1800 Mt. Royal Boulevard
Glenshaw, PA. 15116
412-492-1200
Shaler Area students place in Scholastic Art Awards
Shaler Area is proud to recognize the high school students who
recently won awards for their submissions in the 2020 Scholastic Art
& Writing Awards, a prestigious national juried exhibition.
High school art students competed against 2,000 submissions in
the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the Pittsburgh region. The
Scholastic Art Awards recognizes students for their artistic talent
with an Honorable Mention, a Silver Key, or a Gold Key. The Gold Key
recipients are then entered in the Northeastern region contest.
All artwork was on display at the CCAC North campus prior to the
award ceremony on February 22.
The Shaler Area winners include:
Brittany Bitsko – Gold Key
Brianna Coroian – Gold Key, Honorable Mention
Lexi Hillwig – 2 Silver Keys, Honorable Mention
Alana Jones – Honorable Mention
Stephanie Le – 2 Gold Keys, 2 Honorable Mention
Grace Raida – Honorable Mention
Shannon Roche – Honorable Mention
Adella Shepard – Honorable Mention
Brindle Walzer – Honorable Mention
Meiling Watts – Honorable Mention
Shaler Area students place in Brain Bee
A team of six Shaler Area High School students tested their
knowledge in the Pittsburgh Regional Brain Bee and came home
with two trophies.
Seniors Kaitlyn Colucci, Samantha Goetz, Isabella James,
Mackenzie Romac, Autumn Roney, and Aliza Zelina earned 1st place
in the Brain Bee’s team competition, and Isabella James placed 2nd
in the individual competition.
The Shaler Area students dedicated many after-school hours
studying neuroscience to prepare for the competition. The Brain Bee
is a contest for high school students which tests their knowledge
of neuroscience and the brain. The competition includes multiple
rounds of questions in the format of a written test, fill-in-the-blank
questions, and verbal questions.
Shaler Area student named
National Merit Scholarship
Finalist
Shaler Area School District
is proud to recognize senior
Madeline Bartosh as being one
of just over 15,000 Finalists in the
2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.
“I’m honored by this award,” Maddie said. “It recognizes all of the
time and effort I’ve put into my studies and extra-curricular activities.”
As a finalist, Maddie is in the top 1 percent of the 1.5 million
students entered in the competition. Students qualify for National
Merit Scholarship Program recognition and scholarships through
their Preliminary SAT scores in their junior year, and then they must
complete an application for further consideration. All National Merit
Scholarship winners will be chosen from the finalists based on their
abilities, skills and accomplishments.
Maddie is enrolled in four advanced placement courses in her
senior year and one honors course: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, AP
Literature and Composition, AP Economics, and Honors Statistics.
In addition, she is involved in the high school’s chamber choir, Jazz
I ensemble as a pianist, track and field team, and the plays and
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musicals. She also is a member of the English Honor Society, Music
Honor Society, and National Honor Society as well as being president
of the Science Club. In her free time, she volunteers at her church
and Reserve Primary School, and works at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG
Aquarium retail centers.
Maddie plans to attend Coastal Carolina University, in South
Carolina, in the fall of 2020 to study marine science.
Shaler Area students selected for PMEA Region 1 Band
Four Shaler Area students were selected to move on to participate
in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Region 1 Band.
As participants in the PMEA District 1 Band, the students had the
opportunity to audition for the honor. The following students were
selected:
Michael LaBella (senior) – bassoon
Zachary Spondike (junior) – tenor saxophone
Adam Braughler (junior) – French horn
Luke Franks (junior) – trumpet
The PMEA Region I Band Festival will be held at Moon Area High
School on March 26-28, 2020. This honors band festival is comprised
of students from school districts in Mercer, Lawrence, Beaver, Butler,
Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Greene, and Fayette counties.
Dr. Donald McKinney, Director of Bands at the University of Colorado
Boulder, will be the guest conductor.
Shaler Area student selected for PMEA Region 1 Orchestra
Shaler Area is proud to announce Adam Braughler, a junior,
was selected to move on to participate in the Pennsylvania Music
Educators Association Region 1 Orchestra.
As participants in the PMEA District 1 Orchestra, Adam Braughler
had the opportunity to audition for the honor.
Adam Braughler will play the French horn in the PMEA Region
I Orchestra Festival to be held at North Allegheny High School
on March 12-14, 2020. This honors band festival is comprised of
students from school districts in Mercer, Lawrence, Beaver, Butler,
Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Greene, and Fayette counties.
Brian Norcross, Conductor of Instrumental Ensembles at Franklin &
Marshall College, will serve as the guest conductor.
Shaler Area student selected for PMEA
All-State Jazz Band
Shaler Area High School junior Zachary
Spondike is one of 18 students in the state to be
selected for the Pennsylvania Music Educators
Association’s All-State Jazz Band.
Zachary Spondike was selected to play tenor
saxophone following the audition process for
the ensemble. This is the second consecutive
year Zachary Spondike has advanced to the All-State level.
This year, Zachary Spondike also was selected for PMEA District
I West Honors Band, PMEA Honors Jazz Ensemble, PMEA District 1
Orchestra, and Allegheny Valley Honors Band. He is also a member of
Shaler Area’s “Shrek” Pit Orchestra, Shaler Area Honors Jazz Ensemble
I, Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra (TRYPO), and Shaler Area
Honors Wind Ensemble, and he is Drum Major of the Shaler Area
Titan Marching Band.
The Jazz Band rehearsals and performance will take place at the
2020 PMEA All-State and NAfME Eastern Division Conference at
Kalahari Resorts in the Poconos from April 23-25, 2020.