NAtioNAl Merit AchieveMeNt - Westmont Hilltop School District

NAtioNAl Merit AchieveMeNt 

2 010 A c h i e v e m e n t A n d e x c e l l e n c e 

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition that 

started in 1995. Students qualify for this recognition by taking the Preliminary 

SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. National Merit Commended 

Students and Finalists are students who are recognized on a national level as 

having outstanding academic promise. Scholars earning this award are listed 

below. 

Congratulations to our National Merit Scholar, Megan Mulrooney. 

Mulrooney was chosen from 1,500,000 high scorers in the nation for this 

highly prestigious award. Megan Mulrooney also received the $1,000 Arthur 

Hagadus Memorial Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Johnstown. 

National Merit Scholarship corporation – Scholar 

Megan Elizabeth Mulrooney 

National Merit Scholarship corporation – Finalists 

Juliana Faith Bukoski 

Sara Margaret Rogerson 

National Merit Scholarship corporation – letter of commendation 

Rachel Ellen Wozniak 

National Merit Scholarship Corporation Finalist: 


National Merit Scholarship Corporation Finalist: 


National Merit Scholarship Corporation Scholar: 


National Merit Scholarship Corporation Letter of 

Commendation: Rachel Ellen Wozniak 

The 2010 Hilltopper Highlights Achievement and Excellence, now entering its eleventh summer of publication, is a special summer edition 

of the Hilltop School News dedicated to recognition of the outstanding individual and collective accomplishments 

of our students within their school and community.

high School Achievement 

Students honored 

as top ten Scholars 

of 2010 

The “Top Ten” are Westmont 

Hilltop scholars who rank 

academically in the Top Ten of their 

graduating class. Top Ten scholars 

are honored annually with a savings 

bond and plaque provided through a 

collaborative effort of the Treasurer 

of the Board of Education and 

the Westmont Hilltop Education 

Association. This award is now 

sustained by the current Board 

Treasurer, Mr. Rooney Gleason, with 

leadership provided by the current Board 

President, Mr. Mitchell Azar, and the 

Westmont Hilltop Education Association 

President, Mr. Stephen Lindberg. Each 

student of the Top Ten will receive an 

award in the form of a $100.00 savings 

bond. The students pictured in the 

photograph have contributed to the 

tradition of excellence that characterizes 

Westmont Hilltop. 

Throughout the 2009-2010 school 

year, students in every grade and 

classroom have excelled in the areas 

of academics, arts, community service, 

and athletics. Examples of the service 

and accomplishments through which 

our students have honored their 

community, their parents, and their 

school, are contained within the pages 

of this newsletter, dedicated to the Class 

of 2010. The names of the following 

students will be inscribed on a plaque on 

permanent display in the lobby of our 

high school. 

Where is the 

class of 2010? 

The graduates of the Class 

of 2010 have declared plans 

to continue their education 

in the following institutions 

of higher learning: 

Allegheny College 

Allegany College of Maryland 

American University 

Arizona State University 

California University of PA 

Chatham University 

Clarion University of PA 

“High School Achievement” 

the class of 2010 top ten 

Top Ten-Row 1: Juliana Bukoski, Christine Weidner, Catherine Polito, Rachel Wozniak, Megan Mulrooney 

Row 2: Sara Rogerson, Zachary del Rosario, Zachary Ryan, Kyle Kunkle, Margaret Atterbury 

Westmont hilltop education 

Association top ten Awards 

(listed Alphabetically) 

Margaret Reed Atterbury 


Zachary Riggins del Rosario 

Kyle Charles Kunkle 

Colgate University 

College of Charleston 

Cone School of Histology 

Duke University 

Duquesne University 

Edinboro University 

George Mason University 

Harding University 

Indiana University of PA 

Juniata College 

LaRoche College 

Lincoln University 

Mansfield University 

Messiah College 

Mount Aloysius College 

Olin College 

PA Academy of Cosmetology 


Catherine Elizabeth Polito 


Zachary David Ryan 

Christine Carroll Weidner 


Penn College of Technology 

Penn Highlands Community College 

Penn State University 

Penn State Altoona Campus 

Pratt Institute 

Robert Morris University 

Saint Francis University 

Triangle Tech 

University of Delaware 

University of North Carolina at Greensboro 

University of Pittsburgh 

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 

United States Air Force Academy 

West Virginia University 

Washington & Jefferson College 

Westminster College

Well Done, class of 2010! 

Before handing out diplomas and commending his fellow alumni of the Class 

of 2010, Westmont Hilltop School Board President, Mr. Mitchell Azar, annually 

reminisces with parents, families, and friends of the graduates about the highlights 

of their school year. Excerpts of the address are as follows: 

“You have certainly performed well academically. In a class of 125 students, 

roughly 45 of you have finished your high school years with a cumulative grade 

point average greater than 92%, and 10 of you have completed your high school 

years with a GPA of 100% or greater.” 

“You had a classmate who was a National Merit Commended Student, two 

classmates named National Merit Scholarship Finalists, and one received the 

honor of 2010 National Merit Scholar, which are tremendous accomplishments.” 

“Athletically, you celebrated your second consecutive undefeated season in 

Girls’ Swimming, sent nine students to the state track meet, and won the Laurel 

Highlands Athletic Conference Championship in Boys’ Soccer, advancing to the 

state quarterfinal game. But most importantly, beyond wins and losses, you represented 

your school honorably and were recognized as the winner of the 2010 

District 6 Sportsmanship Award. We thank the Class of 2010 for your leadership 

in making that happen.” 

“The Music and Arts programs at Westmont are always sources of great pride, 

and your class has been no exception. Your production of Anything Goes was 

phenomenal. You also have five classmates who will be furthering their education 

in the areas of art or music, which is just fantastic.” 

“Finally, I was particularly impressed with the tremendous effort you put into 

your senior projects. Doing things like organizing a benefit concert for pancreatic 

cancer, a charity basketball game for Special Olympics, collecting school supplies 

for children in underdeveloped countries, and raising more than $8,000 for the 

Four Diamonds Fund and the American Heart Association through a 12-hour 

dance marathon. These are not typical high school senior projects. You should all 

be commended for your hard work to benefit those who are less fortunate and for 

not taking the easy way out.” 

Richard Verma, Westmont Hilltop Alumnus, honors the Class of 010 with his message and his presence. 


Always Part of the 

Westmont hilltop Family 

Three retiring members of our 

faculty were honored by Board 

President Mitchell Azar, and the 

administration and faculty of the 

Westmont Hilltop School District, 

at the Commencement Ceremony 

of 2010. The audience and Class 

of 2010 jointly acknowledged and 

thanked Colleen Goerlich, Debbie 

Facciani, and Patricia Molnar for 

their outstanding service to our 

district. These three women have 

more than 100 years of combined 

teaching experience and have 

guided our students from their earliest 

days at the elementary school 

to the celebration that we were 

experiencing in June of 2010. 

Sadly, we also paid tribute 

this year to the passing of two 

renowned former members of our 

faculty, Fred McLoota and Rich 

Puhala, who each served the 

district for more than 30 years 

while touching the lives of many 

students. 

Keynote Speaker 

richard verma 

On June 5 of 1986, a teenager named Richard 

Verma graduated from our school district. The 

alumnus who addressed the Class of 010 as keynote 

speaker now holds degrees from the Georgetown University 

Law Center, American University’s Washington 

College of Law, and Lehigh University. 

In April of 009, Mr. Verma became, and is 

now, the Department of State’s Assistant Secretary 

for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, where he serves 

as the primary advisor to the Secretary of State on 

Congressional Affairs, and as the Department’s Chief 

Liaison to Congress. Between graduation and his 

current appointment, Mr. Verma served as a lawyer in 

private practice, became a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, 

worked in the House of Representatives, served as 

Senior National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority 

Leader, and served as a member of the Defense 

Department’s Transition Team. He is a member of the 

Council on Foreign Relations, was formerly an International 

Affairs Fellow of the Council, and has served 

on the National Academy of Sciences Panel of Critical 

Infrastructure Protection and the Law. 

“High School Achievement”


Student Speakers 

Margaret Atterbury, Student Council President, honored her school and 

community as she addressed the values of compassion, friendliness, and respect 

as follows: “Whether or not you are aware, most of you have developed personal 

values of compassion, friendliness, and respect as a result of your maturation 

within this small town community. To be compassionate is to be kind, caring, 

and aware of others’ distress. To be friendly is to be comforting and to have a 

warm and welcoming attitude towards all. To be respectful is to be polite and to 

show appropriate regard or consideration. It is easy to see how all of these values 

are applicable to our close-knit community.” 

Margaret Atterbury, Student Council President, speaks at 

Commencement 010. 

A disguised and bearded class president, Kyle 

Kunkle, poses as prophet for a portion of his 

address to the Class of 010. 

Kyle Kunkle, Class President of 

the Class of 2010, although prophesying 

that nobody would remember his 

graduation speech, was wrong about 

that, for he made his speech thoroughly 

unforgettable, donning a beard 


Zachary del Rosario, Scholarship Representative, 

addresses the Class of 010. 

Scholar Zachary del Rosario 

regaled the audience with examples of 

the knowledge he has acquired through 

various experiences throughout his 

schooling, then summarized the greatest 

value of his educational experience with 

gratitude to his peers stating, “I’ve grown 

more in these past four years than I have 

through the rest of my short existence, 

and that’s in no small part due to the rest 

of you.” 

and wielding a staff as he presented the Ten Commandments of the Class of 2010. 

While those of us who were present in the audience will remember the commandments 

well into the foreseeable future, limitations of time and space in the Hilltopper 

Highlights will permit only the highlighting of one commandment. For this 

purpose, we have chosen Commandment #9 from the speech, as it exemplifies the 

flavor of Kyle’s address and discloses a snapshot of the character of the Class of 

2010. Commandment #9, according to Kunkle, is as follows: 

QUOTE: Thou shalt always have Swagger as a Hilltopper. To avoid confusion, 

I thought it best to first define swagger. After referencing the reliable and trustworthy 

resource, Urbandictionary.com, I define Swagger as confidence and respect 

that is earned over time from a positive impact. Swagger is not to be confused with 

cockiness. I would suggest that the Class of 2010, the smallest Westmont graduating 

class in the last eleven years, has earned the right to have Swagger for the 

following reasons: 

• We have done 3,569 hours, 21 minutes, and 47 seconds of community service. 

• 89% of our class will be going on to a higher education. 

• 5 students will be going into the military services to defend our freedom. 

• 40% of the class will graduate with an “A” average or better. 

• Another 40% of our class will leave here with 3 or more college credits. 

• We have a nationally recognized forensics team. 

• Our musical is one of the most respected and anticipated musicals in the area. 

• Among our ranks is a classmate who can fly a plane. 

• We have a YouTube video with one hundred eleven thousand, seven hundred and sixty seven views. 

• We have won 3 district titles and 4 LHAC championships. 

That’s Swagger. END QUOTE.

Academic Achievement and excellence 

Academic excellence is part of the culture at Westmont Hilltop High School. 

The President’s Award is presented at the high school to students who have 

maintained an outstanding academic record throughout the duration of their 

schooling. Earning recognition for their exemplary role models of excellence are 

the students earning the academic awards reflected within the pages that follow. 

President’s Award for educational excellence 



Luke Anthony Corona 


Michael David Gorzelsky 


Julie Anne Mercik 



Academic letter Awards, class of 2010 

Margaret R. Atterbury 

Rebecca I. Barron 

Angela R. Battaglia 

Elizabeth M. Bingler 

Juliana F. Bukoski 

Rosemary K. Clark 

Luke A. Corona 

Shannon M. Costa 

Jason T. Dailey 

Zachary R. del Rosario 

Dillon P. Dorian 

Deanna J. Duncan 

Casey R. Eckenrod 

Matthew J. Gerber 

Andrea M. Ghezzi 

Michael D. Gorzelsky 

Haley N. Helmick 

Kirsten A. Hess 

Kyle H. Hopkins 

Ashley A. Irwin 

Nicole A. Kovach 

Kyle C. Kunkle 

Kelsey D. Layton 

Stephen F. Legath 

Melissa M. Lobb 

Nathan T. McHugh 

Julie A. Mercik 

Allison R. Mical 

Samantha R. Mikesic 

Samuel J. Moehler 


Anne Elizabeth Rummell 

Zachary David Ryan 

Norman Charles Sivi 

Nadin Suler 

Taylor Ann Walther 



Michael Joseph Young 

Anna M. Muchesko 

Megan E. Mulrooney 

Alexandra N. Mundy 

Paul Nathaniel 

Alli M. Paratore 

Nicolette M. Petrusic 

Catherine E. Polito 

Alan J. Prescott 

Sara M. Rogerson 

Michael A. Rudnac 

Anne E. Rummell 

Zachary D. Ryan 

Corey J. Salem 

Giancarlo A. Scuderi 

Norman C. Sivi 

Susan M. Specht 

Brittany E. Strelnik 

Nadin Suler 

Kayla A. Vliet 

Matthew T. Wagner 

Megan L. Walker 

Catherine A. Walsh 

Taylor A. Walther 

Christine C. Weidner 

Julia Wolfe 

Rachel E. Wozniak 

Shawnee V. Yoder 

Leah E. Young 

Luke J. Young 

Michael J. Young 


Academic Achievement Award 

class of 2010 

Margaret R. Atterbury 

Rebecca I. Barron 

Angela R. Battaglia 

Dominic F. Berardi 

Elizabeth M. Bingler 

Maximiliano E. Bressi 

Juliana F. Bukoski 

Kyra M. Burns 

Luke A. Corona 

Shannon M. Costa 

Jason T. Dailey 

Zachary R. del Rosario 

Dillon P. Dorian 

Deanna J. Duncan 

Casey R. Eckenrod 

Matthew J. Gerber 

Marissa L. Ghantous 

Andrea M. Ghezzi 

Michael D. Gorzelsky 

Haley N. Helmick 

Kirsten A.Hess 

Ashley A. Irwin 

Tyler A. Kleinmeyer 

Nicole A. Kovach 

Kyle C. Kunkle 

Halan Nu Lam 

Kelsey D. Layton 

Stephen D. Legath 

Melissa M. Lobb 

Nathan T. McHugh 

Julie A. Mercik 

Allison R. Mical 

Samantha R. Mikesic 

Samuel J. Moehler 

Miranda A. Moser 

challenge Program 

Megan E. Mulrooney 

Alexandra N. Mundy 

Paul Nathanial 

Alli M. Paratore 

Nicolette M. Petrusic 

Catherine E. Polito 

Alan J. Prescott 

Daniel S. Price 

Anthony J. Rievel 

Sara M. Rogerson 

Michael A. Rudnac 

Anne E. Rummell 

Zachary D. Ryan 

Corey J. Salem 

Sean M. Sapolich 

Giancarlo A. Scuderi 

Norman C. Sivi 

Ryan M. Snavely 

Susan M. Specht 

Adam J. Steinbring 

Aaron D. Stonecypher 

Nadin Suler 

Kelsey E. Suppes 

Kayla A. Vliet 

Matthew T. Wagner 

Megan L. Walker 

Catherine A. Walsh 

Taylor A. Walther 

Christine C. Weidner 

Katrina A. Wentworth 

Julia Wolfe 

Rachel E. Wozniak 

Shawnee V. Yoder 

Leah E. Young 

Michael J. Young 

Row 1 – Academic Excellence: Mark Nathaniel, Josh Polacek, 

Maggie Atterbury 

Row 2 – Perfect Attendance: Nicole Dorn, Leah Marko, Kelsey 

Suppes 

Row 3 – Most Improved: Jessica Coolbaugh, Halim Nu Lam, 

Hannah Winterscheidt 

Row 4 – Community Service: Lauren Matevish, Nicole Kovach, 

Gina Rievel 


5



class of 2011 

Brianna K. Alianiello 

Katelyn E. Arcurio 

Christina L. Atterbury 

Kasey L. Azar 

Matthew J. Bambino 

Jedediah M. Brandwein 

Daniel A. Brennsteiner 

Benjamin E. Bukoski 

Michael Burnheimer 

Kim A. Carney 

Christine J. Cassone 

Ian P. Clark 

Denae M. Dorian 

Zachary C. Drennen 

Annabeth R. Faucher 

Annie L. Fiffick 

Bryant W. Fisher 

Luke B. Gindlesperger 

Christopher M. Gnagey 

Sarah K. Godish 

Brianna N. Gordon 

Matthew S. Heider 

Andrew J. Herbert 

Tanner M. Hough 

Jamie M. Hudson 

Jamie L. Kessler 

Andrew J. Kilpatrick 

Julie R. Kittka 

Sarah A. Krupa 

Karlee M. Kucera 

Halim Nu Lam 

Madalyn Lenzi-Snopko 

Garrett J. Lucas 

6 “High School Achievement” 

Jenna M. Magistro 

Devon K. Marshall 

Lauren M. Matevish 

Kara E. Matthews 

Maggie A. McNamara 

Aaron R. Miller 

Madelyn G. Miller 

Marinanicole D. Miller 

Daniel W. Oberst 

Alexander N. Parlock 

David F. Pepley 

Kelsey E. Petrusic 

Joshua M. Polacek 

Summer L. Reitter 

Joseph S. Rizkalla 

Grace J. Roddy 

Erica L. Rodgers 

Zachary J. Rummel 

Joseph S. Seigh 

Rebecca H. Shark 

Stephanie L. Shelhammer 

Patricia M. Spisak 

Sean A. Stephens 

Carly A. Stump 

Keegan C. Terek 

Riley B. Timbs 

Alex L. Trevorrow 

Sarah N. Walko 

Daulton V. Warshel 

Daniel P. Wolfe 

April L. Yanko 

Michael D. Zamias 

Ty C. Zatsick 


class of 2012 

Blake D. Bernstein 

Trenten J. Boback 

Sarah M. Bunyea 

Christopher J. Campagna 

Carly E. Campbell 

Bradley W. Carney 

Brittany L. Carney 

Kayla M. Causer 

Daniel J. Dailey 

Brittany M. Davis 

Giana M. DeMarco 

Parag Dharbhamulla 

DeAnnah M. Dick 

Nicole L. Dorn 

Bryson C. Eplett 

Jonathan M. Findish 

Alyson S. Forman 

Meena K. Gella 

Joseph A. Glennon 

Ryan S. Glover 

Evan B. Good 

Caitlin T. Gutilla 

Devlin L. Hale 

Mustafa B. Hammudi 

Kelcy J. Harrison 

Autumn N. Helman 

Allison N. Henry 

Meredith W. Herman 

Kyra N. Hill 

Kelsey E. Hoover 

Row 1 – School Citizenship Awards – Freshmen: Stacee Glass, Taylor Davis, David Carney, Justin 

Gindlesperger 

Row 2 – WHEA Scholarship: Nicole Kovach; GJCTC Awards: Brice Morneau, Takesha Crutcher 

Row 3 – Sgt. First Class Raymond Buchan Memorial Scholarship: Michael Young; Westmont 

Memorial Award: Luke Corona, Rebecca Barron 

Row 1 – National Merit Scholarship: Megan Mulrooney; National Merit Finalists: Juliana Bukoski, 

Sara Rogerson; National Merit Commended Student: Rachel Wozniak 

Row 2 – Class of 1947: Catherine Polito; School Citizenship Awards (Seniors): Christine Weidner, 

Brittany Strelnik, Megan Walker, Luke Young 

Nicole E. Kinley 

Cheyenne B. Kovach 

Kara A. Kovach 

Lyndsie N. Lampel 

Benjamin F. Legath 

Matthew M. Masiello 

Michael R. McDaniel 

Marissa R. Miller 

Robin C. Miller 

Samantha A. Morello 

Mark Nathaniel 

Naofa R. Noll 

Sophie A. Noonan 

Ileana Panebianco 

Ethan M. Policicchio 

Adam J. Pozun 

Amy R. Regan 

Gina C. Rievel 

Niza M. Scuderi 

Eric D. Sheehan 

Elizabeth A. Sherrier 

Nicole L. Simmons 

Britney A. Smith 

Carolyn V. Somerville 

Erin S. Suppes 

Lauren M. Taylor 

Kylie M. Truscello 

Andrew D. Varchol 

Hayle M. Walters 

Forest P. Whitlow 

Brittany C. Young 

Megan R. Ziemba 

Benjamin T. Zurilla

Row 1 –Fleet Reserve: Christina 

Atterbury, Jill Clark; Catherine Hubbard 

Memorial Award: Kelsey Layton 

Row 2 – Westmont Peace Award/ 

APPLES Scholarship: Christine Weidner; 

American Red Cross Blood Drive: 

Nicole Kovach, Brittany Strelnik 

Row 3 – U.S. Air Force Appointment: 

Nicole Dorn, Leah Marko, Kelsey Suppes 

Row 4 – Community Service: Taylor 

Walther; Rudnac Leadership Award: 

Angela Battaglia, Kyle Kunkle 

high School Mathematics Achievement 

Westmont Hilltop High School had two student winners of the 2010 American 

Mathematics Competitions (AMC) 10 and American Mathematics Competitions 

(AMC) 12. 

AMC 10 Winner: Dan Durham 

AMC 12 Winner: Keegan Terek 

The American Mathematics Competitions (AMCs) are the first of a series of 

competitions in high school mathematics that determine the United States Math 

Team, which competes in the International Mathematical Olympiad. 

School Citizenship Awards 

Row 1 – Juniors: Jenna Magistro, Annabeth Faucher, Jamie Kessler, Julie Kittka 

Row 2 – Sophomores: Mustafa Hammudi, Mike McDaniel, Britney Smith, Ileana Panebianco 

Perfect SAt Writing Score 

Jenna Magistro, pictured above, had a perfect SAT score in writing. 



class of 2013 

Elizabeth P. Atterbury 

Abbigail M. Bealonis 

Andrea L.Bealonis 

Jeremy W. Burnheimer 

David J. Carney 

Joshua J. Cavrak 

Jill A. Clark 

Sarah B. Clark 

Toni H. Costa 

Kirsten E. Coyle 

Taylor M. Davis 

Courtney L. Drennen 

Daniel B. Durham 

Christiana R. Faucher 

Kasia N. Foster 

Blaine P. Friday 

Tara L. Fritz 

Stacee D. Glass 

Karli M. Grow 

Kara A. Gvozden 

Devin R. Helmick 

Stephanie L. Hetrick 

Bryan R. Hoegg 

Dante Horvath 

James M. Kane 

Sara M. Kimmell 

Jill H. Kittka 

Lukas A. Kleinmeyer 

Seneca L. Koontz 

Ryan A. Koul 

Mariel N. Kramer 

Paige E. Lamberson 

Evan T. Louder 

Kathryn N. Lynch 

Shannon R. Marko 

Sarah G. Marley 

Mitchell A. McClintock 

Leah M. Mercik 

Kaitlin A. Mical 

Hannah G. Mills 

Meghan N. Mock 

Joel S. Neff 

Jeremy M. Nestor 

Margaret E. Oberst 

Victoria A. Parlock 

Tamires Pasquerilla 

Elizabeth A. Petrell 

Dominic R. Ramirez 

Seth J. Ray 

Andrew S. Rizkalla 

Erin C. Rodgers 

Sarah M. Rogers 

Rachel I. Roper 

Anthony J. Rosage 

Katrina L. Rosage 

Madeline N. Sanford 

Donald C. Shovestull 

Angela R. Sutt 

Allison R. Swadley 

Madalynn E. Swaltek 

Jessica M. Toth 

Robert J. Varner 

Michael T. Vliet 

Jonathan E. Wagner 

Melissa J. Walko 

Deana L. Werner 

Steven P. Zipf 

A Few More high School 

Scholarship Newsflashes! 

Catherine Polito scored a PER- 

FECT 800 on the Critical Reading 

section of the October 2009 SAT! 

Christiana Faucher was recognized 

for outstanding SAT scores which 

resulted in invitations for a UPJ course 

and to apply for a Jack Kent Cook 

Scholarship! 

Christina Atterbury is going to 

Russia for 6 weeks this summer, and 

Keegan Terek is going to Egypt for 6 

weeks this summer, both trips sponsored 

in full by the U.S. State Department. 

These are immersion cultural 

exchange experiences. 

“High School Achievement”


And it should come as no surprise… 

Students of Westmont hilltop high School 

rock in world languages too! 

At the Appalachian Language Educators’ Society, or APPLES, Foreign Language 

Festival held this year at St. Francis University, about 300 students from 

more than a dozen area school districts participated in this annual event. The 

following chart shows the place-winners. 

NAME LANGUAGE / LEVEL PLACE EVENT 

Jamie Hudson Senior High nd Construction Models 

Madalynn Swaltek Junior High 1st Art/Reproduction 

French 1st Composition 

nd Tie Listening Comprehension 

rd Speaking Proficiency 

Evan Louder French rd Tie Listening Comprehension 

1st Reading Comprehension 

1st Speaking Proficiency 

Anthony Rosage Spanish 1st Speaking Proficiency 

rd Composition 

Jill Clark Spanish 1st Reading Comprehension 

Kirsten Coyle Spanish 1st Listening Comprehension 

Erika Von Schrenkel Spanish 1st Literary Recitation 

Nicole Dorn Spanish rd Literary Recitation 

Marley Bonner Spanish rd Tie Reading Comprehension 

Robin Miller Spanish nd Speaking Proficiency 

nd Listening Comprehension 

rd Reading Comprehension 

rd Composition 

Juliana Bukoski Spanish- Adv. 1st Composition 

Spanish 5 1st Listening Comprehension 

1st Reading Comprehension 

Christina Atterbury Spanish 1st Listening Comprehension 

rd Reading Comprehension 

Sara Rogerson Spanish 5 nd Listening Comprehension 

Zachary del Rosario Spanish 5 rd Tie Listening Comprehension 

Luke Corona Spanish -5 nd Literary Recitation 

8 “High School Achievement” 

Congratulations to all of you. 

Scholastic Quiz 

Coach John Wood recognized the 

WHHS Scholastic Quiz Team at the 

Academic Awards Ceremony of 2010. 

Excerpts of his acknowledgement follow. 

“Westmont Scholastic Quiz had another 

excellent season this year. Westmont 

finished third out of 14 teams 

in the Central Western Quiz League 

and captured the championship of the 

annual Science Bowl Quiz competition 

held at St. Francis University, with the 

help of special advisor and science colleague, 

Mr. Stephen Lindberg. 

Westmont Scholastic Quiz also had 

their best ever performance at a Saturday 

NAQT tournament this season. 

At the Battle of the Burgh tournament 

held on the campus of Carnegie Mellon 

University, Westmont finished in the 

top quarter of a very challenging field 

with an 8 and 3 record while collecting 

match wins over much larger schools 

such as Moon Area and Altoona High 

School. 

Westmont also fielded a high 

school team for the first time in the fall 

and spring Knowledge Master Open 

Competitions. The Knowledge Master 

Open is a computerized academic 

competition in which hundreds of high 

schools nationwide compete and work 

as a team to answer a wide range of 

academic questions. Westmont finished 

first among schools of its size in Pennsylvania 

in the fall KMO competition, 

which was an excellent result for a first 

time participant.” 

The Scholastic Quiz Team 

co-captains Zachary del Rosario and 

Megan Mulrooney provided excellent 

leadership, and seniors Luke Corona 

and Emma Noonan were dedicated 

team members who contributed to the 

many recent successes of the Westmont 

Scholastic Quiz Team. 

Row 1 – Kiwanis: Kyle Kunkle, Andrea Ghezzi; Gella Family Scholarship: 

Juliana Bukoski, Zachary del Rosario (West End Lions Club Honorees) 

Row 2 – Azar Scholarship: Mike Young; James Kocher Music: Matt 

Wagner; America’s 911 Foundation: Sam Moehler; Key Club: Stephen 

Legath


international classroom exchange with German classroom 

Mr. Yonko’s class participated in a 

pen pal experience and flag exchange 

with a teacher from Germany who 

visited the United States during the 

second semester of 2010. The teacher 

is Utz Kloeppelt from Quakenbruck, 

Germany. Now the German school’s 

homepage is linked to Mr. Yonko’s 

homepage and vice versa. Mr. Yonko’s 

class sent a United States flag, a Pennsylvania 

State flag, a copy of the United 

States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and 

letters and videos from our students 

to the German students. Pictured are 

Mr. Yonko’s students with the two 

flags that the group sent to Germany 

later on the day the photo was taken. 

In exchange, the German class sent a 

German flag, which is now displayed in 

Mr. Yonko’s classroom. 

German teacher Mr. Kloeppelt 

said that his class was so grateful for 

this first-hand information that they 

asked to rename their existing English 

Club (the German version of a Foreign 

Language Club) to its current new 

name, “American Club,” in honor of Mr. 

Yonko’s class. 

Students display the American Flag and Pennsylvania State Flag that they sent to their German pen pals. 

Row 1 – Metz Scholarship: Halan Nu Lam; 

Community Arts Center Scholarships: Hannah 

Winterscheidt, Jordan Kohler 

Row 2 – Unsung Hero: Phil Keilman, Susan Specht; 

Challenge Program Ambassadors: Zach Drennen, 

Sarah Walko (Absent from Photo – Allied Artist 

Scholarship: Allie Mundy) 

Row 1 – National School Choral Award: Christine 

Weidner, Ashley Schafer; Monstar Music Award: Luke 

Young, Annie Rummell 

Row 2 – Director’s Award: Josh Slocum, Matt 

Wagner, Kirsten Hess, Nick Adams (Orchestra Award), 

Jason Dailey 

Row 3 – Ken Null Award: Adam Steinbring; Rhythm 

and Groove Award: Kyle Hopkins; Samuel Hillard 

Award: Michael Gorzelsky (John Philip Sousa 

Award), Becca Seigh, Vanessa Stofko. 


9

middle School Achievement 

Academic Best Awards at the 

Middle School 

The Academic “Best” Award is for 

Grade 8 students only. To be eligible, 

students must have attended the 

Westmont Hilltop Middle School for all 

four quarters of the Grade 8 year. A $100 

Savings Bond is awarded to the “Best” 

named student in the categories listed 

below. Winners are named in the picture 

captions and listed in each category below 

as well. The money for this award has 

been donated by Mr. Abe Beerman. Before 

his death in June of 2007, Mr. Beerman 

had established an Endowment Fund 

to support the Best Awards in memory 

of his beloved wife Janet. Mr. and Mrs. 

Beerman were obviously very committed 

to bringing out the “best” in the young 

people of our community. 

Row 1 – Carli Huber, Madison Milligan, Alyssa Miller, 

Ashlyn Bulas 

Row 2 – Aaron Marko, Dorothea Oller, Sydney Ruis, 

Rachel Mural, Natalie Fiorica 

Science: To qualify for the Science Award, 

the student must have an “A” average for 

three quarters, participate in all aspects 

of class (lectures, labs, question/answer, 

discussions), demonstrate leadership, 

respect for others, responsibility, 

reliability, and a mature attitude. 

Civics: The student must demonstrate 

scholastic high achievement, citizenship 

through school and community 

service, responsibility, dependability, 

cooperation with others, and initiative 

through class participation. 

Mathematics: To qualify for the Best 

Award in Mathematics, the student 

must demonstrate high scholastic 

achievement and positive classroom 

10 “Middle School Achievement” 

performance. The outcomes of any 

appropriate challenges and achievement 

opportunities will be considered. 

Art: The selected student must display 

good citizenship and class participation, 

have a positive effect on peers, exhibit 

the use of all directions provided with a 

high level of creativity, and demonstrate 

a significant level of improvement or 

achievement. 

Foreign Language: The academic best in 

this category must attain high scholastic 

achievement, demonstrate excellent class 

participation and a positive classroom 

attitude, and demonstrate classroom 

leadership and reliability. 

Music: Participation in at least one 

ensemble is required for this award, 

along with superior grades in general 

music class; the student must possess 

leadership, responsibility, a positive 

attitude, and dependability. 

English: The student in this category must 

demonstrate scholarship, leadership, 

a positive attitude, class participation, 

responsibility, accountability, 

dependability, and initiative. 

Physical Education: The student selected 

in this category must display a 

positive attitude toward physical 

education, participate to the best of 

his or her ability in all activities at all 

times, score, at the least, the average 

requirement on the National Physical 

Fitness Test for Fitness, maintain or 

improve his/her score each time he/she 

is tested, demonstrate self-discipline, 

display sportsmanlike behavior, and 

demonstrate responsible, respectful 

behavior to peers as a team player. 

Academic “Best” Awards Recipients 

English – Dorothea Grace Oller 

Math – Carli Lynne Huber 

Science – Aaron Douglas Marko 

Civics – Natalie Anne Fiorica 

Foreign Language 

French – Alyssa Kali Miller 

Spanish – Madison Justine Milligan 

Art – Sydney Rhea Ruis 

Music – Rachel Andrul Mural 

Physical Education – Ashlyn Marie Bulas 

President’s Award 

for educational 

excellence 

Honoring student achievement 

and hard work is the purpose of the 

President’s Educational Excellence 

Award Program. To be eligible for this 

award, students must score 92% or 

above in grades 5, 6, 7, and the fall 

semester of Grade 8 and score at the 

advanced level in math or reading on 

the Grade 7 PSSA. Students receiving 

this award are listed below. 

Chelsea Balon 

Nicole Barnhart 

Colin Barron 

Timothy Barry 

Ashlyn Bulas 

Ian Campbell 

Erica Claycomb 

Rex Cosgrove 

Hannah Dorian 

Mattison Evans 

Grant Gagnon 

Lindsay Geiser 

Alex Hockensmith 

Carli Huber 

Brittany Irwin 

Isaac Joseph 

Braden Junker 

Benjamin Katz 

Kayla Lamison 

Tori Lehman 

Aaron Marko 

Alyssa Miller 

Spelling Bee 

Andrew Miller 

James Miller 

Madison Milligan 

Courtney Morder 

Rachel Mural 

Dorothea Oller 

Rachelmae Pulliam 

Sebastian Ragno 

Sean Robb 

Sydney Ruis 

Cody Sabo 

Abbigail Smajda 

Timothy Smith 

Abigail Stern 

Emily Strandquest 

Eric Thomas 

Molly Thomson 

Emily Ward 

Matthew Wehner 

Ruby Whorl 

Bailyn Yost 

Ashley Young 

The annual Scripps’ Regional Spelling 

Bee was held this year on January 

30th at St. Francis University. Two 

middle school girls competed this 

year. They are Grade 6: Madison 

Hrin (first time competitor) and Grade 

8: Dorothea Oller (who has competed 

at the regional bee for three years 

while attending the middle school). 

Dorothea won the regional bee in 

Grade 6 and competed at the state 

level.

Principal’s 

excellence Award 

The Principal’s Excellence Award 

is presented to Grade 8 students who 

meets the following criteria: Students 

must have an academic average of 

92% or higher each quarter of grades 

5, 6, and 7 in subjects qualifying for 

the honor roll. Students must have an 

academic average of 92% or higher for 

quarters 1 and 2 of Grade 8. Principal’s 

Excellence Award winners at the 

middle school are: 


Ashlyn Bulas 

Rex Cosgrove 

Lindsay Geiser 

Carli Huber 

Isaac Joseph 

Alyssa Miller 



Johns hopkins Young 

Students talent Search 

The Johns Hopkins University 

Center for Talented Youth (CTY) 

conducts national and international 

talent searches to identify outstanding 

academic talent. Through the Talent 

Search, high-performing students take 

a test designed for older students. This 

above-grade-level testing can reveal 

more about the academic talents 

of students. Students who exhibit 

outstanding academic talent are 

eligible for nomination by educators 

and parents. Nomination is an honor 

in itself. Below are the honorees. 

Grade 5: Venkat Gella earned High 

Honors in Verbal and Math Sections 

Grade 7: Tristan Aiken, Colleen 

Mulrooney - Distinction in Reading, 

Nicholas Sturniolo - Distinction in 

Math, John Williams 

Grade 8: Isaac Joseph, Benjamin Katz, 

Rachel Mural, Matthew Wehner 

- Distinction in Reading and Math 


Principal’s Excellence Award 

Row 1 – Lindsay Geiser, Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Bulas, Isaac Joseph 

Row 2 – Matthew Wehner, Carli Huber, Alyssa Miller, Madison Milligan, Rex Cosgrove 

c-Mites of carnegie Mellon 

C-Mites is a program conducted by Carnegie Mellon University for 

academically talented students in Grades 3 through 6. Students across 

Pennsylvania took the EXPLORE test in late January to qualify for 

membership in C-Mites and were distinguished as follows: 

Grade 5: Megan Carbaugh, Dodge Kudrna 

Grade 6: Rita Bekhash, Bryce Kramer 

correction corner 

“At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer, you will find at 

least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on the computer.” (Author 

Unknown) 

In the previous edition of the Hilltopper Highlights, Brady Shriver should 

have been acknowledged for achievement in Continental Math League, and 

Riley Shriver should have been honored for the Language Arts Olympiad. 

We applaud these two students. 

“Middle School Achievement” 

11


Middle School Students Strengthen their 

Minds and Bodies through exercise 

Competitions such as National Current Events Team, Knowledge Masters, 

Word Masters, Spelling Bee, and Continental Math League are offered to students 

at the middle school as a way to test their skill against their peers on local, state 

and sometimes national levels. Medals and Certificates are signs of outstanding 

academic performance in these competitions. 

Knowledge Masters 

Congratulations to the Knowledge Masters Open Team! In the spring KMO 

competition, the Grades 7-8 Team ranked 10th in the STATE of 61 schools. The 

Grades 5-6 Team finished 13th of 30 schools in Pennsylvania. They are growing 

strong. These highly competitive teams include the following members: 

Grade 5: 

Brock Bernstein, G. Thomas Brill, Kyle 

Drennen, Venkat Gella, Elle Goldblatt, 

Daniel Kevenk, Matthew Mostoller, 

Laura Mulrooney, Taylor Smitherman, 

Rachel Toth, Meredith Trio 

Grade 6: 

Rita Bekhash, Emily Brazill, Zoe 

Goldblatt, Mitchell Hochfeld, 

Madison Hrin, Megan Huber, 


Sarah Kilpatrick, Ashley Kush, 

Monica Lough, Sarah Minnick, Bryan 

Mock, Jenna Paratore, Erik Wehner 

Grade 7: 

MaryJo Beckhash 

Grade 8: 

Rex Cosgrove, Carli Huber, Isaac 

Joseph, Dorothea Oller, Niccolas 

Shorto, Matthew Wehner 

technology club Participated in computer Fair 

There was a new club formed this year at WHMS: Technology Club. Any 

student in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade who is interested in technology was able to join 

the club. The students worked by themselves or with one or two other students 

to create projects for the PA Regional Middle School Computer Fair, which is held 

in March at the Penn State, Altoona Campus. The students worked on projects in 

the following categories: Computer Fair Logo, Desktop Publishing, Digital Movie, 

Graphic Design, and Multimedia. All students chose the category and the topic 

for their projects. There were 21 students from WHMS who attended the fair: 

Computer Fair Logo Category 

Lauren Fregly – 7th grade - 1st Place 

Lauren was able to advance to the 

state competition held on May 26th at 

Dickinson College. 

Jonas Geisel, Dylan Kmecak, and Ben 

Wiesenbach – 7th grade – 2nd Place 

David Williams and Erik Wehner 

– 6th Grade 

Desktop Publishing Category 

John Minnick – 7th grade – Coney 

Island Lunch Flyer 

Caitlyn Miller, Michelle Concannon, 

and Jenna Paratore – 6th grade 

– Technology Club brochure 

Digital Movie Category 

Erica Claycomb and Mattison Evans 

– 8th grade - “Save the Animals” – 3rd 

Place 

Corrin Claycomb, Maiya Mastovich, 

and Mariah Kozak – 7th grade - 

“Childhood Obesity” 

Veronica Petrus – 6th grade – 

“Bullying for Bad Grades” – 2nd Place 

Graphic Design Category 

Zoe Johnson – 7th grade – “CAOW 

– Children Are Our World” – 1st Place 

Zoe was able to advance to the state 

competition held on May 26th at 

Dickinson College. 

National current 

events teams 

Students in National Current 

Events League commit to seven 

months of extensive study of 

current events in the news and 

weekly discussion meetings on 

current events topics. Four times 

per year, students across the 

country then take a test requiring 

analysis and evaluation. Listed are 

the students who participated in 

this rigorous study. 

Grade 5: 

medal and certificate 

Mitchell Hochfeld 

certificates 

G. Thomas Brill, Lauren Criswell, 

Venkat Gella, Elle Goldblatt, 

Joseph Hlivko, Daniel Kevenk, 

Laura Mulrooney 

Grade 6: 

certificates 

Rita Bekhash, Zoe Goldblatt, 

Megan Huber, Ashley Kush, 

Monica Lough, Sarah Minnick, 

Erik Wehner 

Grades 7-8 

medal and certificate 

Devon Gilbert 

certificates 

Timothy Barry, Mary Jo 

Beckhash, Rex Cosgrove, Carli 

Huber, Emily Kilmartin, Tori 

Lehman, Andrew Miller, Emily 

Strandquest, Matthew Wehner 

Jordan Brant and Ryan Adams – 6th 

grade – “Brant’s Driving School” – 3rd 

Place 

Multimedia Category 

Natalie Fiorica – 8th grade – “How 

to Choose the Right Path” (College 

Admission – PowerPoint) 

Claire Gagnon – 6th grade – “Bullying” 

(PowerPoint) 

Erik Wehner and David Williams 

– 6th grade – “The Pittsburgh Zoo” 

Powerpoint

WordMasters challenge at the 


The WordMasters Challenge 

is a national language arts 

competition. The challenge has 

been administered for the past 

21 years and is dedicated to the 

inspiration of high achievement 

in American schools. The process 

involves exercises in critical 

thinking and the development 

of vocabulary through the use of 

words that are higher than grade 

level expectations in the form 

of analogies. Students are tested 

on their comprehension of the 

definitions and on their ability to 

analyze these words in analogies. 

Our students consistently excel 

in these challenges of learning 

new words as they solve logical 

puzzles. This year three fifth grade 

students earned 20/20 on the final 

challenge: Michael Roper, Venkat 

Gella, and Matthew Mostoller. On 

this particular test 36,980 students 

participated and only 140 scored 

20/20. In fifth grade there was a tie 

for the medal for highest overall 

score – Brock Bernstein and 

Venkat Gella. The medal winner in 

6th grade with the highest overall 

score in her grade is Madison Hrin. 

She missed only five of 60 analogies 

all year. Students who have become 

expert “WordMasters” are listed by 

grade level. Pictured are the newest 

WordMasters in the middle school. 

Grade 5: medal and certificate 

Brock Bernstein, Venkat Gella 

certificates 

Brock Bennett, Kyle Drennen, 

Victoria Geiser, Daniel Kevenk, 

Matthew Mostoller, Michael Roper, 

Taylor Smitherman, John Weidner 


Madison Hrin 

certificates 

Jamie Geiser, Mitchell Hochfeld, 

Megan Huber, Bryce Kramer, 

Sarah Minnick, Erik Wehner, 

David Williams, Zachary Vliet 


Emily Kilmartin 

certificates 

Baylee Bortz, Nicholas Mical, 

Francesca Ramirez, Thomas 

Hutzell 



certificates 

Ashlyn Bulas, Rex Cosgrove, Alex 

Hockensmith, Brandon Hunsinger, 

Isaac Joseph, Alyssa Miller , 

Courtney Morder, Abigail Stern, 


WordMasters Grade 5 Team Row 1: Victoria Geiser, Venkat Gella, Brock Bernstein, 

John Weidner, Matthew Mostoller 

Row 2 – Daniel Kevenk, Taylor Smitherman, Brock Bennett, Kyle Drennen, Michael Roper 


interscholastic 

reading team 

Achievements 

One of the best ways to qualify for 

any of the awards and recognitions 

contained within this newsletter is 

to READ, READ, READ! The middle 

school students on our reading 

teams understand the importance of 

reading. The following students have 

earned distinction for their reading 

achievement. 

Grade 6: certificates 

Megan Huber, Sarah Kilpatrick 

Grade 7-8: certificates 

Natalie Fiorica, Lindsey Geiser, Carli 

Huber, Ellis Kane, Emily Kilmartin, 

Dorothea Oller, Molly Thomson 

Reading Competition Team Grades 7/8 

Row 1 – Lindsay Geiger, Sarah Kirkpatrick, Ellie Kane, 

Megan Huber 

Row 2 – Molly Thomson, Natalie Fiorica, Carli Huber, 


Geography Bee 

Through Geography Bee, students 

learn about the whole wide world 

through a study of the multitude of 

characteristics of our planet. 

School Champion: 


Grade 7-8: finalists 

Devon Gilbert, Alex Hockensmith, 

Carli Huber, Alexander Roper, 

Niccolas Shorto, Nora Springer, 

Charlie Warner 

Geography Bee Grade 5: finalist 

Aunna Yingling 

Grade 6: finalists 

Nora Springer, Erik Wehner 


1


Middle School Mathcounts 

At the middle school, math COUNTS! 

Eight students competed in the Regional 

MathCounts competition at UPJ. 

Participants were Carli Huber, Dorothea 

Oller, Hunter Williams, Rex Cosgrove, 

David Ketenheim, Baylee Bortz, Sam 

Barry, and Sarah Minnick. There 

were 18 schools and 132 contestants 


at the competition. And we are proud 

to say that for the second year in a 

row Westmont Hilltop has won the 

REGIONAL competition. Carli, Dorothea, 

Hunter, and Rex all placed in the top 

20 and represented Westmont Hilltop 

at the State Competition in Harrisburg, 

on March 27th. These four were also 

Middle School MathCounts 

Row 1 – Bryan Mock, Sam Barry 

Row 2 – David Ketenheim, Hunter Williams, Sarah Minnick, Kyleigh Smith, Ashley Kush, David 

Williams, Megan Huber 

Row 3 – Dorothea Oller, Carli Huber, Rex Cosgrove, Jillian Foster, Mitchell Hochfeld, Baylee Bortz 

continental Math league Award 

Continental Mathematics League is 

a national competition with the goal 

of helping students improve problem 

solving skills by challenging them 

with complex multi-step problems. The 

following students earned distinction: 


Justin Bulas, Venkat Gella, Daniel 

Kevenk, Brionna Lehman, Matthew 

Mostoller, Rachel Toth 

certificates 

Brock Bernstein, Victoria Geiser, 

Mathilda Santee 


Samuel Barry, Sarah Minnick, 

David Williams, Hunter Williams 

certificates 

Lindsey Aman, Zachary Vliet 


Drake Dorian, Nicholas Mical, 

Bridget Moyer, Aidan Winterscheidt 

invited to attend the PSPE (Pennsylvania 

Society of Professional Engineers) annual 

banquet. 

Grade 6: participation certificate 

Mitchell Hochfeld, Megan Huber, 

Ashley Kush, Bryan Mock, David 

Williams 

Competed on the school team, regional 

competition certificate and red ribbon 

Hunter Williams 

Regional Competition certificate and 

white ribbon 

Samuel Barry, Sarah Minnick 

Grade 7 & 8: participation certificate 

Jillian Foster, Kyleigh Smith 

Regional Competition certificate and 

white ribbon 

Baylee Bortz, David Ketenheim 

Competed on the school team, regional 

competition certificate and red ribbon 

Rex Cosgrove, Carli Huber, Dorothea 

Oller, Hunter Williams (6th grade) 

certificates 

Noah Gordon, Alexander Roper, 

Kyleigh Smith, John Williams 


Lindsay Geiser, Carli Huber, 

David Ketenheim, Dorothea Oller, 

Brady Shriver, Miranda Shriver 

certificates 

Grant Bernstein, Brandon 

Hunsinger, Matthew Wehner 

Middle School Continental Math League Team 

Row 1 – Lindsay Geiser, Drake Dorian, Zach Vliet, 

Victoria Geiser, Mathilda Santee, Venkat Gella, Brock 

Bernstein, Matthew Mostoller, Rachel Toth, Brionna 

Lehman, Sam Barry 

Row 2 – Sarah Minnick, Justin Bulas, Daniel Kevenk, 

David Williams, Nicholas Mical, Lindsey Aman, Hunter 

Williams, Kyleigh Smith, David Ketenheim, Miranda 

Shriver, Aiden Winterscheidt 

Row 3 – Brandon Hunsinger, Noah Gordan, Brady 

Shriver, Matthew Wehner, John Williams, Grant 

Bernstein, Carli Huber, Dorothea Oller, Alex Roper, 

Bridget Moyer

the President’s Physical Fitness Award 

Winners at the Middle School Are . . . 

Students in the fitness photographs 

are those who have won the President’s 

Physical Fitness Award for the first 

time at the middle school in Grade 5 

and those who have won the award 

during all four years at the middle 

school. All winners are listed below. 

Grade 5 

Michael Crans 

Brennan Hearn 

Allison Hlivko 

Josiah Jones 

Dodge Kudrna 

Michael Lamison 

Brionna Lehman 

Nicholas McQuillan 

Alexander Miller 

Jocelyn Pawcio 

Alexis Pollock 

David Valcheff 

Kayla Vizza 


Grade 6 

Trent Blackburn 

Quinn Callihan 

Chase Davis 

Austin DeGrange 

Evan Dluhos 

Katherine Flick 

Megan Graham 

Lacey Grassmeyer 

Chad Held 

Leah Hockensmith 

Kohl Henry 

Tristin Kresak 

Victoria Louder 

Monica Lough 

Katheryn Marley 

Sara Minnick 

Kyler Pyshnik 

Collin Schafer 

Connor Schafer 

Alana Somerville 

Joshua Straw 

Sara Stumpo 

Grade 7 

Alexis Albert 

Victoria Bertovich 

Sadie Carney 

Margaret Clark 

Stephen DeMarco 

Drake Dorian 

Alexandria Edwards 

Sarah Fisher 

Lauren Fregly 

Kyle Geibig 

Maura Glennon 

Kaylee Grassmyer 

Taylor Kaseler 

Kaylee Keefe 

Emily Mayket 

Adam McQuillan 

Nicholas Mical 

Cameron Nulton 

Kaitlyn Pawcio 

Kyleigh Smith 

Sara Suler 

Sara Trio 

Lily Whorl 

Megan Zolnosky 

Grade 8 

Chelsea Balon 


Logan Blackburn 

Lewis Buchkovich 

Ashlyn Bulas 

Tristin Butz 

Chris Campigotto 

Alex Hockensmith 

Shyleigh Hughes 

Kayla Lamison 

Tori Lehman 

Bradon Lovenduski 

Noah Marley 

Cullen McQuillan 

Alyssa Miller 

Liam Moran 

Colton Moser 

Alexandra Mostoller 

Nollaig Noll 

Shayla Salter 

Timothy Smith 

Taylor Somerville 

Robert Whitlow 

Bailyn Yost 

Cody Zimmerman 


Grade 5 President’s Physical Fitness Awards (First Time Winners) 

Row 1 – Kayla Vizza, Allison Hlivko, Alexis Pollock, Jocelyn Pawcio, Brionna Lehman 

Row 2 – Aunna Yingling, Nicholas McQuillen, David Valcheff, Michael Lamison, Brennan Hearn 

Row 3 – Alexander Miller, Dodge Kudrna, Michael Crans 

Grade 8 President’s Physical Fitness Awards (All 4 

years at the MS) 

Row 1 – Nollaig Noll, Lewis Buchkovich, Liam Moran 

Row 2 – Shyleigh Hughes, Logan Blackburn 


15

elementAry Achievement 

continental Mathematics league top Scorers 

The picture captions in the 

elementary academic sections of the 

Hilltopper Highlights will identify 

students who were competitive at 

their grade levels and within their 

Continental Mathematics Grade 3: Amelia Aiken, Jonathan Heider, Francis 

Durand, Jonathan Barnhart ( nd place local medal; nd place IU 08 medal), Moses 

Zeidan (1st place local medal; 1st place IU 08 medal; 1st place national medal) 

WordMasters 

16 “Elementary School Achievement” 

Continental Mathematics Grade 4: Leo Cosgrove ( nd place local medal), 

Ethan Dubnansky, Grayson Moyer (1st place local medal, nd place IU 08 medal), 

Ariana Santos, Vaughan Kramer 

The WordMasters competition is all about vocabulary. WordMasters is designed to increase students’ vocabulary 

as they study a different list of words and their meanings weekly. 

Front row – Moses Zeidan (1st place local medal), Susie Williams, Mark Oller, 

Kayleigh Noll, Maeve Milligan, Rebekah Kevenk 

Back row – Anna Gagnon, Amelia Aiken, Austin Gibson, Kyle Gordon 

divisions in science, language arts, and 

mathematics at both the intermediate 

unit and national levels in Continental 

Math League Competition and 

in the Olympiads. The variety of 

WordMasters, Grade 3 WordMasters, Grade 4 

competitions offered at the elementary 

school will encourage students to 

gauge their performances on a level 

that challenges them beyond the 

confines of the school walls. 

Front row – Leo Cosgrove (1st place local medal), Simon Joseph, Ethan 

Dubnansky, Patrick Brown, Ariana Santos 

Back row – Hannah Davis, Mackenzie Dunn, Madison Reitter, Vaughan Kramer, 

Grayson Moyer

Science and language Arts olympiads 

Students in Grades 2, 3, and 4 

participated in the Science and Language 

Arts Olympiads. Both of these contests 

are based on multiple-choice questions, 

which are administered to grade level 

groups. Each contest has a time limit 

language Arts olympiad top ten Grade 4: 

Front row – Patrick Brown, Clinton Sparling, Ethan Dubnansky, Meredith 

Winterscheidt, Ariana Santos (1st place local medal; 1st place national medal) 

Back row – Vaughan Kramer, Elli Hrin, Hannah Davis, Grayson Moyer, Mackenzie Dunn 


Front row – Amelia Aiken, Rebekah Kevenk, Moses Zeidan, Sophie Hochfeld, Kyle 

Gordon, Susie Williams (1st place local medal; 1st place national medal) 

Back row – Julia Bingler, Jonathan Barnhart, Carissa Casale, Maeve Milligan 


Front row – Gabrielle Angeletti, Zachary Connor, Michael Buchkovich, Vincent Tabib, 

Kara Lynch, Joshua Elders Back row – Grace Misner, Greta George, Lauren Botteicher, 

Dylan Roberts-McDonald (1st place local medal; 1st place national medal) 

of 35 minutes. There is no limit to the 

number of students who may participate. 

The sum of the top ten scores for 

each competition is the school’s team 

score. Questions for the Language Arts 

Olympiad are based on the following 

Science olympiad top ten Grade 4: 


Front row – Leo Cosgrove, Kaitlyn Poad, Clinton Sparling, Simon Joseph, Vaughan 

Kramer (1st place local medal), Jacob Law 

Back row – Weston Porter, Luke Schrum, Ariana Santos, Patrick Brown 


Front row – David Fleming, Lee Santee, Moses Zeidan, Joshua Reitter, Austin Gibson 

Back row – Miracle Kaminsky, Kyle Gordon, Julie Duong, Amelia Aiken, Jonathon 

Heider (1st place local medal winner) 


topics: spelling, vocabulary, reading 

comprehension, analogies, and grammar. 

Science Olympiad questions are based on 

factual knowledge, as well as students’ 

understanding of scientific processes. 

Front row – Max Yonko, Gavin Scott, Adam Raneri, Conrad Suppes, Malcolm 

Milligan Back row – Dylan Roberts-McDonald, Grace Misner, Danielle Kramer, Pierce 

Martin, Jonathan Kane (1st place local medal; 1st place national medal) 

“Elementary School Achievement” 

1


Perfect Attendance 

It is an outstanding feat when 

a student earns an annual perfect 

attendance certificate. The following 

elementary school students attended 

school every day of the 2009-2010 

school year. 

Perfect Attendance Grade 2: Max Wilkinson, 

Janette Nowak 

hilltopper heroes 

18 “Elementary School Achievement” 

Grade 3 Perfect Attendance: Natalie Morman, Alex Miller, Christopher Durham, Paul Nowak, 

Sydney Podrebarac, Madison Brant, Casey Moskal, Lindsey Pullin 

Perfect Attendance Grade 4: Kennedy Welsh, Blake Cassick, Leo Cosgrove, Arianna Santos, Luke 

Schrum 

These students were identified by teachers and staff for exemplary HERO (which stands for “Helping Everyone by 

Reaching Out”) behaviors as part of the elementary school’s Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. 

Hilltopper Heroes: 

Front row – Jonathan Heider, Nicole Gawel, Blaise Bloom, Jacob Allen, 

Maggie Crawford, Grace Gardill, Jillian Andolina, Tanner Civis, Ian Buday, 

Jordan Faust, Lauren Lavis 

Back row – Jenna Zatsick, Sean Hegadus, Christian Assad, Adam Kush, 

Griffin Slagel 

Hilltopper Heroes: 

Front row – Austin Gibson, Leilani Zimmerman, Mya Wilt, Maeve Milligan, 

Macey Morrell, Luke Schrum, Arianna Santos, Ethan Binnachio 

Back row – Natalie Morman, Alexis Nibert, Tyler Geary, Amelia Aiken, Devin 

Boxler, Casey Moskal

citizenShip & community recognition 

Senatorial Good citizenship Award 

The Senatorial Good Citizenship Award was provided by Senator John Wozniak for elementary students who met the 

following criteria: 1) superior academic achievement, 2) leadership capacity, 3) consistent work habits, 4) positive self-image, 

and 5) the ability to interact positively with others. Students are nominated by the classroom teacher, guidance counselor, 

and principal to receive this honor. Recipients of this award for kindergarten through Grade 4 are presented below. 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award Kindergarten: Front row – Parker Marion, 

Norah Panek, Judith Oller, Noah Moser, Julia Kleinmeyer Back row – Liam O’Neil, Ella 

Rozich, Penny Lee, Allenna Shellenberger, Felice Panebianco, Ethan Kravitz 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award Grade 2: Front row – Jessika Magulick, Max 

Wilkinson, Meghan Smitherman, Malcolm Milligan Back row – Hannah Zalesky, Kara 

Lynch, Cassidy Weir 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award Grade 4: Front row – Jenna Zatsick, 

Christopher Hasse, Meredith Winterscheidt, Megan Reitz, Luke Schrum 

Back row – Olivia Friday, Griffin Slagel, Hannah Davis, Sam Henry, Garrett Crans, 

Zoey Zentkovich 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award Grade 1: Aiden McNulty, Lauren Mock, 

Madison Knupp, Connor Toth, Amaya O’Donnell, Gavin Cramer, Kallie Williams, Will 

Weinzierl 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award Grade 3: Front row – Emily Barkhimer, 

Caitlin Short, Sydney Podrebarac, Julie Duong, Casey Moskal Back row – Tyler 

Geary, Alexis Nibert, Anna Gagnon, David Leiden, Tristan Rodak 

hilltoppers for haiti 

With the leadership of AmeriCorp Instructional 

Support Aide Kourtney Penatzer, students at the 

elementary school participated in a “Hilltoppers for 

Haiti Red and Blue Day!” On January 28, Hilltoppers 

for Haiti had raised $1,368.55. The children wore red 

or blue shirts, the colors of Haiti’s flag, and brought 

donations to help the victims. Contributions were 

designated to be used to buy food, medical supplies, 

and other necessities for the Haitian people. The Red 

Cross issued a certificate of 

appreciation to our students. 

This poster of the Haitian Flag advertised 

the focus of the day. Students also studied 

the location, population, vegetation, and 

geography of Haiti. 

“Citizenship & Community Recognition” 

19


elementary 

Math-A-thon 

Math-A-Thon is a fundraiser 

which benefits St. Jude Children’s 

Research Hospital. Encouraged by 

Jamie Petrunak, who coordinated 

the initiative at the elementary 

school, and Sydney Distefano, who 

provided inspiration and leadership 

for the students, our elementary 

students contributed to the hope 

that is so important to the children 

who are patients at St. Jude. 

American legion 

Awards 

The American Legion Award is 

presented by the American Legion 

Auxiliary to a boy and a girl in Grade 

8. Students earning the award for 2010 

are Matthew Wehner and Bailyn 

Yost. The criteria used to select the 

recipients are listed as follows: 

Honor: Strength and stability of 

character, high standards of conduct, 

keen sense of what is right, adherence 

to truth and conscience, and devotion 

to duty. 

Scholarship: Scholastic attainment, 

evidence of industry, and application 

in studies. 

Service: Kindness, unselfishness, 

willingness to lend a helping hand, 

protection to the weak, and deference 

to the interests and welfare of 

associates without hope of personal 

reward. 

Americanism: Active interest in 

promotion of love of country. 

Leadership: Ability to conduct the 

duties of leadership assigned to one as 

exemplified in the holding of an office, 

participation in committees, 

and exhibition of a team attitude. 

Courage: The capacity to show moral 

courage to stand up for what is right. 

0 “Citizenship & Community Recognition” 

Senatorial Good citizenship Award 

Each year at the middle school, 

Senator Wozniak provides special 

recognition to one middle school 

student who demonstrates the 

following indicators of outstanding 

citizenship: superior academic 

achievement, leadership capacity, 

consistent work habits, positive selfimage, 

and ability to interact positively 

with others. Molly Rita Thomson has 

made us proud. 

Senatorial Good Citizenship Award: Molly Thomson 

Jefferson Award and Prudential Spirit of 

community Award 

Conner Hagins was recognized 

by Secretary of Education Dr. Jerry 

Zahorchak at the Pennsylvania 

Council of Social Studies and was 

subsequently awarded the Jefferson 

Award for Community Service. Conner 

participated in the Jefferson Awards 

Youth Summit held in Cincinnati 

this year. He attended on a grant 

provided by Secretary Zahorchak. 

Representative Frank Burns 

presented Conner with a citation 

for community service from the PA 

House of Representatives at the Middle 

School Awards Ceremony. Conner 

also received the Prudential Spirit of 

Community Award. 

The Prudential Spirit of 

Community Award represents the 

largest youth recognition program 

based solely on volunteer service 

in the United States. Conner has 

collected stuffed animals for 

hospitalized children over a period of 

five years. The initiative has helped 

the Alternative Community Resource 

Program, the Women’s Help Center, 

and Good Samaritan Nursing Care 

Center. 

Conner Hagins receives a citation for community service 

presented by State Representative Frank Burns. 

American Legion Award: Matthew Wehner American Legion Award: Bailyn Yost

A Safe, Nurturing 

environment 

The Westmont Hilltop Middle 

School continued its efforts to 

maintain a positive, safe, and 

respectful WHMS. During the 2009- 

2010 school year, we reinforced that 

mission, beginning with a “RESPECT 

Kickoff and Drug-Free Awareness 

Week.” RESPECT stands for “Remember 

Every Single Person deserves Equal 

Caring Treatment.” The RESPECT 

program is a component of the WHSD 

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. 

Highlighting the offerings were 

presenters from the Johnstown Police 

Department, Victim Services, and Mr. 

Tim Piccirillo, a nationally recognized 

motivational speaker. Students were 

given opportunities to work in groups 

to promote school pride. The week 

concluded with a student and staff 

assembly encouraging students to 

continue to build on the positive 

atmosphere that they created through 

their hard work and dedication during 

the week. 

Tim Piccirillo and a th Grade student, Tristan Aiken, 

from the Middle School RESPECT Kickoff Program. 


“Meritorious Attitude & effort” Awards 

Each year, Meritorious Attitude and Effort Awards are given to several 

students in each grade. This award is given to students who exhibit a positive 

and commendable attitude and give continuous effort in their educational 

endeavors. Work ethic is one of the foremost qualities that future employers seek 

in prospective employees. Our students are developing excellence in work ethic at 

the middle school. Recipients are as follows: 

Grade 5 

Madelyn Bridges 

G. Thomas Brill 

Michael Roper 

Grade 6 

Ryan Adams 

Emily Brazill 

Inez Panebianco 

Grade 7 

Baylee Bortz 

Noah Gordon 

Emily Kilmartin 

Kyleigh Smith 

Grade 8 

Hannah Dorian 

Devon Gilbert 

Brandon Leech 

Alexandra Mostoller 

Meritorious Attitude and Effort Awards: Row 1 – Tom Brill, Ryan Adams, Madelyn 

Bridges, Devon Gilbert Row 2 – Inez Panebianco, Hannah Dorian, Alexandra Mostoller, 

Michael Roper Row 3 – Kyleigh Smith, Baylee Bortz, Noah Gordon, Brandon Leech, Emily 

Brazill (Absent from photo Emily Kilmartin) 

National 

Multiple Sclerosis 

Society read-Athon 

Devon Gilbert was recognized 

at the Middle School Awards 

Ceremony for his service to the 

Multiple Sclerosis Society. The 

Multiple Sclerosis Society hosts a 

special event called the MS Read- 

A-Thon, a program that helps fund 

research for treatments and a cure 

for multiple sclerosis, a disease of 

the central nervous system. 

Fleet reserve Award 

At the middle school, a $50 

savings bond was presented to Serena 

Irene Ramirez on behalf of the Fleet 

Reserve Association, a nonprofit 

organization comprised of enlisted 

personnel of the United States Navy, 

Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. 

Fleet Reserve Award Recipient Serena Ramirez. 


1


Perfect Attendance Award 

A student with a strong work ethic may not be able to achieve perfect 

attendance for many valid reasons; but students with perfect attendance have 

certainly demonstrated their determination to succeed through strong evidence 

of work ethic and enthusiastic participation. At the middle school, students who 

were awarded the Perfect Attendance Award were never dismissed from school 

(except for school-related events) and these students were never tardy coming to 

school. Punctuality is a noteworthy achievement in addition to their outstanding 

attendance records, and it provides an acknowledgement for pre-high school 

students who have already developed an important skill that employers will 

value upon graduation. The students in the accompanying picture have earned 

the perfect attendance award. 

Grade 5 


Grade 6 

Michelle Concannon 

Alec Geibig 

Gregory Heider 

Alana Somerville 

Middle School Perfect Attendance: Row 1 – Devon Gilbert, Alana Somerville, Aunna Yingling, Greg 

Heider, Alec Geibig Row 2 - Ashlyn Bulas, Taylor Somerville, Aaron Marko, Michelle Concannon, John Minnick 

Key club Award 


Grade 7 

John Minnick 

Grade 8 

Ashlyn Bulas 

Devon Gilbert 

Aaron Marko 

Taylor Somerville 

Stephen Daniel Legath 

This year’s Key Club award goes to Stephen Daniel Legath. Key Club, under 

the capable leadership of high school teacher Janice Layton, is dedicated to serving 

our school and community. This year, Key Club was led by officers Stephen Legath 

(President), Andrea Ghezzi (Vice President), Britney Smith (Secretary), Kyle Kunkle 

(Treasurer), and Nicole Simmons (Webmaster). The year began with participation 

in the 2nd annual Homecoming Community BBQ with hot chocolate sales and the 

hit of the night—the fish bowl game. Key Club members served the Senior Citizens’ 

Luncheon in November. In December, Key Club members baked cookies to raise 

money for Cookies for Kids Cancer. Over the winter months, Key Club assisted with 

the elementary school blood drive, and sold candy bars for Valentine’s Day with all 

of the profits going to a “No-Kill” Animal Shelter. This spring, Key Club participated 

in Daffodil Days, assisting in daffodil sales to raise money for the American Cancer 

Society. Key Club also assisted in the Spring Campus Clean-up, where members suited 

up in safety gear and walked around the high school campus and neighborhood 

picking up trash and litter that was left from the winter months. Key Club had a very 

successful year and plans to grow in the coming years at Westmont Hilltop High 

School. 

Bullying Prevention is a 

community initiative 

The WHSD invited the community 

to an event highlighting the bullying 

prevention programs available district 

wide (along with issues connected to 

cyber-bullying). The district hosted the 

event at the middle school entitled “ABC 

Night.” ABC stands for Anti-Bullying 

Community. Highlighting the evening’s 

activities were presenters Karla Good, 

the elementary and middle school’s 

Olweus Bully Prevention Program 

coordinator, and Detective Julie Wagner 

of the Johnstown Police Department. 

We invited our entire community 

to become an ABC (Anti-Bullying 

Community). 

Westy’s Angels 

At the middle school, Westy’s 

Angels also participated in the 

American Cancer Society’s Daffodil 

Days. The Angels sold bunches of 

daffodils, potted daffodils, and the 

Boyd’s Bear with daffodils to benefit the 

American Cancer Society. This was only 

one example of the fine philanthropic 

services that this group is involved with 

under the direction of their advisors, 

Mrs. Denise Cunningham and Mrs. 

Barbara Miltenberger. 

Math-A-thon 

at the Middle School 

Grade 5 students at the middle 

school raised a total of $4,311.00 this 

year alone, and since 2005, the students 

have raised $20,574.25 for the patients of 

St. Jude’s. 

Middle School collects 

Food for the Needy 

The Middle School collected over 750 

cans of soup, boxes of cereal, and other 

canned goods for a local food pantry 

and the Women’s Help Center. The food 

collection was run in conjunction with a 

faculty versus student basketball game, 

which was played December 23, resulting 

in fun for the middle school and food for 

the hungry. Middle school students helped 

to collect food daily, count items for the 

inventory, and box it for delivery, under 

the direction of Miss Jodi Hillegass.

community recognition of Scholarship, 

citizenship, and Service 

Westmont Hilltop students honor their parents, school, and community 

through academics and service. The community, in turn, recognizes and honors 

our students for scholarship, service, and citizenship. Examples of the generosity 

and support of the community follow as depicted in the awards and picture 

captions on the pages that follow. 

United States Air Force 

Academy Appointment 

Taylor Ann Walther 

Sergeant First Class Raymond 

Richard Buchan Memorial 

Scholarship 


Westmont Peace Award 


American Red Cross 

Blood Drive Scholarship 

Andrea Marie Ghezzi 

American Red Cross 

Making a Difference 

Educational Scholarship 

Nicole Ann Kovach 

Brittany Elizabeth Strelnik 

Westmont Hilltop Educational 

Association Scholarship Award 


Westmont Hilltop Student 

Memorial Scholarship Awards 

Rebecca Isabell Barron 

Luke Anthony Corona 

Catherine Hubbard 

Memorial Award 

Kelsey Danielle Layton 

School citizenship Awards 

Grade 12 

Brittany Elizabeth Strelnik 

Megan Louise Walker 


Luke Joseph Young 


Metz & Associates Scholarship 

Halan Nu Lam 

Michael J. Rudnac Scholarship 

Angela Rose Battaglia 


Mitchell and Rebecca Azar 

Family Scholarship 


A new award in 2009 is based on 

high academic scholarship as well 

as a student’s intent to attend one 

of four colleges from which Rebecca 

and Mitchell Azar have graduated. 

Students are awarded a monetary 

scholarship. Michael Joseph Young is 

the recipient of the 2010 Azar Family 

Scholarship Award. 

Gella Family Scholarship 



A new scholarship was offered 

this year for the students of highest 

academic standing in mathematics 

and science. Juliana Faith Bukoski and 

Zachary Riggins del Rosario are the 

2010 recipients of the Gella Family 

Scholarship Award. 

Grade 11 

Annabeth Rodgers Faucher 

Jamie Lee Kessler 

Julia Rose Kittka 

Jenna Marie Magistro 

Westwood Kiwanis Club 

Scholarship 

Andrea Marie Ghezzi 


Grade 10 

Mustafa Hammudi 

Michael Robert McDaniel 

Ileana Panebianco 

Britney Alyssa Smith 

Watson Unsung Hero Awards 

Susan Michelle Specht 

Phillip Keith Keilman 

Class of 1947 Westmont/Upper 

Yoder Endowment Fund 


Greater Johnstown Career and 

Technology Center 

NOCTI Awards 

Takesha Lynn Crutcher 

Brice Anthony Morneau 

The Challenge Program Award 

for Academic Excellence 


Joshua Michael Polacek 

Mark Nathaniel 


for Community Service 


Lauren Marie Matevish 

Gina Carmela Rievel 


for Most Improved in Grade 

Hannah Katherine Winterscheidt 

Halim Nu Lam 

Jessica Lynn Coolbaugh 


for Attendance 

Kelsey Elizabeth Suppes 

Leah Marie Marko 

Nicole Lindsey Dorn 

West End Lions Club 

Scholastic Awards 



Rachel Carson Book Award 

Sarah Nicole Walko 

Grade 9 

David James Carney 

Taylor Morgan Davis 

Justin R. Gindlesperger 

Stacee Danielle Glass 

“Citizenship & Community Recognition”


Senior Project—Basketball for 

Special olympics 

The senior project of John Valcheff and Rosie Clark with the support of 

Americorps Student Aide and advisor, Martin Vrabel, was to raise money for Special 

Olympics through basketball. The project raised over $2,200 for Cambria County 

Special Olympics. Numerous individual corporate sponsors helped to make this 

donation total so high. The group had a HORSE contest and three-point shootout 

contest before the game. Angela Battaglia won the HORSE, and Casey Craig and 

Ryan Durham were the co-champions of the three-point shootout. 

Advisor Martin Vrabel described the most significant action of the game as 

follows: “The coaches were down 60-57 with 3 seconds left when Dave Roman drew 

up a play for Danny to take the final shot. Jordan DeMarco inbounded the ball to 

Danny who made a three-point shot in the corner as time expired to tie the game at 

60. The moment was so special that the seniors graciously wanted the game to end at 

a 60-60 tie. The coaches and seniors carried Danny off the court!” 

Left to right: Michael Oberst, Rosie Clark, Martin Vrabel, John Valcheff, Daniel Oberst, Patricia 

Oberst, Maggie Oberst 

Basketball for Special Olympics: (left to right) Tony Battaglia, Ryan Durham, Coach 

Bradley Carney, Coach Bryant Fisher, Coach Jodi Hillegass, Daniel Oberst, Coach Dave Roman Jr., 

Jeffrey Papcun, Michael Oberst, Casey Craig, Thomas Callihan, Martin Vrabel, Henry Eisenhuth 


thoN 

Norman Sivi 

Rachel Wozniak 

Norman Sivi and Rachel Wozniak cochaired 

the THON event and collaborated 

to make this year’s THON a huge success, 

with the support of the High School 

Student Council and Margaret Atterbury 

as president. Proceeds were split between 

the American Heart Association and the 

Four Diamonds Fund. 

Student Council led the fundraising 

for THON under the direction of 

President Margaret Atterbury and 

THON chair, Norman Sivi. Rachel 

Wozniak also based her senior project 

on THON. Rachel and Norman worked 

together to make the project a success. 

THON raised a little over $7,500 this year 

for the American Heart Association. 

Senior Project— 

Golf for critical care 

Although the Golf Team will be 

featured in the sports section of this 

newsletter, Westmont Hilltop Golf Team 

Seniors Mac Wolfe, Matthew Ponzurick, 

and Phillip Keilman deserve honorable 

mention for Community Service through 

Golf. The students collaborated on a 

Senior Project, in the form of a golf 

outing at Berkley Hills, for the purpose of 

raising funds for the Critical Care Unit of 

Conemaugh Health System. More than 

25 teams participated in this event. The 

three WHSD alumni were featured in 

the May 11, 2010 issue of “Care Notes,” 

a newsletter of the Conemaugh Health 

System, where they were recognized 

for their contribution of $2,000 for 

Conemaugh Health Foundation’s 

Critical Care Unit Campaign. They 

will be recognized at a luncheon at the 

hospital on August 2, 2010, when their 

contributions will be acknowledged by 

Mr. Scott Becker, CEO of Conemaugh 

Memorial Medical Center.

Music and the Arts 

The Westmont Hilltop School District is committed to academic excellence, 

community service, athletics, and the arts, as the interconnections among 

the three realms are mutually supportive in the holistic development of the 

intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal capacities that enrich our lives. Within 

the pages of the Hilltopper Highlights, we emphasize that commitment through 

recognition of the involvement of our students as scholars, citizens, artists, and 

athletes. In this section, you will note evidence that Westmont Hilltop students 

have excelled in Chorus, Band, or Orchestra, and in some cases, all of the above, 

and in the visual and performing arts. 

The graphic illustrates the philosophy mutually shared 

by WHSD personnel in academics, athletics, community 

service, and the arts. 

the following students were recognized by their school 

and community for outstanding performance and 

capacity in the arts: 

James Kocher 

Memorial Music Award 

Matthew Thomas Wagner 

Community Arts Center 

Jordan David Kohler 

Hannah Katherine Winterscheidt 

Allied Artists Award 

Alexandra Noel Mundy 

National School Choral Awards 

Ashley Anne Schafer 


Music Monster Awards 

Anne Elizabeth Rummell 

Luke Joseph Young 

National School 

Orchestra Award 

Nicholas Alexander Adams 

Director’s Award for Band 

Nicholas Alexander Adams 

Jason Timothy Dailey 

Kirsten Alexandra Hess 

Joshua Ryan Slocum 

Matthew Thomas Wagner 

Samuel Hillard Outdoor Award 


Ken Null Memorial Award 

Adam James Steinbring 

John Philip Sousa Award 


Rhythm & Groove Award 

for Jazz Studies 

Kyle Harmon Hopkins 

performing ArtS 

county chorus at 

the Middle School 

This is the first year since 1993 that 

Cambria County has offered a middle 

school level county chorus festival. 

Westmont Hilltop Middle School had 

14 students participate in a wonderful 

two-day festival in November that 

concluded with an outstanding evening 

performance. Our students experienced 

nationally recognized conductors and 

brought back to our school a new world 

of choral experiences. What an honor 

for them! This year’s Cambria County 

Chorus Festival participants were: 

Grade 6 

Laken Burkhardt 

Leah Hockensmith 

Sarah Kilpatrick 

Erik Wehner 

Grade 7 

Maura Glennon 

Amanda Martella 

Grace McIlhenny 

Colleen Mulrooney 

Young Artists 

exhibition 

Grade 8 


Devon Gilbert 


Rachel Mural 

Emily Ward 


The following students’ artwork was 

chosen to be displayed at the Greater 

Johnstown Young Artists Exhibition. 

Artistic Awards were presented by Allied 

Artists of Johnstown and the Community 

Arts Center. 

Grade 6 

Quinn Callihan 

award winner 

Monica Lough 

award winner 

Chad Held 

Ashley Kush 

Veronica Petrus 

McCabe Rakvin 

Emmy Rice 

Helen Stern 

Gina Yonko 

Zachary Yost 

Grade 7 

Margaret Clark 

Grade 8 

Brandon Hunsinger 

Courtney Morder 

Serena Ramirez 

Sydney Ruis 

Leah Steinbring 

Eric Thomas 

Ashley Young 

“Performing Arts” 

5

performing ArtS 

rotary 

World Peace Art contest 

Westmont Hilltop Middle School 

students Kasey Helmick (Grade 7) and 

Monica Lough (Grade 6) won first and 

second place awards respectively for 

their entries in the Rotary World Peace 

Art Contest in April. The students, along 

with family members, were invited to the 

Rotary Recognition Breakfast to receive 

their awards. 

Kasey’s entry depicts a flower where 

each of the leaves on the stem represents 

one of the continents with all of them 

coming together to form one world in 

peace. Each leaf/continent has the word 

“Peace” written in a different language. 

Monica’s entry shows the world in 

puzzle pieces. The caption underneath 

the puzzle states: “World Peace: It’s No 

Puzzle.” 

Kasey’s painting was selected as 

one of the top four in the Rotary district, 

making her eligible to win the top prize 

at the District Awards Banquet. 

A Few More Musical “Notes!” 

The Chamber Singers secured First 

Place in the Madrigal Singing Competition 

of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire…a 

first for Westmont Hilltop! 

Ten of our students qualified for 

District Chorus this year at the high 

school. They are as follows: Kim Carney, 

Marissa Ghantous, Julie Kittka, Julie 

Mercik, Sara Rogerson, Annie Rummell, 

Ashley Schafer, Keegan Terek, Christine 

Weidner, and Luke Young. 

At District Chorus in Hollidaysburg, 

five WHHS students qualified to attend 

Regional Chorus: Kim Carney, Julie 

Mercik, Annie Rummell, Ashley Schafer 

and Luke Young. 

Participating in All-County Band at 

the middle school were Grade 7: Sadie 

Carney, Jenna Kutchman, and Heaven 

Wiley. Grade 8: Aaron Marko, Rachel 

Mural, Matthew Wehner, and Robert 

Samuel Whitlow. 

Congratulations to the Indoor Color 

Guard for taking home 1st place out of 8 

groups at the Windber Competition! 

In the middle school, Georgann 

Carnevali, Bryan Mock, Jenna Paratore, 

Jarod Shark, Jenna Toth, Erik Wehner, 

and Hunter Williams were selected 

for an elite Grade 6 concert band called 

6 “Performing Arts” 

Musical 

Anything Goes 

Westmont Hilltop went full steam 

ahead with the musical production 

of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. Each 

year, it is difficult to imagine a musical 

being any better than the show of the 

year at WHSD. The musical of 2010 

was no exception. It was spectacular! 

With talented students in the cast, and 

Ms. Beth Good in charge of pulling 

it all together, how can the musical 

fail to live up to expectations as a 

premier production? Congratulations 

to Ms. Good, who was recognized as 

the Pennsylvania Music Educators’ 

Association honoree for District VI in 

2010. 

Pictured is the cast of Anything Goes. Each and every member of the cast and crew provided the perfect 

ingredient for an amazing production, resulting from teamwork and collaboration! 

theatre club 

The Theatre Club experienced well-deserved applause and ovations this 

year for entertaining the community with inspiring and enjoyable theatrical 

performances. In the fall, the group attended Western Division of the 

Pennsylvania High School Speech League Competition located in Pittsburgh, and 

performed The Sandbox by Edward Albee. The performers were Edward Dreikorn 

as the lifeguard, Annabeth Faucher as Grandma, Christine Weidner as Mother, 

and Andrew Kilpatrick as Father. Under the direction of Mrs. Jacqueline Flack, 

the Club performs three one-act plays and one full-length play annually. The fulllength 

play of 2010 was American Daughter by Wendy Wasserstein. 

The cast of American Daughter. 

“BandFest.” These students rehearsed with 

students from 25 other school districts 

and performed in a concert. 

The Westmont Hilltop Chamber 

Singers were invited to perform with 

the American Idol Holiday Tour at the 

Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center 

on the UPJ campus in December. It 

was a terrific performance as well as a 

wonderful experience for our students 

who performed two a cappella numbers 

on their own and also backed vocals with 

the stars who were selected for the finale 

of American Idol.

2010 outstanding Male Athletic Award 

Kyle Kunkle 

Kyle Kunkle earned nine varsity letters as a student-athlete at Westmont 

Hilltop – four in soccer, four in track and field, and one in basketball. As senior 

captain on the 20–2 Hilltopper soccer team, Kyle led his team to the Laurel 

Highlands Athletic Conference Championship, the District 6 Championship, 

and to a berth in the PIAA State Soccer Tournament. As an individual, Kyle was a 

four-year starter and a two-year captain. In both the 2008 and 2009 seasons, he 

was named the Corona & Grady Coaches’ Outstanding Boys’ Soccer Player and 

selected to the LHAC All-Conference Team as a center-midfielder. 

During the basketball season, Kyle won a varsity letter as a senior captain 

and helped lead his team to the District 6 semi-finals and a 3rd place finish, 

qualifying Westmont for PIAA State playoffs. The team finished with a 15–13 

overall record. As a defensive specialist, Kyle was routinely responsible for 

guarding the opposing team’s most dangerous outside scoring threat, which 

earned him the John Khuri Memorial Award. 

Kyle earned letters in each of his four years in track and field. As a middledistance 

runner, he qualified for the PIAA State Track Meet as a freshman on the 

4 X 800-meter relay team and as a senior in the 800-meter run after placing 3rd 

at the 2010 District 6 Track Meet. Kyle set the school record his senior year in the 

800-meter run with a time of 1:59.7 at the District 6 Meet in Altoona. During his 

career he was twice named a member of the LHAC All-Conference Track Team, 

and was the recipient of the Herdman-Daily Outstanding Boys’ Track Award in 

2008. 

Kyle was the Senior Class President, a member of Westmont Hilltop’s National 

Athletic recognition 

Honor Society, and was in the Top Ten of his graduating class. He will attend Duke University in the fall, where he will 

pursue his education and continue his love for sports, participating in club soccer and becoming a Cameron Crazie, 

cheering for the Duke Basketball Team. 

2010 outstanding Female Athletic Award 

Kayla vliet 

Kayla Vliet earned eleven varsity letters as a student-athlete at Westmont 

Hilltop–four in soccer, four in basketball, and three in track and field. During her 

senior year, Kayla served as a captain in both soccer and basketball. 

In soccer, Kayla was a three-year starter and was named to the Laurel 

Highlands Athletic Conference All-Conference Team following her sophomore 

season. In basketball, Kayla started for 3 years. As a senior, Kayla was selected 

to the Ameriserv Financial Senior Showcase All-Star game held at the University 

of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. As a freshman, she was a member of the Westmont 

Hilltop girls’ squad that played in the Western Conference championship game 

in the AA Division. In track and field, Kayla qualified for and competed at the 

District 6 Meet in Altoona as part of the 4 X 100 Relay Team. 

Kayla will attend West Virginia University in the fall to further her education. 

2010 Outstanding Female Athletic Award: 

Kayla Vliet 

2010 Outstanding Male Athletic Award: 

Kyle Kunkle 

“Athletic Recognition”


Sports recognition and Awards 

SPoNSorShiP hoNor reciPieNt 

David Coulson Award Outstanding Football Player casey Katzenstein 

David J. Murphy Award Outstanding Hockey Player corey Schafer 

Claycomb Coach’s Award Outstanding Wrestlers Joshua Duplin 

tanner hough 

Joshua Polacek 

Skip Pristow Award Outstanding Boys’ Basketball Player A.J. rievel 

Khuri Family Fund John Khuri Memorial Award Kyle Kunkle 

William A. Askey Outstanding Volleyball Player rebecca Barron 

Herdman-Dailey Award Outstanding Boys’ Track Jason Dean 

Herdman-Dailey Award Outstanding Girls’ Track Brittany Davis 

Lori Blackburn Memorial Award Girls’ Track Team Dedication Miranda Moser 

rachel rajter 

WHSD Boys’ Track Team Dedication ryan Kesslak 

Herdman Family Herdman Scholarship Jason Dailey 

Outstanding Runner 

Robert A. Gleason Award Outstanding Boys’ Tennis Players Parag Dharbhamulla 

Aaron Miller 

Adele Dovey Award Outstanding Girls’ Tennis Player rachel Wozniak 

leah Young 

John P. Horty Award Outstanding Softball Player Angela Sutt 

Ellwood Ailes Award Outstanding Baseball Player Benjamin legath 

Dr. Michael Sewak Award Outstanding Girls’ Basketball Player Sara rogerson 

Ginger Bezek Ginger Bezek Scholarship Sara rogerson 

WHSD Outstanding Boys’ Cross Country Jason Dean 

WHSD Outstanding Girls’ Cross Country rachel rajter 

Dr. William J. Hargreaves Award Outstanding Male Golfer Mac Wolfe 

Dr. William J. Hargreaves Award Outstanding Female Golfer Brittany carney 

Julia Wolfe 

Corona & Grady Coaches’ Award Outstanding Boys’ Soccer Player Kyle Kunkle 

John Saracena Coach’s Award Outstanding Girls’ Soccer Player Jamie Kessler 

WHSD Outstanding Girls’ Swimmer Nicole Kovach 

WHSD Outstanding Boys’ Swimmer ray Ward 

Karen Askey Owens Pote William A. Askey Scholarship Margaret Atterbury 

PIAA District 6 District 6 Sportsmanship Award - Female Nicole Kovach 

PIAA District 6 District 6 Sportsmanship Award - Male Kyle hopkins 

WHSD Outstanding Female Athlete Award Kayla vliet 

WHSD Outstanding Male Athlete Award Kyle Kunkle 

Milt Lantz Family Milt Lantz Scholarship trevor Kushner 

8 “Athletic Recognition” 

Row 1 – Outstanding 

Hockey Player: Corey Schafer; 

Outstanding Girls’ Basketball 

Player: Sara Rogerson; 

Outstanding Female Athlete: 

Kayla Vliet; William A. Askey 

Award: Margaret Atterbury; 

Outstanding Softball Player: 

Angela Sutt 

Row 2 – Outstanding Baseball 

Player: Benjamin Legath; 

Outstanding Boys’ Basketball 

Player: A.J. Rievel; District 6 

Sportsmanship Award: Kyle 

Hopkins, Nicole Kovach 

Row 1 – Outstanding Girls’ Track: Brittany Davis; 

Outstanding Male Athlete/Outstanding Boys’ 

Soccer/John Khuri Scholarship: Kyle Kunkle 

Row 2 – Track Team Dedication: Rachel Rajter, 

Miranda Moser, Ryan Kesslak 

Row 1 – Outstanding Girls’ Cross Country: Rachel 

Rajter; Outstanding Boys’ Track/Outstanding 

Boys’ Cross Country: Jason Dean; Outstanding 

Girls’ Golfer: Julia Wolfe, Brittany Carney 

Row 2 – Herdman-Dailey Award: Jason Dailey; 

Outstanding Boys’ Golfer: Mac Wolfe; Outstanding 

Girls’ Soccer Player: Jamie Kessler; Outstanding 

Football Player: Casey Katzenstein 

Row 1 – Outstanding Boys’ Tennis: Aaron Miller, 

Parag Dharbhamulla; Outstanding Girls’ Tennis: 

Rachel Wozniak, Leah Young 

Row 2 – Outstanding Wrestler: Joshua Duplin 

(absent: Joshua Polacek, Tanner Hough); Milt Lantz 

Scholarship Award: Trevor Kushner; Outstanding 

Volleyball Player: Rebecca Barron; Outstanding 

Boys’ Swimmer: Ray Ward; Outstanding Girls’ 

Swimmer: Nicole Kovach

WhSD Aced the Game of Golf this Year— 

As Usual! 

Westmont Hilltop Golf Teams have had 27 undefeated seasons since 1960. This 

year, the Westmont Hilltop Golf Team of Andrew Herbert, Phillip Keilman, Patrick 

Lennon, and Mac Wolfe placed FIRST in the Anderson Memorial Tournament. 

The team of Andrew Herbert, Phillip Keilman, Patrick Lennon, Daniel Wolfe, 

and Mac Wolfe placed FIRST in the PIAA Western Sectionals. Patrick Lennon had 

the lowest score in PIAA Western Sectionals and was the medalist in the Anderson 

Memorial. The WHSD Golf Team placed second in the Wheeling Tournament and 

third in the Laurel Highlands Championship. 

Mac Wolfe has completed his final year on the golf team and has excelled as a 

medalist many times over in the tournament events in which he has participated. 

The teams to which he contributed have been Sectional Champions and Laurel 

Highlands Champs, and those teams have historically been champions of the 

Anderson Memorial and the Wheeling Tournament. This year, Mac qualified for 

PIAA Western Regionals. He was recognized for outstanding representation of the 

school district in Sectionals and District Level Golf competition. 

Julia Wolfe will be missed as one of four girls on the Westmont Hilltop Team and 

was named outstanding female golfer of 2009-2010, along with Brittany Carney, 

who will return next year. 

Westmont Hilltop Golf Team: Anderson Memorial Champions, Laurel Highlands 

Conference Champions, 9-1 Season Record 

Sports Newsflashes 

A Brief list of Notable Accomplishments 

by Some of our Athletes 

Boys’ Soccer 

The Boys’ Soccer Team won the LHAC 

Athletic Conference Championship and 

the District 6 Championship. 

Kyle Kunkle was named the LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner in Boys’ 

Soccer. 

Zachary Ryan was the LHAC All- 


Soccer. 

The Boys’ Soccer Team advanced to state 

level competition. 

Girls’ volleyball 

Rebecca Barron was the LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner and an 


All-District Team choice in Volleyball. 

She led the team with the highest hitting 

percentage, the most kills, the most 

service aces, and the most blocks. 

Boys’ cross country 

Jason Dean was the LHAC All- 


Cross Country. 

Girls’ cross country 

Rachel Rajter was the LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner in Girls’ 

Cross Country and advanced to state 

level competition. 

Girls’ Soccer 

Jamie Kessler was named LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner in Soccer. 

Nadin Suler was the LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner in 

Girls’Soccer. 

Girls’ tennis 

Rachel Wozniak was the LHAC All- 

Conference Selection Winner in Girls’ 

Tennis. 

Football 

Garrett Lucas has been invited to play in 

the 7th Annual 2011 All-American Bowl 

Game Classic on December 31, 2010 in 

Daytona Beach. 

hockey 

Andrew Herbert and Corey Schafer 

were selected to play in the PIHL All-Star 

Game in January. 

Wrestling 

The Varsity Wrestling Team won the 

Team Title in the Annual Conemaugh 

Township Wrestling Tournament. 

The following wrestlers qualified for the 

PIAA State Wrestling Championships 

in Hershey: Joshua Polacek, Tanner 

Hough, Trevor Kushner, Ryan 

Burnheimer, and Joshua Duplin. 

Polacek and Hough finished 4th in the 

state, and Duplin finished in 5th place 

“Athletic Recognition” 

9


thanks to the varsity cheerleaders 

0 “Athletic Recognition” 

Supporting all sports through all 

seasons are the Westmont Hilltop 

Cheerleaders! Pictured is the 

Varsity Team of 2009-2010. 

Row 1 – Catherine Walsh, Brittany 

Strelnik 

Row 2 – Carly Stump, Nicolle Komara, 

Lynn Kimmell, Tracy Yanosky 

Row 3 – Cheyenne Kovach, Madalynn 

Swaltek, Victoria Albert, Amber Harden, 

Alicia Feight (coach) 

Swimming 

The Girls’ and Boys’ Swim Teams made a big cool splash this year, as usual. 

There were fifty-three swimmers on the team this year, and the girls won the 

CWACC with a perfect 13-0 record. This is the second consecutive year that the girls 

have had an undefeated season. The girls’ team of fifteen swimmers and one diver 

continued their success by winning the District 6/9 Regional Competition at Penn 

State. Congratulations to the Girls’ Swim Team on their first place finish at Regional 

Competition and to the Boys’ Swim Team for their 4th place finish in the conference 

and 5th place in Regional Competition, all under the coaching of Mr. Jay Hicks. 

The team sent 8 girls and 4 boys to States at Bucknell. The Westmont Hilltop 

Swimmers were the District 6 Champions and topped that by becoming the North 

Central Region Champs! State level competitors were: Marinanicole Miller for the 

200 and 500 Freestyle; Nichole Kovach for the 50 and 100 Freestyle; Naofa Noll for 

the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Butterfly; Kara Kovach for the 100 Freestyle; 

Julia Wolfe, Kara Kovach, Nichole Kovach and Kasey Azar for the 200 Freestyle 

Relay; Elizabeth Atterbury, Ashley Schafer, Naofa Noll and Nichole Kovach for 

the 200 Medley Relay; Naofa Noll, Nichole Kovach, Marinanicole Miller and Julia 

Wolfe for the 400 Freestyle Relay; Ryan Koul for the 50 Freestyle; Ray Ward for the 

200 Freestyle; and Paul Nathaniel, Robert Nickels, Ryan Koul and Ray Ward for 

the 200 Freestyle Relay. 

The Westmont Hilltop Swim Team with Coach Jay Hicks 

thank You, coach 

Sue Minchau 

Mrs. Sue Minchau retired as Girls’ 

and Boys’ Tennis coach in 2010, 

concluding nearly three decades of 

dedicated service to the district. Mrs. 

Minchau put Westmont Hilltop Tennis 

“on the map,” beginning with the Girls’ 

Tennis Team in 1981. Three years later, 

she became the Boys’ Tennis Team 

coach and served both teams until 

her retirement this school year. Every 

season was a winning season under Mrs. 

Minchau…for twenty-nine consecutive 

years! 

Mrs. Minchau has been supportive 

of the development of a team which 

displays fine sportsmanship. This is 

even more important to the development 

of young athletes than the impressive 

record of successful tennis that the 

district has attained because of the 

efforts of this devoted coach. For Sue 

Minchau, tennis is a life-long passion. 

It is not often that we have the 

privilege of thanking a coach for three 

decades of service to one district. 

This is the year we say “THANK YOU, 

Mrs. Minchau!” With the deepest 

gratitude, we thank Mrs. Minchau for 

understanding the connections among 

athletics, sportsmanship, academics, 

and honor. You have served us honorably, 

Mrs. Minchau, and we are deeply grateful 

for your service. 

Coach Sue Minchau (back row) with The Westmont Hilltop Tennis Team

Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team: Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Champions 

Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team: District 6 Champions 

Kushner carries on 

2010 graduate Trevor Kushner 

will be wrestling for the West 

Virginia Mountaineers this coming 

season, carrying on quite a tradition 

for the Westmont Hilltop wrestlers 

under Coach Matthew Beaujon. Trevor 

is the sixth wrestler since 2007 to 

continue his wrestling career on a 

Division I level. Those other five 

wrestlers include the following: 

Kyle Patton (2007) - University of 

Pittsburgh 

TJ Polacek (2008) - University of 

Pennsylvania 

Michael Brant (2008) - US Naval 

Academy 

Zachary Bennett (2009) - University of 

North Carolina 

TJ Keklak (2009) - Kent State University 


the lhAc 

Sportsmanship 

Award Winner is . . . 

Westmont hilltop! 

Although the Hilltopper Highlights 

is dedicated to student achievement, it 

is necessary on occasion to recognize 

the wonderful men and women who 

nurture and teach our student athletes 

so that generations to follow will have 

the capacity to give back in kind. 

Thanks in particular are extended 

this year to all coaches who contributed 

to the district’s attainment of the 

LHAC Sportsmanship Award, and 

especially to Athletic Director Kathleen 

Masiello and Assistant Athletic Director 

Thomas Callihan for their leadership in 

Sportsmanship. 

• Coach Joseph Shorto was named 

LHAC Coach of the Year for Golf. 

• Coach Steve Meehan was named 

LHAC Coach of the Year for Boys’ 

Soccer. 

• Nicole Kovach and Kyle Hopkins 

were the recipients of the PIAA 

“Sportsmanship: Let it Begin with Me” 

program. The students were selected 

as representatives of our district’s 

quest to honor our school through 

sportsmanship. 

Trevor Kushner will be wrestling for the 

West Virginia Mountaineers this coming 

season. 

“Athletic Recognition” 

1

generAl informAtion 

Sources of Funding 

The Westmont Hilltop School District received funding from the 

following federal and state sources and publicizes receipt, as follows 

for the 2010-2011 school year: 

Title I: $207,212 

American Recovery & $ 118,046 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 

(divided over a 2-year funding period) 

Title II: $47,434 

Accountability Block Grant $126,307 

IDEIA $188,261 

IDEIA (ARRA) $ 198,992 

(divided over a 2-year funding period) 

Title I provides our elementary Title I program. Title II provides a 

portion of an extra teacher’s salary in the elementary school, which helps 

with class size reduction. The Accountability Block Grant funds early 

childhood initiatives and the implementation of full-day kindergarten. 

IDEIA Funding is dedicated to special education staffing and related 

support services for children. 

Senior residents 

have v.i.P. Status 

Each year we are pleased to 

acknowledge and thank senior 

residents for their contributions to our 

educational system. Our Senior V.I.P. 

community members cheer in our 

stadiums, encourage our youth, and 

support our educational processes in 

a myriad of ways. The V.I.P. program 

(Very Important Person) passes are one 

way we try to accomplish that goal. 

Seniors enjoy free admission to all 

school-related athletic events. The only 

exceptions are hockey games played 

at the Cambria County War Memorial 

and the annual musical. If you are a 

senior resident, age 62 or older, you 

are eligible to a V.I.P. pass. To obtain 

one, please contact the district office 

at 814-255-6751. 

“General Information” 

the vision 

The Mission Statement of the Westmont Hilltop 

School District is regularly posted on mailings 

and online publications of the district. Whereas 

we frequently publish our mission, we speak less 

frequently of our vision, which embodies the 

principles that guide us in goal setting and action 

planning. We would like to take this opportunity 

to share the vision that the Strategic Planning 

Committee, comprised of students, teachers, 

administrators, board members, and business 

community leaders has established for the district. 

This vision will serve as our roadmap for the 010- 

011 school year. 

collectively, we envision a district . . . 

• where all students learn in a healthy, safe, and 

nurturing environment and where students are 

equipped with the knowledge that 

healthy lifestyle choices are essential 

in reaching their optimal learning potential. 

• where educators deliver the highest standards 

of teaching to maximize opportunities for 

student success. 

• where all stakeholders become increasingly 

aware of educational processes as well as both 

the protective factors and the risk factors 

inherent in the home, neighborhood, and 

school environments. 

• where students receive a well-rounded 

experience through involvement in the 

academics, the arts, and extracurricular 

experiences. 

• where students learn evaluative skills and 

develop increasing capacity to draw their own 

conclusions through effective application of 

higher order thinking and the development of 

problem-solving skills. 

• where all students assume a responsibility 

to learn, each having unique strengths and 

weaknesses, differing learning styles, and 

differing rates of retention. 

• where all teachers have a responsibility to 

differentiate instruction based on the varying 

needs of their students. 

• where a culture of continuous learning and 

improvement is fostered through quality 

leadership. 

• that values and models all aspects of lifelong 

learning, professional growth, continual 

improvement, and a commitment to researching 

and implementing best practice in our schools. 

• that encourages and rewards community service 

by providing a wide range of opportunities and 

recognizes students for their efforts in pro-social 

involvement and community service. 

• that provides mentoring and shadowing 

experiences via community partnerships that 

will enhance career exploration and through 

which students become aware of the high 

value that employers place on a strong work 

ethic, accountability, and ownership in 

the organization as a whole. 

• that prepares all students for successful 

integration into the global society 

through acquisition of technological 

competencies and facility in languages other 

than English. 

• that maximizes utilization of human and fiscal 

resources through artful use of infrastructure. 

• that continues to strive to upgrade its facilities, 

equipment, and personnel competence in order 

to provide a premier program where 

curriculum is rigorous and relevant with quality 

and effectiveness as high priorities.


Annual PSSA Performance Posting 

Percentage of Students Proficient and Advanced 

The chart below indicates the 

percentage of Westmont Hilltop 

School District students scoring in the 

advanced and proficient ranges relative 

to the 2003-2014 PSSA Target goals 

as established by the Pennsylvania 

Department of Education. This date is 

used to determine whether the district 

has met adequate yearly progress 

goals (AYP). The chart below presents 

a longitudinal picture of the district’s 

progress relative to the targets. 

Additional information for all 

parents will be forthcoming at the 

beginning of the 2010-2011 year. The 

following chart provides a district-wide 

picture of progress over time. Blank 

cells indicate that a particular grade 

level was not tested during the school 

year. 

Parents will receive more detail 

during a variety of opportunities 

throughout the current school year, 

beginning with back-to-school events. 

targets Percent of Grade Percent of Grade 

for Proficient Proficient 

Spring of: reading 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 Math 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 

Performances Performances 

target Goal Set target Goal Set 

by State by State 

2003 45% 64% 79% 69% 35% 67% 72% 63% 

2004 45% 64% 72% 81% 74% 35% 67% 70% 75% 62% 

2005 54% 77% 72% 83% 80% 45% 90% 78% 80% 75% 

2006 54% 74% 83% 77% 75% 85% 91% 78% 45% 91% 89% 76% 78% 93% 82% 70% 

2007 54% 88% 78% 75% 73% 78% 94% 83% 45% 91% 87% 85% 86% 81% 87% 73% 

2008 63% 90% 82% 78% 85% 94% 91% 78% 56% 92% 88% 96% 97% 92% 86% 66% 

2009 63% 87% 84% 72% 88% 84% 96% 83% 56% 95% 85% 86% 92% 94% 92% 71% 

“General Information”



Westmont hilltop School District 

2010-2011 School Year

Annual Public Notice 2010 

helping children with Special Needs 

The Westmont Hilltop School 

District provides pre-referral and 

special education services to children 

with special needs. There are two 

important resources for parents and 

community members to help in 

deciding whether students need extra 

help or special services and, if so, what 

services are available and how to take 

advantage of them. The links to this 

information, along with a description 

of the type of information available are 

listed below. 

For more information, please call 

your school guidance counselors, 

nurses, or building principals as 

follows: High School—255-8726, 

Middle School—255-8704, or 

Elementary School—255-8707. 

At the link below, community 

members will find information about 

contact people, student support teams, 

signals that children may need special 

education, types of services available, 

Autism 

emotional Disturbance 

Deafness 

hearing impairment 

Specific learning Disability 

educational programs for parents, and 

helping children in crisis situations. 

You may access this site online from 

any public library computer, or call the 

school if you need online assistance: 

www.whsd.org/users/sja/SETraining 

The Intermediate Unit 8 provides 

an Annual Public Notice of Special 

Education Services and Programs 

in the State of Pennsylvania that 

is publicized in local newspapers, 

but also available at the following 

link: www.iu08.org:9080/iu8/ 

departments/educational-programs/ 

Announcements/annual-public-notice/ 

Note: The district is in the process 

of a major website revision. If the 

address to this link changes, we will 

notify parents during the course of the 

upcoming school year. 

This site includes information 

regarding the Pennsylvania 

Department of Education’s 

Mental retardation 

Multiple Disabilities 

other health impairment 

orthopedic impairment due to 

chronic or Acute health Problems 

Speech and language impairment 


responsibility to ensure that all 

children with disabilities residing 

in the Commonwealth, including 

children with disabilities attending 

private schools, regardless of the 

severity of their disabilities, and who 

are in need of special education and 

related services, are identified, located, 

and evaluated. This responsibility is 

required by a federal law called the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act Amendments of 2004 (IDEA 

‘04). It provides details about special 

education law, the Family Education 

Rights and Privacy Act, and the types 

of programs that are available for 

students who have been identified as 

being in need of specially designed 

instruction and have one or more 

of the following physical or mental 

disabilities: 

visual impairment 

including Blindness 

Deaf-Blindness 

traumatic Brain injury 

Developmental Delay 

The processes of early intervention, screening services, evaluation, and educational placement are explained along with 

the types of services and levels of support. Information regarding parents and students’ rights and protections are detailed 

including issues of privacy and confidentiality, and procedures to be followed if you feel that rights have been violated. 


5

Westmont Hilltop School District 

827 Diamond Boulevard 

Johnstown PA 15905 

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED 

Westmont Hilltop School District Directory Information 2010 

Board Of Education 

Mr. Mitchell G. Azar: President 

Mr. George P. Wolfe: Vice-President 

Mr Robert A. Gleason III: Treasurer 

Mrs. Phyllis G. Forman, Dr. Kamal V. Gella, Dr. Gary S. Kramer, Mrs. Diana L. Schroeder, 

Mrs. Leah S. Spangler, Mr. Joseph W. Veranese, Mr. Gregory T. Sanford: Secretary (Non-Member) 

District Administrative Staff 

Dr. Susan J. Anderson, Superintendent 

Mr. Steven D. McGee, Assistant Superintendent 

Mr. Gregory T. Sanford, Business Manager 

Mr. Joseph P. Molnar, Technology Director 

Mr. Daniel P. Ream, Facilities Manager 

Building Administrative Staff 

Mr. Matthew P. Thomas, High School Principal 

Mr. Thomas R. Mitchell, High School Assistant Principal 

Mrs. Nicole D. Kuzmiak, Middle School Principal 

Mr. Edward W. Benning, Assistant Middle School Principal 

Mr. Samuel J. Brunatti III, Elementary School Principal 

Administrative Offices 

827 Diamond Boulevard, Johnstown PA 15905 

Phone: 814-255-6751 Fax: 814-255-7735 

E-mail: Dr. Susan Anderson, Superintendent, sja@whsd.org 

Mission Statement 

The mission of the WHSD, in partnership with our community, is to prepare each student to be an informed, 

ethical, responsible adult in a changing and competitive global society, through high expectations and a 

challenging educational program offering knowledge and skills within a safe, nurturing environment. 

Civil Rights Statement 

The Westmont Hilltop School District, an equal opportunity employer, will not discriminate in employment, educational 

programs or activities, based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, ancestry or disability. Publication of this 

policy in this document is in accordance with state and federal laws including: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 

Title IV, Title VI, Title VII, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 503 & 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

1973, and the American Disabilities Act of 1992. 

Printed on recycled paper 

Elementary School 


High School 

NON-PROFIT ORG 

US POSTAGE 

PAID 

JOHNSTOWN PA 

PERMIT #142

NAtioNAl Merit AchieveMeNt - Westmont Hilltop School District

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