Students “Invent the Future”
at Business-EducationCommunity Program
or win
N OR WI N SC HO OL D IS TRI C T NE WS
Six Norwin High School student leaders––Sarah R. Kerr,
William R. Kerr, Rebecca C. Peters, Trey G. Quealy, Rebecca M.
Rohac, and Joshua D. Sanner––spoke about how they would
like to “invent the future” at Norwin School District’s fourthannual Business-Education-Community Program.
The event, held Wednesday, December 18, 2013, shone
a spotlight on student leadership as well as the proposed
Norwin STEM Innovation Center, a new facility that is being
planned for the Norwin campus to provide students with
project-based learning in Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics. Nearly 150 business and community
leaders attended.
WILLIAM R. KERR, a senior, is the son of Norman and Amy
Kerr and serves as senior class president. He urged those
in attendance to strive to make a positive impact on those
around them.
REBECCA M. ROHAC, a junior, is the daughter of Shar Campano
and Rick Rohac and serves as vice president of Junior Class.
She spoke of the transformative experience of discovering
that she was a blossoming cross-country and track runner.
TREY G. QUEALY, a junior, is the son of Thomas and Leslie
Quealy and serves as vice president of Student Council. He
was named a regional representative to the Pennsylvania
Association of Student Councils State Board. He encouraged
the business and community leaders not to dismiss today’s
youthful generation and its ubiquitous electronic devices,
and to consider how technology can help reach across the
“generational divide.”
SARAH R. KERR, a senior, is the daughter of Norman and Amy
Kerr. She is a Student Council member and is president of the
Science Challenge Squad. She was also named a Commended
National Merit Scholar in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship
Program. Sarah advised those in attendance not to fear failure
or setbacks, noting that Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, and Oprah
Winfrey each overcame initial rejections to rise to prominence.
REBECCA C. PETERS, a senior, is the daughter of Jeffrey and
Patricia Peters, and serves as editor of the Norwin High School
newspaper, Knight Krier, and as an anchor of Norwin High
School’s K-WIN daily TV broadcasts, where she also serves as a
producer. She warned her generation not to let technological
advances curb their imagination and curiosity, and to make
a strong effort to instill the value of education and it’s
correlation to a successful future.
JOSHUA D. SANNER, the son of Paula and David Sanner,
described his unique, hybrid pathway of education, which
represents what could be the future for many High School
students. For example, Joshua is a co-op student enrolled
in both Norwin High School’s honors track and Central
Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in the
machine shop program. As a senior, Joshua also works at
Hamill Manufacturing Company in the National Tooling and
Machining Association’s apprenticeship program, which
includes on-the-job, paid training and employment as well as
attending classes at Westmoreland County Community College
once a week in the evening—an opportunity paid for by Hamill.
“Robotics on the Hill”
Norwin School District received a $59,000 grant from The
Grable Foundation for the School District’s "Robotics on the Hill"
program at Hillcrest Intermediate School. The grant provided
Lego Mindstorms “EV3” robotics kits for all fifth- and sixth-grade students to use
this school year. The robots allow students to create and command robots with
touch sensors, color sensors, infrared sensors and more than 550 LEGO elements.
Students follow the step-by-step 3-D building instructions to create robots
and bring them to life with an icon-based programming interface. A remote
<< Two Hillcrest Intermediate School students begin work on a Lego Mindstorms robotics project.
26 Norwin