May 21, 2012 - Peters Township School District

AF
Focus on
Excellence in Education
Academics, Athletics, Artistic Endeavors,
Leadership,
&
Character Education
May 21, 2012
Peters Township School District

Excellence in
Academics

PTHS Senior Named Finalist in
Student Design Competition
Josh Helzlsouer
This Peters Township senior has been named a finalist in the 3 rd annual Public Park
Student Design Competition. Josh is among eight finalists from the region and will now
have the opportunity to work alongside a local architect this summer.

Spanning the Globe at
MM McMurray Elementary
Sixth grade students at McMurray Elementary had the opportunity to learn more about
nations from around the world from some volunteers right here at home. Through the
Spanning the Globe program on May 11, students heard presentations on what life was
like in different countries from around the world – including Brazil, Germany, Taiwan, and
Greece.

Middle School PJAS Honors
First Place Honors: Aaryan Jadhav, Megan Black,
Caroline Baumgart, Lily Fornoff, Sarah Oldenburg,
Madison Deemer,Tony Bocetti
Second Place Honors: Akash Bhat, Shreya Sharma
Third Place Honors: Ryan Bastyr
Ten students from PTMS took part in the PA Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) state
competition last weekend. Overall 7 of the 10 students earned a first place award, two
students finished second and one student earned third place. The students and their
projects are organized by teacher Maddie Ranade.

First Place Award dWinners
Allison Resnik Grace Brandstetter
Samuel Batchelder Maple Chen
Cheng Wang
Jessica Johnson
Elise King Cecelia Allison
Jennifer Cashman ‐ PERFECT SCORE
Maria Oldenbourg ‐ PERFECT SCORE
Sebastian Hymson
Rasshmi Krishnasamy
High School PJAS Honors
Second dPlace Award dWinners
Amanda Nerone
Hannah Foster
Carolyn Gratchen
Chris Heldmam
Matthew Stablein
At the High School level, 17 students took part in the PJAS state competition and walked
away with a total of 12 first place finishes, and 5 second place finishes. Two students who
earned first place also received a perfect score. Teacher Keith Compeggie oversees these
students.

High Q Wins!
Jack Hussey,
Sean Yang and
Josh Bowman
On May 12, the PTHS Hometown High Q team took on two local schools in KDKA’s
academic challenge show and came out as the overall winner with nearly double the
points of the other teams. The show will not air for the public until sometime in
September, but the team has earned the chance to advance to the playoffs round. The
team is coached by teacher Maddie Ranade.

Konnichiwa!
Japanese Unit at
Bower Hill
Second grade students at Bower Hill completed their study of Japan with a chance to
sample the cultures and cuisine of the country. With the help of many parent volunteers,
the students sat on the floor and had the chance to sample rice, steamed vegetables, tea
and other foods. They were encouraged to eat using chopstick and ate on placemats they
had designed using Japanese themes.

Bower Hill Skypes with Author
Ellen Miles – Puppy Place Books
Students in Kelly Kuehn’s second grade class took part in a skype session with a children’s
book author. The author teaches children to be proactive in finding homes for dogs; and
students in Kuehn’s class have been working with students at PTHS to make animal
blankets for the Washington County Humane Society.

Health & Wellness Day
At PV and McMurray!
This month McMurray Elementary and Pleasant Valley celebrated Health and Wellness
Day. The day is dedicated to making healthy choices for living a healthy lifestyle. They
focused on the importance of physical activity and healthy eating habits by rotating
through stations.

Mexican Fiestas
at Bower Hill
and Pleasant Valley
First graders at Bower Hill and Pleasant Valley showed off what they have learned about
Mexico and the Spanish language in their annual performances for students and parents.
Students wore their serapes, sang songs about the Mexican culture, and shared facts that
they had learned through their studies. The productions were organized by music
teachers Barb Viola and Bob Tupper.

State Fair at
McMurray
Fifth grade students at McMurray Elementary put on their annual State Fair as the
culmination to their Human Geography Unit. Students are given a U.S. state or territory to
research. Following their research, the students design a game or activity related to their
state that visitors to their booth can play.

WACTC Honor Society Induction
Kristina Ellis and Andrew Ladzinski
These two students who attend Western Area Career and Technology Center were
inducted into the National Technical Honors Society, in recognition of their outstanding
academic achievement identifying them among the top performing students in the nation
in career education.

Reading Olympics at
Bower Hill
Bower Hill students recently celebrated the annual Reading Olympics –an afternoon filled
with fun based on themes from books the students read this year. All students in the
building rotated though stations with games and activities that support the students’ love
of reading.

McMurray
Wordmaster Honors
Bridgette Shock, 3 rd grade
This Bower Hill 3 rd grader earned highest honors with a perfect score on a recent
WordMasters Challenge. She was one of only 83 third graders to earn this distinction.
Students at Bower Hill are coached by the third grade teachers and enrichment facilitator
Joe Bratetich.

Law Day Honors for PTSD Students
Josh Bowman, 1 st place – essay
Kelly Bergman, 4 th place – essay
Abigail Grimpe and Peyton Vesely,
Honorable Mention – bookmark design
These four students from Peters Township were honored in the annual Law Day event at
Washington and Jefferson College on May 3. The students work was featured in a special
insert in the May 1 Observer Reporter.

Renewable
Energy at PTHS
Honors physics students spent one week this month investigating renewable energy
thanks to a grant received from the DEP. Students completed self‐directed activities using
wind turbines, fuel cells, solar panels, combinations of fuel cells and solar panels and
power houses. The week is part of an ongoing project with components that include an
eco energy lifestyle project.

McMurray Calcusolve
t
1 st Place Team:
Julie Bocetti
Wen Quan Zheng
Pratik Kaushik
Tyler Bove
Individual Honors:
1 st Place: Wen Quan Zheng
2 nd : Garrett Langley
3 rd : Joe DeWitt
2 nd Place Team
Shruthi Shivkumar
Joe De Witt
Garrett Langley
Paul Luniewski
Students from McMurray Elementary swept the CalcuSolve Tournament on Friday taking
the top two team positions and the top three individual honors overall. The names of
these students who are coached by Sue Kochin are listed above.

Excellence in
the Arts

Raku Art at PTHS
High School art students had the opportunity to create ceramics last week using the art of
Raku. This Japanese art uses extreme temperatures in a quick firing technique. Students
had the opportunity to watch the firing process from beginning to end. You may have
seen several of these pieces with the metallic glaze at the Imagination Celebration.

Sophomores Recognized in
Drug and Alcohol Prevention
Art Contest
Annie Mackowick ‐ 2 nd place
& Kayla Lewis ‐ 3 rd place
These two students have been recognized in the annual Drug and Alcohol Awareness and
Prevention Art Contest. Their artwork will be framed and presented to the Washington
County Drug and Alcohol Commission.

National Competition
National Honors in
Madison Trypus, 2 nd place – stamp design
Junior American
Citizens Competition
Trevor Thomas, 2 nd place –story story
Mason Merdian, honorable mention –
photo essay
Regional Division
Ryan Bastyr, 2 nd place –poster design
Hannah Taylor, 2 nd place – poetry
Bethel Fife and Drum Chapter Level
Alexandra Garcia and Franchesca Parks,
1 st place ‐ banner
These 7 middle school students have been honored for their achievements in this year’s
Junior American Citizens Competition sponsored by the Bethel Fife and Drum Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolution. The entries all related to the theme of
“Enhance the Present. ”

Elementary Band Festival
Kyle McFerran, Abby Reitz, Jennifer Babyak,
and Maggie English – clarinets
Tyler Kabo, and Shawn Caven –alto saxophone
Andrew Mottola – tenor saxophone
Garrison Scoulos, Finn Sanders, and Moritz
Woelk – trumpets
Garrett Langley –French horn
Duncan McCall, Zach Snyder, Keith Devine, and
Grant Ogburn –trombones
Joe DeWitt – percussion
Sixteen students from McMurray Elementary took part in the Washington County
Elementary Band Festival. Some of the most talented fifth and sixth grade band students
from schools throughout the county come together for one day to practice under the
direction of a guest conductor, then present a concert.

2 nd Grade “Sounds a Little Fishy to Me!”
Pleasant Valley held their annual 2 nd grade musical “Sounds a Little Fishy to Me” –the
performance showcases what the students have learned during their studies of Habitats
and Oceans.

Brighton Beach
Memoirs at PTHS
Cast featured:
Cole Marks as Eugene,
Billy Kohne as Stanley,
John McGovern as Jack and
Carla Hoge as Kate
Early this month, the PTHS Thespians staged their last production of the year: Brighton
Beach Memoirs. It was a great theatre season this year and we’d like to thank all of our
talented thespians as well as the teacher sponsors and directors who did such a great job
this year.

Imagination Celebration
District‐wide Celebration of the Arts!
Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Imagination Celebration. While Dr.
Kardambikis led the charge, she had an amazing team behind her. The event featured art
work and performances by students of all ages and included food, dancing, hands on
activities. It really was a wonderful event – if you missed it, we’ll be back again next year!

Excellence in
Athletics

PT Fencing Team – Medals
in Tiger Tournament
Epee Event:
Kenny Dodson, Christopher Laster and
Andrea Bryan –Bronze Medals
Elise Bigley – Gold Medal
Foil Event:
Elise Bigley – Silver Medal
Kenny Dodson ‐ Bronze Medal
Joshua Bowman – Gold Medal dl
Our Fencing team took part in the Tiger Tournament last month and all participants came
home with a medal. Overall the team earned two gold medals, one silver and four bronze
medals in the event.

Spring Sports Teams
with Section Champ
Titles:
Girls Lacrosse
Softball
Boys Tennis
Congratulations to our spring sports teams who earned the title of section champion this
year.

Spring Sports Teams in
the Playoffs
Boys Tennis
Boys volleyball
Boys Lacrosse
Track & Field –25 qualified for
WPIAL Finals
Softball and Girls Lacrosse are
still going strong!
We would also like to congratulate these teams who made it into the WPIAL playoffs this
spring. Softball and girls lacrosse are still going strong with games this week as they
continue their playoff run.

Tennis Accolades
Mitch Kreider –Section 5AAA Singles Champion
Mitch Kreider and Matt Subosits took 2 nd place
in WPIAL Doubles Championship
This member of our boys tennis team earned the Section 5 AAA Singles Tennis
Championships and his doubles team took 2 nd place in the WPIAL Boys Tennis Doubles
Championship.

Tri‐County Athletic Director
Association
Olympic Sports Coach of the Year:
Bob Dyer –Boys Soccer
Pat Vereb – Girls Soccer
Brandt Bowman – Girls Tennis
Student Athlete Recognition:
Sarah Komer ‐ tennis
Andrew Erenberg ‐ football
Matt Venanzi ‐ soccer
US News and World Report recently came out with their annual review of high schools
across the nation, and Peters Township High School ranked 14 th in the state and earned a
silver medal award. Rankings are based on how well the schools prepare students for
college factoring in PSSA scores, AP scores and other standardized data.

Excellence in
Leadership

US News & World
Report
Silver Medal School
Ranked 14 th in State
US News and World Report recently came out with their annual review of high schools
across the nation, and Peters Township High School ranked 14 th in the state and earned a
silver medal award. Rankings are based on how well the schools prepare students for
college factoring in PSSA scores, AP scores and other standardized data.

PTA Lifetime
Achievement
Award
David Karp
The Bower Hill PTA honored retiring teacher David Karp with a Lifetime Achievement
Award in recognition of his years of service and dedication to the students and
community of Peters Township. David has served as the staff liaison to the PTA and
reports on events within the building at each of their monthly meetings.

Staff Appreciation
Celebrating the staff of PTSD!
This month we celebrated Staff Appreciation week. While we hope that our staff knows
how much we appreciate them each and every day, one week is set aside each year to
celebrate. Many thanks to the PTA and parents for all that they do show how much the
value our teachers and staff in the buildings.

School Administrator
Award for
Dr. Monsour
School Administrator Award
from the Academy for
Adolescent Health
Dr. Mary Monsour has received the School Administrator Award from the Academy for
Adolescent Health. The award is given to an individual who is deeply committed to the
young people in our community. They noted Mary’s “tireless efforts to provide quality
education to young people” that has enriched our entire community.

Kindergarten Tea
Partnering with local preschools
in Peters Township
PV Teacher Mary Beth Barnes is the grand prize winner in the “What Inspires You to Help
Children” essay contest. After being selected as a finalist, the final step was a public vote.
Thanks to the help of our parents and staff, Barnes edged out the competition and will
receive an iPad for her classroom.

Excellence in
Character

New iPad at PV Thanks
to Parent/Staff Votes
Mary Beth Barnes
Wins!
Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Imagination Celebration. While Dr.
Kardambikis led the charge, she had an amazing team behind her. The event featured art
work and performances by students of all ages and included food, dancing, hands on
activities. It really was a wonderful event – if you missed it, we’ll be back again next year!

McMurray Anti-Bullying Week
Students Raise $3,000 for Caring Place
McMurray Elementary kicked off their Anti‐Bullying week with a unique fundraiser for the
Caring Place. The students purchases yards of duct tape to tape Principal Blair Stoehr to
the wall. As No Tune Left Behind played for the students they took turns adding their
pieces of tape and raised $1500 for the Caring Place. They efforts were matched by
Highmark so a total of $3000 was donated.

PTHS Mock Crash Preaches Serious Lesson on Safety
Sponsored dby SAD
While the event may have been staged, the lessons taught were serious at last week’s
Mock Crash at Peters Township High School. Sponsored by SAD and organized by teacher
Andrea Gearhart, the annual event is designed to share the harsh reality of what can
happen when people drive under the influence. Peters Township Fire, Police and EMS
were on hand to help stage the series of events at the High School parking lot.

PV Raffles off
Principal for the Day
1 st grader Chris Severns
at the helm!
PV Raises $700 for
Relay for Life
Students at Pleasant Valley raised $700 for the Relay for Life –all for the chance to be
principal for the day. Students purchased raffle tickets and the winner was Chris Severns,
who spent the day giving tours, handing some maintenance issues and even rescuing a
baby chick who escaped from a 3 rd grade classroom.

Pennies for
Patients
Pleasant Valley Raised
More than $4,000 for the
Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society
Pleasant Valley students recently collected “Pennies for Patients” to help the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society. Overall, the students collected just over $4,000.

Night Flight Concert
Character Counts Sponsored Air Force Jazz Band Concert for the Community
Peters Township Character Counts recently hosted a free concert with the Air Force Jazz
Band at the High School. Operation Troop Appreciation was also on hand to accept
donation of much needed items for our troops.

Character Counts
Awards
Alberta Duda
Dante and Mary Pat DeRienzo
Mary Lou Bulseco
Lindsey Dolanch
Rachel Wilson
PTCC held their Spring Recognition Awards on April 19 and several residents and one
student were recognized for their efforts in our schools and in the community. High
School assistant principal Christian Lesnett served as emcee for the awards.

Put First Things First

National History Day
Joshua Bowman, Joshua Larimer, and Jason Lee
Peters Township competed in National History Day in Pennsylvania recently and a team of
three students from the High School earned first place in the state and will now go on to
the national competition in June. Teacher Josh Elders, who oversees the team is here with
us tonight.

FBLA Students Head to Nationals
Nick Roberts, Grace Brandstetter and Paige Hannah
We also have with us John Good, who along with Kathy Sekely, sponsors the High School’s
FBLA team. At their recent state competition, 3 students earned the right to compete at
the national level this summer in Texas.