With the departure this summer of Dr. Theresa Piatek, Director of Educational Operations, the District has decided to divide the educational and curriculum side of operations, which covered K-12, into elementary and secondary levels.  This change allows for a more focused approach to the unique challenges of each grade grouping.  Renel Williams moves into the position of Director of Elementary Education (Pre-K through 6) and the District welcomes William McClarnon as the Directory of Secondary Education (7 through 12).

The Penn Hills School Board recently swore in two new student representatives to serve for the 2009-2010 school year.  Seniors Mike Ferraco and Jenna Plummer will attend the regular voting meetings to observe the process and provide reports to update the Board and public on student activities.
 
Mike is Senior Class President, Team Captain for Varsity Soccer, and kicker on the Varsity Football Team.  He is also a member of the National Honor Society, German Club, and Teen Leadership Council.  Out-of-school activities focus on soccer, with Mike serving as Team Captain of the FC Pittsburgh Soccer Club and Penn Hills Phantoms Travel Soccer Team, Youth Soccer Camp Director, and Grade 8 Recreational Soccer Referee.  He is on the High Honor Roll, with a GPA of 4.06 and Class Rank No. 1.  His favorite class is computer programming.
 
Mike's main goal is to be able to represent Penn Hills High School, especially the senior class of 2010, in front of the School Board.  He would like to be able to present issues to them that he thinks need to be brought to their attention and keep them up to date on the activities and accomplishments of the senior class.
 
From his experience on the School Board, he said he hopes to learn about the Board members and the way they view their issues.  "It is great to be involved with this group of people because they make the decisions for the entire school district of Penn Hills," he explained.  He also said he hopes to gain a good reputation for the senior class of 2010 and hopefully make it one that they will remember years from now.
 
"It is a great experience for me," Mike said, adding, "I am excited to be a part of it."  Each meeting, he explained, he has the opportunity to speak about the issues and events taking place at the high school.  This gives the School Board the opinion of a student who is actually walking the halls and involved in everyday school life.  "I think this opinion is important when the Board is making their decisions, and I am honored to represent the school," he stated.
 
Mike plans on attending college and majoring in computer science, as well as continuing his soccer career.  He has not yet decided where he will attend college.
 
Jenna is Student Council President and Homeroom Representative and is one of the leaders of the Teen Leadership Council.  She is also a Varsity Soccer Team Captain and plays fast pitch softball for the High School Varsity Team.  She has earned a varsity letter since 9th grade in each sport.  Her activities have also included serving as one of the student ambassadors this year for refugees from Iraq.  Her favorite classes include Forensics 2, Spanish, and AP English.
 
"My role as a School Board representative means the world to me," she said, adding, "knowing that I have to be our voice of the student body is a strong task that I am willing to take on."  She expects to be a good leader and make some changes, eventually leaving her mark as a positive leader and student at Penn Hills.
 
During her time on the Board, she expects to learn more about Penn Hills and how the School District works, as well as what goes on outside of the high school hall ways.  "I would like to gain from this experience by becoming a more mature person," she explained, "becoming more aware of situations and issues that go on around me."  Feeling very honored to have such a great opportunity, Jenna said she hopes she can serve the position well.
 
Although her future plans are undecided at the moment, she does plan on studying sports management/business administration and playing college soccer.  Some colleges she has been looking at are West Virginia, Wesleyan College, and Slippery Rock University.

The District has received an Award of Excellence in the Pennsylvania School Boards Association 2009 Educational Publications Contest.

The District's web site earned the Award of Excellence, the highest honor possible, in the Internet/Intranet Web Site category.  It was cited for excellent graphics and "wonderful use of site to delivery community news."  The site received perfect scores from both judges in all categories (general appearance, design; content; navigation; usability; and message makes appropriate use of media).  There were a total of 210 entries, including 31 web sites, from across Pennsylvania in this year's contest.  Awards included Awards of Excellence and Honorable Mention.

The Award of Excellence entries will be displayed at the 2009 PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference in Hershey October 13-16, 2009.

Thanks to all who voted for Penn Hills on the WPXI.com website, the District received the Wendy's Spirit Award during Week 2 of the season.  The award was presented by John Fedko and Wendy's Mr. Frosty to cheerleaders, band members, and football players at a special assembly on September 17th.  Along with the award, the District was presented with a check in the amount of $256.  For video of the event, click on the photo.

The Penn Hills NJROTC cadets proved to be a big success at the Penn Hebron welcome back picnic on September 17th.  According to Penn Hebron PTA President Christine Polaski, they arrived early to set up and were willing to do anything and everything asked of them. "They were courteous and motivated at all times," she said, adding that she has had great experiences with the students in the past but  that night was just incredible.

 

She attributed the success of the evening to the involvement of the cadets.  "Although I did the planning in general for the picnic and many PTA volunteers worked hard today and before the picnic," she explained to the cadets' commander, "your kids did all the back breaking and tiresome labor!"  This included everything from moving tables to setting up and lighting the grill to cooking and putting tattoos on kids.

 

Over 20 NJROTC students participated in the event.  Additional photos are available in the Penn Hebron photo gallery.

Welcome to all of the new subscribers to Penn Hills Pride.  Over the past month, our numbers have more than doubled.  We hope you enjoy the publication and always welcome your suggestions.   Also, many thanks are extended to everyone who helps to make this newsletter possible.  Your information, photos, and input are always greatly appreciated.