IN Peters Township August/September 2019 | Page 79

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
National History Day
Three students from Peters Township
represented our District at the National
Level of the National History Day
Competition in June. Alaina Nypaver
(12th grade), Michael Hsieh (8th grade)
and Anna Hoffmann (7th grade) were
among the almost 3,500 contestants
who gathered at the University of
Maryland for the event. Students present
historical papers, exhibits, performances,
documentaries, and original website
designs pertaining to the theme of
“Triumph and Tragedy in History.” Anna
and Michael made the final round (top
ten) of judging, each placing eighth in
their category. 8th Grade Awards
The Class of 2023 held their annual 8th
grade awards ceremony as they got
ready to say goodbye to Peters Township
Middle School. During the event, the
students below were recognized with
special awards from the staff:
Student Citizenship:
Team Clemente: Alexis Farinelli and
Evan Williams
Team Rooney: Shelby Bonczek and
Roman Costanza
Team Warhol: Rachel Zeisloft and
Zachary Courie
Creativity: Zoe Sanchez and Eric Hart
Teacher Excellence: Grace Hogan and
Roman Costanza
3rd Grade Spelling Bee McMurray Spring Arts Festival
McMurray Elementary held their annual
Arts Festival and Entrepreneur Fair in
May with art displays throughout the
building and musical performances. This
annual event also features our young
entrepreneurs who set up shop to sell
their uniquely crafted items for charity.
In June, the top 3rd grade spellers at
Pleasant Valley competed in the annual
Rotary Spelling Bee. After several rounds
of impressive spelling, the top three
students were selected - Zach Fagan,
Julia Anderson and Rezon Sanchez.
The students were presented with a
certificate and gift card courtesy of the
McMurray Rotary. Earlier this year, the
Rotary gifted all 3rd graders in the District
with a dictionary in memory of former
superintendent Dr. Howard Jack.
Tiny House Design Challenge
Fourth grade students at McMurray
Elementary got into “tiny living” in May
with the Gnome House Design Challenge
offered through Fallingwater, the world
famous house designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright. In partnership with the art staff at
McMurray, the student teams were given
Gnome clients with specific requests and
then went to work designing their home
out of recycled materials. As part of the
culminating day of events, they even had
a visit from a real Tiny Home courtesy of
84 Lumber.
Casey’s Corner at McMurray
At McMurray Elementary, “Casey’s Corner”
is an area on the playground named
for faculty member and resident Casey
Doran who passed away two years ago
following a brave battle with melanoma.
In her honor, the staff at McMurray
donated funds to install “Buddy Benches”
where children could go who were
feeling left out or who might be in
need of a quiet place to rest for a few
minutes. This past spring the staff again
collected funds to add landscaping to the
area. With the help of local landscaper
Greg Fortunato, the area has been fully
landscaped with trees, plants, decorative
pavers and mulch to add beauty to this
welcoming place. When Mr. Fortunato
learned of the background of Casey’s
Corner, he fully donated his services and
requested that the funds raised by the
staff go to the special education program
at McMurray.
Elementary Celebrations
June marked the annual end of the year
celebrations for our elementary students.
PTA parents organized PV Tons of Fun
Day, Bower Hill Day and McMurray Day
to mark the end of another great school
year. Students rotated through games
and activities for an entire afternoon of
fun at each school.
PETERS TOWNSHIP
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ommunity members who do not have children in our school, but want to stay
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