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School news: Week of Dec. 6

4 min read

New principal

Dirda

At the Nov. 13 Mt. Lebanon School Board meeting, the board unanimously approved the appointment of Natasha Dirda as the new principal of Markham Elementary School. Dirda is currently a unit principal at Mt. Lebanon High School, where she has served since 2015. Prior to her position at the high school, she taught at Upper St. Clair and North Hills high schools. Her start date is still to be determined.

Dirda has a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree from Robert Morris University, a K-12 principal’s certification from California University and is currently enrolled in the doctoral of education program at the University of Pittsburgh.

BP apprenticeships

Twenty-one Bethel Park High School students successfully applied and were accepted to participate in apprenticeship programs this school year, sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

Participating in these programs will be seniors Taylor Garrity (Engineering), Kristen Haddox (Conducting), Emma Harris (Graphic Design), Elizabeth Hartnett (Musical Theater), Hannah Hathaway (Nursing), Katrina Janusek (Filmmaking), Kathryn Kimes (Conducting), Jacob Opie (Writing for Publication), Savannah Popp (Nursing), Preston Smith (Zoo Animal Care), Sabrina Tatalias (Engineering), Greydon Tomkowitz (International Affairs), Kaylee Vanhorenbeck (Zoo Animal Care) and Joseph Wright (Engineering).

Also accepted into these programs are juniors Samantha Brown (Zoo Animal Care), Will Coplan (Zoo Animal Care), Rachel Holt (Astronomy), Emma Petrick (Journalistic Writing and Reporting), Alexa Will (International Affairs); sophomore Kyle Bailey (Zoo Animal Care) and freshman Trinity Ferency (Art Careers).

The Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Apprenticeship Program consists of one half-day or day-long learning experience per month over a six- or seven-month period during the school year.

Students meet and work with local professionals who are willing to share their expertise, experience and enthusiasm for what they do for a living with the students.

USC excels in math

Upper St. Clair High School students swept the first and second place team and individual finishes in the 11th/12th grade category of the recent CalcuSolve, a competition that tests students’ problem-solving skills related to mathematics.

The team of seniors Sahil Doshi, Spencer Miller and Abbie Wagner along with sophomore Braden Yates, won first place, and the team of seniors Steven Cheung, Ariana Chiu and Kriti Shah as well as junior Sam Ding placed second. In individual competition, Sam Ding and Sahil Doshi tied for second place, while Braden Yates placed first.

At the ninth/10th grade competition, two Upper St. Clair teams tied for second place – the team of sophomores Jason Choi and Katie Hobart as well as freshmen Harrison Chui and Kathy Li, and the team of sophomores Aleksa Rodic and Braden Yates and freshmen Christian Chiu and Reshma Gudla. In individual competition, Braden Yates finished second and Harrison Chui placed third.

The CalcuSolve events, sponsored by the II-VI Foundation and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, were on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13 at Duquesne University. Schools from throughout Allegheny County participated in the math competition.

Team coaches/facilitators Ms. Gibson and Pat Palazzolo accompanied students as they represented Upper St. Clair.

Additional ninth/10th grade team members include freshmen Sadhana Boddhula, Reshma Gudla, Ishaan Shah, Sophia Shi and Henry Zou; and sophomores Claire Chen, Jack Clark, Eri Hayakawa and Ben Nelson. Also competing at the 11th/12th grade level were juniors Brooke Christiansen and Serena Luo and seniors Matt Higgs and James Khor.

Franklin receives grant

Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in the Bethel Park School District was the recipient of a $1,000 Adopt-A-Classroom Grant from the Bethel Park Burlington Coat Factory store in Village Square Mall. The grant will be used to purchase books, games, crafts and resources for the Therapy Room at the school. The grant was received by Bethel Park Elementary School Social Worker Laura Popovski.

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