board presentations - e-gov link field alongside black hawk drive. since ... board of school...

Book DedicationAt its September 27 Meeting, the Bethel Park Board ofSchool Directors donated a copy of the book, NoReservations: Around The World On An EmptyStomach, by Anthony Bourdain to the Bethel Park HighSchool Library in memory of Olive Jansante, mother ofBethel Park High School Principal Dr. Zeb Jansante.Mrs. Jansante loved to cook for her nine children andthe Board thought the book might inspire students tonot only cook, but to also travel.

BBA Check PresentationAt its October 25 Meeting, the Bethel Park Boardof School Directors presented a Certificate ofAppreciation to the Bethel Baseball Association inrecognition of the $8,000 check the BBApresented to the School District to pay for thematerials needed to construct new dugouts on thebaseball field alongside Black Hawk Drive. Since2010, the BBA has generously donated $38,500to the School District for improvements to Districtbaseball fields.

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www.bpsd.org December 5, 2016

VISIT US ONLINE@ www.bpsd.org

(Left to right): Dr. Zeb Jansante andDonna Cook

School District Contact InformationBoard of School Directors

BOARD PRESENTATIONS

Connie Ruhl835-7845

Russ SpicuzzaVice President 835-9270

Ron Werkmeister854-5693

David Amaditz835-1701

CindyBuckley835-6037

BarryChristenson851-1032

Donna CookPresident 833-6191

PamDobos833-3868

JimMeans301-1065

INFORMATION............................................................................833-5000Information Line ........................................................................854-8407(Call to hear important district news and school delay/cancellationinformation)

Central Administration301 Church Road, Bethel Park 15102Dr. Joseph W. Pasquerilla, Superintendent................854-8402Matthew Howard, Assistant to the Superintendent......854-8425Leonard Corazzi, Dir. of Finance and Operations........854-8425Department of Human Resources ..................................854-8404Janet O’Rourke, Director of Secondary Education ......854-8420Dr. Dorothy Stark, Director of Elementary Education..854-8420Lori Sutton, Director of Special Education....................854-8410Sharon Smith, Asst. Director of Special Education......854-8410Ronald Reyer, Director of Technology Services ..........854-8418Scott Ziehler, Transportation Director ..........................854-8414William Keith, Director of Facilities and Services ........854-8615Joe Consolmagno, Director of Food Services ............854-8754Vicki Flotta, Director of Public Relations ......................854-8438Dan Sloan, Athletic Director ..........................................854-8548Bethel Park High School 309 Church Road, Bethel Park 15102Dr. Zeb Jansante, Principal ..........................................854-8581Sheryl Graff, Assistant Principal....................................854-8581Jason Shoaf,Assistant Principal....................................854-8581Guidance Office................................................................854-8597Health Office ....................................................................854-8550Attendance Office ............................................................854-8572Media Center....................................................................854-8560Records Office..................................................................854-8595Student Activities..............................................................854-8514Athletic Office ..................................................................854-8548Independence 7-8 Middle School2807 Bethel Church Road, Bethel Park 15102David Muench, Principal ..............................................854-8677George Spalaris, Assistant Principal............................854-8678Neil Armstrong 5-6 Middle School5800 Murray Avenue, Bethel Park 15102Kenneth Patterson, Principal ........................................854-8751Nicole Morris, Assistant Principal ..................................854-8756Abraham Lincoln Elementary1524 Hamilton Road, Pittsburgh 15234Jay Johnson, Principal ..................................................854-8618Benjamin Franklin Elementary5400 Florida Avenue, Bethel Park 15102Teresa Doumont, Principal ............................................854-8741Bethel Memorial Elementary3301 South Park Road, Bethel Park 15102Eric Chalus, Principal ....................................................854-8506George Washington Elementary515 Clifton Road, Bethel Park 15102Fred Pearson, Principal..................................................854-8546William Penn Elementary110 Woodlet Lane, Bethel Park 15102Brian Lenosky,

Principal/Director of Cyber/Alt. Learning Options ......854-8522

Left to right): BBA Colt and Legion CommissionerPaul Zaremski, BBA Vice President Steven Woods,School Board President Donna Cook and BBASecretary Evan Sivetz.

The Bethel Park School District was one of 30 Southwest Pennsylvaniaschool districts to receive the Compassionate Educator Award from McGuireMemorial at its 2016 Awards Breakfast.

McGuire’s mission is to give those who are physically anddevelopmentally challenged the help they need to live a life of dignity andpurpose.

The award was given to Bethel Park “for recognizing that children withdisabilities are students who can achieve.”

Accepting this award on behalf of the school district was Director ofSpecial Education Lori Sutton.

Bethel Park Director ofSpecial Education LoriSutton

DISTRICT RECEIVES ‘COMPASSIONATEEDUCATOR’ AWARD

www.bpsd.org

ADMINISTRATION

December 5, 2016

A Message From…DONNA COOKSchool Board President

I’m honored to be a member of the Bethel ParkBoard of School Directors and I think if you’d ask myeight colleagues who sit with me at the Board table, Ibelieve they would tell you the same thing.

It truly is an honor and a privilege for all of us toserve our children and our community as a SchoolDirector. For many of us, our children are grown and

no longer attending Bethel Park schools, but we still feel a strong sense ofcommitment and obligation to the children who are attending our schools, to be ableto provide them with a quality learning environment that encompasses many thingsincluding modern, clean facilities; a dedicated teaching and support staff; currentcurriculum that addresses all the needs of the 21st century student and thetechnological tools to be successful—to name a few!

And while we know that there is a cost to excellence, we are also well awarethat there are those in the community who live on fixed incomes and finding thecorrect balance between educational excellence and fiscal responsibility isoftentimes a very fine line. For the first time in many years, we were able to pass abudget that did not include a tax increase and did not have a negative impact on oureducational program. We’re extremely proud of that, and while we can’t promise azero tax increase for the upcoming school year, please know that we always makethat our number one goal each budget cycle.

The responsibility of being a School Director goes well beyond the twoscheduled meetings each month. Much time is spent in advance of each of thesemeetings, understanding all of the items that are before us on the agenda, as wellas getting a grasp on the global issues of education in general.

We also have additional meetings beyond our monthly Committee and RegularMeetings, including Curriculum, Finance, Facilities and Policy Committee Meetingswhere we are able to further discuss upcoming issues of importance. All of theserequire time and these meetings have to fit in the schedules of nine individuals whoalso have work and family responsibilities.

This is why things sometimes move a little slower than the community would like,but it’s an inevitable outcome when nine schedules have to be meshed.

We certainly don’t do this for the money, as School Directors are the only electedposition in Pennsylvania that serves without compensation. We do it because weunderstand that a strong school district has a direct and positive impact on a vitalcommunity. One cannot exist without the other. Communities which don’t have schooldistricts that attract young families to move in aren’t the most desirable, and the

downward cycle continues to perpetuate itself. Property values plummet and taxescan’t be raised high enough to generate the necessary revenue to operate a qualityschool system to attract young families.

We are fortunate in Bethel Park that we are able to offer an outstanding schooldistrict to residents without placing too high of a tax burden on them. This means whenour seniors are ready to sell their homes, they can get a fair price for them becausethere are families with children who are anxious to move in, as they want to takeadvantage of all of the opportunities afforded to their children in our schools. That’s ahealthy cycle that we want to keep!

And while you may or may not agree with every decision this Board makes,please know these decisions are made collectively—after much research, discussionand reflection—in what we believe to be the best interests of the students of the BethelPark School District.

We thank you for your attendance at our meetings, as well as your feedback,whether it be comments made at our meetings, or letters, phone calls and emails. Weare elected to represent all of the residents of Bethel Park and we thank you forsharing your thoughts with us.

At this time I would like to extend warmest holiday wishes to you and your families,on behalf of everyone on the Bethel Park Board of School Directors, and wish youmuch health and success in 2017.

A Message From…JOSEPH W. PASQUERILLA, Ed.DSuperintendent

The 2016-2017 school year got off to a marvelousbeginning and I am extremely pleased with the greatstrides the District is already making to achieve thegoals we have set for this year under the theme, “AllLearners Grow.”

To that end, beginning with the second nine weekgrading period, we will be introducing a new initiativein all of our elementary schools for all students ingrades kindergarten through four that is designed tohelp our students to grow academically.

Hawk Time is a scheduled class period during theday that will utilize flexible grouping across gradelevels to provide enrichment to students who need itand remediation as appropriate to those who needsome extra help.

This concept will be phased in with the beginning of the second grading periodand will be fully functional and operational by the end of the school year.

Hawk Time will focus on the PA Core Standards in English Language Arts andMath. Hawk Time will not replace instruction in these two areas; rather, it willsupplement what is already going on in our classrooms on a daily basis.

We are extremely excited about the potential that Hawk Time will have topositively impact student achievement, because this will take differentiation ofinstruction to the next level and will provide our students with a more customizedlearning approach. It is our hope that you will also notice the difference Hawk Timewill have on your elementary student.

I am also extremely pleased with the staff’s embrace of a STEAM (Science,Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) culture throughout all areas of thecurriculum, to better prepare our students for the 21st century.

As you will read in this newsletter, our High School students did a fantastic jobof highlighting some of the STEAM initiatives of the 2015-2016 school year--including the crowd-pleasing spin art bike--at the recent STEAM Showcase,sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Last school year, Bethel Park HighSchool was honored to receive one of the $20,000 grants from the AlleghenyIntermediate Unit’s Center for Creativity and several Pittsburgh foundations, and theDistrict was able to highlight at the STEAM Showcase what transpired last schoolyear, thanks to this generous seed money.

We are equally pleased to announce that Independence Middle Schoolreceived the same $20,000 grant for the 2016-2017 school year. The grant will beused to transform under-used areas in the school’s library into flexible and equippedinstructional spaces to be called Steel City Collaboratory and Creation Station, twoof the four STEAM areas to be created throughout the school. And we’re alreadylooking forward to having IMS be a participant at next year’s STEAM Showcase todemonstrate all of the STEAM-related activities that these students will beparticipating in, thanks to the AIU grant.

Our elementary school students are also participating in several ageappropriate STEAM activities; many of them highlighted in this newsletter as well.

On behalf of the Bethel Park School District, I would also like to wish all BethelPark residents a happy holiday season. For our Bethel Park School District families,I hope you are able to enjoy the time off, and that your children come back to schoolrested and ready to begin the second half of the school year.

It continues to be an honor for us to work with your students.

We’re on the Web!Please check us out at www.bpsd.org!If you have not been on our website in a while, you’ll notice a new look

for our pages.We encourage you to visit our webpage and take some time to learn

more about the Bethel Park School District. You will see updates on districthappenings and awards as well as information that is specific to each of ourschools.

The Latest News section at each of our schools’ websites will containmore pictures fromthe stories andevents that aredescribed in thispublication, so weinvite you to take acloser look at all ofthe exciting thingsthat are happening inBethel Park!


Kindergarten Registration for the 2017-2018 school year will be held for all Bethel Parkelementary schools in February. Please note this is EARLIER than what has been held inprevious years.

Children will be eligible to attend kindergarten in the 2016-2017 school year if they are age5 on or before September 1, 2017.

Kindergarten Registration will occur on the following dates:

The District will conduct a Pre-Registration period in advance of the February officialregistration. Please help us with our planning for the 2017-2018 school year by pre-registeringyour child for kindergarten as follows:

1) Go on to your child’s school website at www.bpsd.org beginning January 3, 2017 to download a kindergarten Pre-Registration form;

2) Complete the information and return to your school by February 1, 2017; 3) Pick up a Kindergarten Registration Packet when dropping off the completed Pre-

Registration form or download the materials from any of the elementary school’s webpages. Click on “New Student Registration Forms” on the left-hand side of the page and click on “Kindergarten Registration Information” to print off the forms.

The materials in the Registration Packet will need to be completed and brought toregistration in February. On the day of registration you will need to bring your child for severalscreening activities. When you come to registration with your child, please bring the completedKindergarten Registration Packet with you as well as your child’s original birth certificate andverification of Bethel Park residency.

If you have any questions, please contact the school where your child will attendkindergarten in the fall.

It is necessary for parents to Pre-Register and Register their children for kindergarten sothe District can adequately plan for fall enrollments.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Kindergarten Registration Dates For The 2017-2018 School Year

Begin In February

Lincoln LibrarianNamed A ‘Leader InThe Classroom’

The ChevronCorporation andthe PittsburghSteelers namedLincoln LibrarianDenicePazuchanicsone of 16 areaLeaders in theClassroom.

The Leadersin the ClassroomProgram honorspre-K to 12thgrade teachers"who are makinga significantdifference in thelives of studentsacross the regionby providingengaging

instruction and curriculum, encouraging lifelong learning andinspiring a passion for education beyond the classroom."

She was presented with this award on Friday, October 7during a "surprise" assembly, which she thought was going to beabout Bus Safety. Presenting her with a check for $1,500 and a#16 Steelers jersey with her name across the back was LeeannWainwright, STEM Team Leader for Chevron.

Mrs. Paz, as she is fondly known by her students, will behonored at Heinz Field during the January 1 Steelers gameagainst the Cleveland Browns.

She was nominated by Lincoln Principal Mr. Johnson torecognize all of the STEAM-based activities she has organizedat the school, including last year's STEAM Expo, which broughtin area professionals to talk to the students about STEAMcareers and lead them in a series of hands-on activities, as wellas her partnerships with WQED and the Bethel Park Library. Sheis also responsible for creating a sustainable garden for Lincoln'sOutdoor Classroom.

In his nomination, Mr. Johnson also credits Mrs.Pazuchanics for her ability to foster positive relationships withparents and the school.

The students were extremely excited to see their favoritelibrarian receive this award, breaking out in a chant of "Mrs. Paz!Mrs. Paz!"

Mrs. Pazuchanics told Almanac reporter Luke Campbell, “Idid not expect this at all. It’s super important, because we’vebeen doing things at Lincoln, and it’s nice to be recognized. I’mnot alone, though. Everybody works together here. We havefabulous kids. We have fabulous parents. It really is a big teameffort.”

Congratulations, Mrs. Paz, on a well-deserved recognition!

Two Bethel Park School District teachers are among a group of 12 Pittsburgh area teachersfrom eight school districts who were selected to participate in a summer program at CarnegieMellon University focused on Data Fluency.

Participating in this program are Bethel ParkHigh School Physics Teacher Lee Cristofano andNeil Armstrong Middle School Fifth Grade TeacherJoe Rosi. The program is designed to help K-12students become fluent with data and technology.

The teachers spent time at CMU’s CREATE(Community Robotic, Education and TechnologyEmpowerment) Lab to explore ways to apply theconcept of data and technology fluency in theirschools.

The 14-month project is funded by a $593,000planninggrant fromThe HeinzEndowments,which willallow the group to develop a pilot program for local schools,including developing tools and methods that will enablestudents to use data and technology for asking questionsand exploring their environment, for telling cohesive stories,and for articulating opinions and arguments. The CREATELab will provide access to visualization software for makingsense out of large data sets, to virtual reality tools and toother technologies and expertise.

Mr. Cristofano and Mr. Rosi look forward to workingon projects with CMU throughout the 2016-2017 schoolyear.

Two Bethel Park Teachers Partner With CMUOn Data Fluency Project

NAMS Fifth Grade Teacher Joe Rosi showstwo of his students how to gather data ontheir Chromebooks.

Lee Cristofano (left) works with SaraSteeb, who is looking at data on drugoverdoses in Allegheny County aspart of her data mapping project forthe BPHS Big Data Analytics class.

George WashingtonTuesday, February 79:30-11 AM1:30-3 PMAbraham LincolnWednesday, February 89:30 AM-11 AM1: 30-3 PM

Benjamin FranklinThursday, February 99:30-11:00 AM1:30-3 PMWilliam Penn(at the Bethel Park Community Center)Tuesday, February 149:30-11 AM1:30-3 PM

Memorial(at the Bethel Park Community Center)Thursday, February 169:30-11 AM1:30-3 PM

Denice Pazuchanics (left) and Lincoln PrincipalJay Johnson (right) with a check for $1,500 thatMrs. Paz received as a Chevron Leader in theClassroom.

Senior Citizens Encouraged ToObtain A Bethel Park School

District Gold CardBethel Park residents age 62 and older are encouraged to obtain a

Bethel Park Senior Citizen Gold Card Pass from the AdministrationBuilding (301 Church Road) daily from 8 AM to 4 PM.

These free cards are given to Bethel Park residents age 62 andolder, who can show proof of residency. The cards entitle the bearer tofree general admission to all Bethel Park concerts and home athleticevents--except playoffs.

The cards also will enable the bearers to purchase discountedadmission tickets to select nights of the high school spring musical.

The card is good for the entire 2016-2017 school year and willneed to be renewed annually.

4

December 5, 2016 www.bpsd.org

NEIL

Fifth Graders on Team Atlantis participated in across-curricular activity that taught them the colonial art ofmaking corn husk dolls.

In Reading, the students read the novel, Sign of theBeaver, in which the main character makes a corn huskdoll for his sister. Additionally, the students have beenstudying the original 13 colonies in Social Studies andlearned that the colonists also made corn husk dolls.

Students worked in pairs to husk the corn, measure,create and assemble the dolls. They did a great job andhad a lot of fun working together on the project.

The corn husks were generously donated by StoneChurch Acres Farm in Finleyville.

The students are taught by Katie Leckenby andDari Durigon.

Once a month, Franklin students will have theopportunity to have lunch with a local hero!

Through the school's HERO program that helpsstudents to become more responsible citizens,students who are caught exemplifying the HEROprinciples are rewarded with a HERO buck. They puttheir name on the buck and drop it into their school'sHERO bucks bucket. Each month, two names fromevery classroom are selected, and those students areable to enjoy a special HERO lunch on the schoolstage with a local hero. Besides meeting the hero, thestudents also get to enjoy a special ice cream treat,purchased for them by the Franklin PTO.

In October, students were able to have lunch withBethel Park Firefighter Eva Parker, who came toschool in one of the Bethel Park fire trucks. After thestudents ate lunch with Ms. Parker, the students gotto go outside and get a tour of the fire truck.

Other heroes that are scheduled to have lunchwith the students throughout the 2016-2017 schoolyear include a nurse, FBI agent and dentist, to namea few.

Franklin second graders enjoy their Hero lunch with BethelPark Volunteer Firefighter Eva Parker.

Alexander Macartie (left) and Hailey Sable (right) worktogether to create a colonial corn husk doll.

FRANKLINAs part of their Introduction to Foreign Language unit

on Latin, the sixth grade students in Richard Bergman’sclassroom also learned a little bit about journalism whenthey were assigned to create a Roman themednewspaper.

The students were given poster board the size of atwo page newspaper spread and asked to create the frontpage of a newspaper, focusing on the culture of ancientRome.

Working in small groups, the students first had tocome up with a name for their paper and the titles included“Roman Times,” “Roman Gazette,” “Roman Writers” and“Times New Roman.”

The papers had to include a lead story, cartoon, asports or entertainment article, want ads, an editorial orletter to the editor and graphics.

Some of the lead stories focused on Roman iconssuch as Julius Caesar or Pompeii, while other stories tooka more modern approach to Roman history. For example,one of the lead stories reported that the Coliseum wouldbe torn down to make way for a new shopping center.

The students had a great time collaborating on theproject, which also incorporated using the computer togenerate graphics and layout the stories.

Mr. Bergman is a former newspaper reporter and hethought this project would be an interesting addition to theLatin vocabulary and grammar his students traditionallylearn in his class.

(Left to right): Marena Chernicky, Jamison Finnegan,Cheyenne Burgos, Sydney Edwards and Jordan Barbercollaborated to create a Roman newspaper.

Chick-Fil-A Cow Pays AVisit

Franklin students wereexcited when the Chick-Fil-ACow paid a visit to theirschool, greeting students asthey entered the cafeteria forlunch!

PTO Purchases ClimbingWall

The FranklinGymnasium has beenenhanced this school yearby the purchase of aclimbing wall, paid for by theFranklin PTO. The studentsare enjoying the newapparatus and they weresurprised to learn that it’s alot harder to climb than itlooks!

The fifth grade studentson Team Ranger lookforward to their weeklySTEAM Challenge!

In STEAM Challenge10.10, groups of Rangerstudents were given thetask of creating the talleststructure possible, usingonly 25 popsicle sticks anda foot of masking tape.

Many creative designswere engineered duringPeriod 9. In the PlanningPhase, student groupssketched their ideas on adry erase slate and then had15 minutes to engineer theirdesign. In the Reflection

Phase, students measured the height of theirstructure in centimeters and considered howsuccessful they were and what improvements theycould make to their design in the future.

The following week’s Challenge, was similar tothe previous week, except the students were givennew parameters, but they also had to incorporatewhat they learned from the previous Challenge inorder to be successful with the new Challenge.

Bring on the next STEAM Challenge!The students are taught by Kristen Rylander

and Steven Yost.

NAMS students on TeamRanger do a good jobcollaborating to besuccessful on theirweekly STEAMChallenges.

Students Make Corn Husk Dolls

Team Ranger StudentsAccept The Weekly STEAM Challenge

Latin Students CreateRoman Newspaper

Franklin Students HaveLunch With Local Heroes

Franklin Photo FunWinter Weather Is Upon UsOn days when the school district needs to delay or cancel school

due to emergency or inclement weather, parents and staff will becalled using the School Messenger Notification System as soon as thedistrict makes the decision.

Additionally, delay/cancellation information will also beannounced on the following television and radio stations:

• KDKA-TV • WTAE-TV • WPXI-TV • KDKA-AM 1020

Delay/cancellation information can also be found on the BethelPark web site: www.bpsd.org or the Bethel Park Information Line 412-854-8407. And if you are following the Bethel Park School District onFacebook, LinkedIn and Google+ (Bethel Park School District) andTwitter (@bpsdinfo) you will see updated postings about any schooldelays or closings.

Delays are called in order to allow the streets to be madepassable by road crews and to allow district buses ample time to warmup, so students are not waiting at bus stops for long periods of time.

Parents are to be reminded that on days with two hour delays,there may not be anyone at the front door to let your child into thebuilding should they arrive too early. Please do not drop your child offfor school before the delayed starting time.

In the event of an emergency closing, all parents should haveprior arrangements made for their children. Please talk to your childabout what to do, or where to go, in the event parents are not able tobe at home at the time of the emergency early dismissal.

Kindergarten Parents—Please be aware that on days when atwo hour delay is called, the district will operate a ModifiedKindergarten Schedule as follows:

• Morning Kindergarten will attend from 11:20 AM to 1 PM• Afternoon Kindergarten will attend from 2 to 3:40 PMModified Kindergarten equalizes both sessions to 1 hour, 40

minutes of instruction.


Third graders in Ms. St. John’s room (left to right): KeiraRoss, Emma Bell, Shayla Blair, Scotlyn Paxton, LillekateHaner, Catherine Carberry and Autumn Flowers wereespecially excited to meet elite runner Heather Kampf.

Memorial students had a good time learningabout one of their favorite things to do—riding abicycle—as representatives from Squonk Opera cameto their school to teach about Cycle Science.

Squonk Opera is an organization that producesand performs eclectic programs that educate andcelebrate curiosity. The show they performed atMemorial took a close look at bicycles andsustainable power, and taught the students thescience behind how a bicycle works.

Through the program, the students learned aboutthe history, engineering and joy of the bicycle, andthat it was first conceived by Leonardo daVinci.

The students were easily able to name the partsof the bike, including pedals, gears and chains. Theylearned how the pedal operates much like a lever, andto demonstrate the point, a Memorial student wasable to lift Squonk Opera Artistic Director SteveO’Hearn in the air just by sitting on one end of a lever,while Steve stood on the other end.

Students also had fun honking horns every time awheel made a complete revolution.

They also learned about the gyroscopic effect ofthe bicycle’s tires, helping riders to stay upright thefaster they pedal.

The students agreed that bicycles are goodmodes of transportation because they don’t polluteand they keep people healthy. But the students didn’tknow that bicycles could also generate electricity, untilone of their classmates rode a stationary bike whilewearing a helmet with a light bulb that was connectedto the bike. The faster the student rode, the brighterthe light shone on top of the helmet.

The final thing the students learned was thatwhile some of the things they learned during theprogram looked like magic, it really was science thatmade them happen.

Hopefully the next time the students take theirbike out for a ride, they’ll have a better appreciationabout how this simple, yet effective machine works!

This Memorial student showed how he could makethe light bulb on top of his bicycle helmet light upjust by pedaling a bicycle!

MEMORIAL

Memorial students in grades 1-4 participated in afall-themed STEAM (Science, Technology,Engineering, Art and Math) activity in the Library.

The students used popsicle sticks, craft sticks,rubber bands, tape and plastic spoons to makecatapults. Each student was given a candy pumpkinto launch from their catapult and librarian CathyOczkowski measured how far each pumpkintraveled. Once they were done launching their candypumpkins, the students used their math skills to addup all of the distances the pumpkins traveled.The farthest individual pumpkin traveled 102 inches.Mrs. Oczkowski said another pumpkin would havetraveled farther, but a book shelf prevented it fromgoing farther.

The students really enjoyed themselves with thiscreative project and look forward to participating inmore monthly-themed STEAM projects as part of theirlibrarycurriculum.

As you cansee, thestudentsreally got intotheir pumpkinlaunchingcatapults!

The second grade students in Miss Francis'room celebrate fall every year by learning aboutJohnny Appleseed and participating in some funapple-themed activities.

The students sample various types of apples todetermine if they prefer a sweet or tart apple. Theyalso enjoy making some silly apple smiles with appleslices, caramel dip and marshmallows.

But the highlight of the activity every year ismaking apple sauce, with the help of parent Mrs.Kerry Swaney, who has been visiting Miss Francis'classroom every year for the past 14 years to help thestudents make apple sauce.

The results were delicious!

(Left to right): Addy Mosko, Jaden Veinovich, Nicholas Jonesand Luke Sirochman hold up paper apple trees they made.

Hero Program Kicks OffWith Visit From Elite Athletes

Page 45

Students Learn AboutCycle Science

Students MakePumpkin Catapults

Second Graders MakeApplesauce In Honor OfJohnny Appleseed

Franklin Elementary School was pleased towelcome three of the country's fastest runners to helpkick off the school's 2016-2017 HERO Program.

Stopping by Franklin were three of the runners whowere in town to compete in the fifth annual Liberty MileRace in Pittsburgh--four time winner Heather Kampf,two time winner Jordan McNamara and U.S. OlympianBen Blankenship, who finished in 8th Place at the RioOlympics in the 1500 meters and went on to win the2016 Liberty Mile in the men's division.

They came to Franklin thanks to PhysicalEducation Teacher Linda Bruckner, who enteredFranklin into a drawing with the Pittsburgh Marathon tobring these runners to Franklin.

The athletes took turns talking about how they gotinterested in running and about their training regimens.They also talked about who their heroes are. Mr.Blankenship said it was his father. Mr. McNamaratalked about a teacher who meant a great deal to him.Ms. Kampf's hero is former Olympic Athlete WilmaRudolph, who overcame some health issues to be anOlympic medalist.

The students also talked about the qualities thatheroes possess--including being strong, never givingup, helping people, being a good sport, and being kindand friendly.

Their teachers and Franklin PTO Parent Mrs.Guenther explained the HERO Program at Franklin thisyear and how students who were demonstrating herocharacteristics would be given HERO Bucks, that couldbe put into a gold chest. Each month, names will bedrawn from the chest and the students who have theirnames on their HERO Bucks will win a special lunchfrom the PTO and be able to eat with a different herofrom the community every month. The students alsotook the HERO Pledge.

Mr. McNamara shared that he was excited andenergized to be visiting with the students. "We're alldream chasers here today," he said. "We want thestudents to understand that they can be and dowhatever they set their sights on."

Some pieces of advice the athletes shared with thestudents were to "study hard and play hard," and "toovercome adversity and always do your best."Ms. Kampf told the students that, "It's important to workhard, but more than that, you have to believe inyourself."

Many of the students made signs welcoming theathletes to their school and Ms. Kampf was a particularfavorite of the female students, who stayed after theassembly to talk to her and get their pictures taken withher.

The assembly was an inspiring way to kick-off theHERO Program and perhaps get some of the studentsexcited about participating in the Franklin FlyersProgram, that will have them training for the PittsburghMarathon's Kids of Steel Marathon next spring.

FOLLOW THE BETHELPARK SCHOOL DISTRICT

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

You can stay up-to-date with the Bethel Park SchoolDistrict by following us on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn,Instagram and Twitter!

We’re listed as “Bethel Park School District” onFacebook. LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+, and as“bpsdinfo” on Twitter.

So stay up to date with the Bethel Park SchoolDistrict on social media!

www.bpsd.orgDecember 5, 2016

For four days in July, William Penn ElementarySchool was transformed into Camp Invention, a placewhere 74 students in grades 1-6 had the opportunityto reinforce their STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering and Math) skills through a wide variety ofinquiry-based, hands-on activities.

The Key Components of the program wereimmersion; create, test and recreate; STEM; and 21stcentury skills, such as creative problem solving,creativity and innovation and team building andcollaboration.

The Bethel Park School District was pleased tohost this program, which was created by the NationalInventors Hall of Fame, in partnership with the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office and theCollegiate Inventors Competition, to ensure that theactivities the students participate in are inspired bythe world’s smartest inventors.

Students were grouped by age and each day theyrotated through four areas: CrickoBot, The Lab WherePigs Fly and Anything is Possible, Epic Park and ICan Invent: Maker Studio, where they participated invariety of activities, including building robotic cricketsthat could fight motorized spider predators,conducting chemistry experiments to make their ownslime, learning about the rainforest, and applyingreverse engineering to disassemble brokenappliances and make them into something viable.

Coordinating this year’s Camp Invention wasWilliam Penn Elementary Teacher Laura Huth, whowas assisted by three other Bethel Park Teachers—Brad Kszastowski, Melinda Romito, JessicaMahoney and two other area teachers—HeatherPutt and Dan Owen.

Bethel Park High School students in grades 10-12 served as Leadership Interns and students ingrades 7-9 participated as Counselors-In-Training.

“This year’s Camp Invention really was a hit withthe students,” said Camp Coordinator Laura Huth.“You could feel the students’ enthusiasm for theprogram, not only as they learned to workcollaboratively, but also as they anxiously anticipatedwhat was coming next.

“We had representation from all of our schools,and the younger students looked forward tointeracting with the High School Leadership Interns,who served as positive role models for what we weretrying to accomplish that week.”

The District is pleased to be able to bring CampInvention back to Bethel Park with all new themes in2017. Parents will be provided with information aboutthe 2017 edition of Camp Invention through theDistrict’s email newsletter once it becomes available.

It was a great week of learning, creativity andteam-building!

PENN

By the time springtime hits Bethel Park, thestudents at Lincoln Elementary School will be workingand learning outside in a new sustainable garden thatwill be created on the side of the school, outside thekindergarten classrooms.

But before a shovel goes into the ground tocreate this new, exciting learning space, all studentsare meeting on a monthly basis to plan for their newgarden.

At the first planning meeting, students met byclassroom with Librarian Mrs. Pazuchanics and FirstGrade Teacher Mrs. Douds, to talk about where freshfruits and vegetables come from and how aSustainable Garden could become an integral part oflearning at Lincoln.

Students watched a brief video from PBS aboutgardens, using the theme, “Plant a garden and theearth will know you care.” Lincoln is proudlypartnering with WQED and PBS to help create thisgarden, which will serve as a hands-on outdoorlearning space for the students.

Also working with Lincoln is Miss Becky from theSouth Hills Interfaith Movement, who talked to thestudents about SHIM’s Community Garden and howthe Lincoln garden can benefit from using recycledmaterials and composting.

The students talked about the kinds of thingsthey would like to grow in their garden, and some oftheir favorites included tomatoes, carrots, Brusselsprouts and strawberries.

The students received some inspiration aboutdesign elements of their garden by looking at photosof other gardens as they began to think about howthey would like their school’s garden to look.

The students will meet monthly to talk about thegarden in preparation for its creation in the spring of2017. They are excited to not only enjoy the fruits oftheir labors, but to also share their harvest withothers.

As Marcellus Cicero said, “If you have a gardenand a library, you have everything you need to learnand grow.”

Second Graders in Mrs. Petalino’s room weregiven the opportunity to create a Pumpkin CharacterBook Report.

They accomplished the task by reading a book oftheir choice, writing a report about their favoritecharacter from the book and then creating a pumpkinin the likeness of their favorite character.

Some students opted to read favorite children’sliterature, such as Junie B. Jones, Hello Kitty and theMinions, while others opted for some seasonalstories, such as Where’s My Mummy?, The LittleGreen Witch, Monsters Love Underpants and CreepyCarrots.

Either way, the students did a fantastic jobdecorating their pumpkins to reflect their story’sfavorite character.

They also presented their book reports to theirclassmates and their pumpkins were proudly ondisplay during the Halloween season.

Sydney Miller and her pumpkin decorated like the storybook bear, Corduroy.

LINCOLN

Mrs. Douds speaks with Kindergarten students about theLincoln Sustainable Garden.

Can you hear it? Music is filling the air at WilliamPenn!

Band and String students have been working veryhard to learn how to play music on their instruments.

It’s not as easy as you would think for a beginner tolearn an instrument, but the melodic tones that arecoming from the band room after a few weeks of schoolare simply amazing!

Keep up the good work, Penn musicians!

(Left to right): Clarinet players Ella Sabanovic, OliviaKitchen, Heidi Miller and Shane Sullivan practice withMusic Teacher Mr. Knell.

Students employed their archaeology skills as they felttheir way through a gooey marsh to discover some gemsand minerals that revealed clues about Epic Park’sfascinating history.

Penn Second GradersCreated Pumpkin

Character Book Reports

Camp Invention WasEpic

Music Is In The Air At Penn

Lincoln Students BeginPlanning For A

Sustainable Garden

MISSION:To lead an educational partnership withthe Community, maintaining anenvironment that challenges all studentsto reach their potential as lifelong learnersand responsible members of society.


Lincoln Elementary families were offered the opportunity toparticipate in a four-week, evening program called PBS KIDSScratch Jr. Lincoln is the only school in the Pittsburgh area and thethird school in the country to be selected for this Family CreativeLearning Project.

Fifteen Lincoln students and their parents signed up toparticipate in this four-week program that is designed to introducekids and grownups to exciting digital and tangible tools that theycan use to develop computation and engineering knowledge,practices and perspectives as they imagine, plan, design andcreate their own child-led projects using iPads and the Scratch Jr.app.

This program aims to support and foster collaboration,communication and problem-solving skills among family memberswhile empowering them to create and express themselves withmedia and technology.

Through this STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering andMath) activity, the students had the opportunity to take initiative for

their own learning, and were free to ask questions, explore, investigate, express themselves, and share their ideaswhile growing and learning. Their parents played a huge supporting role as their children developed these skills andpractices.

The goal of the program is to de-mystify STEM by engaging families in a fun, creative and interest-drivenprocess. Representatives from PBS and two Lincoln staff members--Librarian Denice Pazuchanics and FirstGrade Teacher Dawn Douds--were there to facilitate the process.

PBS Manager of Education Projects and former Lincoln Parent Cathy Cook explains it this way, "Families areso busy these days that it's difficult to get a family to sit down and read a story before bed time, let alone spend twohours together on a project. We thought the Scratch Jr program would provide our families with the opportunity todeliberately schedule this time together on the calendar. Many of the children are already comfortable with STEAMactivities, so this project allows the students to perhaps show their parents a thing or two."

When the teachers offered the program at Lincoln's Open House, they were hoping to attract seven or eightfamilies and they were pleasantly overwhelmed when 15 families indicated they would like to participate.

The evenings began with dinner and then time to work together. In the first session, children and parents weresegregated for part of the evening. Parents viewed a video and were given an orientation about the project, as wellas time to acclimate themselves to the iPads. Students talked about what a "maker" is, and then they used magicmarkers to color and personalize their "maker hats," before personalizing their "Scratch Journals."

As Makers, the students learned that they would become imaginers, planners, designers, crafters andmotivators. As Maker Parents, the adults learned that they would serve as co-makers, questioners, motivators andreviewers.

After reviewing what some of the iPad icons stand for, the students were reunited with their parents for theremainder of the evening to work together to further get acquainted with the iPad.

Over the course of the program, the families worked together and by the final week, created a presentation,story, animation or game on the iPad, using the Scratch Jr coding app, that was created for PBS with assistancefrom MIT and Tufts University, incorporating many of the PBS characters.

Some of the reasons the students wanted to participate included, "I like math," "I want to learn more about thecomputer," "I want to learn about science," and "I'm excited to be at school at night!"

Mrs. Cook explained that Lincoln was chosen because of past partnerships between the school and PBS,including the PBS Young Writers Competition and the Lincoln Learner Program, which began its second year inOctober. Lincoln Learners is an after-school mentor program, pairing students in grades 3-4 with students in K-1 tohelp boost reading and math skills.

"I can't sing the praises of Mrs. Pazuchanics, Mrs. Douds and Principal Jay Johnson enough," said Mrs. Cook.

By the end of the first night, students and parentswere exploring the power of iPads together andstarting to think about the projects they would liketo create.

WASHINGTON

Everybody's favorite beagle--Snoopy from thePeanuts cartoons--is the official mascot of WashingtonSecond Grade Teacher Miss Manganello's classroomand the students were happy to celebrate Snoopy's 66thbirthday on October 5.

Charles Schultz began drawing Snoopy in thePeanuts strip in 1950 and for the past 66 years, the doghas entertained children and adults with his antics.

Happy Birthday, Snoopy!

Miss Manganello’s class enjoyed celebratingSnoopy’s 66th birthday!

Washington first graders in Mrs. Ellison’s andMrs. Walsh’s classes celebrated the season with afun, activity-filled Fall Festival that featured some funSTEAM activities.

The students rotated through five activitiesbefore gathering together to decorate pumpkins. Thisyear’s Fall Festival activities included:

• Creating geometric artwork using dried leaves, inresponse to reading the book, The Leaf Man;

• Participating in sink/float experiments andspeculating whether an item would sink or floatbefore testing it in a bowl of water;

• Using engineering skills to build a tower as highas possible with marshmallows and toothpicks;

• Tasting three different types of apples—reddelicious, Granny Smith and honey crisp—andanalyzing the apples for sweetness vs. tartness,before voting for their favorite variety on aclassroom graph. (The honey crisp won handsdown, defeating early leader Granny Smith.)

• Selecting a pumpkin and then using theirestimating skills as they measured the pumpkinsfor height and width.The students recorded their findings in special

books that they decorated to look like jack-o-lanterns.They were able to take these books home as journalkeepsakes from a fun afternoon of learning!

Washington First Graders in Mrs. Walsh’s room pose with themarshmallow tower they built. The humidity of the warm fallday kept the tower from standing tall!

As part of the first Bus SafetyAssembly of the 2016-2017 schoolyear, Lincoln students wereintroduced to Jeez, the new BethelPark Police Department's K-9 Officer.

Jeez' partner is Bethel ParkPolice Officer Carey Ellwanger.Jeez is a year and a half old BelgianMalinois dog, and he came to theBPPD through the BenRoethlisberger Foundation, whichprovides trained K-9s to area policedepartments.

Bethel Park School ResourceOfficer Eric Anibaldi explained tothe students that Jeez helps OfficerEllwanger to search for lost peopleand run down the bad guys. Jeez notonly understands commands inEnglish, but he also understandsthem in Dutch, as he was born andtrained in the Netherlands.

Officer Ellwanger is lookingforward to bringing Jeez to all of theBethel Park elementary schools sothe students can get to know the youngest member of theBethel Park Police Department!

Bethel Park Police OfficerEllwanger with his newpartner, Jeez.

Get on the E-NewsletterMailing List

If you like to stay up to date with BethelPark news, events and recognitions, get on theBethel Park E-Newsletter mailing list!

The E-Newsletter is a periodic update sentvia email (generally on Mondays), to keep youcurrent with all of the school district happenings!

If you are a parent of a Bethel Park student,you need to have your primary email addressadded into Sungard, and you will receive your E-Newsletter via School Messenger. Pleasecontact the secretary at all of the schools yourchildren attend and ask her to enter your emailaddress into your child’s contact information inSungard. This way you will not only receive theE-Newsletter, but you will also receive school-specific emails that do not come from the PublicRelations Office.

If you are not a Bethel Park parent but wantto receive our mailings, or if you are a parentwho has more than one email address, pleaseemail Vicki Flotta at [email protected] your full name and email address to haveyour email address added to the E-NewsletterMailing List.

It’s that easy, so what are you waiting for?Stay informed! Get on the BPSD E-

Newsletter mailing list!

Families Participate In Creative Learning Project

Second Graders CelebrateSnoopy’s Birthday

Students Meet New Canine Officer

First Graders Have FunAt Fall Festival


IMS

At the end ofevery school year,Washington thirdgrade studentsreceive cabbageplants from Bonnie Plants, and they are encouraged totake them home to grow.

Once the cabbage has grown, the students areasked to submit a photograph to Bonnie Plants, showingthem and their cabbage. The photo served as their entryinto a contest, where, if selected, they could receive a$1,000 scholarship from Bonnie Plants.

Since 2002 Bonnie Plants has offered this programto third graders nation-wide to engage children’s interestin agriculture and inspire a love of vegetable gardening.

AaronHofbauer andthe head ofcabbage hegrew this pastsummer.

Independence Middle School eighth grader KellyKatilius won a Gold Medal at the Family Career andCommunity Leaders of America’s NationalCompetition, which was held during the FCCLANational LeadershipConference in San Diego,CA.

Kelly earned a GoldMedal for finishing in FirstPlace in the Junior LifeEvent Planning Category.

She qualified tocompete at Nationals byfinishing in First Place atthe Pennsylvania FCCLACompetition, held inMarch.

She was prepared forthis competition byIndependence MiddleSchool Consumer ScienceTeacher Heather Fontana.

Kelly is already preparing for the 2017 FCCLAState Competition, which will be held in SevenSprings. This year she will be competing in theRecycle and Redesign event. This event encouragesstudents to take an old, unusable item and repurposeit. IMS Librarian Patty Heasley provided Kelly withseveral broken Chromebook screens that Kelly will beredesigning to make them look like windows. After thecompetition, the “windows” will hang in the LibraryLearning Commons at IMS as a tribute to the powerand beauty of recycling.

Should she be fortunate enough to win anotherGold Medal and score high enough, she plans to takeher project to Nashville, TN next July for the NationalCompetition.

Kelly Katilius and her twogold medals.

A staff goal at Independence MiddleSchool is to foster a love of communityservice within their students.

The staff understands the importanceof nurturing well-rounded students, andhelping them to realize that the value ofgiving back to others is an essential part oftheir success.

The teachers on Team 7A couldn’t waitto begin this process, so during the firstweek of school, they got their studentsthinking about what kind of a year-longservice learning project they would like toparticipate in.

This year the students will focus onunderprivileged pre-school aged childrenand doing what they can to help them todevelop a love of reading. Throughout theyear they will conduct what they term an“amped-up book drive,” that includes notonly collecting children’s books, but alsorecording some of their favorite stories on CDs and giving them to an organization that works directly withthese children.

The students spent a morning working collaboratively in small groups to brainstorm some slogans for theircampaign. They decided on “Turn A Page To Endless Possibilities” and had fun designing t-shirts on theirChromebooks to illustrate their slogan.

Later that day, they continued to put their team-building skills to the test by working on two STEAM(Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math)-themed activities.

For the first activity, students worked in small self-selected groups and were given a bag of balloons and aroll of tape, and asked to see how high they could build a free-standing tower of balloons.

When the time was up, the students brought their colorful towers into the cafeteria and they learned thatthe tower built by Sean Burns, Anthony Celletti, Thomas Halligan, Jacob Narr and Aiden Sexton was thetallest, standing at seven feet, three inches high.

For the second activity, the students worked in groups pre-selected by their teachers. They were given 20pieces of dried spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string and one marshmallow, and they were asked tobuild a free-standing tower as high as they could.

This activity posed a greater challenge for the students than the balloon tower, with the team of TaylorArnoni, Max Blanc, Keiton Pegher and Olivia Underwood constructing the tallest tower at 25 inches.

At the end of the activities, thestudents talked as a group about howthings went when they worked with thepeople they selected versus the peoplethey were assigned to work with. Someof the students were surprised to learnthat they actually worked better withpeople they did not choose, for a coupleof reasons. First, they tended not to goofoff as much with the assigned group, andsecond, they were able to listen to newideas from people they might notnormally interact with.

Math Teacher Elisa Scheuerle wasimpressed with the way the studentsworked together. She explained thatthroughout the entire school year, thestudents on 7A would be workingtogether as a team—learning togetherand helping one another.

“What the students experiencedtoday was a brief snapshot of the waywe would like them to collaboratethroughout the entire school year,” Mrs.Scheuerle said. “You could see therewere a couple of ‘ah-ha moments’ whenthe students realized that there is valueworking with others who might not be intheir immediate circle of friends.

“As teachers, we are excited aboutthis group of students and theenthusiasm they showed for these twosimple projects. It is our hope that theywill carry that enthusiasm for inquiry andlearning throughout the school year.”

Students Enjoy Growing Cabbages

Independence MiddleSchool Student EarnsGold Medal At NationalFCCLA Competition

Students Participate In STEAM Team-Building Activities

Winning the Balloon Tower Challenge were (left to right): Sean Burns, JacobNarr, Anthony Celletti, Aiden Sexton (behind the balloons) and ThomasHalligan.

Team 8A Helps To Keep PA Beautiful

For the third consecutive year, the students on Team 8A areworking to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.

They are focusing on the area around their school--includingthe Administration Building and Bethel Park High School campus.

The students worked in small groups, picking up trash andkeeping track of exactly what they picked up. The most picked uppiece of litter the students bagged were cigarettes.

They do this as part of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful's LitterFree School Zone Program and they participate in this activitytwice a year. They will do this again in the spring of 2017.

By doing this, the students gain a greater understanding ofhow important it is to dispose of trash properly. They also hopethe community is inspired by their efforts to keep their schoollitter-free and do their part to keep Bethel Park litter-free!

(Left to right): Andrew Fullerton, Declan Brusoski, Jillian Noeland Sarah Plotz did a great job to help to keep Bethel Parkbeautiful!


Fourteen Bethel Park High School students successfullyapplied and have been selected to participate inapprenticeship programs sponsored by the AlleghenyIntermediate Unit.

Participating in programs this school year will be seniorsErin Cavrak (Advertising) and Sarah Kaufman (InternationalAffairs); juniors Jason Biernesser (Biotechnology), JacobCunningham (Chemical Engineering), Grace Evans(Architecture), Christopher Futrell (Animation), KathrynKimes (Sports Medicine), Patrick McCall (Acting), JacobOpie (Animation), Gavin Wagenheim (Architecture) andConnor Wholey (Chemical Engineering).

Also participating in Apprenticeship Programs aresophomores Eliza Albenze (Sports Medicine), Rachel Holt(Marine Biology) and Emma Petrick (International Affairs).

The Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s ApprenticeshipProgram consists of a half-day or day-long learningexperience per month over a six or seven month periodduring the school year.

Students meet and work with local professionals whoare willing to share their experience, expertise andenthusiasm for what they do for a living with the students.The program provides hands-on, behind-the-scenesexperiences and gives students the opportunities to makeconnections with organizations and people who can helpthem as they pursue their career choices.

BPHS French classes once again welcomed avisit from Pasteur Pierre and his son, Kerby, whowere visiting Pittsburgh from their native Haitibefore Hurricane Matthew devastated parts of theCaribbean nation.

These gentlemen operate the La Croix HaitiNew Testament Mission--seven schoolsthroughout Haiti that currently serve over 3,500students from pre-school through 12th grade.Begun in 1975 with 12 students, their mission is tomake a better life for the people of Haiti.

Pasteur Pierre and Kerby spoke in French tothe students, telling them about the geography ofHaiti, the languages spoken there (French, Creole,English and Spanish), the government and theirschools.

The students were especially interested inlearning about the similarities between the Creoleand French languages. They also wanted to knowabout healthcare, music, religion and civil rights inHaiti. It was an eye-opening experience for theBPHS students and they enjoyed conversing inFrench, as well as making cultural comparisons.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the BethelPark French Club and French classes had theopportunity to sponsor and correspond with ayoung Haitian student named Lovely Philippe.

This unique experience allowed the studentsto think beyond themselves, beyond Bethel Parkand to be more globally aware. BPHS FrenchTeachers Tracy McCoy and Rachael Smith hopeto be able to continue to support Pasteur Pierre'sefforts to educate and improve the lives of theyouth in Haiti.

Pasteur Pierre became acquainted withBethel Park High School through the Walshfamily, who visited Haiti on church mission trips.They've hosted Pasteur Pierre in their homewhenever he visits the United States, and theirdaughter, Cami, now a Math Teacher at BethelPark High School, was a French student at BethelPark High School when the family met PasteurPierre.

BPHS

Twenty-five Bethel Park High School students werenamed AP Scholars by the College Board, to recognizethose students who have demonstrated college levelachievement through Advanced Placement Courses andExams.

Students who take AP Exams can earn college credit,advanced placement or both for successful performance onthe AP Exams. Approximately 22 percent of the 2.2 millionhigh school students world-wide who took AP Exams in 2016performed at a sufficiently high level to earn an AP ScholarAward.

2016 Bethel Park High School graduate SeanMcClaine (currently attending Boston University) was nameda National AP Scholar by receiving an average score of atleast 4 on all AP Exams taken, with scores of 4 or higher oneight or more of the exams.

Four students were named AP Scholars with Distinctionfor receiving an average score of at least 3.5 on all APExams taken, with scores of 3 or higher on five or more ofthese exams. Bethel Park’s AP Scholars with Distinction are2016 graduates Jack Brownfield (Georgetown University,Zachary Kraska (Temple University) and Sean McClaine(Boston University) as well as senior Rachel McClaine.

Four students were named AP Scholars with Honor forreceiving an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Examstaken, with scores of 3 or higher on four or more of theseexams. They are 2016 graduates David Erzen (MariettaCollege) and Macie McKitrick (American University) andseniors Kyle Coplan and Kevin Yost.

Seventeen students were named AP Scholars forreceiving scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.They are 2016 graduates Adella Antkowiak (University ofPittsburgh), William dePoutiloff (Case Western ReserveUniversity), Ryan Gillece (University of Massachusetts atAmherst), Morgan Hirsh (Kent State University), JoshuaKimes (University of Pittsburgh), Natalie Lalama (GeorgeWashington University), Derek Miller (University ofPittsburgh), Thomas Weber (Ohio State University), JosephWeston (Pennsylvania State University) and Trey Williams(Pennsylvania State University).

Also named AP Scholars were seniors Hannah Hutton,Elizabeth Jensen, Delaney Lacey, Courtney Manns,Megan McClary, Jessica Viehman and Natalia Young.

Bethel Park High School currently offers 18 AdvancedPlacement Courses.

French Students WelcomeVisitors From Haiti

14 Bethel Park Students ToParticipate In

Apprenticeship Programs

25 Bethel Park High SchoolStudents Named AP Scholars

Independence MiddleSchool seventh graders inMiss Persi's classeslearned about HaitianMetal Art and created theirown metal art designs.

Before they begantheir projects, the studentslearned about theCaribbean island nation ofHaiti, one of the poorest inthe Caribbean. Residentsthere, on average, live onless than $2 a day, so theyquickly learn the importance of recycling and reusingitems.

For Haitian metal art, originally created by blacksmithGeorges Liataud, the Haitians remove the tops andbottoms from old steel drums, and flatten the barrel of thedrum to use as the basis for their artistic creations. Thestudents used their Chromebooks to research some ofthe Haitian patterns and textures that are used to createmetal art to find some inspiration for their creations.

The students sketched their drawings on paperbefore transferring them to 6 x 6 inch thin gauge sheets ofaluminum or copper. Their designs reflected much of thenatural environment in Haiti, including suns, birds, turtlesand flowers.

Before the students transferred their designs to themetal, they learned two metal craft techniques--chasing, which are the marks created on the front of thedesign, giving it a pushed-in look, similar to carving; andrepousse, which are the marks created from the back ofthe design, giving the artwork a bumped-out, raisedtexture.

Because the metal the Haitians use is much harderthan what the IMS students use, they need to use toolssuch as chisels, awls and ball pien hammers, to carveand raise their designs. Because the metal the IMSstudents use is much softer, they are able to give theirdesigns the necessary texture by using x-acto knives,scissors, sticks and burnishers.

Once the designs were completed, the studentsapplied India ink to their metal art, wiping away theexcess and leaving the ink in the crevices. Then theymounted their designs on black paper to complete theassignment.

Miss Persi has traveled to Haiti twice since 2001 andis impressed with the rich culture and how much pride theHaitians have in their homeland. She enjoys doing thisproject with her students because they enjoy learningabout another culture and they do an outstanding job withtheir creations. "This is really an instant gratificationproject for the students," she explains. "As the studentsbegin working the metal, they can easily see how wellthey are doing--if they need to press harder to make theirdesign come alive."

Anayah Hunter shows herwork in progress.

Seventh Graders Learn ToCreate Haitian Inspired

Metal Art

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICYThe Bethel Park School District will not discriminate in

its educational programs, activities or employmentpractices, based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexualpreference, disability, age, religion, ancestry, unionmembership, or any other legally protected classification.

Announcement of this policy is in accordance withstate and federal laws, including Title IX of the EducationAmendments of 1972, and sections 503 and 504 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973. Employees and participantswho have an inquiry or complaint of harassment ordiscrimination, or need information aboutaccommodations, for persons with disabilities shouldcontact:

Mr. Matthew HowardTitle IX Compliance Officer301 Church RoadBethel Park, PA 15102-1696(412) 854-8404 (412)854-8430 (fax)[email protected]

(Front row, left to right): Blake Haggerty, Kerby Pierre,Pasteur Pierre and Cameron Fondelier; (back row, left toright): Abigail Durkin, Paige Bowermaster, DesireeSaether and Jacob Pauley.

THANK YOU, SENATOR RESCHENTHALER

Pennsylvania State Senator GuyReschenthaler generously donated a newPennsylvania flag that is proudly displayed infront of Bethel Park High School.

On a recent visit to the high school, theSenator noticed that the flag was experiencingsome wear and tear, so he arranged for a newflag to be delivered to the high school.

Thank you, Senator Reschenthaler!


Award-winning food innovations, science and art,and global outreach were featured during the BethelPark High School presentation at the 2016 STEAMShowcase!

The event was sponsored by the AlleghenyIntermediate Unit's Center for Creativity and was held onSeptember 27 at the IBEW Circuit Center and Ballroomin the South Side.

Bethel Park was one of 28 area school districts thatparticipated in this event, which showed how educationis being transformed using $20,000 STEAM (Science,Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics)grants that were made possible by the Chevron, ClaudeWorthington Benedum and Grable Foundations.

The Bethel Park presentation featured tastyhummus recipes, portraits made of rust, spin art bikepaintings, conductive sewing creations and globalscience projects--all projects that were conducted duringthe 2015-2016 school year thanks to the $20,000STEAM Grant.

This grant helped the highschool to create three moreInnovation Studios to encourageand cultivate STEAM learningexperiences throughout allacademic disciplines. The HighSchool now has an InnovationStudio on all floors of itsAcademic Wing.

At the Showcase, attendeesenjoyed learning about all of theprojects, but almost everybodywanted to try to create their ownspin art painting by riding theSpin Art Bike, which the studentsbuilt. Attendees also enjoyedtasting the award-winningBuffalo Chicken Hummus recipe created by Family andConsumer Science students and marketed by BPHSMarketing students.

BPHS Art and Science students made portraits withrust, after the students studied the chemical reactionsthat were necessary to produce it. Clothing studentsused conductive thread to design "light up" clothing aspart of a Project Runway-style challenge. Attendees alsolearned about the joint soil study conducted by Sciencestudents in Bethel Park and a school in the coffeegrowing region of Honduras.

Bethel Park Director of Secondary Education JanetO'Rourke summarized the event by saying, "What thestudents are learning in school are real life applicationsof science, technology, engineering, arts and math.These are the kinds of projects that they see every dayat Bethel Park High School."

Bethel Park HighSchool Family andConsumer Sciencestudents showed offtheir conductivethread sewingprojects at the 2016STEAM Expo.

Girls Volleyball• Competed in the WPIAL Championship Consolation

Match

Football• Qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs

Girls Cross Country• Qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs• Lilly Zeminski won the Slippery Rock JV Invitational

and Hannah Crawford finished in Second Place.

Boys Cross Country• Qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs

Boys Soccer• Qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs

Girls Golf• Erin Cavrak qualified to compete in the WPIAL

Individual Finals.

Seventeen Bethel Park High School juniors wereselected to participate in the 2016-2017Westinghouse Science Honors Institute.

Participating in this year’s program will be KaylaArmstrong, Evan Aronhalt, Ryan Cook, EmilyCowser, Brad DeFranc, Noah Gearhart, NicoleHabjan, Rachel Hankin, Avery Hill, MichaelLincoln, Max McKitrick, Danika Moody, MatthewNestler, Brianna Shannon, Hannah Tower, LindsayWaldbaum and Joseph Wright.

These students will attend a 12 lecture series,held October through March at Gateway MiddleSchool on selected topics in science and engineering,delivered by local professionals. Students areencouraged to ask questions and interact with thelecturers during and after the presentations.

Some of the lecture topics this year includenuclear power production, FBI forensic investigations,stem cells, bioengineering and robot development.Students will also have the opportunity to tour theBreazeale Nuclear Reactor at Penn State.

Students who are interested in this program mustgo through an application process that includesrecommendations from science teachers, highacademic standing in science and the humanities anda demonstrated interest in science.

The students are taught at Bethel Park HighSchool by Science Teachers Lee Cristofano,Barbara Eisel, Cassandra Haught, Dawn Ogilvie,Alicia Pacek and Clyde Qualk.

BPHS Featured In STEAM Showcase

17 Bethel Park High SchoolJuniors Selected ToParticipate In

Westinghouse ScienceHonors Institute

Bethel Park High School junior Noah Gearhartwon First Place in the Best High School Documentarycategory of Steeltown Entertainment's "Take A Shot"Youth Film Contest for his documentary, "The RubberBand Challenge."

The video encouragespeople to stop swearing bywearing a rubber band aroundtheir wrist and flicking it onthemselves whenever theyswear.

As the winner of thecontest, Noah received$1,500 and the free use ofequipment for one year fromSteeltown Entertainment.

Noah has been makingvideos since he was in eighth grade, but his skillsgreatly improved once he got to the High School andparticipated in the Video Production Program as amember of Black Hawk TV, under the direction ofTechnology Education Teacher Brad Kszastowski.

Besides creating programming for the highschool TV station, Noah also wrote the software thatthe high school uses on the video kiosks that arelocated around the school, to stream Tweets fromTwitter.

And while his career aspirations are leading himinto the field of computer programming, Noah sayshe will always have videography as a hobby.

Noah Gearhart

Junior Captures FirstPlace In Video Contest

Girls Soccer• Lauren Barr committed to play collegiate soccer at

Edinboro Univeristy.

Slow Pitch Softball• The JV Team were the2016 Champions of theWPISL First Pitch JVSoftball Tournament.

New Turf Installed At Bethel Park StadiumAfter 10 years, a newartificial playing surfacewas installed at BethelPark Stadium over thesummer. The newsurface will provide adurable playing field forour football, soccer andlacrosse teams.

The JV SlowPitch SoftballTeam

Four Bethel Park High School seniors wererecognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporationin its 2017 NationalMerit ScholarshipProgram.

Rachel McClainewas named aSemifinalist. She isamong the 16,000 highschool seniors whoscored high enough onthe PreliminaryScholastic AptitudeTest/National MeritScholarship QualifyingTest (PSAT/NMSQT)last year as a junior, toearn Semifinalist statusin this program whichwill award 7,500National MeritScholarships in the spring.

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarshipaward, Rachel must fulfill several requirements to advanceto the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent ofthe Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing,and about half of the Finalists will win a National MeritScholarship.

To become a Finalist, Rachel must complete adetailed scholarship application to demonstrate anoutstanding academic record, high SAT scores,participation in school and community service,demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honorsand awards.

Achieving Commended Status in this program wereNathan Makowski, Megan McClary and Ryan Pfab.They are among the 34,000 high school students whoearned high scores on the PSAT/NMSQT, which they tooklast fall as juniors, but their scores were not high enough toachieve Semifinalist status.

These students received Letters of Commendationfrom the National Merit Scholarship Corporation inrecognition of their outstanding academic promise and theymay be candidates for special scholarships provided byNational Merit corporate and business partners.

Approximately 1.6 million students in more than22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National MeritScholarship Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT in 2015.

Bethel Park High School seniors(left to right): Ryan Pfab, MeganMcClary, Rachel McClaine andNathan Makowski wererecognized in the 2017 NationalMerit Scholarship Program,either as a Commended Studentor as a Semifinalist.

Four Bethel Park HighSchool StudentsRecognized By The

National Merit ScholarshipCorporation

Athletic UpdateYou can read about all of the Bethel Park High School athletic highlights at: http://www.bpsd.org/Downloads/2016-2017%20Athletic%20Highlights7.pdf


Music News

Rotary Students The Rotary Club of Bethel Park named BPHS seniorRachel McClaine its September Student of theMonth. Each month during the school year theRotary recognizes those students who havedemonstrated commitment to school and/orcommunity service. Rachel is active at the highschool, serving as the 2016 HomecomingCommittee Chair. She is also a member of theStudent Government Association, serving on theExecutive Board and Chairing Wish Week.Additionally, she participates in the Fall Play andSpring Musical, and is active at her church.BPHS senior Kevin Yost was named the October

RotaryStudent ofthe Month. Kevin is the National HonorSociety’s Community Service Chairpersonand he worked closely with BPHS GuidanceCounselor Mike Bruce to coordinate a groupof student volunteers to staff the 2016 CollegeFair, which brought over 2,000 students andtheir parents to the high school in October tomeet with over 100 representatives from post-secondary institutions. Additionally, Kevin is apitcher on the Baseball Team and a memberof the Hometown Hi-Q Team. He alsovolunteered at Family Hospice and PalliativeCare.

Young WritersBPHS senior Rachel McClaine won a $50 award from the Western

Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English atthe Duquesne Literary Festival for an essay shewrote.

BPHS freshman Haley Vincent was informedthat an original poem she wrote last schoolyear as a student at Independence MiddleSchool will be included in the next issue of The Pine Tree PoetryCollection.

National Leadership ForumBPHS junior Hayley Ruffing participated in the week-long NationalYouth Leadership Forum: Law & CSI in Washington, D.C. in July.Through this program, sponsored by Envision, Hayley had theopportunity to explore the many career options available in thefields of law and forensic science, and to mingle with many of the477 scholars from across the U.S. and other countries, who werethere to provide insight to the students. Hayley returned from theexperience eager to learn more about careers in forensic science.

Keystone Boys StateBPHS senior Samuel Gobbie was one of 237 seniors who wereselected to attend the week-long Keystone Boys State Program atShippensburg University, sponsored by the Pennsylvania AmericanLegion, designed to prepare young men to be the nation’s leaders.The program taught the participants about civic leadership, stateand local government, and civic participation through activities suchas legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcementpresentations and recreational programs.

BPHS

Student News

Honors Orchestra• Emily Cowser (violin)• William May (violin)• Preston Smith (violin)• Jenelle Wu (violin)

(Front row, left to right): Bruce Deal, Shayaan Meyers, AlexandraDeRose and Connor Remington; (back row, left to right): AnthonyLucchitti, Garrett Hoffman, Geoff McKain and Tyler Petrossi.

(Left to right): Rachel McClaine andRotary President Bonnie Pierce.

(Left to right): Jenelle Wu, William May andEmily Cowser. Absent: Preston Smith

(Left to right): Kevin Yost and BonniePierce.

Honors Band• Bruce Deal (tuba)• Alexandra DeRose (clarinet)• Garrett Hoffman

(percussion/second alternate)• Anthony Lucchitti (percussion)

• Geoff McKain(percussion/first alternate)

• Shayaan Meyers (bass clarinet/first alternate)

• Tyler Petrossi (percussion)• Connor Remington (tuba)

Bethel Park High School playedhost to the 2016 South Hills CollegeFair, which was offered in collaborationwith the Guidance Departments atBethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, PetersTownship and Upper St. Clair HighSchools.

Over 100 representatives frompost-secondary institutions across thecountry filled the gymnasium, cafeteriaand library, ready to provide highschool students and their parents withvital information about their respectiveschools.

It was estimated that over 2,000individuals attended this year'sCollege Fair.

The College Fair was a great wayfor students and their parents to havemeaningful face-to-face conversationswith institutions of interest and to getinformation and their questionsanswered.

The College Fair was coordinatedby Bethel Park High School GuidanceCounselor Michael Bruce.

The Bethel Park High School cafeteria(pictured) was one of several areas in theschool that were filled with interestedstudents and parents at this year’sCollege Fair.

College Fair Was Huge Success

Rachel McClaine

Haley Vincent

Hayley Ruffing

Samuel Gobbie


BETHEL PARK SCHOOL DISTRICTANNUAL PUBLIC NOTICE — 2016-2017

The Bethel Park School District uses the followingprocedures for locating, identifying, and evaluating specifiedneeds of school-aged students requiring special programs orservices. These procedures are described in this notice asrequired by law.

The District, as prescribed by Section 1402 of the SchoolCode, routinely conducts screenings of a child’s hearing acuityin grades Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 7, and 11. Visual acuity isscreened in all grades annually. Speech and language skillsare screened in Kindergarten and on a referral basis. Newstudents are initially screened the year of admission. Grossmotor and fine motor skills, academic skills, and social-emotional skills are assessed by classroom teachers on anon-going basis. Other screening activities include the review ofcumulative group-based achievement and ability data; healthand attendance records; grades; and information shared bythe parents. Specified needs from all of these screeningsources are noted within the child’s official file.

School records are always open and available to parents,and only to school officials who have a legitimate “need toknow” information about the student. Information from therecords is released to other persons or agencies only withappropriate authorization that involves written signedpermission by parents.

Parents with concerns regarding their child may contactbuilding principals at any time to request a screening orevaluation of their child, or by contacting the Special ServicesDepartment. (Names and phone numbers of the appropriatecontacts are listed at the end of this notice.) Communicationwith parents and eligible students shall be in English or thenative language of the parents.

Screening information will be used by the InstructionalSupport Team or Student Assistance Team within the student’sschool to meet his or her specific needs, or to document theneed for further evaluation. Instructional Support Teamservices are provided to students in grades Kindergarten tograde four. Student Assistance Team services are provided tostudents in grades five through 12. The pre-referral processidentifies those students at-risk for academic or behavioralneeds and includes parental involvement in makingdeterminations as to whether a student may benefit fromintervention services. Individual student plans are developedand monitoring of specific goals with data to determine studentprogress and efficacy of interventions are put into place. If astudent is not making sufficient progress, a referral forevaluation may be issued by the school district or a parent mayrequest a multi-disciplinary evaluation at any time.

The Multidisciplinary Team consists of parents, teachers,a certified public school psychologist, other related servicepersonnel, and persons familiar with the student’s educationalexperience and cultural background. The evaluationsconducted by the Team must be sufficient in scope and depthto provide information about the student’s academicfunctioning, adaptive and social behavior, learning problems,strengths, information obtained by the Instructional SupportTeam or Student Assistance Team, and information from theparents. After all evaluations are completed, an EvaluationReport (ER) will be compiled and include specificrecommendations for the types of interventions necessary todeal with the student’s specific needs. This evaluation will becompleted and a report sent to the parents within 60 calendardays. Parents are then invited to participate in a meetingwhere the results of the evaluation will be discussed.

If the student meets criteria for the presence of a disabilityand need for specially designed instruction, an IndividualizedEducation Program (IEP) will then be developed forspecialized services for the student within 30 calendar days.The IEP team must consist of: the student’s parent(s), specialeducation teacher, regular education teacher(s), and localeducation agency representative (LEA). The building principal,Director of Special Services, or Assistant Director of SpecialServices will serve as the chair/LEA, and a districtpsychologist, other specialists as needed, and otheradministrative staff when appropriate may attend.

Prior to the initiation of services, parents will be presentedwith a Notice of Recommended Educational Placement, whichexplains the services and educational placementrecommendations. Parental consent must be obtained beforeproviding initial special education and related services. TheProcedural Safeguards Notice describes the parents’ rightsand options if they disagree with the individualized programpresented.

When screening results suggest a student may beeligible for Gifted Education, the school district seeks parentalconsent to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. The initialevaluation is summarized in the Gifted Written Report (GWR)and used by the Gifted Individualized Education Program(GIEP) team to develop the GIEP. After the initial evaluation,students identified as mentally gifted are reevaluated before a

change in educational placement is recommended or underrecommendation of the GIEP team. The Notice ofRecommended Assignment (NORA), signed by the parent,gives the school district permission to provide services.Services for Eligible School-Age Students

The Bethel Park School District provides a free,appropriate, public education to eligible students. To qualifyas an eligible student, the child must be of school age, in needof specially-designed instruction, and meet eligibility criteriafor one or more of the following physical or mental disabilities,as set forth in the Individuals with Disabilities EducationImprovement Act and Pennsylvania State Regulations: Autism,Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, HearingImpairment, Intellectual Disability (formerly referred to asMental Retardation), Multiple Disabilities, OrthopedicImpairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific LearningDisability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic BrainInjury, or Visual Impairment including Blindness.

The Bethel Park School District provides a full range ofplacement options and services to eligible students. Options inthe district range from supportive intervention in the regularclassroom to itinerant, supplemental, or full-time levels ofintervention, depending on the student’s individual needs.Inclusive intervention practices are the first step in thecontinuum of placement options. Other placement options tomeet the student’s needs may include services secured fromthe Intermediate Unit, another school district, an approvedprivate school, or a community agency. Placement optionsprovide for a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) forall eligible students. The District also provides related servicessuch as, but not limited to: transportation, speech andlanguage therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy,nursing services, psychological services, social workerservices, and paraeducator support.

The following programs are currently provided within theDistrict: Learning Support, Life Skills Support, EmotionalSupport, Autistic Support, Blind or Visually Impaired Support,Deaf and Hearing Impaired Support, Speech and LanguageSupport, and Gifted Support. As evidence of the full continuumof services, educational placements outside of the Districthave included: Emotional Support at Pressley Ridge School,Pace School, Wesley Spectrum School Programs, andTherapeutic Learning Center at Family Links; LearningSupport at Katherine Dean Tillotson School; Life Skills Supportat Mon Valley School, Pathfinder School, and the Children’sInstitute; Blind or Visually Impaired Support at WesternPennsylvania School for the Blind; Deaf and Hearing ImpairedSupport at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf andthe DePaul School for Hearing and Speech; Autistic Support atPathfinder School, Mon Valley School, Pressley Ridge DaySchool for Autism, Therapeutic Learning Center at FamilyLinks, and Education Center at the Watson Institute; andMultiple Disabilities Support at the Children’s Institute, andPathfinder School.Services for Students Identified as Homeless

The Bethel Park School District follows all protectionsoutlined in the McKinney Vento Act related to ensuring that anychild identified as homeless has equal access to the samefree, appropriate public education as provided to otherchildren. The District implements child find activities for otherstudents in addition to those identified as homeless such aswards of the state, highly mobile children, and migrant childrenin order to provide equal access to evaluations and services.Further information may be obtained by contacting theDistrict’s Special Services Department at 412-854-8410.Services for Students in Nonpublic Schools

Parents of non-public school students who suspect thattheir child has a disability and is need of special education mayrequest a multidisciplinary evaluation through a written requestto the District’s Special Services Department. Parents canobtain further information by contacting their child’s schoolprincipal or the District’s Special Services Department at 412-854-8410.Services for Preschool Age Children

Act 212, the Early Intervention System Act, entitles allpreschool age children with disabilities to appropriate earlyintervention services. Young children experiencingdevelopmental delays or physical or mental disabilities areeligible for early intervention services including screening,evaluation, individualized education program planning, andprovision of appropriate programs and services.

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare isresponsible for providing services to infants and toddlers,defined as children from birth through two years of age.Contact the Alliance for Infants and Toddlers at 2801 Custer

Avenue, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15227, (412) 885-6000, oron the internet at http://www.afit.org/.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education isresponsible for providing services to preschool age childrenfrom three to five years of age. Contact Project DART of theAllegheny Intermediate Unit at 475 E. Waterfront Drive,Homestead, PA 15120, (412) 394-5736, or on the internet athttp://www.aiu3.net/.

Bethel Park School District ensures that all studentstransitioning from early intervention programs to kindergartenor first grade programs within the District are transitionedwithout disruption of services. Parents of children enteringschool age programs are notified of the District’s transitionactivities, which occur before kindergarten registration of eachyear. The District follows the federal and state regulationspertaining to the evaluation process and based on identifiedneeds, subsequent documentation and provision of specialeducation and related services.Information Regarding Signs of Developmental Delaysand Other Risk Factors for Parents to Look for that MayIndicate the Possibility of a Disability

If your child is less than the age of beginners (age 5before September 1) and at least 3 years of age, your childmay be considered to have a developmental delay whendifficulties exist in the areas of cognitive, communicative,physical, social/emotional and self-help development where adelay in comparison to typical development is present. Parentswho have questions about their child’s development orpossible presence of a disability may talk with their familyphysician or health care provider or contact the AlleghenyCounty Health Department at 412-687-2243.

If you have questions regarding difficulties your child maybe experiencing, please contact the Special ServicesDepartment at 412-854-8410.

Potential signs of developmental delay and other riskfactors that could indicate the presence of a disability mayinclude:

By the age of 3: Not saying many words; not using 2-3word phrases and sentences; not walking; awkward gait(walking); excessive salivation; not answering “show” or “what”questions; and/or not using utensils to feed self.

By the age of 4 (all of the above included): Not toilettrained; difficulty with directional words (in, on, under, out); notplaying with other children; not able to draw a circle, cross orimitate a vertical line; not able to understand the child’s speechmost of the time; and/or difficulty following simple two-stepdirections.

By the age of 5 (all of the above included): unable toanswer “where” questions; unable to recall details from a story;not drawing a person with at least 6 parts; immature speechpatterns (“me” instead of “I”); and not able to hop forward withone foot without support.

Other warning signs at any age: Little to no eye contact;over/under sensitivities to pain, light, noise; hand flapping; noawareness of space (always bumping into other people orthings); awkward hand or foot positioning; won’t touch or eatcertain textures; child no longer can do things he/she used todo; developed normally, then stopped; echoes what is said;and/or plays with toys inappropriately (watches wheels spinon a car toy, but does not play with the car).

Additional information and fact sheets on childdevelopment from the Center for Disease Control andPrevention, National Dissemination Center for Children withDisabilities (NICHCY), and other resources may be found onthe Special Services Department webpage located atwww.bpsd.org/SpecialServices.aspx.Protected Handicapped Students/Chapter 15

The Bethel Park School District, in compliance withSection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Chapter 15of the Pennsylvania Public School Code, will provide withoutdiscrimination or cost to the student or family, those relatedaids, services, or accommodations which are needed toprovide the student equal opportunity to participate in andobtain the benefits of the school program and extracurricularactivities to the maximum extent appropriate to the student’sabilities. In order to qualify as a protected handicappedstudent, the child must be of school age with a physical ormental disability or diagnosis, which substantially limits orprohibits participation in or access to an aspect of the schoolprogram.

For further information on the evaluation procedures andprovisions of services to protected handicapped students,contact the Special Services Department at 412-854-8410.

Continued on page 53


Confidentiality of Student RecordsBethel Park School District and its employees are required by Federal Law and State and Federal Rules and Regulations to

protect the rights of students including confidentiality of personally identifiable information for all students in accordance with stateand federal law and the District’s student records policy. The foundation of these rights comes from Federal legislation entitled,Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (also known as the Buckley Amendments). There are State Rules andRegulations dealing with regular and special education students’ rights and privacy. All students are covered by the StateRegulations contained in Chapter 12 known as Students’ Rights and Responsibilities.

The basic premise of the above-mentioned laws, rules, and regulations is that information about students cannot be disclosedwithout written parental consent. There are different categories of information: Educational Records, Personally IdentifiableInformation, and Directory Information. Education Records consist of information directly related to students which are maintainedby the educational agency. Personally Identifiable Information includes the student’s name, the name of the parent or other familymembers, a personal identifier or a list of personal characteristics that would make the student’s identity easily traceable.

Education Records and Personally Identifiable Information cannot be disclosed or released without written parent consent,or if a student is over 18, without student permission.

There is certain information that can be released without consent, which is called Directory Information. Directory Informationmeans information contained in an educational record of a student which would not generally be considered harmful or an invasionof privacy if disclosed. The School District designates what information is labeled as Directory Information. It shall include thefollowing: the student’s name, address, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activitiesand sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the mostrecent previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.

Disclosure of information means to permit access to or the release, transfer, or other communication of education records,or the personally identifiable information contained in these records, to any party, by any means, including oral, written, or electronicmeans. This means that information about a student cannot even be shared in conversation without permission. This also appliesto other Bethel Park personnel who do not have an educationally relevant reason to possess knowledge of a student.

Written parental consent is necessary for disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information and Educational Records. Theconsent must: (1) specify the records that may be disclosed; (2) state the purpose of the disclosure; (3) identify the party or classof parties to whom the disclosure may be made. Furthermore, the Bethel Park School District must maintain a written record ofdisclosure for the parents to inspect in case information has been released.Non-Discrimination Policy

The Bethel Park School District will not discriminate in its education programs, activities, or employment practice, based onrace, color, national origin, sex, sexual preference, disability, age, religion, ancestry, union membership, or any other legallyprotected classification. Announcement of this policy is in accordance with state and federal laws, including Title IX of the EducationAmendments of 1972, and Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Employees and participants who have an inquiry or complaint of harassment or discrimination, or who need information aboutaccommodations for persons with disabilities, should contact: Office of the Superintendent, 301 Church Road, Bethel Park, PA15102, (412) 854-8402; or the Director of the Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 400 MarylandAvenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-1100.Benjamin Franklin Elementary School (K-4) Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (K-4)5400 Florida Avenue 1524 Hamilton RoadTeresa Doumont, Principal Jay Johnson, Principal412-854-8741 412-854-8618Bethel Memorial Elementary School (K-4) George Washington Elementary School (K-4)3301 South Park Road 515 Clifton RoadEric Chalus, Principal Fred Pearson, Principal412-854-8506 412-854-8546William Penn Elementary School (K-4) Neil Armstrong Middle School (5-6)110 Woodlet Lane 5800 Murray AvenueBrian Lenosky, Principal & Kenneth Patterson, PrincipalDirector for Cyber Education Nicole Morris, Assistant Principal412-854-8522 412-854-8751Independence Middle School (7-8) Bethel Park High School (9-12)2807 Bethel Church Road 309 Church RoadDavid Muench, Principal Dr. Zeb Jansante, PrincipalGeorge Spalaris, Assistant Principal Sheryl Graff, Assistant Principal412-854-8677 Jason Shoaf, Assistant Principal

412-854-8581Special Services DepartmentBethel Park School District301 Church Road Lori Sutton, Director of Special EducationSharon Smith, Assistant Director of Special Education412-854-8410

“Annual Public Notice” cont. from page 52

Bethel Park High School senior Tania Beattie is considering a career in Broadcast Journalism, so shesuccessfully applied and was one of 30 area high school students who were accepted to participate in the 33rdAnnual Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop for Teens.

This eight-day program, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, was held at Point Park University,which served as Tania’s home for the program, as she stayed in one of the dorms at Point Park throughout theprogram’s duration.

Participating in this program were students from the area and as far away as York, PA, who were interested inlearning more about Broadcast Journalism, Newspaper Journalism, Web Journalism and Photography.

Tania selected the Broadcast track, but she also picked up some experience in writing as she was required toparticipate in some writing exercises from the Journalism track.

The Broadcast Track students spent a great deal of time putting together a local news show, which theyrehearsed in the Point Park studios to practice “cold reads” off the teleprompter before going to the KDKA-TV studiosand filming on the news set.

Tania auditioned and was selected as one of the two anchors for the program. She also produced a storysegment, where she and a KDKA cameraman traveled to Bethel Park High School to interview BPHS Nurse TracyFord about the STAND (Standing Together Against Negativity and Discrimination) group at the High School.

You can see Tania’s STAND story and her work as an anchorwoman online at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-w4lnV1Ahg. Tania Beattie as she reads the news in the KDKA-

TV studios.

Senior Participates In Journalism Workshop

The Bethel Park High School Hometown Hi-QTeam—seniors Brendan Troesch (Captain), RachelMcClaine and Kevin Yost—defeated teams fromHampton and West Shamokin High Schools to wintheir first round match of KDKA-TV’s Hometown Hi-Qacademic quiz program to advance to the playoffs inthe spring.

The match was extremely exciting, as it ended ina tie and Bethel Park won by correctly answering thetie break question.

The students were prepared for this competitionby Bethel Park High School Gifted ProgramCoordinator Christine Robb.

(Left to right): Kevin Yost, Rachel McClaine and BrendanTroesch on the Hometown Hi-Q set.

Hometown Hi-Q TeamAdvances to Playoffs

Use of StudentPhotos or Comments

The Bethel Park School District providesopportunities for positive media publicity byarranging for reporters and/or photographers tointerview and/or photograph/videotape studentsthroughout the school year for use in localpublications, newspapers ortelevision.

If you prefer that your child notbe interviewed or photographed forpublicity purposes, please notifyyour child’s building principal inwriting. This needs to be updatedon an annual basis.


The rain may have canceled the Homecoming Parade and Tailgate on Friday, September 30, but it couldn't dampen the enthusiasmfor Bethel Park Homecoming 2016!

Thankfully the rain moved through the area in time for the Pre-Game Festivities, where Homecoming Awards were presented to VictorDiPrampero (Faculty Award), Carrie Virgin (Service Award), and Carolyn Cook and J.D. Measures (Spirit Award).

At halftime, the Homecoming Court was introduced: Carolyn Cook, Olivia Fabus, Carly Mansfield, Adriane Slater, Kayla Veith,Kyle Coplan, Jonathan Lucchitti, J.D. Measures, Jake Miller and Zachary Taylor.

Last year's Homecoming Honorees (Bailey Lawrence, Trey Williams, Kelsey Tischler and Grant Wilson) were back to crownKayla Veith as Homecoming Queen, J.D. Measures as Homecoming King, Adriane Slater as Homecoming Princess and Kyle Coplanas Homecoming Prince.

The Black Hawk Football Team did its part to end the night on a high note, defeating Hempfield 48-13. Earlier in the week the SeniorGirls defeated the Junior Girls in the annual Powderpuff Football Game by a score of 44-14.

Bethel Park High School took on a "New York, New York" theme for the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night.This year's memorably successful Homecoming was chaired by Rachel McClaine and J.D. Measures, with help from Committee

Chairs Maggie Wolf and Stephanie Kazalas (In-School Activities); Courtney Manns and Josh Poe (Powderpuff Football Game); AlainaCerro and Anna McLinden (Homecoming Court); Noah Neal and Patrick McCall (Publicity); Tarush Bahl and Kyle Coplan (Tailgate);Zoe Zilcosky and Hailey Radcliffe (Parade); and Carolyn Cook, Abbie Donnellan and Paige Swindell (Dance and Decorations).Serving as this year's Faculty Advisor was Bethel Park High School Technology Education Teacher Brad Kszastowski.

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported this year's Homecoming events! We look forward to seeing everybody next year!

Homecoming 2016 Festivities

Page 54

RAIN DIDN’T DAMPEN

Members of the Homecoming Committeegathered on the track for the pre-game festivities.

The Hawks did a great job on the footballfield, defeating Hempfield 48-13.

The Bethel Park Black Hawk Marching Bandhalftime performance.

The 2016 HomecomingAwards winners (left toright): Carolyn Cook andJ.D. Measures (SpiritAward), Carrie Virgin(Service Award) andVictor DiPrampero(Faculty Award).

Meet this year’sHomecoming Royalty—Prince Kyle Coplan,Princess Adriane Slater,Queen Kayla Veith andKing J.D. Measures.


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board presentations - e-gov link field alongside black hawk drive. since ... board of school...

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