School news: Week of June 7
Published article
(PIC) Upper St. Clair High School senior Aditi Chattopadhyay can add published author to her resume of accomplishments. Her paper titled, “Demonstration Study: A Protocol to Combine Online Tools and Databases for Identifying Potentially Repurposable Drugs,” was published on MDPI.com, a platform for peer-reviewed, scientific open-access journals.
The paper was written as a follow up to her Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science project, completed during her junior year. Her research mentor taught her that the most important part of science is communicating your work.
“This project is very simply a protocol to identify pre-existing FDA-approved drugs that can be repurposed to treat other diseases, especially those that are not currently treatable. So, the real-life implications of the research were a motivating factor for me to both pursue this project and write a paper on it,” Aditi said. “Additionally, since this project allows other scientists and even students to predict potential repurposable drugs using the protocol we created, it was important to write and publish this paper to disseminate the knowledge and results for more extensive use.”
One of the key challenges for Aditi was conforming to the format and style of scholarly research papers.
“Scientific papers have their own specific format you have to follow. For example, there is usually an abstract, introduction, methods and discussion with certain information and explanations going into each section,” she said. “Since I had little experience writing a research paper before, figuring this out was a bit of a challenge.”
Another aspect of this type of published scientific writing is the peer-review process, which can be both arduous and time-consuming.
“Once I sent out the first draft to the journal, different academics from all over the world reviewed the draft and sent us comments on what they thought was lacking or needed to be fixed in the paper,” she added. “Addressing those comments by explaining our ideas and the methodology of the research in a simple, concise way was pretty challenging.”
In total, the process from initial submission to publication took approximately six months.
“I expected the process to take much longer, so I’m pretty grateful that our paper was able to be published pretty quickly within six months!” Aditi said.
Aditi will attend Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science this fall.
“I’m interested in studying computer science and artificial intelligence,” she said. “I hope to eventually merge my interests in biology and applied math/computer science to apply computational methods to medicine in the future.”
Language scholarship
(PIC) Upper St. Clair High School senior Tyler Besselman was recently awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship for 2017-18. Tyler will study at the Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from August 2017 through June 2018.
While in Taiwan, Tyler will reside with a Taiwanese host family and will participate in 14 hours of intensive Mandarin Chinese instruction per week. In addition, he will receive one-on-one Chinese tutoring, four hours of elective university courses as well as monthly cultural activities and excursions.
BPHS receives grant
Bethel Park High School Science Teachers Monica Graziani and Alex Winschel received a $600 Equipment Grant from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh for laboratory equipment that will enhance students’ understanding of spectroscopy, which is the study of interaction between matter and light.
With the grant, the teachers were able to purchase SpectroVis Plus Spectrophotometers, which will be used in Biology and Chemistry classes to study light.
The equipment is compatible with the one-to-one Chromebooks the students use on a daily basis, as well as the LabQuest software the students have access to in the Science Laboratory.
The award was presented at a May 24 award ceremony hosted by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh on the Duquesne University campus.
Scholarship recipient
(PIC) Meaghan Mescan, an eighth-grade student at Saint Anne School in Castle Shannon, has been awarded the Cardinal Donald Wuerl Scholarship from Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania. The Cardinal Wuerl Scholarship is worth $3,000 and is awarded to eighth-grade students in Western PA who are currently attending a Catholic grade school within the Dioceses of Altoona/Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg or Pittsburgh and will be entering a Catholic high school within those Dioceses in 2017. Recipients of this scholarship were recommended by their school, must have received at least two Junior Achievement classroom programs at a Catholic grade school, and had to submit an essay answering the question: “How has Junior Achievement influenced your life in your diocesan school?”
Meaghan was recently honored with her family at the Junior Achievement 2017 Diocesan Award and Scholarship Presentation Luncheon held at the LeMont Restaurant. She will be attending Seton-LaSalle Catholic High School in the fall.
Chosen fellows
A transformative professional program for U.S. history teachers has named 57 new Fellows across four states, with two Mt. Lebanon School District teachers among them: Amy Barone and Jeff Holliday, both teachers at Mellon Middle School.
The Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellowship has been expanded this year by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation to support selected middle- and high-school teachers from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, where the program originated.
The WW HistoryQuest program blends games, play, and digital tools to transform both teacher practice and student engagement.
All Fellows were first nominated by their schools and/or districts and then chosen through a rigorous selection process at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Schools and/or districts were particularly encouraged to nominate teams of teachers, to support collaboration between formal HistoryQuest sessions.
For more information on the Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellowship, visit woodrow.org/historyquest.
BPHS Students recognized
Bethel Park High School hosted its annual Awards and Recognition Program May 31 to present awards and scholarships to outstanding seniors and juniors.
Recognized that evening were: Emily Cowser – Congressman Tim Murphy’s Leaders of Tomorrow Award; Geana Scott – John Deans Memorial Scholarship; Roman Burkes – Michael J. Furey Memorial Scholarship; Abigail Gerlach – Frank L.P. Edwards Scholarship; Tessa Guarino – Bethel Park Volunteer Scholarship; Michaela Libell – Bethel Park Kiwanis Scholarship; Veronica Johns – Princeton Book Award; Dominic Galietta – Harvard Book Award; Tessa Guarino – Bethel Park Woman’s Club Scholarship; Maria Jay – Upper St. Clair/Bethel Park Rotary Club Service Above Self Award; Alyssa Bradley, Katie Bustamante, Erin Cavrak, Adrianne Slater, Katelyn Turoski and Alexandria Zallo – French National Honor Society Honor Cords; Brendan Troesch, Rachel McClaine and Kevin Yost – Hometown Hi-Q Team; Logan Runco, Jordan Hare, Alexis Caryll, Daniel Sedor-Franzak, Sarah Strickland, Jordan Stelmaszynski and Maria Winzek – Slipper Rock University Scholarships; Krista Wycinsky, Connor Savrese, Cole Rogers, Aliana Millick, Nicholas Kalogeris, Morgan Gloeckl and Cory Clark – California University of PA Scholarships; Jessica Viehman and Emily Cowser – Rotary Club of Bethel Park Scholarship; Caleb Pierson – Bethel Park Lions Club Scholarship; Ryan Pfab – Rosemary Gainar Scholarship; Jeremy Lazzari and Marisa Johnson – United States Army Reserves Male/Female Student Athlete Award; Nathan Hoppe – Bethel Bakery Scholarship; Ryan Pfab – Ken Waldie Memorial Scholarship; Jessica Viehman – Westinghouse Women in Nuclear Scholarship; Jessica Viehman – American Legion Post 760 Scholarship; Rachel McClaine – American Legion Post 760 Riders Scholarship; Jordan Hare and Michaela Libell – Bethel Park Federation of Teachers Scholarship; Olivia Fabus – Jennifer A. Morgan Memorial Scholarship; Hannah Redinger – Angel F. Miranda Achievement Award; Kelsey Quinn – Sydney Romanus Memorial Scholarship; Zach Gorman and Adriane Slater – National Honor Society Scholarships; Rachel McClaine – National Merit Scholarship; Nathan Makowski, Megan McClary and Ryan Pfab – National Merit Scholarship Commended Students; Alexa Patrizio – National Merit Special Scholarship; Kayla Armstrong – Brown University Book Award; John Measures and Tania Beattie – Ben Franklin PTO Scholarship; Jennifer Gavett and Tim Christopher – Lois Johnson Learning/Child Care Scholarship; Bryan Sherman – Dr. Gary Cartwright Scholarship; Michelle Raymond – Maguire Foundation Scholarship; Carolyn Cook and Caleb Pierson – WPIAL Scholar Athletes; Max Heller and Olivia Fabus – SHASDA Awards; Tessa Guarino, Ryan Pfab, Jessica Fanning and Carolyn Cook – Principals Advisory Council for Students Scholarship; Erin Ridge and Michaela Libell – Senior Year Perfect Attendance Award; Joshua Poe – Spirit Award; Michaela Libell and Daniel Sedor-Franzak – Dr. Thomas A. Knight Memorial Scholarship; Kyle Coplan – Valedictorian; Elizabeth Jensen – Salutatorian.
IMS students recognized
Independence Middle School eighth graders were recognized for their academic, athletic, artistic and leadership accomplishments at the annual Eighth Grade Awards Program held on June 1.
The following students were recognized: Elise Turka and Demetrios Patrinos – American Legion Award; Brock Doman and Elijah Sperring – Sgt. Russell Kurtz Patriotism Award; Emma Hand – Bethel Woman’s Club Award; Kelly Katilius and Jackson Banes – Principal’s Award; Abigail Phillips and Nicholas Massari – Assistant Principal’s Award; Noah James, Genelle Jenkins and Belinda Toledo – Counselors’ Award; Michael Walsh (Argumentative) and Abigail Phillips (Narrative) – Stephen Chbosky Writing Award; Emily Carter, Olivia Tabler and Alyssa Vetere – VFW’s Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest Finalists; Leah Pellis – Suzanne Reid Music Award; Jane Baronak and Santino Buzzi – Nancy Gleason Gavola Award in Drama; Abby Cannon, Kelsey Aronhalt, Jackson Banes and Andrew Fullerton – Drama Club Awards; Emily Carter and Michael Francus – Marissa Boyan Scholar Athlete Award; Katelyn Sams and Anthony Martinelli (Team 8A), Talia Rajasekar and Dominic Palombia (Team 8B), Belinda Toledo and Shane Davin (Team 8C) – Stephanie Petit Award; Julia Trusnovic – Spirit of Independence Award; Emily Guffey, Jonathan Kohler, Zachary Rectenwald, Henry Veltum and Logan Wright – Attendance Awards; Julianna Capozzi, Julia Casaldi, Jake Cook, Sierra Kuzak, Danielle McDonald, Demetrios Patrinos, Talia Rajasekar, Samuel Robinson, Katelyn Sams, Elise Turka, Macie Runco, Victoria Vinay, Emily Carter, Emily Guffey, Alyssa Vetere and Zachary Rectenwald – Spanish Award; Anthony Martinelli, Olivia Tabler, Ben Sommer and Abby Cannon – German Award; Gina Caruso, Natalie Manns, Tobias Roule and Kevin Collins – French Award; Tanush Bahl and Grace Gealey – Latin Award; Lilly Miller, Abby Phillips, Weeam Boumaza, Emily Momchilovich, Brianna Hayes, Makayla Carter, Jessica Toogood, Tessa Wagner, Alyssa Vetere and Kelly Katilius – FCCLA Awards