KIDS & EDUCATION
School Movers & Shakers WPMS
Western Pennsylvania Montessori School (WPMS) celebrated its 50th anniversary by hosting a gala at Wildwood Country Club on Oct. 24. Over 215 attendees of the gala enjoyed the festive commemoration.
Hampton Hampton High School was presented with an official NFL football from William “Red” Mack (former Pittsburgh Steeler and Green Bay Packer, retired). Red played in the first Superbowl and is one of the oldest living professional football players.
High School students were inducted into the Spanish National Honor Society. They are - Kelly Arel, Jessica Berg, Lydia Beyer, Francesca CanoCzagany, Matthew Friday, Benjamin Friedland, Kota Furuhata, John Gurklis, Mary Humphrey, Nadia Islam, Melissa Jerpe, Kathleen Kiszka, Julia Lynch, Nathan Matisko, Ryan Morrissey, Amanda Puthenpurayil, Siddharth Rajupet, Jesuloluwa Shodipo, Alexander Smolar, Brad Vayonis, Michele Wolff, Emilie Yousem, and Megan Zonker. Dorseyville Middle School seventh grader Amulya Garimella has been named a third place winner in the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Amulya received a $1,000 prize and a student adventure trip to a destination.
Fox Chapel
Four Fox Chapel Area High School students placed at the annual M&M Lake Erie Invitational Forensic Tournament. Madeleine Doerr won first place, Jeremy Rodrigues garnered third, Darwin Leuba and Sara Puthenpurayil took fourth place honors. Fox Chapel Area School District teachers Cathie Gillner and Michelle Ulanowicz have been named Champions of Change by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Center for Creativity and its partner, Common Sense Media. Eight Fox Chapel Area High School students were selected to perform with the 2015 Pennsylvania Music Educators (PMEA) District 1 Honors Band. The performers were Olivia Van Dyke, Rohan Chalasani, Philip Swigon, Benjamin Franks-Meinert, Elizabeth Mountz, Zachary Zytnick, Hannah Kim, and Glenna Van Dyke. Twenty-third Fox Chapel Area
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Erin Crimone has been appointed to the position of assistant principal at Carson Middle School in the North Allegheny School District.
A team of O’Hara Elementary School fourth graders were named winners of the Fox Chapel Area High School District Battle of the Books Tournament. The winners were – Madelyn Jones, Whitney Jones, Clara Kelley, Kate Leland and Megan Mulhern.
Shaler Area The Shaler Area School District welcomed Sean Aiken as the new Superintendent of the Schools.
Sean Aiken
Five Shaler Area High School students participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Honors ensembles. They are – Paige Milsvec, Dan Bitter, Talha Lone, Adam Bleil and Sam Panza.
Seneca Valley Middle School teacher, Traci Kuntz was recognized by the Seneca Valley Diversity Committee as a winner in their bi-annual Respect, Education, Advocacy and Love (REAL) Award Program.
Mars Area High School Boys and Girls Varsity Cross Country Teams competed in the 2015 WPIAL Cross Country Championships held Nov. 7 in Hershey. The team earned eighth place with 229 points and an average time of 17:53. Mars Area High School Marching Band competed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association Class AAA Championships. The marching band took second place at the event with a score of 83.03.
St. Alexis
Shaler Area Middle School students raised $380 for Parkinson’s Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.
Saint Alexis second and third grade soccer teams each won the championship in their divisions at the Diocese of Pittsburgh Soccer Tournament which was held on Oct. 31.
Mars Area
Aquinas Academy Student teams from schools across the Pittsburgh region gathered at Aquinas Academy Pittsburgh on Nov. 21 to test the robots they built as part of U.S. First Robotics.
Seneca Valley Jacob Geil, a high-achieving freshman from Seneca Valley Intermediate High School was awarded high honors for being among the highJacob Geil est-scoring participants in the 2015 International Talent Search. Geil will receive a one-course scholarship at Grove City College in recognition of his outstanding performance on the SAT in the 2015 Talent Search.
Mars Area students raised $12,487 to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, through the school’s annual “Hats for Heroes” fundraiser held on Oct. 23.
Erin Crimone
Shaler Area High School senior Amanda Sartori signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball at Marist College in New York.
Kevin Peterson, chief technical officer for Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic served as the keynote speaker for Hampton High School Robotics Club “Robocamp.”
Fox Chapel Area High School junior Jeremy Rodrigues placed at the John F. Kennedy High School Invitational Forensic Tournament. Jeremy won fourth place in Student Congress.
North Allegheny
Honors Chorus Festival which was held Oct. 21-31.
St. Joseph Mars Area seniors Kelly O’Connell and Jimmy Pierre were selected winners of the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.
Two Mars Area High School students Lukas Johansson and Ian Steward performed in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 5
Northern Connection | December 2015 www.northernconnectionmag.com
Saint Joseph High School continued their Centennial Celebration by having Bishop Malesic from the Greensburg Diocese celebrate Mass on Oct. 8. Monsignor Larry Kulick, Vicar