610 Wistar Road, Fairless Hills, PA 19030 215-949-1700 www.bcths.com February 2017 Edition Leon Poeske, Ed.D. Administrative Director STUDENTS OF THE MONTH Henry DeGeorge Assistant Director Congratulations to our January Students of the Month! Sharon Rendeiro Business Administrator SENIORS JUNIORS Joseph Fullerton Madeline Bobst Jonathan Everly Principal Louis Yacullo Kendell Lewis Robert Azar Assistant Principal SOPHOMORES FRESHMEN Kevin Gentilcore Zachary Scheele Zachary Foster Pupil Services Supervisor Marisa-Jade Hannon Diya Putthan Pegeen Kopera Special Education Supervisor SKILLS FOR LIFE ACADEMY Giani Napoli BENSALEM Kathleen Lesnevec Wayne Lewis David Rizzo BRISTOL BOROUGH Kelly Cochran DRAMA CLUB BRISTOL TOWNSHIP Kellie Buchanan Stacy Gerlach Gallus Obert th th th th March 17 , 18 , 24 & 25 MORRISVILLE Joseph Gilleo Get your tickets now before they’re gone! NESHAMINY Mike Morris Ron Rudy Marty Sullivan PENNSBURY Join Shrek and his loyal steed Donkey as they set off Kim Hilty on a quest to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. Gary Sanderson Christian Schwartz Page 1 of 24 FEBRUARY CELEBRATIONS Americans see the human heart as the symbol of February 27, 2017 love. February is American Heart Month, a Joint Board Committee Meeting time to show yourself the love. Learn about your March 7, 2017 risks for heart disease and stroke and stay "heart Appeals Day healthy" for yourself and for your loved ones. Authority Meeting Black History Month was created in 1926 by March 10, 2017 Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American Designer Bag Bingo & historian, scholar, educator, and publisher. It Basket Auction became a month-long celebration in 1976. The March 17 & 18, 2017 month of February was chosen to coincide with Spring Musical the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. March 22, 2017 In-Service/Act 80 Day National Career & Technical Education No School for Students Month is an annual celebration of career & technical education community members’ March 23, 2017 Senator-for-a-Day achievements and accomplishments. Career & Technical Education (CTE) is crucial in providing March 24 & 25, 2017 the strong workforce training needed to fill the Spring Musical good-paying jobs vital to restoring the economic health of our nation. This year’s theme is March 27, 2017 “Celebrate Today: Own Tomorrow!” Joint Board Committee Meeting April 4, 2017 Challenge Day April 13-17, 2017 ROTARY STUDENT Easter Break April 19-21, 2017 OF THE MONTH SkillsUSA State Competitions April 24, 2017 Congratulations to Joint Board Committee Meeting Riley was recently named Langhorne Rotary’s February Student of the Month. A senior in Multimedia Digital Design & Programming, Riley resides in the Neshaminy School District. Page 2 of 24 JOINT BOARD COMMITTEE Every year in January we salute a special group of individuals who help run the schools in our community – our school board members. These dedicated men and women are knowledgeable, hard-working volunteers who care deeply about public education. We thank them for the long hours spent at meetings, making difficult decisions on our behalf, and for listening to our concerns. Meet the members of our Joint Board Committee. (L-R Back) Gary Sanderson (Pennsbury); Mike Kopakowski, Superintendent (Morrisville); Joe Gilleo (Morrisville); Gallus Obert (Bristol Twp.); David Rizzo (Bensalem); Wayne Lewis (Bensalem); Ron Rudy (Neshaminy); Marty Sullivan (Neshaminy); Christian Schwartz (Pennsbury). (L-R Seated) Kelly Cochran (Bristol Borough); Kathleen Lesnevec (Bensalem); Kim Hilty (Pennsbury); Stacy Gerlach (Bristol Twp.); Kellie Buchanan (Bristol Twp.) Missing from the picture: Mike Morris (Neshaminy) At Bucks County Technical High School, our mission is to prepare all students for careers, post-secondary education, and life-long learning, by providing knowledge and practical skills through high quality, integrated, standards-driven curriculum, access to current technologies, work-related experiences, and partnerships within the community. Page 3 of 24 DESIGNER BAG BINGO AND BASKET AUCTION HERE IT IS…The event we’ve all been waiting for... and BASKET AUCTION with a TWIST! Tickets are now on sale in the Main Office for the 6th Annual Designer Bag Bingo and Basket Auction on Friday, March 10th at 7:00pm, sponsored by the BCTHS Parent Boosters. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door (if available). 8 or more tickets will reserve a table. We are also accepting any basket donations or items that can be used in baskets. This fundraiser is extremely popular with the community and tickets sell out fast. Don’t wait to purchase yours. For more information, contact Mrs. Hawke 215-949-1700 ext. 2918 or [email protected] Page 4 of 24 NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK National School Breakfast Week is March 6-10. Surveys show that breakfast does more than provide energy and satisfy a growling stomach. This year’s theme, “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” encourages students, staff and school officials to increase their participation in school breakfast. Breakfast week highlights how eating a nutritious breakfast helps students fuel up for success in the classroom and beyond. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, students who eat breakfast are more likely to behave better in school than those who do not eat breakfast; eating breakfast can help improve standardized test scores, as well as memory and attention span; and eating a nutritious breakfast helps students achieve success in the classroom and beyond. We know we can count on our Cafeteria Manager, Mr. Tony Mazzocchi, to provide our students with a nutritious breakfast every day. Helping us celebrate National School Breakfast Week are two members of our cafeteria staff, (L-R) Mrs. Jane Nowakowski and Mrs. Irene Cartolaro, who remind us to eat our fruits & vegetables and to live a healthy lifestyle. In our December 2016 newsletter, we mentioned that Mr. Bill Bacon’s Collision Repair Technology students were in the process of painting the storage cabinets in our cafeteria. To say they were in bad shape was an understatement. We are happy to report that the cabinets are done and looking great. Check out the teal and white cabinets in this picture, you can see that the students did an excellent job repainting our cabinets. Page 5 of 24 VALENTINE’S DAY TRIVIA Since Valentine’s Day is held in February, let’s see what you know about this flower sending, candy eating day! Every Valentine’s Day, postal offices in the Italian city of Verona where Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet lived, receive around 1,000 love letters addressed to Juliet. The Greeting Card Association estimates that almost 200 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year. Throw in online cards and handmade ones exchanged among children and that number probably exceeds 1 billion. It is thought that the X symbol became synonymous with the kiss during medieval times. Those who were unable to read or write signed official documents with an X in front of a witness and then kissed the X to demonstrate their sincerity. More diamond rings are purchased in February than in any other month. Approximately 3% of pet owners will give Valentine’s cards to their pets. In the 1800’s, Doctors would advise their patients to eat chocolate to ease the pain of a broken heart. During the 1700’s it was traditional for girls to write the names of local men on pieces of paper and then wrap the paper in clay which would then be dropped in water. When the clay dissolved, the pieces of paper would float to the surface and the first name that floated to the top would predict who the girl would marry. The first heart-shaped box of chocolates was manufactured and distributed by Richard Cadbury in 1868. Before WW1, sweetheart, or conversation, candies came in a variety of shapes, including baseballs, horseshoes, and watches. To make enough sweetheart candies for Valentine’s Day, production for the next year starts right after the holiday, in late February, and continues until mid-January. More than 8 billion of the candies are manufactured each year – that’s right folks, that’s about 100,000 pounds per day! Page 6 of 24 POETRY OUT LOUD Back in December, BCTHS students, accompanied by English teacher, Dr. Mike Breece, competed in the National Poetry Out Loud Competition. We are pleased to announce that Landscaping senior Josh Reiling won second place and HVAC senior Dimitriuz Leupold, won first place. As a first place winner, Dimitriuz then represented our school at the regional competition in Philadelphia on January 28th where he successfully recited three poems: “Personal”, by Tony Hoagland; “Peligro”, by Stuart Dybeck; and “A Birthday”, by Christine Rossetti. Josh and Dimitriuz both reside in the Bristol Township School District. (L-R) Dr. Breece proudly presented Josh & Dimitriuz with their awards. SCHOOL-TO-CAREER NEWS Every month, we try to highlight a school-to-career student in our newsletter. This month we recognize Austin Squillace who is a senior in Mr. Bennet’s Civil Engineering Technology program. Austin is a cooperative education student at SAS Geospatial in Doylestown, is #1 in his senior class, and is a two-sport athlete at Bensalem High School. Here he is with BCTHS School- to-Career Coordinator, Mr. Ron Martino, at his last high school basketball game. Page 7 of 24 CUPCAKE WARS Seniors in Chef Kelly Laba’s Baking & Pastry Arts class recently competed in the BCTHS CUPCAKE WARS! Each group of students was responsible for the creation of three different types of cupcakes as well as a display for the cupcakes. The theme was LOVE and the secret ingredient was CHOCOLATE! Staff members were invited to sample the students’ creations, judge their creativity, and then cast their vote for their favorite group. That’s our Principal, Mr. Fullerton, in the back Page 8 of 24 KEY CLUB January 27th was KEY CLUB MINI-THON HAT DAY! For a $2 donation to the BCTHS Mini-Thon, students and staff were permitted to wear an appropriate hat for the entire day.