Hello there! With two decades of experience in education, including a rewarding 13-year journey at Agora, I'm deeply committed to the growth of others. Within Agora, I serve as one of our High School Assistant Principals and collaborate closely with the electives team, counselors, and develop initiatives focused on Career/College Readiness, aiming to empower students for their future endeavors. Outside the school, you'll often find me engrossed in the pages of a captivating book, strategizing over board games, or hunting for treasures in thrift stores. Alongside my husband, who shares my passion for teaching and works in a Philadelphia middle school, we reside in Bucks County with our two boys, ages 9 and 12.
Erin Hilson
High School Assistant Principal
April is A new month to Push yourself, Rejuvenate, Inspire others, and Laugh a lot! Orison Swett Marden said, "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great." Why not use the fresh air of April to look for ways to make common moments great ones? Saying goodbye to the wintry months and turning one's face to the spring sunshine is a wonderful way to energize, renew, and get ready for greatness. April can change our attitude for the better with National Self-Care Day on April 5 and National Look Up At The Sky Day on April 14. Marty Rubin said that April is the kindest month because it gets us out of our heads and into our gardens. However you choose to refresh and rejuvenate, make every moment count--and as often as you can, make those moments great!
The high school PBIS All-Star program recognizes positive behavior in the classroom. High school students are encouraged to nominate classmates who demonstrate Agora's core values of learner-centeredness, wellness, responsibility, and engagement in their classes. Each month, five students' names are randomly drawn from the pool of student nominations (one from each of the five content areas), and those five students are recognized as the PBIS All-Star students for that month. The monthly PBIS All-Star students are announced in this newsletter, in The Agora Times (our high school newsletter for students), and celebrated in live class sessions.
🤩CONGRATULATIONS🤩 to the FEBRUARY 2024 High School PBIS All-Star students!
- Levi H. - 11th grade - English
- Arionna O. - 11th grade- Math
- Kaiba K. - 10th grade - Science
- Michael D. - 9th grade - Social Studies
- Mia M. - 9th grade - Electives
- We are excited to announce that our PBIS All-Star STAFF recognition program has launched! The All-Star program for staff, modeled after our All-Star student program, rolled out in February, with nearly 100 staff members nominated by high school students. Students have the opportunity to nominate staff members who demonstrate and encourage Agora's core values, and five winners will be randomly selected from the nomination pool each month. Students are encouraged to nominate any teacher, counselor, family coach, administrator, or other Agora staff member who exemplifies the PBIS culture of caring and belonging!
An Agora senior, Brandon M., was one of 20 HOSA-Affiliated students in Pennsylvania (through Penn HOSA) to be awarded a HOSA Scholarship for the 2023-2024 school year through the HOSA Scholarship program (awarded March 14th at the PENN HOSA state leadership conference).
The HOSA Scholarship Program is open to current affiliated HOSA members who are either a senior in high school, enrolled in a postsecondary/collegiate institution, or pursuing a certification.
To be considered for the scholarship, Brandon completed an application which included an essay about how he will integrate the core values of HOSA (learning, leadership, service, and innovation) into his future endeavors. He also provided his high school transcript, community service activities, work experience and internship experience.
As described by HOSA (hosa.org), “HOSA is a global student-led organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services and several federal and state agencies. HOSA’s mission is to empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community, through education, collaboration, and experience. HOSA actively promotes career opportunities in the health industry with a goal to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.” In addition, “HOSA provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation, and recognition exclusively for secondary, postsecondary, middle school, adult, and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or have interests in pursuing careers in health professions”. Agora’s chapter of HOSA became affiliated in the spring of 2020.
Congratulations, Brandon!
Agora is proud to offer our high school students 30 club options where they can achieve, exercise leadership skills, find friends, broaden their interests, and more! Below is a list of our high school student clubs. Clubs will be holding their last few meetings of this school year in the weeks to come. Students might want to visit one or more club meetings to find the club option that will be the best fit for them next year. For a description of each club and the student sign-up link, click here:
https://www.smore.com/rqvjc-high-school-clubs
- Agora Car Club
- Agora Theatrics Club
- Anime Club
- Art Club
- Astronomy Club
- A Time For Christ Club
- Book Club
- Chess Club (combined with middle school participants)
- Coffeehouse
- Cooking Club
- Debate Club
- Equine Club
- FBLA - Future Business Leaders of America (Agora chapter)
- F.I.R.E. Club - Female Initiative, Respect, Empowerment)
- Gaming Club
- GSA - Genders & Sexualities Alliance
- Girls Who Code
- Global Awareness Club
- HOSA - Future Health Professionals Student Organization (Agora chapter)
- 4 Diamonds Mini-THON Club
- Photography Club
- Poetry Club
- PYLN - Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network
- Pursuing Joy Club
- RAKA - Random Acts of Kindness at Agora
- Sable Alliance - fostering unity in our school community through exposure to Black culture
- Spanish Club
- The Agora Times - e-newsletter by and for Agora high school students
- Travel Club
- Writing Club
Act 158 of 2018 (Act 158), signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on October 24, 2018, provides alternatives to Pennsylvania's statewide requirement of attaining proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams (Algebra I, Literature, and Biology) for a student to achieve statewide graduation requirements.
In order to graduate from high school, students must meet all local graduation requirements related to credits and coursework along with the state requirements outlined in Act 158. Students must score proficient or advanced and/or score within a specific target range on Keystone exams to meet either the Keystone Proficiency Pathway or the Keystone Composite Pathway. There are alternate pathways that students may be eligible to complete if their Keystone scores do not meet the testing requirements.
Administrators and school counselors are working closely with each high school student to review Keystone scores and help students determine which pathway they are eligible to complete to meet graduation requirements.
- Monday, April 1: Asynchronous day for students
- Students are expected to log in AND complete assigned course work.
- Wednesday, April 3: Morning half day for students (see schedule below)
- Wednesday, April 3 at 12 noon: Nikki Johnson-Alfano assembly
- Nikki will share her story about how she overcame a life of poverty and homelessness to achieve her dreams. She will share her very personal story of how she got her life back on track, fought through adversity and never gave up on her dreams no matter the odds.
- Assembly link will be shared soon!
- Friday, April 5: Report cards to be published—review your grades and consider any adjustments you need to make for the 4th marking quarter
- Tuesday, April 9: 3:30 pm advisory session—link in ClassConnect
- Wednesday, April 10: Eid-al-Fitr—schools and offices closed
Occasionally, high school students will follow half-day schedules with abbreviated classes that are completed by noon. April 3 is the next day for students to follow the half-day academic schedule; students have classes in the morning only, and staff in-service takes place in the afternoon. The half-day academic schedule for students is detailed in the image to the right.