Vol. 1, No. 2Mars Area School District

The CommunicatoreA weekly eNewsletter serving residents of Mars and Valencia boroughs as well as Adams and Middlesex townships.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

School Board to Hold Act One Public HearingMars Area School Board will hold an Act One PublicHearing at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6 (postponedfrom Feb. 13), at the District Administration Office, 545Route 228, Mars, Pa. The purpose of the hearing is for the Board to determinethe referendum question that will be placed on the May2007 Primary ballot concerning tax shifting to higherlocal income taxes for lower property taxes. Under Act One, each Pennsylvania school district isrequired to submit a referendum question for the MayPrimary asking voters if they want to increase the cur-rent Earned Income Tax rate to generate revenues forHomestead/Farmstead exclusions or to impose aPersonal Income Tax for the same purpose. If approved by voters, the tax shifting will take effect onSunday, July 1, and will only apply to approvedHomesteads and Farmsteads. If voters do not approve the referendum, the current taxstructure will remain in place.Homestead/Farmstead applications have been mailedto eligible home- and farm-owners. To obtain an applica-tion, visit www.co.butler.pa.us or call the Butler CountyAssessor's Office at (724) 284-5316. The deadline to submit applications for Homestead/Farmstead exclusion is today (Thursday, March 1).For more information on Act One, visit www.pde.state.pa.us/proptax/lib/proptax/FAQ_Act1_Taxpayers_11-15-06.pdf.

High School to Hold 2007 Prom Fashion ShowMars Area High School will hold its 2007 Prom PromiseFashion Show from 9 to 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, March8.Senior and junior members of REACH (ResponsibleEducated Adolescents Can Help) will model the latestprom gowns and tuxedos. This year’s theme is“Masquerade.”For more information, call (724) 625-1581.

Upcoming School Board Meetings Finance Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.Act One Public Hearing, 6:30 p.m. Work Session, 7 p.m.Regular Meeting, 7 p.m.

All meetings are open to the public and are held at District's Administration Office,545 Route 228, Mars, Pa. 16046. For more information, call (724) 625-1518.

Tuesday, March 6 —

Tuesday, March 13 —

Book Drive Benefits Troops Stationed OverseasMars Area Middle School’s Library Committee collectedmore than 1,200 books through the school’s “Storiesfor Soldiers” BookDrive to benefitAmerican troopsstationed overseas.The school’s SocialCommittee alsoraised $600through a CarnationSale. The moneywill be used to pur-chase new paper-backs that will beadded to the booksdonated to the “Stories for Soldiers” program, held ear-lier this month.Students on the school’s Library Committee came upwith the idea for the book drive when they were lookingfor ways to support our troops, said Jan Thompson,Middle School librarian. Students are now in the processof packing the books to be shipped to the troops.For more information, call (724) 625-3145.

Students to Compete in BattleBot IQ ContestA team of Mars Area High School students will enterthe BattleBot IQ Competition on Saturday, March 3, atCentury III Mall in West Mifflin, Pa.Members of Mars Area’s team, “Robotrauma,” areseniors Jacob Catt, captain and design team leader,Mike Boselowitz, assembler, John Watson, assem-bler, and David Spink, electrical; junior Jon Clise,component research and acquisition; and sophomoresAustin Hyde, assembler, and Nicole George, docu-mentation.The team is sponsored by Mars MaterialCorp.BattleBots IQ draws on students’ knowledge of math,science, engineering and public speaking. For moreinformation, call (724) 625-1581.

Middle School to Hold Open HouseMars Area Middle School will hold its Spring OpenHouse from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight (Thursday, March 1). For more information, call (724) 625-3145.

Students are (from left) sixth-gradersRemington Baselj and Casey Farbacherand eighth-graders Audrey Sitterly, KendallGillam, Bridget Bauer and MadisonDuBrock.

2 The e Communicator — March 1, 2007 Mars Area School District

Students Perform at State Choral FestivalFive Mars Area High School chorus members per-formed in the Pennsylvania Music EducatorsAssociation (PMEA)Region 1 StateChorus Festival, heldFeb. 21-23 at SouthFayette High Schoolin McDonald, Pa.Students are seniorsGrant Giel, tenor II,Kevin Williams,bass I; and MichaelSirney, bass II, aswell as sophomoresAmy Meigel, alto II, and Michael Molinaro, tenor II. Dr.Susan Medley, director of choral activities at Washington& Jefferson College, was guest conductor. Approximately 200 students from a seven-county areaparticipated in the festival. For more information, call(724) 625-1581.

Chorus members are (from left) MichaelMolinaro, Kevin Williams, Amy Meigel,Grant Giel and Michael Sirney.

Elementary Donation Helps Childrens’ Wishes To Come TrueMars Area Elementary School’s February 2006 donationof $4,688.41 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of GreaterPennsylvania and Southern West Virginia has benefitedtwo local children.The donation paid for 4-year-old Mary Katherine’s trip toWalt Disney World and partially funded the installation ofa backyard swimming pool for 7-year-old Wyatt.Mars Area Elementary School raised the fundingthrough its voluntary program that asks staff membersto make a minimum donation of $5 to Make-A-Wish tobe able to wear jeans to school on the last Friday ofeach month. Last year’s efforts earned Mars Area Elementary School recognition as a member of the Make-A-WishWishPartner Club. For more information or to make a donation, call (724)625-3161.

Middle School to Welcome Visiting AuthorMars Area Middle School will be taking orders from stu-dents for books written by Will Hobbs, Monday throughFriday, March 5-9.Hobbs will visit the school on Thursday, April 26, and willgive students an opportunity to have their books auto-graphed by the children’s author.The author will also speak to all students at the schoolabout being a published author and about the writingprocess. Hobbs has penned 16 novels, including“Bearstone,” “The Big Wander,” “Far North” and “Jason’sGold,” all geared toward young adult readers. For more information on Will Hobbs, visit www.willhobb-sauthor.com. For more information on the author’s visitto Mars Area Middle School, call (724) 625-3145.

Questions regarding The eCommunicator may be addressed to Josh Schwoebel, Director of Communications, at (724) 625-4589 or via e-mail at jschwoebel@marsk12.org.

Mars Area School District 545 Route 228 Mars, Pa. 16046 Phone: (724) 625-1518 Fax: (724) 625-1060 www.marsk12.orgllll

German Club Members Participate in 22nd Annual World Languages CompetitionMembers of Mars Area High School’s German Clubparticipated in the Slippery Rock University Departmentof Modern Languages & Culture’s 22nd annual WorldLanguages Competition, held on Feb. 20.Participants were Jesyrae Lawther, EmilyMcCormick, Amy Meigel, Rachel Wills, AbbyHanovick, Lauren Pappert, Michelle Gable, JulianneHughey, Josh Arner, Jackie Francois, Sara Pecora,Elli Schmitmeyer, Sara Kissinger, Dave Kovac, JonElm and Alexandra Brueckner, all of whom takeGerman II, III and IV classes at Mars Area High School.As part of the competition, the students completed avariety of German tests, competing against studentsfrom high schools from around the area. Students alsotook part in other educational activities, visited universi-ty facilities and attended programs on “study abroad”opportunities.For more information, visit www.sru.edu/pages/8092.asp.

Congratulations on a Successful SeasonMars Area High School’s Girls Basketball Team endedits season with an overall record of 23-3 and 13-1 insection. The Lady Planets advanced to second round of theWPIAL Class AAA Playoffs against Montour, but wasdefeated 62-42. The team bested Ambridge in the firstround 42-41.

Tickets on Sale for ‘The Wizard of Oz’Mars Area High School will present “The Wizard of Oz”at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17.Join Dorothy, played by Sara Kissinger, as she skipsdown the yellow brick road with her new-found friendsthe Scarecrow (Grant Giel), the Tin Woodman (KevinWilliams) and the Cowardly Lion (Mike Sirney).Tickets are $7 per person for reserved seating. Ticketsare available in the High School’s main office. Checks may be made payable to “Mars High ActivityFund.” For more information, call (724) 625-1581.

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