SLCS Is Always Moving Forward

October 2016 Karen’s Corner SLCS is Always Moving Forward Annually the Pennsylvania Department of Education releases School Performance Profile Scores for each school in the state. The SPP weigh a number of factors including PSSA & Keystone Exams, attendance and promotion rates as well as IB courses offered! As one of the few IB schools in the state, School Lane received a score of 83.9 (out of 100) this year showing a slight increase from prior years. We are proud of our teachers and staff who are continually working to ensure that our students are reaching their full potential and succeeding together.

This month students received their first progress reports of the trimester. Other successful events that took place include our Fire Prevention Assembly, where Bensalem Fire & Rescue gave our students in Grades K-6 the opportunity to explore Engine 222, try on gear, and learn about Fire Safety.

In sports news, the SLCS soccer team reached the championship game for the first time in school history! Ultimately, they fell short, but each student finished strong. Congratulations to all who were a part of this memorable season. As the seasons change, Basketball season is now underway.

We are very excited to announce that SLCS has applied to become a candidate school offering the IB Career-related Program (CP) to students in Grades 11 & 12. This program is complimentary to the IB Diploma Programme and will supplement DP courses with community service, internships and career readiness courses. The application is due in the Spring of 2017. We are also still on track for our DP Verification Visit on December 5 & 6, the final step to obtaining our DP authorization from International Baccalaureate.

Current Enrollment: 1,189 All number grades are currently at their capacity of 100 students with the exceptions of Grade 10 with 76 students and Grade 11 with 46 students. Additionally, Kindergarten and Grade 1 have 125 pupils; Grade 9 has 111.

2016-17 Waiting Lists: 364 Kindergarten: 114 (20 Bensalem residents, 94 from other districts) Grades 1-8 total: 243 At this time, Grades 9-11 do not have a waiting list

High School Report What is Paw Prints? Paw Prints is a new club at SLCS where our older students have the opportunity to partner with and mentor younger students. Upperclassmen have been given the opportunity to visit under classmen during homeroom to provide tutoring and other support. Students involved in the new buddy program look forward to future visits and bonding more with one another.

High School Report (continued) SLCS High School students took the PSAT exam earlier this month. Results can be expected in December. Students in Grade 10 have also started to work on their Personal Projects, which is a reflection of their IB experiences and will culminate in the spring.

Middle Years Report To help build community within our school, our 6th Grade Ambassador program has really taken off this month! At least once a week, SLCS students in Grades K-5 have a 6th grade ambassador who comes to their classroom and helps guide their mornings. We have received great feedback from students and staff alike and are excited to build on this as the year progresses.

Elementary Report Elementary students continued their strong start to the school year this month! One highlight for our teaching staff was dedicating our Professional Development Day to the subject of math. Teachers worked together and discussed many of the new strategies we have implemented and what has been the most successful in their classrooms. After this day, we held a parent information session to share these updates with over 100 families who were eager to learn about the adjustments we have made to the math program and the progress we have seen in ours students.

Learning Support This year our Learning Support has added an additional diagnostic tool to better determine student strengths and weaknesses is math. This gives us a clearer understanding of how to structure our learning goals and make the best instructional decisions in the classroom for our Special Education Students.

Eight staff members attended IB Mid-Atlantic Subject Bootcamp in Fairfax, VA this month. School Lane MYP and DP teachers returned inspired to share what they learned from experienced IB professionals at the workshop. We are also working with the George School (Newtown, PA) to arrange a site visit for some of our staff members to further build the relationship with another established IB high school in the region.

Upcoming Events and Closings:  November 8 – School Closed – Election Day  November 11 – Grades 11 & 12 Parent Information Night, 6:30 p.m.  November 22 – IB Campus, A Knight to Remember  November 24 & 25 – School Closed – Thanksgiving  November 30 – 5th Grade Night of the Arts, 6 p.m.

Board of Trustees Meetings  November 17 - Regular meeting, 7 p.m.