Office of Communications and Public Relations – Joy Ed, Manager

Phone: 412/369-5445 / Fax: 412/369-0516

June 26, 2009

The North Allegheny Board of School Directors announces a new meeting time. Effective August, 2009, all North Allegheny School Board Meetings will begin at 7:00 p.m. For a full schedule of School Board Meetings please visit the District’s website at www.northallegheny.org and select the “School Board” link.

NORTH ALLEGHENY BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS

BOARD MEETING

JUNE 24, 2009

AGENDA

7:30 REGULAR MEETING

- Speakers (Agenda Items)

- Budget Presentation

- Voting Items

- Final Budget Approval

- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)

June 24, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Stacey Chen has won the 2009 National Forensic League International Extemporaneous Speaking National Championship. Winning students are rewarded with trophies and over $130,000 in college scholarships. This is an historic first for the North Allegheny School District and the greatest award an extemporaneous speaker in national competition can win. After what experts who covered the National Tournament described as “five brutal days of competition,” Stacey emerged victorious by one rank – with last year’s national winner placing fourth this year.

Stacey, a 2009 graduate, has enjoyed a stellar year of national-level forensic competition victories in the Extemporaneous Speaking event. In November, she won First Place at the Glenbrooks National High School Speech and Debate Tournament. She won Second Place at the Yale Invitational, Third Place at the Montgomery Bell Academy Round Robin XI and First Place at the Harvard National Invitational Tournament.

The National Forensic League is the nation's oldest and largest debate and speech honor society. Since its founding in 1925, the League has enrolled over 1 million members representing all 50 states. The League embraces diversity, interconnection, and visionary leadership. They strive to empower students to become effective communicators, ethical individuals, critical thinkers, and leaders in a democratic society.

The National Forensic League has run the National Speech Tournament continuously since 1931 (except for the World War II years). The national tournament includes six main speech events, four types of debate competition, two consolation speech events and four supplemental speech events that produces national champions at the end of an action-packed week of competition.

North Allegheny Forensic Coach is Ms. Sharon Volpe. For more information on the National Forensic League please visit their website at: www.nflonline.org.

NORTH ALLEGHENY BOARD OF SCHOOL DIRECTORS

BOARD MEETING

June 17, 2009

AGENDA

7:30 SPECIAL MEETING/WORK SESSION

- Community Relations

- Speakers (Voting Items)

- Special Meeting Voting Items

- Review of Board Folder

- Speakers (Non-agenda Items)

9:00 EXECUTIVE SESSION

June 17, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that two teams of fifth grade students have been recognized with a Plaque of Highest Achievement for their performance in the 2008-09 Math Olympiad contest.

The Math Olympiad is a worldwide mathematical problem-solving contest. Fifth grade Advanced Academic Math classes participated in five different contests during the school year. Final scores are based on all five contests. The Plaque of Highest Achievement is only awarded to teams that place in the top 10% of all teams worldwide. There were about 4,600 national teams comprised of about 100,000 students from across the nation. In addition, about 1,800 teams, comprised of 45,000 students from 32 other countries were enrolled in the contest as well.

One team was comprised of the following students from Franklin and Ingomar Elementary Schools: Andrew Fong, Thomas Cwalina, Derek Chen, Trevor Smith, Nila Suresh, Ashvath Sekhar, Keerthi Samanthapudi, Gabriel Ren, Scott Wenig, Eliza Gunn, Garrett Hagan, Ben Klingensmith, Regina Munsch, Jack O’Sullivan, Steven Savchik, Grace Traynor, Koray Tuncel and Jack You.

The other team was comprised of the following students from Hosack, McKnight and Peebles Elementary Schools: Kevin Port, Joie Feng, Nicholas Dela Torre, Michael Bogut, Derek Howell, Sunha Lee, Keegan Phillips, Julia Driscoll, Russell Ruffolo, Michael Struk, Dylan Falk, Adam Tedeschi, Jack Mo, Jason Earle and Yagmur Yuksel.

These teams were sponsored by their Gifted Program teachers: Ms. Shari Schlosser, Ms. Ellyn Snyder and Ms. Carla Kuhn.

June 17, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Ingomar Middle School eighth grade student Cassie Foulk won First Place in the category of Music ages 14-18, in the PNC 2009 African American History Contest.

Children and teens, ages 6 through 18, were invited to enter this contest in one of three age groups and in one of five categories: Poetry, Essay, Video, Art or Music. First, Second and Third Place prizes were awarded for each age group in each of the five entry categories.

Cassie’s musical entry was required to have original music and lyrics and to answer the following questions: What African-American politician, lawmaker or civil rights activist do you admire? How has this person impacted society? Her submission was judged on how well the song addressed the topic, how well the lyrical content expressed her message and how well she displayed her musical talent. Cassie was honored for her achievement at a special awards ceremony held in May at the Hall of Fame Club at PNC Park.

More information on the PNC 2009 African American History Contest can be found on their website at: www.pnc.com/historycontest.

June 17, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Marshall Middle School (MMS) eighth grade students identified, planned and participated in a group volunteer service learning project as part of their Family and Consumer Science class.

Students unanimously chose to spend a day with students at The Education Center at The Watson Institute. In preparation for this event, they completed a session of pre-service training to learn more about The Watson Institute. On the day of their visit, students volunteered in classrooms and were involved in various activities with students involving art, music and socialization.

After returning to their own classroom, MMS students selected a sewing project to benefit the Education Center students. They donated and then “camouflaged” t-shirts by sewing additional padding inside the shirts which will serve to protect the Watson students during mealtimes in a discreet manner. In all, MMS eighth graders collected, altered and then donated more than 50 clothes protectors to the Watson Institute.

This service learning project was coordinated by Ms. Karen Storm, Family Consumer Science teacher at MMS.

June 17, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that sophomore Sophia Taborski was a top-six winner for the National History Day (NHD) state competition. Sophia gave a ten-minute presentation on Marquis de Lafayette and his leadership role in both the American and French Revolutions. She portrayed his pious wife, Marie Adrienne Francioise de Noailles, praying for Lafayette and his safety.

Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state and national levels, where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in a national competition each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Sophia wrote her script based on extensive reading and research including original source documentation. Her GOAL teacher Mrs. Joann Urbaniak commented “Sophia’s acumen on Marquis de Lafayette is astounding and her individual preparation for this competition was a labor of love.”

You can learn more about the National History Day organization and contest by visiting their website at: http://www.nationalhistoryday.org.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Marshall Middle School eighth grade student Lily Zhang finished Second Place overall in the 2009 Pennsylvania Middle School Computer Fair in the Desktop Publishing category.

The Pennsylvania Middle School Computer Fair is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Educational Technology. The computer fair is an annual event open to students in grades six through eight that highlights their application skills and computer knowledge. Students are able to unleash their creativity, learn how to convey information more dynamically, and enhance the learning process.

Lily’s project was a children’s book titled “The Cookie County Crisis” that was designed as an allegory to better explain the Great Depression to younger children. Lily won the regional division to qualify for the state competition, where she went up against all other regional winners from across Pennsylvania. She was the only student from Allegheny County to win anything at the state level.

June 17, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Peebles Elementary School second grade student Safiy Khan won Second Place in the fifteenth annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest sponsored by WQED Multimedia and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

The Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest is open to children in kindergarten through third grade. Four winners are selected at each grade level and the First Place winner at each level advances into the national-level competition.

Safiy wrote and illustrated a story titled “A Rainforest Adventure,” which can be read on the contest’s webpage at http://www.wqed.org/education/rr/index.php. All of the winners from this year’s contest were recognized at a formal awards ceremony held at the Carnegie Library on June 7.

You can learn more about the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest at the above referenced website or by visiting the PBS website at http:/ /pbskids.org/readingrainbow/contest/.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that Ingomar Middle School (IMS) participated this year in a new and groundbreaking plastic bottle cap recycling initiative. IMS students, staff, and families, collected 19,194 plastic bottle caps that will be re-used in a productive, environmentally friendly way.

Plastic bottle caps have become a dangerous pollutant. Birds and other marine creatures mistake them for food with tragic results. The magnitude of this pollution problem is devastating to our oceans and wildlife. IMS became part of the solution by joining Recycle Caps with Aveda.

This program educates students and underscores the impact of positive change. This project teaches students that everyone is responsible for taking care of the environment. It empowers young people to stimulate change on a local and national level. Beyond the benefits of environmental conservation, it teaches students that when individuals work together with a common purpose, they can effect change.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that the North Allegheny Junior Classical League (JCL) has won their twelfth consecutive State Championship. The PA JCL Convention features athletic, artistic and academic events. Points are awarded to a school for every award won by its delegates. North Allegheny JCL members earned 34 First Place Ribbons, 31 Second Place Awards and 32 Third Place Honors.

In addition, the Latin 1 Quiz Bowl team comprised of Martin Majewski, Samir Jindel, Brian Boehmke and Connor Phillips, won Second Place in the State.

Special congratulations to Kate Mahler for being elected to the PA JCL Executive Board. Kate will serve as the 2009-2010 State Parliamentarian.

The National Junior Classical League (NJCL), established in 1936, is an organization for middle and high school students in classical courses. It is one of the largest academic youth organizations in the world. There are over 50,000 members in approximately 1,200 chapters, located in almost every state and in several foreign countries. Pennsylvania has 35 chapters consisting of 1,794 members.

Ms. Terry Klein is the sponsor of the North Allegheny JCL team. Ms. Klein is assisted by District Latin teachers: Ms. Melody Hannegan, Ms. Angela Bergen and Ms. Connie Ramsey.

For more information on National Junior Classical League, visit their website at www.njcl.org.

June 12, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that the North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) has earned recognition at the state level as a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts School of Excellence in Arts Education by the Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education.

NASH is one of only two schools so designated within Pennsylvania and will now be considered for recognition at the national level in September of 2009. The review panel for the award indicated that NASH has met or exceeded every criterion for this prestigious award and proved again on many levels that excellence in education goes hand-in-hand with excellence in arts education.

You can find out more about the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by visiting their website at www.kennedy-center.org.

June 10, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) announces that the Board of School Directors will meet twice in June.

The Board will hold a Special Meeting/Work Session on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 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, June 24, 2009, 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.

June 10, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that senior Stacey Chen won the 2009 Tournament of Champions for Extemporaneous Speaking at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Competitors were each given thirty minutes to prepare and seven minutes to deliver a speech addressing one of three topics. Each round was themed in topic areas that were posted in advance of the competition. All questions were taken from newspapers and magazines published between January 1, 2009, and the day of the event.

This was the Seventh Annual Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking sponsored by the Northwestern University Speech Team and the Northwestern University School of Communication. The tournament is by invitation only to students who do well at national-level tournaments or win their respective state tournaments. The tournament’s tradition is to offer an unparalleled challenge to extemporaneous speakers across the country and the opportunity to compete against the best speakers in the nation in an environment that showcases the event of extemporaneous speaking.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that North Allegheny physical education teacher and swimming coach, Mr. Corky Semler, has been named the Pennsylvania AAA Boys Swim Coach of the Year by the Pennsylvania High School Swim Coaches Association (PHSSCA).

This is the first year for the PHSSCA Coach of the Year Awards Program. Awards are given to four coaches – AA Girls, AA Boys, AAA Boys and AAA Girls. The criteria for the awards include points earned, final district placement and final state placement.

Mr. Semler’s coaching career includes 53 section titles, 19 WPIAL and 8 PIAA First Place titles since 1979. In addition, he has achieved 15 WPIAL and 6 PIAA Second Place finishes. His overall record is an impressive 561 wins, 83 losses and 6 ties. He has helped 120 athletes over the years to attain All-American status.

Mr. Semler has also been selected to be a 2009 Inductee into the Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame. The Pennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame was established in 1968 by the Pennsylvania State University and recognizes those Pennsylvanians who have exhibited extraordinary service and achievement through aquatics.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that math teacher and forensics coach, Ms. Sharon Volpe, has been elected to the Pennsylvania High School Speech League’s (PHSSL) Hall of Fame.

Ms. Volpe’s forensic career started as a competitor at Mercer High School in the late 1970’s and she has coached ever since. Her coaching career began at Upper Saint Clair High School and she is now the coach and a math teacher at North Allegheny High School. She has one of the largest National Forensics League (NFL) programs in the country with more than 300 members.

Ms. Volpe is an NFL Pittsburgh District Chair, past Executive Board Member for PHSSL, and also serves as Sweepstakes Coordinator for the PHSSL State Forensic Tournament. She is webmaster to PHSSL, the PSDA site, and responsible for making Act 48 credits available to PSDA and PHSSL coaches.

Ms. Volpe is active in recruiting and mentoring the Pittsburgh District schools with personal visits and has put together judging and recruiting guidebooks for other schools to use. She is also webmaster and newsletter editor for the Mathematics Council of Western Pennsylvania.

A resident of Allison Park Ms. Volpe has been married to her husband Ron for seven years and is mother to daughters Quinn, age 5, and Mackenzie, age 2. In addition to her passion for forensics, she is also an advocate for autism in the Pittsburgh area and an avid Pittsburgh sports fan.

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that nine High School students attended the 63^rd DECA International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California, where they competed against more than 15,000 DECA members representing all 50 states, Germany, Guam, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and England.

DECA, “An Association of Marketing Students,” is the only student organization that exists to attract young people to careers in business and marketing. Students qualify to compete at this international conference by winning top awards at their state conference in various marketing related competition.

Congratulations to junior Anthony Colosimo for being one of twenty top award winners in the accounting competitive event. In his division, Anthony competed against 200 top competitors.

Margo Bentzel and Amanda Malkowski competed in the retail market research team event; Shelby Roehre and Andrea Camut competed in the hospitality management team event; and Erica Bernardi and Jane Minor competed in the public relations project event. Griffin Sefcik and Tyler Jones attended the Senior Management Institute, networking with business leaders from well-known corporations, as well as other students interested in the field of business.

North Allegheny DECA Advisors and marketing teachers, Ms. Nancy Boyle and Ms. Joanne Sullivan, helped prepare students for this competition and assisted with administering competitive events at the conference.

June 10, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that two teams of North Allegheny students did exceptionally well at the Thirtieth Annual Chemistry Olympics where they competed with more than 100 teams from around the tri-state area.

The Chemistry Olympics is a rigorous competition in which teams are asked to complete three hours worth of lab experiments, being judged on final results and answers to follow-up questions. In the AP Chemistry category, the team of Adrianna Jensen, Aidan MacDonagh, and Kostya Borisov took First Place. In the Organic Chemistry category, the team of Kevin Liu, Nimish Telang, and Shivam Verma took Second Place.

All of these students were recognized for their accomplishments at the American Chemical Society Awards dinner held at the University of Duquesne in May.

June 10, 2009

The North Allegheny School District (NASD) is proud to announce that two teams of North Allegheny students won honors at the twenty-fifth annual Chemathon hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland at College Park.

North Allegheny’s level I team comprised of sophomores: Divya Tumuluru, Daniel Lesh, Aaron Li, Liyan Fan, Jason Chen and Patrick Nollen took Second Place. NA’s level II team comprised of juniors: Andrew Adam, Hyun Young Kim, Stephen Guo, Cindy Yuan, Connie Yuan and Liyang Yu took Fourth Place.

The Chemathon is a multi-state competition for high school students. The goal of the Chemathon is to provide an opportunity for high school students to use knowledge and skills gained in the classroom. The events are planned to engage students of varying ability in activities that are enjoyable and rewarding and to give research opportunities to creative and inventive students.

The various competitive events such as projects, lab activities, and knowledge-testing games, take place concurrently in nine laboratory rooms and two auditoriums. There are four forty-five minute rounds of competition during which three members of each team compete in four events and the remaining three members compete in another four events. The judges are the chemistry teachers who accompany the teams, as well as volunteers including students and faculty from the University of Maryland.

North Allegheny School District

200 Hillvue Lane Pittsburgh, PA 15237-5391

North Allegheny Schools

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