NORTH ALLEGHENY BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS
BOARD MEETING
MARCH 26, 2008
AGENDA
7:30 REGULAR MEETING
- Speakers (Agenda Items)
- Voting Items
- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)
9:00 EXECUTIVE SESSION
Office of Communications and Public Relations – Joy Ed, Manager
Phone: 412/369-5445 / Fax: 412/369-0516
The North Allegheny School District proudly announces that the NASD Board of School Directors named Ms. Guinevere Maximo to the position of Supervisor of Special Education at their Regular Meeting on Wednesday, March 26, 2008. Ms. Maximo was appointed at an annual salary of $93,000, pro-rated to the date of hire.
Ms. Maximo holds a Bachelors of Science in Education from California University of Pennsylvania and a Supervision of Special Education Certificate and a Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility from the University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Maximo has been with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit as a Special Education Supervisor for seven years. Prior to that, she was the Director of Special Education for the Bethlehem-Center School District and for the Burgettstown Area School District. She also taught in the Brownsville Area School District.
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March 26, 2008
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) announces that the North Allegheny Student Council Organization (NASCO), which represents the student councils of all NASD secondary schools, will be hosting an event in support of the Harms Way 4 Kids Bracelet Project. The event will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008, from 10 am – 2 pm in the North Allegheny Senior High School Cafeteria. The community is invited to attend and participate in this event.
The bracelets and this program were designed to honor our troops and their families. They are made with yellow beads (representing someone in harms way), and red, white and blue hearts (representing patriotism). The Harms Way 4 Kids organization will provide the materials and direction for making the bracelets. Completed bracelets will be distributed by the Harms Way 4 Kids organization to military personnel and their loved ones.
The five year anniversary of this project was celebrated on March 22, 2008. To date, more than a quarter of a million bracelets have been distributed. Students from around the country have pledged their time at national and state Student Council Conferences to make bracelets. This project is also supported by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
For more information on the Harms Way 4 Kids Bracelet Project please visit their website at www.harmsway4kids.com.
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BOARD MEETING
MARCH 26, 2008
AGENDA
7:30 REGULAR MEETING
- Speakers (Agenda Items)
- Voting Items
- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)
9:00 EXECUTIVE SESSION
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NA Student Named Pennsylvania Geographic Bee Semifinalist
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Carson Middle School (CMS) eighth grader Joey Zou has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2008 Pennsylvania Geographic Bee.
Geographic Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Geographic Bee winner. School-level winners then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. In each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and the U.S. territories, the National Geographic Society invited the students with the top 100 scores to compete at the state level.
The 2008 Pennsylvania Geographic Bee will be held at Shippensburg University’s Ceddia Union Building on Friday, April 4, 2008.
The state winner will receive $100, a globe, and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he/she will represent Pennsylvania in the national finals at the National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-21, 2008. The national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship.
For more information please visit the National Geographic Bee web site at www.nationalgeopgraphic.com/geographicbee/ or contact the Bethanne Patrick at the National Geographic Society Communications Office (bpatrick@ngs.org or 202-775-6190).
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March 26, 2008
NA Students Selected for PMEA All-State Honors Ensembles
The North Allegheny School District (NASD is proud to announce that thirteen North Allegheny high school band and string students have auditioned into PMEA All-State Honors Ensembles. Three students were selected for the All-State Band Ensemble and ten were selected for the All-State Orchestra Ensemble. Five of the students earned a first chair spot.
Students selected for the All-State Band were: Nick Amoscato-Tenor Saxophone (first chair), Brett Freithaler–Bassoon (first chair) and Josh Waynick–Trumpet.
Students selected for the All-State Orchestra were: Anne Caruso–Cello, Andrew Ho–Violin, Clair Kang–Flute (first chair), Steven Kang–Violin, Jeffrey Lin–Cello, Mike Lorenzo–Trumpet (first chair), Taylor Praskach–Clarinet (first chair), Sean Radermacher–Violin, Hannah Snyder–Viola, and Erin Smith–Violin.
The Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) is an affiliate of the 65,000 member Music Educators National Conference (MENC). PMEA is a service organization to music education in the Commonwealth. The membership includes those engaged in music instruction at all levels, from preschool through college and university, retired educators, as well as those in music industry.
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March 26, 2008
NA Teacher Accepted in STORM Project
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Mr. John Schaefers, a teacher at Ingomar Middles School (IMS), has been selected to participate in the STORM Project’s “Studies in Air Quality for Science Educators” this July.
The Science Center for Teaching, Outreach, and Research on Meteorology (the STORM Project) at the University of Northern Iowa is sponsoring this course entitled Studies in Air Quality for Science Education. It will be an intensive, one-week course designed specifically for middle school and high school science teachers. Only 24 teachers from around the country have been selected to participate.
Participants will learn about conceptual models and computer-based tools used to study and forecast air quality. A primary goal of the course is the development by participants of classroom activities in air quality. STORM seeks to produce a set of activities for national distribution. Participants who develop exceptional activities may have the opportunity to work with STORM in the following academic year to refine the set of materials developed in the summer course.
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The North Allegheny School District proudly announces that the NASD Board of School Directors appointed two new Assistant Principals at their Special Voting Meeting on Wednesday, March 19, 2008. They are Ms. Amanda Mathieson, who will be the Assistant Principal at Marshall Elementary School, and Ms. Rachel Fields, who will be the Assistant Principal at McKnight Elementary School.
Ms. Mathieson holds a Bachelors of Science in Education, a Masters of Science in Education from Slippery Rock University, and is currently enrolled in a Doctoral Program at the University of Pittsburgh. She has been with the Deer Lakes School District since 2004; beginning as an Instructional Support Coordinator, advancing to Title I Math Teacher in 2005, and serving an Administrative Internship since 2007. Ms. Mathieson is certified in Elementary and Special Education, as a Reading Specialist, as a Principal K-12, and as a Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction. She was appointed at an annual salary of $78,500, prorated to the date of hire.
Ms. Fields holds a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and an Elementary Education Certificate from Chatham College. She also holds a Masters of Education in Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. She has been with the North Allegheny School District since 2006 as a first and second grade teacher at Peebles Elementary School. Prior to that, Ms. Fields taught in the Duquesne School District as a Middle School, Elementary School, and Reading teacher. Ms. Fields is certified in Elementary Education, as a Principal K-12, and as a Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction. She was appointed at an annual salary of $79,500, prorated to the date of hire.
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BOARD MEETING
MARCH 19, 2008
AGENDA
7:30 SPECIAL MEETING/WORK SESSION
- Speakers (Agenda Items)
- Special Meeting Voting Items
- Community Relations
- Diversity Report
- Review of Board Folder
- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)
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NA Students Excel in Regional Competition
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) proudly announces that Marshall Middle School (MMS) students recently competed in the Technology Student Association (TSA) regional competition and achieved impressive results as follows:
Marine Design Challenge – 1st Place: Kara Morgan & Naderra Sidique
Transportation Challenge – 1st Place: Drew Chidester
Cyberspace Pursuit – 2nd Place: Michael Helgerman, Sohail Sidique, Kevin Zhang, Alan Dai & Martin Majewski
Safety Illustration – 3rd Place: Matt Thompson
Problem Solving
Team A – 5th Place: Kara Morgan & Naderra Sidique
Team C – 6th Place: Mike Helgerman & Patrick McClurg
These students are now eligible to compete at the state level.
The Technology Student Association is an organization that was started by industrial arts teachers who wanted to provide opportunities for their students to be recognized for their accomplishments. Members compare their technology competencies with other students through local, regional, state and national competitions.
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March 14, 2008
NA Team Wins First Place in Middle School Science Bowl Regional Competition
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that a team of students from Ingomar Middle School (IMS) won first place in the 2008 National Middle School Science Bowl regional competitions on March 7, 2008.
The IMS team members were Joey Eisner, Beth Hartigan, Skanda Koppula, Cathy Li, and Jeremy McCandlish. As the first place winning team, these students have each won an all-expense-paid trip to Denver, CO, to compete at the national level in June.
Fifty teams of students representing 28 school districts from three states participated in the event. There are two competitions in the National Middle School Science Bowl - an academic math and science competition and a model fuel cell car competition. The academic competition is a fast-paced question-and-answer contest where students answer questions about earth science, physical science, life science, math, and general science. The model fuel cell car competition challenges students to design, build, and race model cars.
For more information on this event please contact Mr. Rich Gebrosky at 412-348-1425.
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March 14, 2008
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) announces that it will host its annual Transition Fair for students with disabilities on Thursday, April 3, 2008, in the North Allegheny Senior High School Cafeteria from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
The Fair will provide students and their parents/guardians the opportunity to meet with representatives from post-secondary schools, private providers, community and government agencies, and prospective employers.
Representatives from more than 40 agencies and schools will be in attendance to answer individual questions. Agencies that will be represented include: The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Competitive Employment, the Career Training Academy and Community Options. Post-secondary schools such as Community College of Allegheny County, Edinboro University, Gannon University, and California University, ITT, Pittsburgh Institute of Technology, and WYO Tech, as well as the Armed Forces will be represented.
The event will provide young adults with valuable information, insight into available services, and appropriate connections needed to help them become independent and successful adults.
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NA Students Succeed at DECA State Conference
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that forty-two members of the North Allegheny DECA Chapter (An Association of Marketing Students) recently traveled to Hershey, PA, to participate in the 57th annual State Career Development Conference held February 27 – 29. At the state conference, nearly 1,300 students competed in several marketing related events such as Business Services, Travel & Tourism, and Sports & Entertainment Marketing.
North Allegheny was very successful as this year’s conference, qualifying three NASH seniors to compete at the International Career and Development Conference being held in Atlanta this April. Meredith Feingold won a 2nd place trophy for the Fashion Merchandising Promotion event, Maura Romano received a 4th place award for Hotel & Lodging Management, and Mary Kahle took 4th place in the Apparel & Accessories event. All three girls also received a medallion for their individual role-play performances.
Jeff Litz and Krissy Costello won 2nd place trophies for the modeling competition. Several students received 5th place awards and medallions for their role play performances: Margo Bentzel, Lisa Czerniewski, Amber Snyder, Melanie Versaw and Greg Londino. Caroline McCarthy, Nick Lang and Tim Zahren.
DECA is the only career and technical student organization operating through our nation’s schools to attract young people to marketing and business careers. Its purpose is to develop respect for education which will contribute to occupational success in our free enterprise system. There are 62 DECA chapters in Pennsylvania with membership of more than 3,300 students, alumni, teachers and business professionals.
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The North Allegheny School District (NASD) proudly announces that North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) student Andy Fishell was elected Governor of the Pennsylvania Key Club District at the Key Club State Convention. The NASH Key Club also won a banner patch for recruiting 93 new members.
In addition, Ms. Barbara Schmid, librarian at North Allegheny Intermediate High School, has been named the Pennsylvania Key Club Advisor of the Year.
Key Club is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through serving others. Key Clubs exist on more than 5,000 high school campuses, primarily in the United States and Canada. Growth efforts have taken the Key Club experience internationally to Canada, the Caribbean nations, Central and South America, and most recently to Asia and Australia.
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March 14, 2008
NA Teacher Accepted to the Space Foundation’s Teacher Liaison Program
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Mr. John Schaefers, a teacher at Ingomar Middles School (IMS), has been selected to participate in the Space Foundation’s Teacher Liaison Program.
This is the fourth year of this prestigious program, which provides an honored few teachers with numerous benefits and privileges that help them grow their teaching skills, strengthen their resumé, and influence space and science education at a national level.
Space Foundation Teacher Liaisons serve as an active link between the Space Foundation, NASA, and their school and school district. This influential role includes numerous benefits, privileges, and activities such as special recognition during the upcoming 24th National Space Symposium, being held in Colorado Springs, CO, this April.
For more information on the Space Foundation and the Teacher Liaison Program please visit their website at www.spacefoundation.org.
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March 10, 2008
NA High School Students Participate in Live Surgical Broadcast
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that high school honors and advanced placement students recently participated in a Live Surgical Broadcast and career panel presentation through an innovative distance learning program designed by the Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Civic Education Initiatives.
The Office of Civic Education Initiatives was established to fulfill The Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to promote and enhance education in partnership with area schools, local businesses, and fellow nonprofit organizations in the areas of math, science, health and wellness, arts and innovations.
NASD was the only district participating in which students were able to join a procedure via live broadcast for one hour. The surgery was a laparoscopic gastric banding procedure being performed by Bipan Chand, M.D., General & Bariatric Surgeon. Dr. Chand interacted with the students and answered their questions during the broadcast.
Immediately following the live broadcast, students participated in a career panel presentation. Representatives from each of the five areas at the Cleveland Clinic (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Respiratory Therapy and Sports Medicine/Physical Therapy) spoke about their careers and answered questions from the students.
NASD was permitted to tape the procedure and a bariatric surgery curriculum module was designed specifically for NASD students refer to during the live surgical broadcast.
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NA Students Excel on National German Exam
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) proudly announces that North Allegheny Senior High (NASH) students recently participated in the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) National German Exam.
The American Association of Teachers of German, Inc., has been sponsoring a National Testing Program for over thirty years. The AATG is the only national individual membership organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of the language, literature, and culture of the German-speaking countries. They give an annual achievement test for high school students, in which more than 26,000 students participated this year. Six NASD students achieved scores in the 80th Percentile or better on this exam.
Eleventh grader Nimish Telang scored in the 91st percentile and had the top score of all NASH students that participated.
Juniors Doug Bauer, Alexander Howard, Doug Kulchar, Patrick Morgan and senior Zachary Daftery all scored at or above the 80th Percentile.
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NA High School Student Wins Award in
National Recognition Program for Youth Volunteers
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) senior Marco Giovengo is being honored as a Distinguished Finalist in the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards in Pennsylvania and will receive an engraved bronze medallion for his impressive community service activities.
The Spirit of Community Awards is a nationwide program that honors young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The program is in its 13th year and is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
Nearly 4,500 nominations were reviewed by state-level judges who selected two State Honorees and eight Distinguished Finalists to represent the state of Pennsylvania. Their decision was based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.
Marco Giovengo volunteers and raises money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Marco, who has muscular dystrophy, attends many events throughout the year as a goodwill ambassador for MDA, and participates in fundraising events for the association. In one event last year, he personally raised more than $6,000 to conduct research and send kids to MDA camps.
Marco is also being honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country. As a recipient of this award, Marco will receive a certificate and a congratulatory letter from President Bush.
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NA School Board to Meet Twice in March
The North Allegheny School District (NASD) announces that the Board of School Directors will meet twice in March.
The Board will hold a Work Session on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, in the Board Room of the Central Administration Offices, 200 Hillvue Lane, McCandless Township, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The School Board’s Regular Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2008, and will also be held in the Board Room of the Central Administration Offices, 200 Hillvue Lane, McCandless Township, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The public is invited to attend all meetings.
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North Allegheny School District
200 Hillvue Lane Pittsburgh, PA 15237-5391