Hello, William Tennent Families.

I am happy to report to you that the 2022-23 school year is off to a great start. For the most part, our students have been on time for school and for classes and are following the expectations for high school students. This year, we are focused every day on improving ourselves, improving each other, and improving William Tennent High School. We have seen many examples of this already as students make good choices, help each other, and represent their families and Tennent well in their actions.

Thank you to all of you who were able to join us for Back to School Night last week. I know you were impressed with our facilities and many of the courses we are able to offer here at Tennent. We also held Senior Seminars last week to assist our 12th graders who are applying to post-high school programs, and are proud of our seniors who attend MBIT and are already working in their fields in various internships.

Although our high school students seem much more independent than they were in middle or elementary school, please know that they do still need parents and guardians to be involved in their education. I encourage you to engage your students in conversations about school. Ask them about what they are learning that gets them excited, what makes them ask questions, and what challenges they may be having. These conversations help our students reflect on their educational experiences and formulate strategies to continually learn and grow.

We also ask for your assistance with your students by encouraging them to complete assignments, follow the dress code, and ask for help when they need it. Please check your student’s progress on Skyward now and again to ensure they are staying on top of their work, and don’t hesitate to reach out to our teachers and school counselors if you have concerns about your student’s progress.

Here at William Tennent, we are looking forward to our Homecoming game and dance, seniors sports nights, PSATs, Celebration of Bands, Powder Puff, and much more this Fall. Please be sure to check out our daily announcements which are linked to the Tennent webpage, and keep an eye out for eAlerts with more information about events.

As always, thank you for your support for William Tennent High School.

Take care and be well,

Dr. Henrich

By Emily Hildenbrand

Class of 2023

This past summer, two students who passed and received their lifeguarding certification from Mrs. MacInnes’ class put their skills to use. Julia Maranucci and Tyler Laurin both saved the lives of swimmers at public pools over the summer and credit their skills to the class they took here at Tennent.

Julia Maranucci is a senior at Tennent and took the lifeguarding class as a half credit last year. She received her certification following the class and was hired at Hatboro Public Pool over the summer. While working, Julia was running a usual swim test for a first time patron. “He was halfway through and began to have trouble breathing, which affected his swimming ability in the deeper area of the pool, causing him to be a swimmer in distress” said Julia. After noticing that the man was beginning to drown, she jumped into action. “I immediately entered the pool and brought him to the poolside safely. I was feeling a second of anxiety but it definitely went away as soon as I jumped in'."

Tyler Laurin is also a senior at Tennent and was working at Glen at Bucks Public Pool over the summer when he saved the lives of two people. Tyler was preparing to leave for his break when another family motioned to the pool where a mother and her baby were drowning. “They were actively drowning and they were facing me, so it was an active front rescue. Right as I jumped in and swam over to them, the mom was panicking and grabbed on to me. Thankfully I was right there at the wall to grab on and not go under too.” Tyler then helped them out of the water and made sure they were okay.

Julia and Tyler say they owe their quick reactions and lifesaving techniques to Mrs. MacInnes's lifeguarding course. Julia took the course last year with the aspiration of working as a lifeguard, along with wanting “a more in depth experience to work on the prerequisites needed for the certification instead of taking a weekend course.” Both Julia and Tyler would recommend this course to others, Tyler specifically saying that “lifeguarding was a great experience! The class was amazing and I’m really thankful that William Tennent allows us to take a lifeguarding course and educate people on how to save lives.”

By Emily Hildenbrand

Class of 2023

The Health Science Exploration Club (HSE) gives students a firsthand look at working in a hospital. Last year, Diya Parekh and Derek Sheldon created the club where they, along with Keith Thompson, Kelly Donnelly, and Emma Weinstein, were able to volunteer at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Collectively, they earned 184 community service hours and gained experience in working in a hospital setting.

The students interviewed and were chosen to volunteer at the hospital thanks to Tim Breiner, one of the guest speakers that HSE brought in during the school year. They were assigned shifts and specific days to work in various departments, such as sterile processing, food and nutrition, patient transport services, and the mother/baby unit. While working in the mother/baby unit, Keith would “deliver whatever patients needed like water and sheets and would escort patients wherever they needed to go.” They worked one on one with hospital staff and patients to get real-life experience working in a hospital.

They describe their experiences as informative, Derek saying “Although I wasn’t dealing with actual emergency situations or the stress of that, being in the hospital was a good look at how the environment works on a day to day. It was nice to gauge if this was something I wanted to do in my future.”

HSE was created with the intent to give students an understanding of careers in the healthcare field. They had multiple guest speakers come in throughout the year, each bringing along an opportunity, such as touring an ambulance, studying human lungs, and volunteering at Pennsylvania Hospital.

“If you’re looking to get involved at Tennent and you’re interested in medicine, this is probably one of the best ways to do that and I highly encourage joining if you want to gain experience, make connections, and have some genuine fun this year." said Emma.

This is the fourth year NAHS has participated in this program, under the director of NAHS advisor Ms. Janna Francis.

Senior Portrait Make-ups

Monday, September 19 & Friday, September 23

Schools & Offices Closed

Monday, September 26

SATs

Saturday, October 1

Schools & Offices Closed

Wednesday, October 5

Homecoming Game

Friday, October 7

Game vs. Plymouth-Whitemarsh begins at 7 p.m.

Homecoming Dance

Saturday, October 8