School: Week of May 31
Viehman
Burns
Conaboy
Shah
Shaw
Norman
Fabus
Heller
Zalla
Tobias
Richert
NHS inductees
The Bethel Park High School Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 61 new members, including one senior, 11 juniors and 49 sophomores, at a ceremony which was held on Wednesday, April 19 in the Bethel Park High School auditorium.
To be eligible for induction, students had to have a 3.85 cumulative GPA, perform a minimum of 35 hours of community service over the course of one year prior to induction, demonstrate leadership and submit two letters of recommendation from Bethel Park High School faculty.
Participating in the Induction Ceremony were senior Alyssa Bradley and juniors Kariane Coffield, Andrew Davis, Elaine Drahusz, Jeffrey Hart, Kalie Kuss, Jillian Loeffelbein, William May, Elizabeth Murphy, Bailey Sims, Connor Wholey and Sam Wilhelm.
Sophomores Eliza Albenze, Mason Bussard, Eli Collavo, Sean Conroy, Will Coplan, Natalie DiGiorno, Macey Eckert, Maggie Fertal, Kyleigh Flood, Lori Gatz, Alyssa George, Riley Gloeckl, Regan Gray, Blake Hagerty, Morgan Heller and Rachel Holt were also inducted.
Additionally, Patra Hsu, Benjamin Hultz, Samantha Huwe, Abigail Kauric, Jaclyn Kogler, Jessie Kogler, Emily Kraska, Anthony Lucchitti, Ashlyn Lutton, Katelyn Marcovecchio, Will Martin-Farmer, Taylor Morosetti, Sarah Pellis, Jenna Peretin, Emma Petrick, Lindsay Pfab and William Rooney were inducted.
Also inducted were Desiree Saether, Kiersten Schultz, Isabella Sciullo, Alexa Sepesky, Kelly Shelpman, Julianne Stein, Sabrina Swetoha, Victoria Swetoha, Erin Thompson, Sarah Thompson, Ryan Tischler, Holly Troesch, Jerry Varghese, Evan Welsh, Kara Wentz and Alexa Will.
Speaking on the four pillars of the National Honor Society were seniors Courtney Manns, who spoke on Character; Megan McClary, Scholarship; Nathan Makowski, Leadership and Samuel Gobbie, Service.
Bethel Park High School Science Teacher Sean O’Brien is the Faculty Advisor to the National Honor Society.
PRSEF awards
Two Bethel Park High School students earned several awards and scholarships at the 78th annual Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair held at Heinz Field.
Bethel Park High School senior Jessica Viehman earned seven awards including a Second Place $150 award in the Senior Category, in recognition of scientific excellence in engineering for her project, “Geopolymer Concrete: The New Standard?” Jessica also received an Affiliate Sponsor Award from the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps Office of Naval Research; the Arconic Foundation Diamond Sponsor Award; the Society of American Military Engineers Pittsburgh Post Sponsor Award; a Sponsor Award and Internship Offer from the American Society of Civil Engineers Pittsburgh Section; a Sponsor Award from the Webb Law Firm and the Associate Scientist Perseverance Award from PRSEF in recognition of her four years of active participation.
Junior Angela Burns received scholarships from Allegheny College and Chatham University for her project, “Identifying Genes That Regulate Apoptosis in D. Melanogaster.” Angela worked on this project as a 2016 Summer Intern with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Summer Academy.
PRSEF highlights student research projects in science, math and engineering by students in grades 6-12 from 21 Western Pennsylvania counties and Garrett County, Maryland.
Bethel Park High School Science Teachers Randi Durmis and Barbara Eisel prepared the students for this competition.
Angela also was selected for the second consecutive year to participate as a Summer Intern in the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Summer Academy, which will be held June 16-August 4.
This summer Angela will be working with University of Pittsburgh Cancer Researchers at the Hillman Cancer Center at Shadyside Hospital, focusing on the molecular biology aspects of cancer research.
Last summer she worked in the Drug Discovery and Computational Biology Lab in Pitt’s Biomedical Science Tower, studying apoptosis and why tumors grow.
She was encouraged to apply for this internship through her participation last year in a multi-day Biology Lab exercise at Bethel Park High School, where Bethel Park High School Biology students worked alongside Pitt Cancer Researchers to extract DNA from their favorite snack foods to determine if Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) were present.
Angela enjoys participating in lab work and she especially enjoyed making new friends through last year’s Summer Internship at Pitt. Her experience last summer convinced her that she wants to make cancer research her career.
Essay contest winner
Neil Armstrong Middle School fifth-grader Artemis Conaboy was one of the winners of the “Why STEM Learning Is Important To My Future” essay contest, sponsored by Fun Slides Carpet Skate Park and radio station STAR 100.7 FM.
As a winner of the contest, all of the students on NAMS Team Atlantis will enjoy a free field trip to Fun Slides Carpet Skate Park. Artemis was announced as a winner on STAR 100.7 FM’s “The Bubba Show” morning radio broadcast.
In her essay, Artemis wrote: “Many children like myself dream of making a difference in this world. Engineers are a big part of why this system we humans call life works well. STEM is a major part of thousands of kids around the country’s future.”
Engineering award
(pic) An Upper St. Clair High School junior is one of two SWENext Northrop Grumman Community Award Recipients from the Pittsburgh area. Kriti Shah was formally recognized during the Society of Women in Engineers conference.
Students were asked to propose a solution to improve Pittsburgh’s infrastructure that helps both people and the environment. Kriti’s solution was to melt snow on roads and bridges by using solar panels.
The program was open to high school students throughout the Pittsburgh region. Participants were required to submit a video or essay describing the problem and their proposed solution.
As an award recipient, Kriti had the opportunity to help at the SWENext Design Lab Pittsburgh, a hands-on engineering experience designed to encourage girls to choose a career in engineering. In addition, she was honored at a banquet where she received a 3-D printed trophy, a $100 Amazon gift card and other items from the Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Chinese writing awards
(PIC-2) Two Upper St. Clair High School students recently earned Excellent Writing Awards from the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Western Pennsylvania. Junior Savannah Shaw and senior Victoria Norman were recognized for their intermediate-advanced level writing.
The event, the first ever hosted by CLTA-WPA, was open to students in grades 6-12 who are studying the Chinese language. The competition was organized into three categories: Category I for grades 6-8; Category II for beginner-level high school students; and Category III for intermediate to advanced high school students.
Savannah and Victoria receive Chinese instruction from Zhechao Lei, Upper St. Clair High School Chinese teacher.
Students were able to write about any topic as long as it is related to their Chinese study. Six to 10 essays from each category were selected to receive a CLTA-WPA 2017 Excellent Writing Award.
Winners were recognized at the CLTA-WPA Excellent Writing Award celebration event on April 1, at Sewickley Academy.
Latin NHS
Twenty-six Bethel Park High School students were inducted into the National Latin Honor Society.
Inducted this year were Latin V seniors Ken Barnhart and Courtney Manns, as well as Latin IV seniors Emily Cowser, Lily Farmerie and Heather Walker. Other Latin IV students who were inducted were juniors Nathan Cassano, Paige Davidson, Alexander DiPrampero, Lizzie Hartnett, Korey Patterson and Brianna Shannon.
Fifteen Latin III students were inducted. They are: juniors Avery Hill, Alex Keplar and Saige Pinke as well as sophomores Eliza Albenze, Alyssa Dixon, Leslie Folino, Alyssa George, Ariana Guerra, Morgan Heller, Brenna Manko, Jenna Peretin, Julianne Stein, Ryan Tischler, Christopher Toth and Julia Wright.
At the induction ceremony, the five seniors were also recognized because they will graduate with a 90 percent or higher Latin study average. They are: Ken Barnhart, Emily Cowser, Lily Farmerie, Courtney Manns and Heather Walker.
The students are taught by Bethel Park High School Latin Teacher Ellen Conrad.
German NHS
Ten Bethel Park High School Honors German students were inducted into the Bethel Park High School Chapter of the Delta Epsilon Phi German National Honor Society.
Inducted this year were junior Tyler Crider, sophomores Vincent Vituccio, Jerry Varghese and Alec Wilson, as well as freshmen Rachel Craven, Sam Donaldson, Brandon Janus, Gabrielle Straub, Lily Wilson and Logan Zivic.
The students are taught by Bethel Park High School German Teacher Christopher Tobias.
Science Olympiad awards
Bethel Park High School and Independence Middle School students earned eight awards at the Southwest Regional Science Olympiad at California University of Pennsylvania.
This competition had students competing as teams in 23 different events that tested their knowledge in all areas of science, problem solving, engineering and design.
Earning a Second Place Award in the Helicopters Event were junior Dillon Pusateri and freshman Logan Huwe.
Senior Emily Cowser and junior Evan Aronhalt earned a Third Place Award in the Chemistry Lab Event, and freshmen Sarah Gilliam and Sarah Long earned a Third Place in the Write It Do It Event.
Earning Fourth Place awards were juniors Max McKitrick, Dillon Pusateri and Joseph Wright in the Experimental Design Event; Mac McKitrick and Dillon Pusateri in the Invasive Species Event; Evan Aronhalt and Emily Cowser in the Robot Arm Event and the Tower Building Event; and seventh graders Demetri Fekos and Alex Markunas in the Optics Event.
The students were prepared for this competition by Bethel Park High School Science Teacher Barbara Eisel and Independence Middle School Science Teacher Jennifer Evans.
Computer Fair honors
Three Upper St. Clair entries placed first in their respective categories at the 2017 regional Pennsylvania High School and Middle School Computer Fairs on March 22, 2017, at the Heinz History Center. All three entries qualify to compete at the state level competition set for May 23, 2017, at Dickinson College.
At the high school level, Connor Byrnes earned first place in the Logo category with his CPU inspired design for the 2018 Pennsylvania High School Computer Fair. Connor also placed third in the Programming category with his mobile app that connects to the high school’s website to download and organize important information for students.
At the middle school level, Fort Couch students Reshma Gudla, Richa Mahajan and Sophia Shi earned first place in the Logo category with their Bridge to Innovation design for the 2018 Pennsylvania Middle School Computer Fair. And, Boyce Middle School students Matthew Earley and Connor Hyatt placed first in the Animation category, for their Dreamland: Adventures in Alice.
In addition, Fort Couch students Phoebe Chen, Sophie Chen and Shana Reddy earned third place in the Web Page Design category for their Color Blindness website. Other Upper St. Clair participants included high school students Jack Gordley and Vashisth Parekh; and Fort Couch students Maddie Bruno, Delaynie McMillan, Sambhev Saggi, Sam Scalzo, Ritvik Shah, Logan Todd and Isaac Yap.
(Pix-2) SHASDA Award
Bethel Park High School seniors Olivia Fabus and Max Heller received the SHASDA Award from the South Hills Area School Districts Association at its annual Spring Conference held April 29 at the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe.
Olivia and Max were honored along with two students from each SHASDA member high school, in recognition of their strength of character to overcome personal obstacles to achieve success in school and in life.
(PIC) Nat’l Merit Scholarship
Upper St. Clair High School senior Claire K. Zalla has been named a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship recipient – one of only 2,500 in the country.
Winners are named in every state based on the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. Students entered the scholarship competition by completing the PSAT, the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, during their junior year.
Claire will be attending Yale University this fall where she plans to study English and global affairs.
Nat’l Merit Bayer Scholarship
Upper St. Clair High School senior Paul Abrams has been named a National Merit Bayer Scholarship recipient. The scholarship, sponsored by Bayer USA Foundation, provides an annual award of $2,000 for up to four years of undergraduate study.
Paul, who will be attending Brown University in Providence, R.I., is one of approximately 1,000 corporate-sponsored National Merit award recipients. Students entered the scholarship competition by completing the PSAT, the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, during their junior year.
From approximately 1.5 million students who entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program, only about 16,000 – the top 1 percent – were named Semifinalists. In order to advance in the competition and be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, a Semifinalist had to become a Finalist by fulfilling several requirements that included submitting a detailed scholarship application and presenting a record of very high academic performance.
The program awards three types of scholarships: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarships and College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships.
Teacher awarded
(PIC) Bethel Park High School German Teacher Christopher Tobias received the Klett-USA Award from the American Association of Teachers of German and Klett-USA North America.
The award was presented to Tobias in recognition of the outstanding achievements of his students on the 2017 National German Exams, sponsored by AATG.
The award consisted of a certificate and a German grammar textbook from the Klett Publishing Company.
This is the third time Tobias has received this award from AATG. Previously, he received the award in 2002 and 2009.
Extra Effort Award
(PIC) Bethel Park High School senior Jacob Richert received the Extra Effort Award from the Steel Center for Career and Technical Education for the Fourth Quarter of the 2016-2017 school year.
The awards are given to those students who demonstrate outstanding attitude, work ethic, attendance and dependability.
This is the second time this school year that Jacob has received this award. He also received it for the Second Quarter of the 2016-2017 school year. Jacob is a student in the Building Trades Program at Steel Center.
Math competition
Sixth-grader Keshav Narasimhan and seventh-grader Daniel Wang advanced to the statewide 24 Challenge competition for their performance at the regional competition on May 11, at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.
Keshav finished first in the sixth-grade division and Daniel took first place in the seven/eight-grade division. The Pennsylvania State 24 Challenge Math Tournament will be held on June 14 in the Keystone Building Atrium in Harrisburg. Keshav and Daniel will compete against the top finishers from more than 20 intermediate units from throughout the commonwealth.
More than 100 students in grades 4 through 8 from Allegheny County competed at the AIU’s regional competition. The top three at each grade division qualified to advance to the state-level competition.
In addition to Keshav and Daniel, the following Upper St. Clair Middle School students competed at the regional competition: Boyce Middle School students
Libby Eannarino, Qadir Khan and Shubham Patel; Fort Couch Middle School students Jay Vakil and Aidan Houck.
In addition to the regional 24 Challenge competition, several Upper St. Clair students successfully competed in the local South Hills Tournament on May 5, at West Jefferson Hills School District.
Sixth-graders Keshav Narasimhan and Carter McClintock-Comeaux finished first and second respectively in their grade level.
Approximately 80 students in grades 4 through 8 from various schools in the South Hills competed in the event. In addition to Keshave and Carter, the following Boyce students participated in the math competition: fifth-grade students Libby Eannarino, Peter Engel, Shubham Patel, Aniketh Vivekenandan and Garrett Ziegler; sixth-grade students David Goldberg and Alex Todd.
Boyce conducted preliminary rounds in all 24 homerooms. Each homeroom sent a “champion” to the all-school competition where the top competitors in both fifth and sixth grades were determined.