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The Teachers of Video & Television Spring Film Festival at Robert Morris University presented Seneca Valley High School freshman Laura Ward with an award of excellence in Digital Cinema for her work "Changing Clothes." The TVT spring festival is the Academy Awards for local middle school and high school film students, who submit work for judging by RMU faculty.
• Saint Sebastian School forensics students participated in three Southwestern Pennsylvania Forensic League meets during the school year placing no lower than fifth place among more than 15 other schools. At the finals at Butler Catholic School, the team from the Ross school captured first place among 21 schools.
Winning first-place ribbons were Dominic Melchiorre in drama; Madison Dalton and Lillia Smyers in prose; Lauren DuPlessis, Gillian Kasper, Jonathon Lutz and Vincent Melchiorre in poetry; and Adelyne Bejjani, Jaclyn Hein, Dana Krawczak, Leah LeBrew and Mark Reid in multiple reading.
• Sewickley Academy junior Isabella Maroon '13 of Sewickley produced an animated short film, "Shapeable," which won a second-place award at the Antelope Film Festival. The film also features an original score by Sewickley Academy alumnus Calder Pegden '10.
• North Allegheny Senior High School junior Jeremy Miller finished first in the category of sports management at the Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference.
• The Pennsylvania School Librarians Association honored Marg Foster with the Pennsylvania Outstanding Contributor to School Libraries award for outstanding contributions to the field of school library programs.
Mrs. Foster retired from the North Allegheny School District in June 2010 after 36 years of school library work. She served North Allegheny as a school librarian, the library department chairwoman and the manager of academic technology.
• Alexandra Marshall, who just graduated from Pine-Richland High School, placed first in the statewide speech and debate competition hosted by the Pennsylvania High School Speech League at Susquehanna University. She competed in the fast-paced commentary category, which involves developing and presenting a five-minute speech based on a randomly selected topic, after only 30 minutes of preparation.
• Two Seneca Valley Middle School students recently won top honors in a poster contest hosted by Animal Friends of Pittsburgh. The winners were Hannah Beaudoin, who won first place in the seventh-grade category, and Hannah Hale, who finished first in the eighth-grade category. Maria Alfano, Bobby Giebel and Dan Rupert received honorable mentions.
• Pine-Richland Middle School eighth-grader Kylie Manuppelli won the National History Day State Competition to qualify for the national competition. She won for her individual documentary entitled: "Henry John Heinz: The Revolutionary Entrepreneur of the Processed Food Industry."
Teacher Eric Brown said she is the first student in the district to qualify for the national competition. Eighth-graders Nathan Carnovale, Kiel Hillock and Peyton Lane placed first in the group documentary. Eighth-graders William Newell and Brandon Singer placed third in the group website category.
• William Aikins, a freshman at Saint Joseph High School in Harrison, won first place in the American Legion Essay Contest. This year's topic was "How I Can Show My Patriotism in the Community." William is the son of William and Maria and had attended Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School in New Kensington. He is a member of Mount St. Peter parish.
Anna Maria Cirigliano, also a freshman, finished second. She is the daughter of Thaddeus and Elisa and also is a Mary Queen of the Apostles graduate and a member of Mount St. Peter.
• Hampton High School seniors Bridget Bianconi and Megan Rothlein were among the "Words to be Heard" scholarship winners in a competition sponsored by Edgar Snyder Associates. They will split a $2,500 scholarship.
• The North Hills Senior High School Concept Design class swept the fourth annual Pittsburgh Technical Institute's concept car competition. Senior Nate Heid finished first and won $300 for his design of the 2017 Pontiac Mercurial. Senior Shane Donat earned $200 and second place for his Pontiac Apache. Third place and $150 went to junior John Witherel for his 2017 Plymouth Prowler. Sophomore Kaitlyn Wagner was fourth, and she won $100 for her 2017 Mercury Drop.
• Mary Ann Novak of Allison Park recently was honored by Women's Business Network, Inc. as Service Woman of the Year. A graduate of Community College of Allegheny County, she started her business career with McDonald's Corporation in their management program and held various positions within the company.
She is president of the WBN North Hills Chapter. For four years, she has been the growth committee chair, which establishes new areas for chapters and for the past two years she has been a member of the organization's Executive Board.
For 25 years, she has been a member of North Way Christian Community Church, serving as worship leader, mentor, children's ministry and facilitating bible studies. She has also been a member of the Community Impact Group, which informs the church on issues.
• A group of Fox Chapel Area High School seniors recently received a certificate and a $75 stipend by the Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area for their academic achievement and for exemplifying the Rotary's motto of "Service Above Self."
They were: Ishan Catterjee, who was selected by the high school's science department; Molly Eckman, selected by the music department; Bennett Gould, selected by the technology department; Megan Kirk, selected by the English department; Da Y Kwon, selected by the art department; Maheen Nadeem, selected by the world languages department; Sarah Ogren, selected by the social studies department; Laura Powers, selected by the health and physical education department; Laura Rotondo, selected by the family and consumer science department; Jonny Wallisch, selected by the business department; Angelia Wang, selected by the math department.
• Theresa McGrath, who just graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School, recently received the Silver Medal Congressional Award from U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless. It's the highest award for youth legislated by the Congress. She completed more than 200 hours of voluntary public service, leading a variety of community programs, including a "fun run" fundraiser to raise money for fixing homes.
• Fox Chapel Area High School 2012 graduate Morgan Tucker recently received a Mid-Atlantic Student Television Award for Excellence in Writing. The award is given by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Mid-Atlantic Chapter. She won an award for her writing of a student documentary, "The War of Currents." The topic of her documentary was Tesla and Edison and the battle of AC versus DC current. The Mid-Atlantic chapter encompasses Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
• These North students have played in roles of recent Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera productions:
• William Davis, 13, of Avonworth Middle School, was in the Children's Ensemble of "Fiddler on the Roof." He was last seen on the Pittsburgh CLO stage in the 2010 production of "A Musical Christmas Carol." He won a Gene Kelly Award for his performance as Patrick in Avonworth Middle School's 2010 production of "Mame" and was most recently seen in Avonworth High School's spring 2012 production "Sweeney Todd," playing the role of Toby. In addition to his theatrical pursuits, William is also a member of his school's Student Council.
• Joshua Mann, 12, of North Hills Junior High, also was in the Children's Ensemble of "Fiddler on the Roof." He spent three years at Pittsburgh CLO Academy and was on the Pittsburgh CLO stage as Workhouse Boy/Rich Boy in "Oliver!".
• Stefanee Sybo, 13, was in the Children's Ensemble of both "Annie" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Stefanee is a student at Northgate Junior/Senior High School. She has attended the CLO Academy for five years and last appeared on the Pittsburgh CLO stage in the 2009 production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."
• Joseph Marchi of St. Joseph High School, Harrison, has been elected Chief Squire of the Pennsylvania State Squires Circle for the 2012-13 fraternal year. Joseph previously served the PA State Circle as Deputy Chief Squire and Marshall. He was also awarded a $500 2012 Squires Scholarship at the recent State Convention in Harrisburg for his essay entry. He is a member of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament elementary school and Holy Martyrs Parish.
• Brittany Tresky, 19, of McCandless. has been crowned Miss North Hills. Brittany will compete Sept. 23 for the title of Miss Pittsburgh. A 2011 graduate of North Allegheny High School, she is a licensed cosmetologist and medical esthetician. She works at the Fountain of Youth Academy in Mars.
• Emma Goldrick, 17, of Hampton, has been awarded one of 55 international scholarships by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to study abroad for her senior year. She and four other American students will attend an international baccalaureate high school in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina and live with local host families for 11 months.
The scholarship covers all expenses of the program, including transportation and a monthly stipend. Emma just finished her junior year at Hampton High School. She will leave on Aug. 13.
She is a member of the National Honor Society and the high school orchestra where she plays the violin. She also is a varsity athlete on the swimming and track teams.
First Published August 2, 2012 4:56 am
