GOOD-BYE 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR, HELLO SUMMER

By Cerina Wichryk

The Donaldson Daily

Staff Writers:

Andrea Russo

Audra Cook

Dylan Grass

Eva Lutz

Cerina Wichryk

Francis Wichryk

Kate Miller

Rebecca Miller

Mason Palaima

Morgan Shansky

Reese Bielecki

Nathan Gunderson

Field Trips

Hot Cocoa Chats

Band/Chorus Concert

American Heart Assoc.

3

2

2

2

2

Girls on the Run

Read Across America

4

2

Purple Up

Battle of the Books

3

3

Math 24 Challenge

Author Visit

5

3

Variety Show

Academic Competition

3

3

PMEA Sing Fest West

Fun in the Sun

4

4

New Teacher

Track and Field

2

4

Editor-in-Chief:

Mrs. Nolan

Contributing Editor:

Mrs. Koraido

Editor: Mrs. Schultz

Dr. Dierker

Freelance Writers:

Ambria Slutiak

Tommy St. Claire

Mya Clay

Gianna Giacomino

Nicholas Obringer

Hannah Schook

In this issue:

Teachers Cup 3

PSSA 5

Donaldson Discoveries 2

The Donaldson Art Fair, sponsored

by the Donaldson PTA was held on

Thursday, March 27, 2014 from

6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. in the

Donaldson Cafeteria. The theme of

the Art Fair was „Helping Hands‟.

Many Donaldson students attended.

Some of the activities that students

completed were sand art, clay sta-

tion, and rainbow looms. Mollie

the face painter (former West Alle-

gheny student) was there too! The

book fair was also held at the Art

Fair in the Donaldson Gym. In addi-

tion, students could buy raffle

tickets (in advance or at the fair)

for $1 each to win a basketful of

art supplies. Students bought tick-

ets in the mornings from March

17th– March 21st in the Compass

Rose area. The winner of the art

basket was kindergarten student,

Tyler Phipps. The total amount

raised from the ticket sales was

$353 and was donated to the

Relay for Life Team benefiting the

American Cancer Society! We

would like to thank Mrs. March,

Ms. Turici, Mrs. Sharlow, and the

Donaldson PTA for sponsoring

this wonderful event.

Volume 1, Issue 3 June 6, 2014

POSITIVE ENERGETIC AN INSPIRATION

SUPPORTER RESPECTED FRIEND

BEACH LOVER FIGHTER COMPASSIONATE

MRS. CURIGLIANO FONDLY

REMEMBERED By Mrs. Koraido

BUDDY AMAZING TEACHER DEDICATED

LOVER OF GIANT EAGLE BUTTER CREAM ICING

LEADER FASHIONISTA SMILE MAKER

CAREGIVER LOVED CARING

A HERO DEVOTED JOYFUL

POSITIVE REMARKABLE MENTOR

LOYAL CHERISHED ROLE MODEL

PILLAR OF STRENGTH ENCOURAGER

With an on-line link and the

help of Mrs. Vestal, computer

facilitator, the faculty and staff

at Donaldson were able to ex-

press their thoughts concerning

our beloved colleague– Mrs.

Tonya Currigliano. Teachers

were able to post comments to

Mrs. Curigliano’s ‘wall’, like the

one printed to the right. The

responses overwhelmingly ex-

press the wonderful rapport that

Mrs. Currigliano shared with

her fellow workers.

DONALDSON ART FAIR A SUCCESS! By Eva Lutz

Students make sand art projects at the

Donaldson Art Fair this year.

Jackson Dansik (below), gets his face

painted by WA graudate Molly Stofan,

aka “Molly, the Face Painter”.

WA TEACHERS

ATTEND CLASSES

By Dylan Grass

Wow! The 2013-2014 school year

has been a fun one, but our school

days are numbered. We‟ve had

many extraordinary assemblies,

events, and fundraisers. All of our

field trips have been great too!

Sadly, it‟s all coming to a close.

Now we can relax and ease into the

summer. You can be looking for-

ward to some new movies such

as The Amazing Spiderman 2 (May

2), How to Train Your Dragon 2

(June 13), and Maleficent ( May

30). There‟s a whole summer

vacation- so enjoy! We‟ve asked

364 students in grades 1-5 the

Teachers from West Allegheny

were offered an opportunity to

increase their skill with educa-

tional technology tools within

their content area. Classes were

held from 4:30 to 7:30 in the

McKee Computer Lab on April

22nd and 24th and in the

Donaldson Computer Lab on

April 28th. The classes that were

offered included: Mobile Devices/

Web Tools, Smartboards, and

Using iPad and Apple TV as an

interactive tool for teaching. The

teacher s a t tend ing f r om

Donaldson were Ms. Buser, Mrs.

Koraido, Mr. DeMario, Mrs. Pre-

vade, Mrs. Augustin, Mrs. Ordich,

Mrs. Bouwers, Mrs. Hensler, Mrs,

Sekelik, and Mrs. Gizienski. After completing classes, teachers may

request technology for the 2014-

2015 school year by completing a

Technology Opportunity Pro-

posal (TOP) to Dr. Assetta, the

Assistant Superintendent. How-

ever, to be considered, teachers

need to also acquire the Digital

Driver‟s License (DDL) to dem-

onstrate proficiency in the basic

skills of the device as well as how

to implement device usage. The

Administration and Technology

Facilitators have found this ap-

proach to be more objective and

fair for distributing technology

within the district.

PBS Finalist 3

New Baby 6

following question: Are you go-

ing on a vacation this summer?

The results are shown below.

MRS. NIGHTINGALE’S CLASS ADOPTS BEARS By Francis Wichryk

This year, Mrs. Nightingale‟s class

symbolically adopted two polar

bear cubs from the World Wildlife

Fund (WWF). The World Wildlife

Fund is the world‟s leading conser-

vation organization and according

to their website, “WWF works in

100 countries and is supported by

1.2 million members in the United

States”. Mrs. Nightingale‟s class

adopted the two cubs for $50.

The class named the cubs Winter

and Murphy Jr. There are many

other animal species available for

adoption including tigers, pandas,

African elephants, giraffes, and

gray wolves. For a complete list,

log onto http://worldwildlife.org.

PTA announced that box top

labels for the last submission

period amounted to $979.79.

Thanks to all who participated!

PTA SPONSORS FIELD TRIPS FOR

DONALDSON STUDENTS By Tommy St. Claire

purpose was to raise funds to

support people fighting heart disease.

The deadline for the event was Febru-

ary 26th. As a reward for participating,

the AHA gave Donaldson a $100 US

games certificate to purchase new PE

equipment and a free AAHPERD mem-

bership for next year. Mrs. Taranto and

Mr. DeChicko, Donaldson PE teachers,

also incorporated some heart health

lessons into their classes and a heart

healthy fact was read over the an-

nouncements each morning. Thanks to

all who participated!

MEET THE NEW LITERACY

TEACHER AT DONADLSON By Nathan Gunderson

DONALDSON DISCOVERIES By Ambria Slutiak

HOT COCOA CHATS By Tommy St. Clair and Giacomino

DONALDSON CELEBRATES READ ACROSS AMERICA

By Hannah Schook

Debbie Mirich, West Allegheny School Board

President, sitting by granddaughter, Emerson reads Are You My Mother? by Dr. Seuss to 1st grade.

participated in the 17th annual Read across

America Week. Each day there was a dif-

ferent book by Dr. Seuss highlighted. On

Monday, students wore brown for Mr.

Brown Can Moo Can You? On Tuesday,

students wore zoo print for If I Ran the

Zoo. Wednesday was Green Eggs and Ham

day. Students wore green and white, and

were served green eggs and ham for

lunch. Thursday was crazy circus hair day

in honor of If I Ran the Circus. Friday, the

last day, was Seuss Day where students

wore red and white and any type of hat.

At the end of every day, the entire

school participated in DEAR (drop every-

thing and read). Red t-shirts were also

sold for the occasion. 329 t-shirts were

sold at a cost of $7.00 each. Total

money raised was $2,303 with $700

benefiting the WAEA John W.

Wherry Scholarship fund. In addi-

tion, on March 1, the Mall at Robin-

son hosted Read across America Day

from 11AM-3PM. There were a lot

of fun activities which included art

projects and face painting. Read

across America is always a success!

Mrs. Holland

WAEA President Mrs. Debbie Turici at the Mall y

Smith at Robinson.

“Hot Cocoa Chats” were a part of Mrs.

King‟s fourth grade classroom this year.

Mrs. King borrowed the idea from Mrs.

Vestal, a former fourth grade teacher, who

gave hot cocoa to students while books

were being discussed. Mrs. King, however,

put her own twist on the original version.

First, the students in her class read a chap-

ter book of their choice. After that, stu-

dents created book cards for that book,

which included three pieces of informa-

tion: genre, 1-5 star rating, and three fun

facts. During classroom time, the students

learned about different genres that other

students enjoy. In the spring, the students

drank lemonade/iced tea instead of hot

cocoa. Students also brought beach blan-

kets to get in the summer time feeling.

Mrs. King has hot cocoa chats every year.

She usually has four hot cocoa chats and

one beach blanket chat. The students love

the books, and the hot cocoa too!

Donaldson Discovers is an after school activity sponsored by the Donaldson PTA

that this year, started on February 20th and ended on March 13th. Students

were able to sign up and participate in a variety of classes. The classes were

held every Thursday after school for a period of four weeks. Classes taught

included:

And other great classes! Thank you to the Donaldson PTA for sponsoring this

great and fun filled event and to the instructors who taught the classes!

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION FUNDRAISER By Francis Wichryk

During the month of Febru-

ary, Donaldson School raised almost

$1,900 for the American Heart As-

sociation (AHA). Tracey Greathouse

and Kim Morton volunteered to co-

ordinate this project. Students were

given the opportunity to donate

$5.00, and in return were allowed to

bring an electronic device (no i-

phones) to lunch period only. Kin-

dergarten students received a plastic

duck and lanyard for their donation.

The homeroom with the most dona-

tions earned an extra PE class. The

Every year the Donaldson PTA gener-

ously sponsors field trips for all grade

levels. This year kindergarten went to

Petco on April 2nd to learn about how to

respect and care for animals, diverse ani-

mal habitats, environmental issues, and

species survival. On March 31st, first

graders went to The Children’s Museum of

Pittsburgh where students discovered,

investigated, and explored hands on ex-

hibits. Second grade went on the Just

Ducky Tour, an adventure through

Pittsburgh on land and water. On

May 23rd, third grade students

went to see Bears a (Disney nature

film) at Cinemark in Robinson

Township followed by pizza.

Fourth grade toured PNC Park on

May 30th and fifth grade toured

Heinz Field on that same day.

Thanks to the Donaldson PTA for

making this year‟s field trips great.

We appreciate all of the work that

PTA does. All students had a blast!

A few months ago, Donaldson welcomed

new teacher Mrs. Gizienski. Recently, I

had the opportunity to interview Mrs.

Gizienski and asked her the following

questions:

Q: What is the best part about teaching at Donaldson?

A: I have been welcomed into superb class- rooms and met some wonderful students

and great teachers at Donaldson. Everyone

has eased the transition into the West

Allegheny family.

Q: Where did you get your education? A: I received all of my education from Slippery

Rock University and have a bachelor’s

degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Reading. I am certified as

an elementary teacher, a reading specialist,

a middle school social studies teacher, and

as a literacy coach.

Q: What do you teach? A: My job is to work with all teachers at the

elementary level. I can teach in any kinder-

garten through 5th grade classroom. I provide

on-going professional development by

“pushing into” classrooms and working one

on one with teachers to provide them with

support and research-based practices in

literacy.

Q: Do you teach in other WA buildings?

A: I do. I also work at McKee and Wilson.

Q: Is this your first teaching job? A: I taught 5th grade for fifteen years in Butler

County at a private school prior to coming to

West Allegheny.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add?

A: I have three children (Alyssa, Bailey, and

Carlie) with my husband Sean. My children

are involved in many sports; therefore, they

keep us very busy. We also have a dog and

two cats. We are very pleased to have Mrs. Gizien-

ski with us.

Activity Instructor

Pottery Clay Café

Swimming Mr. DeChicko

Physical Education Mrs. Taranto

Health Class PTI

Cooking Gaynor School

February 24th-

March 1st was

Seussville Week

created in honor

o f Theodore

Geisel, otherwise

known as Dr.

Seuss. Schools all

throughout PA

BATTLE OF THE BOOK WINNERS FROM DONALDSON By Rebecca Miller

Picture from left to right: Mrs. Medwick-

McKee librarian, Tara Coulter, Alexa Rebo-vich, Mrs. Schultz-Donaldson librarian, Rebecca

Miller, Katie Bleil, and Anjali Vishwakarma.

AUTHOR VISITS DONALSON SCHOOL WITH WEBINAR TO OTHER LOCAL SCHOOLS By Reese Bielecki

ence with local area

schools (Pittsburgh Carmel, Pittburgh

Phillips, Braddock Hills, Woodland

PURPLE UP By Gianna Giacomino

April was the Month of the Military Child

marking the 4th annual Purple Up Day. On

April 15th, purple was worn worldwide as

a way to show support to military chil-

dren and thank them for their strength

and sacrifice. Purple Up Day is sponsored

by the Penn State Extension. Purple sym-

bolizes all the branches of the military.

It‟s a combination of Army green, Marine

and Air Force red, and Navy and Coast

Guard blue. The goal is that military chil-

dren recognize that their community

continues this tradition to support them.

DONALDSON STUDENTS

TAKE STAGE By Audra Cook

HORIZON STUDENTS ATTEND

ACADEMIC COMPETITION

By Kate Miller

On January 16, 2014 the Elementary Hori-

zons students attended the Science Bowl at

the Carnegie Science Center. At the Sci-

ence Bowl, students participated in four

activities to earn points. The activities were

the cup challenge, a Lego challenge, the

bicycle exhibit, and a movie in the Omni-

max Theater about nature. There were

many schools from around the area taking

part in this event. Students competing from

Donaldson were Andrea Russo, Rebecca

Miller, Cerina Wichryk, Morgan Shansky,

Audra Cook, Mason Palaima , Dylan Grass,

Francis Wichryk, Kate Miller, Eva Lutz,

Reese Bielecki, and Nathan Gunderson.

Teachers served as judges for the events

and awards were presented. This fantastic

academic competition was presented by the

Allegheny Intermediate Unit and sponsored

by the Elementary Horizons Program.

On February 7th, Donaldson PTA hosted

a variety show which was chaired by Mrs.

Tracy Pustover and Mrs. Janet Burk. The

show took place in the West Allegheny

High School auditorium at 6:00 PM. The

participants performed many different

acts including playing an instrument,

dancing, gymnastics, and much more. In

addition, the PTA sponsored two art

contests. The categories were T-shirt

design and program design. The winner

of the T-shirt design was Rachel Mamula

in fourth grade. The winner for the pro-

gram design, who was another fourth

grade student was Olivia Norris. Many

students participated in these events, and

will participate next year too!

Contest winners: Rachel Mamula (left)

and Olivia Norris (right).

Hills, and West Allegheny) on March 17th,

2014. Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures gave

Donaldson the honor of being the host

school for this event. Students in grades 3-5

had the opportunity to attend the live WEB

conference to meet Ms. Russell and her

two daughters, co-contributors for her

books. Family and friends also had the op-

portunity to watch this event using a link

that was sent out via School Messenger.

Donaldson School was also given the op-

portunity to raffle off 20 tickets to the Sun-

day event at the Carnegie Lecture Hall in

Oakland. All students who attended the

Sunday event could buy or bring books

from home to be signed by Mrs. Russell

and/or daughters, Nikki and Erin. In addi-

tion, there was a raffle for 4 students to

ask Rachel or her daughters a question at

the Web conference. Another raffle selected

5 students to have their books signed by Ms.

Russell at the Web event. In yet another raffle,

one student was selected to be dorkified by

daughter, Nikki. It was an honor and educa-

tional experience-not to mention fantastic!

JOKE OF THE DAY

DONALDSON WINS

SPIRIT AWARD By Kate Miller

The 8th annual Teachers Cup, a West Alle-gheny Foundation Fundraiser, was held on February 28, 2014. The event took place at the West Allegheny High School Gymna-sium. Teachers from all of the schools (Wilson, McKee, Donaldson, Middle School, and High School) volunteered to participate in all sorts of wacky activities. Some of those activities included dodge ball, solo cup stacking, dress up relay race, musical plates, and goggle basketball. The High School took first place beating out McKee (last year’s winner). This event was coordinated by district police officer, Sergeant Bates. The event was exciting and well attended. Donaldson School did take home the spirit award. Since its in-ception, the West Allegheny Foundation has distributed over $200,000 in the form of scholarships and community and teacher grants.

Penn State Extension will continue to-

show support in all ways possible. Many

Donaldson students participated in Purple

Up Day. Way to go Donaldson!

Christopher Morrison

is dorkified ’by Nikki.

The Battle of the Books was a contest where

students answered questions about a list of

predetermined books. 4th and 5th grade stu-

dents were eligible to participate in this

event. This year, the Battle of the Books was

held on Tuesday March 19th in the

Donaldson gym. Students formed and named

teams of 3-5 students. Teams of students

answered 50 questions about the books, and

team managers (parents) checked the ques-

tions. The list of books this year were Char-

lie and the Chocolate Factory, Chocolate

Fever, The Boy Who Drew Birds, A Nest

for Celeste, Ralph S. Mouse, No Talking, A

Crooked Kind of Perfect, The San Francisco

Earthquake, 1906, Joshua‟s Song, and Who is

Jane Goodall? Students had 30 seconds to

answer each question. The winning team

called themselves „The Page Penguins‟, which

consisted of Katie Bleil, Taylor Coulter,

Rebecca Miller, Alexa Rebovich, and An-

jali Vishwakarma. Congratulations to all

who participated and to the WA librari-

ans and parents who organized and

helped to make this educational event

possible.

TEACHER APPRECIATION

WEEK CELEBRATED

By Nick Obringer

The week of May 5th was teacher apprecia-

tion week. The PTA organizers of this event

were Michelle Giacomino, Kim Morton, and

Jessica Marshall. Each day of the week, the

teachers experienced a different surprise.

On Monday, May 5th, (an in- service day),

there were muffins for the teachers for Continued on pg. 5

Student Jordyn

S h u t t i n g e r (right front) poses wi th

author Rachel Renee Russell (center) and daughters Erin

(left) and Niki.

(right back).

R a c h e l

Renee Rus-

sell, author

of Dork

Diaries pre-

sented a

video confer

Did you hear about the two

silkworms that were in a race? It ended in a tie!

RIDDLE OF THE DAY

Why did the tree get lost?

Because it took the wrong root.

QUOTE OF THE DAY Veni, Vidi, Vici

What does this mean and who

made this famous quote?

I came, I saw, I conquered.

Julius Caesar

RELAY FOR LIFE/AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY FUNDRAISERS By Andrea Russo

Have you seen any empty polar water

bottles in your classroom? If you have….

good eye! That bottle isn‟t trash. It

serves as a collection bottle for the

Donaldson Relay for Life Team. The Relay

for Life Race is a fundraiser to help sup-

port the American Cancer Society. At

Donaldson, we have a group of splendid

teachers that formed a team for this relay.

They represented our AWESOME school

in the race which was held on May 9th. Our

relay team also raised additional money

through some other really cool FUNdrais-

ers! For one of those, Mrs. Schultz asked

every class what their “dream Frappe

chino” would be, and what it would be

called. From those results, she chose three:

The Sour Patrick, from Mrs. Prevade‟s

room, The Stout Frappe at the Curigliano

Café from Mrs. Stout‟s class, and

The Drink of Awesomeness, from Mrs.

Barr‟s class. People went to Barnes & No-

ble to buy their „drink of choice‟ and a

percentage of the proceeds benefited the

team. An additional incentive was an ice

cream PARTY for the class whose drink

was purchased the most- Mrs. Stout‟s

class! Also, at 4:30, Mrs. Shultz read a

story for anyone who wanted to listen.

All of the money went to the Relay for

Life Team. Kids had a blast buying books

and Frappes! On the same day, Red

Robin participated in the fundraisers, too.

If families brought in a flyer and ordered

a meal, 15% of the proceeds went to the

Relay for Life Team! Both of these super-

FUNdraisers occurred on April, 5th. In

addition, Spirit Night for the Donaldson

Relay for Life Team was held on May, 13th

at Chick-fil-a! Yum! Again, a portion of

the proceeds went to the Relay Team!!!

Donaldson Student Council also spon-

sored „Gum Day‟ and PJ/slipper Day in

May to aid in this cause. Books, ham-

burgers, Frappes, gum, and milkshakes-

What a way to raise funds! Thanks to all

those that made this event possible!

DONALDSON STUDENTS

ATTEND PMEA SINGFEST By Dylan Grass

Caden Harbison (right), Tyler Rippole (right), and

Mrs. Mahramas (center).

Donaldson Librarian, Mrs. Schultz, reads to stu-

dents at Barnes & Noble Settlers Ridge in Robinson .

Caden Harbison and Tyler Rippole, two 5th

graders from Donaldson Elementary, were

chosen to attend the Pennsylvania Music

Educators Association (PMEA) Annual Sing

Fest. Caden and Tyler rehearsed after

school for two months with Mrs. Mah-

ramas, a West Allegheny music teacher,

before attending the festival. Moon Area

Middle School hosted the Sing Fest with

about 180 students from area schools par-

ticipating in the all day event. Students also

had the opportunity to participate in work-

shops. which included playing Orff instru-

ments, movement, and singing. Shawn Funk,

guest conductor and Elementary General

Music Teacher from Fox Chapel School

District, rehearsed with students during the

day in preparation for the concert that eve-

ning. According to Mrs. Mahramas, “All of

their hard work paid off because the con-

cert was wonderful. Caden and Tyler didn‟t

just learn about music and how to sing well,

they had a really great time making music

with other students the same age as them!”

HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENT VISITS DONALDSON CLASSROOMS By Mason Palaima

impaired. Her interpreter Mrs. West,

accompanies her, translating what she

cannot hear into sign language. She vis-

ited 12 classrooms at Donaldson this

year. Some people say that disabled

people cannot learn and are not smart.

Kayla proves them wrong. She gets

great grades and is in honor classes in

some subjects. Kayla is now a freshman

in high school, but her legacy will stay

with Donaldson forever. Right: Mrs. West with Kayla

DONALDSON GIRLS PARTICIPATE IN

‘GIRLS ON THE RUN’ By Gianna Giacomino

DONALDSON STUDENTS COMPLETE STATE TESTING By Hannah Schook

During the months of March and April,

all students in 3-8th grades in public

schools were required to participate in

the Pennsylvania System of School As-

sessment also known as the PSSA. The

purpose of the assessments were to

determine how well districts, schools,

and required students met the state‟s

academic standards. Donaldson adminis-

tered mathematics and reading testing

beginning on Wednesday, March 26th.

The PSSA test measured skills in reading

and mathematics using both multiple

choice and open-ended formats. Stu-

dents responded to fiction and non-

fiction texts on the reading assessment

and applied problem solving skills com-

plete with explanations in a written es-

say format on the math assessment.

The 4th and 8th grade students also com-

pleted the Science Assessments on April 28th and 29th. All tests started in the

morning and concluded before lunch

each day. The Science PSSA required

fourth grade students to respond to

multiple-choice and open-ended ques-

tions. In addition, all 5th and 8th grade

students enrolled in Pennsylvania public

schools were required to participate in

the writing assessment. “The writing

assessment provides a direct measure of

students‟ abilities to develop, organize,

and express their ideas in a variety of

writing genres,” according to The Penn-

sylvania Department of Education web-

site. This was the last year of PSSA‟s!

Next year everyone in public schools

will be participating in Common Core.

Girls on the Run, (GOTR) is an after

school activity for girls in 3rd, 4th, and 5th

grade. GOTR was established in 1996 by

Molly Barker in Charlotte, North Caro-

lina. With the help of 30,000 volunteers,

the GOTR program is serving over

80,000 girls in over 170 cities across

North America! GOTR sponsors include

New Balance, Secret Deodorant, Goody hair

products, Garmin, Horizon Fitness, and

Carolina Pad. Donaldson GOTR instruc-

tors were Mrs. Taranto and Mrs. Tracy.

Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 –

4:45 beginning in February, the girls gath-

ered together, ate a healthy snack, and

prepared to run through a series of

stretching. The cost of the program was

$150 which included a GOTR t-shirt, a

GOTR water bottle, and the entry fee to

run at Hartwood Acres for the 5k (3.1

miles). Every class consisted of a les-

son/activity based on the “Whole Person

Concept”. Following each lesson, the

girls ran either at Donaldson Park

(weather permitting) or inside. At the

conclusion of the GOTR program,

(May 2014), the girls attended a ban-

quet held in the Donaldson lafeteria,

which included an award for each girl,

cake and a slideshow of pictures taken

throughout the GOTR program. This is

the second annual GOTR at

Donaldson. “The mission is to inspire

girls to be joyful, healthy and confident

using a fun experience-based curricu-

lum which creatively integrates run-

ning”, Molly Barker states. Continued pg. 5

Kayla Campbell once too walked the halls

of Donaldson. Back then she referred to

herself as “An island that no one wants to

visit.” This is because Kayla has impaired

hearing, which means she has trouble hear-

ing. “People speaking in a normal voice

sounds like a forced whisper to me,” Kayla

states. For the last four years Kayla has

been traveling from classroom to class-

room, school to school teaching people sign language and what it is like to be hear-

STUDENTS PRESENT

SPRING CONCERT By Ambria Slutizk

DONALDSON STUDENTS

PARTICIPATE IN MATH 24 By Reese Bielecki

On April 30th, this year‟s spring band

and chorus concert was held in the

WA High School Auditorium. It was a

combined concert including all three

elementary centers. The 4th and 5th

graders rehearsed during the day of

the concert. They were bused to and

from the high school. 4th grade band

performed at 7:00. After that, 5th grade

band performed at 8:00 immediately

followed by the 5th grade chorus. The

music teachers from all three of the

elementary schools organized and con-

ducted for the chorus and band con-

certs. The teachers were Mrs. Marah-

mas, Mrs. Sharlow, Mrs. Jack, Mr. Hum-

bert, and Mr. Hoffman. They were so

proud of us!! Overall, the concert was

a huge success!!!

STUDENTS HAVE

‘FUN IN THE SUN’ By Audra Cook

GOTR continued from pg .4 All girls

that participated had a wonderful time!

GOTR participants back row from left to right: Rebecca Miller, Taylor Coulter, Alexa Rebo-

vich, Brianna Longo, Mackenzie Taranto, Gianno Giacomino, Viktoria Stang, Morgan Shansky, Caroline Bachowski, Delaney Evers, Keri Quasey, front row from left to right: Andrea Russo, Raashmitha Bayyana, Kate Miller, Makynlee Martin, Cori Wineland,

Pranavi Penumetcha, Ally Shansky, Mackenzie Evers, MaKenzi O’Toole.

Math 24 Donaldson District competitors from left to right:

Brett Kot, Mason Day, Ella Chandler, Madison Pichi,

and Erica Prologo.

Math 24 District Tournament medalists from left to right:

Jacob Stoltz (McKee) – Silver, Ella Chandler

(Donaldson)- Gold, and Brett Kot (Donaldson)- Bronze.

Students in 4th grade were invited to participate

in an annual Math 24 Challenge organized by the

Horizons teachers-Mr. Dowd (Wilson), Mr.

Hamm (McKee), and Mrs. Koraido (Donaldson).

The 24 Challenge is a tournament style competi-

tion based on the Math 24 Game Game which is

a successful approach on improving problem

solving and math skills. The spring session con-

sisted of three practice periods and were held

on Wednesdays in the Donaldson LGI before

school. The purpose of these sessions was to

learn the game and to practice strategies. Stu-

dents that participated were Amelia Wheatley,

Erica Prologo, Lauren Toulouse, Rachel Ma-

mula, Ella Chandler, Julianna Schuler, Mason

Day, Aiden O‟Toole, Brayden Fayad, Joseph

Pustover, Parker Brown, Brett Kot, Rohan

Penumetcha, Andrew Visloski, Zachary Carter,

Marianth Halkia, Mackenzie Evers, Ava Pus-

tover, and Madison Pichi. Semi finalists from the

spring session were selected to participate in

the district tournament, which was held in the

Donaldson Cafeteria on Tuesday, April 29th at

3:30 PM. The semi finalists representing

Donaldson at the district level were Ella Chan-

dler, Madison Pichi, Brett Kot, Mason Day, and

Erica Prologo. At the District Tournament, all

students played two- fifteen minute rounds.

The scores from those rounds were compiled

and four students from the district (three from

Donaldson and one from McKee) advanced to

the „face off‟ round, which was ten minutes in

length. From that round, medalist were deter-

mined. Gold medalist was Ella Chandler

(Donaldson), silver medalist was Jacob Stoltz

(McKee), and bronze medalists was Brett Kot

(Donaldson). All students that participated re-

ceived a Math 24 bracelet and a Certificate of

Achievement/Participation. Congratulations to

all students who participated in The Math 24

Game Challenge and Tournament.

GRADES 3-5 PARTICIPATE

IN TRACK AND FIELD By Morgan Shansky

Teacher Appreciation continued from pg. 3 breakfast. On Tuesday, there were fresh apples

and bananas. On Wednesday, May 7th, parents

dropped of sweets to show just how sweet it is

to work at Donaldson. On Thursday, May 8th,

(Track and Field Day) there were water bottles

and healthy snacks to balance out all of the junk

food from the day before. On Friday, May 9th

they served a hot lunch by Juliano‟s: pasta,

grilled chicken salad, and sheet cake. They also

raffled off flowers, stationary, and a photo sit-

ting with Emily Davis Studios on Friday, May 9th.

Donaldson teachers want to say, “THANK

YOU!” It was a delicious week!

Dr. DiSanti delivers his last speech for „Track

and Field Day‟ before his scheduled retirement.

DONALDSON 2ND GRADER

TAKES 2ND PLACE IN PBS

WRITING CONTEST

By Kate Miller and Reese Bielecki

On Thursday May 8, 2014, grades 3-5

part ic ipated and competed in

Donaldson‟s annual Track and Field Day

which was organized by Mrs. Taranto,

the Physical Education teacher. Prepa-

ration for the annual event took place

during PE classes. Students each chose

3 activities to participate in from the

following list: half mile, 100meter, 50

meter, 400 meter relay, obstacle

course, football throw, softball throw,

and long jump. Opening ceremonies

and the parade of teams began at 9:15

in the Donaldson Gym. At the cere-

mony, each team displayed their

poster, listened to the rules and the

Athletes Creed, and sang and listened to

the National Anthem, which was

played on the saxophone by music

t e a ch e r , M r . H u m b e r t , a n d

Donaldson‟s own fifth grader, Grant

Baurle. Then the games began! The

order of events for each grade varied

throughout the day, but concluded

with „tug of war‟ in which all students

participated. The award ceremony

was held in the gym at 2:20. Individual

awards for Track and Field Day events

were issued first, followed by class

awards. Overall class trophy winners

for 5th, 4th and 3rd grades were Mrs.

Mangan, Mrs. King, and Mrs. Augustin.

1st and 2nd grade classes participated in

Fun in the Sun, (a non- competitive,

friendly day of games) on May 30, 2014.

During this event, there were many

different activities arranged in rotating

stations for student participation. Ac-

tivities included hungry hippos, face

painting, ping pong ball toss, tattoos, and

angry birds. Fun in the Sun, which is or-

ganized by Mrs. Taranto, Donaldson PE

teacher, had many volunteers to help.

Freeze pops awaited each student at the

end of the day! Thanks to everyone who

made this a special day for our students!

Above: 1st grade students play an outdoor version

of TWISTER. Pictured from left to right: Autumn Bielecki, Angie Dottavio, Tanj

Noona, and Brock Cornell.

Mr, Humbert,

Donaldson music

teacher and Grant Baurle, 5th grade

student perform the National Anthem at the 2014 Track and Field Day Opening

Ceremonies.

Congratulations to

Donaldson 2nd grader,

Eva Lutz who won 2nd

place in the WQED/ PBS

2014 Writers‟ Contest.

The contest is in its 17th

year and was funded by the EQT Founda-

tion. Students in kindergarten, first, second,

or third grade could participate. The title of

Eva‟s story is Lopsha and the Trail of Tears,

which includes original artwork. The entries

were judged on originality, creative expres-

sion, storytelling and integration of text and

illustrations. According to the WQED web-

site, “The WQED/PBS Writing Contest was designed to promote the advancement

of children‟s literacy skills through hands-on

active learning.” WQED Pittsburgh selected

local winners and awarded prizes at a cere-

mony to honor all of the finalists on Sunday

May 11th. All finalists had the opportunity

to record their winning story and received

prizes. In addition, all finalists‟ stories, both

past and present will be featured on Satur-

day Light Brigade in the summer of 2014-

which is broadcast on iQkidsRadio.org. You

can listen to Eva‟s story if you log onto

http://videovote.wqed.org/node/366108.

MRS. KORAIDO FRACTURES LEG By Morgan Shansky

Fibula

Tibia

Tibia Plateau

Femur

Patella

Titanium Screws

BEFORE AFTER

Fractures

What did

the chef

say to the

skeleton?

“__ __ __ __” __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Find the answers to these questions to

solve the riddle. Circle the correct answer and put that letter on the line at the bottom.

1 How many bones are in an adult human body? 144 = D 206 = B

2 Is the funny bone really a bone? Yes = A No = O

3 Babies are born with less bones that an adult. Yes = L No = N

4 What is the biggest bone in the human body? Femur = E Spine = U

5 What is the only bone not connected to another bone? Hyoid = A Vertebra = P

6 What do bones need in order to stay strong? Vitamin L = R Calcium = P

7 What is the smallest bone in the human body? Stirrup = P Ulna = D

8 ________ connects muscle to bones. Ligaments = O Tendons = E

9 How many bones are in the ear? 3 = T 5 = M

10 You have 12 of this type of bone. Rib = I Pelvis = W

11 A point where two bones meet in the body is a ... Knee = Y Joint = T

12 The foot bone‟s connected to the _____________. Skull = R Ankle Bone = E

“BONE” APPETITE

sub, Mrs. Burke. Mrs. Burke was

great , and every Horizon student

wants to say thank you for being

so terrific. She kept the students

on track with their tasks and

helped finalize and publish the 2nd

edition of The Donaldson Daily.

Mrs. Koraido was very thankful and

proud. “She did a wonderful job.”

says Mrs. Koraido. After coming

back on February 17, 2014, Mrs.

Koraido has been going to physical

therapy three times a week. At

first, she started out in a wheel-

chair, then progressed to a walker,

after that she used crutches, and

now is back on her feet without

having to use any walking aids.

Mrs. Koraido will continue physical

therapy for at least a year and

hopes to gain as much function

back in her leg as possible. Hori-

zon students are glad to have Mrs.

Koraido back. The illustrations

below are Mrs. Koraido‟s actual x-

rays. Mrs. Koraido‟s advice:

Don‟t climb ladders!

In December 2013, right before

Christmas, Mrs. Koraido was painting

the hallway in her Bed and Breakfast

in Titusville, Pennsylvania. She was up

on a ladder 6 feet high when the lad-

der tipped over, causing her to se-

verely break her left tibia plateau with

multiple fractures. On a pain scale

from one to ten, it was a ten! Mrs.

Koraido had to have two surgeries for

her leg. During the first surgery, she

had to get 4 holes in her leg to be

able to insert an external fixation de-

vice that she had to wear for 2 weeks.

Although instead of 4 holes, Mrs.

Koraido got 5 because the surgeon

made a mistake! The surgeon had to

initial her left leg because he had to

know which leg to operate on. For

the 2nd surgery, Mrs. Koraido got two

titanium plates and nine screws in her

leg. She also had to wear a brace after

so she couldn‟t bend her knee or leg.

She wore the brace for what seemed

like months. While being out for 28

days, Mrs. Koraido read and was in

constant contact with the Horizon‟s

MRS. BOESENBERG

DELIVERS BABY By Mya Clay

Mrs. Boesenberg welcomed her

new healthy baby boy on April 4,

2014 at 12:03 PM. She named him

Camden John. The baby weighed 8

lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 inches in

length. The baby was born at

Mercy Hospital. Mrs. Boesenberg

plans to enjoy the summer with

her son and his big sister, Sophia

(3). Both mom, dad and children

are doing well at home. Mrs. Boe-

senberg returned to school on

Friday, May 30th. Donaldson second grade teacher,

On June 2nd and 5th, Mrs. Augustin‟s third grade class

transformed the gym at Donaldson to a museum….. a wax

museum! Each student chose and researched a famous

person, wrote a 5 paragraph biography and a biographical

summary and then became that famous person as a „wax

figure‟. Students created and dressed in their own unique

costumes for figures such as Queen Isabella, Walt Disney

and Cleopatra. Using the summary, students created an

Edmodo on line video, Their Edmodo video was linked

with a QR code that could be scanned. Guests that came

to see the museum could touch the sticker on the left hand

of the „wax figure‟, for it to come to life and read the bio-

graphical summary of the famous person from an index

card. If guests wanted to see the Edmodo video of that

famous person, they simply scanned the QR code on the

summary card using the App QR Reader with their mobile

device to access and view the video. Wax participants:

Congratulations to the following students who have

won prizes in the PTA‟s Otis Spunkmeyer fundraising

contest: Top Seller: Alexis Wischmann and Drawing

Winner: Talon Zandonan each won $25 and a tub of

cookie dough. Delaney Evers, Tanner Freshwater,

and Joey Szyjko each won a tub of cookie dough.

TECHNOLOGY INFUSED INTO WAX

MUSEUM PROJECT IN 3RD GRADE

By Morgan Shansky

Pictured left to right. Back row: Sarah Elske, Delaney Evers,

Liam Scheider, Nicholas Sabo, Johnny Susanek, Kayla Howard, Delaney McQuaide, Reilly Lada. Middle row: Kris-tina Fatigati, Alex Mack, Aidan Porter, Megan Russo, Mat-

thew Pfeffer, Dylan Panazzi. Front Row:, Brailon Slutiak,

Natalie Damon, Mona Wright, Luke Gyergyo, Mark Rose.

Pictured left to right: Back row: Max Cruise, Olivia Hell-

mann, Ty Watters, Madison Nai, Ryan Landry, Zach Mar-shall. Middle row: Owen Casuccio, Jackson DeCesaro, Destiny Coker, Dominic Fiordilino, Kayla Hay, Emma

Yanek, Trevor Kariman. Front row: Logen Mackey, Victo-ria Mock, Sophia Morton, Jaycob Schubert, Ella Sekelik,

Ally Shansky.