Ision night - Norwin School District

KNIGHT
V
ISION
May 2011
Electronic newsletter of the Norwin School District
281 McMahon Drive, North Huntingdon, PA 15642
Graduation!
Four-hundred thirty-two students graduated from Norwin
School District at a ceremony held Friday, May 27, 2011.
Of the 432 graduates in the Class of 2011, 83 percent will be
attending a four-year college, two-year community college,
business, trade, or technical school; 4 percent will be enlisting
in the armed services; 5 percent will enter the work force; and
8 percent are undecided, but they are determined to follow a
productive and contributing pathway for future success.
S C H O L A R S H I P S
More than 90 Norwin High School graduates earned scholarships.
Dr. William Kerr, Superintendent of Schools, sent these 90
students a personal, signed letter of congratulations. More details about graduation are included in this news release. The news release also
features a full list of graduates’ names, as well as scholarships earned by graduates. Best wishes to the Class of 2011!
Excellence in Education Program
The annual Excellence In Education
Program honored 22 high-achieving
Norwin High School students with a
special luncheon held May 18, 2011,
at Stratigos Banquet Centre in North
Huntingdon.
The program is held each year to
honor the top 20 students or top 5
percent of the graduating class from
Norwin High School, whichever is
greater, based on the class standing at
the end of their junior year. The
Norwin Chamber of Commerce and
Norwin School District sponsors the
program. Click here to read about the
students’ future plans and the program.
Stewartsville Teachers Rally for Cystic Fibrosis
Research
Stewartsville teachers raised $450 for cystic fibrosis research at
a staff breakfast / fund-raiser held before the school day on May
3, 2011. The breakfast honored two Stewartsville students who
have cystic fibrosis.
Click here to read about their efforts.

High School Mock
Accident
Norwin High School and its Students Against Destructive
Decisions (SADD) Club presented the annual mock
accident program on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
The goal of the program was to impress upon the nearly
440 seniors in attendance that one mistake or one risky
behavior could cost them their futures.
Presenters included:
Ms. Lori Playso, who spoke about her son, Timothy L.
Greenawalt, who was killed in a one-vehicle accident
on Halloween night in 1998. Also killed in the
accident was David J. Karas. Both were students at Norwin High School. She showed news footage from the accident and urged students
to make wise decisions so that their parents don’t have to go through what she did.
Mr. Darius Carlins, coordinator of Children Hospital of Pittsburgh’s ThinkFirst injury prevention program. He was 18 when a motor
vehicle crash left him a paraplegic. His mistake was getting into a car with a teen driver who was drunk.
North Huntingdon Police Department, represented by Chief Michael Daugherty and Sgt. Duane Kucera.
Student Ms. Karly Painter, S.A.D.D. Vice President, read the accident scenario which students would see outside the High School.
Outside the High School, students witnessed emergency response crews responding to a mock accident between two vans in which one driver
was “drunk.” Student actors played the roles of the crash victims, and North Huntingdon Police Chief Michael Daugherty narrated each
aspect of the emergency response. In the mock accident scenario, two students died.
Click here to read the full program from the event. Click here to see additional photos from the mock accident.
Engineering for Young Women
A dozen Norwin High School students recently completed a three-week workshop series
aimed at helping young women explore the field of engineering.
Held afterschool on May 2, 9, and 16 in the classroom of science teacher Mr. Matt Anticole,
these workshops featured a different female engineer each week. The speakers shared
information about their field, about what it is like in college and the work force, and the
advantages and challenges associated with being a female engineer.
The workshops included biomechanical engineering with Ms. Trisha Pavel, a 2005 Norwin
High School graduate, aerospace engineering with Ms. Dana Brutsche, a 2004 Norwin High
School graduate, and electrical engineering with Ms. Janine Ketter Brown, a 2002 Norwin
High School graduate.
Click here to read the full article.
Preliminary Budget
Superintendent William Kerr and Director of Business Affairs John Wilson recently presented an overview
of the preliminary 2011-2012 Education Budget, which currently calls for no furloughs and expenditures of
$56.7 million –– a decrease of $1.2 million, or 2.1 percent, from the current District budget. It also calls for
no tax increase.
Final adoption will occur June 20, 2011. Click here for more details.
Students Patsy Kowalski, Alexa George, and
Maddie Yuhas participate in an experiment testing
the tensile strength of Hollywood special effects
“skin,” with presenter Trisha Pavel at right.
Nick Cirucci to be Honored in Harrisburg
Norwin High School graduate Nick Cirucci is one of seven students from across Pennsylvania who are scheduled to be
recognized at the “2011 Annual Tribute to Good Character” to the Pennsylvania General Assembly Tuesday June 7, 2011 in
the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.
Nick, who graduated in the Class of 2011 on May 27, will be honored with the “Students for Good Character” Award during
the event, hosted by the National Character Education Foundation. Members of the State Legislature plan to be in attendance,
with several of them speaking. The event has been held since 2005 and has been televised by the Pennsylvania Cable
Network in recent years. Norwin Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Kerr will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
Click here to read more about Nick’s award.
Nick Cirucci

Hillcrest Field Day at
Knights Stadium
The annual Field Day event for Hillcrest Intermediate School was held
Friday, May 20 at Norwin Knights Stadium. Always a big day for the kids
at Hillcrest, the highlight was the tug of war battle between sixth-grade
classrooms (photo at right). Students from Ms. Bonnie Kibel’s class won the
student tug of war and had the privilege of trying to beat their teachers.
Throughout the day, students participated in 16 stations (activities) located
on the turf, track and practice football field which were run by itinerant
teachers and high school students. Ms. Mary Ellen Ferragonio (high school
physical education teacher) oversaw the high school students who
volunteered part of their day to help run a station, be a buddy to a student
with special needs, or assist classroom teachers in a unique partnership between the High School and Intermediate School students.
The event was organized by Hillcrest Intermediate School physical education teachers Ms. Mary Ann Stevens and Mr. Christopher Tennant.
High School
Students Create
Business Ideas
Students in the “Starting a Business” course at Norwin
High School had a hefty assignment.
The 200-point project, which students took a month to
prepare, included presenting a business plan to Ms.
Stacey Winfield, Vice President of Commercial Loans
at S&T Bank. The student presentations occurred April
21, 2011. Business attire was required as students
explained what kind of businesses they were interested
in pursuing and answered pertinent questions from Ms.
Winfield as if they were applying for a small-business loan. Click here to read more about this.
Hahntown Elementary Student Wins
Fourth-Grade Spelling Bee
The District-wide fourth-grade spelling bee was held Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at Sheridan Terrace Elementary
School. Students practiced for the event and had school-level Spelling Bees to qualify for the District Fourth
Grade Spelling Bee in April. The top ten percent of the highest spellers from each of the four elementary schools
qualified to participate in the District Bee.
On the second Tuesday of May, 48 students competed for the title of Spelling Bee Champion. The students battled
through six rounds and concluded the event spelling seventh-grade words. The winner was Craig Drost, a student
from Hahntown Elementary School.
“The event is an excellent opportunity for the students to display their spelling talents,” said the event’s host, Ms. Spelling Bee Winner Craig
Ciminy St. Clair, who also serves as elementary gifted coordinator.
Drost of Hahntown Elem.
Sunset Valley “Law Day”
Law Day is celebrated each May at Sunset Valley Elementary School.
This year, Mr. Keith Nicola, a lawyer from North Huntingdon, visited Sunset Valley Elementary to speak to
the fourth graders. He discussed how the government system works.
“The students had many questions, so we may have many future lawyers in our midst,” said teacher Ms. Shari
Gogets.

Norwin School District
Community Foundation Awards
Grants to Teachers
Science education, artwork from around the world, and e-readers are three
educational projects that the Norwin School District Community Foundation is
supporting through its new Educator Innovations Grant program.
The Norwin School District Community Foundation recently awarded $1,500 to
educational projects created by teachers that will directly benefit at least 525
students in the 2011-2012 school year.
The Foundation is a non-profit group affiliated with Norwin School District. The
Foundation’s new Educator Innovations Grant challenges District teachers to
dream up an innovative classroom project that might not otherwise be funded by
the school budget.
Click here to read more about each project.
Athletics
Click here to read about highlights from the past month submitted by Norwin coaches.
Dr. John C. Boylan, center, president of the Norwin School District
Community Foundation, presents $500 checks to teachers who are
receiving Educator Innovations Grants for classroom projects.
From left: Ms. Molli Brown, Ms. Tara Lynn, Dr. Boylan, Ms.
Sharon Welty, and Ms. Paula Giran.
One story is about Kasey Kemp, who will be a Norwin High School senior in August. She won the state girls’ pole vault
championship this past weekend at Shippensburg University with a vault of 12 feet.
Kasey Kemp
Guidance Corner
Final transcripts will be sent the third week of June.
SATs will be given June 4, 2011. ACTs will be June 11, 2011. The registration deadline for both of these tests was May 6, 2011.
Throughout the summer, a guidance counselor will be in the High School building every Monday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m., with a lunch break
from Noon until 1 p.m.
More guidance department information, including details about the weekly counselor schedule during the summer, can be found here.
Students Win Cultural Trust Art Awards
The Greensburg Area Cultural Council (GACC), a program of Westmoreland
Cultural Trust, honored three Norwin High School students at its 13th-Annual
Achievement in the Arts Awards Banquet on Sunday, May 15, 2011, in
Commissioners’ Hall at the Youngwood campus of the Westmoreland County
Community College.
The Norwin awardees were Jesse Taylor, Connor Feals, and Katie Falk.
Overall, the GACC honored 52 high school seniors from 18 Westmoreland County
high schools for their outstanding efforts in music, theater and the visual arts. The
awards are titled The Judges McCormick and Pezze Awards of Artistic Merit, and
Judge McCormick and Judge Pezze personally presented the awards.
Jesse Taylor Connor Feals Katie Falk
Holocaust Program at Norwin Middle School
Norwin Middle School’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Night, which included a candle lighting ceremony and a Holocaust speaker, was
held Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
More than 300 people attended, and they experienced a “museum” in the school built by eighth-grade students. Each class made a large
exhibit (about 9’x9’). These exhibits, about 20 in all, covered 3 hallways. In the auditorium lobby, there were about 100 individual student
projects on tables. Students also made a “remembrance tile” which contains a poem or letter about their feelings about the Holocaust. These
tiles made up a tiled wall. One display asked visitors to sign a wall that says “We will not forget.”
The speaker was Sam Weinreb, a Holocaust survivor who lives in White Oak.
At the ceremony, select students shared poems and letters. A group of students also recited a “Declaration of Remembrance” (a promise to
never forget). Then, the students lit 6 candles which represented the victims. Shulamit Bastacky, a hidden child of the Holocaust, lit a
seventh candle to represent those who risked their lives to save others.

Middle School Receives Fuel Up to Play Grant
Norwin Middle School was awarded a Fuel Up to Play 60 grant which, along with funding from the Heinz Foundation, totals $5,000. This
money will be used to promote informed and healthy decision-making with regard to eating and physical activity. Spearheaded by a group of
student-leaders, several goals were set, each containing multiple activities. These include:
Healthy Eating Goal: To promote the Middle School’s breakfast program and increase the availability and selection of healthful snack
choices to students.
Physical Activity Goal: To offer daily physical activity (in addition to Physical Education class) in multiple formats and for motivational
and instructional purposes.
The funding will pay for a climbing wall, increased healthful snack and structured physical activity options at school dances, support for
Nutrition Services to expand current breakfast options, and give-aways to promote an active lifestyle. It will also provide the Health and
Wellness Committee the opportunity to award mini-grants to middle school teachers who propose, develop, and conduct lessons that combine
physical activity with instruction and learning.
Modern Language Student Receives Award For
Her Passion For Languages
Calley Tinley, a senior at Norwin High School, was awarded a 2011 Honorable Mention among the Outstanding High School
Graduating World Language Students from the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association (PSMLA). Along with a
recommendation from her Spanish teacher, Ms. Danielle Connelly, Calley wrote an essay describing her contributions to Calley Tinley
world language activities and her interest in pursuing a career that will use language skills.
Calley will be featured on the PSMLA Web site to help inspire other students to strive for excellence in the study of world
languages.
“In the future, I plan to use my love of foreign languages to assist me in my goals as a medical researcher,” Calley writes. “I want to study in
South America and Mexico, and work with other researchers from all around the world. I believe studying foreign languages is extremely
important because it allows one to develop critical and creative thinking skills and to better communicate with people from all over the
globe.”
Three High School Students Receive Awards at Women
in Science at Seton Hill
Three Norwin High School juniors attended the Seton Hill Women in Science Awards Day with science
teachers Brian Nevi and Natalie Nevi on Wednesday, May 18, 2011. The three students who won awards
are (pictured from left to right) Gina Culbertson, chemistry, nominated by Ms. Nevi; Maggie Yuhas,
biology, nominated by Mr. Nevi; and Rachel Geizura, math, nominated by Ms. Corrie.
The purpose of this annual event was to honor high school women in our community who have
demonstrated a special talent in mathematics and science and to highlight the different career opportunities
available to women in these fields. The day consisted of a keynote address, hands-on laboratory activities
hosted by Seton Hill faculty and students, and an awards luncheon. Each awardee at the Women in Science Day event received a certificate
and is eligible for a Seton Hill University - Women in Science Scholarship.
Norwin Council of PTAs Annual Recognition
The Norwin Council of PTAs held its annual recognition dinner, during which five Norwin High School students were honored and new
Council of PTA officers were honored. TV meteorologist Dennis Bowman, also a talented ventriloquist, provided entertainment for the
evening. Click here to learn more.
Norwin Color Guard Ranked as One of
Best in The World
The Norwin High School Winter Guard had an award-winning season as they competed for the first
time ever as a World Class Guard, the most prestigious ranking a high school color guard program can
have. After a successful 2010 season and a fifth place finish in the Scholastic Open Class at the Winter
Guard International (WGI) World Championships, the Norwin Winter Guard was selected to move into
the Scholastic World Class for the 2011 season.
Click here to read more.

Norwin Students’ Art in D.C.
Two Norwin High School seniors placed in this year’s Congressional Art
Competition.
Molly Fallone won first place. Her original oil painting of Pittsburgh will be
displayed in the U.S. Capitol complex for one year. Molly will be given two
free roundtrip airfare tickets to D.C. to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony in
Washington D.C. in June.
Jesse Taylor placed third for his original spray painting. His artwork will be
exhibited in Congressman Tim Murphy’s office in Washington D.C. for a
year.
The annual Congressional Art Competition asks members of Congress to
submit one piece of artwork that best represents their congressional district.
This year, 13 of 45 schools within the 18th District submitted artwork.
Some 27 pieces of artwork were submitted from the 13 schools.
Molly Fallone’s oil painting of Pittsburgh
Lunch Price Increases for 2011-2012
The following are the price increases for the 2011-2012 school year:
Breakfast
Elementary: increased to $1
Hillcrest/Middle School: increased to $1.10
High School: increased to $1.30
Milk prices will increase to 50 cents.
Lunch
Elementary: increased to $1.75
Hillcrest/Middle School: increased to $1.85
High School: increased to $2
Butterfly Garden at Sheridan Terrace
Ms. Amanda Zajac’s Autism Support Classroom at Sheridan Terrace Elementary had the opportunity to
engage in a hands-on science unit throughout the month of May. The students were able to observe
caterpillars as they grew in a small habitat. The caterpillars then turned into chrysalises.
Then, the caterpillars emerged as butterflies and the students let the butterflies go into their natural habitat
outside of the school. Throughout this process, the students observed, wrote sentences about what they
saw, and made predictions about what they thought would happen next to the caterpillars and
butterflies. At right, student Zachary Coates observes with Ms. Amanda Zajac.
Sheridan Students Visit Compass Inn
Sheridan Terrace fourth-grader students visited The Compass Inn Museum in Laughlintown May 24
and 25. The Compass Inn is part of the Laurel Valley Historical Society and is a restored stagecoach
stop built in 1799. Two classrooms visited each day.
The students pretended that they were spending the day in the year 1812. The Inn itself is completely
furnished with period pieces. Students toured seven rooms, including a common room, serving
kitchen, ladies’ parlor and four bedrooms. They learned how different it was to stay in a hotel in the
1800s. In addition to the Inn, the students toured a cookhouse, blacksmith shop, and a barn. Each
child made a tin punch.
Financial Literacy Lessons
Ms. Megan Schaffer from S&T Bank presented a program for second-grade students at
Stewartsville Elementary School about understanding the difference between needs and wants
and other financial literacy topics. Through the example of owning a pet, students learned about
calculating expenses. S&T Bank’s visit followed a classroom lesson in April that occurred on
“Teach Children to Save Day,” as well as a social studies lesson about how people save money,
the importance of savings accounts, and goods and services.
At right, “Moolah Moolah” and Ms. Schaffer from S&T Bank visit a Stewartsville Elementary
School classroom.

Photos from the End of the School Year
Here are some pictures from various elementary school events held at the end of this school year.
Stewartsville’s Fun Day
Sunset Valley’s Fun Fair
Sheridan Terrace’s Fun Day
Sunset Valley Field Day
Hahntown’s Kindergarten Field Trip
Sheridan Terrace Fourth-Grade "Amazing Race to the
Hill" Games
Hahntown Kindergarten Program

Photos from the End of the School Year, Continued
Here are some pictures from various school events held at the end of this school year.
Nigel Walsh, Grade 2, and Grandmother Marti Gastel, at
Stewartsville’s Grandparents’ Day
Sheridan Terrace third-grade
field trip to Carnegie Science
Center
End-of-year Kindergarten program at
Stewartsville
Hahntown’s Third Grade Fun Day
Recorders Concert at Stewartsville
Hillcrest Intermediate School's
World’s Fair
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Feedback
We welcome your comments, questions or ideas. Simply write to jszish@norwinsd.org. We would appreciate all suggestions
about what you, the reader, would like to see in terms of newsletter length, article length, types of articles, informational value,
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Copyright 2011, Norwin School District (www.norwinsd.org)
281 McMahon Drive
North Huntingdon, PA 15642
Jonathan Szish, School and Community Relations