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JULY 27-AUGUST 2, 2023
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Photo of the Month
Looking by Back Ed Pany Postcards of the past, Part 1 of 2
When you don’t have a swimming pool on a hot July day, the next best thing is a sprinkler to keep cool. Taken in Berlinsville by Cindy Deppe.
Northampton School Board Approves revised curricula For upcoming school year by SAVANNAH BROWN
The Northampton School Board met Monday, July 17 to discuss curricula revisions and regular agenda items. Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik and Assistant Superintendent Michelle Schoeneberger began with a presentation on curriculum updates. Schoeneberger explained that curriculum changes can be triggered by a five-to-seven-year curriculum cycle, academic progress, state requirements and new standards, new research/knowledge of student learning and effective instruction/assessment, new instructional tools and/or resources and changes to building schedule or graduation credit requirements. Additionally, curriculum revisions for existing courses may undergo minor revisions, which can include updates to scope and sequence, wording of objectives/skills/content, technology/resources and assessments, or courses may undergo major revi-
sions for reasons such as alignment to new academic standards, change of primary instructional resources and new instructional approaches, and new course curricula may occur when there are updated state requirements, students’ interest, programmatic enhancements and staffing reasons. The proposed curriculum for the 2023-24 school year includes major and minor revisions to existing courses, as well as a curriculum for a new course. The minor curriculum revisions outlined affect Grade 6 computer technology, Grade 7 world government and civics, K-8 art, world languages (French II, French III, Spanish I, Spanish II and honors Spanish III) and Grades 9-12 FACS: child development and family nutrition, interior design and sewing. The major curricular revisions affect K-5 reading, Grade 8 exploratory world language and Grades 9-12 art: media production, and the new course being
added will be Grades 9-12 health and physical education: HIIT the ground running, which focuses on HIIT training and healthy habits. The major literacy curriculum changes in Grades K-5 are due to the current curriculum (Units of Study) not meeting the needs of all students. For example, Units of Study did not include specific phonemic instruction, so that is being supplemented to address deficits in learning. The revised curriculum will now include instruction on reading comprehension, types of text, school readiness, handwriting/cursive/typing, phonics, word recognition, phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, science, social studies, speaking and listening, skilled reader, skilled writer and craft and structure, which will use Units of Study but supplement additional resources where Units of Study was lacking. Continued on page 6
Coplay National Bank
The Allen House, Siegfried, Pa. When is the last time you mailed a postcard? The use of the once-popular card has declined with the advent of modern communication technology. Mrs. Joan Matura has forwarded a collection of century-old postcards to this writer and Mr. Larry Oberly for the Northamp-
ton Area Historical Society. The postcards belonged to the late Steve Myers, a former student of this writer who was a wellknown organist at Grace UCC in Northampton. See you in two weeks with more postcards from the past. (Additional postcard on page 5)
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