Life as a Revolutionary War Soldier – Penndale Middle School
(Rob Pecharo)
Former NPSD staff member Wayne Brunt will teach seventh grade history students what life was like as a Pennsylvania
Revolutionary War soldier through an engaging presentation. In period clothing, Brunt will explain the life experiences in the
Continental Army, the purpose and design of his clothes, the responsibilities of joining the army and the tools and food a soldier would use and receive. Drum cadences used in giving orders will be performed, as well as a demonstration of proper marching and battle field tactics. Brunt’s expertise is accented by the large number of personal items he has collected through the years from this period.
A Mix of American History and Culture – Penndale Middle
School (Lauren Morris)
Seventh grade English Language Learner (ELL) students from
Penndale Middle School will take a trip on the R-5 train to
Philadelphia. Upon arriving in center city, students and staff members will walk to Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Philadelphia Mint. These historic tours will be followed with lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, where they will also tour the market shops. This experience would teach them the history of the Philadelphia and the United States while also exposing them to the cultural foods of the Philadelphia area.
Developing Math Vocabulary – Penndale Middle School (Donna
DeTommaso-Kleinert)
Penndale Middle School English Language Learner (ELL) students in grades seven through nine will learn the academic language of math so they are able to understand English math vocabulary. The purchase of a Vocabulary Math Set will help increase ELL students’ understanding of the English math language so they are able to increase their performance in the math classroom. This program provides the support ELL students need to be successful when mainstreamed into regular math classrooms.
Philadelphia Rock Gym Field Trip – Northbridge School (Dave
Jost)
As part of the Physical Education curriculum during the first semester of the 2010-2011 school year, Northbridge School students will have the opportunity to attend the Philadelphia Rock
Gym in Oaks, PA. Students will work on climbing and teambuilding skills. This trip will allow all students to experience success while overcoming uncertainty and fear. These rock climbing challenges also build confidence and self-esteem. While rope and climbing activities improve student’s overall health and fitness, they also focus on student’s affective domains such as emotions, motivation, cooperation and communication skills.
Vocab Bowl – North Penn High School (Kevin Manero, Ellen
McKee)
Eleventh grade English students at North Penn High School will be able to participate in two Vocab Bowls, one in January and one in May. These fun and engaging academic events generate an excitement for learning, increase vocabulary knowledge and promote good study and high level thinking skills. Everyone involved enjoys this event that promotes teamwork and good study habits.
Women’s Voices Guest Speaker – North Penn High School
(Patricia Heim)
North Penn High School students enrolled in the Women’s Voices class are fortunate to have a licensed psychologist attend their class to discuss various issues surrounding healthy and unhealthy
(abusive) relationships. Students do not often have the opportunity to speak to a professional on this topic so this provides a safe and comfortable environment for them to do so.
Achievement Coaching: Student Goal Incentive – North Penn
High School (Sam Feeney)
Eleventh grade students enrolled in Achievement Coaching or
Academic Intervention at North Penn High School will have the opportunity to set one academic goal and one personal goal to be accomplished by the end of the second marking period of the
2010-2011 school year. The students who reach their goals will be granted the opportunity to see a live show by the Chamber
Theatre, a group that presents five short stories in a theater setting. This opportunity will help students learn how to set and monitor goals for themselves with the intention of achieving a higher academic level and personal success than ever before.
Presentation of Two Sections of the AIDS Quilt – North Penn
High School (Sally Kaufman and Andrea Roney)
Funds from this grant will supply the North Penn High School the opportunity to receive two sections of the AIDS quilt for the Equity
Cares/Broadway Fights AIDS Benefit that will take place at North
Penn High School in May 2011. This is an emotional and important display for not only the students and staff members of North
Penn High School, but also for the families and community members of the entire North Penn community.
The Joys of Reading: Part 9 – North Penn High School (Sally
Kauffman, Barbara Magarity)
The purpose of this grant is to create a life-long enjoyment of reading for the Teen Pregnant and Parenting Support Group at
North Penn High School. Members will receive an early childhood book each month to encourage reading to their child at least five minutes each day. Kindergarten teachers from one of the North
Penn elementary schools will be available to demonstrate to the students how to read to young children. Using a digital camera, each student will also receive a “Mommy Book”.
2010-2011 F
G
2010-2011 sch
30

Cooking Clubs – Extended School Care
(Marjie Scott)
Students who attend the Extended School Care Program at all 13 elementary schools now have the oppor tunity to participate in a cooking club that will be held one day a week for approximately three to four weeks. Learning to cook leads to conversations about nutrition and healthy eating, boosts self-esteem and gives students the opportunity to taste some foods that they may not otherwise be willing to sample.
Butterfly World Presentation – Bridle Path Elementary School
(Nancy Kahn, Liz Melville, Kathy Westwood, Maureen
Zazyczny)
Bridle Path Elementary School is excited to once again welcome back Mr. Mikula, otherwise known as the “Butterfly
Man” for an exciting science presentation to 95 first grade students. Mikula, an author, lecturer, photographer, habitat consultant and workshop organizer, will introduce the dramatic cycle of the natural world of butterflies using live and mounted specimens.
Community Based Instruction – Bridle Path Elementary
School (Stephanie Jablonski and Amanda VanVleit)
Through community based instruction, Bridle Path Elementary
School Autistic Support students in grades three to six will have the opportunity to practice basic skills learned in the classroom out in community settings. These students will take a field trip once a month into various community settings where social skills, functional reading and basic language and math skills will be reinforced.
Think Like a Robotics Engineer!
– Bridle Path and Kulp
Elementary Schools (Mike McNerney), Gwyn Nor and Knapp
Elementary Schools (Sandra Kopp) Hatfield and Walton Farm
Elementary Schools (Melissa Walsh), Inglewood and Nash
Elementary Schools (Janel Dalesio), Montgomery Elementary
School (Kurt Hinz), North Wales Elementary School (Kim
Detweiler and Amy Ryan Faga)
Gifted students in grades four, five and six at Bridle Path, Gwyn-
Nor, Hatfield, Inglewood, Knapp, Kulp, Montgomery, Nash,
North Wales and Walton Farm elementary schools will use teamwork, logical thinking, trouble shooting and problem solving to build and program a robot. This grant provides an engaging way for students to strengthen their science, technology, engineering and math skills while also supporting the development of interpersonal skills.
Community Based Instruction – Hatfield Elementary School
(Jill Flanagan, Sara Pileggi, Kim Seiler Tammy Weaver)
Through community based instruction, Hatfield Elementary
School Autistic Support students in grades Kindergarten through six will have the opportunity to practice basic skills learned in the classroom out in community settings. By participating in field trips outside the classroom, these students will gain an understanding of daily living skills such as money, time, safety, socialization and transportation.
Discovering the World Around Us – Hatfield Elementary
School (Marilyn Loeffler, Andrea Serrao)
Approximately 80 English Language Learner (ELL) students from Hatfield Elementary School will attend Peace Valley Park to learn about birds, their habitats and adaptations. At a later date, members from the Peace Valley Park Environmental
Nature Center will come to Hatfield Elementary School to discuss why rocks are important and how they affect life on
Earth. These visitations will teach ELL students about local birds and their environment while also correlating with the academic science curriculum.
Embryology – Hatfield and Walton Farm Elementary Schools
(Melissa Walsh)
Gifted students at Oak Park and Walton Farm elementary schools will become familiar with how the chick embryo develops from a fertile egg to a hatching baby. They will also understand what the developing embryo looks like and what to observe at various stages of development through posters, books, internet and observation of actual eggs incubating in the classroom. Students will be responsible for caring for the eggs as they develop and after they hatch.
Seeing Through Poetry – Hatfield and Walton Far m
Elementary Schools (Melissa Walsh)
Kindergarten through six grade gifted students at both Hatfield and Walton Farm elementary schools will attend a poetry workshop taught by the 2010 Montgomery County Poet
Laureate. The workshop includes reviewing contemporary and classic poems. Student discussions about word choice, imagery, metaphor and symbolism will occur, as well as writing activities designed to get them to see and feel language in unique ways.
Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students
Learn – Inglewood Elementary School (Nancy Adelman, Mary
Jo Dooling, Joy Lake, Kathy Lawson, Lisa Taddei)
Inglewood Elementary School students and staff will engage in classroom discussions called “Talk Moves”. Five “Talk
Moves” are used to strengthen learning and thinking as they build connections. This opportunity for discussion will allow the students to analyze and gain deeper insights of mathematical understanding while building student confidence and comprehension.
Family Engagement: Bagel and Books First Grade Monthly
Meeting – Inglewood Elementary School (Dianne Miok)
First grade students and their families at Inglewood Elementary
School will participate in a “Bagels and Books” event on the last Friday of each month. Inglewood staff will teach a selected topic each month and have resources available for parents/ guardians to take home with them in support of their child’s learning at home.
Math Survival Skills for Daily Living – Knapp Elementary
School (Susan Oldham)
First and second grade students in the Full Time Learning
Support class at Knapp Elementary School will benefit from the TouchMath General Math Program. These special needs students require appropriate skills for functional living, such as counting money and telling time. This program uses an innovative multisensory approach when instructing how to do these skills and provides a step-by-step program and plethora of materials which allows students to explore these math skills without fear or failure.
Making the World a Smaller Place – Kulp Elementary School
(Heide Pickens)
Kulp Elementary School students in sixth grade will build an awareness of their world today by using dry erase boards featuring the United States and the world. Students will be able to physically identify each state and its capital. On a global level, they will become familiar with the locations of ancient civilizations and the locations of countries currently in the news.
These materials will give them a valuable hands-on approach to label, interpret, identify, analyze, discuss and draw conclusions about our world today.
Project Voyager – Kulp Elementary School (Carolyn Janney,
Stephanie Voorhees)
This grant will provide second and third grade students an opportunity to delve deeper into science material by meeting bi-weekly to build background knowledge and apply science process skills. Student investigations of density and buoyancy will be scaffolded and culminate with the creation of a model boat that is able to hold a large amount of mass. In addition, students will utilize various forms of technology to analyze and revise prototypes and make their thinking visible.
Oak Park Sharks First Lego League Robotics – Oak Park
Elementary School (Donna Grabner)
Oak Park Elementary School’s First Lego League Robotics students work together on teams to research problems, come up with innovative solutions and present these solutions in a creative way requiring preparation, organization and careful timing and practice. In addition, students will also build and program an NXT Robot to complete missions developed by the Lego League. These missions and their levels of difficulty change from year-to-year. Two teams from Oak Park will then prepare for the Lego Robotics League season beginning in
September with the Challenge Kick-Off. These students are excited to once again invite North Penn schools to join in the robotics adventure by showcasing their work at a breakfast with professional engineers and scientists.
Oak Park Robotics Showcase and Breakfast with
Professionals – Oak Park Elementary School (Donna
Grabner)
The Oak Park Elementary School Robotics team will once again invite North Penn schools to join the First Lego League Robotics experience by participating in its second annual showcase and breakfast event. Here, students from various schools will share their programming and building skills, research and development, their gracious professionalism and teamwork.
All team members will share breakfast with professionals who will highlight their responsibilities in the work place and help students understand the value of being on the robotics teams.
Be a Buddy, Not a Bully: Box Out Bullying Assembly –
York Avenue Elementary School (Nancy Kaufman)
The entire student body at York Avenue Elementary School, as well as staff members and invited families and guests, will attend an assembly titled, Box out Bullying. This assembly is research-based and has shown dramatic improvements in students’ behavioral habits by presenting bullying prevention techniques in a creative stage presentation that incorporates the basics of the district-endorsed Olweus Bullying Prevention
Program. After the assembly, comprehensive follow-up materials are available for students, parents and staff members.
Electronics Learning Lab – Pennbrook Middle School
(Nicasio Lorenzo)
As part of technology education at the middle school level,
Pennbrook Middle School will now have an electronic learning lab that allows students to build their own electronic circuits.
More than 200 projects are available that teach students about transistors, diodes, capacitors, oscillators, electronic circuits and schematic symbols in a very simple and safe way.
John Halligan’s Presentation of “Ryan’s Story” – Pennbrook
Middle School (Denise Helsel)
Pennbrook Middle School will kick off its Olweus Bullying
Program in October 2010. At the kick-off event, John Halligan will present to the entire student body. His presentation will include the story of his son Ryan and how he was bullied to the point of taking his own life. Important lessons on the effects of bullying will be apparent through this incredible personal story. It is a first-hand experience presented in such a way that will touch every person who sees it. A parent/guardian presentation in the evening will also be held.
Introduction to Robotics – Pennbrook Middle School (John
Benedix), Penndale Middle School (Andrew Hollstein, Doug
Bosler, Todd Thatcher)
Pennbrook and Penndale middle schools realize the importance of incorporating engineering into its curriculum for seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Therefore, these schools are purchasing LEGO Education Robotics kits to create a
Robotics and Programming Unit. The LEGO Education Robotics series provides the necessary parts, software and progressive curriculum activity packs for use in both the classroom and after-school settings. Robotics is a popular way to also incorporate engineering concepts and mathematics and science methods into the curriculum.
Skateboard Manufacturing Project – Penndale Middle
School (Chad Gunzenhauser)
Students in the ninth grade Applied Technology Major class will complete a series of manufacturing projects throughout the year. Due to the high percentage of students who skateboard, this project would increase the number of students enrolled for this class. Innovative equipment, such as a thin air press and a laser engraver, will be used to help students build their own skateboard. Other objective areas that will be covered include woodworking, science, environmental impacts, design, business, entrepreneurship and leadership.