Principal's           

          Report

        South Fayette High School

           February 16, 2006

 

              From the Offices of Ann Bisignani, High School Principal

              and Aaron Skrbin,, Assistant High School Principal

 

 

STUDENTS NOMINATED AS OUTSTANDING YOUNG CITIZENS

 

Ten seniors have been nominated for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Outstanding Young Citizen Award.  Based on their academic performance, leadership, and community service activities, I completed nomination forms for each student which were submitted to the Trib.  The judges will select 100 Awardees, and of these, ten will be selected as Gold Medalists.  Awardees and medalists will be honored at the Outstanding Young Citizen Banquet on Tuesday, May 9, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Coraopolis.  South Fayette’s nominees are Alexandra Sahady, Cara Fornella, Andrew DiDonato, Lora Werkmeister, Daniel Sekelik, Nicholas Brozack, Katelyn Gardner, Jason Wilcox, Kayla Frattini, and Allison Hughes.  Good luck to all!

 

 

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

 

Congratulations to January’s Students of the Month, who were selected based on the theme of Positive Role Model!  They are:  Grade 9, Alana George and Shruti Valjee; Grade 10, Shane Robertson and Austin Schwartz;  Grade 11, Elizabeth McCartney and Meghan Rose; and Grade 12, Lindsey Curtin and Andrew DiDonato. The students have received free lunch tickets and VIP lunch service, along with a framed certificate for their accomplishment. 

 

 

LEADERS AND ACHIEVERS AWARD

 

Senior Lora Werkmeister has been nominated for the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program based on her academic achievement, positive attitude, leadership skills, and her community service activities.  The Comcast Foundation will award one-time scholarships of $1,000 to as many as 1,500 students to support their pursuit of higher education.  In addition to being a top leader in the school, nominees had to demonstrate exemplary commitment to their community through their volunteerism.  Good luck to Lora as she proceeds in this competitive process!

 

 

 

 

SOUTH FAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS SUPERINTENDENTS’ CONSORTIUM STUDENT LEADERSHIP GROUP

 

On Thursday, February 9, South Fayette High School hosted a 30 member panel consisting of students and administrators from Bedford Area School District, Pine-Richland School District, Quaker Valley School District and Wilkinsburg School District at the fourth meeting of the Student Leadership Group.  The students spent the morning discussing high school reform with Dr. Joe Werlenic.  After a delicious lunch provided by South Fayette food services, students had the opportunity to tour a variety of classrooms  with SFHS students.  The day concluded with a planning session to outline future meetings that the five anchor schools will lead with other high schools in their regions.  Thus far, this endeavor has met with much success and enthusiasm on the part of students and administrators alike.  Three future sessions are scheduled through the remainder of the academic year, with the final meeting being a presentation to the Western Pennsylvania Superintendents’ Consortium in May.

 

 

PROJECT 720 COMMITTEE GETS UNDERWAY

 

The inaugural meeting of South Fayette High School’s Project 720 Committee was held on the evening of Tuesday, January 31 in the high school conference center.   The committee has over 35 members consisting of community business leaders, parents, students, teachers, administrators, and school board members.  After a brief overview of Project 720, the committee enjoyed a working dinner getting to know each other and reviewing questions to guide the discussion for the evening.  After dinner, students from each table presented the responses and a round robin discussion was held on several of the topics.  The evening concluded with an assignment to read a portion of the book, College Knowledge.  Thus far, feedback from the meeting has been overwhelmingly positive.  The second committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 23, from 6:00 – 8:00 in the high school conference center.

 

 

HOLOCAUST ASSEMBLY

 

On February 28 there will be a grade level assembly for the tenth grade featuring Jack Sittsamer, a Holocaust camp survivor. This assembly will serve as an introduction to our interdisciplinary English 10 and Honors English 10 Elie Wiesel Night unit as well as the Honors World Cultures 10 and World Cultures 10 Holocaust unit. This assembly will enhance the student’s learning by giving them a primary source perspective of the Holocaust and its impact on all people involved. Mr. Sittsamer was born on December 30, 1924, in Mielec, Poland, the son of Moses and Perla Sittsamer. He was approximately fifteen when he was deported to his first concentration camp. He was in concentration camps in Mielec and Wieliczka, Poland; Flossenburg, Germany; Leitmeritz, Czechoslovakia; Mauthausen and Gussyn II, Austria. Mr. Sittsamer was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust and will be discussing his experience and the aftermath with students during the assembly. He will also answer any questions they may have about his experience during or after the Holocaust.  (Article submitted by Kristen Hodgson)

 

 

 

PARKWAY WEST ANNOUNCES OPEN HOUSE

                                                                                                        

Parkway West Career & Technology Center announces its spring Open House date for 2006 will be Thursday, March 9, 2006, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the school. Parkway is located at 7101 Steubenville Pike in North Fayette Township.  During the Open House, any student in the western suburb high schools in grades 9, 10, or 11, and their parents, are welcome to visit. There will be demonstrations, displays, refreshments, and prizes during the evening. The school serves high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12 by providing 16 areas of training in career, academic, and technical programs.

 

 

FBLA STUDENTS CAPTURE AWARDS, ADVANCE TO STATES

 

A proud FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) sponsor, Mrs. Terry Hart, announced that as a result of the Regional Leadership Conference and Competition held at Bishop Canevin High School in January, 15 students who competed from South Fayette qualified for the State Leadership Conference and Competition in Hershey in April!  The 15 students and their respective competitive events are:

 

Angelo Bartic

3rd place

Accounting I

Shruti Valjee

3rd place

Business Math

Amanda Walasik

2nd place

Business Math

Doug Fleisner

2nd place

Business Procedures

The team of

Ashley Schmider and Taylor Kalina

2nd place

Desktop Publishing

Justin Merhaut

2nd place

Economics

Michael DePaul

1st place

Economics

Kacey Symosko

2nd place

FBLA Principles and Procedures

Michael Mattarock

2nd place

Introduction to Business Communication

Colin Campbell

2nd place

Marketing

Whitney Thomas

1st place

Marketing

Andrew Klimek

1st place

Public Speaking II

Kevin Hunter

3rd place

Visual Basic Programming

Alex Gehrlein

2nd place

Visual Basic Programming

 

Students competing in the Regional Conference also included Dipal Patel, Lauren Zaker, Craig Lenart, Zach Barzanty, Dan Sekelik, Alex Kalina, Richard Kreush, Steve Opar, Claire Eckroate, Dan Struth, Matt Darnley, Garret Fink, Andy Lesniakowski, Zack Gleason, Jackie Kalina, Steve Nicholas, Samantha McAndrews, Don Ingham, Andrew McClelland, Megan Morgan, Ryan Castanet, Mike Venetti, and Ben McKee.

 

PRESCHOOL HAPPENINGS

 

Pre-School Teacher Mrs. Judy Morally is keeping both four-year-old and high school students busy with a packed line-up of guest speakers and events.  Visitors from Easter Seals will be here on February 23 and 24 to do their annual “Building Disability Awareness” program for the preschool.  On March 1 and 2, the children will be celebrating Dr. Suess’ birthday.  They will be receiving reading awards, and the group will be going to the library where Mrs. Billy will be reading stories to the children. Representatives from the Pittsburgh Zoo will be here on March 14 and 15 to do another presentation with live animals for the kids.  It is called Super Senses and is funded through the Elementary PTA program.

 

 

CRIMINAL SCIENCE CLUB MEMBERS OBSERVE CSI IN ACTION

 

On Thursday, February 9, 2006, 34 members of the South Fayette Criminal Science Club took a field trip to the Allegheny County Police Department Headquarters.  Students were given a behind-the-scenes look at the process of conducting criminal investigations and a tour of Allegheny County Police facilities by Lt. Robert Downy and Lt. Walter Kaczor.  Included in the tour were the Allegheny County 911 Call Center, Operations Control Center, evidence storage lockers, Audio and Video Forensics Unit, and the new Vehicle Processing Center.  Students then spent about an hour learning and practicing fingerprinting techniques, observing evidence processing, and discussing burglary, missing-person, and criminal mischief cases with detectives.  A special thank you to Mr. McGowan for arranging this opportunity for our students and submitting this article and photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Criminal Science Club members observe the techniques

involved with lifting fingerprints from a bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Junior Sarah Brown practices lifting fingerprints from a soda can.

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO . . .

 

¨       Ninth grade trumpeter Dan Santiso, ninth grade clarinetist Nick Hirsch, eighth grade flautist Shannon Smith, and eighth grade trumpeter Trent Kulus who have been selected to perform in the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) Jr. High District Band at Trinity High School, on Friday, February 17 and Saturday, February 18.  These students will represent South Fayette School District as they perform alongside 140+ students from local districts on Saturday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m., in the Trinity High School Auditorium.

¨      Megan Rooney who broke the 500 freestyle school record at the swim meet last month at Carlynton. Megan swam the event in 5:30:36 and broke a record that had previously been set in 1999.

¨      Luke Morgan who broke the school diving record with a score of 279.25 at the swim meet against Montour.  He also broke a record that had previously been set in 1999.

¨      Senior Caitlin Mours, who has applied for the Wiegand Summer Internship at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh.  A special thanks to her teacher, Mr. Jeff McGowan, for encouraging Caitlin to complete this competitive process.  It is a wonderful opportunity for Caitlin, and we wish her good luck as she waits for word of the intern selections.

¨      Andrew DiDonato and Kayla Frattini, who were nominated for the Downtown YMCA Scholar/Athlete Award as well as the WPIAL Scholar/Athlete Award.

¨      Garrett Vidak, who earned his Eagle Scout Award on January 14.

¨      The Art Club, under the direction of Mr. Patrick McAndrew, who received a thank you check from the Greater Bridgeville Area Chamber of Commerce for the wonderful job they had done in decorating the windows of area businesses for the holidays.

¨      Jason Wilcox, senior, trumpet; Alyssa DeYoung, junior, oboe; and Garrett Vidak, sophomore, tenor saxophone, who were selected by audition to the PMEA Region/State Band.  Jason, Alyssa, and Garrett will perform with the PMEA Region/State Band on March 1-3 at North Allegheny High School!

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

 

¨      Seniors met with a representative from Jostens to order caps and gowns and, if desired, graduation announcements.

¨      Mr. Michael Mackey hosted the 2006 PMEA District Band Festival for over 140 students in our facility in January.  The concert was phenomenal, and the three-day event was a testimony to the hard work and effort that went into coordinating such a concert for area teachers and students.  Congratulations, Mr. Mackey!

¨      Students working with Mr. Felix Yerace on Model UN attended their second conference of the school year at Duquesne University on January 27 and 28.

¨      Students in Grade 11 completed the Writing portion of the PSSA exam this week.

¨      Members of Student Government had their monthly “Lunch with the Principal” on February 9.  This is always a wonderful time of conversation and idea-sharing.

¨      A team from PAPSA (Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators) visited the district for three days for a review of Guidance Services K-12.  During that time, they conversed with parents, teachers, students, counselors, and administrators and presented us with an oral exit report prior to leaving on Wednesday.  A written report will be forthcoming within three weeks.

¨      Faculty and Staff participated in “Steeler Mania Week” leading up to the Super Bowl with a door decorating contest, Trivia Day, Terrible Towel Day, Steeler Hat Day, face painting, “Best Dressed Fan” Contest, prizes, and lots of fun!  The Steeler victory in the Super Bowl capped off a week of activities that will long be remembered by all!

 

 

MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES ATTENDED

 

Mrs. Ullom & Mr. Taylor – Math-Science Partnership Meeting

Mr. Patrick McAndrew – “On the Edge of a New Aesthetic in a New Century” Seminar

Mrs. Bisignani – Advanced Principals’ Leadership Academy, Pittsburgh

Mrs. Bisignani, Mrs. Wiernik, Mrs. Mackey – SHASDA Principals’/Teachers’ Meeting, West Mifflin High School

Mr. Skrbin – Parkway Principals’ Meeting

Mr. Farkas – Tri-County AD Meeting

Mr. Farkas – WPIAL Soccer Meering

Mr. Farkas – WPIAL Football Conference Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 


February, 2006

 

ü      20 – President’s Day – NO SCHOOL

ü      21 – Balfour Ring Assembly, Grade 10, 12:15 p.m.

ü      21 – High School Principals Meet with School Board to Present Budget for 2006-2007, 7 p.m.

ü      23 – Faculty Meeting – 2:05 p.m., Conference Center

ü      23 – Project 720 Committee Meeting, 6-8 p.m.

ü      28 – Holocaust Assembly

 

March, 2006

 

ü      2 – Interim Progress Report Day

ü      2-4 – PMEA Region/State Band

ü      2 – Administrative Meeting, 9 a.m. - Noon

ü      6 – Two-Hour Late Start for Professional Development

ü      7 – Faculty Meeting, 2:05 p.m., Conference Center

ü      7 – Career Blast, 7-9 p.m.

ü      9 – No School for Parkway Students

ü      13 – Staff Development Day (No School for Students)

ü      14 – Student Government Luncheon

ü      14 – New Teacher Meeting, 2:05 p.m., Main Office Conference Room

ü      15 – SHASDA Principals’ Meeting, 8-10:30 a.m.

ü      16-18 – PMEA Region/State Chorus

ü      16 – Weather Preparedness Drill

ü      20-24 – PSSA Math/Reading Exams/Terra Novas

ü      30 – Administrative Meeting, Noon – 3 p.m.