83 Students Inducted into PTSD National Honor Society

The Peters Township High School’s National Honor Society E. Paul Day Chapter inducted 83 new members at a candle-lighting ceremony at the Peters Township High School.

The new members are: Kiel Batanian, Christopher Beck, Hilary Bell, Amine Benbourenane, Benjamin Bianco, Jenna Bigley, Michele Bittner, Emily Boccardi, Benjamin Boehme, Stephanie Bozic, Julia Broglie, Justin Broglie, Kevin Burg, Nick Carone, Nicholas Ceccarelli, Emily Correal, Stephanie Cotugno, Ashley Czajkowski, Danielle Devine, Lindsay Dodds, Jennifer Doran, Carolyn Ellis, Heidi Eltschlager, Phillip Ferrara, Reina Fink, Kelly Flanigan, Alison Forbrich, Haylee Garder, Megan Glovier, Gabrielle Goozdich, Sarah Grech, Daniel Greer, Annemarie Hall, Jack Hareza, Brian Hayes, Samantha Higgins, Michael Houser, Charanya Kaushik, Mackenzie Kennedy, Jordan Klaja, Ryan Koepka, Sarah Kradel, Autumn Kuzy, Valerie Lang, Kerriann Laubach, Geoff Locher, Andrew Madalena, Michael Malencia, Bridget Manning, Lindsay Mauer, Julie McCracken, Margaret McNamara, Anthony Metz, Megan Milavec, Erin Miller, Madeline Miller, Carl Mitchel, Allison Moore, Katherine Nerone, Jared Nicholson, Richard Palacios, Julianna Paterra, Andrew Paul, Paige Pieretti, Hugo Ponte, Eric Rackley, Stephen Radke, Kevin Ray, Celeste Rovito, Zachary Schaefer, Michelle Sereda, Tyler Sheetz, Stephanie Shultz, Chelsea Slavin, Jessica Smith, Robert Stein, Paul Stephan, Gina Sypula, Amy Trotnick, Stephanie Tupta, Eric Vanistendael, Andrew Williams, Kristin Young.

Music Students Sweep First Place Awards

The PTHS Music Department recently attended the Fiesta-Val 2007 music competition in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was named Grand Champion for receiving the most first place awards of any music department in attendance. The following student and faculty groups took top honors:

• Men’s Choir/Barbershop Quartet, Division 4, Superior, 1st place
• Mixed Chorus, Division 4, Superior, 2nd Place
• Drew Caliguiri, Outstanding Achievement Award, Men’s Choir Soloist
• Marching Band, Parade, Excellent, 1st place
• Drill Team, Excellent, 1st place
• Silks, Excellent, 1st place
• Percussion Ensemble, Excellent, 1st place
• Jazz Ensemble, Division 4, Superior, 1st place
• Bryan Powell, Outstanding Soloist
• Sam Rodgers-Melnick, Outstanding Soloist
• David Shepherd, Special Recognition Award
• Symphony Orchestra, Division 3, Excellent, 1st place
• String Orchestra, Division 4, Excellent, 1st place
• Outstanding First Violin Section Award, Division 4-String Orchestra
• Dr. Robert Dell, Peters Township High School Music Teacher and Marching Band Director, Award of Distinction, In Recognition of a Notable Contribution to Musical Excellence
• Mrs. Donna Fox, Peters Township High School music teacher, Award of Distinction,
  In Recognition of a Notable Contribution to Musical Excellence.
  
• Grand Champion Trophy, for highest number of 1st place awards

Striving to Reach Higher

Several students at McMurray Elementary School received the Reaching Higher Award for exhibiting good character, serving as role models, persevering with personal and school goals, and overcoming difficult situations in their lives. Awards were presented to students by McMurray Principal, Dr. Robert Freado, and Assistant Principal, Dr. Nancy Hobbs.

Reaching Higher Awards were earned by the following students: Hannah Berardino, Morgan Boyer, Savannah Brooks, Giovanni Carbonara, Jason Cirocco, Jonah Conroy, Abby Cummings, Cassandra DeLuca, Conor Dietzel, Ryan Diulus, Jordan Dollard, Bryan Hall, Margaret Halo, Emma Jean Held, Isabelle Henney, Marlena Karavolis, Corey Kehm, Justin Kehm, Veronica Kendall, Nicholas Larimer, Nicole LaRosa, Joseph Lupori, Kylie Marshall, Matthew Martik, Hannah Martin, Mackenzie Moore, Rachel Noonan, William O’Donnell, Kylie Oliver, Andrew Orr, Erin Pakela, Joanna Pollock, Joseph Rauscher, Logan Ruschel, Nikolas Schmidt, Silvia Seraly, Alex Shumovich, Paige Steen, Joshua Swartzell, Nolan Threlkeld, Ethan Vigar, Tori Weida, Ashley Westhoven, Macie Zelenko

Science Olympiad Students Take First Place

Fifteen dedicated Peters Township Middle School students spent the past five months preparing for the Science Olympiad Regional Competition held at California University, March 28th. Through their commitment, teamwork, and cooperation, they participated in 23 events and medaled in 16 of these events.

Susan Hanley, Ginger Shannon, Reverend Steve Broome, and Dr. Sarah Kohl helped prepare the students for this competition. This is the middle school’s 13th year competing at the state level.

Science Olympiad is similar to the Olympics. Team members compete in mental exercises as they continually aspire to accrue points in each event in order to move onto the state level. Hands-on events include building balsa wood bridges, bottle rockets, catapults, and the dreaded Rube Goldberg. As a team, individuals choose events, then prepare themselves for the regional competition. Anyone, regardless of science interest and background, can compete in the disciplines, which range from astronomy to engineering.

The middle school team consists of 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th graders. The winning team included:

9th Graders: Ben Gauthier Khyati Thakore

8th Graders: Stephanie Hao, Blair Stephan, Ben Chiste, Trevor Cowler, Cameron Kasraie, Robert Burns, John Mackay, Matt Malencia, Chris Malencia

7th Graders: Jeff Bergman, Greg Chiste, Rachel Kinney, Richard Mackay

McMurray Students Rally First in Region Stock Market Game

McMurray Elementary School fourth grade students Sam Brenneman, Sam Barnes, and Matthew Graham recently finished in first place in the region in the “Stock Market Game.” Each team in the game is given an imaginary $100,000 to invest in stocks over a period of 10 weeks. The game is played on the internet and students use a variety of tools to research their purchases. The Peters team finished with $105,233.53. The third place finishers, also from McMurray Elementary, were Elizabeth Mamros, Margaret Halo, and Christine Wallach.

History Enthusiasts Win Regional Competition

Peters Township School District’s youngest history enthusiasts made their presence known at the regional competition of the National History Day contest. Twenty-one elementary, middle school, and high school students were among 515 contestants who gathered at the Heinz History Center for the event, recognized as America’s largest regional competition within the History Day program. The regional contest is directed by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and underwritten by Columbia Gas.

History Day is an opportunity for students to present historical papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, and original websites pertaining to an annual theme. Entries this year focused on the theme of “Triumph and Tragedy in History.” Six of the PT students returned from the regional competition with first, second, or third place medals.

Winners in the 2007 Regional Competition for Peters Township School District were:

First Place Awards:

Derek Brouwer, Grade 11, Historical Paper, Entry Title: Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin: Instrument for Prosperity, Mechanism for Enslavement.

Norman Ponte, Grade 6, Individual Exhibit, Entry Title: The Last Stronghold (The Battle of Alesia).

Joshua Bowman and Jacob Wilhelm, Grade 6 Group Documentary, Entry Title: Gold, Greed, and Grief: The Triumph of Andrew Jackson and the Tragedy of Cherokee Removal.

Second Place Award:

• Carla Hoge, Grade 6, Historical Paper, Entry Title: As the Sea of Disease Rages, Science Steps in to Calm the Storm.

Third Place Award:

• Michael Counihan, Grade 7, Individual Exhibit, Entry Title: Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron! (The U.S.S. Constitution).

PTHS Media Students Earn Broadcasting Awards

The Peters Township High School Media Department received Recognition of Excellence in five categories at the 14th Annual Teachers of Video and Television Student Festival at Robert Morris University. The following students earned awards:

• Public Service Announcement: Corey Grabowski, Jon Makrinos
• News: Hannah Airhart, Clinton Amand, Kiersten Arnoni, KiLee Beganics, Emily Brandstetter, Grant Burkhardt, Jason Chiappino, Dan Grosso, Jamie Haney, Jon Makrinos, Emily Norton, Ally Oleynik, Kara Thilges.
• Magazine: Emily Norton, Kara Thilges
• Performing Arts: Corey Grabowski, Jon Makrinos
  
• Imaginative: Corey Grabowski, Jon Makrinos

Middle School Poem Wins Best in the Nation

Peters Township Middle School seventh grader Jaclyn Clark won first place in the United States with a poem she wrote for the Daughters of the American Revolution “Junior American Citizens Contest.” Jaclyn’s poem focuses on the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia.

Prior to this announcement, Jaclyn had been recognized with a first place finish in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and first place in the Eastern Division of the United States (encompassing Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland). News of her first place national standing was greeted with great pleasure by the Bethel Fife and Drum Chapter of the D.A.R., whose members work closely with the Peters Township Middle School in sponsoring this annual contest. This is the highest award ever received by a student whose work has been sponsored by the local chapter.

Jaclyn will be honored at a Flag Day Luncheon sponsored by the Bethel Fife and Drum Chapter on June 16 at the Southpointe Country Club.

Correction: In our last issue, Kelsey Gallagher was mistakenly omitted from the list of Future Business Leaders of America competition winners. Kelsey placed second in the marketing division.