Registration is under way for next year for 4-year-old preschool to 12th grade at Cheswick Christian Academy, 1407 Pittsburgh St, Cheswick.

The school will conduct a fine arts open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. May 1. For more information, call 724-274-4846.

Dorseyville Middle School will hold a community awareness day from 9 to 11:15 a.m. Wednesday for the community to visit and observe educational programs in sixth through eighth grades firsthand. The day also will provide an opportunity for a visit by parents of fifth-graders who will attend the middle school during the 2009-10 school year.

All visitors must check in at the office and receive a visitor's badge. Dorseyville Middle School is at 3732 Saxonburg Blvd., Indiana Township.

• District elementary faculty and parents and the District Forum are sponsoring a program on drug and alcohol abuse and prevention from 7 to 8:30 p.m. next Thursday.

Information is geared to district fifth-graders and their parents, but other Fox Chapel parents are encouraged to attend.

Representatives from the Northern Area Alliance Against Highly Addictive Drugs will present the video "Listen," as part of the program. It tells the true story of how highly addictive drugs affected several families in the North Hills. Experts in counseling, law enforcement and prevention will be there to present an idea of what to look for when drugs and alcohol involvement is suspected.

The program will be held in the auditorium of O'Hara Elementary School,115 Cabin Lane in O'Hara.

• The district's Early Learning Consortium is sponsoring a forum, Play for All -- Not a Free-for-All. It will be held April 28, at Fox Chapel Area High School on Field Club Drive.

Speakers will include Jocelyn Horner, of the Spark Fund; Jennifer Beagan, from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit; elementary Spanish teacher Holly Forsyth; and Early Learning Steering Committee members. The discussion will include how facilitated play can enhance a child's language, learning, and behavior.

The session will take place from 4:15 to 6:30 p.m. in the large group instruction room. To participate, call Nancy Cannon at 412-696-0065 or nancy_cannon@fcasd.edu.

Dr. Margaret A. Boden, a retired high school principal, will serve as an interim assistant principal at North Hills Junior High School until a permanent replacement has been named.

Dr. Boden, who retired in June, has 12 years of administrative experience including principal positions in the Woodland Hills, Avonworth and Baldwin-Whitehall school districts. She also was a secondary teacher for 24 years.

Dr. Boden completed her bachelor's degree at Slippery Rock University and earned her graduate degree and secondary principal certification from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She earned her educational doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Boden fills the vacancy that was created by the recent promotion of Beth Williams to Highcliff Elementary School principal.

Seniors enrolled in advanced French at Quaker Valley Senior High School will spend Friday immersed in French language and culture. The day will begin with a French breakfast from Jean Marc Chatellier's French Bakery, as students are given instructions for the day. They will not be permitted to speak English at all for the entire day. Among highlights is a trip to Le Café des Amis on Division Street in Sewickley, where the students will be given a presentation by the French owner, and eat lunch. n The Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association has selected Quaker Valley High School to receive its Silver Globe Award for exemplary modern language programs. The high school was one of eight public or private high schools to receive 2009 awards at all four levels -- golden, silver, bronze and globe. Each award is presented for a two-year period.