The Bloomsburg Area High School Principal's Homepage...

Dear Parents of BHS Seniors,

I hope this letter finds you brimming with anticipation for the year-end events that will celebrate your child’s Bloomsburg School District experience. This is a hectic, exciting and emotional time as the students complete final exams, attend many special events and say farewell to their friends. Many students are eager to move on from BHS but many more are anxious about leaving a place that has been a second home; we hope to both celebrate and support students through this important transition! Needless to say, this is a time for us to celebrate you as well and the tremendous contribution you have made to your child’s high school experience. Many of you have made great sacrifices to let your child grow and flourish with us and we thank you for allowing us to be part of this journey with your child and, indeed, with your family.

Our partnership with you continues through commencement and we hope you will reinforce to your child the importance of finishing strong, which includes attention to the following important matters:

• Student obligations must be cleared prior to receipt of diploma (Students with an obligation will not walk at Commencement) I strongly encourage all parents to check with the main office of the high school to clear up any obligations prior to June 1^st
• 2008 Prom, May 30, 7:00 – 10:30 PM at Danville Elks
• Commencement Rehearsal – Wednesday, June 4^th, 8:00 AM at High School Auditorium (Mandatory)
• Commencement Rehearsal - Thursday, June 5^th, 8:00 AM at High School Auditorium (Mandatory)
• Baccalaureate - 6:00 PM, Thursday, June 5, 2008 at High School Auditorium
• Commencement Rehearsal - Friday, June 6^th, 3:30 at Bloomsburg University HAAS Auditorium, Mitrani Hall (Mandatory)
• 2008 Commencement – 6:00 PM, June 6, 2008 at Bloomsburg University HAAS Auditorium, Mitrani Hall
• Anyone in need of a handicap parking space should inform security upon arrival

As a parent and principal, I send to you my heartfelt congratulations on your sons'/daughters' graduation, and my sincere appreciation for your help and understanding with our high school. Please review the attached information pages for the end of the year exam and commencement schedule of events.

Sincerely,

Daniel P. Bonomo

Daniel P. Bonomo, Principal

Bloomsburg High School

B.H.S. 2007/2008 End of the Year Schedule

***All students will follow the same bell schedule***

Wednesday, May 28 (Senior Final Exams)

7:45 AM – All students report to homeroom

Period 1 – 7:57 – 9:24, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 11 – 9:27 – 10:54, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 5/6/7/8/9 regular bell schedule (period 8/9 final exam)

Period 2 – 1:00 – 1:21

Period 3 – 1:23 – 1:44

Period 4 – 1:46 – 2:07

Period 10 – 2:09 – 2:30

Thursday, May 29 (Senior Final Exams)

7:45 AM – All students report to homeroom

Period 2 – 7:57 – 9:24, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 3 – 9:27 – 10:54, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 5/6/7/8/9 regular bell schedule

Period 1 – 1:00 – 1:21

Period 4 – 1:23 – 1:44

Period 10 – 1:46 – 2:07

Period 11 – 2:09 – 2:30

6:30 PM – Scholarship Awards Ceremony, B.H.S. Auditorium

Friday, May 30

No Final Exams due to Prom (Danville Elks)

8:00 AM – All Sports Awards Ceremony (BHS Auditorium)

Use the afternoon to review for the next round of final exams, or do that special experiment that there wasn’t enough time for during the year…Maybe a short reading assignment and discussion on something that you really wanted to do…Please do not show a movie.

Prom participants, 11:00 Dismissal

2:30 Dismissal for all non-prom students

Monday, June 2 (Senior Final Exams)

7:45 AM – All students report to homeroom

Period 10 – 7:57 – 9:24, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 1 and 2 – regular bell schedule

Period 5/6/7/8/9 – regular bell schedule

Period 3 – 1:00 – 1:28

Period 4 – 1:31 – 1:59

Period 11 – 2:02 – 2:30

Tuesday, June 3 (Senior Final Exams)

7:45 AM – All students report to homeroom

Period 4 – 7:57 – 9:24, (2 period block - final exam)

Period 1 and 2 – regular bell schedule

Period 5/6/7/8/9 – regular bell schedule

Period 3 – 1:00 – 1:28

Period 10 – 1:31 – 1:59

Period 11 – 2:02 – 2:30

All senior student obligations are due to the office

Senior grades are due to the guidance office by 2:00 PM

Verification sheets are due to the guidance office by 9:00 AM Wednesday, June 4th^.

Wednesday, June 4 (Grades 9 - 11 Final Exams Begin)

8:00 AM – Seniors report to Auditorium for Commencement Rehearsal

7:45 – 9:20 – Period 7/8 & 8/9 Final Exam

9:35 – 11:10 – Period 2 Final Exam

11:10 – Students who do not have to make up final examinations or other assignments may leave at 11:10

Thursday, June 5 (Grades 9 - 11 Final Exams)

8:00 AM – Seniors report to Auditorium for Commencement Rehearsal, Cap & Gown Distribution will take place immediately following rehearsal

7:45 – 9:20 – Final Exam Period 3

9:35 – 11:10 – Final Exam Period 4

11:10 – Students who do not have to make up final examinations or other assignments may leave at 11:10

6:00 PM Baccalaureate, B.H.S. Auditorium

Friday, June 6 (Grades 9 - 11 Final Exams)

7:45 – 9:20 – Final Exam Period 5/6 & 6/7

9:35 – 11:10 – Final Exam Period 10

11:10 – Students who do not have to make up final examinations or other assignments may leave at 11:10

3:20 Class of 2008 report to Mitrani Hall for Commencement Rehearsal

3:30 Commencement Rehearsal Begins

5:15 Commencement Rehearsal Concludes

5:15 Doors open to the public

5:40 Class of 2008 Line-up

6:00 B.H.S. Class of 2008 Commencement

All 9^th-11^th grade student obligations are due to the office by 2:00 PM

Monday, June 9 (Grades 9 - 11 Final Exams)

7:45 – 9:20 – Final Exam Period 11

9:35 – 11:10 – Final Exam Period 1

11:10 – Students who do not have to make up final examinations or other assignments may leave at 11:10

Student grades are due to the guidance office by 1:00 PM

Verification sheets due to the guidance office by 2:00 PM

Tuesday, June 10 (Last day of school) (Day 1 schedule)

(All teachers and aides are to assist with managing the halls during locker cleanout)

7:45 – 9:15 – Homeroom (Student Locker Cleaning, see schedule)

9:20 – 9:40 – Period 1

9:43 – 9:50 – Period 2

9:53 – 10:00 – Period 3

10:03 – 10:10 – Period 4

10:13 – 10:20 – Period 5/6 & 6/7

10:23 – 10:30 – Period 7/8 & 8/9

10:33 – 10:40 – Period 10

10:43 – 11:10 – Period 11

11:10 – Student Dismissal

All students will receive their report card prior to dismissal

The Following is taken from the Pennsylvania Department of Education PDE Web pages...

New High School Requirements: Fact vs. Fiction

FICTION: The proposed graduation requirements mean students have to pass a single, “high stakes” test.

FACT: The proposal gives students lots of ways to show they have the skills in English, math, science and social studies to succeed in college and careers:

· by passing new Graduation Competency Assessments (GCAs) OR

· passing the PSSA OR

· passing an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test OR

· passing a local assessment that independent evaluators certify is equivalent to

· the state Graduation Competency Assessments

The GCAs are a series of pass/fail exams – not one test - administered throughout high school. Students take each exam when they feel ready. If they fail, they can take it again until they pass. It’s not “high stakes” if you can take it when you feel prepared and take it again if you fail.

FICTION: There is nothing wrong with the existing system for awarding diplomas. We don’t need new high school graduation requirements.

FACT: The existing system allows 501 school districts to have 501 different standards

for graduation. A diploma has to have meaning to an employer 5 miles, 50 miles and

500 miles away from a student’s school district. Yet in 2006, 57,000 students got a

diploma without showing academic proficiency. It cheats our kids and can give them

false belief they are prepared when they are not.

FICTION: Pennsylvania is moving too fast. More time should be taken to examine this proposal.

FACT: Twenty-two other states already have high school graduation requirements

and four more states are in the process of implementing them. Pennsylvania

convened a blue-ribbon panel to study these issues in 2005 and the Commission on College and Career Success released its final report in 2006. Over the last six

months, the State Board of Education has held six regional public roundtable

meetings, a public hearing and five public committee meetings on this idea. Now we

are at the formal beginning of the regulatory process – which still includes a public comment period and review by two legislative committees and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.

FICTION: The graduation requirements undermine local control by preventing local school districts from using their current local assessments.

FACT: School districts can keep using their own local assessments, provided

those assessments are at least as rigorous as GCAs. We are not dictating what districts can do; we are giving them yet another tool for assessing graduate readiness. And we are making sure that every high school graduate is ready for college and careers – because the real world does not care what high school our students attended, it cares that they have the skills to succeed.

FICTION: GCAs represent more tests that compete with classroom instruction time.

FACT: Schools will be able to replace the current final exams with the GCAs.

GCAs are not additional tests, they are better tests.

FICTION: GCAs put students who don’t “test well” at a disadvantage.

FACT: GCAs are a series of pass/fail exams that can be taken throughout the high

school years, as many times as needed, and when the student being tested is ready.

Much of the stress and pressure many students feel when taking a major test is

mitigated.

FICTION: GCAs are another unfunded state mandate.

FACT: The state – not school districts – will pay the full cost of developing GCAs, providing them to school districts, and scoring them. The state will also pay for

additional supports to help students succeed when they take the tests.

Additionally, the state will offer school districts:

• a voluntary curriculum in the four subjects where students must pass tests,
• strategies for identifying students who need help and ways to effectively
• boost their academic skills, accompanied by new financial resources, and
• improved teacher training.

FICTION: The proposed high school graduation requirements ignore the needs of English Language Learners and special education students.

FACT: Sensible accommodations would be made for students with disabilities

and English Language Learners. The draft regulations direct the Department of Education to give schools guidance on accommodating students with disabilities and English Language Learners. The nation as a whole is grappling with the

issue of accommodating and integrating non-English speaking people into our schools, our culture and our economy. That needs to be part of that dialogue.

FICTION: Instead of pushing for high school graduation requirements The state should focus on the funding adequacy problem in Pennsylvania’s schools and address the needs outlined in the recent costing-out study.

FACT: The Legislature should not delay in addressing the funding adequacy

issues raised by the costing out study they commissioned. At the same time, we should not delay in acting to ensure high school diplomas really mean students

are ready for college and work.

FICTION: High school graduation requirements will lead to more dropouts.

FACT: Meaningful graduation requirements will lead school districts to provide

more assistance than ever to struggling students. Schools will have more information about the specific areas where struggling students need help and

more technical assistance in getting these students the academic aid they need.

The state will also continue to help school districts make high school a better fit

for students at risk of dropping out – through more personalized school environments, Dual Enrollment programs that link at-risk students to colleges,

state-of-the-art career and technical education, and other innovative strategies

that recognize that students have a wide range of interests. By rethinking our approach to these students, we can help them not only earn a diploma – but also make it a diploma that has real meaning to employers and higher education.

FICTION: There is a lack of sample curriculum. Schools will be giving no direction or guidance in using GCAs.

FACT: The Pennsylvania Department of Education is already creating voluntary

model curriculum for schools to use, and is committed to offering a model

curriculum in the four core academic subjects: English, math, science and

social studies. Having voluntary model curriculum is a requirement in the regulations

the state Board is considering. They will be in place by the time the Class of 2014 is required to meet these new graduation requirements.

January 17, 2008

COMMONWEA, LTH, OF PENNSYLVANIA Department of Education Commonwealth News Bureau Room 308, Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 CONTACT: Michael Race (PDE) (717) 783-9802

EDUCATION SECRETARY APPLAUDS STATE BOARD ACTION TO MAKE

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS MORE MEANINGFUL
State Board of Education votes 11-0 to Establish Statewide Graduation Requirements

HARRISBURG – A vote today by the State Board of Education marks an important step toward ensuring the diplomas given to Pennsylvania’s high school graduates have value and represent preparedness for the future, Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak said.

“We have allowed diplomas to be awarded to students who have not been able to demonstrate basic levels of preparedness for life beyond high school for too long,” the secretary said. “By handing out ‘empty’ diplomas, we are cheating our children and our commonwealth.”

The Board of Education voted 11-0 to advance regulations that will establish state graduation requirements, starting with the graduating class of 2014, to ensure students demonstrate proficiency in the core academic areas of math, science, English and social studies.

Under the regulations advanced by the State Board, Pennsylvania would be required to offer school districts additional supports for struggling students, including: voluntary curriculum in English, math, science and social studies; strategies for identifying and helping students who need additional assistance; and improved teacher training.

“The goal behind these graduation requirements is simple,” Zahorchak said. “They will ensure that a diploma has meaningful, substantive value. They will give graduates the assurance they have what they need to succeed. They will provide school districts with the essential supports to get the job done, and they will do this without taking away local control from the 501 school districts.”

The proposal gives students a menu of ways to show they have the necessary skills in English, math, science and social studies to succeed in college and careers. These options include:
• Passing the new Graduation Competency Assessments.
• Passing the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.
• Passing an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test.
• Passing a local assessment that independent evaluators certify is equivalent to Graduation Competency Assessments.

Graduation Competency Assessments are a series of tests that will be given throughout high school and could be used in place of final exams. Students would take the tests when they feel prepared. For example, a student who completes an algebra course could immediately take the Graduation Competency Assessment in algebra. Students who do not pass the first time would receive extra help and have multiple opportunities to retake the test. The commonwealth will pay the full cost for developing and administering Graduation Competency Assessments.

Zahorchak said the new graduation requirements have received the support of an array of business leaders, education leaders and community stakeholders. The Governor’s Commission on College and Career Success – a group of civic, education and business leaders – unanimously called for a statewide graduation requirement, including the use of Graduation Competency Assessments as a way for Pennsylvania to set high and uniform standards to ensure all graduating students are prepared for higher education or the knowledge-based workforce.

“I continue to receive letters from business leaders who back statewide graduation requirements as a means of ensuring employers can recruit well-prepared students without having to resort to time-consuming and costly remedial training,” he said.

The vote by the State Board of Education begins a regulatory review process that will include opportunities for citizen comment and legislative review.

Under Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pennsylvania has made unprecedented investments in public education, increasing education funding by a total of $2.4 billion since taking office. Zahorchak said the new graduation requirements are a way of ensuring taxpayers that those investments are getting results and that students are receiving a quality education.

For more information on the Department of Education and its initiatives, visit www.pde.state.pa.us.

Sincerely,

Mr. Daniel P. Bonomo, principal

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Graduation Requirements (current grade level)

2008 (12th Grade) - 25.1 credits are required for graduation

2009 (11th Grade) - 26.1 credits are required for graduation (one additional Math credit)

2010 (10th Grade) - 27.3 credits are required for graduation (one additional Science credit)

2011 (9th Grade) - 27.3 credits are required for graduation

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The class of 2008 is required to take the following 25.1 credits in order to graduate from Bloomsburg Area High School:

English - 4.0, Social Studies - 4.0, Mathematics - 3.0, Science - 3.0, Arts and Humanities - 1.0, Technology - 1.0, Physical Education - 1.8, Health - 1.0, Driver Education - .3, Electives - 6.0, Graduation Project - 0.0

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The class of 2009 is required to take the following 26.1 credits in order to graduate from Bloomsburg Area High School:

English - 4.0, Social Studies - 4.0, Mathematics - 4.0, Science - 3.0, Arts and Humanities - 1.0, Technology - 1.0, Physical Education - 1.8, Health - 1.0, Driver Education - .3, Electives - 6.0, Graduation Project - 0.0

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The classes of 2010 & 2011 are required to take the following 27.3 credits in order to graduate from Bloomsburg Area High School:

English - 4.0, Social Studies - 4.0, Mathematics - 4.0, Science - 4.0, Arts and Humanities - 1.0, Technology - 1.0, Physical Education - 2.0, Health - 1.0, Driver Education - .3, Electives - 6.0, Graduation Project - 0.0

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CLASS ADVISORS

12th - Mrs. Shuman & Ms. Zelonis

11th - Ms. Burns & Mr. Yates

10th - Mr. Major & Mrs. Steffen

9th - Mrs. Hauer, Mrs. Dollman

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When is the last time you sat down and talked about how your son's and/or daughter's day went?

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The next high school parent group meeting will be held

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PSSA Testing: (11th Grade Students)
May 1 - Science Assessment
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Dates to Remember:

MAY
1...............PSSA Science Assessment for all 11th grade students
1...............10th grade Job Shadowing Day
29.............Scholarship Award Ceremony, 6:30 PM, BHS Auditorium

JUNE
5..............Baccalaureate, 6:00 PM, BHS Auditorium
6..............Commencement Rehearsal, 3:30 PM, Mitrani Hall (HAAS Auditorium) BU
6..............Class of 2008 Commencement, 6:00 PM, Mitrani Hall (HAAS Auditorium) BU

SAT REGISTRATION DATES AND LOCATIONS

School code number 390360

2007-2008

TEST DATES	REGULAR DEADLINE	LATE DEADLINE	Nearest Location	ALWAYS offered
6-Oct	10-Sept	14-Sept	Berwick/Danville/Selinsgrove	Hughesville/Hazelton
3-Nov	2-Oct	11-Oct	Danville	Hughesville/Hazelton
1-Dec	30-Oct	8-Nov	Berwick/Lewisburg	Hughesville/Hazelton
26-Jan	26-Dec	4-Jan	Lewisburg	Hughesville/Hazelton
1-Mar	29- Jan	7-Feb	Berwick/Danville/Lewisburg	Hughesville/Hazelton
3-May	1- Apr	10-Apr	Bloomsburg/Selinsgrove	Hughesville/Hazelton
7-June	6-May	15-May		Hughesville/Hazelton

ACT REGISTRATION DATES 2007–2008
Test Date	Registration Deadline	(Late Fee Required)
September 15, 2007*	August 10, 2007	August 11–24, 2007
October 27, 2007	September 21, 2007	September 22–October 5, 2007
December 8, 2007	November 2, 2007	November 3–15, 2007
February 9, 2008**	January 4, 2008	January 5–18, 2008
April 12, 2008	March 7, 2008	March 8–21, 2008
June 14, 2008	May 9, 2008	May 10–23, 2008

***Other locations are available and are listed in the SAT and ACT registration booklets located in the guidance office.

***Any student considering a post-secondary education is encouraged to take the SAT. The BHS guidance department recommends that the PSAT be taken the sophomore and junior year and the SAT be taken twice in the junior year. We discourage waiting until the senior year to take the SAT.

Free Test Prep and practice exams can be downloaded at the following website.

http://www.educationplanner.com/education_planner/preparing_article.asp?sponsor=2859&articleName=Test_Prep

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For the student athlete interested in college:

1. Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse

2. Take the SAT Test early and often

3. Check core curriculum with a counselor

4. Set class schedule for next year with core in mind

Check with Mr. Perkins and your counselor for additional information.

Sincerely,

Daniel P. Bonomo

Mr. Daniel P. Bonomo, Principal

Bloomsburg Area High School

570-784-6100

mailto:dbonomo@bloomsd.k12.pa.us