West Times
Central Bucks High School West
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
That statement is a true testament to the athletes and coaches. It also speaks volumes to how much the CB West student-athletes, coaches and our fans are regarded throughout the SOL.
Congratulations to all of our coaches, student-athletes and fans!
FROM THE SENIOR HOUSE TEAM
The class of 2013 is gearing up for spring activities. They have held two prom committee meetings already and beginning to gear up for Mr. West. Good luck wrapping up college applications. Council continues to meet every Tuesday during homeroom.
January has begun and it is time to start working on your FAFSA if you are hoping to receive financial aid for college. The website to use is: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
You will need your tax information from 2012 to complete the FAFSA. Please save your
PIN number for future years.
In order to help first-timers with this process, we are offering a FAFSA completion session for parents on Monday, February 4th at 6:30pm. This will take place in our school library where there are computers for you to use. We will have Fran McKeown from PHEAA and Joan Hock, Director of Financial Aid at Delaware Valley College available to answer questions and guide you through the process. Please be prepared to use our school computers because laptops may not be able to connect to the internet. Also, bring any financial documentation that you may need to complete your FAFSA. RSVP only if you plan to attend this event to our secretary, Arlene Newman (anewman@cbsd.org).
Remember that you can find local scholarships listed on Naviance, under the "college" tab as well. This list is continually updated throughout the spring, so please check it regularly.
FROM THE JUNIOR HOUSE TEAM
- Junior Parent/Student Information Session
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 7:00pm in the Auditorium. Topics will include: interpreting your student’s PSAT score, SAT registration and information, Program Planning for Senior year, college search activities for the spring and summer of junior year.
- Central Bucks College Fair
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at CB South, 1100 Folly Road in Warrington.
Representatives from over 200 colleges, universities, and educational institutions will be available to answer questions and provide materials about their programs.
- SAT and ACT Test Dates and Registration Information
Juniors who plan to take the SAT’s and/or the ACT’s this spring need to register online for these tests. For information, dates, and registration information for SAT’s, go to www.collegeboard.org. For the ACT’s, please visit www.actstudent.org. You can also view this information on the Guidance Webpage, under the PSAT/SAT/ACT tab.
- Junior Prom
Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 7:00 - 10:30pm at Chefs on the Run in New Britain.
Ticket sales information to follow.
- 2013 Mr. West Contest
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 7:00pm in the Auditorium.
JUNIOR CLASS COLUMN INITIATIVE: RESOLUTENESS
The column for January is Resoluteness, which is defined as being marked by firm determination or resolve. Synonyms include bound, decisive, do-or-die, firm. You may know this word; however, when you begin a new year and make one, two, or twenty New Year’s resolutions.
As many people take the time at the beginning of this month to think about their New Year’s resolutions, they see something that they think can be done to change their life for the better. This is absolutely true. The New Year is a perfect time to change for the better. It gives you a set starting point, and there is plenty of motivation from the media, advertisements, and the people around you.
At a recent football meeting, we discussed how to set good goals, and how to stick to them. One coach told us an acronym that was quite easy to remember, and was very effective at explaining how to set goals. The acronym was SMART. “S” stands for specific. Make your goals specific. They should have to do with one thing, and not cover multiple ideas. “M” stands for measurable. I personally think that this is the most important part of setting a goal. Instead of saying, “I want to get good grades”, say, “In math I want to get a B, in History an A, and in English a B-.” This way, you will be able to tell when you have reached your goal. “A” stands for achievable. Make your goals achievable. Know what you are capable of, and what would not be practical. “R” stands for relevant. Make your goals relevant to your life. Don’t set a goal that has nothing to do with your everyday life, unless it is something you want to become a part of your life. “T” stands for time-bound. This means that you set a certain date that you want to have your goal accomplished by.
When you set your New Year’s resolution (yes, you can still do it even though New Year’s Day has passed) use this acronym to help set your goals. On behalf of the Junior Class officers and Leadership Circle, I wish you the best of luck in this wonderful new year!
CLASS OF 2015
Sophomore Parent Meeting Invitation
Guidance Counselors are holding an Information Meeting for Sophomore Parents. Topics will include Program Planning, Graduation Requirements, Understanding PSAT results, Career Plan, a brief College Planning Overview, etc. The Meeting will be held in the Auditorium on Thursday January 24, 2013 beginning at 6:30 PM. Please RSVP to Arlene Newman at anewman@cbsd.org so we know how many handouts to print. We look forward to seeing you on January 24th.
Ms. Dallam and Mr. Curtis
Sophomore Counselors
FROM THE SOPHOMORE HOUSE TEAM
Sophomore Class Council Meetings
Tuesday’s in Room E107
· January 15, 2013
· February 19, 2013
· March 19, 2013
Look for T-shirt sales soon!
Student Council hopes to hold T-Shirt sales in the cafeteria within the first few weeks of January. Look for our representatives to model our Class of 2015 T-shirts. Black shirts with winning Buck design in gold/yellow.
Look for Pretzel Sales every Wednesday and Friday after school in the lobby!
PSAT RESULTS
Sophomores who took the PSAT in October received their Score Report in Advisory on December 19, 2012. In addition to the Score Report students were given an explanation sheet and viewed a video explaining the Score Report and how to interpret their scores.
CB WEST'S BRINGING ANIMALS RELIEF CLUB
BARC is a first year club at CB West, and is already making headlines in our community. With roughly sixty members, it’s clear that the Bringing Animals Relief Club’s goals are important to our student body. So far this year, the club raised over $400 at a bake sale in November for the Bucks County SPCA. In December, we hosted a Santa Paws Event at the SPCA in Lahaska, where people brought their pets to have their pictures taken with Santa Claus. We set up an entire winter scene, complete with a Christmas tree, fireplace, and presents. All of this was made possible by the efforts of our club members, who volunteered their time to set up, host, and clean up the event. We received many compliments on our holiday spirit and enthusiasm as our members, dressed as elves, handed out hot chocolate and smiles to the people there. We raised $150 at the actual event, but we also presented the SPCA with a gift basket including different holiday treats and supplies. In the future, we plan to make more visits to the SPCA as well as other shelters and organizations in our area, to further raise awareness for the abused, neglected and homeless animals in Bucks County. We also will be having guest speakers, such as veterinarians, so our members can be introduced to careers that involve helping animals. We have high hopes for the rest of the year and years to come, and our accomplishments so far have surpassed all of our expectations.
FROM THE SHOP
The Technology and Engineering Education department would like to wish everyone a prosperous New Year. Right now in our classes we are pursuing the blend of art and technology:
In Architectural Design and Engineering, students are learning to communicate through one and two point perspective drawings for residential design of their house. Through practice and persistence, students are beginning to grasp this eye-catching technique to present the exterior and one room interior view in a technical, yet artistic view of their own design.
Materials and Processes students are “all over the place”. Projects to highlight include an original artwork scanned image converted to mathematical lines, then assigned tool paths in order to program the computer to carve out the artwork. Sound confusing? Not for our students. This is commonplace as they challenge themselves and the instructor to successfully implement the Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machine to carve out their projects in a piece of wood. Examples can be seen in our display cases by the wood shop. As mentioned before, a technical, yet artistic application of computer and design skills.
Our Sea Perch club is meeting every Thursday after school to begin prototyping our underwater remote operated vehicle for testing by the end of this month in preparation of competition in April at Drexel. Stop in on Thursday afternoons in c-131 to see our progress. Unlike our classes, it’s pretty technical right now. Once we get the vehicle to operate, then we will make it look good.
Finally, our ESCAPE club- (Educating Students Collaboratively by Applying Practical Engineering) has purchased a microcontroller that is called Arduino. Maybe you’ve heard of VEX and Lego robotics. They are both a great avenue to pursue with robotics, but can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to implement. Arduino is open sourced and costs under fifty dollars to implement in a variety of capacities- Robotics (servo motors), blinking LED lights, playing with sound and etc. More information about Arduino can be found at www.makezine.com. We plan to implement this technology in the 2013 summer ESCAPE camp held here at West and for our courses next school year. For more information about the ESCAPE club and ESCAPE camp, or to make a donation to the club please e-mail jtaylor@cbsd.org. ESCAPE aims to involve all school topics to learn a more holistic view of engineering and gain a better appreciation of the importance of a “hands-on, 3-D education.
Example of a CNC Project
Example of a Finished Perspective Drawing
An Example ESCAPE Project
Modified Electric Jeep with chassis elongated to fit a high school student. Arduino microcontroller can be attached to move the vehicle from point A to point B according to a program written by a student.
CREATIVE WRITING AT C. B. WEST
Students in Mrs. Waldron’s Creative Writing class have been busy submitting their work to various journals, contests, and magazines. Sophomores Kim H., Bridget S., Carly P., Elora K., Peyton T., Lexi H., Breanne B., Samii G., and Marissa W.; Juniors Maria M., Morgan H., Agata Z., and Gabrielle S.; and Senior David H. have had their poetry published in Teen Ink. Teen Ink recognized Kim H’s poem “ Sunday Morning” as an Editor’s Choice Selection. Bridget S. is working with Poetry WITS editor, Lavinia Kumar, on her poem, “You Don’t Have to be Lonely to Feel Alone.” Bridget’s finished poem will be published on the WITS website.
All poets should come see Mrs. Waldron for information on entering the Sarah Mook Poetry contest. The deadline is January 28th. Students can read about the contest at http://www.a2pwebdesign.com/poetrywits/poetrycontest/sarahmook.htm
Students who are interested in participating in the English Speaking Union’s Shakespearean Oratorical Competition should see Mrs. Waldron for more information or email her at jowaldron@cbsd.org.
CONNECT WITH WEST
Website: www.cbsd.org/schools/cbwest
Location: 375 West Court Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
Phone: (267) 893-2500
Twitter: @CBWestHS