Congratulations to Steve Cantine, Rylan Collins, Adrienne Vollmer, and Jean Zhang, who have been named Commended Students in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program. A letter of Commendation from the school and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will be presented to these students on Awards Night. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students placed among the top 5% of more than 1.4 million students who took the PSAT exam in 2005.
Eleven students at South Fayette High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) Exams. The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams. Only 18% of the more than 1.3 million high school students in 16,000 secondary schools worldwide who took AP Exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.
At South Fayette:
Two students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average grade of 4 or higher on a 5-point scale on all AP Exams taken AND grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams: Nicholas Brozack and Kaiting Chen.
Three students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average of at least 3.5 on all exams taken AND grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams: Nicholas Brozack, Kaiting Chen, Lora Werkmeister.
One student qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all exams taken AND grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams: Michael DePaul.
Seven students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing 3 or more AP exams with grades of 3 or higher: Rylan Collins, Allison Hughes, Justin Merhaut, Caitlin Mours, Adrienne Vollmer, Jason Wilcox, and Cara Wise.
Of this year’s award recipients, four are currently juniors: Chen, Collins, Vollmer, and Wise. These students have at least one more year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn additional AP Scholar Awards.
More than 1,400 institutions award a full year’s credit (sophomore standing) to students presenting a sufficient number of qualifying grades.
Congratulations to all of our AP Scholar awardees!
Congratulations to the September Students of the Month. The theme for the month was “Awesome Attitude.” The students will receive a framed certificate and a coupon for a free lunch.
9th Grade – John Krobot and Brooke Wise
10th Grade – Bethany Jones and Alana George
11th Grade – Lauren Holmes and Ken Morgan
12th Grade – Steve Cantine and Seth Evans
The week of October 9-13 is Homecoming Spirit Week at South Fayette High School. Student Government and the Varsity Cheerleading Squad have been very active in planning an exciting week of events. Tuesday is “Mismatch Day,” Wednesday is “Wear Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month” Day, Thursday is “Formal Day,” and Friday is “Green and White Day.” More than 18 school and booster organizations will be represented with booths at our very first Homecoming Carnival to be held on Wednesday evening from 3-7 p.m. in the Stadium (weather permitting). The Homecoming Court will be announced to rousing fanfare from the Little Green Machine Marching Band. There will be a pep rally on Friday, followed by the varsity football game versus Seton-LaSalle, with the pre-game Homecoming festivities beginning at 6:45 p.m. in the Stadium. The crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen will occur at halftime. The culminating activity of the week is the annual homecoming dance on Saturday, October 14, in the High School Commons area. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for registration and pictures, and the dance will run until 10:30 p.m. More about homecoming will appear in next month’s edition!
BUDDY WALK RAISES MONEY FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
On Saturday, September 30, paraeducator Helen Cardillo and Circle of Friends members volunteered at the 12th Annual Down Syndrome Buddy Walk in North Park. This is the seventh year the club has volunteered at the walk. They were accompanied by special education teacher Jean Quinn, and paraeducators Charlene Josey and Sharon Hohn. Students helped with face painting, arts and crafts, the duck pond, trash detail, parking detail, then led the walk. They also made a $650 donation to help children with Down Syndrome. The Buddy Walk is held annually to raise awareness and acceptance of Down Syndrome, and the money raised goes towards research and to supply new parent packets.
PMEA HONORS CHOIR FESTIVAL MEMBERS SELECTED BY AUDITION
Mr. Kevin Maurer is proud to announce that South Fayette will be represented in the 2006 Honors Choir Festival by the following students:
Lauren Holmes (11) and Adam Levine(12) Danielle Winterhalter (12) was selected as an alternate.
The Festival will be held at Moon Area High School on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 4. Dr. Karen Keating from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, will be our guest conductor.
It’s been a busy month for our youngest students – the four-year-olds in Mrs. Morally’s preschool program. On September 19 and 20, JM Productions was here to take individual and group pictures of the preschool children. On September 25 and 26, the preschoolers took their first trip to the high school computer labs. Members of the Oakridge Fire hall visited with the fire truck, equipment, etc. to talk to the children about fire safety on September 29 and October 2. Officer Mike from the Allegheny County Police Department was here on October 11 and 12 to do a presentation on Halloween safety. Also on the 30th and 31st of October are the class Halloween parties. The children, as well as Mrs. Morally, will be in costume.
The HS Social Studies Department and HS Student Government are proud to announce that Bethany Darnley has been nominated to apply for the United States Senate Youth Program. Now in its 45th year, the Program is sponsored by the United States Senate and features an all-expense paid, weeklong adventure (March 3-10, 2007) with government leaders in Washington D.C., as well as the award of a $5,000 collegiate scholarship to each of two delegates from each state. Each high school is only allowed to nominate one student for this program. The student must be a junior or senior, and must be an elected officer in Student Government. Bethany Darnley is serving on the Executive Board of Student Government this year as the organization’s Treasurer. Previously, she has served on class council and as class president. Bethany will complete her application to be considered for one of Pennsylvania's two spots in this very prestigious program.
STUDENTS ATTEND PA GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE FOR WOMEN
South Fayette juniors Allison Supko and Kirsten Carr were among 500 high school students to attend the Young Women’s Program of the third annual Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on September 14, accompanied by Enrichment Coordinator Mrs. Mary Quirk.
The women’s conference provides a unique forum that is both educational and inspirational. Now in its third year, the conference welcomed five thousand women from across the Commonwealth. The attendees were treated to more than 75 speakers, including CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, journalist Anne Crittenden, and Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund, who shared their insights and experiences in the fields of health, media, business, finance, and personal development.
The Young Women’s Program consisted of four sessions: Seeing Beyond Stereotypes – a discussion of how to change one’s perception of oneself and the world by eliminating stereotypes; Life After High School – travel, college, career, and more, a discussion of options after high school; Starting Something Big – a discussion with young women who have initiated programs to effect change in the world; and Your Life Online – managing one’s profile in a technology-driven world.
This year the HS Student Government was elected to serve a one-year term on the PASC (Pennsylvania Association of Student Council's) District #3 Executive Board. Our Student Government was one of 4 schools (2 high schools and 2 middle schools) elected to serve on the Board of Directors of our Student Council District. Student Government nationally is known as NASC (National Association of Student Councils). Our state chapter is known as PASC. PASC is comprised of a number of Districts. Our district, District #3, includes all the student governments in public and private middle and high schools in Allegheny County, including the City of Pittsburgh. With our election, South Fayette will serve a one-year term on the District #3 Board. We will have input into District events, and since this year's State Conference in November is being held at Bethel Park, our students will have direct input on that, also. Advisor Mr. Felix Yerace and our student representative, Jean Zhang, the President of Student Government, will serve on the board and represent the school.
Additionally, Bethany Darnley, the Treasurer of Student Government, was selected to serve on the Board as the District Website Coordinator. In this role Bethany will work to improve communications between the District schools.
As Jean was elected to serve on the District #3 Board, she received a scholarship to attend a PASC Summer Workshop in July. This is a week-long experience held at a college campus that teaches the students leadership, teambuilding, and a host of other skills. The normal cost to attend one of these workshops is $300. Jean will be able to take all that she learned from this summer and bring it back here to South Fayette for our benefit also! Jean attended the workshop held at Susquehanna University from August 2-6th. Sarah Brown, the Vice-President of Student Government, also attended this workshop and learned much about leadership and Student Government.
South Fayette HS was also selected to host the District #3 Exchange Night. This event will take place on Tuesday, January 16th, from 6 to 8:30 at the high school. All schools in Allegheny County will be invited to send students to this event, which will serve as an idea exchange night for students who participate.
The High School held its annual Fall Open House and Curriculum Night on September 21.
Interim Progress Reports were issued to high school students on September 22 showing academic progress as of the mid-point of the first nine weeks.
The first Graduation Project Day of the 2006-2007 school year was held on September 25. All 9th graders and new students were given an project advisor who will work them for the next four years on various aspects of the project.
The following students have been recommended by the Science Department to participate in the Westinghouse Honors Institute Saturday Lecture Series: Stephanie Leger, William Leger, and Shifa Rish
Representing South Fayette High School at the Quiz Bowl on October 10 were: Angelo Bartic, Steve Cantine, Stefan Chaussard, Kaiting Chen, Rylan Collins, Doug Fleisner, Nicole Gaab, Adam Levine, Steve Opar, Allison Supko, and Adrienne Vollmer.
September 14 – Allison Supko and Kirsten Carr attended the PA Governor’s Conference for Women with Enrichment Coordinator Mrs. Mary Quirk at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The feedback was that the conference was excellent!
September 15 – We were notified that six high school teachers were nominated by their former students for inclusion in the 2006 Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers: Mrs. Chris Kosik, Mrs. Judy Morally, Mr. Kevin Maurer, and Mr. Alex Hobbs! Congratulations!
September 18 – Bethany Darnley was nominated by the Social Studies Department to represent South Fayette in the U.S. Senate Youth Program, featuring an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, to meet with government leaders and a chance for a $5,000 scholarship. Two representatives will be selected from the state of Pennsylvania for the program.
September 19 – We welcomed Frank Greenwood as the new Instructional Technology Assistant, working with teachers and students in the high school computer lab and throughout the building.
September 20 – We congratulate ninth grader Shannon Smith, whose poem “Life” will be published in the book Immortal Voices of Poetry later this fall. Two hundred poems were selected nationwide for publication. Congratulations, Shannon!
September 21 – South Fayette alum Alyssa Massetti is featured in her new job as television anchor and producer at WDTV, Channel 5, in Bridgeport, West Virginia. She anchors the 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, and 11:00 p.m. news broadcasts and produces the 11:00 program.
September 22: South Fayette alum Steve Zewe is featured in the Athletic Brochure and the marketing materials for Seton Hill University, where he attended and was a member of the golf team.
September 25: Ninth graders Cory Hazy and Joey Vollmer have been selected to participate in the Mucho Macho Music Young Men’s Song Festival at North Hills Jr. High School on November 7, announced Choral Director Mr. Kevin Maurer.
September 26: Steve Cantine, Rylan Collins, Adrienne Vollmer, and Jean Zhang are named “Commended Students” in the National Merit Scholarship Program! Congratulations to all! Last month, Kaiting Chen was named a Semi-Finalist in the same program!
September 27 – Jodi Barry and Steve Opar are nominated by AD Mr. Joe Farkas and the High School Administration for the Wendy’s Heismann Scholar-Athlete Award. Congratulations!
September 28 – Congratulations to Steve Opar, Jake Seiner, and Adrienne Vollmer (Grade 12) and Kirsten Carr, Prishant Gabani, and Garrett Vidak (Grade 11) who have been selected to participate in the ASPIRE (Area Students Participating in Rewarding Experiences) Program sponsored by Equitable Gas.
September 29 – Choral Director Mr. Kevin Maurer announced that Lauren Holmes (11) and Adam Levine (12) were selected to participate in the PMEA Honors Choir. Danielle Winterhalter has been selected as an alternate. Congratulations to all!
October 2 – SF Alum Angie Scanga, 21, will represent Pittsburgh at the US Finals of the Miss Hawaiian Tropic competition in Mauii, Hawaii. She is currently a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Civil Engineering.
October 3 – Congratulations to science teacher Mr. Joe Winans, who came in First Place in the 5K Lupus Loop race in Pittsburgh on September 30. Cross-country runner John Cochran came in third!!
October 4 – SF Alum Andrew DiDonato has earned the starting position at quarterback as a true freshman for the Grove City Wolverines!
October 5 – Congratulations to Head Football Coach T.J. Plack, who was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the “High School Coach of the Week” for Week 4. TJ and a guest have been invited to the Steelers-Chiefs game on October 15, where he will be honored on the field at the two-minute warning before halftime. The Rooney Foundation will also be donating $1,000 to the SF Football Program. Congratulations, Coach!!
October 6 – Kudos to our newly elected Freshman Class Council: President Joey Vollmer, Vice President Kara Werkmeister, Secretary-Treasurer Keelen Collins, and Council Members Briana D’Alesandro and Dillon Haviland
Mrs. Bisignani, Mrs. Kosik & Mr. McAndrew – SHASDA Principals’ Network &
Meeting with English and Fine Arts Teachers, Upper St. Clair High School
Mrs. Bisignani – E4 Workforce Development Board Meeting, AIU
Mrs. Bisignani – Career Cluster Partner Meeting, Galleria
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Principal's Report 
