WEST TIMES
CENTRAL BUCKS HIGH SCHOOL WEST
APRIL ISSUE
Message from Mr. Munnelly
Congratulations to CB West junior Isabel C. who has earned the highest possible composite score of 36 on the ACT college admission and placement exam! Less than one-tenth of one percent of all test takers earn the top score. Among ACT-tested U. S. high school graduates in the class of 2012, only 781 of more than 1.66 million students earned a composite score of 36. West is very proud of her most significant achievement.
NEW CBSD WEBSITE
Central Bucks School District would like to give you a preview of its new website
scheduled to go-live the first week in May. Go to www.cbsd.org to access a link for the sneak peek. Schools have been working to update their sites which will provide a succinct calendar system, featured news stories, and other important information. The new websites will be "mobile-device friendly" so school phone numbers, school menus and other information will be easily accessed. Throughout the summer months, staff will receive training on their own teacher/department-sites. We hope you will be as excited as we are with our new “look”!
Class 2013
Important information from the Guidance Office for Seniors
All seniors must login to Naviance to complete their graduation survey. This is due on June 1. It is a senior obligation that must be completed in order to participate in the prom and graduation.
Class 2015
Submitted by Carol Klein
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE
The State of Pennsylvania requires each student to hand in a copy of a physical before October 15th of his/her junior year.
A copy of the physical form is available on the school website, under the nurse tab. http://cbwestnurse.wikispaces.com
Please take this form to the doctor to be completed and then return it to the health office.
From the Guidance Office
By now sophomores should have completed the 10th grade components for the Career Plan in Naviance. This includes the Personality Type, Career Cluster and Career Interest Finder surveys as well as the Career Plan Review Questions. Ask your son or daughter to share their results with you !
National Honor Society
Pennies for Patients
Submitted by Colleen Graney
The National Honor Society would like to thank all CB West students and staff who participated in our Pennies for Patients fundraiser in March. For two weeks, NHS students organized and encouraged collections of spare change in all advisories and lunches. Ms. Davitt’s junior advisory brought in the most change with over $195.00 in donations. Mrs. Toub’s sophomores and Mrs. Franchois’s juniors came in a close second and third place. We’d like to give a big shout-out to sophomore Chris McCole who emptied out all of his change at home for the biggest single student donation in our history of Pennies for Patients!
To help spur more donations, CB West faculty participated in a ‘Delay the Day’ fundraiser by encouraging their students to bring in spare change that would need to be counted by the teacher before class could begin. Ms. Schrier’s Accelerated PreCalc students watched in amusement as she counted over $105.00 in change before beginning the day’s lesson. At the end of the fundraiser, CB West donated over $1,600.00 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s campaign to aid children fighting blood cancers. Thanks again for a great collective effort. As we all know, West is best!
LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER
April is National School Libraries Month and National Poetry Month. To celebrate, the CB West Library has several events planned. During National Library Week, April 15-19, the Library will host a half-price sale on all fines and obligations. Savvy students know that this is the time of year to clear their library obligations. Additionally, we are holding trivia contests, poetry readings, and creating our famous READ posters featuring students and faculty. To close out the month, we will host our annual Children’s Story Hour on Monday, April 29. From 7-8PM, CB West students will read aloud popular children’s books to young children of all ages. Parents & grandparents, even babysitters are invited to bring their little ones to the CB West Library for milk, cookies, and good stories. Help us celebrate reading during National School Libraries month!
Did you know the CB West Library has several apps for mobile devices like phones and tablets? Students should follow the link below to access apps for our library catalog and databases. With these apps, and the district ‘BYOD (Bring your own device)’ policy, students can take the CB West Library with them wherever they go! http://www1.cbsd.org/schools/cbwest/dept/library/Pages/Mobile-Apps.aspx
From The Shop
submitted by Jon Taylor
Used to describe the blending of songs in the entertainment industry to create a different sound or song, a mashup can be further extended to define the combination of classes and ideas here at West this past school year through the program Extending Students’ Capabilities Academically through Project Enrichment or ESCAPE.
To name a few…
Architectural Design and Engineering and Science got together in October to study earthquake waves and their effects on structures. Students were asked to build stick model structures and test them simulating the different types of earthquake waves on a shake table.
Shop and math collaborated to design and build paper and tape rockets and launched them with compressed air. We collated our data and used Excel to create scatterplots based on length, weight and distance travelled. We are also planning to study geometry through kite building and pattern enlargement of dinosaurs.
Science and math fit in nice with the shop classes. It is the foundation of hands on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM education. Here are some examples from other, less obvious, but really important subject areas that are key to hands-on STEM success through the ESCAPE program.
English 12 and Shop- Shared students and teachers read “A Long Way Gone” by Ishmael Beah. Themes were presented to students who used the shop to build physical objects to represent their themes as a visual for presentations. The laser cutter, CNC machine, and hand tools assisted us in creating a rocking chair, flags and flag poles, water wheel working model, models of cassette tapes, and many more. Another class who was reading Hunger Games did the same activity in building survival devices and presenting them in class.
Theater and Shop- Shop and theater communicated together to design and build props for the play Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.
Special Education and Shop- Shop students used hand tools and assisted students to build boxes to grow plants in the courtyard. NBC10 is planning to stop by West to film us in action this spring.
Latin and Shop- Students will collaborate in May to build Roman Wax Tablets.
Finally, we plan to ESCAPE to Doyle this spring.
5th Grade and Shop- We are planning to design and build Worm castles to learn more about Nature’s Recyclers.
The words and pictures in this newsletter do very little to really appreciate the thought and time teachers and students are putting into ESCAPE activities. I wish to thank Mrs. Coyne, Mrs. Morasco, Mrs. Curran, Ms. Donohue, Mrs. Hanson, Ms. Waldron, Ms. McHugh, Ms. McHale, Mrs. Denton, Mr. Caughie, Mr. Cantrell, Mr. Wetzel, Mr. Mahoney, Mr. Castelli, Magistra Porytko, Mr. Licopoli, the students and past collaborators for trying something different and taking the time to ESCAPE our usual school day activities. These mashups lead to a different tone in our classes where students can show their strengths where they normally are challenged.
On a side note, hands-on activities are not cheap. We would like to thank Janice Thomas for her donation of an electric motor for us to use with our bike to generate power for charging a portable device. We also would like to thank Richard Pratt of Pratt, Brett and Luce (www.lawprattbrett.com) for their financial donation to purchase 25 seats of MineCraft. This is a simulation software that students can collaborate with to design and build structures together… and much, much more. Thanks again for your donations. If you have an old hand tool or any materials laying around, we can make use of it. E-mail jtaylor@cbsd.org if you would like to make a donation to our ESCAPE program.
Lastly, Parents/Guardians, please be sure to sign the permission slip for shop students to go to Michener Museum’s property for an outdoor sketch/build exercise.
Outstanding Poets at West
Submitted by Jeanine Waldron
Congratulations to C.B. West Poets, Isabel C., Grace K., and Sami M. on being Finalists in the Bucks County High School Poet of the Year. Isabel, Grace and Sami are invited to read in the Orangery at the Bucks County Community College Newtown Campus on Sunday, April 21st at 3:00 PM. Please come and spend an afternoon listening to the best poets in Bucks County read their work.
Congratulations to sophomore Carson L., whose poem will be published in the prestigious Polyphony H.S. literary magazine!
West Chemistry Student selected to take National Chemistry Olympiad Qualifying Exam
Submitted by Mary Muth
Patrick O. (Class of 2014) has been selected to participate in the 2013 U. S. National Chemistry Olympiad Qualifying Examination that takes place at LaSalle University on April 13. Patrick is one of only 22 students who qualified to take the exam from among 499 advanced chemistry students attending 28 public, private or magnet schools in the greater Philadelphia area. Congratulations Patrick!
Business Department
Submitted by Ro Toub
On April 15th, we will be taking three of our Future Business Leaders of America students to Hershey Convention Center to compete at a state level. There will be over three-thousand-five-hundred students competing at this event. We would like to congratulate these individuals for their accomplishment at the regional competition and wish them luck at Hershey! Congratulations to Deiter H., Kate V. and Ruhy P.
C. B. West Health and Physical Education
Supplementing Your Child’s Diet
Students have the misconception that when I mention diet in class, they think of it as eating “less”. This is not the case, and I explain to them that their diet is simply an account of the foods they ingest on a regular basis. A diet can be healthy or unhealthy. Generally people go overboard when restructuring their diet in an attempt to “get healthier”. A complete overhaul of the foods you eat means getting rid of all of the foods you tend to enjoy. This is not a motivating factor. Who wants to forever substitute pizza with a spinach salad? But people make the complete overhaul anyway and lose interest quickly. Or a family rebellion starts when you are questioned for purchasing “healthy foods”.
So what can you do?
Just like infusing exercise into a lifestyle, you need to start small. Maybe a few meals a week coupled with the purchase of a healthy snack for after dinner - TV time experimentation. Here are three recipes I use that incorporate ingredients packed with nutritional value. They are also on the list I have provided for great brain foods.
One meal for breakfast lunch and dinner: See Below
Cooking instructions on page 3 of the CB West Health and Physical Education Newsletter on Mr. Bocklet’s Teacher Site
Fruit Salad
Breakfast: Fruit Salad Ingredients per serving 1/2 Grapefruit 1/2 cup strawberries 1/3 cup blueberries 1/2 cup pineapple 1/2 cup black berries Approx. 173 calories
Broccoli Soup
Lunch: Broccoli Soup Ingredients per serving: 1 cup broccoli 1/8 cup diced almonds 1 oz. goat cheese 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Approx. 335 calories
Chicken Fajitas
Dinner: Chicken fajitas with mango-avocado salsa Ingredients per serving for 4: 2 large chicken breasts 2 mangos / 2 avocados 1cup cilantro 8 fajitas Salt to taste 2 tablespoons olive oil Approx. 520 calories per serving
Parenting in High Tech Times
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
8:30 to 10:00 a.m.
FREE and Open to CBCC Members & Non-Members
Technology has provided many opportunities and it’s also provided countless unique parenting challenges. You do not want to miss this dynamic, informative and insightful presentation featuring business leaders and educational experts.
Panel:
Rod Green, Ph.D., Superintendent at Central Bucks School District
Barry G. Ginsberg, Ph.D., Center of Relationship Enhancement
Ellen Thomas, The Curiosity Shoppe Inc.
Natalie Wi, Allure West Photography Studios
Facilitated by Parenting & Family Committee Co-chair Amy W. Tielemans, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
To RSVP, www.centralbuckschamber.com/calendar
Curriculum Choir Concert
Monday, Apr 15, 2013, 07:30 PM
Central Bucks West, West Court Street, Doylestown, PA
World Language Honor Societies Induction
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2013, 07:00 PM
Central Bucks West, West Court Street, Doylestown, PA
Parent Advisory Council
Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013, 09:00 PM
Central Bucks West, West Court Street, Doylestown, PA
Mr. West Contest
Friday, Apr 26, 2013, 07:00 PM
CB West, West Court Street, Doylestown, PA
Keystone Exams
Literature and Algebra Keystone Exams
May 13th, 14th, 15th, & 16th
Biology Keystone Exams
May 17th, 20th, 21st & 22nd
Monday, May 13, 2013, 07:00 AM
Central Bucks High School West, West Court Street, Doylestown, PA
Senior Prom
Friday, Jun 7, 2013, 07:00 PM
Spring Mill Country Club, Jacksonville Road, Warminster, PA
Central Bucks School District
School Board Briefs
April 10, 2013
At the April 9, 2013 School Board Meeting, the Central Bucks School District School Board:
1. Heard the Lenape Jazz Ensemble performance before the school board meeting and via video, the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mrs. Egan’s 4th grade Warwick class. 2. Heard the Academic Spotlight about Google Science Fair which is a new way for students to showcase their work for a global audience. Dr. George Mehler presented the program and showcased some student work.
3. Heard the Superintendent’s Report, Communications, Curriculum, Finance, Operations, IU Board, and MBIT Committee Reports. Also, an After School World Language Program report from Mr. Brian Caughie and Ms. Stacy Gray.
4. Approved School Board Minutes – March 12 and 19, 2013.
5. Approved the 403(b) and 457(b) Investment Program, construction contracts for Unami renovations, and the MBIT 2013-2014 General Fund Budget.
6. Tabled School Board Policy 902-1 – Cable Television so that proposed policy can be posted on the CBSD website.
7. Approved various personnel items, student trips, tuition students, and staff workshops.
8. Discussed the 2013-2014 budget. Mr. Matyas provided the Board with an update of the 2013-2014 budget process since the preliminary budget was adopted in January. He highlighted several proposed adjustments which would eliminate the need for a millage increase for the 2013-2014 school year. The proposed adjustments would not affect the normal CB program.
9. Discussed the proposed CB East Stadium project. Dr. Green stated that approximately 500 people attended the March 19 public hearing to hear about the proposed CB East Stadium project. Thirty-five community members spoke during the public hearing. The project will cost between $5.1M to $5.6M. The design of the proposed stadium will take approximately six months and will take approximately twelve months to complete. Board members talked about the particulars of the proposed stadium. The CB East Stadium project will be discussed at the next Operations Committee meeting.
10. Received Sabbatical Leaves of Absence and the Board Calendar as information items.
Central Bucks High School West
Website: cbsd.org/schools/cbwest
Location: 375 West Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
Phone: (267) 893-2500
Twitter: @CBWestHS