GILL HALL ELEMENTARY TINA MAYER , PRINCIPAL
WEST JEFFERSON HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS — GILL HALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
est Jefferson Hills
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our new staff and students to Gill Hall Elementary . It is really exciting to be a part of so much growth , change , and innovation . I am already looking forward to the start of the school year and seeing those smiling faces eager and excited on the first day of school . Good luck to all of the 3rd , 4th , and 5th graders on their new adventures at Jefferson Elementary School !
Wishing everyone a wonderful and relaxing summer … See you soon !
GILL HALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SUPPORTS DYSTONIA AWARENESS
Gill Hall Elementary School participated in Dystonia Awareness Week in honor of one of our Gill Hall families . Dystonia is a Neurological Movement Disorder that causes muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily causing pain , tremors , twisting , and other uncontrollable movements . Dystonia can affect any part of the body including the arms , legs , neck , eyelids , face or vocal cords . There is no cure for Dystonia at this time .
The entire faculty , student body and PTA pulled together to support the Sorley Family who has a daughter in third grade at Gill Hall and a son with Dystonia who will be entering kindergarten this Fall . During the week of April 30 – May 4 , 2018 , special activities were planned to spread awareness of Dystonia , raise funds and show support for the Sorley Family . Each
50 WEST JEFFERSON HILLS homeroom took part in Bucket Wars to see which homeroom could raise the most money . Containers were placed in each homeroom for the students to bring in any spare change throughout the week . To cap off the week , an outdoor movie night was held on Friday , May 4 to watch “ Wonder .” In addition to the movie , there was a Chinese Auction with lots of amazing prize packages and baskets . A school-wide assembly was held on Monday , May 7 to learn more about Dystonia from the Sorley Family , recognize the winning homerooms and pull the winning tickets from the Chinese Auction . The winning homerooms had the chance to pie and silly string their teachers , crack a dozen eggs on Mrs . Palmer ’ s head , dump a bucket of ice water on Mrs . Swogger , paint Mrs . Bowser ’ s face , and help shave Mr . Lauso ’ s head at the assembly .
At the end of the assembly , Mrs . Palmer presented a check to the Sorley Family for Dystonia research from all of the proceeds of the Bucket Wars , Movie Night and Chinese Auction ! Heartfelt thanks to the Gill Hall PTA , all of the students and staff , and the wonderful Gill Hall teachers for leading the way and being such good sports as they were hit with pies , silly string , eggs , ice water and even a head shave !
GILL HALL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
Several students from Gill Hall Elementary were recognized for their outstanding achievements at the May 22 , 2018 school board meeting . It was a pleasure to speak about the many , wonderful things that our Gill Hall students are doing on a daily basis ; however , it was extremely difficult to select only a few . Each student was introduced and awarded a special certificate of recognition from the WJH School Board of Directors :
Callie Dailey , Natalie Borneman , Jenna Lyons and Olivia Virgin – all qualified for the state-level Future Problem Solving Competition
Abby Kauffman – received an Honorable Mention for her participation in the Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest at the Pittsburgh Public Theater .
Kane Eggerton – won the Gill Hall Spelling Bee Maggie Spell – awarded Gill Hall “ Artist of the Year ”
Liam Mahoney – winner of Gill Hall 24 Math Competition and Geography Bee
Enrique Ochoa – Highest Accelerated Reader ( AR ) points Marley Defries – 2nd highest Accelerated Reader ( AR ) points Ava Sorley – 2nd highest Accelerated Reader ( AR ) points ( Marley and Ava tied ) Congratulations to all !