November 2012 SV In te rmed iate

H igh S choo l

Special Points of

Interest:

Record number of students

selected for Honor Choir.

Gifted students send care

package to Dominican Re-

public students.

Partnership formed with

local public libraries.

Inside this issue:

A Note from the

Principal

1

Honor Choir 1

Technology

Conference

2

Grief Awareness Day 2

Health & Safety 2

Featured App 3

Cultural Exchange 3

November 2012

November reminds us to be grateful for family and friends, and we, at the IHS, are

also appreciative in many other ways.

We’re grateful for:

Students being recognized for their

talents.

Opportunities to share our successes with

others.

Students who care about each other and

who try to make each others’ lives better.

New learning experiences every day.

Cultural experiences.

Community members who care about the

school.

Freedom to share ideas.

The list could continue, but we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support of education, your local schools, and students. We’re all in this together, and your

support helps to make our schools successful.

~Mr. Alan Cumo, Principal

A Note from the Principal

ord!! The students’ names are: Rachel Carmella, Josh DePas-quale, Lance Hahn, Hayley Hoss, Jeremy Irwin, Ellie Lahm, David Osorno, Lauren Ottaviani, Samantha Tedrow, and Alex

Traverso.

Congratulations are in order for many Intermediate High School students who audi-tioned to be a part of this year’s Honor Choir, which was held at Westminster College November 1-3. The Honor Choir is comprised of students from Beaver, Butler, Law-

rence, and Mercer coun-ties. Only the top twelve students from grades 9-12 in the four-county area are se-lected to be in the choir. This year, ten Seneca Valley Inter-mediate High School freshmen and sophomores were select-ed, which is a new rec-

Honor Choir Record

FACS Projects 4

Library Partnership 4

World

Philosophy Day

4

More . . . 4

Monsanto Grant

Presentation

Children’s Grief Awareness

Day

Learning and Fun 5

November 2012 Page 2

Educational Technology Conference

Health and Safety

IHS teachers Brian Carson, Jenifer McMurray, Michele Murray, and Tracey O'Toole participated in a panel dis-cussion on November 14 at the Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference (TRETC), a regional confer-ence attended by more than 400 participants this year. The panel discussion focused

on this year's conference theme, Connecting to a Digi-tal World, and was moder-ated by IHS Technology

Facilitator Linda Martin.

Panelists discussed their use of SMART Technologies, Moodle, teacher websites,

Bring Your Own Technology, and challenges faced while implementing technology in the classroom. The group was asked to present by SMART Solution Technolo-gies, one of the conference's

two major sponsors this year.

IHS students also shared their reactions to technology in the school through a vid-eo: Connecting to A Digital

World.

According to their website, "TRETC is the premier K-16 educational technology con-ference in Western Pennsyl-vania." This was the fifteenth

year for the conference.

Courtney Rifer from VOICe, a safe center from abuse, conducted a self-

defense program for females in physical education classes. His wife Sharon also participated to demonstrate as his partner. They are pictured at right demon-strating one of their escape and damage moves. The objective was to get the targeted victim in a released and more powerful position to defend from the perpetrator. They demonstrated from different positions, including ground and standing, and gave the students an opportunity to practice. Rifer also conducts a three-day program in health classes about healthy perceptions of and rela-

tionships with the opposite sex.

Students in Mrs. Sarah Smith’s and Mrs. Lynn Wagner’s Health 10 classes com-

pleted research on specific food products, such as yogurt, ice cream, salad dressing, breakfast foods, snacking nuts, cheese and others to determine the best purchase, based on healthy criteria. All of their research is displayed, and each class has the opportunity to check the research and to make a list of

healthier options that they would be willing to try in each category of food.

Grief Awareness Day

dren and of their need for

support. Thursday, November 15, was

Children’s Grief Awareness

Day. Students who have

experienced the loss of a

loved one were invited to

write that person’s name on

a blue butterfly, the symbol

used by the Caring Place in

Cranberry Township, to raise

awareness of the impact that

grief and loss have on our

student body. Additionally,

everyone was encouraged to

wear blue on November 15

to show support for all who

have grieved the loss of a

loved one. The mission of

Children’s Grief Awareness

Day is to raise awareness of

the impact of death on chil-

Caitlin DeVries and Julia Scanlon distribute

butterflies for Grief Awareness Day.

Mr. Brian Carson, Mrs. Tracey O'Toole, Mrs. Linda Martin, Mrs. Michele Murray, and

Mrs. Jenifer McMurray.

Page 3 November 2012

Cultural Exchange Made Possible through Technology The IHS Gifted Support Teachers have connected their students to the Dominican Republic! Through Peace Corps volunteer, Courtney Columbus, and World Wise Schools, SVIHS students are learning about the issues that the people in her town of El Palmar face on a daily basis. Ms. Columbus has already begun several initiatives including the organization of a volleyball team/league, an environ-

mental youth group, a stove ventilation project, and a water filtration proposal.

The plan is for the SVIHS gifted students to collaborate on several of these pro-jects over the two years that Ms. Columbus will reside in the small Dominican com-munity. As a first step, SVIHS gifted students contributed to a “cultural ex-change pod” that was sent to the Dominican Republic in late October. In order to introduce their counterparts in the Dominican Republic to American teenage cul-ture, they filled a box with books, games, candy, sports equipment, dvds, cds,

pictures, letters, seasonal items, and others, and shipped it to the DR.

Through the District’s SMART Bridgit technology, the SVIHS students interacted with Domin-ican students as they opened their pod on November 1, and the excitement was palpa-

ble. Our students are now anxiously awaiting the arrival of a similar pod from the Dominican Republic, which should be delivered sometime in the month of Janu-ary. Projects to support Courtney and her work are currently being developed by

these students at SVIHS, and more interactions are anticipated!

Featured App: Socrative— “Engage the Class Using Any Device” Bring Your Own Technology has greatly enhanced the technology experience for all students and teachers in-volved in the pilot program this year in the Seneca Valley Intermediate High School. Students enjoy using the technology they own and with which they feel comfortable. This enables them to learn in meaningful and relevant ways – ways that are breaking down the walls of the traditional classroom. One such technology app the students are using is Socrative. Pronounced like “socratic” with an “ive” instead of an “ic,” Socrative is an online student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises via smartphones, laptops, tablets, iPods, iPads, and any other device with inter-

net capabilities. Teachers set up their own accounts and construct a series of questions they would like the students to answer. These can be quick quizzes, multiple choice practice, short answers, or exit tickets. The teacher can receive instant feedback by watching live results or downloading a detailed report. It takes the students about twenty seconds to load the quiz which can be accessed by

any browser at m.socrative.com. All the student has to do is enter the room number supplied by the teacher. If they prefer, the stu-dent may place the free Socrative app (available from the iTunes app store) on their mobile device. Socrative is truly “as easy as raising your hand.” The one challenge to Socrative is that, although it adequately accepts and displays text, specialized characters like subscript and superscript are not currently supported. This is an issue for the math and science classrooms. In order to address this issue, Socrative is piloting a program through which they are studying ways of inserting specialized images into their online content. Brian Carson, a Seneca Valley chemistry teacher and BYOT pilot teacher, is taking part in the study by testing the feasi-bility of inserting different types of images into Socrative when constructing activities. Socrative is just one of the many amazing resources being utilized with the BYOT students in the Interme-diate High School. Another door into the world of learning has been opened, and the students and teachers alike are running through that door “full steam ahead.” What an exciting time to be involved in the world of education! Stay tuned to future newsletters for other exciting technology apps being used in the Intermediate High School.

November 2012 Page 4

FACS Projects

More . . .

Family & Consumer Science classes have been busy this month with various projects, including, among others, making gingerbread houses and pies from scratch. Consumer Foods 1 classes made and sent sixteen hous-es to PPG Place to be put on display starting on Novem-

ber 17, which was Light-Up Night. They will be dis-played through the first week of January when the houses will be auctioned off. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to Children’s Hospital. This is the ninth year that FACS students

have participated in this project. Students also made pumpkin and apple pies as part of a lab project. Students learned how to make pie crust from scratch and practiced their cutlery and measuring skills. The pies turned out beauti-fully!

Fall sports were recognized at a pep assembly held November 2 in the gym. In

addition, teachers Courtney Williams and Dana Hadley were presented with a $10,000 check from Monsanto to build an outdoor classroom, and Mrs. Mar-lesse Hames was recognized for being inducted into the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Student prizes were also awarded for a Halloween costume com-petition, and a teachers vs. students relay race was held, as well as a half-court

basketball throw for prizes.

Dr. Michele Eubanks, PT, came to two of Mrs. Jenifer McMurray’s classes to talk

about careers in Physical Therapy and other Allied Health professions.

On Friday, November 2, the Seneca Valley Science Honor Society held its

monthly STEM Lecture Series. Josh Suereth, Senior Software Engineer working at Typesafe Inc. and author of Scala In Depth, was the speaker. Suereth travels

around the world promoting technology, programming, and good manners.

World Philosophy Day

discussions are a monthly

event, with great conversa-

tions about “Big Ideas,” an-

chored by the teachings of

famous philosophers.

Gifted support students in

the IHS celebrated World

Philosophy Day on Novem-

ber 15. The third Thursday

of November has been es-

tablished by UNESCO

(United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Or-

ganization), as World Philos-

ophy Day, in celebration of

the importance of philosophy

in establishing critical and

independent thought. This

year’s theme is “Future Gen-

erations,” and students at the

IHS assembled to discuss the

importance of philosophy

and its relevance to teens in

the future. For gifted sup-

port students, philosophy

Pep Assembly

lic libraries on our webpages, share information about the databases

being offered by the local pub-lic libraries, and share required readings and book lists with the public libraries. Public libraries provide re-quired reading materials or borrow said materials for stu-dents when needed, provide assistance with homework and

research for students working on school projects in public libraries

that require access to school materi-als, provide access to the Reading Competition books during the summer months, and share information about Access PA with student patrons, post or share reading lists and required readings as they are provided by

school librarians.

Library Partnership

The Seneca Valley School District Library Department and the librarians from the local public libraries are teaming up to bring the best possible services to patrons. Librarians have been working on projects that will assist patrons in both public

and school libraries. Some of the joint ef-forts include: School libraries promote the summer reading programs offered by the local public libraries, provide public li-brary card applications to students and staff in school libraries, include links to pub-

126 Seneca School Road

Harmony, PA 16037

SV Interm ed iat e H igh S choo l

We’re on the Web!

http://www.svsd.net/Domain/782

Mr. Alan Cumo—Principal

Mr. Robert Raso—Assistant Principal

Mrs. Maria Brooks—Dean of Students

PROUD OF THE PAST, COMMITTED TO THE FUTURE.

Phone: 724-452-6042

Fax: 724-452-3718

Email: cumoal@svsd.net

rasors@svsd.net

brooksmk@svsd.net

Learning and Fun . . .

Health Class Pie Lab Self-Defense

Gin

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rbre

ad

Ho

use

s

Pep Assembly