Harry S. Truman High School
Encyclopedia
Harry S Truman High School is a public high school located in Levittown, Pennsylvania
. It was named after the US president Harry S Truman. It is the sole high school of Bristol Township School District. It hosts grades 9-12. The current principal is Mr. James Moore . It was formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High School.
The school has been known to offer AP Physics and AP Psychology, given sufficient student interest, which varies from year to year. As of 2007-2008, AP Psychology has become permanent.
& NCFL) and state (PHSSL) championships . Truman students continue to place among the top debaters at national tournaments. The program has produced many state & local champions. The team competes in the Valley Forge district of the National Forensic League, the Philadelphia Catholic Forensic League, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Debate League, District 12 of the Pennsylvania High School Speech League, and at numerous national and regional invitationals. Truman's speech & debate team is the reigning champion of the 26 school PCFL for the 2005-2006 school year. The team has accumulated too many individual and team awards to list them all. However, during the 2008 - 2009 year, Truman has won the Southwestern New York Debate League 50 year anniversary Sweepstakes award. The team consists of many members such as Gregory Scott (Senior), Jenny Tunnicliff (Senior), Allyson Cornwell(Senior), Mary Bidlingmaier (Senior), Justin Thomashefsky(Senior), Tyler Smith (Senior), Makenzie O'Neal (Junior), Jennifer Nuygen (Junior), Fatima Camara (Junior), Kaylin Barry (Junior), Dina Abdel-Rahman (Junior), Shane Ennis (Junior), Beth Borger (Junior), Chelsea Schools (Junior), Shirley Pineda (Junior), Emily Cantrini (Junior), Ray Zayas (Senior), Romi Vandeginste (Senior), Nele Vandeginste (Sophomore), Laura Squiccimara (Junior)
2010-2011 School Year
for high school use in 2001. They received that honor again in 2007 and performed the pilot of the student edition of Rent
. Their latest musical is Blood Brothers, which opened in March 2009.
In spring 2006 Beauty and the Beast
was performed, which garnered nearly-universal positive reviews. They performed the Disney- produced musical Aida
in spring 2007. Past works include: Epic Proportions
, Godspell
, Jesus Christ Superstar
, Equus
, Found a Peanut
and Grease
. They have been granted the rights to pioneer their next Broadway-born show, Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening premiered in November and it was a huge success. Students such as Luke Robinson, Georjenna Gatto, and Tyler Kelch, were very good as the lead roles. The musical showed scenes with Georjenna Gatto and Tyler Kelch coming out of the grave to save Luke Robinson from killing himself. The show received a standing ovation every performance.
Truman High School's basketball
program has the second most wins of any high school in Nassau County within the past five years that compete in AAAA leagues under current coach Al Mumford. They have won Suburban I championships in 2001, 2004, and 2005. They have also reached the State Playoff Tournament for AAAA schools in 2005 and 2006. Former class president and high school record-setting basketball player Tyrone Lewis graduated from the Truman basketball program.
Re-starting in the 2005-2006 school year, the Tigers have brought back the annual bon-fire the day before homecoming.
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level...
. It was named after the US president Harry S Truman. It is the sole high school of Bristol Township School District. It hosts grades 9-12. The current principal is Mr. James Moore . It was formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High School.
AP Level Courses
Harry S Truman High School has historically offered the following Advanced Placement (AP) level classes: U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, Chemistry, English Literature, and Calculus AB (though BC has been offered to particularly advanced students).The school has been known to offer AP Physics and AP Psychology, given sufficient student interest, which varies from year to year. As of 2007-2008, AP Psychology has become permanent.
Language Instruction
Truman offers five years of instruction in French, Italian, German, and Spanish. It also has an extensive English as a Second Language (ESL) program and habitually hosts international students who are studying abroad in the United States. The German program is led by Mr. Dailey. Also, the German club organizes a trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg almost every year. Truman currently offers German 1, 2, Honors 3, and Honors 4 courses, and is expected to add both a fifth and honors 5 course next year.NJROTC
Harry S Truman HS was a pilot school for the United States Navy's Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program. The Harry S Truman NJROTC unit was active from 1968 until 1996, and was the first JROTC unit to admit female cadets.Debate & Forensics
Truman has a nationally recognized speech and debate team. The debate team's main coach is Carl Grecco, Shawn Eliason is the CX/Policy (Cross Examination or Policy) coach, and Tom Gushue is the Lincoln Douglass coach. Currently there is no speech coach. The program has qualified hundreds of students to National (NFLNational Forensic League
The National Forensic League is a non-partisan, non-profit educational honor society established to encourage and motivate American high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts: debate, public speaking and interpretation. NFL is the America's oldest and largest...
& NCFL) and state (PHSSL) championships . Truman students continue to place among the top debaters at national tournaments. The program has produced many state & local champions. The team competes in the Valley Forge district of the National Forensic League, the Philadelphia Catholic Forensic League, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Debate League, District 12 of the Pennsylvania High School Speech League, and at numerous national and regional invitationals. Truman's speech & debate team is the reigning champion of the 26 school PCFL for the 2005-2006 school year. The team has accumulated too many individual and team awards to list them all. However, during the 2008 - 2009 year, Truman has won the Southwestern New York Debate League 50 year anniversary Sweepstakes award. The team consists of many members such as Gregory Scott (Senior), Jenny Tunnicliff (Senior), Allyson Cornwell(Senior), Mary Bidlingmaier (Senior), Justin Thomashefsky(Senior), Tyler Smith (Senior), Makenzie O'Neal (Junior), Jennifer Nuygen (Junior), Fatima Camara (Junior), Kaylin Barry (Junior), Dina Abdel-Rahman (Junior), Shane Ennis (Junior), Beth Borger (Junior), Chelsea Schools (Junior), Shirley Pineda (Junior), Emily Cantrini (Junior), Ray Zayas (Senior), Romi Vandeginste (Senior), Nele Vandeginste (Sophomore), Laura Squiccimara (Junior)
2010-2011 School Year
Drama
Truman's well known drama program has been led by Lou Volpe for 40 years. Prior to that time it was led by Mr. Carl Grecco who is now Truman's renowned Debate and Speech coach. The program is known regionally and nationally. They were honored for their excellence by being chosen to pioneer Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
for high school use in 2001. They received that honor again in 2007 and performed the pilot of the student edition of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
. Their latest musical is Blood Brothers, which opened in March 2009.
In spring 2006 Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
was performed, which garnered nearly-universal positive reviews. They performed the Disney- produced musical Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
in spring 2007. Past works include: Epic Proportions
Epic Proportions
Epic Proportions is a play by Larry Coen and David Crane.Set in the 1930s, it tells the story of brothers Benny and Phil, who go to the Arizona desert to work as extras in the Biblical epic film Exeunt Omnes, directed by the mysteriously reclusive D.W. DeWitt. All 3400 extras are supervised by...
, Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
, Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
, Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
, Found a Peanut
Found a Peanut
'"Found a Peanut"' is a traditional song, often considered a children's song, in the United States, Australia and Canada. It is popular to sing on long trips, as it has a very repetitive format which is easy to memorize, and can take a long time to sing. It is sung to the tune of "Oh My Darling,...
and Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
. They have been granted the rights to pioneer their next Broadway-born show, Spring Awakening. Spring Awakening premiered in November and it was a huge success. Students such as Luke Robinson, Georjenna Gatto, and Tyler Kelch, were very good as the lead roles. The musical showed scenes with Georjenna Gatto and Tyler Kelch coming out of the grave to save Luke Robinson from killing himself. The show received a standing ovation every performance.
Sports
All Truman teams compete in the suburban one league of Levittown, PA.Truman High School's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
program has the second most wins of any high school in Nassau County within the past five years that compete in AAAA leagues under current coach Al Mumford. They have won Suburban I championships in 2001, 2004, and 2005. They have also reached the State Playoff Tournament for AAAA schools in 2005 and 2006. Former class president and high school record-setting basketball player Tyrone Lewis graduated from the Truman basketball program.
Field Hockey
Truman Field Hockey is coached by Dawn Martesi for the 2007 season. Prior to that it was coached by Mrs. Lobecker.Football
Truman Football fell on hard times over the past few decades, but have considered having hope. They have "strong" rivalries with Conwell-Egan, Pennsbury, and Pittsburgh. They went 2-10 in 2008 and showed improvement in 2009, 3-8, under new head football coach John M. Iannuccini. Coach Iannuccini resigned days before the first game of the 2010 season.Student Traditions
During the 2005-2006 school year there was a student-inspired revival of Spirit Night. A week long celebration concludes in Spirit Night which includes men's dance routines and 2 relay events.Re-starting in the 2005-2006 school year, the Tigers have brought back the annual bon-fire the day before homecoming.