Mrs. Beth Leckey, a music teacher at Ingomar Elementary, has a deep passion for music and literature, which she enjoys sharing with her students. Recognizing the natural synergy between these two art forms, she orchestrated a unique approach that beautifully blends them together. 

During the month of March, IES celebrates Music In Our Schools Month, which also coincides with Read Across America Week. Mrs. Leckey found this to be the perfect opportunity to highlight the connection between music and literacy.

"I decided to give each class their own book that they would be responsible for composing, arranging, and performing," said Leckey. "As we started to get into the project, I realized there was a great deal of potential to dig deeper and challenge my students' musicianship."

After selecting a book, students chose instruments that best complemented their stories and learned to play them. Gradually, they began creating musical pieces for each page of the book. The project took six weeks to complete.

"My goal was to simulate learning to read music through relatable literature," said Leckey. "I have a true passion for teaching children that their greatest potentials come from working together and from allowing themselves to be an active participant. Every class did a fantastic job learning how to work as a team."

With the music classes fine-tuning their storybook performances, Mrs. Leckey devised a way for them to share their creations with a live listening audience. Throughout April, she invites anyone at IES to attend a musical performance through an "in-school" Musical Story Field Trip. Teachers and staff can sign up to listen to 16 stories at times that best fit their schedules.

"We all love having others share our music," said Leckey. "I hope this project enriched (my students') love of reading and built their confidence in music literacy and technique. By the smiles on their faces, I think we achieved our goal." 

Mrs. Leckey's music students will share their stories two to three times throughout the month with different groups of students and staff members.

The North Allegheny Communication Department had the pleasure of stopping by Mrs. Leckey's class to observe students from 5C bring their chosen story to life for a group of kindergarten students. To watch that performance, click here. For a photo gallery, click here.

This year, more than 20 ninth and 10th graders from North Allegheny Intermediate distinguished themselves on the 2025 National Latin Exam.

Seven A.W. Beattie students from North Allegheny won medals at the SkillsUSA Pennsylvania championships, with five earning gold.

• Lauren Helkowski (Food Art)
• Andrew Mura (Menu Planning)
• Noah Ellis (PA Knife Skills)

The 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a regional and national competition awarding students’ artwork and writing that exemplifies originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal vision/voice. Founded in 1923, it is the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition for creative teens.

2025 SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS

North Allegheny students earned an outstanding regional 23 Gold Key, 18 Silver Key, and 29 Honorable Mention Scholastic Art Awards. They were celebrated at the regional art exhibition and ceremony held at Carnegie Mellon University on March 9. Impressively, Iris Huang received an American Visions nomination; only a select five in the region are nominated for consideration of this scholarship, placing her in the running for the national scholarship award. All regional Gold Key recipients automatically move on to the national level of competition, where they are considered for national awards, including Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and a variety of scholarship awards.

A special congratulations to Iris Huang on winning a national Gold Medal and a 2025 American Visions Medal in the Scholastic Art Awards. The American Visions Medal is an honorable art scholarship awarded to one nominated student for each region. A North Allegheny student has been awarded this scholarship back to back, previously winning in 2024. Iris Huang’s winning artwork, titled “Be A Chair,” illustrates the relationship between a human and artificial objects, specifically a chair. This series of twelve charcoal drawings progresses chronologically and explores the expansion of the traditional role of the "chair" and how humans can redefine its shape, form, and meaning. Each study was drawn from direct observation of a live model, capturing the development between the subject and object in real time.

NATIONAL MEDAL ART AWARDS

Gold Medal

Iris Huang, Grade 12 (1 Gold Medal), (American Visions Medal)

Silver Medal

David Mao, Grade 10 (1 Silver Medal)
Casey Yang, Grade 10 (1 Silver Medal)

REGIONAL GOLD KEY ART AWARDS

Gold Key Award

Iris Huang, Grade 12 (5 Gold Key), (American Visions Nomination)
Talia Jun, Grade 12 (1 Gold Key)
Muriel Liu, Grade 10 (3 Gold Key)
David Mao, Grade 10 (2 Gold Key)
Sidney Rice, Grade 10 (3 Gold Key)
Casey Richey, Grade 11 (2 Gold Key)
Ashley Shim, Grade 11 (2 Gold Key)
Shareen Tarigonda, Grade 11 (1 Gold Key)
Hailey Thiel, Grade 12 (1 Gold Key)
Casey Yang, Grade 10 (2 Gold Key)
Rebecca Zhao, Grade 11 (1 Gold Key)

2025 SCHOLASTIC WRITING AWARDS

North Allegheny students also achieved remarkable success in the Scholastic Writing Awards regional with eight Gold Key, 10 Silver Key, and 15 Honorable Mention awards. They were honored at a ceremony held at Point Park University on Saturday, March 22. All regional Gold Key recipients automatically move on to the national level of competition, where they are considered for national awards, including Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and a variety of scholarship awards. 

Special congratulations go to James Xiao and Dariana Chiosea for winning national Gold Medals this year. In addition, James Xiao won an American Voices Medal for his piece titled “Filial Piety.” The American Voices Medal is a prestigious scholarship awarded to one nominated student from each region.

Congratulations to all student participants and awardees, who continue to represent North Allegheny for its excellence in the arts and writing. Their hard work, dedication, and exceptional talents make our North Allegheny community proud!

NATIONAL MEDAL WRITING AWARDS

Gold Medal 

James Xiao, Grade 11 (1 Gold Medal), (American Voices Medal)
Dariana Chiosea, Grade 9 (1 Gold Medal)

REGIONAL GOLD KEY WRITING AWARDS

Gold Key Award

Dariana Chiosea, Grade 9 (1 Gold Key)
Ashnavi Gosh, Grade 12 (1 Gold Key)
Linda Kong, Grade 12 (2 Gold Key)
Lily Saltmar, Grade 11 (1 Gold Key)
Ashley Shim, Grade 11 (1 Gold Key)
Cami Weinbaum, Grade 9 (1 Gold Key)
James Xiao, Grade 11 (1 Gold Key), (American Voices Nomination)

North Allegheny Speech & Debate delivered an outstanding performance at the Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL) state championships last week at Bloomsburg University, marking another remarkable chapter in the team’s success.

NA Speech & Debate finished second overall, clinched the debate championship title for the second consecutive year, and secured second place in speech.

This year, North Allegheny earned the prestigious Jeanne Lutz Award, which recognizes sustained excellence in Speech & Debate. North Allegheny has earned this accolade four times since its inception in 1992, previously taking home the trophy in 2008, 2016, 2021, and now in 2025.

In addition to the team's overall success, several North Allegheny students triumphed individually at the state championships:

• Risa Rajeeve (12) & Pavit Saini (12) won the state championship in News Broadcasting.

• Charles Potter (12) & Alicia Gasana (11) placed second in Duo Interpretation of Literature.

• Vamshi Krishna Singari (11) placed second in Commentary.

• Nikhil Menon (10) placed second, and Rishi Prasanna (11) placed fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking.

• Saanvi Palagani (10) & Aayushi Vardhan (10) were semifinalists (top 4) in Public Forum Debate.

• Kelly Tai (12) and Emily Rojas Aguilera (12) were semifinalists (top 4) in Parliamentary Debate.

• Rinesh Sunthar (10) and Vijay Nagarajan (10) were semifinalists (top 4) in Policy Debate.

• Mihir Harinath (10) and Ashnavi Ghosh (12) placed third and ninth in Senate, respectively.

• Divya Sekar (12) placed fourth in Informative Speaking.

• Samhitha Ganesan (11) placed fifth in Storytelling.

• Kaitlyn Hetherington (12) placed sixth in House.

• Sanjeev Arora (10) was the Top Speaker in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

• Speech Semifinalists (Top 14) included Adithi Senthilkumar (11) in Dramatic Interpretation of Literature, Kavin Puri (10) in Impromptu Speaking, and Elena Xiao (9) in Persuasive Speaking.

• Debate Quarterfinalists included Kristina Wisniewski (12) in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Nitin Gupta (12) in Extemporaneous Debate, and Aniketh Ghosh (10) & Ashish Raajiv Sai (10) and Anish Ramachandruni (11) & Daniel Wang (10) in Parliamentary Debate.

• Debate Octofinalists included Pranav Kallavi (12), Swaroop Hebbar (12), Alex Du (10), and Kavin Dassanaike-Perera (9) in the Public Forum Debate and Angela Wei (11) in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

NA’s success was also fueled by the hard work of Cynthia Li (11), Shan Ranganath (11), Pranav Chandran (11), Moki Annavajhula (10), Rishon Ghosh (10), Ansh Sharma (10), Serena Thomas (10), Arnav Deokule (9), and Sai Krishna Karthikeya Ramadugu (11), who all competed in the state championship tournament.

The state championships do not mark the end of the year for NA Speech & Debate. Fifteen students have qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League Grand National Tournament, which will be held in Chicago in May, and eleven students have qualified for the National Speech & Debate Championships, which will take place in Des Moines in June.

Four North Allegheny students have been selected as 2025 Carson Scholars! Freshman Elena Xiao, junior Havisha Kalpatthi, and seniors Haresh Muralidharan and Arishia Zaidi were chosen for demonstrating the highest standards of academic achievement, integrity, and civic and social responsibility. Congratulations to Elena, Havisha, Haresh, and Arishia on this terrific honor!