- 11/01: Daylight Savings Time Ends (Clocks Back)
- 11/02-06: PSSA Retest for Nonproficient Seniors
- 11/02: Linton Family Fun Night
- 11/02: Dancing with the Teachers 2
- 11/03: Election Day, Professional Day, No School for Students
- 11/09-12: Grades 3-11 & Nonproficient Seniors 4Sight 2nd Round
- 11/09: Linton Family Fun Night
- 11/09: School Board Workshop/Public Voting Mtg.
- 11/11: Veterans Day
- 11/13: Grade 5 Bring Your Parents to School Day
- 11/23: Linton Family Fun Night
- 11/24: High School Blood Drive
- 11/25: NJROTC 9th Annual Big Red Battalion Day
- 11/26-30: Thanksgiving Recess, No School
To view additional events, click here.
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Dancing with the Teachers 2 - November 2nd
 The Penn Hills School District will present Dancing with the Teachers 2 on November 2nd at 7:00 p.m. in the Senior High School Auditorium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for students. They can be purchased from any District cheerleader or cheerleader coach. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door for $10. Children able to sit in a parent's lap are free.
Teachers dancing in the event include Mike Gauntner and Rachel Fashandi (Macioce), Darrell Haynes and Kala Lorey, Rob Krogh and Terry Polczynski, BJ Trettel and Maureen Scuro, Mike Whalen and Gina Sciulli, Matt Herdman and Kristy Bougher, and Todd Holler and Claire Dice. Included on the judging panel will be Paul Alexander from Fox Sports.
Surrounding dance schools participating in the show include Larry Cervi's School of Performing Arts, Sherry's School of Dance, Steel City Angels, and Full of Grace. Ballroom choreographers are Larry Cervi, Dan Miller, and Aimee Voegtle, and student choreographers are Dominique Wright and Amanda Ifill. Master and Mistress of Ceremonies will be students Michael and Alexis Ferraco.
Last year's event was a huge success with an impressive crowd coming out to cheer on equally impressive and very good-natured District teachers. This year's event promises to be just as entertaining. So, come out for an evening of fun, dancing, and the opportunity to see your teachers trip the light fantastic!
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Bring a Buck for the Kiwanis
Bring in a buck to help our Kiwanis support local families in need. Dollars will be collected November 9-13 in all elementary buildings.
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History of Penn Hills Available
The Changing Hills is a new Penn Hills history book written by Gary Rogers and Jane Hawkins. It is now available at the William E. Anderson Library of Penn Hills at a cost of $20 ($22.50 if shipping is needed). Please contact Jean Kanouff if you need shipping or have questions. She can be reached at kanouffj@einetwork.net or by phone at 412/795-3507 ext. 120. Proceeds benefit the Penn Hills Library Foundation. Books may be purchased at the front desk in the adult department of the library. |
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Class of 1999 Reunion
The Penn Hills Class of 1999 Reunion will take place on Saturday, November 28, 2009, from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Zen Social Club, 125 W. Station Square Drive, Pittsburgh. Phone is 724-766-4556. The club is within walking distance of hotels and taxi service
has been assured for those needing it. Cost is $40.00 per person, with payment at the door. |
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2009-10 Yearbooks
2009-10 Yearbooks can now be purchased online. Price for the books is $70. This will increase to $76 after February 2010. The yearbook will be full color and feature each student three times. This year's theme is "tradition," and the school year will be documented for the yearbook as it unfolds. Parent ads will again be available and the book can be personalized with the student's name on the front. For more information and to place your order online, click here. |
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Municipal Events
- 11/02: PH Council Mtg.
- 11/11: Veterans Day, Municipal Bldg. Closed
- 11/16: PH Council Mtg.
- 11/18: Zoning Hearing Board Mtg.
- 11/19: Planning Commission Mtg.
- 11/26 & 27: Thanksgiving Break, Municipal Bldg. Closed
Events subject to change. For additional info on meeting dates and times, call 412-798-2103. |
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Penn Hills Parks & Recreation 12th Annual Holiday Craft Show
The Penn Hills Parks and Recreation 12th Annual Holiday Craft Show will be held on Saturday, November 21, 2009. The event will take place at Linton Middle School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will offer 200 spaces of crafts and arts, free general admission, free parking with additional free parking/shuttle at St. Susanna Church on Stotler Road, free hayrides with Santa, free raffles, kettle corn, and lots of good food. The Penn Hills Marching Band will escort Santa upon his arrival at 11 a.m. The Spanish Club will be manning a coat/package check area, and National Honor Society members will be helping with the hay rides. So, make plans to attend for a great time and to welcome the holiday season! |
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Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Free Concert
The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony will be presenting a concert on November 15th at 7:00 p.m. entitled, "Magic and Mystery." The concert is free but tickets are required for admission. For more information, click here. |
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Holiday Happenings
Penn Hills Light Up Night will be held on Thursday, December 3rd, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the municipal building. The festivities will include Christmas caroling and the official lighting of the Christmas Tree by the Mayor of Penn Hills. Children can visit with Santa, his elves, and Rudolph. Refreshments will be served and the holiday train display will be open. Light Up Night is sponsored by the Municipality of Penn Hills and Penn Hills QCP.
Photos with Santa will be taken by Dream Photography and packages can be purchased that evening. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Penn Hills Rotary and Interact Club.
For more information contact 412-798-2126. |
Crime Prevention E-Mail Access
The Penn Hills Police Department wants to provide the public with current information regarding criminal activity in Penn Hills. Anyone interested in receiving this information should send his/her e-mail address and home address to Crimeprevention@PennHills.org. The public is also encouraged to forward any information they may have regarding criminal or suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. By working together, we can create a safe and prosperous community in which to raise a family and conduct business. |
Newsletter created by:
Teresita K. Kolenchak
Communications Consultant Penn Hills School District
Previous editions of Penn Hills Pride are always available here. | |
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Community Meeting Offers Update on Building Plan
On October 20th, a community meeting was held at Linton Auditorium to showcase a presentation on the building program planned in the District. Although the meeting was not well attended, the residents present listened attentively and then were ready with questions for the project architect and construction management firm.
The presentation detailed site layout and building specifics for the new Senior High School which is scheduled to be built on the current Roberts Administration Building site. Those details included traffic patterns, floor plans, gymnasiums (auxiliary with capacity for 330, main gym with capacity for 2,000), construction materials, cooling and heating equipment, etc. One interesting feature of the new building, which will be used as a teaching tool, is a chiller which will make ice at night and run during the day to cool the building down, reducing electrical utility costs.
A plan to include administrative offices in what is now the technical wing at Linton Middle School was also presented.
Finally, possible options were given for creating a single elementary center at the current Dible Elementary site. These options included Option 1, which would keep students at Dible during construction and utilize the back portion of the site for building, and Option 2, which would relocate students to Shenandoah and utilize the entire site for construction. The benefit to the second option is that retaining walls would not have to be built around the back of the site, which would incur an additional $2 million in costs. As with the Senior High School portion of the presentation, details were provided on traffic patterns, floor plans, gymnasium and multipurpose room, cafeteria, classrooms, etc. The elementary center would be designed with a grade level in each wing.
Residents present raised the most questions about the elementary center, particularly the plans for the cafeteria. Parents questioned how the much larger number of students would be fed in a timely manner without rushing the children. Although Jan Brimmeier of Architectural Innovations said they were at the begining of the process and were going to meet with the food consultant to work out the details, one possibility is fewer but longer lunch periods. "We're here to make this work for all of you," she said.
Other details that need to be worked out as the project moves along are security, how students will enter the elementary center, how green the building will be, technology for the stage, and more. The residents in attendance said they were pleased and excited about the plans and looked forwarded to continued progress on the details.
The current construction schedule for the project is new administration offices built at Linton in January 2010, Roberts demolished in May 2010, construction on Senior High School begins September 2010 and runs for two years, and existing Senior High School demolished in Fall 2012. The work at Dible is expected to take place simultaneously with the work at the new Senior High School site. The presentation provided by the architects will be posted on the District website as soon as it becomes available. |
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Iraqi Veteran Presents Flag to Student Penpals
 Prior to the Forbes Elementary presentation at the October 6th workshop meeting, Principal Kristin Brown introduced Specialist Kenneth Hubble of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Specialist Hubble, who is also the UPS worker who delivers to the school, recently returned from Iraq. While on his tour of duty, he and his company, the 56th Striker Brigade, corresponded with students from Mrs. Zera's 2008-09 second grade classroom. As a "thank you" to those students, Specialist Hubble and the 56th Striker Brigade presented Mrs. Brown and students from Mrs. Zera's classroom with the actual flag that flew in Iraq above their company. Afterwards, two students from that classroom assisted Specialist Hubble in folding the flag appropriately, so that it may be placed on display at Forbes. |
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Student Achiever - Noah Rhea
 Washington Elementary Second Grade Teacher Kelly Joyce has selected Noah Rhea for recognition as a "notable" student in her classroom.
Noah was diagnosed with PDD (a form of high-functioning Autism) at a young age and, in addition to that, deals with occupational therapy at school and during the evenings at home. His fine and gross motor skills are visibly not the best, Mrs. Joyce explained, but he has truly overcome obstacles to get him to where he can handle it all in a regular education classroom. Not only does he "handle" it, she said, but he realizes and faces his challenges and often times excels.
Noah is a bright little boy with a warm heart and smile. He continually gives 110 percent and, currently, it shows. Noah has straight A's and his GMADE scores were all 9's. Noah is gifted in his own way. He may never be the fastest runner or "star" athlete, Mrs. Joyce said, but he's a winner.
At the age of 7, Mrs. Joyce said, "He has overcome so much." She added that he is a great kid. "Noah, mark my words, will move mountains some day," she stated. For these reasons and many more, he is her selected student.
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Public Hearing on Senior High School Plans
A very small group of residents came out on October 27th for an Act 34 Public Hearing on the proposed new Senior High School. A presentation was made by the architectural firm and financial details were provided by the District's bond counsel. In addition, Dr. Donald Boyer of Education Management Group gave a presentation on the District's school utilization options. Dr. Boyer emphasized that the reasons the District originally undertook this reconfiguration study was to design a more cost-effective utilization of facilities, improve staff utilization, and establish equity for all students in the District (from equipment to class size to resources and opportunities).
It was also stressed that future Boards need to implement all facets of the project or taxes will go up. In addition, should an incoming Board decide to terminate the project and make no changes (i.e., maintain the current buildings, spend funds for services and staff that are not needed, and do nothing to create equity for students), the cost to the District would be $13 million with nothing to show for that money. Doing nothing or only constructing a new Senior High School without the savings from a consolidated elementary would also mean a tax increase.
Dr. Boyer's presentation can be accessed here. The architectural/financial presentation, which provided detailed costs for construction of the new Senior High School as well as comparisons of the various financing options, can be accessed here. |
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Superintendent Recognized by University of Pitt
 At the University of Pittsburgh Pitt Varsity Letter Club's 49th Annual Awards Dinner, Penn Hills' own Dr. Joseph W. Carroll, Jr., was among six people honored as a 2009 Awardee of Distinction. The dinner was held Friday, October 23rd.
The awards honor varsity letter winners who have distinguished themselves in both their professions and communities. By their accomplishments, these individuals are considered to have enhanced the value of Pitt's intercollegiate athletic programs. Only those who earned a varsity letter in intercollegiate athletics at Pitt 25 or more years ago are eligible to be nominated.
Dr. Carroll received the triple crown in varsity letters during his time at Pitt, earning a total of three with the Panthers Football Team. Apparently liking the number three, he also earned three degrees from the university (bachelor's degree in English composition with a minor in Spanish in 1972; master's in education in 1974, and doctorate in higher education administration in 1978).
Three was again part of his professional football career as he played for the Oakland Raiders (1972-1974), Houston Texans/Shreveport Steamer (1974), and Green Bay Packers (1975). Following football, Dr. Carroll went on to begin his career in education, teaching in Wilkinsburg, Pittsburgh, and Point Park University and serving as assistant principal in Wilkinsburg and principal in East Allegheny and Clairton. He became assistant superintendent in Penn Hills, then interim superintendent, and was finally named superintendent in 2008.
Active in the Penn Hills community through his involvement with the Kiwanis, Dr. Carroll also has served with several other organizations, including Phase IV Learning Institution, St. James A.M.E., Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Campfire Boys and Girls Board of Directors, and Upper Ohio Valley Chapter of NFLPA from 1988-2001.
Dr. Carroll expressed his gratitude for having such an honor bestowed upon him from his alma mater as well as pride in reflecting so well on the university that made him who he is today. |
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Homecoming 2009
First row left to right: Dena Gula, Julie Geyer, Cory McGowan, Jess Vescara, Alexa Verrico, Angelica Blakeman (queen), Alexis Johnson
Second row: Mike Jackson (king), Nich Barron, Jeff Marra, Charles Anderson, Yurri Lewis, and Mike Ferraco (missing from the photo is Micha Murray). Picture courtesy of Gina Fischetti. |
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Senior High School Winter Sports Schedules
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Linton Middle School Winter Sports Schedules
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Coming in the next edition of Penn Hills Pride, Dancing with the Teachers 2 results, Holocaust survivor assembly at Penn Hebron, 21st Century Afterschool Program, boys' basketball season preview, and student achievements. All this and more in the next edition of Penn Hills Pride. | |
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