What's New at Peters Township High School

With a new school year, , comes changes. 

Principal sent an email update to parents and students about what's new at PTHS. 

In her letter, she discussed: 

• Updated graduation requirements.
• A new GPA calculation.
• Improved Graduation Honors system.
• A Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) implementation.

In addition to new teachers and new courses, Pavlik said the school's focus this year will be on preparing students for the Keystone exams, which are replacing the PSSAs at the high school level.

Other focuses will be infusing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) into more cirricula and embracing the BYOD technologies, which Pavlik said teachers and staff are excited about. 

"It allows our students to appropriately learn how to use their own technology devices to enhance their learning," she wrote. "During the first nine weeks, there will be 10 teachers who will pilot this initiative. These teachers will have their information posted in PowerSchool. The entire building will be open for all students to bring their devices every Wednesday during the first nine weeks."

Pavlik is "trying her hand at 21st-century technology" by posting announcements on Twitter. You can follow her at @ptprincipal.

PTHS has also added a "Current News" section to its website in an effort to keep important information at your fingertips. 

To ensure all students' high school experiences are "both challenging and exploratory," Pavlik said the teachers will be working diligently to align curricula to the new PA Common Core Standards.

Pavlik said other important changes will be how the school maneuvers its building and runs its science labs. The classrooms have been renumbered to create an easier flow. It is a simpler system with a Ground Floor, 100 Level and 200 Level. (The students were notified a few weeks ago, as well as PowerSchool updates and signs throughout the building.)

PTHS also adopted a five-day rotation schedule identified by days A through E. This will only impact daily study halls and science labs, Pavlik wrote. In the past, if a lab fell on certain days (i.e. Monday), students would meet less times during the year than other lab days. By moving to a rotation schedule, labs will always occur within the five-day cycle. The cycle day will be announced daily during the morning announcements.

Reminders: 

• Emily Sanders is the principal for grades 11 and 12. 
• Christian Lesnett is the principal for grades nine and 10.
• Grades are accessible via the PowerSchool portal.
• Review the dress code, which can be found here.
• The PTSA encourages all parents and students to join. If you didn't pick one up at Welcome Night, membership forms are available here.

For more, see the attached document.

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