School news: Week of Dec. 23
Poetry winner
Boyce Middle School fifth-grader Aiden Joyce earned first place in the third-fifth grade category of the 2018 National Chemistry Week illustrated poem contest, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Section of the American Chemical Society.
The illustrated poem contest was open to students in kindergarten through grade 12 in southwestern Pennsylvania, the northern panhandle of West Virginia and Jefferson County in Ohio.
Students were tasked with writing and illustrating a poem using the National Chemistry Week theme, “Chemistry is Out of This World.” Poems could be any style including haiku, limerick, free verse, etc.
German competition
A team of seven Bethel Park High School Advanced Placement German IV and German V students tied for First Place in a team competition which tested their knowledge of German culture. The competition was held as part of the Career Booster Germany-Studying and Working in Germany career day, which was organized by the Goethe-Institut of New York and held on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
Winning the competition were seniors Will Coplan, Sonja Hebestreit, Eve Rosemeier and juniors Brandon Janus, Patrick May, Lily Wilson and Logan Zivic.
They were among a group of 17 Bethel Park High School German students who attended the career day program, at which students learned about university programs, scholarships, internships and work opportunities in Germany, and how studying German can help them enhance their academic and professional careers.
The students are taught by Bethel Park High School German teacher Christopher Tobias.
Apple Award recipients
Jennifer Gallaher and Amy Luzader, fourth-grade teachers at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in the Bethel Park School District, were presented with Apple Awards from the National State Teachers of the Year – Pennsylvania Chapter.
The award is presented to Pennsylvania educators to recognize their exceptional efforts in teaching, coaching and other efforts to support educational excellence. Recipients are chosen because they make a positive difference in the lives of their students, school districts and community.
Both teachers were nominated by 2017 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Finalist Katherine Meucci, who is also a fourth-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School.
Both teachers received an Apple Award certificate and will have their names listed as Apple Award recipients in the NSTOY-PA newsletter and website.