High School
Students Advance
to State and
National Speech
and Debate
Competitions
N
orth Hills High School senior Nickolas Bartel and
freshman Kevin Tian won top honors at the Pittsburgh
region’s Pennsylvania High School Speech League
contest and competed at the state tournament at
Bloomsburg University.
In the regional competition, Nickolas won first place in
Student Congress/Senate, and this year marks his second
consecutive state qualification. Kevin won first place in Poetry
Reading in only his third competition.
As well, Nickolas Bartel qualified to compete in the
Congressional Debate event at the National Speech and Debate
Association Tournament in Dallas in June. This is his second
national tournament qualification.
The North Hills Speech and Debate Club was launched in the
2016-17 school year after a long hiatus and has seen national
qualifiers all three years. The club seeks to develop students’ skills
N
Sophomore Advances to
State Science Competition
orth Hills High School sophomore Hannah
Sciulli advanced to the Pennsylvania Junior
Academy of Science (PJAS) competition
after securing top honors at the recent
regional competition.
Hannah won first-place honors at the
regional competition at Duquesne University with
her zoology experiment on The Effects of UV Light
on the Survivorship of Drosophila melanogaster.
She will compete at the state competition in May at
Pennsylvania State University.
Junior Emma Polen won second-place honors
with her ecology experiment on the Effects of
Nanoparticles on Daphnia magna.
Students designed a unique experiment and were
judged on their ability to conduct and convey the
results of their experiment using the scientific method.
PJAS is a statewide organization of middle and high
school students designed to stimulate and promote
interest in science among its members through the
development of research projects and investigations.
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ROSS TOWNSHIP
in conducting effective research as they learn to craft logical,
fluid and well-constructed arguments, expand their knowledge
of topics not commonly discussed in their everyday lives and
encourage critical analysis of topics in our world. Secondary
teacher Dawn Zahorchak oversees the club.