Special Thanks to the Following People:

Chief Editor: Angela Fazio

Writing Advisors: Mrs. Panucci, Mrs. Fazio, Mrs. Greenaway, and Mrs. Chiarelli

Student Editors: Emma Dischner, Eric Jozwiak, and Isabella Mannino

Student Council Advisors: Mrs. DiClemente and Mrs. Fazio

DEW Student Council PR Committee

Student Writers: Nini Curcione, Eliza Zwikl, Bella Tirone, Grace Nolder, Vanessa Rodgers, Nathan Knause, Josh Knapp,

Jack Pockl, Jack Roberts, Meghan McNabb, Sarah Lugaila, Isabella Hoffman, Abby Mitchell, Abby Medvitz, and Austin

Schaltenbrand

Student Photographers: Nini Curcione, Grace Nolder, Bella Tirone, and Eliza Zwikl

DEW Newsletter

December/January2016

Edition

What’s new in the DEW? Brought to you for the students by the students.

Winner’s Circle

December Students of

the Month

5th Grade

Adam Weber

Sarah Lugaila

6th Grade

Pranet Pednakar

Henley Staley

7th Grade

Ava Scrabis

Jack Pockl

8th Grade

Nathan Donahue

Grace Nolder

December’s Good

Judgement winners:

Grade 5

Elise Brobeck

Isabella Hoffman

Shane Knause

Mike Petrick-Not pictured

Grade 6

Haleigh Brinza-Not Pictured

Sarah Eaton

Isabella Groznik

Diaun Pinkett

Grade 7

Josh Berardelli-Not Pictured

Juliana Paulin

Austin Schaltenbrand

Jacob Zoltun

Grade 8

Geno Asque-Not Picture

Justin Labrie-Not Pictured

Gabby Marsico (508)

Sydney Patrus (512)

Important Dates:

February 11-Valentine’s Day Dance (PTA)

February 19- Animal blanket drive ends

The important Date Calendar will return

next month.

Congratulations Are in Order

Fifth Grade Students of the Month

Submitted from Student Writers Sarah Lugaila, Isabella Hoffman, Abby Mitchell, and Abby

Medvitz

Student of the Month votes are in! First, Abby Medvitz will be interviewing our Student

of the Month for fifth grade girls. It is Sarah Lugaila, age 11, in Mrs. Brown’s homeroom. She

has 1 dog, Bella and 2 cats. Her favorite colors are black and gold. Her favorite game is

Minecraft. One of her hobbies is figure skating. It is her favorite sport to watch or do. Her

favorite class is math. Her role models are her figure skating coaches. Her favorite movie is

Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2. Her favorite food is Rita’s custard and ice. She loves the

TV show Treehouse Masters. The song she likes most is Should’ve been Us by Kelly Clarkson.

Lastly, her favorite hangout place is the kitchen with her dog and cats.

Next, Isabella Hoffman will be interviewing the boy Student of the Month, Adam Weber.

He is 11 years old and is in Mr. Early’s homeroom. His favorite movie is Benchwarmers. His

favorite animal is a dog. He likes the music genre pop. He likes the color green, and his favorite

class is math. His favorite food is pizza. His favorite TV show is the Goldbergs. He loves to play

baseball. He likes to play NHL 15. His favorite song is Eye of the Tiger. His everyday hero is his

dad. His favorite hangout place is a baseball field.

Sixth Grade Students of the Month

Submitted by student writer Meghan McNabb

Every month at David E. Williams Middle School, two students are selected per grade to

represent David E. Williams Middle School as Students of the Month. In sixth grade, Henley

Staley and Pranet Prednekar have been given the honor of Student of the Month. To get to know

Henley and Pranet, I decided to interview them.

Henley is in Mrs. Baron’s homeroom, and her favorite subject in school is reading! Her

favorite movie is Percy Jackson. In her free time, she likes to play basketball and softball.

Henley wants to be a news reporter when she grows up. If Henley could travel anywhere in the

world, she would go to Italy! Lastly, Henley’s influence is her mom.

Pranet is in Mrs. Gianino’s homeroom, and his favorite subject is math! Pranet’s favorite

movie is Cars. Pranet’s favorite hobbies include reading books and roller skating. Pranet would

like to be a car designer when he grows up. If Pranet could travel anywhere in the world, he

would visit Hawaii! Finally, Pranet’s inspiration is his dad.

In conclusion, I learned a lot of interesting facts about Henley and Pranet! Congratulations

Seventh Grade Students of the Month

Submitted by student writer Eliza Zwikl

This month two seventh grade students were chosen to be students of the month. These

students were selected because of their perseverance and leadership qualities. Both students were

interviewed to learn more about them. Congratulations to Jack Pockl and Ava Scrabis on all their

hard work in the classroom!

First, is our boy student of the month, Jack Pockl. Jack has been most impacted by his

science teacher Mr. Ruscitto because he is “organized at all times to get a better learning

experience” and “his class is interactive with all his students”. Jack says that what he loves most

about seventh grade is “the excellent teachers that I have been given. The great atmosphere that

David E. Williams provides to the students and staff. TLC (Team Leadership Core) and writing

for the Suburban Gazette with my fellow writers who are my close friends as well.” Outside of

school he enjoys anything involving real estate. In the future, Jack wishes to establish his own

real estate brokerage because he has “had the passion since age five. It started by just drawing a

simple square and triangle house.” Jack considers his parents to be his biggest inspirations

because they have encouraged him to “always do your best and never give up.”

Our second student for December is Ava Scrabis. Ava has been most impacted by her

fifth grade science and social studies teacher Mrs. Muha because of “the way she taught her two

favorite subjects.” Ava enjoys the additional independence and privileges in seventh grade.

Outside of the classroom, Ava participates in soccer, basketball, volleyball, and the school

musical. In the past, Ava has helped with fundraisers such as Hope for Boo. Ava wishes to

become a soccer player because she “played since she was little.” Ava’s biggest inspiration is

professional soccer player Carli Lloyd because she “taught me that dreams can come true.”

Eighth Grade Students of the Month

Submitted by student writer Eliza Zwikl

This month two students were selected as student of the month due to their integrity and

responsibility in the classroom. Congratulations to eighth graders Nathan Donahue and Grace

Nolder! Both students were interviewed to learn more about them.

Nathan Donahue was the boy student of the month. Nathan’s favorite subject is Algebra

because he “enjoys learning new things.” His favorite book is Code Talk by Joseph Bruchac.

Nathan’s favorite thing about eighth grade is “Being on the basketball team coached by Mr.

Powers.” Outside of school Nathan enjoys playing basketball and football. Nathan’s all-time

favorite teacher is Mrs. Verana because she was “nice and always made learning fun.” In the

future, Nathan would like to attend Ohio State University to become an environmental engineer.

Nathan considers Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen his biggest inspiration

because “McCutchen is so driven to be his best.”

Our second student of the month for December is Grace Nolder. Grace’s favorite subject

is Algebra because “she gets to learn plenty of things.” Her favorite book is Finding Alaska by

Grace’s favorite author John Green. Grace’s favorite thing about eighth grade is “getting to help

others on Student Council.” When Grace is not at school she loves to listen to music and spend

time with her friends. The teacher who has impacted Grace the most is her sixth grade Reading

teacher Mrs. Bertolino because “she was kind and I [Grace] learned a lot from her.” Grace

wishes to go to college and pursue a career in graphic design. Grace credits her parents as being

her biggest inspiration because “they taught her many life values.” Congratulations to both

eighth grade students of the month!

Allegheny County Sumdog Contest

Submitted by sixth grade math teacher, Mrs. Chiarelli

Sumdog is a free educational game that motivates students to practice math, reading, and

writing. The games engage students because they are participating in multi-player games against

other students from all over the world. The questions on Sumdog are aligned to Common Core

skills. The program tailors questions to the students’ individual needs and builds an

understanding of each student. Sumdog’s math questions are free to use with no time

constraints. Sumdog offers county and national contests in which students can compete against

other classes in their school as well as classes in other school districts.

David E. Williams Middle School just completed participating in the second Allegheny

County Contest for this school year from January 15 to January 21. A total of 19 classes

qualified to participate and there were 497 students who played. There were a total of 156,242

questions answered and 133,178 answered correctly.

David E. Williams did an outstanding job. The top finishers in the contest were Mrs.

Chiarelli’s Block 3 (910), Mrs. Chiarelli’s Block 2 (866). Mrs. Chiarelli’s Block 1 (677), Mrs.

Rongaus’s Block 1 (448), Mrs. Rongaus’s Block 3 (445), Mrs. Gianino’s Block 2 (406), Mrs.

Gianino’s Block 3 (380), Mrs. Rongaus’s Block 2 (327), and Mrs. Gianino’s Block 1 (309). The

top nine places were filled by classes from David E. Williams.

DEW students in the top ten included:

First Place – James Caputo (Chiarelli) with 996/1000

Second Place – Sydney Fusco (Rongaus) with 993/1000

Third Place – Dylan Sparkenbaugh (Chiarelli) with 980/1000

Fourth Place – Marcus Cetrone (Chiarelli) with 979/1,000

Fifth Place – Blake O’Malley (Chiarelli) with 979/1,000

Sixth Place - Isabella Hoffman (Rongaus) with 977/1000

Seventh Place – Om Arora-Jain (Chiarelli) with 972/1000

Eighth Place – Jessica Molitoris (Chiarelli) with 963/1000

Ninth Place – Alex Fleck (Chiarelli) with 959/1000

Tenth Place – Morgan Hayes (Chiarelli) with 959/1000

When a tie occurs, the students are placed according to time. The top ten winners once again

represented David E. Williams Middle School.

Other Montour students who placed in the top fifty included:

Taryn Shutika (11), Robert Kelly (13), Makenna Torrens (14), Jocelyn Paulin (15), Ryder

Blyzwick (16), Brooke Carver (17), Francesca Diaz, (18), Dante Deltondo (19), Hannah George

(20), Maria Meldon, (929), Brian Schulz (22), Suzanna Safko (23), Nicholas Trojan (24), Harley

Kletz (27), Zackery Gatts (28), Riley Ellis (29), James Hazard (30), Madilyn Rimbey (31),

Abigail Dischner (32), Zackery Soisson (34), Ryan Black (36), Aaron DeLuca (37), Anthony

Reinholt (38), Owen Jordan (39), Ryan Snyder (40), Henry Orlandini (41), Mikala Battles (42),

Sophia Bookwood (43), Sahana Rao (44), Mason Syke (46), Emily Krall (47), Hailey Palas (48),

and Belle Ellis (50).

Daily winners are also rewarded, but a class can only be named the daily winner one time. Daily

winners included:

January 21 Mrs. Rongaus, Block 3

January 20 Mrs. Chiarelli, Block1

January 19 Mrs. Rongaus, Block 1

January 18 Mrs. Chiarelli, Block 3

January 17 Mrs. Chiarelli, Block 2

We are very proud of all of our students who participated in the competition. The next and

final Allegheny County Contest for the year will be held May 13 through May 19. You can sure

that DEW will be there!

Front Left to right:

Isabella Hoffman, Sydney Fusco, Alex Fleck

Back Left to right:

Marcus Cetrone, Om Arora-Jain, Blake O'Malley, James

Caputo, Dylan Sparkenbaugh, Morgan Hayes, Jessica

Molitoris

James Caputo

December Class Dojos

Submitted by sixth grade math teacher, Mrs. Chiarelli

December has come and gone, and the New Year is upon us. December Class Dojos have been

awarded in Mrs. Chiarelli’s sixth grade math classes at David E. Williams Middle School. The

on-line program awards students with Dojo (avatar) points each time students elicit an acceptable

behavior. For example, points are awarded for completing homework, going to the computer lab

in the morning to work on math skills, editing mistakes found in the textbook and/or on

handouts, participating in theme days, and thinking outside of the box. This month students also

received Dojos when they found Ralph the Elf (a math elf) who his in the classroom each day of

December. December’s winners include:

Block 1: Meghan McNabb and Amber Kumanchik (tied) and Robert Kelly

Block 2: Hailey Palas and Om Arora-Jain and Nicholas Zezza (tied)

Block 3: Hannah George and Luke Smarra and Anthony Reinholt (tied)

Congratulations to the winners. The students now start the month of January with zero Dojos,

and their work begins again.

Front Left to Right:

Hannah George, Amber Kumanchik, Nicholas Zezza, Meghan McNabb

Back Left to Right;

Luke Smarra, Anthony Reinholt, Hailey Palas, Om Arora-Jain

Robert Kelly

David E. Williams Wrestling Team

Submitted by student writer Vanessa Rodgers

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” -Tim Notke

Montour students are always known for their exceptional talents in sports, but there’s a

particular team that hasn’t failed to draw attention by David E. Williams’ Middle School

students. As of November 16th, D.E.W.’s 7th and 8th grade wrestling team, coached by Montour

graduates Zac and Lucas Tournay, have been incessantly practicing to improve their skills. Every

day from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the team meets inside D.E.W.’s auxiliary gymnasium, and prepares to

face other skilled competitors. The team includes the following 7th graders: Aiden DeLuca,

Patrick Dhanse, Brandon Halbedl, Nate Knause, and eighth graders Joseph Carney, Robert

Dailey, Reno DiCesare, Brandon Edixon, Sean Murray, Edward Payne, Nick Reconnu, Marty

Scanlon, and Josh Sobeck.

In addition, all of that practice doesn’t come without a few goals. Intent on helping the

team, the coaches stated, “[The] individual goals are for our wrestlers to get better at wrestling,

and to win matches against wrestlers from other schools. Our team goal is to place as one of the

top three teams at one of our tournaments this year.”

The team faces other schools at least two times a week and occasionally has weekend

tournaments. Their first match was on Wednesday, December 9th at West Allegheny.

Additionally, the team had their first home match, which took place at home on December 16th.

The team competed against one of their largest sports rivals, Hopewell. At the end of the match,

the team found that all of their elbow grease had paid off, bringing home several winning titles.

On January 5, 2015, the team is having yet another match at D.E.W. The match starts at

3:30 p.m., and students are highly encouraged to come and watch their classmates compete.

DEW Athletics

“We would like to have a big crowd of students to come cheer on the team,” declare the

coaches.

So far, the wrestling team has been quite triumphant, and Montour students will be sure

to continue to root for them as the team keeps up their hard work. With the coaches’ help, the

team will be sure to defeat any opponent, no matter how talented their rivals may be, with sheer

practice.

Five Sleeps ‘til Santa

Submitted by student writers: Nathan Knause, Josh Knapp, Jack Pockl, Jack Roberts, and Austin

Schaltenbrand

Five Sleeps ‘til Santa is an annual David E. Williams Middle School holiday tradition run

by our very own student council. 5 Sleeps ‘til Santa was held during the week of December 14-

18. To kick off the week it was “Monochromatic Monday” which was a day where students

could wear all red or all green. On Tuesday, it was Ugly Sweater Day and Hat Day, where

students were encouraged to celebrate in their ugly Christmas apparel, and wore hats for a dollar.

Then, on Wednesday, it was Christmas Spirit Day where students wore a logo that represented

Christmas as well as Christmas colors. Thursday was Jingle Jammie Day. Students got to wear

their pajamas to school for one dollar. Finally, Friday was Formal Friday, which is where

students were encouraged to wear their formal clothes. Also during the celebration each grade

level was treated with a bake sale held in their respective commons’ areas. This week was all

made possible by the David E. Williams Student Council under the direction of eighth grade

teachers, Mrs. Diclemente and Ms. Fazio.

Student Council Corner

Holiday Bake Sale

Submitted by Student Writer Eliza Zwikl

This month was the annual Student Council holiday bake sale. Student Council members

teamed up with other eighth grade students to contribute food donations. Each grade level was

given the opportunity to purchase a variety of pastries and sweets during their grade’s bake sale.

A total of four bake sales were held, one for each grade. All donations benefited the Adopt-a-

Family fund. Thanks to everyone who made the holiday bake sales a huge success!

Santa’s Workshop

Submitted by Student Writer Eliza Zwikl

Santa’s Workshop was at DEW this month! During each grade level’s lunchtime the on

December eleventh, twelfth, seventeenth, and eighteenth students had the chance to visit the

School Store and participate in Santa’s Workshop. This meant that students could buy a variety of

seasonal items such as socks, hats, and candy bags. Students could also buy a festive mug hand

painted by members of Student Council. Santa’s Workshop even had Santa (George Padezin) make

an appearance for pictures. All proceeds benefited the Adopt-a-Family fund, which provides

families in need with special gifts during the holiday season. Thanks to everyone who made Santa’s

Workshop a huge success!

Adopt-a-Family

The David E. Williams Student Council sponsored Adopt- A- Family program

made many Christmas wishes come true this holiday season. The organization was able

to adopt seven less- fortunate families in our community and provide them with gifts for

Christmas. Toys, clothes, and accessories were among some of the items that were

purchased for each family. In order to purchase the items on each family’s wish list,

several fundraisers were organized. DEW students contributed a dollar and student

council matched those contributions, student council conducted a bake sale, and the 7th

and 8th grade boys’ basketball teams gifted money received from their foul shot

fundraiser. Once all of the gifts were purchased, student council enlisted help from the

DEW student body to wrap the gifts. Any student who donated money was entered into a

drawing to be an “Elf for a Day.” Four lucky winners were drawn-Lydia Witner, Hank

Cherrix, Evan Garner, and Robbie Rippole. Those students spent the day organizing and

wrapping the gifts. Once the gifts were bagged, a representative for each family came to

collect the bags. All in all, the program was huge success. Thank you to all who

participated.

Animal Friends Blanket Drive

Student Council is currently holding their Animal Blanket Drive now through February

19. Those interested can donate gently used blankets and towels and other items such as food,

new toys, collars and other pet items to the drop-off center -Snoopy’s dog house- in the lobby

of DEW. Student council like to thank everyone in advance who will be donating to this cause.

Last year, about 200 blankets were collected! Let’s see if we can top that number this year!

Thank you in advance for supporting our cause.

Winter Choral Concerts

Submitted by Student Writer Eliza Zwikl

The middle school choir rung in the holiday season with multiple choral performances.

Students, led by Mrs. Mancini, performed songs such as “One Candle”, “Christmas Shoes”, “All

I Want for Christmas is You”, “Last Christmas”, and many more. These songs were practiced by

students for several months in class and also during additional practice times. Each grade level

performed their own concert as well as a winter assembly for the rest of their fellow students and

staff. Students also got to spread cheer while singing at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Congratulations to Mrs. Mancini and the middle school choral students on another great winter

concert season!

DEW Special Events

Winter Band Concerts

Submitted by Student Writer Eliza Zwikl

In December, the middle school band celebrated the holiday season with a winter concert.

The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade bands all participated in holiday concerts conducted by

Mr. Podnar. In addition to the three after school concerts, the band also performed in a musical

assembly for their fellow students and staff. The seventh and eighth grade jazz ensemble also

performed at each concert alongside their high school mentors. Students prepared their music for

several months and also attended additional practices. Congratulations to Mr. Podnar and the

middle school band on another great set of holiday concerts!