October 2015

Karen’s Corner

Settling into a New School Year …

We have just passed the halfway mark of the first trimester and the school year is in full swing! Our teachers are working every day to ensure our students are receiving the top level care and services they need to be successful.

Trimester 1 progress reports were sent home on October 14. Progress reports have been updated to allow our teachers to provide students with more positive feedback and comments. The updated digital format of the progress report also provides students and parents with more targeted feedback so that they have a clearer understanding of the student’s strengths and weaknesses in each subject area at this point in the marking period.

School Lane will be requestingInternational Baccalaureate to accelerate our application for authorization for the Diploma Program. We wish to offer the Diploma Program at the start of the 2016-2017 school year, meaning we must be authorized by IB in the Spring of 2016.

Plans continue to grow for the new International Baccalaureate campus building for Grades 7-10 at 3340 Tillman Drive that is expected to open in August 2016. An open house was held on Saturday, October 24 with many current and prospective families in attendance for the tours and information sessions.

A special note of congratulations must be extended to our 6th – 8th grade soccer team. They placed 4th in their conference which was enough to take us to the playoffs. The school has only had a soccer team for two seasons, and is one of the few schools in the area that does not have a “home turf!”

Current Enrollment: 1,090

All number grades are at their current capacity of 100 students except for Grade 10 with 65 students. Kindergarten has 125 pupils.

2015-16 Waiting Lists: 359

Kindergarten: 110

Grades 1-8 total: 248

9th Grade: 1

10thGrade: 0

High School Report

Our 10th grade students had the opportunity to take the PSAT test this month. Results will be delivered from CollegeBoard in early December.

Our teachers have started their Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) which takes the place of last year’s book club. During each PLC, teachers select a topic of interest for research, analyzation of their work, student work and an intense focus on practice.

GradesK-3 Report

Over the summer, teachers decided to focus on working with math groups as a different method of addressing the needs of our students. We are thrilled to say this is going very well, and students are continually sharing how much they are enjoying learning math, and how quickly they are learning skills they otherwise would have struggled with. To build upon on this focus, a handful of teachers will represent School Lane at a BER Math Conference in December.

Grades4-6 Report

Our grades 4-6 teachers have done a fantastic job implementing the new language arts curriculum and understanding our new structure for coaching and evaluating teachers. Teams are meeting weekly to analyze student work and develop an action plan to adjust for the individual needs of students.The current unit is focused on poetry. Students have spent time writing emails and phone scripts and reaching out to bookstores, coffee shops, and universities in search of poets to speak to their class. Local artists are invited to the classroom to discuss the writing process from their perspective and critique the students’ work.

Grades 7-8 Report

Our 7th and 8th grade schedule this year allows for lunchtime support sessions to be available to students each day. This opportunity allows them to use the extra time to catch up on assignments if needed. Several of our teachers who oversee this lunch have seen many students not only utilize this opportunity, but have already seen benefits from it.

Eighth grade students will hold their first exhibitions this month including a “Career Exhibition” in Design Technology and a science exhibition titled “Water You Waiting For? ID that Liquid.”

Learning Support

The SLCS Special Education Department provides direct and administrative services to many students with medical assistance. Enrolling in SBAP or School Based ACCESS program will allow us to expand and enhance the special education programs by receiving payment for these services for those particular students. SBAP allows Pennsylvania Local Education Agencies, or LEAs, to receive federal Medical Assistance reimbursement for providing IEP health-related services to Medical Assistance-eligible children as part of their Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Lee Ann Gordon, Vice Principal for Learning Support, has been attending Special Education Coordinators meetings offered by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit to stay current with the changing landscape of Special Education.

Upcoming Events and Closings:

  • Nov. 11: No School for Students – Veteran’s Day & Diwali
  • Staff Professional Development Day
  • Nov. 25: End of Semester 1
  • Nov. 26 – 27: School Closed – Thanksgiving

Board of Trustees Meetings

  • November 19: Regular meeting, 7 p.m.