Avonworth School District News

Avonworth senior, Lukas Helsel, is no stranger to musical accomplishments. Over his high school years, he has been recognized often at a local, regional, and national level for his musical talent. This year, Lukas was selected to play Trombone 1 in the NAfME All-Eastern Honors Orchestra in the spring of 2019. Congratulations Lukas!

Congratulations to the following Avonworth students who were recognized as A.W. Beattie Career Center Students of the Month in November/December 2018!

Automotive Collision Technology

• Caitlin Penfield

Health Science Technology

• Lissah Fry

Veterinary Sciences

• Katherine Zdrojowy

On December 13th, our middle school and high school bands and choruses took to the stage to showcase their talents. On December 18th, our 5th and 6th-grade bands and choruses did the same. Each evening welcomed a packed auditorium of friends and family that were treated to incredible performances. Our music program continues to grow and amaze us with the talent of our students. Congratulations to all of our students that participated in these performances!

Avonworth students celebrated Computer Science Education week with a week-long celebration involving Hour of Code activities, visits from Google, and a Computer Science Fair at the middle school. What is CSed Week? It is an annual program dedicated to inspiring students K-12 to take computer science courses and is held in recognition of computer pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper’s birthday (December 9, 1906). The benefit of teaching students computer science is empowering them to be problem solvers, creative thinkers, and creators in an ever-changing digital world.

Students in all buildings participated in a variety of engaging Hour of Code activities such as Code.org’s Code Your Own Dance Party and visiting other grade levels/buildings to assist younger students. Google employees visited the elementary and middle schools to teach students a hands-on programming lesson. Finally, middle school students participated in a Computer Science Fair to share their learning with sixth-grade students. Computer Science students were able to share programming projects, teach others how to operate drones and robots, and how to create in an augmented-reality environment. Seventh-grade students in Mr. Lincoln’s class collaborated with upperclassmen in Mrs. Shumaker’s class to design and code a logo for the Computer Science Fair using Python. Tia Paredes, Emily Lemoncelli, and Sabrina Leffler created the winning logo.

The video below features the end-of-unit creative task submissions from our Introduction to Computer Science and Programming class. This pilot course, created by Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Science Academy, teaches students how to program using Python. All images are created solely through students’ creativity and problem-solving skills. CMU Computer Science Academy employees reviewed the creative task submissions and included the top thirty in every unit. Avonworth had three student submissions included in the video; they are sophomore Tim Eng’s Captain Underpants, freshmen Ben Monti’s Pencil Drawing, and freshmen David Kujawinski’s Whack-a-Mole.

During December, our kindergarten students have been focusing on the author Jan Brett. Students have been studying how she writes, illustrates, and adds details into her stories! Through her books, students have been learning a lot about reindeer, gingerbread, snow people, and so many more wintery animals and items! If you get the chance to visit our Primary Center, take a walk down the Kindergarten hallway to see all of our students' amazing Winter Work!

Our first-grade students spent the last week before the winter break practicing kindness and giving! A theme was planned for each day highlighting story elements from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Polar Express." All donations collected were given to "The Network of Hope."

Our Second Grade students took time in December to learn about Winter Holidays around the world. Students learned about Diwali, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Los Posadas, and Christmas. Students read passages and books about each holiday, wrote down facts, and did Maker Challenges.

During the month of December, the students at Avonworth Elementary participated in the Twelve Days of School Spirit. Each day had its own theme. The themes included kindness, fitness, compliments, as well as a variety of dress-up themes. Additionally, teachers participated in a teacher swap. During the teacher swap, students were treated to a visit from a teacher from a different homeroom and grade level who led them in an activity. All of these themes were developed by the Avonworth Elementary Game Changers, which is our new version of the student council.

Back in November, our 6th-grade students were fortunate to have NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke visit and help kick off their Apollo 11 project. As part of their research, students also visited the Destination Moon exhibit at the Heinz History Center. On Friday, December 21st, the 6th-grade students had their projects on display in their very own Destination Moon Showcase. Fifth-grade students visited the showcase to learn from their 6th-grade peers. Our 6th-grade students did a tremendous job with this project. The students' project included thorough research of topics like Pittsburgh companies that had a role in the Apollo 11 project, the history of flight leading up to Apollo 11, how Apollo 11 impacted pop culture, the construction of a flight suit, what the patches mean on an astronaut's flight suit, and the different foods astronauts ate on Apollo 11. Congratulations 6th-grade students on the effort and dedication you put into this successful project!

Eighth-grade students received a letter from Dr. Tipora Gur, the Executive Director and Founder of Classrooms Without Borders, asking them to share their analysis of Holocaust literature themes with their community. The letter challenged students to help with the organization's mission of teaching the public about the importance of learning from history. Students accepted the challenge and after reading Holocaust literature fiction and nonfiction books and diaries, met with Project Advisors from Jewish organizations such as CWB, The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Film Pittsburgh/Teen Screen to review their project proposal ideas. Students showcased their final analysis of how the themes were relevant to present times at their Holocaust Literature Themes Exhibit through works of art ranging from poetry to paintings.

The Avonworth High School Student Council has been active in pursuing opportunities to serve Avonworth and the Greater Pittsburgh region this year. In December, students have volunteered with Animal Friends to make toys for their dogs and cats. They also continue to collect for the Children's Hospital Free Care Fund. Each week a high school student is nominated and awarded for displaying a #bethekindkid attitude.

Three of our Avonews staff members won their categories in the PA School Press Journalism Regional Competitions at Point Park in November. The three winners are seniors and also editors on the Avonews staff.

• Caitie Bellotti for newspaper photography
  
• Katelyn Eng for newspaper feature writing
  
• Patrick Gannon for newspaper sports writing
  

Since the PSPA resumed state competition in 2014, the Avonews has placed at least one regional winner each year in the state competition. Our students compete in the same region as much larger local schools such as North Allegheny and Fox Chapel, as well as state and national award-winning programs from Freedom Area, among others.

Caitie, Katelyn, and Patrick are now invited to Penn State's main campus on Wednesday, March 27th to participate in the state journalism competition against the other regional winners. Students will attend a press conference and must craft their journalistic product with a one-hour deadline.

Last year, Avonews editor-in-chief Ethan Woodfill earned the state championship in editorial writing. We wish Caitie, Katelyn, and Patrick the best when they head to Penn State to compete in March!

Please consider nominating someone for the inaugural Avonworth Hall of Distinction class.

Individuals eligible for the Hall of Distinction must be alumni, staff, or a community member. Alumni status includes graduates of Ben Avon High School, those that attended the Emsworth School, or the Ohio Township One-Room School Houses.

If you are interested in nominating someone to the inaugural Avonworth Hall of Distinction class, please download and complete the nomination form using the link below. Once you complete the form, you may mail it to or drop it off at:

Avonworth School District

258 Josephs Lane

Pittsburgh, PA 15237

The Avonworth High School Winter Scholarship Blood Drive will be Friday, January 11, 2019 from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM in the high school auditorium.

This event is open to the public and walk-ins are welcome. However, you can also make an appointment by contacting our School Nurse, Mrs. Barcaskey at cbarcaskey@avonworth.k12.pa.us or 412-366-6360.

All visitors coming for the blood drive will need to report to and check in at either the high school or middle school office.

Please consider donating. The more participants we have in the blood drive, the more money that will be raised for this scholarship, which will benefit one of this year's seniors. We hope to see you on January 11th.

January 2: School is in Session

January 7: School Board Work Session, 7:30 PM

January 7-10: HS Midterms

January 8: PTA Meeting at APC, 7:00 PM

January 9-11: PMEA District Orchestra

January 11: Blood Drive at the High School, 7:30 AM - 1:30 PM

January 14: End of First Semester (Grades 3-12)

January 14: School Board Regular Meeting, 7:30 PM

January 16: AMS Parent Network Meeting in the Collaboration Cntr., 7:00 PM

January 21: Schools Closed for Students, Act 80 Day

January 23-25: PMEA District Band