T O W S O N H I G H S C H O O L The TOWSON PRIDE I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : N E W S L E T T E R D A T E STARS- Weekly Accolades for Staff, Parents, and Students 1 STARS to our Staff, Parents and Students National Merit 2-3 Provides Opportunity Student Voices 4 News from our 5 Math Department What is Going On 6 Each week, individuals will be recognized for their contributions to the school. Staff members are encouraged to submit accolades that are worthy of the General s Star. Our staff and students strive for excellence on a daily basis. The comments listed below represent some of the recognition for our staff and students STARS to the Marching Band First Place in the Columbus Day Parade in Baltimore (sent by Ms. Mathena) STARS to the members of the Leadership Team for their efforts and time with the School Improvement Plan STARS to Ms. Sengebusch for highlighting our students in her Showcase of Our Stars bulletin board (sent by Ms. Travis) Upcoming Events 7 Community 8 Cleanup STARS to Mr. Greenebaum for initiating and implementing an introductory lesson on PSAT signal words for his 9 th grade special needs students. This specificallytargeted lesson will provide guidance for these first-time test takers as well as give them more confidence in what to expect and how to approach taking the test (sent by Ms. Mathena) STARS to Mr. Ickes for arriving really early for a scheduled meeting STARS to Ms. Mathena and Ms. Travis for their efforts and time with the School Improvement Plan STARS to E. Healey for creating the mural that will be displayed outside STARS to Mr. Gavin and Ms. Moyer who have volunteered their time and energy to run a fitness program for our students after school (sent by Mr. Walen)
P A G E 2 National Merit Provides Opportunity THE VALUE of the PSAT COMMENDED SCHOLARS through NATIONAL MERIT COMPETITION Next Wednesday, October 16 th, all 9 th, 10 th, and 11 th grade students will take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, the PSAT. The results of this test are used for recommendations into advanced placement classes. For students taking this test in their junior year, the PSAT is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test. The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition for recognition and scholarships that is open to all U.S. high school students who meet published entry requirements. Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The math and English departments have worked hard to prepare your children for this test. Math teachers have been examining previous PSAT problems and English teachers are distributing and reviewing PSAT study guides throughout the week leading up to the test. Students may not bring cell phones, ipods, cameras, or any other type of electronic device into their testing session. Although each math question can be answered without a calculator, students may bring a four function, scientific, or graphing calculator. No calculators will be provided by the school on the day of testing. Please be sure your child eats a healthy breakfast and arrives to school on time with two number 2 pencils on the day of the test.
P A G E 3 National Merit Commended Scholars D. Birkenthal E. Casehart C. Chang P. DeGuzman E. Fullerton H. Grant R. Herman C. King J. Klots K. Martinez B. Mondal Generals pride themselves on citizenship, integrity, leadership, and scholarship. R. Morgan J. Paffenbarger G. Palo H. Ross Y. Shi B. Spade A. Tenne H. Thomas A. White
P A G E 4 STUDENT VOICES... Towson High School Students share how they have been challenged in an interesting way during the first marking quarter. Now that we are midway through the first marking quarter, share a time when you were challenged in an interesting way In Mr. Stange s class, we were learning about how a markets works. We played a game that allowed us to apply our understanding. It was challenging because I had limited funds. - M. Fitzgerald In Mr. Hannah s class, we participated in a lab and balanced ph s. - G. Omole We did a scavenger hunt for enzymes in Mr. Hanford s class. - K. Abdur In Mr. Schneider s and Mr. Geckle s class, we did a lab on the titration of an acid using a base. We had to figure it out ourselves. - F. Okeke and L. Hamilton In Ms. Waldman s AP French class, we reference readings from real life. We have more interesting articles. - T. Okeke I really enjoyed when we covered negotiation in child advocacy class. - J. Strassman
P A G E 5 News from Our Math Department 2 A r Math News Pi are still squared! ( ) Math Help! (Now in 2 flavors) The math department at Towson High school will continue our free after school math help sessions to all students. Sessions are held Tuesday Friday from 2:25 3:05 in a specified mathematics classroom. A calendar listing the location of every help session is displayed in every math classroom and available on our website under Math Resources or http://towsonhs.bcps.org/faculty staff/ mathematics/math_resources/. We encourage all students to take advantage of this opportunity and bring specific topics/questions to those sessions. The math department at Towson High school now has an electronic way for students to get help while they are working on their homework. Students can go to the towsonhsmath wiki and type in their questions. Students need to request a username and password in order to have access. This site is managed by the Math Club and cannot guarantee instant solutions, but will be monitored and is another resource for our students. https://towsonhsmath.pbworks.com/w/page/58322494/ths% 20Math%20Home%20Page Students can get this information from their math teacher or email We are hoping that this electronic forum makes it easier for students to complete homework and stay up to date in their course work. Math Club and Honor Society Towson High students with an aptitude and/or love of math can join the math club. Students in the math club that meet the requirements and earn enough points will be inducted into the Mu Alpha Theta, the National Mathematics Honor Society. Students acquire points by competing in math contests, assisting with after school math help and other activities. Students will have several opportunities in the next few weeks to show off their math skills by competing in the MDML (10/15) and UMCP (10/23). Anyone interested should contact Mr. Hyman via email or drop by room 113. Graphing Calculator policy For over ten years, math courses have been taught and enriched through the use of graphing calculators. Towson high requires the use of a graphing calculator in all math courses except Geometry. These calculators are allowed (and extremely helpful) on the HSA, AP, and SAT tests! We require all math students to bring a graphing calculator to class as part of their required materials. If your child has a calculator and would like to have their name engraved on it, please have them report to room 113 in the morning or ask their math teacher. If a student lost a calculator in the past and can identify it, they should see Mr. Hyman in room 113 before or after school.
P A G E 6 WHAT IS GOING ON? Best of Luck to all of our Senior Athletes! We will miss you next year! SENIOR FIELD HOCKEY STUDENTS- Final Home Game @ Towson High FRONT LOBBY SHOWCASE of National Hispanic Heritage Month
P A G E 7 UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER 16 PTSA Meeting 7:15 p.m. library Senior Assembly PSAT for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors FACULTY MEETING AGENDA Monday, October 14, 2013 Show your support for our Music Department- Boosters Representative Student Learning Outcomes and Professional Growth- Ms. DiMino Observation Process- Ms. DiMino Math and the Common Core PSAT Mr. Stevens and Mr. Mooring Annual Homeless Training - Ms. Adrienne Dickerson Teacher Recognition- Mr. Olson
P A G E 8 Towson High School 69 Cedar Ave Towson, MD 21286 PHONE: 410-887-3608 FAX: 410-583-1375 COMMUNITY CLEANUP "Hello Neighborhood Leaders! The Greater Towson Council (GTCCA), Towson Chamber, Towson University and the Towson American Legion are having our bi-annual Towson Clean Up Day scheduled for Saturday, October 19 from 9am-12noon. We will be doing clean-up projects in downtown Towson, the American Legion triangle and in the neighborhoods. The American Legion is looking for volunteers from the Towson community especially military or former military residents to help with their stream bed clean-up. This would also be a good time to clean up the TRC field on the Legion property." Please email Mr. Mike Ertel at mertel@jacobscompany.com if you want to identify a project in your neighborhood and need student help or trash pick-up.