Lion's Pride
Dr. Lentz's Monthly Update
LES/UES
Art Show at the UES
On April 4, 2019, Mr. Mannion and Ms. Van Praag highlighted the arts in the UES annual art show. Individual framed student artworks were featured and sold to excited parents who were looking forward to displaying their students’ work at their homes. This event was incredibly well attended and featured student created music through the garage band program and also a performance by our elementary choral students.
Showtime at the LES
The LES hosted grade level musical performances this month. They learned songs and dances relating to their grade-level theme, Kindergarten was "The Unity Tree", First Grade was "Wing It" and Second Grade was "I Need a Vacation" which included select recorder pieces. The hard work and excitement of the students was evident in their wonderful performances.
MS
Reading Olympics
Our Middle School Reading Olympics teams competed on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at Pennridge School District under the direction of their coach, Craig Smith. We were very proud of our two teams which brought home one red ribbon and one blue ribbon. This program encourages our students to work as a team to read a series of predetermined books and to compete as a team to answer questions about those books at the Reading Olympics Competition. We are very proud of our students efforts at the competition.
HS
Congress of Future Medical Leaders
Zachary Buchler, a sophomore, will be a Delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields. During the three-day Congress, Zach will join students from across the country and hear from Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future of medicine and medical technology.
NCTE Presentation
High School teachers, Drew Giorgi and Tara Sanders, have been accepted to present at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention which will take place in Baltimore in November. Their presentation is entitled, “Approaching Revision Through the Spirit of Inquiry: Empowering Student Writers by Fostering Inquiry Through Revision.” We are excited to have them selected to be one of the presenters at this conference and to have them showcase the great work going on in New Hope-Solebury School District.
Points of Pride
NAMM Award
For the 5th year in a row the Music Department at NHS has been named as one of the NAMM Foundation Award recipients for the 2019 Best Communities for Music Education. The organization evaluates music programs based on funding, staffing of highly qualified teachers, commitment to standards and access to music instruction. We congratulate Mr. Bachart, Mr. Bateman, Mr. Sasala, Mrs. VanPraag and Mr. Wehr for their hard work and dedication to our students.
US News and World Report HS Ranking
U.S. News and World Report just released its rankings of the best high schools in the United States. New Hope-Solebury High School was ranked the highest in Bucks County and 8th in the State of Pennsylvania. We are very proud of our students, faculty, staff, administration and community on this incredible achievement! Here is the link to our ranking: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/pennsylvania/districts/new-hope-solebury-school-district/new-hope-solebury-high-school-17127
Visit from Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick
On Wednesday, April 22, 2019, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick visited the High School to speak with students in AP government classes. During his visit he shared with the students his work as a Congressman and some of the difficult decisions and issues he has had to debate. In addition, he took questions from the students and engaged in a thoughtful dialogue about critical issues, concerns and legislation facing Congress. It was an amazing experience for our students.
School District News and Updates
ALICE Drills
ALICE drills will be conducted at all of our schools except the LES which did its drill in April, this month for the second time in the 2018-2019 school year. This drills follows the same protocols as the drills which were conducted in November. Roads around the schools will be closed to facilitate these drills and students evacuated to our identified evacuation locations off school properties. We will have the assistance of the New Hope and Solebury Police Departments for the completion of these drills and to attain additional feedback to further improve our response in these situations.
District Art Exhibit
The New Hope-Solebury School District will be hosting an exhibit of the school district’s newly returned art collection on May 21, 2019. This exhibit will provide an opportunity for the community to view this unique collection and also allow us to welcome some of our community partners and local dignitaries to our school district. We will also feature student art work and music as a function of this exhibit.
School Board & Committee Updates
At the April 25, 2019, Board of School Directors Meeting the following items were approved:
- Finance Matters including Treasurer's Report, payment of bills and budget transfers. Approval of MBIT General Fund Budget, an agreement with the BCIU for special education services and a facility lease agreement with the YMCA of Bucks County for before and after school care.
- Human Resource Matters including retirements, appointments and leaves of absence.
- Policy Matters including approval of the following Policies:
5.2 Functions of Standing Committees
247 Hazing
904 Public Attendance at School Events
Board Members presented their Committee Reports and Liaison Reports regarding the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, Middle Bucks Institute of Technology and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.
New Hope-Solebury School District
Email: clentz@nhsd.org
Website: www.nhsd.org
Location: 180 West Bridge Street, New Hope, PA, USA
Phone: 215-862-2552