At the root of all achievements at South Fayette is our commitment to academic excellence. The District offers an Honors Academy at the high school level to provide enrichment and advanced courses for students who desire the challenge of a rigorous college-level academic program and who have demonstrated the ability and commitment to work individually. Students enrolled in the Honors Academy must take at least five advanced placement (AP) courses before graduation.

Over the past year, many South Fayette students have brought honor and recognition to this school, our community and their families through their dedication to excellence and their willingness to challenge themselves and put in the extra effort.

In November, twelve ninth and tenth grade students represented South Fayette High School in the Calcu-Solve Competition. Freshman Kaiting Chen posted a perfect score to take first place in the individual competition. Stefen Wisniewski, Jean Zhang, Rylan Collins and Nick Brozack also finished in third place in the individual competition.

Seniors Dillon Collins and Ryan Morrow qualified for the Chemistry Enrichment Workshop sponsored by the American Chemical Society. Dillon and Ryan attended lectures and did college-level organic chemistry labs at the University of Pittsburgh. Only 20 students from the Pittsburgh area were admitted into this select program.

Dillon Collins was also named a Commended Student in the 2004 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students placed among the top 5% of more than one million students who entered the 2004 competition by taking the 2003 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. These students are recognized across the country for their exceptional academic promise.

Leadership is also a common quality in many of our students. South Fayette Senior, John Tillar was selected as the 2004 Young Leader in Action by The Almanac Community Newspaper. Tillar was given this award not only in honor of his academic achievement, but also in recognition of his commitment to the community and involvement in numerous organizations dedicated to serving the elderly and the physically challenged in our area.

South Fayette High School junior Ryan Holets was selected to attend the 2004 Summer Seminar at the United States Air Force Academy. This extremely competitive program took place over one week this summer and students from across the country had the opportunity to spend time with upperclassmen and learn what it’s like to be an Air Force Academy cadet. Ryan was selected based on his QPA, class rank, SATs, leadership and civic involvement.

Academic excellence at South Fayette is not only limited to core classes. In February, ten students from South Fayette’s technical education class took part in the Pennsylvania Technology Student Association Joint Leadership Conference. With limited time and resources, the teams were asked to construct jigs and roof trusses, modify designs on a trailer hitch and redesign house plans with added features. Several of the South Fayette teams qualified for the state competition. Under the leadership of their teacher, Mr. Brian Garlick, the students who took part in the competition were: 12th graders, Mike Boehm, TSA Club President; Tyler Romestan, Jon Ciesielski, Mike Regrut, and Nick Krobot; 11th graders, Ben Ivancza, Ryan Holets, Jason Colon, Ben Ellis and Darryl Schulz.