse of the system will not be tolerated and actions will be taken if it is determined that the system is being used inappropriately.
Guidance Sparks - How to be a Spark Champion
In previous newsletters, we introduced the idea of what is a Spark and how your child can identify their individual passion. We also shared some videos to generate ideas for beginning the process. But what is your role as parent or guardian on this journey. As Peter Benson states in his book, Sparks (2008), “Your best role is to be the captain of your child’s spark team.”
What does this mean? Children really do want their parents to be involved in their lives and being that spark champion will increase the connection between you. For some of you with older children, you might be shaking your heads but it really is true. Younger kids delight in sharing their successes with their parents but the older ones may do this more internally. However they express this, know that all children want their parents to be the leader of their spark team. This role is easier the earlier you start the conversation. With an encouraging attitude, you can be an integral part of them finding that spark.
You are not alone in this mission. Children have a community to draw from for their spark team. Other family members, teachers, neighbors, coaches, mentors, and bosses can all take a hand in the development of our children by sharing their own stories and being there to listen and show encouragement. Take the lead and you and your child will benefit from your involvement.
For comments or questions, please contact Ginny Barrett at vbarrett@cbsd.org.
Technology Information and Resources
Health and Safety Resources
A friendly reminder: If your child is sick and is exhibiting any Covid-like symptoms, please reference the chart below to determine if it is safe for them to come to school. If you need guidance, please do not hesitate to contact the nurse's office for assistance.
Community Information
Lenape Middle School
Lauren Dowd, Assistant Principal
Website: www.cbsd.org/lenape
Location: 313 West State Street, Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone: 267-893-2800
Twitter: @CBLenapeMS