Green Lane Gazette
March 2022 - Harry S Truman High School
Dates To Remember
- March 3-5 - ROCKY - Tickets (2 shows left!)
- March 7 - 3 MP Progress Reports
- March 9 - Early Dismissal for students - (12:05 PM)
- March 16 - Early Dismissal for students (Truman only)
- April 22 - Soph/Junior Prom
- May 13 - Senior Prom
- May 18-20 - Keystone Exams
- June 15 - Commencement
- June 16 - Last Student Day
Marking Period Timelines
3rd Marking Period
- Progress reports: 3/7/22
- Marking period closes: 4/7/22
- Grades available in the portal: 4/22/22
4th Marking Period
- Progress reports: 5/12/22
- Marking period closes: 6/16/22
- Grades available in the portal: 6/30/22
Keystone Exam Boot Camp
We will be offering a free Keystone Exam Boot Camp in the coming weeks. These will be in-person sessions on Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays until 4:30 to help prepare/review for the May Keystone Exams in Algebra, Literature, and Biology. It will include a combination of live teacher instruction by Truman teachers, as well as, online programming.
With upcoming Act 158 requirements for the Class of 2023, proficiency on the Keystone Exams is one of the main pathways towards graduation. Stay tuned for more information soon!
Spring Sports
6ABC Reports On "Rocky" at Truman
Yearbooks
The Harry S Truman HS Yearbook is a one-of-a-kind publication. It’s a limited-edition collection of stories and events from the school year, and time is running out to reserve a copy.
This year's book is jam-packed with 240 pages of color and will be such a nice treat for this year's students to have, especially after the last few years of their school lives.
The deadline to order is April 1st. Very few copies will be available to purchase later, so act now and reserve your book today!
If you have not ordered, you can do so easily by going to sscyearbooks.com and following the instructions.
The yearbook staff has been working hard putting together a great book - so don’t delay, purchase your yearbook today!!
Thank you,
2022 Harry S Truman HS Yearbook Staff
Attendance
All attendance notes, trip approval requests, and other inquiries should be emailed to hst.attendance@bristoltwpsd.org or call 267-599-2109 to speak with Debbie Schipilow, our attendance clerk.
Department Summaries
School Counselors
Course Selection Meetings are Starting!
The counseling department will be meeting with each student over the next two months to discuss and finalize course selection for next year. During these meetings counselors will be discussing future plans, academics and graduation requirements.
New Dual Enrollment Opportunity for Seniors NEXT YEAR!
Truman seniors will have the opportunity to take classes on the Bucks County Community College campus next year. This is a BRAND NEW program where students can take 12 credits at the Buck County Community College Lower Bucks campus while still earning credits towards graduation. This is a free program to all that qualify and will occur during the school day
If your current Junior is interested, please have him/her complete this Interest Form. This program will ONLY be offered to Seniors next year. To be eligible for the program you must have at least a 3.25 FINAL GPA from the end of your Sophomore year and you must have at least a FINAL GPA of 3.0 at the end of your Junior year. Students who participate in the program will be taking 4 classes at the Bucks County Community College Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks.
B-E-T (Business, Engineering, & Technology)
- Mr. Mergard led the Truman DECA team as they traveled to Hershey, for the 2022 PA State Championship. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
- Ms. Cundari and Mr. D’s Intro to Engineering Design (IED) classes worked to design and construct fling machines as part of the statistical analysis unit.
- Our Engineering Design & Development students are putting together Truman’s full Contact Bot, Theseus, in preparation for the Philadelphia Regional competition that is held at Montgomery Community College.
- Our Civil Engineering Students completed their Habitat for Humanity House project. The students received client requests from various teachers in our school.
English
- Mrs. Lieberman's 10th grade English students are currently studying the allegory Animal Farm. Gavin and Carmela performed "Beasts of England" for the class and Shakar Handy created an impressive artistic representation of the Seven Commandments of Animalism. Her AP Literature and Composition classes are reviewing King Lear via group act quote paths in which each group is assigned an act to visually review the most important quote from each scene. The African American Literature and Arts class will present individual Google Slides Projects on various topics from musicians to entrepreneurs in order to celebrate excellence during Black History Month and to expand our knowledge beyond writers. Prior to this, we have already studied the writing of Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. After our projects, we will be moving into the music, art, and poetry of The Harlem Renaissance.
- Ms. Schopfer and Ms. Stewart’s Applied Reading class used their creative side to create “triaromas” to represent their independent novels. The time and effort put forth surely shows!
- So far there are 82 acceptance letters on the back wall of Mrs. Wood’s class. Students were asked to bring in their college acceptance letters, military acceptance letters, trade school acceptance letters, or professional career offers.
- Ms Ucci's classes are reading Shakespeare's Macbeth. Students are enjoying the story and its history. As the story involves murder and betrayal because of the main character's overzealous ambition, students are realizing that their personal goals - while they do not have to necessarily be modest ones - should be feasible and backed with concrete actions that should act as the foundation to achieving their goals.
- Mr. A. Kotofsky's Tuesday classes welcomed Practicum Student-Teacher Ms. Ashley Dolt from Holy Family University. Though we all miss Student-Teacher Ms. Emily Lebofsky, who is now working at Collegium Charter School with her 8th graders, we are excited to have Ms. Dolt's fun, dynamic personality and student-driven work ethic in Room #B-19.
- Mr. Mallon's Introduction to Film Study students took their comprehensive final exam which included an expansive overview of film in the entertainment industry from the earliest silent films to the latest Marvel movies. He is looking forward to starting all over again in the second half of the year.
- In 11th Grade English for the month of February, Mr. Mason and Ms. Schuck had students explore the concept of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory and the True Color Personality Assessment. This information is being used to bridge the novel "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and the story of "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keys. The hope is that students will begin to see how there are more commonalities than differences between people and, through the stories, be able to empathize with the situations faced by others.
- Mrs. Ursino’s English 11 classes are currently reading and analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Students sketched their interpretations of the physical traits of the two main characters in their Chapter 1 Packets.
- In order to increase motivation with Exact Path, AngTang are running a trophy contest in our class. The class with the most trophies by the end of the marking period will get a pizza party. We have a visual chart posted that shows weekly results.
- Mr. Donnelly's students were introduced to the wonderful world of Edgar Allen Poe. The students started their reading of the torturous tale of The Pit and The Pendulum and finished with the rhythmic and melancholy classic poem The Raven. Students also had the opportunity to create their own pictograph showing individual scenes of The Pit and The Pendulum.
Health, PE, & Driver's Education
Driver Education In February we changed semesters and now have three full sections of Driver Education classes. All students in these classes have had the opportunity to interact with the driving simulators! We are currently working on signs, signals, and roadway markings. We are working with a representative from AAA to come and present about automobile insurance and with Carly Manion the Program Director at TMA Bucks Community Traffic Safety to present a program called Impact Teen Driver (What is Lethal).
Physical Education When the semester changed in February, so did our students in Physical Education. Some teachers also changed class periods, we are working on allowing for student choice in PE, students have the option to participate in volleyball, basketball, weight training, and stretching/yoga (depending on the period). With the addition of Mr. Sink and his Bluetooth speaker, the old gym has become both a great place to watch volleyball and a place for dance parties to break out! The students seem to really enjoy the music while participating.
Health and Wellness Our second semester students worked their way through the hands-only CPR module, earning a digital badge and a sticker for completing the module. Students had the opportunity to practice CPR on a mannequin and Mr. Bachman joined in sharing his expertise. We are starting to get into our mental health unit, and students in each of the health classes will have a guest speaker at the beginning of March presenting a program called Signs of Suicide.
Library
Reading Olympics
We have fifteen students who have joined our team this year. We discussed what was the best environment for reading and it was determined that a warm, but not too warm, quiet and comfortable environment free of distractions is the best place. Good thing the team meets in the library twice a month after school! The group spread out on the comfy chairs and read for the majority of the time. Afterwards we convened and discussed the titles over hot chocolate and donuts. Not surprising that one of our teammates was just accepted to Princeton!
M.A.C. (Music, Art, & Consumer Science)
The MAC department would love to congratulate Amy and Josh on their featured artwork and encourage the "Rocky" cast to break a leg as they wrap up the show this weekend.
Math
Mrs. Kramer and Mrs. King tried out the Hands-On Equations Learning System in their Algebra 1A classes, and they are encouraged and excited by the early results. Hands-On Equations enables students to demystify the language of algebra. Students very quickly learn to attach meaning to the various symbols which comprise an algebraic linear equation. At that point, they are already empowered to solve the equations using guessing and checking. Next, the students are presented with “legal moves” which they can perform to simplify the equation and maintain the balance of the system. The power inherent in these legal moves is that they are fully understood by the students. It is this understanding which provides students with a sense of confidence in the world of algebra.
Science
Biology
Students have been working on cell growth and division. One of the activities they did was having students look at cells under the microscope, drawing what they see, and identifying what phase of cell division the cell was in.
Anatomy
Students are finishing up the muscular system by doing a final project on a muscular topic of their choice.
Forensic Science
In forensic science students learned the importance of fiber identification. Labs included how to use a microscope to measure the diameter and spacing of fibers, observations of various textiles under the microscope, and identification of known and unknown fibers using various techniques including controlled-burning of fibers. We have now moved on to the study of fingerprints and how various techniques are used to find, lift, record, and compare fingerprints.
PLTW Principles of Biomedical Science
Students in PBS learned how to determine the time of death and the different stages which occur after death. We also tried to determine the identification of various "drugs" in a forensic toxicology simulation. Continuing on with the death of Anna Garcia, students viewed various slides of brain tissue to find out if Anna had normal healthy brain tissue or possibly a traumatic brain injury. Students just completed learning about the heart and included dissection of both health and diseased sheep hearts.
Chemistry:
Honors Chemistry students conducted experiments dealing with empirical formulas and quantitative analysis. They have also been predicting precipitation reactions using solubility rules.
Honors Chemistry 2 students conducted lab experiments dealing with gas laws, standard molar volume, and quantitative analysis.
AP Chemistry students have been working on Bonding theories and Intermolecular forces. We did a short investigation to analyze the conductivity of graphite pencils to discuss delocalized electrons and pi bonds.
Social Studies
- In honor of Black History Month, the new Social Studies bulletin board made its debut; featuring the accomplishments of people of color that may not be as well known.
- Mr Eliason's APUSH class learned the art of diplomacy through a comparison of the conflict between Ben Franklin & John Adams in Paris during the Revolutionary War and FDR's diplomatic treatment of Japan before Pearl Harbor. Paper airplanes and wads of paper were stand-ins for combat and the effects of bad diplomacy in a simulated war"
- Students in Ms. Egan's classes were creating "Presidential Tweets" and debating which branch of the Government is the "Most Powerful!"
Seen Around Truman
- Mrs. Tangradi's students are eagerly starting the 2nd novel in a trilogy. The first book was chosen by the students and they loved it so much they’ve asked to move on to the 2nd book, entitled “Forged By Fire”.
- Ms. Spiller & Ms. Lutz's classes had a fun time learning about Homeostasis and Cell Transport. This unit had a lot of hands-on labs including a Naked Egg Lab, Bubble Lab, and Heart Rate Lab. We had a lot of fun and smiles in room B-30. What better way to learn than to get up and get moving!
- Mr. Rampulla and Miss McClelland had fun with a volcano project in Earth and Space classes where students had to recreate a historic volcano and make a PowerPoint to explain the process.
World Language
Hola, Ciao, and Hello! We are excited to announce that we submitted an application along with schools from all over The United States for a grant to host an international teacher from China. This grant is part of the Teachers of Critical Language Programs (TCLP). We will find out if we have been awarded the grant next month.
What is TCLP? The Teachers of Critical Languages Program, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, is designed to increase the study and acquisition of important world languages in U.S. schools. Read more about the program here: https://tclprogram.org/
Classroom Corner:
- Signor Gleeson’s Honors Italian 4 & 5 classes are exploring life in Italy in the 1300s and talk about Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
- Señora Gregory’s Honors Spanish 2 classes utilized the peer edit tool in Canvas for the first time this year. They were able to help their partners catch written mistakes for their shopping mini-project.
- Signora Guida’s Italian 1 classes competed fiercely in a new Gimkit game, fishtopia, on their Chromebooks as a review game to practice for their upcoming test.
- Señorita Lamplugh’s Spanish 2 classes worked on reading strategies. Students were surprised how much they could understand with all the context clues and prior knowledge.
- Señor Maldonado’s Spanish 1 class is working hard to master present tense verbs with guided and independent practice.
- Señor Matwijec’s Spanish 1 classes did great work on a recorded assignment using the recording tool in Canvas.
- Señora Reffner’s Spanish 1 classes completed an online family tree and are now describing people, family, pets and general nouns. Getting matchy matchy!
Traffic Procedures
Truman Contact Information
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Twitter: @TrumanTigerBTSD