Please join us on Thursday, February 25, 2010, for our first Lunch and Learn in Room 450A during periods 4, 5, 6 and 7. The Lunch and Learn for this week will serve as a way to help you set up your benchmarks and performance indicators for your lessons. If you need help in setting them up or have questions about them, please bring your lunch and stop by Room 450 A. We will help you as best we can! Coffee will be served!

We would like to continue to have Lunch and Learns every other week. They will serve as small PD sessions and will address topics that teachers feel we need to work on. We would love suggestions as to what you would like to see in these Lunch and Learns. Please email me comments/suggestions so that I can have an idea as to how to frame the rest of the Lunch and Learns. These sessions are not mandatory but will only serve to help you!

Hope to see you there!

First Day of School is MONDAY February 22, 2010

Raphael Lopez is a teacher of Foreign Language and Photography at Truman High School who has recently published a book of photographs and poetry entitled My Mother’s Hands. The book is described in the following manner:

Motherhood, a universal concept that transcends time and place, is revealed and revered in this book. “My Mother’s Hands” is a photographic celebration that honors and highlights the lives of mothers with a perfect combination of imagery and poetry. It is a collection of sepia toned photographs of women’s hands interacting with other people, and familiar objects of daily life. This book is a superb collection of images and poetry that validates, recognizes and appreciates mothers around the world.

The book is a culmination of several years of work by Raphael and has received great praise thus far.

Find out more information.

Some proposed ideas include, but are certainly not limited to:

Basketball, Softball, Flag Football, Track and Field Events, Face Painting, Tennis, Water Balloon Toss, Dancing, Egg-spoon Race, Potato Sack Race, Eating Contest, Limbo, and of course, FOOD!

Making this day a special event for students, staff, and the community-at-large will take innovation and inspiration. If you have ideas and/or would like to help, WE NEED YOU!!!

THS Family Day is Saturday, May 17, 2008

In addition, AP Leddy will also need logistical/operational support during this event for those who feel they could contribute to that part of this effort.

Contact AP Barakat if you would like to help.

Leyti De Los Santos was born in the Domincan Republic, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. Soon after, she found herself working with children with mental and emotional problems at the Centro de Rehabilitacion de Santo Domingo. Once she was settled in her new home in New York City, she decided to go back to school for a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education in Spanish. In 1996, she started working at A Phillip Randolf High School as a Spanish teacher, and then came to Harry S Truman High in 1997. After being at Truman High for only two years, Leyti founded the Multicultural Club. Recognizing the vast diversity of the student population at Truman, Leyti created a way for students to identity and express their culture, traditions and customs of their countries. The club attracts more than 180 student participants each year.

We would like to congratulate Ms. De Los Santos as the Teacher of the Month for November. We are recognizing her for the valuable work she does with the students here at Harry S Truman High School. We have had the pleasure to witness her creativity and academic dedication to her students throughout her nine years here at Truman High.

During this school year, she has utilized her creativity to connect school to the community and the students’ lives. An example of this is the court case on Adolfo Miller. The experiences provided students with knowledge that they are going to need as life-long responsible citizens. In additions, she organized a food drive for the victims of the cyclone in the Dominican Republic.

Leyti has an excellent rapport with her students. Her lessons are of high interest to the students. The students are always eager to participate and the decoration in her room makes the classroom an inviting place that nurtures learning. She engages her students in classroom activities that promote a student-centered environment.

Leyti is the kind of person who despite a seemingly overwhelming list of things to do, she always meets everyone with a smile and positive attitude. She is visibly motivated by the fact that many students will benefit from all the hard work she does. She puts students first which is why she excels in teaching and is a great source of encouragement for her students and colleagues. As a learning community we benefit greatly from the professionalism and humanity of Leyti De Los Santos.

Submitted By (Full Name): Meredith Johnson