IN Plum Spring 2017 | Page 38

lum Borough

PLUM BOROUGH SCHOOL NEWS

High School Highlights

SPIRIT
Plum Borough High School is forming a SPIRIT student committee . SPIRIT stands for Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together . This is a research based program through the Pennsylvania Department of Justice . This program empowers students to identify concerns and collaborate on solutions . The school staff will identify natural student leaders who will participate in the program . SPIRIT helps improve communications among diverse student leaders and helps to improve student / teacher relationships . SPIRIT works to prevent violence and conflict among students in schools with changing demographic populations . The benefits of this program are :
• A student-driven program that teaches problem solving techniques .
• Students are empowered to identify and solve problems .
• Students learn new and better ways to develop solutions and make decisions .
• Natural student leaders from diverse backgrounds discover commonalities and appreciate differences .
• New safeguards are created to prevent conflict and minimize tensions .
• SPIRIT establishes a proactive model to use for collaborative problem solving .
Warhol Youth Arts Council Martin McPherson was chosen to serve on the Warhol Youth Arts Council . He was 1 of 12 high school students chosen from the Pittsburgh region to help plan , organize , and participate in youthcentered events at the Warhol Museum between January and June . He ’ ll get to go behind the scenes at the Warhol Museum , meet and work with exhibiting artists and museum educators , and explore connections between art , social justice , and community activism . He ’ ll have an opportunity to create original artwork in a variety of techniques and learn about career opportunities in the arts . Most importantly , he ’ ll plan and present public events at the museum such as their Youth Invasion and Annual Teen Takeover all while representing Plum High School in the process . He is very excited !
TMC17 Conference
Plum Borough High School teachers Stephanie Reilly and Tamar McPherson will be hosting a conference for teachers , by teachers , in Atlanta , Georgia in the summer of 2017 . These teachers ( Tamar and Stephanie are proud to count themselves among them ), blog to reflect on their practices , share ideas and questions , host weekly chats ( on twitter ) about different educational books , host “ global math department ” meetings every Tuesday evening ( online ) where volunteers present on topics such as differentiation , common core , favorite lessons , etc . Annually , these teachers host a real 3.5-day conference , complete with keynote speakers and full of valuable sessions . Teachers from across the U . S . and around the world attend .
This session will expose educators to Coding , Bootstrap , and Python . Coding gives students a one-shot exposure to coding in a nonthreatening and positive environment . Bootstrap combines algebraic concepts and coding through a gaming interface where students write the code to create their own game . Python is an easy to learn code that can be incorporated into all levels of math class without students needing a background in coding . Using trinket . io , educators can set up classes and provide templates for students , so they can focus on instructing the computer how to do the math ( without worrying about the syntax !).
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Becoming Better Math Students with Think Through Math™

Students in grades 3rd - 6th are taking part in a new software program in math this year . Think Through Math™ ( TTM ) was recently purchased by the school district to support its current math program , and to provide necessary remediation to students who need it . It is comprehensive in nature and engaging for the children .
Students regularly log into their TTM™ accounts and take advantage of personalized instruction offered at their ability level . They can do this both at school and at home . As the students progress through the lessons , they receive immediate feedback and corrections as needed — a live tutor is also available for assistance . Classroom teachers monitor their progress and can use the information to guide their instruction .
This personalized software is also fun ! Students are rewarded for their hard work , effort and perseverance with points , avatars and prizes as goals are reached . Classroom teachers set goals with their students , collect the points and can use them in a variety of ways . Nearly 1,000,000 points have been earned by Plum Borough students since October — that ’ s a lot of math work !
Here is a photo of Mr . Nesbit ( classroom teacher ), Mrs . Caruso ( parent ), Lisa Wise ( Think Through Math representative ) and Daniel Caruso . Daniel Caruso , 3rd grader at Pivik Elementary , was chosen as the winner in a nationwide contest recently . He won a Fire tablet , t-shirt , and travel bag as a reward for his work on the Think Through Math program over his holiday break . Congratulations , Daniel ! Keep up the hard work !
Additionally , 2 classrooms have already met their goals and have earned a pizza party . Not only is hard work rewarded by TTM™ , but community service is also encouraged . Students may turn their points into dollars and donate them to charity . More than $ 60 has been donated to charity this year . The Plum Borough School District also had a student randomly selected to be the winner of the “ National 12 Days of Christmas Contest ”. Dany Caruso , Pivik 3rd grader , used some of his winter vacation time to complete math lessons in TTM™ . As a result of this , he became eligible to enter the contest . He won a Kindle Fire . Working hard and going above and beyond , especially in math , really does pay off .