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Superintendents Newsletter

March 2012

CURRICULUM HAPPENINGS
Curriculum Council
We are in the midst of Curriculum Council meetings this year for the content areas of World Languages, Library, and Language Arts. The purpose of curriculum council is to make recommendations regarding curriculum development and coordination. From there, task forces will be created to write curriculum guides, develop program goals, and suggest in-service recommendations based on curricular and instructional needs and the Curriculum Council recommendations. Task Forces have been meeting in the areas of Social Studies and Music to prioritize the recommendations from last years Curriculum Council and develop action plans to carry them out. Additionally, these areas will be revising curriculum and purchasing materials as needed to be implemented next year.
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Elementary Math Task Force has been diligently meeting to write curriculum and develop practices that are aligned to the Common Core Content Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. We are in the process of looking at texts and materials that will help to enhance our written curriculum and provide support for our elementary staff as we make this shift. Similarly, our Secondary Math Task Force will be meeting regularly to work on realigning our curriculum to match the Common Core. Task Forces in the areas of Visual Arts and FCS/Business/Technology are meeting throughout this year to work on any incomplete action steps and review implemented curriculum.

The areas of Science, Wellness/Fitness, and Guidance have now begun the second phase of the curricular review process. These areas have been meeting to analyze their implemented curriculum and determine whether there is a need to enter into Curriculum Council for next school year. As a reminder, all curriculum documents, the curriculum cycle process, Curriculum Council recommendations, and action plans can be found on the Departments tab of our website under Curriculum and Instruction.

Nothing Short of Tiger Pride at the Middle School and Northwestern Elementary School

Middle School On December 5, 2011, we held our first PRIDE assembly of the school year. Individual students and student groups were recognized for demonstrating the core values of our PRIDE. We are pleased to share that 103 students were recognized for earning all 5 of the PRIDE stickers. Students can earn these letter stickers by demonstrating the values of our PRIDE on a daily basis. Every staff member in the building distributes stickers. Students collect the stickers on the inside cover of their agenda books. Nine students were recognized during the second marking period for demonstrating our core values. Students and their families were asked to join team representatives at a breakfast recognition program in honor of the students. Each student also placed their handprint on our Tiger PRIDE wall near the cafeteria.

Northwestern Elementary The students and staff of NWE made the news in the Morning Call on March 11 about their Tiger Paws Program. The program is similar to the Tiger Pride initiative in the middle school. The Weisenberg staff is currently developing a similar school-wide behavior program. Thank you to all staff members for continuing to find new ways to help our students learn!

Northwestern Lehigh Educational Foundation Continues to Provide Funding to Support Extras for District Students
The Northwestern Lehigh Educational Foundation has been busy working to support the school district with a number of fundraiser and state grant programs. The Foundation has a number of new board members, and the energy we see at every meeting is exciting! We wanted to share some of the projects the NWLEF has funded for the district over the last few years.
Upgrades to the Environmental Lab at Northwestern Elementary School. Money to support creation of Environmental Lab at Weisenberg. Reading Intervention Resources for both elementary schools. ! Middle School World Language Program Online Pilot ! We are implementing a High School Interactive Whiteboard Project that will bring a total of 34 Interactive whiteboards to the HS.

Through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC), the Foundation has sponsored the following projects:
High School Marketing Program & Marquis High School Fitness Center Equipment Upgrades & Purchases Middle School Mac Laptop Cart for Related Arts Classes Broadcasting Equipment for the two Elementary Schools st Century Learning in Visual Arts 21 purchase of interactive white boards, document cameras, laptops, etc. for the Visual Art classrooms in each building

Since 2008, the Northwestern Lehigh Educational Foundation, through EITC Funding, has donated approximately $314,000 in new and enhanced services for our school district. In addition to the EITC Funding, the Foundation has sponsored the teacher Mini-Grant Program since 2007. Over that time, the Foundation has funded over $25,000 in programs for our teachers to have new and innovative teaching tools in their classrooms. These include, but are not limited to:
Voice Recording Equipment to be used across all grades Robotic Systems to be used in the HS Physics Classes Advanced math software for the HS

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Continued from page 3 Book Series for use in the MS Academic Literacy classes Several complete sets of musical instruments at Northwestern Elementary Flip Cameras & Digital Cameras for 3rd Grade Classrooms at Weisenberg Incubators and Egg Turners for Northwestern Elementary 3rd Grade Team Math Instant Learning Centers for Kindergarten at Weisenberg

The Food Service Department received a perfect CRE-SMI review in November. !The state reviewer was in for two days and observed lunch at the high school. !No findings were reported. !

Three Cheers for Food Services!

We are thrilled to have the support of the Foundation, and know that they have funded many programs that would not have been feasible within our budget. Dont forget the 2012-2013 Teacher Mini-Grant applications are available now! They are due to your principals on April 11th. Take advantage of this opportunity to request funding for a project you would like to have in your classroom next year! Look for opportunities to support the Foundation in their Fundraising efforts. Upcoming this year they hope to host a 5K, the Annual Golf Tournament and the Annual Clay Shoot!

Lily Seyfried at NWE

Jared Stitzel and Charissa Dengler at WEIS

The Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) mini grant that was received by food service department to promote bean sampling in the elementary schools was so successful that an abbreviated 4 week sampling was conducted at the Middle School beginning on February 9th.

Ventilation Upgrade to High School FCS Room Completed


Thank you to Shay Wagner and her students for their cooperation with Bob Kripplebauer, his staff, and contractors during the recent upgrade to the FCS ventilation system. The much needed upgrade improved the environment during foods classes so food preparation can be done without excessive steam and heat in the room. Bob had the foresight to bid the work to be done during the evening hours for the most part, limiting the impact to the classroom instruction. ! 4

strategic planning

Alesha White

Luis Rivera

Times are exciting at NWL as the Northwestern Lehigh Community works together to develop the Strategic Plan for 2013-2016. 113 community members, employees, and business representatives along with 23 students volunteered to participate in the strategic planning process. The District-wide committee officially began planning on January 25 and met again on February 29th. The focus of the first two sessions was on revising the Districts vision and mission statements, updating the description of our educational community, and converting and revising our belief statements into shared values. Employees and community members were invited to complete a survey that accompanies the PA Department of Education (PDE)
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strategic planning process. The survey results will assist the school teams with the development of building/department and District goals. Building and District teams will meet during the months of March and April to develop action plans to support goals identified as priorities. If youre unable to attend a meeting, you can follow our progress on the wiki! All strategic planning information is posted on our website at https:// nwlsd.wikispaces.com/. Check the website frequently for updates.

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Continued from page 5 Student Focus Groups - Capturing Student Voices! Students provided insight into planning through interviews during Focus Groups. If you really want to know how our students learn, just ask and they will tell you! That is exactly what 23 of our elementary, middle, and high school students did. Jennifer and I met with students at each of our four buildings. They answered questions we asked them about how they learn best, what activities provided them with good learning experiences, and how technology plays a role in helping students learn and how do they think technology will play a role in the future of education. Jennifer, along with some technical assistance of Kathy Fiedler, created a DVD of the student interviews that was shown at the February 29th Strategic

Planning Meeting. I sincerely appreciate the students for their willingness to talk with us. The students who participated in the interviews are Alesha White, Emma Burton, Luis Rivera, Brianna Althouse, Michael Rader, Eric Bilous, Molly Mitman, Domenick Harding, Samantha McGinley, Taylor Page, Elizabeth Fornauf, Jarett White, Mikaela Koenig, Abigale Chisdak, Jackson Bernhard, Jacob Reppert, Zach Anderson, Allyson Myers, Matthew Caccesse, Ali Lister, Ryan Sellers, Alex Bobbyn, and Jenny VonHolt. The DVD is too large to place on our website, but Jennifer would be happy to share it with employees. The next two Strategic Planning Meetings are scheduled for May 8 and May 30.

Benchmarking Shows Improved Performance at All Schools

Principals in each of our four schools report measurable improvement in student performance as measured by benchmark assessments. Additionally, middle and high school staff report that students are improving reading skills through the use of the Reading 180 program in
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the middle and high schools. I have confidence that your hard work along with that of the students will produce excellent PSSA scores!

2012-13 Budget
2012-13 Budget

Work officially began on the 2012-13 budget in December. The Board passed a resolution to stay within the Act 1 index, which for NWL is 2%. That means our millage cannot go above a 2% increase. The employees of our District worked diligently over the past years, most specifically the past three years, to work as effectively and efficiently as possible. All of our employees have been cautious and efficiency conscious of expenditures, spending funds as needed to support the learning of our students. The Board set goals for the 2012-13 budget, which are very similar to the goals of the 2011-12 budget. I appreciate all of your efforts in continuing to provide the best education we can afford for our children and our community. It is your collective efforts that make NWL a great place to live, work, and learn!

Goals for the 2012-2013 Budget are as follows: Maintain instructional programs with modifications, as necessary. Provide appropriate class sizes. Align the budget with strategic planning mission, vision, and goals. Develop a budget with long-term & short-term focus. Continue to identify areas to maximize efficiencies without negatively impacting programs. Maintain current tax millage level.

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