| About Us | Current Issue | Featured Advertisers | Connections | Advertise With Us | Contact Us | Home |
Click for Spotlight on
Schools | North Allegheny High School Band
|
Mona and Dave Bhatia have recently opened a franchised location of Kiddie Academy, a child care learning center in Wexford. Mona is the onsite owner/operator and has a master’s degree in Accounting and an associate’s in Early Childhood Education. She taught for seven years and believes that laying a strong foundation in early childhood is important.
Gateway Rehabilitation Center recently held a media breakfast. [photo right]
|
||
By Christine Bahr If you look back to when you were a student, you may remember one or more teachers who made a profound impact on your life or your career. Two local teachers have touched the minds and hearts of thousands of students, winning the prestigious “PA Teacher of the Year Award” in consecutive years. Lois Rebich, Response to Intervention Specialist in the North Hills School District, did not choose teaching as her initial career path. Armed with a master’s degree in business administration, Rebich set out for the business world, but her true path in life began to emerge as she often found herself working with young people. She volunteered as a Junior Achievement Advisor for teens, worked with college recruits and coordinated factory tours to enlist new employees, taught CCD at her parish church and tutored neighborhood children in math. After the birth of her children, the need for reliable daycare arose which prompted her to open a home-based facility. One of the requirements was to have a certified teacher on staff. At her husband’s suggestion that she become that teacher, Rebich enrolled in Chatham College to major in elementary education. She began her student teaching at East Hills Elementary School in the Pittsburgh Public School District. This experience, coupled with her desire to work with young people, strengthened her passion for teaching. “It took me 16 years to recognize my calling, but I can tell you in the 20 years since I traded the boardroom for the classroom, I have never doubted my decision,” Rebich said. “Over the years I’ve had people say, ‘I can’t imagine being in the classroom with kids all day.’ and I just smile and reply, ‘I can’t imagine being anywhere else.’” Rebich stated that winning the “Teacher of the Year Award” was the highlight of her career. David Woten, Jr., teaches 6th and 7th grade music, 8th grade general music at Carson Middle School in the North Allegheny School District and is an Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University. Under his direction, Carson’s music elective program has grown from 50 students to over 250 students. His success is attributed to recognizing that good teachers teach students, not content. Even though some students are musically gifted and some musically challenged, Woten provides the same encouragement and passionate direction. “I can remember wanting to teach as early as third grade. My success in music and my desire to teach made music education an obvious career choice,” Woten said. “I teach because it’s a way to change lives one at a time, a way to challenge others to do more than they ever thought they could.” He also performs as guest conductor at music festivals throughout Pennsylvania, has served on the American Choral Director’s Board of Director’s, and has founded the ACDA Middle School Honor Choir Festival. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the US Army Reserves where he served eight years as a heavy-wheeled mechanic. He is also an author, whitewater kayaker, and has served a volunteer firefighter. |
Spotlight on Schools
North Hills School District administrator Jeff Taylor, right, was recently honored with the Robert V. Flynn Memorial Distinguished Service Award from the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
North Hills Senior High School has implemented a program called The DISCOVER program. This new resource offered through ACT, is a web-based tool that allows students and their families to explore career interests and college information anytime, anywhere.
Artwork created by a North Hills Senior High School student was selected for the school district’s 2008 holiday card. Julia Klein, a junior, submitted the winning entry. [ photo left]
Quaker Valley High School, Scott Lammie of Gibsonia, and Larry Karnoff of Fox Chapel were honored by the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals as part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of National Philanthropy Day®.
Members of the North Hills School Board unanimously elected a new president and vice president (photo right) during their annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 2. Edward Wielgus will serve as president and Thomas Kelly was elected vice president. Both offices are one-year terms.
Five Fox Chapel Area High School seniors were winners of an Online Video Contest at the National Constitution Center. The winning students included: Anders Bergren, Thanh Doan, Akansh Murthy, Alexander Radkoff, and Charles Wei. The award recipients took a tour of the National Constitution Center with Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell and First Lady Judge Marjorie O. Rendell.
Fox Chapel Area High School was ranked among the best high schools from across the country. The school received a Silver Medal rank by U.S. News & World Report.
A team of fifth grade Hartwood Elementary students in the Fox Chapel Area School District won the ‘Battle of the Books” Tournament. The winning team called themselves “The Revenge of the Reading Chocolate Bars.” Team members (photo right) included: Conor Gaffney, Nathan Matisko, Elliott Norman, Brendan Whelan and Matthew Wilk.
Two Fox Chapel Area High School students won awards at the Princeton International Model United Nations (UN) Conference. Senior Reid Goldberg and junior Philip McGrath each won fourth place awards in their committees.
Five Fox Chapel Area High School seniors were named the grand prize winners of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Representative Democracy (PennCORD) “Voting: The Power of Your Voice” online video contest. The grand prize winners included: Anders Bergren, Thanh Doan, Akansh Murthy, Alexander Radkoff and Charles Wei.
Fox Chapel Area High School Spanish Club student Cassady Rosenblum wrote an article in an effort to get much-needed medical supplies to Trinidad.
The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators is naming Pine Richland School District superintendent James Manley, Ph. D., as the 2009 PA Superintendent of the Year.
Dr. Bille Rondinelli, assistant superintendant/secondary of Pine-Richland School District, was honored by The Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, with the 2008 PASCD Supervision and Curriculum Development Award.
Pine-Richland High School is only one of 20 schools out of 670 high schools in Pennsylvania to earn a silver ranking in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of best public high schools in America.
Pine-Richland High School teacher Lauren Martin, right, has earned national board certification from The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. She is now certified in Adolescence English Language Arts.
Pine-Richland High School students: Alex Toa, Mike Georgiadis and John Matune have been selected to participate in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Jazz West Festival to be held Jan. 9-10 at Upper St. Clair High School.
Two Pine-Richland High School students, Alex Toa and Kayla McMurry, performed at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh in November.
Pine-Richland High School junior Ryan Wirth was selected to take part in a National Security Forum in Washington, DC this fall through the National Youth Leadership.
Pine-Richland High School and Middle School will host the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s Junior High School Orchestra program on Jan. 23 & 24 at Pine-Richland School District. The Pine-Richland students that will perform include: Emily Reiling, Brienne Okuda, Lauren Berlin, Kaitlyn McGowan, Emma Walker, Sam Lewis, Camille Boufford, Gretchen Plant, Leah Sturman, Alena Smigla, Laura Herrle, Branden Glass, Anna Goertler and John Michael Oleska.
Pine-Richland Middle School eighth grader Nate Roberts was recognized at the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils State Conference in Gettysburg. Roberts was awarded the Dale Hawley Award for outstanding leadership at the middle school level.
A North Allegheny High School senior Stacey Chen won First Place in the Extemporaneous Speaking competition at the Glenbrooks National High School Speech and Debate Tournament held Nov. 22-23, in Northfield, IL.
The North Allegheny School District Board of Directors has named Joy Gaetano, SPHR, to the position of director of Human Resources.
St. Sebastian’s JV football team, Ross Twp., played St. Bernard’s – Mt. Lebanon in a championship game at Duquesne University on Nov. 9. The St. Sebastian team took home the championship trophy by the score of 26-8. The JV team consists of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students.
Eleven St. Teresa of Avila students were selected to participate in the North District Diocesan Honors Band. The students are: Mary Tresky, Meredith Walker, Cassidy Petrigac, Lindsay Caprio, Olivia DiMaio, Allison Walker, Michael Cefalo, Christian Cook, Anthony Tresky, Chris Wessel and Thad Kotarski.
The Office of Education of the Diocese of Pittsburgh notified St. Teresa of Avila School that their 8th grade students have scored in the top five percent of diocesan students in mathematics for the last five years.
Evans City Elementary students were big winners in the 2008 Mars National Bank Holiday Card Contest. Paul Grewar won first place, and Adam Szwaczkowski took home a second place award [photo right]. Since an Evans City student won first place, the school received a $500 award for art education.
The Goddard School located at 3000 Brooktree Road in Wexford, hosted a Food Drive to support The North Hills Community Outreach on Nov. 17-26. The school accommodates about 130 children, ages six weeks to six years old.
North Allegheny High School Marching Band Selected to Represent Pennsylvania in the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade
The North Allegheny High School Marching band has been chosen to represent the state of Pennsylvania in the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C., on January 20. “A New Birth of Freedom” is the theme for the Inauguration. The theme commemorates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The parade takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, starting at the Capitol and ending at the White House.
“We are very proud of the fact that our band was selected for this important honor,” said Dr. Patricia P. Green, superintendent of schools. “This will be a wonderful experience for the students in our band to be a part of this historic time – one they will remember their entire lives. It also reinforces once again that the substantial, on-going investment that North Allegheny has made in its music and fine arts program has created one of the top programs in the country.”
Todd Stefan, director of the North Allegheny Marching Band, submitted the application for the Inaugural Parade. It included a video performance of the band recorded on DVD, an audio performance recorded on CD, a photo of the band and a resume of the band’s significant accomplishments. The band is co-directed by Stephen Baldanzi.
|
