arlynton-Montour
CARLYNTON SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
Cougar
Connection
PROMOTING COMMUNITY, EXCELLENCE, AND CHARACTER
s Members of the Cougar marching
band were selected to perform in a
number of band festivals in the winter,
giving them a chance to shine among
peers from school districts in the Western
Pennsylvania region. In early February,
seniors Faith Aliano, Elana Heffner,
Hayley Kerns, juniors Eric Burcham,
Rodrigo Corral, Sara MacMurdo, Sofia
Notaro, sophomore Dominick Beglinger
and freshman Pamela Smith participated
in Western Allegheny County Area Honors
Band hosted by Chartiers Valley High
School. Sofia Notaro went on to perform
in the Pennsylvania Music Educators
Association (PMEA) District band festival
later that month.
Carlynton sent eight students to
the Western Allegheny Middle School
Honors Band festival, hosted by Cornell.
Participants included eighth graders
Gabriel DiPietro, Chikamso Orji, Anna
Hall and Sean Hart and seventh graders
Amberlee Darr, Carter Litterini, Kaycee
Litterini and Uzochi Orji. Sean Hart,
Uzochi Orji and Pamela Smith advanced
to perform in the PMEA Junior High
West District festival held in March in the
Montour School District.
s NIGHT AT THE WAX MUSEUM
In February, Carnegie Elementary fourth
graders took a step back in time by
imitating famous people in history and
transforming the school hallway into
a living wax museum. Teacher Julie
Lewis assigned students with the task of
exploring the lives of prominent men and
women in history. Students examined
the biographies of musicians, inventors,
television personalities, athletes and
more before each decided to explore one
famous individual.
From there, students were asked to
create a display board with photos and
highlights about the person’s life, and
then write and memorize a one or twominute
speech. But the assignment did
not end there.
On the evening of February 19, parents
walked into the school to a Night at
the Wax Museum and discovered their
44 CARLYNTON
Alivia and Alexa Adamski worked as a
team to portray the life and history of The
Wright Brothers.
Aiden Scullion, aka Benjamin Franklin,
stands as a wax figure and recites the speech
he memorized about one of our nation’s
founding father to a parent.
Lucas Arnold, who has always been a fan
of the game of golf, chose to research and
portray Arnold Palmer for the Night of the
Wax Museum.
children had transformed into costumed
“wax” figures. Lining the main hallway
was Oprah Winfrey, Albert Einstein,
Barack Obama, Tony Dorsett and Tom
Petty. Joining them were Lebron James,
Michael Jackson, Benjamin Franklin and
even Honus Wagner. In all, 52 characters
filled the long corridor. Parents could
stop at each exhibit and listen as the “wax
figure” shared a prepared speech about
the character he or she was portraying.
Miss Lewis could not have been more
proud of the accomplishments of her
students. “The kids worked hard, stepped
up to the plate and hit a home run,”
she said.
s The Amazing Alternatives Club of
Crafton Elementary led a Valentine’s
Day collection of non-perishable goods
for our U.S. troops serving overseas. In
cooperation with the non-profit group,
Military Connections, students collected
food items such as granola bars, cereal,
beef jerky, tuna packets, energy drinks
and canned fruit. Personal care items
such as deodorant and lip balm were
also gathered as well as postage stamps.
The community service project gave
students the opportunity to help others
by organizing and packing over twenty
boxes filled with supplies for the men and
women who serve. The club is facilitated
by teacher Bridget Ward who works with
the students in a number of volunteer
and service endeavors.
s Freshmen members of the high school
robotics club, Alby Varghese and Lance
Henderson, clinched a top spot in a
robotics competition held in February
at the Estelle S. Campbell Boys and Girls
Club in Lawrenceville. The duo received
high marks in design based upon
engineering notebooks they submitted
prior to the competition. The notebooks
documented the designs of their robots
and detailed strategies for competition.
Led by teachers and club sponsors