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March 2014

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Tiger NewsUpcoming eventsMarch 31 –April 4 PSSA Writing,

Grades 5 and 8

April 23 DAA Ceremony and School Board Combined Mtg. @ CAO Bd. Rm. 7pm

April 28 – May 2 PSSA Science, Grades 4 and 8

OPEN HOUSE Sat., April 5

Shrek Plays to Sellout CrowdsOnce again, the NASH Spring Musical proved to be a magical, legendary experience! The production in-

volved over 160 students, from actors to sound technicians. A full orchestra, dancers and an amazing dragon

added the aura of a land far, far away come to life. We applaud the students, faculty, and many volunteers

who made this entertaining show possible.

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Clemmer

Please RSVP by April 28, 2014Call 412-369-5445

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ONE FREE HAIRCUTin April 2014

EXPIRES 04/30/14 • CODE 2190

North Hills (McCandless Crossing)9034 St. Simon Way

In front of Lowe’s412.369.9400

Offer valid for faculty & students of North Allegheny School District or an immediate family member. Must

show student/employee ID or report card. One free haircut per ID. Valid only at the McCandless

SportClips location. Not valid with any other offer.

9600 Perry Hwy – Next to Bruster’s

Phone 412.837.2353 Web collegenannies.com

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June 16–20 Morphed! program; June 23–27 Envision program

Students Earn Place on National MathCounts TeamNA middle school students Christopher Lee and Wanlin Li have earned a spot on the four-member team that will represent Pennsylvania at the Na-tional MATHCOUNTS Competition!

Christopher, a 7th grader at Carson Middle School, was the Pennsylvania MATHCOUNTS State Cham-pion. Wanlin, an 8th grader at Ingomar Middle School, finished fourth place in the state and had the highest score of any female in the competition in the Sprint and Target Rounds. The top four finish-ers at the state-level competition will now travel to Orlando, Florida in May to compete in the national MATHCOUNTS Competition.

MMS Team Advances to Science Bowl National ChampionshipA team of students from Marshall Middle School re-cently qualified to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl and earned First Place in the regional tournament. The team is com-prised of eighth graders Will Taft, Owen Chase, Joe Shin, Mason Blackburn and sixth grader Jiangfeng Chu. Mr. Dan Williams is the team’s coach.

The team will be flown to Washington, D.C. for an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the national championships in April. In the competition, teams are presented with challenging questions in the categories of Math, Earth Science, Physical Science, Life Science and General Science.

Learning Leadership through ServiceNASH students attended a leadership workshop sponsored by the Jefferson Awards. Catherine Zhang, Audrey Immonen, Alex Brennan, Mad-die Martin, Caroline Cwalina and Rebecca Robles received recognition for the best promotional pitch. Charlie Batch, an NA resident, awarded the students their prize.

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ORDER NOW!Class of 2014 Senior Video

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NA Named Best Community for Music EducationThe North Allegheny School District is proud to be named a ‘Best Community for Music Education’ for the seventh consecutive year. The NAMM Founda-tion has recognized NA for its outstanding commit-ment to music education with a ‘Best Communities for Music Education’ award. This designation honors districts that have demonstrated exceptional efforts toward maintaining music education as part of its core curriculum.

The NAMM Foundation has developed this annual award in support of their belief that it is important for students to learn music in school because it

develops skills needed for the 21st century work-force including critical and analytical thinking, creative problem solving, effective communication and teamwork.

Students Earn Prestigious Honors in Music ArtsNA students Catherine Zhang, Julie Choe, and Sophia Lee recently competed against other high school students in individual musical performances, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra and the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association. As a result, all three students earned the honor of performing with the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra in April. This solo competition was open to all young musicians in the Pittsburgh region.

In addition, Julie has been selected as the 2014 Young Artist Concerto Competition winner. Julie performed with the Pittsburgh Philharmonic in March. She played the Finale from the Violin Con-certo No. 1 by Max Bruch. Julie was also chosen as a First Place Winner of the American Protégé Interna-tional Concerto Competition 2014. As the winner of this competition, she will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York in May.

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No School!

Spring Break April 17 – 21

(April 21 is Snow Contingency/Make-Up Day #3)

Owen Prem and Will Taft Qualify for Geographic BeeIngomar Elementary School fourth grader Owen Prem and Marshall Middle School eighth grader Will Taft have both qualified to compete in the 2014 state level of the National Geographic Bee.

Geographic Bees were held in schools with fourth through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school’s Geographic Bee winner. School-level winners then took a qualifying test, which was submitted to the

National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society invited the students

with the top 100 scores in every school to compete at the state level. The 2014 Pennsylvania Geographic Bee will be held in Harrisburg in early April.

State winners will be invited to the National Geographic headquarters

located in Washington, D.C., in late May to compete in the national finals.

Students Attend Model African UnionFifteen North Allegheny high school students at-tended the Model African Union at the University of Pittsburgh in March. Each student represented a Head of State for a country in the African Union and was tasked with developing a continent-wide plan of action to address various agenda items. The students were also treated to an authen-tic African lunch and entertain-ment by the African Drum and Dance troupe at the university.

A total of 120 students from nine schools attended this year’s University of Pittsburgh Model African Union. The event is hosted by the University of

Pittsburgh African Studies Program and the African Student Organization, with the help of the African Studies Program, Global Studies Center, and the World History Center.

Students Achieve High Rankings in Programming ContestAP Computer Programming students participated in the 2013-2014 High School Computer Programming Competition at Westminster College in February. The NA team of John Barczynski, Anna Sinelnikova, Sophia Lee, and Keerthana Samanthapudi earned first place in the competition. Nate Horan, Michael Be-cich, Derek Wang, and David Szymanski garnered second place. The team of students Rohan Yadav, Sohail Sidique, Brandon Houghton, and Rafael Bergerman earned fourth place.

In the contest, the teams were asked to complete six questions in a two and a half hour period. The ques-tions required students to compile programs using the C++ or Java languages. Programs were reviewed by a panel of judges to determine the winners.

Kennywood Day 2014June 19, 2014

Sponsored by the Unified Boosters OrganizationClick here for Funday Discount Tickets

$28.00 ($40.99 at Gate)

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Advertise in the NASD

E-Newsletter/Website Today!

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District offers premium,

affordable advertising in the

NA Tiger News E-Newsletter

and on the NASD website.

Click here for more information.

Student Artwork Wins National RecognitionLast month we reported on students winning Gold Key Awards in the Regional level of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Program. Those that receive a Gold Key – the highest honor possible in the regional competitions – have their work submitted for national adjudication. Special congratulations go out to the following three North Allegh-eny students who have received national recognition for their works of visual art:

Senior Anna Reed won two Gold and one Silver Medal for her works in acrylic. One of Anna’s Silver Medal winners was further distinguished by being awarded the American Visions Medal in the national ‘Best of Show’ competition.

Seventh grader Jake Hervoyavich was award-ed a Silver Medal for a Linoleum Relief Print.

Sophomore Leonardo Lupidi was awarded a Silver Medal for a submission in the Colored Pencil, Conte Crayon, Graphite, Ink Pen category titled “A Helping Hand.”

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NA Has a Mobile Website

Access the NA website anytime, anywhere with your mobile device!

Two Teams Earn First Place in Fairchild Challenge at PhippsThe Fairchild Challenge is an environmental educa-tion outreach program designed to give high school and middle school students an opportunity to investigate the thorniest environmental issues, and devise imaginative and effective responses to them.

A team of students from North Allegheny Senior High School earned first place for High School Chal-lenge 5. For this challenge, participants were asked to decide on a personal lifestyle change that would have a more positive impact on the student’s physi-cal and mental well-being and the health of the en-vironment. The essays submitted included students from Environmental Science, Honors Environmental Science, and GOAL.

A second team of students from Marshall Middle School earned first place for Middle School Chal-lenge 4. For this challenge, participants were asked to decide on a specific lifestyle change that

they and at least one other member of their family would commit to. This change would also have a positive impact on their physical and mental well-being as well as the health of the environment.

In addition to these two teams, junior Audrey Im-monen received special recognition in the “Judges Pick” category. As a result, she will receive a certifi-cate at their Awards Ceremony on May 28 and have her name posted on the Phipps Conserva-tory blog.

Students Recognized in Essay ContestCharles Ross and Emma Barnes have been recog-nized in the Pennsylvania State University Essay Contest for High School Writers.

The essay written by Charles Ross earned him third place in this year’s contest. Emma Barnes was se-lected as a finalist in the competition. Both students are invited to attend an awards luncheon in late

March. As the third place winner, Charles will also be awarded a cash prize of $50. NASH English teacher Ms. Kathryn Esposito provided the required supervi-sion for these students to participate in this annual contest, which recognizes the best student writers and their teachers in Pennsylvania.

Visit the NA page on Facebook!

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Follow our daily updates of good news – our students shine! Middle School Girls Rock GOLD

At 8 pm on the last Friday of February, approximately 200 eighth girls arrived at Ingomar Middle School to participate in the G.O.L.D. Event – a ‘girls only leadership development’ program that packs fun activities, impor-tant information, frank talk, and lots of opportunities for questions and discussion into an exhausting but memorable event. Teacher facilitators Col-leen Burg and Diane Senkoski organized the event and were supported by three high school student facilitators who have been for-

merly involved with the GOLD Program. Chaperones, high school leaders, and building level ad-ministrators also par-ticipated. During the event, 8th grade girls are part of a team,

led by a high school student and a teacher. They develop a bond through a night packed full of activities that include team-building and inspirational talks.

The keynote speaker for the evening was the father of Demi Cucci a local teen, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in August 2007, just one day after celebrat-ing her 16th birthday. Dr.

Gary Cucci talked with the girls about the dangers of teen dating violence. He has founded the The Demi Brae Cuccia Awareness Organization to honor his daughter’s memory and help other young girls rec-ognize the warning signs of abusive relationships.

Both students and parents provided positive feed-back following the event. One parent wrote: “I was completely amazed at… the number of activities and seminars… I am thankful that you have the cour-age and forethought to present such an event to our daughters.”

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Team Finishes Among Top 16 in the WorldNorth Allegheny High School’s Speech and Debate Team recently finished among the top 16 high school teams in the world after participating in the International Public Policy Forum. They competed against students from 28 countries and 37 U.S. states to achieve their final spot as one of the “Sweet 16” in the tournament!

In this competition, students from around the globe engaged in written and oral debates on issues of

public policy. Beginning in October, each school submitted a qualifying round essay on the IPPF topic. The IPPF Essay Review Commit-tee evaluated each essay. The top 64 teams then advanced into a single-elimination, writ-ten debate competition.

The tournament is open to all public and private high schools and is administered by Bickel & Brewer Foundation and New York University.

A Night to Shine for Diversity Contest Winners

A reception was held prior to the March 26 Board meeting to honor the winners of this year’s Diversity Contest.

At this reception, parents, teachers, administrators, Board members, and friends were in attendance. Winners of the contest read or showed their submis-sions and shared with the audience their thoughts on the theme of the contest.

There were 548 entries in the contest this year. Judges had the daunting task of choosing 10 win-ning entries and 24 honorable mention awards. Stu-dents in grades K-12 participated. Barnes & Noble continues to be a supporting business partner of this program.

There is still time to register for the Pump House Run!April 12, 2014

Click here

Click here to earn cash for NA just by shopping!

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2014 Golf ClassicMonday, June 16, 2014

Register Today!For more information, contact Sally Scherling at 412-369-5419

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“The More You Read…”During the month of March, elementary students celebrate “Read Across America Day” and honor Dr. Seuss and the many wonder-ful characters he created. Students and staff have fun dressing up to make these wonderful stories “come to life,“ to the delight of everyone.