The school district will present "Into the Woods," with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. March 27 and 28 and April 3 and 4 in the auditorium at Avonworth High School, 304 Josephs Lane, Ohio Township. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and senior citizens. Ticket requests may be e-mailed to AvonworthTickets@aol.com.

Registration is being accepted for spring preschool through the North Allegheny Family and Consumer Sciences Department.

The program is open to district residents. Children must be 3 1/2 to 5 years old and toilet-trained. A fee of $85 is assessed each semester.

Preschool meets Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at North Allegheny Senior High School, 10375 Perry Highway, McCandless. Hours for the morning session are 8:25 a.m. to 10:40 a.m.; the afternoon session meets from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Kristy Coquet is preschool supervisor and teacher. For more information, call 724-934-7233 or e-mail kcoquet@northallegheny.org.

• North Allegheny Senior High School Counseling Department will host a college information evening at 7 p.m. next Thursday in the high school auditorium. It is open to parents and students and will offer suggestions for beginning the college search and application process.

Admission representatives from Allegheny College, Indiana University at Bloomington, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Notre Dame will attend. The program will include a question-and-answer period. For more information, call 724-934-7200.

The school board last week gave Eckles Architecture the go-ahead to complete a feasibility study on expanding the district's high school.

The study, which the company will do at no cost to the district, will include an architectural, site, structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, food service and landscaping review and a long-term master plan blueprint for the secondary campus on Warrendale Road, Pine.

The board will meet April 8 to discuss the proposed 2009-10 budget.

• The Pine-Richland Opportunities Fund is offering nine scholarships to the Class of 2009. New this year is the Gallagher-Lynne and the Heartland Homes scholarships.

The number of scholarships offered to seniors has more than quadrupled in the past four years. In all, nearly $20,000 will be presented at the senior awards program May 28.

The scholarships benefit accomplished students, those in financial need, students with strong community service and those with learning challenges.

This year's scholarships include:

Foster Family Scholarship, $2,000, for seniors who have attended Pine-Richland High School their junior and senior years and have participated in a learning support program.

Gallagher-Lynne Scholarship, $5,000, for those entering a fully accredited public or private four-year college or university to pursue a bachelor's degree or equivalent. Need is given special consideration.

Heartland Homes Scholarship, $1,000, for students who plan to study for a career in interior design, engineering or art.

Jeff Calhoun Performing Arts Award, $5,000, to a senior planning to pursue a career in theater arts. Applicants are responsible for making a video and submitting it in DVD format for review.

Pasquinelli Insurance Scholarship, $1,000, for seniors who have attended Pine-Richland High School for four years and have participated in at least three extracurricular activities.

Ruth V. Mattison/Ruth Lefevre Long Memorial Scholarship, $1,250, to a senior who meets the criteria and is accepted into an accredited program leading to a degree in elementary or early childhood education.

Richland Civic Club, $1,000, for those who show evidence of leadership in the community and/or within the school district.

Ron Steiner Excellence in Communications Memorial Scholarship Award, $1,000, for seniors who plan to major in sports information, public relations, journalism, marketing, advertising or communication.

Scott Crawford Memorial Scholarship, $1,000, for a member of the National Honor Society who participated in one interscholastic athletic program for at least three seasons and five extracurricular activities throughout high school. See application for additional criteria.

Scholarship applications can be downloaded at http://www.pinerichland.org/oppfund.html. All applications are due in the high school guidance office by April 3, 2009, except for the Calhoun scholarship, which is due by March 20.

The school board has extended Heidi Ondek's contract as assistant superintendent for five years.

At its February legislative meeting, the board approved Dr. Ondek's contract effective July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2014, at a salary of $112,500.

Dr. Ondek has held the position since June 2006, when she was promoted from principal of Quaker Valley High School. She lives in Ben Avon with her husband, Ed, and their youngest child.

• The school district and Esmark Inc. will host a fundraising event offering food and drink at the Edgeworth Club to raise $30,000 for new weight and fitness equipment at the high school fitness center.

Called "Challenge Match," the event will be held at 9 p.m. next Thursday. Esmark will match all donations up to $30,000 to meet the goal of $60,000.

The weight room is used by all high school students, and team members, coaches and fitness center users. The present equipment is 13 years old.

Donations will be accepted at the event, or they can be mailed to QVSD Business Office, c/o Janice Bible, 203 Graham St., Sewickley, PA 15143. Make checks payable to "QVSD Weight Room Fund." All donations are tax-deductible.

Invitation fliers can be downloaded from the district Web site, www.qvsd.org.

• The school board has approved the 2009-10 programs of studies for the middle and high schools.

Amendments to the middle school 2009-10 program include intervention programs in language and math and formal course descriptions for the Exploratory World Languages Program for sixth grade. It also includes world languages for grades six through eight.

Changes at the high school include the articulation of courses for clarity and standardization, elimination of courses that duplicate another course and introduction of new courses.

Highlights of course changes and additions include: The Network Cisco I course has been replaced by Intro to Java Programming; Advanced Placement World History has been adopted; and new high school English courses for seniors have been added.

Introduction to Psychology will be offered as an elective in addition to AP psychology, which will continue to be offered online.