The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded Neshaminy School District an Environmental Stewardship and Watershed Protection Grant (also known as the Growing Greener Grant) in the amount of $100,339.00.

This grant was established under the Commonwealth’s Environmental Stewardship and Watershed Protection Act (1999) with the goal of restoring impaired waterways and protecting them from nonpoint source pollution throughout Pennsylvania. Three science teachers at Neshaminy High School (James Maloney, James Murray and Brian Suter) applied for the grant with approval and assistance from school and District administration in 2020. They proposed to use the grant funds to repair and improve the 120-acre Idlewood Environmental Station, a forested area between the high school and Neshaminy Creek.

Established in the 1970’s, Idlewood has been used as a classroom extension for science and physical education classes. Multiple trails run through the area, which are used by students and the community for activities such as hiking, mountain biking and environmental studies. The NHS Environmental Action Club uses it for bird watching, maple sap collection (and maple syrup production), and tree planting as part of a reforestation and species diversification effort. Students have planted over 100 trees over the last several years and maintained a database which includes growth rates and tree variety. The area was closed for use in 2017 due to hazards presented by standing dead trees, the result of extensive damage caused by the invasive emerald ash borer beetle. This not only presented a safety issue for those visiting the area, but also environmental issues related to soil stability and water runoff in affected areas. Many of the dead ash trees are in areas on trails that lead downhill to the creek.

With funds from this grant, the District will be able to fell and remove dead timber, plant new native trees and shrubs to stabilize the soil and prevent soil loss into the creek, and improve trails to prevent additional soil loss and safely open access to Idlewood once again. The trail improvements will also contribute to improved water quality by reducing surface water runoff. A ten-foot wire fence will be added to keep deer out of the area and protect the new plantings. The area will be treated as an “experimental forest” that environmental science classes and clubs at the high school can use to study growth rates, biodiversity and soil characteristics.

The three teachers are working with District administration to secure bids and contractors to complete the work within the scope and guidelines of the grant. The work could start as soon as this spring and summer, with the hope of opening the area for student use in the fall once safety issues have been mitigated.

This grant proposal received support and pledges of assistance from a number of local groups and individuals including Pennsylvania Rep. Frank Farry, community member Joseph Franks, the Middletown Township Environmental Advisory, the Bucks County Conservation District and the Neshaminy Creek Watershed Alliance.

The next scheduled Work Session is Tuesday, February 9, 2021, 7 pm in the auditorium at Maple Point Middle School. The meeting will also be livecast on the District website at www.neshaminy.org/meetings.

The Educational Development Committee met on January 5. Among the highlights:

• Discussion of Covid-19 statistic updates and plans for the rest of the school year.
  
• Discussion of the replacement of iPads in kindergarten and first grade with Chromebooks. This took place during the week of January 11. With this change, all grades are now using Chromebooks in the District's 1:1 Technology program.
• The committee discussed the new elementary iReady math program, which was fully implemented this school year for grades K-5. A new reading program for the middle school level will be implemented in the 2021-2022 school year.

The Facilities and Planning Committee met on January 20. Among the highlights:

• The NHS library / media center project is under way. New furniture has been ordered and will be shipped and installed within a few weeks. The facility will also get a fresh coat of paint.
• The installation of a bipolar ionization system throughout the District was completed in early January (see the article and video above).
  
• The committee heard a presentation by Spiezel Architectural Group about conceptual designs for a possible new elementary school building situated next to Maple Point Middle School. These are preliminary discussions; no plans for this proposal have yet been approved by the School Board.
  

At the Board Public Meeting on January 26, the Board approved the District calendar for the 2020-2021 school year, which can be viewed here.

Livestreams and archive videos of the Board Public Work Sessions and Public meetings can be viewed at www.neshaminy.org/meetings.

2-1-1 Service: If you are looking for non-educational community resources such as food pantries, housing assistance, help with utility bills, unemployment information or crisis resources, the United Way of Bucks County offers a centralized information service which can be accessed by calling 211, texting your area code to 898-211, or visiting www.pa211.org. This service is available 24/7 and is available in 42 languages.

Kindergarten registration for the 2021-2022 school year has begun. The process can be started online at www.neshaminy.org/register. Register your child by March 1, 2021 to ensure that they will have a spot in your neighborhood school for the new school year!

Seen in the background of this month's District newsletter: Students in Katie Houser's art classes at Tawanka Elementary School created intricate multi-colored feathers which were combined to create a beautiful bulletin board display outside the art room.

Third-grade students at Joseph Ferderbar Elementary School assembled and decorated their own instruments, as part of the culminating activity of a sound unit in science. They made drums, guitars, tambourines, and water bottle flutes. They were able to show how to change the pitch of their instruments. Those attending class virtually joined the activity by creating instruments from items found around their homes. Mrs. Dillon’s class even performed a wonderful rendition of Jingle Bells with their new instruments.

In November, the Maple Point Middle School Counseling Department started sharing, “Mental Health Mondays” (MHM) on “The HUB” (an announcement center on Canvas). The purpose of MHM is to educate students and offer resources on a variety of mental health and wellness topics. Each week a topical video is distributed over the HUB in the modules section along with the usual Monday morning announcements. Topics have included: Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, Holiday stress management, and the body’s chemical response to ‘Helpers High’ and Gratitude. In January, students started recording introductions for videos on self-esteem and the effects of social media.

Neshaminy High School will stage the hit rock musical Little Shop of Horrors as their 2021 main stage production. According to director Kristin Nichols, due to pandemic restrictions, the show will be staged by students in Theodore Kloos Auditorium without an audience for a video, which will be presented on a streaming platform for several nights in late March. Viewers will be able to purchase tickets to unlock the stream and watch it on any "smart" screen (computer, mobile phone, TV). As with the live musicals at NHS, two casts will perform on different nights.

A GoFundMe is being held to rent the Audrey II, a large puppet plant (seen in the photo above) that is the centerpiece for the production. This fundraiser was necessitated by the reduction in revenues from tickets sales that a live audience would normally provide.

Aishani Komath, a Neshaminy HS sophomore, is competing in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) fair this year. Her experiment focuses on the effectiveness of common antibiotics, as well as the use and effectiveness of natural products in reducing bacterial growth on agar—fighting bacterial infections. She conducted her experiments in a science lab at the high school during the week of January 25 and will submit a paper on her results and conclusions to the competition.

Since Aishani is a sophomore, she hopes that this first year experience with PJAS will serve her well as she looks to compete again in her junior and possibly her senior year. Thank you to Mr. Brian Suter for providing science teacher supervision and support during Aishani’s experiment process.