FINAL IN NORWIN WITH COVER AND TOC - MARCH 2016

SPRING 2016 icmags.com

School District NewsPage 36

Spring Events GuidePage 25

Special Section: Home Improvement

3

On the

RiseNorwin grad and emerging R&B pop star, Aubree Nicole, lights up the local music scene

Norwin

Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 35

36 Norwin High School Theatre Company Production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas

37 Norwin Celebrates School Director

Recognition Month

38 Congratulations to Norwin Winter Sports Teams!

39 Spring Sports Schedules

39 Norwin Employees Support United Way

40 Veterans Monument

42 Norwin High School Students Make Splash with U.S. Navy Underwater Robotics Program

42 Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC Unit Excels at Regional Drill Competition

43 STEM Summer Camps

43 Middle School Students Engineer Their Own Aqueducts

School District NewsNORWIN

Dr. William H. KerrSuperintendent of Schools

Mr. Jonathan D. SzishExecutive Assistant / Board Secretary

Mr. Robert J. PerkinsPresident, Norwin Board of Education

44 Norwin Middle School Earns First Place at IndEEE 500 Robot Car Race for the Third Straight Year

44 Norwin Named to College Board’s “AP District Honor Roll”

45 Norwin High School, Middle School Student Patriotic Essay Winners

45 Norwin Students Create Riveting Public Service Announcement

46 Winners of the Red Ribbon Bookmark Contest

46 Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Visits Hillcrest

46 The Ultimate Math Challenge at Sunset Valley

47 Norwin High School Students Awarded Prize in “Made by Milk” Contest

47 Norwin High School “Cookies for a Cause” Raises More Than $8,300

47 Middle School Food Drive Collects 10,470 Pounds of Donated Food

A Quarterly Report of the activities and accomplishments of Norwin School District and its students for the 2015-2016 school year

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Three Cheers for Norwin High School Theatre Company Production of

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas

Hundreds of community members enjoyed the Norwin High School Theatre Company’s production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,

which was performed March 17-20, 2016.Based on the beloved, timeless film, this

heartwarming musical adaptation featured 17 Irving Berlin songs and a book by David Ives and Paul Blake. The musical’s storyline portrayed veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who had a successful song-and-dance act after World War II. With romance in mind, the two followed a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happened to be owned by Bob and Phil’s former army commander. The dazzling score featured well-known standards including Blue Skies, I Love a Piano, How

Norwin High School students rehearse for the musical, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

Deep Is the Ocean and the perennial favorite, White Christmas. White Christmas was an uplifting musical worthy of year-round productions.

Lauren McCurdy served as Director, Erin Shrader was Director/Choreographer, and Todd Leighty served as Technical Director.

“White Christmas was at the top of the list because the show has major production numbers to showcase many of our talented students,” said Ms. McCurdy. “It is an honor to work with such talented high school students here at Norwin.”

As a choreographer, Ms. Shrader said she loved the many styles of dance that were represented in this musical. “It is not just musical theater, there is jazz, tap, ballet, and this really challenged the students. They certainly rose to the challenge.”

“White Christmas was at the top of the list because the show has major

production numbers to showcase many of our talented students”

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Every January, Norwin School District celebrates School Director Recognition Month. It is a time to honor the nine elected school board members who

serve our students and educational system. The theme for 2016 was: “Stronger Schools, Stronger Pennsylvania.”

Superintendent Dr. William Kerr acknowledged the Board of Education for its leadership and dedication toward improving the quality of education during a special presentation at the regular Board meeting on Monday, January 18, 2016.

School directors volunteer, on average, 25 hours a month as policymakers. The school board makes difficult decisions for the betterment of our students. They vote on multi-million dollar budgets, hire personnel, approve textbooks, review curriculum, and decide capital improvements, to name a few.

These dedicated volunteers reside in our community. They are our friends, neighbors, community leaders, parents at your school and engaged citizens. We thank the members of the Norwin Board of Education for their dedicated service and for making our students’ success a top priority.

NorwiN Celebrates School Director recognition MoNth

Front Row (L-R): Mrs. Barbara A. Viola, Vice President; Dr. Becky A. Gediminskas; Mrs. Darlene J. Ciocca; Dr. Tracey L. Czajkowski.

Back Row (L-R): Mr. Shawn N. Petrisko; Mr. Robert J. Perkins, President; Mr. Donald W. Rhodes, Jr.; Mr. Dennis J. Rittenhouse; Mr. Albert C. Lynn.

YEARS OF BOARD SERVICE

Mr. Robert J. Perkins, President: Dec. 1999 – PresentMrs. Barbara A. Viola, Vice President: Dec. 2009 – PresentMrs. Darlene J. Ciocca: Dec. 2011 – PresentDr. Tracey L. Czajkowski: Dec. 2015 – Present Dr. Becky A. Gediminskas: Dec. 2001 – PresentMr. Albert C. Lynn: Dec. 2013 – PresentMr. Shawn N. Petrisko: Dec. 2015 – PresentMr. Donald W. Rhodes, Jr.: Dec. 2005 – PresentMr. Dennis J. Rittenhouse: Dec. 1999 – Present

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Congratulations to Norwin Winter Sports Teams!

We take this opportunity to congratulate all winter sports teams for their successful seasons. We are also pleased to share information about these varsity sports teams that made it to the post-season. As of press time, several individual and team post-season tournaments were just beginning, so this is not a complete list.

Two Girls Varsity Tennis players, Maria Santilli and Anna Lanyi, were Section Champions and participated in the WPIAL playoffs in doubles during the fall season. This achievement was inadvertently omitted from the fall sports roundup. From left to right: Maria Santilli, Ryan Hornick (Norwin Varity Girls Tennis coach) and Anna Lanyi.

Alayna Gribble (Girls Basketball) Became all-time leading scorer in

Norwin basketball history

Boys Basketball – Qualified for WPIAL playoffs

Anika Kukich (Gymnastics) – Qualified for WPIAL Finals in gymnastics

Wrestling – Qualified for WPIAL playoffs (first time in more than a decade)

Drew Phipps (Wrestling) – Became all-time wins leader in Norwin wrestling history; KDKA Extra Effort Award Winner

Girls Basketball – WPIAL Champions; 21-0 regular season record; WPIAL Champions for second straight year; competing in the state basketball tournament (as of press time for this publication)

Norwin - Baseball - Varsity Day Date Time Versus Location Wed 04/06 4:00pm Connellsville TBD Norwin H.S.Mon 04/11 4:00pm Greater Latrobe Sr TBD TBDMon 04/18 4:00pm Penn Trafford TBD TBDWed 04/20 4:00pm Hempfield TBD TBDMon 04/25 4:00pm Albert Gallatin TBD TBDMon 05/02 4:00pm Armstrong Sch.Dist. TBD TBD

Norwin - Lacrosse: Boys - Varsity Wed 04/06 7:30pm Baldwin Norwin H.S. StadiumThu 04/14 7:30pm Greater Latrobe Sr. Norwin H.S. StadiumMon 04/25 7:30pm Fox Chapel Norwin H.S. StadiumThu 04/28 7:30pm Indiana Area Sr. Norwin H.S. StadiumTue 05/03 7:30pm Gateway Norwin H.S. StadiumWed 05/11 7:30pm Penn Trafford Norwin H.S. Stadium

Norwin - Softball - Varsity Mon 03/14 4:00pm Belle Vernon Norwin H.S. Softball FieldThu 03/24 4:00pm McKeesport Area Norwin H.S. Softball FieldThu 03/31 4:00pm Hempfield Norwin H.S. Softball FieldFri 04/01 4:00pm Bethel Park Norwin H.S. Softball FieldWed 04/06 4:00pm Kiski Area Norwin H.S. Softball FieldFri 04/0 4:00pm Connellsville Norwin H.S. Softball FieldThu 04/14 4:00pm Penn Trafford Norwin H.S. Softball FieldTue 04/19 4:00pm Albert Gallatin Norwin H.S. Softball FieldFri 04/22 4:00pm Gateway Norwin H.S. Softball FieldTue 04/26 4:00pm Greater Latrobe Sr Norwin H.S. Softball FieldThu 05/05 4:00pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H.S. Softball Field

Norwin - Tennis: Boys - Varsity Mon 03/14 3:30pm South Park Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsWed 03/16 3:30pm McKeesport Area Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsFri 03/18 3:30pm Chartiers Valley Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsMon 03/21 3:30pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsThu 03/31 3:30pm Franklin Regional Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsThu 04/07 3:30pm Kiski Area Norwin H. S. Tennis CourtsWed 04/27 3:30pm Penn Trafford Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts

Norwin - Track & Field - Varsity Thu 04/07 4:00pm Derry Norwin H.S. StadiumWed 04/20 4:00pm Greensburg Salem Norwin H.S. StadiumThu 04/21 4:00pm TBA Norwin H.S. StadiumWed 04/27 4:00pm Indiana Area Sr. Norwin H.S. StadiumThu 05/12 2:00pm TBA Norwin H.S. Stadium

Norwin - Volleyball: Boys - Varsity Tue 03/22 4:00pm Beaver Cty. Christian, Norwin H. S. Main Gym Deer Lakes, PlumSat 03/26 8:30am Altoona Area, Beaver Cty. Christian, Bethel Park, Forest Hills, Greater Latrobe Sr., South Park Norwin H. S. Main GymTue 03/29 7:30pm Hempfield Norwin H. S. Main GymTue 04/05 7:30pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H. S. Main GymThu 04/07 7:30pm Gateway Norwin H. S. Main GymTue 04/19 7:30pm Penn Trafford Norwin H. S. Main GymTue 04/26 7:30pm Plum Norwin H. S. Main GymMon 05/02 7:30pm North Allegheny Norwin H. S. Main GymThu 05/05 7:30pm Penn Hills Norwin H. S. Main GymTue 05/10 7:30pm Greater Latrobe Sr. Norwin H. S. Main Gym


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Spring Sports Schedules

For the most current sports schedule, visit norwinwpial.org

NorwiN eMployees support uNited way Norwin School District employees donated a total of $7,293.98 during this year’s United Way campaign for 2015.

That’s an increase of 27 percent from last year!

Mrs. Maria Doyle, Employee Campaign Chair and Confidential Secretary in the Human Resource Department, thanked the many employees who donated. “So many of you stepped up to give generously and help advance the common good for so many in need throughout Westmoreland County,” Mrs. Doyle said. “I know that this generosity will help to build a stronger community.”

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Hundreds of spectators gathered for the Norwin Veterans Memorial dedication ceremony, which was held Saturday, November 14, 2015 just outside Norwin High School.

The 20-foot-tall obelisk was completed after a community-wide fund-raising campaign led by VFW Post 781 Commander Donald Kattic. Contractors included Arch Masonry, Bittner Construction, and Matthews International.

The program included:n Invocation by Rev Msgr V. Paul Fitzmaurice, St. Agnes Parish, North Huntington n Raising of Colors, Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC cadetsn The National Anthem, Gary Edn Honor Guard 21-Gun Salute n Flower presentation by JROTCn Speaker, Mr. Donald Kattic, VFW Post 781 Commander, Veterans’ Dayn Speaker, Mr. John Polivka, retired Norwin High School teachern Speaker, Congressman Tim Murphyn Speaker, Dr. William Kerr, Norwin Superintendent of Schools

VE TERANS MONUMENT

n History of the Norwin Veterans’ Memorialn Song (God Bless the USA), Mr. Georgeo Reccelle

An emotional highlight of the program occurred at 11 a.m. that morning. At that time, three United States Marine Corps Harrier AV-8B jets flew over the ceremony in honor of Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, a 1990 Norwin graduate who was killed in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Raible was a squadron commander for the Harrier jet squadron VMA 211, based out of Yuma, AZ, so the jets flew in the “Missing Man” formation to honor Raible.

Mr. Kattic noted the efforts of two Norwin High School students, siblings Sophia Melocchi and Carmen Melocchi, who raised $2,000 in donations for the memorial by making door-to-door solicitations. Carmen Melocchi spoke to the crowd and told them to remember that this monument is in plain view of the daily activities of Norwin High School students, and it will serve as a vivid reminder to generations of students.

Afterward, guests enjoyed a luncheon in the Norwin High School cafeteria.

Norwin Superintendent Dr. William Kerr speaks at the ceremony, joined by Norwin Air Force JROTC Cadets.


(Listed order from most recent)

Name Date of Casualty Branch

Checque, Nicolas 12/8/2012 Navy Seal

Raible, Christopher 9/15/2012 Marines

Wieger, David 11/1/2007 Air Force

Buck, David 1/10/1992 Navy

Keough, Frank 2/25/1991 Army

Malloy, Mark 11/10/1981 Navy

Shipley, Mike 12/12/1985 Army

Watson, Robert 10/2/1982 Navy

Acalotto, Bob 9/25/1978 Army

Gibson, Clifford 8/16/1969 Marines

Hill, Howard 5/23/1969 Army

Singler, Jr., Delbert 3/31/1969 Navy

Gilkey, Timothy 7/5/1968 Marines

McClelland, James 4/11/1968 Marines

Bennett, Donald 2/29/1968 Marines

Speilman, John 2/26/1968 Navy

Hughes, Julius 7/29/1967 Navy

Wright, Lester 7/31/1966 Navy

Shogan, Paul 6/10/1966 Marines

Hetzer, Jr., Joseph 1/5/1966 Army

Hildenbrand, Leslie 8/10/1965 Marines

We honor these American Heroes

who paid the ultimate sacrifice

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Mr. Donald Kattic, VFW Post 781 Commander, addresses the crowd.

Three United States Marine Corps Harrier AV-8B jets fly over the ceremony in honor of Lt. Col. Christopher Raible.

The Norwin Veterans Memorial.

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NorwiN high sChool studeNts Make splash with u.s. Navy uNderwater robotiCs prograM

Some Norwin High School students are building and operating underwater robots through the United States Navy SeaPerch program.

In the SeaPerch program, students build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from a kit comprised of low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine engineering theme. Then, they put them through challenging underwater obstacle courses.

Building a SeaPerch ROV teaches basic skills in ship and submarine design and encourages students to explore naval architecture and marine and ocean engineering principles.

Students held their first preliminary contest at the Norwin High School pool on December 16, 2015, complete with judges from the U.S. Navy present to officiate.

Then, on Saturday, February 20, 2016, a team from the Norwin Technology Club advanced to the Sea Perch Regional Event at Carnegie Mellon University.

The team that competed consisted of students: Christiana skrabak, Luke Cordle, Kelly sage, and Kyle schofield. They were led by teachers Mr. Robert Shuber and Mr. William Hribar.

The students had to navigate their underwater ROV through an obstacle course and record their best time. After that they had to complete a task called the ORB challenge in which they had to release floatable balls and dispose of them in an underwater container. After the pool events, the team members had to present their experiences with the Sea Perch program in the form of an interview along with defending a poster display.

The Norwin High School Technology Education Department, with efforts that were led by Mr. Shuber and Mr. Hribar, worked with U.S. Navy officials to bring the underwater robotics program to Norwin High School.

Above: The Norwin team that competed at Carnegie Mellon University included, from left, Kelly Sage, Luke Cordle, Christiana Skrabak, and Kyle Schofield, with their Remotely Operated Vehicle.

Left: A scene from a preliminary SeaPerch underwater obstacle course at Norwin High School’s pool held December 16, 2015.

NorwiN air ForCe JuNior rotC uNit exCels at regioNal drill CoMpetitioN

The Norwin Air Force JROTC unit participated in their first regional drill competition the weekend of February 20th,

2016. More than 20 cadets traveled to the Marion Center High School JROTC unit, along with three other schools, to participate. Norwin JROTC has been preparing for this competition for several months and all that hard work and preparation paid off. Three of the five teams placed and took home trophies. Norwin’s Advanced Armed and Unarmed Drill Teams placed first and Norwin’s first-year Color Guard Team placed third. Congratulations to all cadets who participated and to the team commanders, who had to prepare by learning drill sequences that included more than 50 different movements, conduct practices, and training for their team. Following the drill competition, all cadets participated in a volleyball tournament. After the February 20th competition, Norwin JROTC’s was scheduled to compete Saturday, March 5th, at North Allegheny.


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Seventh-graders in the gifted program at the Middle School engineered their own

aqueducts as part of an interdisciplinary lesson that fused science and social studies. Since Mrs. Danilko (social studies) and Mr. Zundel (science) teach the gifted students back-to-back with alternating prep periods, they were able to plan an interdisciplinary lesson. In social studies class, students learned about Roman aqueducts as steps toward early engineering projects; in science, the students learned about physics. Ms. Danilko and Mr. Zundel decided to combine forces and have the students engineer their own aqueducts according to specifications.

Mi d d l e sC h o o l st u d eN ts eN g iN e e r th e i r ow N aq u e d uC ts

STEM SuMMEr CaMpS

Norwin School District is continuing to offer many educational summer camps to excite students of all ages about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). At right is a tentative listing of camps that are being planned, and additional camps are being designed. All camps will occur in June and July.

A complete list of camps is anticipated to be available in late April and will be shared with Norwin parents / guardians at that time.

Tentative Offerings Grade level enteringWe’re Alive! Biology Camp 1-2

Click, Click, Move … 3-6Stop Motion Mini-Movies

It’s Never Too Early for STEM K-1

Earth Science 1-2

Fairy Tales and Engineering 2-3

Little Bits 3-6

Lego WeDo - 4-5Beginning Robotics

Baseball Math 4-5

Beginning Game Design – 4-8Gamestar Mechanic

Lego EV3 – 5-8Intermediate Robotics

Lego Mindstorms – 6-8Advanced Robotics

Alice (computer programming) 9-12

Scuba Diving 9-12

Speed Typing(Elementary and Secondary) 3-6, 7-12

Camp Invention 1-6

Photos from Norwin’s STEM Summer Camps from 2015.

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NorwiN Middle sChool earNs First plaCe at iNdeee 500 robot Car raCe For the third straight year

On Saturday, February 20, 2016, four eighth-grade students travelled to the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh to defend their title in the IndEEE 500 robot car race. The race

is sponsored by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and requires participants to design, build, program and race an autonomous robotic car to follow a 500-centimeter line, sense a wall at the end of the line, and return to the beginning of the racetrack.

Racers are not allowed to interact with their sponsoring teachers during the event, but are instead mentored by professional engineers from the IEEE and engineering students from the University of Pittsburgh’s student IEEE chapter. This year’s Norwin Middle School team included Juliana Boyd, Ceci Fidler, Ryan Kerber, and Kevin Marsiglio.

The team had a rough start when their robot lost track of the line during their first race and didn’t finish, and then again during their second race causing them be overcome by a much slower robotic car. By their third race they worked out their programming issues and won.

“It was very frustrating watching my team struggle with their program knowing I wasn’t allowed to help,” stated robotics team coach Matt Mincucci. “It was, however, very satisfying watching them use the programming and problem-solving skills they learned in class to work through their issues.”

The rocky start earned the team a fourth seed out of 10 teams from public, private, Catholic and home school organizations for the elimination rounds. Another loss would put an end to their day and break the Middle School’s two-year winning streak. The team triumphed through to the finals where they defeated the powerful first seed, St. Bernadette School, in a very close race, bringing the gold home for the third year in a row.

Above: The Middle School’s winning team included, from left to right: Kevin Marsiglio, Juliana Boyd, Ceci Fidler, and Ryan Kerber.

Right: Norwin Middle School students

compete at the IndEEE 500 robot car race

at Carnegie Science Center.

Norwin School District is one of 425 school districts in the U.S. and Canada – and one of only 43 in Pennsylvania and the

only school district in Westmoreland County – that was honored by the College Board with placement on the Sixth-Annual AP District Honor Roll for increasing access to Advanced Placement course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams.

This indicates that Norwin School District is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for the opportunity of AP.

To be included on the 6th-Annual Honor Roll, Norwin School District had to, since 2013, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher.

“Norwin High School students have an opportunity to challenge themselves and earn college credit by selecting one of 14 AP Courses offered in Social Studies, Science, Mathematics,

Music, and Art,” said Mr. Tim Kotch, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education. “Norwin School District’s selection for the sixth-annual AP District Honor Roll demonstrates the culture of high achievement our teachers and students have created at Norwin High

School through their hard work, dedication and willingness to take academic risks.”

“We are very appreciative of the College Board naming Norwin High School as an AP Honor Roll Recipient,” said Mr. Michael Choby, Principal of Norwin High School. “Our faculty will continue to challenge our students through the addition of another course, AP Human Geography, for the 2015-2016 school year. This course will be open to High School students of all grade levels interested in challenging themselves with an AP-level social studies course.”

NORWIN NAMED TO COLLEGE BOARD’S “AP DISTRICT HONOR ROLL”H i g H S c H o o l H a S i m p r o v e d a cc e S S to a d va n c e d p l ac e m e n t c o u r S e S

W H i l e m a i n ta i n i n g H i g H a c H i e v e m e n t

Norwin School District is one of only 425 school districts in the United States and Canada – and

one of only 43 in Pennsylvania – that was named as an “AP Honor Roll Recipient.”

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NORWIN HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT PATRIOTIC ESSAY WINNERS

Ve t e r a n S o f fo r e i g n Wa r S Po S t no. 981 Pr o V i D e S aWa r D S i n Vo i c e o f D e m o c r ac y & Pat r i ot’S Pe n co n t e S t

Norwin High School and Middle School students have earned accolades – including one student who earned second place at the state level – in a patriotic essay contest sponsored by the Irwin/North Huntingdon VFW Post 781 and

coordinated by their teachers.At Norwin High School, students participated in the annual VFW Voice of Democracy

essay contest. This year’s theme was, “My Vision for America.” Students were asked to compose a three-to-five minute audio essay that was judged on originality, content, and delivery.

The two Norwin High School students honored by the VFW included:• Hunter stecko, Grade 11. His essay also took first place in Westmoreland

County and second place at the state level.• Victoria Carrick, Grade 12.Hunter’s second-place finish at the state level represents the first time a Norwin

student’s essay had ever been recognized so highly, according to Mr. Donald Kattic, Commander of the Irwin/North Huntingdon VFW Post 781.

Hunter’s essay began as follows:“Whether figuratively or literally, every American is, at one point in life, asked to briefly

pick up a brush and add his or her own flair to the complex mural that is America’s future. It is the decisions made with that opportunity, whether that is expressed as one instant vote or multiple terms in office, which shape the future of this great country.”

Hunter’s full essay can be accessed at the Norwin School District Web site, www.norwinsd.org, under “headlines.”

At Norwin Middle School, students participated in the Patriot’s Pen essay contest. This year’s challenge was a 300- to 400-word essay on the theme, “What Freedom Means to Me.”

The three Norwin Middle School students honored by the VFW were as follows:• savanna Hindman, Grade 8• ethan List, Grade 8• Gweneth Reichert, Grade 8Their work was overseen by teachers Kelly Lynch, Wendy Johnson, and Connie

DeMore. Donald Kattic, Commander of the Irwin/North Huntingdon VFW Post 781, presented the awards to the students on December 10, 2015.

Above: Voice of Democracy winners from Norwin High School. From Left to Right: Mr. Donald Kattic, Commander of the Irwin/North Huntingdon VFW Post 781; Victoria Carrick, Grade 12; Hunter Stecko, Grade 11; and Mr. Michael Choby, Principal of Norwin High School.

Below: 2015 Patriot’s Pen Winners from Norwin Middle School with the contest sponsors. From Left to Right: Ms. Kelly Lynch; Ms. Wendy Johnson; Savanna Hindman, Ethan List, and Gwen Reichert, all Grade 8; and Mr. Donald Kattic, Commander of the Irwin/North Huntingdon VFW Post 781.

Three Norwin High School students – Ashley Divens, Kelly Tran, and Lizzy Rodgers – created a riveting Public Service Announcement

for a new video contest called “Speak Out to Save Lives.” The contest was offered through the FBI Pittsburgh Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education (H.O.P.E.) Initiative.

They were awarded third place in the pilot video contest, and travelled to the FBI’s Pittsburgh Division headquarters in February for special recognition, along with the other schools that participated.

Their video can be found at www.youtube.com by typing the video’s title, which is “#4wantofanail,” into the Web site’s search bar. The video creator’s name is “NorwinVideoClass” (no spaces between the words).

They are all members of KWIN, the High School video production team, which is led by teacher Ms. Sue Spadaro. Kelly is also the President of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).

NO RW I N ST u D E N TS CR E AT E RI v E T I N G Pu B L I C SE Rv I C E AN N O u N C E M E N T f O R fBI “SP E A k Ou T TO SAv E LI v E S” CO N T E S T

Left to right: Ashley Divens, Kelly Tran, and Lizzy Rodgers.

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Winners of the Red Ribbon Book Mark Contest from Stewartsville and Sunset Valley Elementary SchoolS

The Stewartsville Lions Club recently honored four Norwin elementary students as the winners of the Red Ribbon Week Bookmark Contest. Sydney Rose and Natalie Amantea from

Stewartsville Elementary and Mackenzie Brokaw and Paige Shrum from Sunset Valley were chosen as the winners. All fourth-grade students from each of the two buildings were encouraged to participate. They had to design a bookmark encouraging students be drug free. These students were awarded a cash prize along with their framed entries. Prior to being presented their awards, the students and their parents were invited to enjoy dinner with the Lions at Penns Woods Civic Center. L-R: Ms. Anita Miklos, School Nurse for Sheridan Terrace and Stewartsville Elementary; Sydney Rose; Natalie Amantea; Mackenzie Brokaw; and Paige Shrum.

piTTSburgh CiviC LighT OpEra viSiTS hiLLCrEST inTErMEdiaTE TO prESEnT the increDibly innoVatiVe innoVatorS of PittSburgh

ThE uLTiMaTE MaTh ChaLLEngE aT SunSET vaLLEy ELEMEnTary SChOOL

Sunset Valley students work on a pizza problem at the Ultimate Math Challenge.

Fifth and sixth-grade students at Hillcrest Intermediate School enjoyed a children’s musical theater production titled The

Incredibly Innovative Innovators of Pittsburgh, performed by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (C.L.O.) on January 29, 2016.

The 50-minute show portrays a young student, Lisa, who has been putting off her social studies assignment too long when her favorite rock band magically appears in her game room. To help her with her neglected studies, they take a musical journey exploring the historical innovators from Pittsburgh over the past 250 years, including portrayals of Rachel Carson, George Westinghouse, Jonas Salk and Henry J. Heinz (scene shown in photo).

The Pittsburgh C.L.O.’s Gallery of Heroes program brings historical figures to life. Their visit was funded by the Hillcrest PTA. Plans are in the works to bring another CLO production to Hillcrest next year about Pittsburgh’s steel industry.

An interactive math competition called the Ultimate Math Challenge showed Sunset Valley Elementary School students

how math is all around them. Students worked together to solve everyday math problems by

visiting five stations. Students made pretend pizzas at the Pizza Shop, filled orders and made change at the Concession Stand, poured drinks (using water) at the Drink Shop, planned and calculated trips at the Travel Agency, and sorted and weighed mail at the Post Office.

Teams of students circled through the different event stations, competing in every activity once while being scored on how quickly they completed different tasks.

The event was organized and staffed by Sunset Valley Elementary School PTA volunteers.


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Above, back row: L-R: Harley Scherrbaum, Sebastian Pratt, Madison Mozingo, Ali Geyer, Alexa LoyFront row: Liesel Mitchell, Summit JordanFront Row: Hannah Bergman, Hayley Lovett, Rose Egan, Hanna Rhoads, Madison Stanley

Norwin High School Students Awarded Prize in “Made by Milk” Contest

Norwin High School Art Club students used 166 milk cartons to create a three-dimensional earth sculpture in a contest that challenges students to repurpose milk cartons.

Their effort won a $1,000 prize for their school in the Made by Milk contest sponsored by Evergreen Packaging. The contest, held in fall 2015, drew 156 creative entries from elementary, middle and high schools across the country.

The art students collected 166 used milk cartons from school lunches and arranged them to create a piece of art that fit the contest theme of “Animals.” Their submission, “Wild World,” was one of three winners in the Middle/High School category for fewer than 300 cartons.

On February 11, 2016, Turner Dairy Farms representatives Jim Monroe and Art Maskin visited the art students to present the award.

According to Norwin High School art teacher Ms. Debra Roberts, the prize money will be used to add soil and plant flowers in the courtyard garden, and possibly add a few sculptures to that area as well.

Student leaders and those involved in the Fourth-Annual Cookie Fund Raiser included, from left to right: Leah Vorce, student; Claudia Komondor, student; Mr. Brian O’Neil, Principal of Hillcrest Intermediate School; Pedro Schmidt, student; Mr. Michael Choby, Principal of Norwin High School; Peyton Deri, student; Ali Dunlay, student; Jocelyn Marko, student.

MiddLE SChOOL FOOd drivE COLLECTS 10,470 pOundS OF

dOnaTEd FOOd

The annual food drive spearheaded by Ms. DiVittis and Ms. Amic and sponsored by the

Norwin Middle School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) program was highly successful this year, collecting a total of 10,470 pounds of food. The food drive took place from November 12-19th at the Middle School, and set up a friendly competition between teams and homerooms in both 7th and 8th grades.

The winning team for the school was the Jaguar team, which included the following homerooms: Ms. Danilko, Ms. Brooks, Ms. Bennett, Ms. Rutowski, and Mr. Zundel. These five homerooms collected a total of 3,375 pounds of food. The overall winning homeroom for the entire school was Mr. Evanov, homeroom 115, which collected a total of 1,092 pounds of food. The winning team received an ice cream party and the overall winning homeroom received a pizza party. Since the participation was so tremendous in the school, donuts were given to 17 homerooms for bringing in more than 300 pounds of food each.

All food was donated to three local food banks, including St. Agnes, Irwin Methodist Church, and St. John’s in Larimer. All food banks were extremely appreciative and have stated that the Norwin Middle School Food Drive will feed more than 300 families for the year in our community. Thank you to all those students, their families, and the Middle School faculty for participating.

FOurTh-annuaL nOrWin high SChOOL “COOKiES FOr a CauSE” raiSES MOrE Than $8,300 FOr andrEW’S avEngErS in 7½ hOurSbLOOd drivE aLSO bEnEFiTS andrEW’S avEngErS

The Norwin High School Marketing Applications class, under the guidance of instructor Mrs. Kristen Kelly and and with help from Assistant Principal

Mr. Joe Shigle, raised more than $8,300 in a mere 7 ½ hours during their Fourth Annual “Cookies for a Cause” fundraising event.

This year’s recipient of the donation was Andrew’s Avengers. Andrew’s Avengers was set up to honor Andrew O’Neil, a four-year-old Norwin resident fighting neuroblastoma, a form of cancer. His father, Mr. Brian O’Neil, is principal at Hillcrest Intermediate School in the School District. The students felt very connected to this cause, wanting to help one of their own.

The five-day event took place during the lunch periods held the week of December 7th -11th. For every dollar donated by the students and some faculty members, a free cookie was supplied by the two classes.

In addition, Norwin High School’s December’s blood drive was also held in honor of Andrew O’Neil, who benefitted from blood transfusions during his battle with cancer. Blood drives are held three times each school year. One hundred thirty two students donated to the drive to benefit Andrew, which was held Friday, Dec. 18, 2015.

FINAL IN NORWIN WITH COVER AND TOC - MARCH 2016

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