Education

Peters Township School District
Excellence in
Education
Academics, Athletics, the Arts,
Leadership, & Character Education
June 27, 2016

HIGH SCHOOL
Akash Bhat (perfect score)
Emily Fornof
Lillian Fornof
Cindy Hsieh
Sam Marx
Omar Merhabi
Nicole Munne
Sarah Oldenburg
Shraya Sharma (perfect score)
Shruthi Shivkumar
PA Junior Academy
of Science
First Place State Awards
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Nicole Esselstyn
Eeshaan Jadhav
Meghashyam Krishnasamy
In May, High School and Middle School students took part in the 82 nd Pennsylvania Junior
Academy of Science (PJAS) State Competition at Penn State University. Please join in
congratulating the students above who finished with first place awards at the state level.

Lily Fornof received the Oerlin
Memorial Award for the Pennsylvania
Academy of Science.
Akash Bhat received the Director’s
Award for High Excellence in
Biology—the highest award given at
the state competition
PA Junior Academy
of Science
Special Awards
In addition, two students received special awards at the PJAS state competition. Lily was
awarded the Oerlin Memorial Award, a special distinction given in her category. Akash
was awarded the Director’s Award for High Excellence in Biology. This is the highest
award that can be given out at the state competition.

Rotary Spelling Bee at Pleasant Valley
Congratulations to 3rd grade winners
Isabella Updyke, Liam Connolly and Zachary Miner
Congratulations to 3rd graders Isabella Updyke, Liam Connolly and Zachary Miner who
were the winners of the Rotary Spelling Bee at Pleasant Valley. Each year the Rotary
donates dictionaries to our third graders and sponsors a spelling bee in each K-3 school.
.

D-Day Remembered at
Peters Township
Middle School
You could have heard a pin drop at Peters Township Middle School on June 6 as three
veterans of the D-Day invasion recounted their stories to an auditorium full of students,
teachers and guests. The veterans spoke for nearly an hour about their experiences as
young men in the Navy, Army, and Merchant Marines on that historic day. The event was
organized in partnership with the Peters Township Public Library who also held a public
event that evening.

McMurray Spanish
Students Skype
with Students in
Paraguay
Senora Schade’s Spanish
class took a virtual trip to
Paraguay
On Friday, June 3 rd , Senora Schade’s Spanish class took a virtual trip to Paraguay by
communicating via Skype with members of the Peace Corps. The McMurray students
were able to put their Spanish skills to the test to communicate and learn about
Paraguayan food, meal times, animals, soccer teams, sports, and school. The students
then compared cultures to identify similarities and differences.

McMurray Scrabble
Tournament Winners
6 th Grade:
Evan Puhl, Champion
Wyatt Tune, Runner-up
5 th Grade:
Katie Ghobrial/Allen Liu
4 th Grade:
Will Somers/Brendon Kern
Congratulations to the students above who took home top honors in the McMurray
Elementary Scrabble Tournament. 6 th grade homerooms sent solo players, while 4 th and
5 th graders played as a team. The tournament is organized annually by librarian Meg
Owens.

El Día del Niño at
McMurray
Elementary Spanish
students celebrated
Children’s Day at the
Peters Township Public
Library with their
teachers
McMurray Elementary Spanish students were invited to celebrate El Día del Niño,
Children’s Day, at the Peters Township Public Library with their teachers. The students
were immersed in Hispanic culture by tasting authentic Argentine hot chocolate and
making a traditional Mexican folk art craft. Nicole Makrinos and Abby Schade,
McMurray Spanish teachers, read a story in Spanish about Frida Kahlo to the students.

WACTC Honor Roll: 4 th Nine Weeks
High Honors:
Pamela Altman
Erik Brindle
Joshua Camacho
Sara Cox
Kellin Daley
Maggie English
Evan Gourley
Douglas Halo
Matthew Hecht
Kathryn Lucia
Kathryn Luttner
Brianna Ross
Mackenzie Such
Ross Wickline
Ashlee Wilkes
Finn Wilkinson
Michael Wright
Honors:
Jonathan Albolino
Robert Bolander
Hunter Dawso
Erin Killen
Matthew Meola
Anna Michalski
Morgan Palovcik
John Paschl
Gary Welsh
Please join us in congratulating the students from Western Area Career and Technology
Center who received honors for the 4 th quarter.

National Honor Society Induction
61 students from PTHS were inducted on May 27
On Friday, May 27, 61 students were inducted into the Peters Township High School
National Honor Society. These dedicated students were selected based on their
outstanding academics, leadership, service and character.
.

McMurray – Bower Hill
Collaboration
2nd grade and 6 th grade classroom
partner this school year
Throughout the school year, 6 th graders in Mrs. Stark’s class have been collaborating with
Miss Edward’s second grade students in a variety of projects – they exchanged letters,
connected on International DOT day, and skyped last month to meet their pen pals and
share posters made by the 6 th graders. As the school year came to a close, the 6 th graders
traveled to Bower Hill to meet face to face and share the research both groups had done
on mythology and dragons. .

Derby Day at McMurray
Fourth grade students at McMurray Elementary held their annual Derby Day competition
in June – all fourth grade students created a simple machine derby car from recycled
items to race. The students held preliminary races and in the final event crowned the
fastest car and the one with the longest run overall.

Butterfly Release
at Bower Hill
2 nd graders learn about
the life cycle of the
butterfly
Second graders at Bower Hill experienced a butterfly release this week following their
study of the life cycle of the butterfly. The funding for this event was made possible
through the PTA Used Book Sale Grant funds.

Game
Commission
Visits
McMurray
4th grade
students learned
about animal
safety in our
region
Fourth grade students at McMurray heard a presentation this week from Dan Sitler from
the PA State Game Commission. Sitler shared important information about the many
responsibilities of his job as well as animal safety in our region.

End of the School Year Celebrations
Students at McMurray Elementary, Pleasant Valley and Bower Hill celebrated the end of
another great school year with their annual field day celebrations. Organized by the PTAs
at each school, an army of parent volunteers made these events special for our students.

7 th Grade Field Day
Homerooms competed in games that
tested their academic prowess, along
with their logic and teamwork skills
Last week, the 7 th graders put their knowledge to the test during the 7 th Grade Academic
Games. Competing as homerooms, the students took on challenges in subject areas as
well as logic and teamwork. At the end of the day, the team with the most points was
named champion!

6 th Grade Time Capsule
The next visit of the cicadas will also mean it's time to open the time capsule buried by
Mrs. Kropiewnicki's 6 th grade science classes. The students included a list of today's
prices for common household items, a newspaper and a bundle of letters to their future
selves.

Teacher Excellence Awards:
Franchesca Casilli and
Zachary Marmol
Student Citizenship Awards:
Lauren Petrisin, Jacob Bush,
Madison Nagel,
Jose Gutierrez, Mia Pugliano
and Ryan Moore
8 th Grade Awards
Congratulations to our 8th graders who celebrated their awards program on June 20.
Students heard from fellow classmates giving “challenge speeches” and received awards
voted on by their classmates and teachers. Students Frankie Casilli and Zach Marmol
earned the Teacher Excellence Award for the class of 2020.

Congratulations to the Class of 2016!
On June 10, we celebrated the graduation of more than 365 members of the Class of
2016. Overall these talented seniors earned more than $7.4 million in scholarships this
year. We would like to congratulate all of our graduates and wish them well.

Musicals at
Pleasant Valley
& Bower Hill
It has been a musical month at our Elementary Schools as the school year came to a
close. First graders at Bower Hill performed their Viva Mexico! show for parents, sharing
all that they have learned of the Spanish language and Mexican culture. Third graders at
Pleasant Valley also shared their Pittsburgh Show with all that they have learned about
our region. Back to Bower Hill, 3 rd graders performed their patriotic musical that
included facts they had learned about our American history and government.

High School
Student Artists
AP Chem Students Show
Their Creative Side
Advanced Placement Chemistry students have been flexing their creative muscles this
month and have been painting science related graphics in the science wing of the High
School. Their efforts have been organized by teacher Andrea Gearhart.

Student Athletes Sign National Letters of Intent
Baseball:
Brody Cararie, Clarion University
Adam Cisney, Waynesburg University
Matt Waigand, Shorter University
Basketball:
Nick Valentic, Waynesburg University
Football:
Jake Reardon, John Carroll University
Conor Manning, Washington & Jefferson College
Michael Wright, St. Vincent’s College
On June 1, we celebrated 14 students who signed letters of intent to continue their
athletic careers at the collegiate level. These students are listed above.

Golf:
Christian Ordonez, John Carroll University
Lacrosse:
Max Buzzelli, Thiel College
Soccer:
Matt Massucci, Allegheny College
Track and Field:
Chloe Grzyb, Johns Hopkins
Hannah Falcione, Miami of Ohio University
Volleyball:
Joe Fick, Juniata College
Wrestling:
Mike McAleavey, The Citadel Military College
Student Athletes Sign National
Letters of Intent
(continued)
On June 1, we celebrated 14 students who signed letters of intent to continue their
athletic careers at the collegiate level. These students are listed above.

PT Indians: Year in Review
• 23 of 24 teams qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs
• 2015 WPIAL Sportsmanship Award Winner
• 31 Student Athletes will play in college next year
• 1 WPIAL Team Championship: Boys Golf
• 3 Section Championships: Boys and Girls Golf, Girls Basketball
• 3 WPIAL Individual Championships: Nick Wolk / Cross Country &
Track 3200m and Hunter Bruce / Boys Golf
It has been an outstanding year for PTHS athletics. Looking back, above are some of our
most notable highlights for the year!

Donations for
the Troops
District-wide drive
organized by PTHS
students Alanna Weiss
and Manasi Jadhav
High School students Alanna Weiss and Manasi Jadhav organized a District wide
donation effort to collect supplies for our troops. Working through the Interact Club, the
students assigned items to each grade level and packaged more than 120 bags for the
troops.

PT Ambulance Service Coloring Contest Winners
Berlin Hinton, Sophia Dzirino,
Aubrey Sasuta, Julia McCann,
Lia Faingnaert, Angelina
Williams, Kate McMullin, Taylor
Doub, Ian Whalen, Kristen
Hyjurick, Lilly Goldbach and
Lydia Ruth
The students above are the winners of the Peters Township Ambulance Service coloring
contest in May. All of the winners were invited to a pizza party and an open house at the
station with their families.

Flag Day Celebration at Bower Hill
Second Graders donate
$100 to the PT Fire
Department
Second graders at Bower Hill donated $100 to the Peters Township Fire Department
during their annual Flag Day events. During the ceremony, the students shared what
they have learned about the flag and even had a special visit from Betsy Ross (librarian
Karly Kunkle).

Toy Drive for
Children’s Hospital
Organized by the McMurray
Student Leadership Team
Each year at McMurray School, the staff and students provide toys for needy
children. This year, the student leadership team collected new toys for Children’s
Hospital. This week, a group of students and parents delivered two carloads of boxes to
the hospital on behalf of the school.

Mock Crash at PTHS
Thank you to our local first responders for
their part in teaching these important lessons!
As part of our annual preparation for the prom, students at the High School took part in
a mock crash event. In conjunction with our local first responders, juniors and seniors
watched a live reenactment of a fatal car crash that was the result of driving under the
influence. Freshmen and sophomores also took part in an assembly about the dangers of
drug and alcohol abuse.

Diversity Food Festival
Sponsored by the Interact Club
As guests arrived at the Spring Chorus concert in June, they were invited to stop by the
Diversity Food Festival in the High School Cafeteria. Sponsored by the Interact Club, this
event featured foods from around the world, including India, France, Germany, and
Greece.

PT Day at the Wild Things
3 rd annual Peters Township
Day at the Wild Things to
benefit the Peters Township
Education Foundation
This weekend marked our third annual PT Day at the Wild Things. The event is cosponsored
by the PT Education Foundation, the Chamber of Commerce and the PT
Baseball and Softball Associations. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with student
performances, students throwing the first pitch and lots of fun at the ballpark. The event
also serves as a fundraiser for the sponsoring organizations.

Susan Bailey, Reading Teacher
Ralph Black, Custodian
Alyson Boyer, Gifted Teacher
Dennis Chappel, Custodian
Jolene Hanig-Jones, 3rd grade Teacher
Sandra Gans, German Teacher
Lisa Marutz, Library Secretary
Nancy McKenna, 5th Grade Teacher
Debra Miller, 5th grade Teacher
George Paxon Jr., Maintenance
Patricia Ryan, School Nurse
Elizabeth Snyder, Food Service
Sue Tillack, 5th Grade Teacher
Diane Torchio, Food Service
Jenice Vesely, School Secretary
Honoring Our
District Retirees
On June 23, we celebrated our annual retirement dinner to honor our colleagues!
Although not everyone could make it to the event, we wish them all our very best in
their retirement and thank them for their many contributions to our schools!