Tuesday, August 31, 2010

First Day for All Students

Today we welcome back our 11th and 12th graders, in addition to our 9th and 10th graders who arrived yesterday. It will be great to see them return this year to our community. I think they will be able to sense the positive vibes that have filtered into the building this year.

Monday, August 30, 2010

First Day of School - 9th and 10th graders!

Today is the first day of school for 9th and 10th graders! I am so excited to see the returning students and meet the new ones. I am looking forward to this day of teambuilding among students and staff alike along with all the new information everyone will learn today.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Teachers Return!

Today is the day that all teachers return to the building. I am so excited for this year to start. Our teachers will spend the next three days focusing on getting prepared for the year, focusing on quality instruction and student achievement. Many of our teachers were trained in the Learning Focused Schools model last year and will spend two days revising curricula, units, and lessons to fit this model, which research has shown to spark interest in students and therefore improving their achievement. Many of those teachers who weren't trained in this last year will receive the training over the next couple days. In addition, our technical instructors will be working with their curricula to begin matching it with the improved PA state guidelines for technical education.

All in all, an exciting three days has arrived!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Changes to Tech

There are not many changes going on here at Tech this year, just improvements. The 2nd year into the Hybrid Schedule has given us opportunities to offer classes in an even better way for our students. Also, Mrs. Parks and the H.S. Admin team has worked hard to improve the 1st two days of school for students. No more reading sections of the handbook to the students during each period... that's all been condensed into the homeroom experiences so that meaningful activities and learning can now occur in each class on those first two days. I am so excited for Aug. 30th to get here...

Monday, August 16, 2010

Two Weeks to Go

It's unbelieveable that we only have two weeks to go until the school year starts! I am so excited about this year. The teachers have already been working hard to get their shops and classrooms in order. The administrators have been working hard to get the handbooks and school ready for everyone.

Here is a list of some new faculty members that we've hired this summer. We had amazing candidates for all the positions, so much so that we had a tough choices on whom to hire.

1) Mr. Gottuso, Phys. Ed.
2) Ms. Murray, Math
3) Mr. Tomevi, Reading
4) Mr. Collins, English
5) Ms. Haskins, Health Occupations
6) Ms. Smith, ELL (different person than the Mrs. Smith who teaches Social Studies :)
7) Ms. Ruby, Special Education