School Movers & Shakers - March

Fox Chapel

Fox Chapel Area High School seniors Abigail Haas and Molly Krajcovic were named winners at the Prime Stage Theatre’s 6th Annual High School Drama Awards.  Abigail and Molly won in the best student makeup design category for Fox Chapel Area High School’s 2025 fall play, “Our Town.”  

Two Fox Chapel Area High School students placed in the annual Dalmasse Sterner Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament. Maya Agarwal and Prachi Behal won first place in Parliamentary Debate. The event was held on January 10 and was hosted by the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Forensics Society in cooperation with the Taylor Allderdice Speech and Debate Team.

Five Fox Chapel Area High School students won awards at the annual North Allegheny High School Speech and Debate Tournament. Maya Agarwal and Prachi Behal won third place and have now qualified for the 2026 Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL) State Championships. Aiden Drucker and Noelle Fouron were awarded fourth place. Sabina Mantella won sixth place in the Student Congress.

Eight Fox Chapel Area School District students placed in the 2025 regional CalcuSolve tournament. Dorseyville Middle School students Shengfeng Fei and Brian Xu tied for first place.  Additionally, Catherine Carlson, Shengfeng Fei, Akhil Muvvala, and Brian Xu placed second overall out of all 70 teams competing countywide.  From O’Hara Elementary School, Chelsea Butzke, Chia-Yi Lin, Asher Tobe, Will McKenzie, and Asher Tobe received third place honors.

Mars Area

A team of Mars Area Middle School students took first place in the 2026 CalcuSolve Math competition, sponsored by Allegheny Intermediate Unit. The winners were Aarna Bansal, Jacqueline Li, Mary Rhenish, and Kristin Sadhu.

Mars Area Middle School Seventh Grade Girls Basketball Team went undefeated for the 2025-2026 season. The Lady Planets ended the season with a record of 15-0. Team members include Callie Bair, Alyssa Day, Emma Eriksen, Gia Ginocchi, Addy Hainan, Lila Leapline, Kylie Rhea, Avi Rocco, Talia Sanata, Addi Schaerer, and Kate Sherwin.

Mars Area Centennial School fifth graders Noah Bergdahl and Jane Lyons earned honors at the 2026 International Academics Competition held Jan. 17 at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Noah received first place in the History Bee event and second place in the Geography Bee; and Jane took fourth place in the Science Bee. Both students qualified for the 2026 National Championships, to be held May 21-25 in Orlando, Fla.

Mars Girls Youth Basketball Association’s Sixth Grade Girls Gold Travel Basketball Team earned first place in the 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Youth Basketball League (PYBL). The team went undefeated (12-0) in Division A competition, earning the PYBL regular season title for the third consecutive year. Team members include Mars Area Centennial School sixth-graders Reagan Anke, Samantha Beckert, Avery Cooper, Lila Demetris, Ella Fullerton, Ainsley Genis, Amelia Lavrinc, Hailey Rodgers, and Nora Wiley.

Several Mars Area School District students took to the stage with Jeter Backyard Theater at the 2026 Junior Theater Festival, held January 16-18 in Atlanta, Ga. Students included Teagan Clawson, Megan Schaffner, Lydia McKim, Sadie Rhoads, Callie Schaffner, Mackenzie Schnur, Hadley Sichler, and Zoey Szelong. The students were awarded Excellence in Pod.

BC3

Vintage Coffeehouse, 209 S. Main St., Butler held a grand opening on January 27 and 28. The Vintage is located on BC3’s lower level of Founders Hall and replaces the Pioneer Café, whose 5,000-square-foot space underwent a $200,000 renovation from November to mid-January, which included new flooring and furniture.