Cougar
Connection
PROMOTING COMMUNITY, EXCELLENCE, AND CHARACTER
continued
tournaments with individual rounds.
Amid many top place finishers, the
following middle school students have
successfully advanced to the finals round,
held in February at South Fayette Middle
School: Sean Hart-Extemporaneous,
Bailey Vetter-Declamation, Lucy Vetter-
Drama, Harita Venkatesh-Drama, Uzochi
Orji-Prose, Angelika Pyvovar-Poetry,
Peyton Delrosario-Poetry and Mateo
Carrasco, Carolyn Choate, Kellyn
Palmer, Emery Delrosario and Akachi
Orji-Multiple Reading.
s In December, the Carnegie Autistic
and Life Skills Support classes traveled
to the Carnegie Museum of Art for a
“Holidays in Harmony” activity, allowing
them to explore the atrium filled with
decorated trees, sing holiday carols with
others and enjoy lunch. The socialization
activity is a stimulus for growth and
interaction within a safe environment,
helping students to build connections
and gain confidence. A new sensory
hallway in the primary wing of Carnegie
Elementary School is a bonus area for
students with special needs to learn to
count, practice jumping on one foot, and
more, all while having fun and getting
exercise. The sensory path has also
been popular among the youngsters in
kindergarten, first and second grade.
Some “time out” during the busy school
day is giving students the chance to burn
off some energy by walking, jumping,
and bouncing along the pathway. The
sensory activity helps little ones develop
motor skills, including balance, hand-eye
coordination and spatial awareness.
The new sensory pathway at Carnegie
Elementary is giving youngsters a chance to
burn off some energy.
38
CARLYNTON
s Carnegie Elementary second graders
have been learning about gardening
and composting. Last September, the
students worked in the school garden
by weeding and planting fall bulbs.
Thanks to a mini-grant acquired through
the Carlynton Education Foundation,
a composting kit was purchased
and students are learning to make
fertilizer for the garden by composting
weeds and other organic materials.
Mrs. Mary Campbell introduced the
composting activity in her classes to
teach students about the natural process
of decomposition, recycling, resource
management and concerns over
growing garbage landfills.
Carnegie Elementary fifth grader Jackson
Keeney assists second graders Shaurya
Chauhan, Reilly White and Umarbek
Isombedriyev as they learn the value
of composting to create fertilizer for the
school garden.
s Members of the National Honor and
National Junior Honor Societies will host
its second blood drive of the year on
April 17, 2020. Qualified representatives
from Vitalant, formerly the Central
Blood Bank, will be at the school bright
and early to set up for the drive. From
surgery to fighting cancer or a tragic car
accident, blood donations are used to
save some 12,000 lives a day. For every
blood drive held at Carlynton, students
and teachers have donated an average
of 28 units of blood; one unit can save
three lives. Parents, family and members
of the community are welcome to
participate in this worthwhile cause. To
For the first time, senior Andrew Blain
donated blood at a school blood drive
held in the fall.
get on the schedule to donate blood, or
for questions, email Ms. Jamie Sonnie at
jamie.sonnie@carlynton.k12.pa.us.
s Carnegie and Crafton Elementary
Principals Lauren Baughman and
Marsha Burleson were named
recipients of the Junior Achievement
Educational Leadership Award, an
honor that recognizes the schools’
efforts for hosting Junior Achievement
activities in their buildings every year.
In the fall, Crafton Elementary students
enjoyed a day with business students
from Robert Morris University who led
classrooms on a venture to discover the
principles of market-based economics
and entrepreneurship. In the spring,
the Pittsburgh-based finance group
Hefren-Tillotson will again visit Carnegie
Elementary to impart the same principles.
Using age-appropriate resources designed
by Junior Achievement, students learn by
way of interactive classroom activities with
models for career exploration, community
development and money management.
s MIXING IT UP
After eighth graders finished reading
the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton,
the students discussed the fact that
social barriers and cliques do exist
among classmates. The Outsiders is about
a 14-year-old boy who struggles with
right and wrong in a society in which
he believes he doesn’t fit in. As students
brainstormed ideas to break down barriers
in school, teachers Maggie Wilson and
Tonilyn Jackson informed them of a
nationwide initiative dubbed “Mix It Up
Day.” Designed to teach tolerance among
peers, Mix It Up Day is a campaign that
encourages students to identify, question
and cross social boundaries.