Spotlight on PHS
Plum Senior High students of the National Honors
Society met with the Distinguished Alumni at Oakmont
Country Club. There the ambassadors presented each
member with a gift commemorating their achievements
in their related fields of work. Alumni toured the high
school the following day (Some of which haven’t been
back since 1977) to observe the changes the building
has undergone. Individual alumni had the opportunity to
observe classrooms, talk with current staff members, and
meet future alumni. Student ambassadors gave a speech
on the contributions each member has given to society,
unveiled the “Distinguished Alumni Wall”, and welcomed
new members to the National Honors Society.
Students from Plum Senior High Econ/Law class
attended the “Open Doors to Federal Court Program”
at the United States District Court for the Western
District of Pennsylvania. Students witnessed a mock
sentencing hearing led by a federal judge and attended
a panel discussion of Federal Law Enforcement agencies.
Representatives included agents from: U.S. Marshall
Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland
Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. The first session was a panel discussion
with federal agents representing the FBI, the DEA, and
Homeland Security Investigations. Each agent presented
their job duties, educational backgrounds and allowed for
a question/answer period. The panel discussion was held
in one of the courtrooms. Some of our students even got
to sit in the jury box! Students actively participated in a
question and answer session after each agent completed
their presentations. The second session was a mock
sentencing hearing led by a semi-retired federal judge.
The “case” involved a conviction of a high school student
who made threats via social media. Both the prosecution
and defense, as well as the probation officer, presented
evidence and recommendations i.e. the sentencing of the
convicted individual. All roles were played by attorneys
and clerks of the U.S. District Court, as well as the retired
judge. Students served as jurors and voted on the verdict
after all parties presented information during the trial.
Plum high school library media specialist, Kristen Rowe, was named a coordinator for the
Regional Leaders Academy for PA School Librarians. She will be steering the western region of the
state during this yearlong endeavor (spring 2017 to spring 2018), which is a collaboration between
the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association and funded by
the PA Department of Education. The Regional Leaders Academy is an innovative, immersive
professional development experience designed to strengthen and support school librarians in PA
schools to ensure that students in PA will have strong and effective school library programs.
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