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DAA
Ceremony
April 22, 2009
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STUDENT AWARDS:
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2009 National
Merit Scholarship Corporation Competition
More than 1.5 million
students in nearly 21,000 U.S. high schools enter the National Merit
Scholarship Corporation program each year by taking the Preliminary
SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial
screen of the program entrants. Of the 1.5 million entrants, some 50,000
qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. In early
September, about one-third or 16,000 students are notified that they have
qualified as Semifinalists. In late September, more than two-thirds or
about 34,000 of the high scorers receive Letters of Commendation in
recognition of their outstanding academic promise. The Semifinalist group
represents the highest scoring entrants in each state and continues
competing for a Finalist position. In February, some 15,000 students are
notified that they have advanced to Finalist standing. Merit Scholarship
winners are selected from the group of Finalists based on their abilities,
skills and accomplishments.
Thirty-nine NASD seniors
have been recognized in the 2009 National Merit Scholarships program.
Twenty-six students achieved Commended, two students achieved Semifinalist
and eleven students achieved Finalist standing. NA students recognized in
this year’s program are:
Finalists: |
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Stacey Chen
Michael Heckmann
Andrew Ho
Emily Li
Kevin Liu
Katherine Luo |
Dakota McCoy
Elaine Oestreich
Michael Sinko
Nimish Telang
Kristen Yealy |
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Semifinalists:
Arundhati Bharati
Joseph Whitmore |
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Commended: |
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Laura Amster
Phillip Briggs
Thomas Dean
Andrew Fishell
Kelly Gilmour
Adam Jacob
Douglas Kulchar
Lauryn LePere
Jeffrey Lin
Jonathan Lin
Colin Madigan
John McElhattan
Sarah Musial
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Dinesh Palanisamy
Bianca Palmisano
Samantha Polak
Ian Preston
Christopher Rullan
Kenneth Sandala
Kathryn Schmiech
Sumeet Shroff
Ashley Truxal
James Walton
Kerri Woodward
Peter Wu
Conor Yates
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2009 National
Achievement Scholarship Program
The National Achievement®
Scholarship Program is an academic scholarship competition for Black
American high school students. The program was initiated in 1964 to honor
academically-able black youth throughout the nation and provide scholarships
to a substantial number of the most outstanding participants in each annual
competition. The program is conducted by the National Merit Scholarship
Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government
assistance.
Of the more than 150,000
students who enter the National Achievement Program each year, approximately
4,700 are honored. A group of about 3,100 Outstanding Participants are
referred to colleges for their potential for academic success. A smaller
group of about 1,600 are named Semifinalists. Similar to the National Merit
Scholarship Program, this group represents the highest scoring participants
in the states that constitute each region and these students continue
competing for Finalist standing.
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In late January, approximately 1,300
Semifinalists are notified that they have qualified as Finalists. All
Achievement Scholarship winners are selected from the group of Finalists
based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments. Two NA students
have been recognized in this year’s program.
Finalist
Kendra Calhoun
Outstanding Participant
Ayorinde Adegbesan
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2008-09 National
Hispanic Recognition Program
The National Hispanic Recognition
Program was initiated by the College Board in 1983 to identify outstanding
Hispanic/Latino high school students. In order to be eligible, students
must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino, meet the minimum PSAT/NMSQT
cutoff score for their state, and achieve a minimum grade point average
requirement. Each year, nearly 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from a
nationwide total of more than 200,000 juniors in the United States and U.S.
Territories are recognized.
Although the College Board is
not able to provide a monetary award to these students, an important
component of the program is that the list of selected students names is
provided to four-year postsecondary colleges and universities. Being listed
as a National Hispanic Scholar may give students an opportunity to hear from
colleges that are particularly interested in communicating with prospective
students of Hispanic heritage. This year Steven Verez was recognized on the
list of Scholars.
Scholar
Steven Verez
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2008-09 Siemens
Awards for Advanced Placement
The Siemens
Foundation provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational
initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math in the
United States. The Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement is one of five
Siemens Foundation programs that support math and science education from
grade school through graduate school. Up to 100 students – only one female
and one male in each state – receive a $2,000 college scholarship for
earning the highest number of perfect scores on the eight AP math and
science exams. This year North Allegheny senior Katherine Luo was named the
Pennsylvania female student to receive the Siemens Award for Advanced
Placement.
Pennsylvania
Scholarship Recipient
Katherine Luo
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2009 American Association of Teachers of German National German Exam
Submitted by: Mr. Mark Demkee and Mr. Franz Wesner
The American Association of
Teachers of German, Inc. has been sponsoring a National Testing Program for
over forty years. The American Association of Teachers of German, founded
in 1926, is the only national individual membership organization dedicated
to the advancement and improvement of the language, literature, and culture
of German-speaking countries. They give an annual achievement test for high
school students, in which roughly 26,000 students participate each year.
Six NA students achieved scores in the 93rd Percentile or better on this
national exam. They are:
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99th Percentile
Hendrik Hohlfeld
95th Percentile
Stephanie Smyers
93rd Percentile
Joseph Marshalek
Marco Zenz
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92nd Percentile
Emma Gryger
90th Percentile
Adrianna Jensen
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2009 Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation
Ingomar
Middle School sixth grader Daniel Hopkins has been selected as a delegate
for the 2009 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Children’s Congress,
which will be held this summer in Washington, D.C. Only three students
from Pennsylvania were selected for this honor. As a Children’s Congress
delegate, Daniel will be representing not only all of the children with
diabetes in Pennsylvania, but all of the children with diabetes in our
nation. In Washington, delegates will have the opportunity to meet with
lawmakers and help them put a face on diabetes, while helping the leaders
of our country understand why their support is so critical in finding a
cure for diabetes.
Children's Congress Delegate
Daniel Hopkins
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35th Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament
Submitted by Ms. Sharon Volpe
The 35th
Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament was held in February on the
Harvard University campus in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. More than 3,000 individuals representing 301 schools
attended this year’s tournament. Stacey Chen, a senior at NASH, won
First Place in the Extemporaneous Speaking competition. Stacey has advanced
to the final round of this tournament for three years in a row, making this
year’s victory especially important to her.
First
Place Extemporaneous Speaking
Stacey Chen
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DECA
State Career Development Conference
Submitted by Ms. Nancy Boyle
DECA is an Association of
Marketing Students and is the only Career and Technical Student Organization
operating through the nation’s schools to attract young people to careers in
marketing management and entrepreneurship. Its purposes are to develop
respect for education which will contribute to occupational competence and
to promote understanding and appreciation for the responsibilities of
citizenship in our free enterprise system. There are 62 DECA chapters in
Pennsylvania with a membership of more than 3,300 students, alumni, teachers
and business professionals. Members of NA’s DECA Chapter recently competed
in the 58th State Career Development Conference at the Hershey
Lodge.
Retail Market Research, Second Place
and
Qualifying to Compete at the International Conference
Margaret Bentzel
Amanda Malkowski
Public Relations Project, Third Place
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Qualifying to Compete at the International Career Conference
Erica Bernardi
Jane Miner
Accounting, Second Place
and
Qualifying to Compete at the International Conference
Anthony Colosimo
Qualifying
to Compete at the International Conference
Piper Foight
Shelby Roehre
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High School
Writer Senior High Edition
Submitted by Ms. Patricia Kramer
Writer Publications produces
three national newspapers; the Elementary School Writer, the
Junior High School Writer, and the Senior High School Writer.
Since 1984, these newspapers have been providing a real audience for student
writers. The High School Writer is published six times during the
school year. Each year they receive more than 30,000 compositions, stories
and poems from students in all parts of the nation. The editorial staff
sorts through those manuscripts and about 10% of the submissions make their
way into print. NA sophomore Thomas Wagner had his story published in the
4th issue of High School Writer in the 2008-2009 school year.
Published
Thomas Wagner
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Y>HS Magazine
Submitted by Ms. Patricia Kramer
Y>HS Magazine
is published five times each year by the Pennsylvania Educational Publishing
Association, which is a non-profit organization.
The magazine was created in
collaboration with more than 120 Pennsylvania Guidance Counselors. It is an
eclectic and informative magazine covering topics from sports and
entertainment to current events and technology. All editorial and design
elements are intended to be appealing to young people at all levels and
interests. Courtney Steinmiller, a sophomore, had her story titled “This Is
It?” published in a 2009 issue.
Published
Courtney Steinmiller
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PIAA Class AAA
Wrestling Championships
Submitted by Mr. Bob Bozzuto
Senior Joe Waltko has enjoyed a stellar year
capturing both the WPIAL and the PIAA championship wrestling titles. This
accomplishment is particularly meaningful because, for three straight
years, Joe finished second in the WPIAL championships. In this final year
of his high school wrestling career, Joe can be extremely proud that he
finished the season with a 41–1 record while compiling a career mark of
144-20.
First Place
Joseph Waltko
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