School news: Week of Dec. 13
UPPER ST. CLAIR H.S. named national model
Upper St. Clair High School was recently named one of only 25 schools nationwide to be selected as a national model of Innovative Successful Practices by the Successful Practices Network and AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
As part of this process, SPN will conduct a two-day site visit in December to see Upper St. Clair High School’s work first hand. This visit will include meetings with groups of stakeholders, as well as classroom visits. The goal of the site visit is to provide SPN a greater understanding of Upper St. Clair’s programs, students served and innovative approach to student learning.
Based on information from the site visit, SPN, in collaboration with the school district, will produce a case study highlighting Upper St. Clair High School including challenges faced, innovative approaches implemented and the impact of that work on student learning and achievement. The case studies of all 25 schools will be disseminated nationally by both SPN and AASA as models and inspiration for other schools and districts.
Upper St. Clair vocalists selected
Thirty-three Upper St. Clair students in grades 6 through 9 were selected to participate in choral festivals sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania. The festivals include Sweet Harmony for girls and Mucho Macho for boys.
Participating in the Sweet Harmony Festival on Nov. 2, at West Allegheny High School, were: Grade 9 — Clare Joyce, Maddie Nolen and Elizabeth Young; Grade 8 — Madison Bruno, Kaitlyn Clougherty, Jordana Kennedy, Katie Kobeski, Sofia Putorti and Mia Skeel; Grade 6 — Melodi Caliskan, Gabrielle Deep, Sydney Garvey, Evelyn Hertzog, Janelle Knierim, Jaelyn Lakes, Reagan Safko and Emily Whiteford.
Four Upper St. Clair music vocalists were featured at the women’s festival. Ninth-grader Maddie Nolen had a solo and sixth-graders Evelyn Hertzog, Sydney Garvey and Jaelyn Lakes were part of a double trio in “Cover Me With the Night,” representing four of the nine solo opportunities for the day.
Boyce Middle School hosted the Mucho Macho Music Festival on Oct. 31. The following Upper St. Clair students participated: Grade 9 — Zain Aizooky and Rohan Mishra; Grade 7 — Colin Eccher, George Garces, Ryan Higgs, Thomas McQuillan, Keshav Narasimhan, Dimitri Suher and Benjamin Wasson; Grade 6 — Graydon Altherr, Marshall Howe, Jadon Kithcart, Arnav Kumar, Jude Pagliai, Eli Rankin and Maxim-Levi Shevchenko.
Boyce sixth-graders Marshall Howe and Jadon Kithcart performed solos at the Mucho Macho festival on an arrangement of Shawn Mendes’ “Mercy,” the only soloists of the day.
The Upper St. Clair students represent Boyce Middle School, Fort Couch Middle School and Upper St. Clair High School, and receive music instruction from Jennifer Schetley, Thomas Hunsberger and Lorraine Milovac, respectively.
During each festival, students from throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania will be rehearsing and working with a guest director for the day to put on a culminating concert that same afternoon.