School News Week of June 14
Bethel Park
• The Bethel Woman’s Club recently awarded its annual scholarship to Alexis Kiesling, who is making it a family tradition. Her grandmother was a scholarship winner when she graduated from Bethel Park High School. As an 8th Grade student, Alexis also won the Independence Middle School Award given by the Woman’s Club.
She is the daughter of Matt and Kristen Kiesling and plans to attend West Virginia University, where she will be a featured twirler and be pursuing a career in physical therapy.
• Independence Middle School family consumer science teacher Heather Fontana has been elected to the Pennsylvania Family Career and Community Leaders of America Board of Directors.
As a member of the FCCLA state board, she will represent middle school educators and students across the state.
She has been teaching at Independence Middle School for seven years and has been sponsoring the IMS FCCLA Club for the past six. In 2019, the school received the FCCLA Chapter Award for having the largest percentage increase in membership at the middle-school level throughout the state.
• Abraham Lincoln Elementary School special education paraprofessional Paula DeFelice was selected by the Consortium of Public Education and the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania as one three of the 2020 Champions of Learning finalists in the school staff category.
She was nominated by fellow Lincoln special education paraprofessional Susan Wholey.
Champions of Learning are honored for their efforts to create innovative learning experiences for youth by going out of their way to support, mentor and give guidance to children who need it.
The champions are annually recognized at a dinner to be held in May at the Marriott City Center, but it is still undetermined if or when this year’s dinner will be held.
• Twenty-two Bethel Park High School students received recognition for their high scores on the National French Exam, Le Grand Concours 2020, earning four silver medals, seven bronze medals and 11 honorable mentions.
Senior Caleb Shook and junior Marissa Wycinsky earned silver medals on the French IV exam, for scoring in the 90th-85th percentile. Sophomore Oluwatoyosi Egbebi earned silver on the French III exam, and freshman Addison Hill earned silver on the French II exam.
Junior Tobias Roule earned a bronze medal on the French IV exam for scoring in the 80th-75th percentile. Junior Tia Kean and sophomore Allison Scarlett earned bronze medals on the French III exam, with freshmen Tatum Brown, Helena Gable, Yingzhi Lu and Katharine Tena earning bronze medals on the French III exam.
Sophomores Megan Cunningham, Sadie Fedor, Alexandros Fekos and Riley Hunter earned honorable mentions on the French III exam for scoring between the 70th and 50th percentiles. Sophomores Summer Barkley and Max Smith joined freshmen Leah Armstrong, Aletris Eckert, Anna Marie Lorenzi, Cora Martin-Farmer and Charlotte Rose in earning honorable mention on the French II exam.
This year the Exams were administered via an online platform, which had students taking the tests at home. The students are instructed by Bethel Park High School French teachers Tracy McCoy and Rachael Smith.
Mt. Lebanon
• The Mt. Lebanon Class of 2020 raised $8,000, which represents 40,000 meals, for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank during seniors’ Blue and Gold Spirit Week.
Seniors also purchased yard signs designed by the Baverso family, and $1,000 of sign proceeds went directly to the food bank. Senior Harrison Lilley donated his time to make a video of all the blue-and-gold-decorated residences.