Pleasant Hills Middle School DAN COMO, PRINCIPAL
Pleasant Hills Rotary Club Recognizes
Outstanding Middle School Students
Each year the Pleasant Hills Rotary Club
recognizes outstanding middle school students
from Pleasant Hills Middle School, South Park
Middle School, and St. Elizabeth’s Parochial
School. Two students, one male and one female,
are selected from grades six, seven, and eight.
Students are selected by their teachers based
on academic achievement, community service,
and leadership. The Pleasant Hills Rotary hosted
a banquet on May 2, 2017 at the Georgetown
Center for the students and their families. Six
PHMS students were recognized for going
above and beyond not only at school but also as
members of the community. The students are Lexi
Findlan and Ryan Lawry from sixth grade, Sarah
Petrovich and Drew Dimidjian from 7th grade, and
Claire Whalen and Marco Gambino from eighth
grade. Congratulations, students, and thank you,
Pleasant Hills Rotary Club!
Team 7-1 Students focus on
“Brain Science”
Recently, seventh grade students
at Pleasant Hills Middle School were
engaged in a cross-curricular unit
centered around the text, “Phineas
Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About
Brain Science.” Teachers Lynn Miller,
Danna Laureano, and Jennifer Kassimer
collaborated to create the STEAM-focused
unit. A few of the activities included:
• Participating in a Socratic seminar to
analyze Phineas’ life before and after
his brain injury
• Dissecting a mammalian sheep brain
to better understand Phineas’ brain
injury and the connection among all
lobes of the brain
• Discovering what type of learner they
are using a research-based
questionnaire
• Uncovering whether they have a
dominant left or right brain for greater
insight into how their brain functions
Students are engaged in a deeper
learning experience when content areas
are brought together in context.
54 West Jefferson Hills
Seventh grade students participate in the dissection of a sheep’s brain to relate to the
composition and functions of the human brain.