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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

Tiger NewsFebruary 2017

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@NA_Schools on Twitter

Upcoming Events:March 22:

Diversity Contest Winners Reception @ CAO Board Room, 6 p.m.

School Board Combined Meeting @ CAO Board Room, 7 p.m.

March 31:

In-Service Day (No Classes)

Ingomar Elementary Earns Digital Citizenship Certification

Way to go, Ingomar Elementary! The school has been recognized as a Common Sense Certified School: Digital Citizenship for its commitment to preparing students to use technology responsibly.

IES achieved this recognition by integrating structured, tailored lessons about digital citizenship into the curriculum, as well as holding smaller group lessons during recess and lunch. Through this approach, students gained valuable skills for using digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn while limiting risks such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.

“We’re honored to be recognized as a Common Sense Digital Citizenship Certified School,” said IES Principal Dr. Kristen Silbaugh. “By giving our students the foundation to use technology responsibly, we are providing them with unlimited opportunities to maximize and personalize their learning.”

“Integrating digital citizenship lessons into the K-12 curriculum has been a key aspect of our Focus 2020 technology initiative,” said North Allegheny Superintendent Dr. Robert Scherrer. “In order to best prepare all North Allegheny students for success in a changing world, it is vitally important for our schools to provide students with the necessary tools and resources for using technology ethically and responsibly.”

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

www.northallegheny.org

February 2017School Climate Survey Opens Next MonthFor the second year, North Allegheny will be conducting a survey of students, parents, and staff to evaluate and understand the perceptions of the climate of our schools. The survey will be available from March 20-31.

School climate is an important part of North Allegheny's goal of providing a safe, welcoming, and well-maintained learning environment that promotes both academic and social/emotional growth for all students.

The data from this survey will be used to help the District illuminate both strengths and areas for growth. Setting aside just a few minutes to take the survey could help us gain important insight into our schools.

Keep in eye out for an email with more information on the school climate survey.

SAVE THE

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SAVE THE

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Community ConnectionsApril 5, 20177 p.m. @ NAI

Community ConnectionsApril 5, 20177 p.m. @ NAI

Geared toward 6th-12th grade students and their parents/guardians, this

seminar will include:

A performance of Saltworks Theatre Company’s

production “Off ‘Script,” featuring thought-provoking

stories of addiction to prescription drugs.

Speaker Kelly Wesolosky from the FBI Pittsburgh Field

Office Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education

(HOPE) initiative.

Several local substance abuse treatment centers and other community resources

on hand to answer questions.

NASD Website Now Offers 100+ Translation OptionsThe North Allegheny School District strives to meet the needs of our diverse community. The District’s website is a very important communication vehicle and we want to make sure that all of our families have equitable access. The NASD website can now be translated into more than 100 languages.

Using Google Translate, tablet and desktop users can select a language from a dropdown at the top of each webpage. Users on mobile devices can find 17 languages under “Translate” in the “Menu.” The website remains translated in the selected language on every page visited during each session.

Desktop/Tablet View:

Mobile View:

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

February 2017

www.northallegheny.org

Three Seniors Named Presidential

Scholars Program Candidates

Congratulations to NA seniors Julie Chen, Varsha Suresh, and Kennedy Urban, who have been recognized as candidates in the U.S. Department of Education’s Presidential Scholars Program.

The program recognizes and honors some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In order to qualify as a candidate and receive an invitation to apply to this program, students must score exceptionally well on either the SAT or ACT.

We wish the best of luck to these three students!

NASH Creative Arts Magazine Wins Multiple AwardsCongratulations to the staff of VARIATIONS, NA Senior High School’s literary & creative arts magazine, which was recently named Most Outstanding High School Literary-Art Magazine from the American Scholastic Press Association. The honor was only given to 13 schools across the country, and NASH was the only high school in the state to receive this award.

The Association also awarded VARIATIONS First Place with Special Merit.

In addition, the National Council of Teachers of English recognized VARIATIONS with the title Recommended for Highest Award. Again, VARIATIONS was the only high school literary magazine in the state to win this award.

Students Explore NAI and Learn Important Lessons at Boys Night OutOn February 10, approximately 140 seventh and eighth grade boys from all three NA middle schools attended the first annual Boys Night Out event at North Allegheny Intermediate High School.

This was a special opportunity for these students to participate in team-building activities, hear a powerful message about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, learn about digital citizenship, and become more familiar with NAI through a fun scavenger hunt.

After enjoying pizza, the night was capped off with a powerful message from Eric McElvenny, a former Marine. He talked with students about overcoming adversity, setting goals, and having a positive impact on those you encounter. He kindly took questions from students for more than 20 minutes after his presentation.

Overall, it was a successful event that provided students from the three middle schools a chance to meet, get to know NAI, and learn some important lessons.

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

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February 2017

Charity Istone Named PA School Nurse of the YearCharity Istone, the school nurse at NA Intermediate High School, is the recipient of the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners’ “2017 Pennsylvania School Nurse of the Year” award. She will be recognized at the PASNAP conference in April 2017.

As Pennsylvania’s School Nurse of the Year, Mrs. Istone serves as the state’s nominee for the National Association of School Nurses “National School Nurse of the Year” award, which will be announced this summer.

www.mystemacademy.com (412) 513 6155

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FES Penny War Raises $3,500 for Pennies from Heaven Fund

Way to go, Franklin Elementary!

The school’s annual penny war raised a grand total of $3,527.57 for the Pennies from Heaven Fund through the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Pennies from Heaven helps to ease financial hardships for parents so that they can stay with their children who are in the hospital. The fund assists with transportation, food, sibling care, overnight bags, and other expenses so that families can stay together when they need it most.

NASH Club Raises Funds for Adopt-A-School ProgramA coin drive organized by the NA Senior High School’s Interact Club raised more than $3,000 in just one day for the Education Partnership’s Adopt-A-School program!

The program helps provide financial support to schools and students experiencing economic hardship, and aims to equip students with essential school supplies to complete their classroom work and homework.

The money raised through the Interact Club’s coin drive will be combined with a contribution from the North Allegheny Rotary and additional support from Adopt-A-School to provide school supply kits for all classrooms at Grandview Elementary.

The students in the Interact Club have a long-standing relationship with Grandview Elementary through their pen-pal/mentorship program. Interact Club members will visit Grandview’s fourth and fifth grade classrooms next month to tutor students in preparation for the PSSA tests.

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

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February 2017

News from A.W. Beattie

Career Center

Congratulations to the following Beattie Students of the Month for January and February 2017:

Grace Cibula–Advertising Design

Krista Scibetta–Cosmetology

Several NA students qualified to compete at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America state conference in March. Congratulations and good luck to the following students:

Adam Kiefer–Culinary

Jordyn Zillian–Chapter Service Project Display

Olivia Chesmer–Advocacy

Owen Conner-Dodge–Menu Planning

Michael Settino–Voting Delegate

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the regional SkillsUSA competition:

Second Place:

Leah Fulton–Advertising Design

Grace Cibula–Advertising Design

Students Recognized in Spirit of Community AwardsCongratulations to Ingomar Middle School student Ryan Poisker, who has been named a Distinguished Finalist in the 2017 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards in Pennsylvania!

Ryan led an initiative to create a Purple Up for Military Kids program at IMS, working with his friends to make materials and raise awareness about the sacrifices of military children. Ryan, whose father is in the military, started his effort so other military kids could connect with one another and wouldn't have to deal with their emotions alone.

In addition, high school students Suhye Park, Samidha Sane, and Caleb Yip were honored with the President's Volunteer Service Awards in recognition of their community service work. Samidha also received a Certificate of Excellence for being in the top 10 percent of all applicants in Pennsylvania.

NASH Team Advances Further in International DebateThe NA Senior High School Speech and Debate Team has advanced yet again in the International Public Policy Forum (IPPF)!

The team advanced over Hendrickson High School from Pflugerville, Texas, to enter the Sweet 16 round, during which they will compete against Stuyvesant High School from New York.

The top 16 teams represent schools from 11 U.S. states, as well as China and Taiwan. The Elite 8, which will be determined in March, will compete at the IPPF Finals in New York City this May.

Congratulations and good luck to the NASH Speech and Debate Team!

NA Students Compete in Model UN ConferenceIn January, 28 high school students participated in the Model United Nations Conference at Duquesne University. Congratulations to these winning delegates:

Yara El-Khatib: Representing Angola in the Security Council

Varsha Suresh and Ashani Shah: Representing Turkey in the UNEP committee

Varsha Suresh: Best overall delegate, earning a $5,000 Duquesne University Scholarship

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Gold Key:Julia Maruca, NASH – 4 Gold KeysAnushka Shah, NASH – 3 Gold KeysTess Christensen, NASH

Silver Key:Anushka Shah, NASH – 2 Silver KeysMadeline Bordo, NASHAbreihona Lenihan, NASHArjun Narayan, MMSRoshie Xing, NAI

Honorable Mention:Riley Smith, NASH – 2 Honorable MentionsTess Christensen, NASH Eugenia Lee, NASHJulia Maruca, NASH Zehra Mehdi, NAIEliza Ross, NASH

Anushka Shah’s personal essay “Confessions of a Sparrow” received an American Voices Nomination! Anushka’s piece was one of just four entries from Western Pennsylvania that were nominated for this award out of a total 350 entries.

In addition, congratulations to the 143 NA students recognized at this month’s Scholastic Art Awards ceremony, including seniors Vanessa Anthony and Eliza Ross, who were each named one of the five American Visions Nominees for the Pittsburgh region!

N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

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February 2017

Students Write Award-Winning Science Essays

Several NA students received awards in the 2016-17 Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh Essay Contest.

Congratulations to these four students:

High School Esssay Contest:

Yuri Tamama, NASH Third Place

Middle School Essay Contest:

Shria Shyam, IMSSecond Place

Claire Shao, MMSThird Place

Rachel Bina, IMSHonorable Mention

Regional Scholastic Writing Award Winners AnnouncedCongratulations to the North Allegheny students who received Scholastic Writing Awards in the regional competition!

Seniors Recognized in 2017 National Merit Scholarship CompetitionCongratulations to the following 49 students who received various distinctions in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Competition:

Finalists:

Oluremi Akindele, Anmol Anand, Rebecca Avigad, Ciara Cullen, Mark Hartigan, Chance Kaneshiro, Anna Li, Byron Li, Angela Liu, Sarah Losco, Gayathri Manchella, Gunasheil Mandava, Anrey Peng, Jiatian Qu, Isabelle Ramey, Anushka Shah, Ashani Shah, Kennedy Urban, and Raghu Venkatesh.

Commended:

Julie Chen, Yih-an Chen, Kimberly DelSignore, Benjamin Elsenheimer, Daniel Fujito, William Gleeson, Maxwell Gonzalez, Jessica Hood, Anam Jafri, Zehra Khan, Steven Kirk, Owen Leonard, Tina Li, Julia Maruca, Thomas McCaffrey, Christopher Meyer, Madeline Mianzo, Joshua Morgan, Suhye Park, Archana Ramesh, Eric Ricci, Cara Schwartz, Vivian Shao, Allison Suddaby, Varsha Suresh, Nicholas Swensen, Kevin Tang, Jane Venezia, Kevin Xu, and Caleb Yip.

Yuri Tamama

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

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February 2017

North Allegheny Spring MusicalPerformance Dates:

Senior Citizens’ Performance -

February 28 @ 3:30PM

Opening Night - March 1 @ 7 PM

Other Shows - March 2, 3 & 4 @ 7 PM

Closing Matinee - March 5 @ 2PM

Tickets are still available –

click here for more details!

Spring Play at NAI Delights AudiencesJob well done to the cast and crew of Arsenic and Old Lace, NA Intermediate High School’s delightfully chilling spring play!

Click here to view more photos from the performance on our Facebook page.

Photo courtesy: @NA_Musical on Twitter

IMS Wins National Red Ribbon Week Photo ContestCongratulations to Ingomar Middle School for winning the National Red Ribbon Week photo contest! The theme was “#Yolo. Be Drug Free,” reminding students that "You Only Live Once."

The National Family Partnership’s Red Ribbon Week aims to prevent drug use among children. IMS School Counselor Darla Allerton led the effort with an energetic club of students who planned activities for the entire school throughout Red Ribbon Week in October. The winning photo, which earned the school a $1,000 prize, included each student in the school writing their natural high on a red tiger paw, which then formed the red ribbon and words for the theme. When congratulated on the award, Mrs. Allerton shared that the real prize is in the students’ commitment to make healthy choices for their lifetime!

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

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February 2017DJL 2, LLC Utilizes Education Innovation Tax Credit to Support NA SchoolsNorth Allegheny students will explore science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics with new materials thanks to DJL 2’s contribution of $7,500 to North Allegheny Foundation. These funds will be utilized to support STEAM education at North Allegheny schools by purchasing additional STEAM library materials, supporting professional devel-opment in the utilization of STEAM tools, and expanding the library offerings as new tools and curriculum inclusions be-come available.

A business may receive a tax credit equal to 90% of the contribution made to North Allegheny Foundation through the EITC program. Applications are open July 1 for all businesses. All applications for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program must be completed and submitted online using DCED’s Single Application for Assistance, which can be accessed here.

NA Foundation Accepting

Scholarship Applications

North Allegheny Foundation is now accepting applications for 2017 scholarships. NAF supports graduating seniors of NASH through five $1,000 scholarships made possible through donations and special events:

NA Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Academics

NA Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Arts

NA Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Leadership

NA Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Service

NA Foundation Extra Effort Scholarship

NAF also facilitates the selec-tion of students to receive two additional scholarships made possible by donors:

Frank J. Farina Jr. Award for Musical Excellence

Kyle Chase Johnson Memorial Scholarship

The applications for these scholarships are due April 21. Students can find more information and the applica-tion form in Naviance.

The opportunity for life-changing experiences is what makes North Allegheny such a special place–one that encourages students to dream big, find their passion, and follow it wherever

it might take them.

34,721 alumni have benefited from North Allegheny’s nationally renowned education;

but there are 8,300 students right now ready to find that spark. Those students need you.

You may not know that North Allegheny Foundation has been supporting those dreams

for over 30 years.

With your NA Alumni gift of $25 or more,you will receive a NA Alumni car decal as

a token of our appreciation. DONATE

HERE

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N O R T H A L L E G H E N Y S C H O O L D I S T R I C T

Please join us and sample many of NA’s best restaurants and wine

purveyors including:

Franklin InnShannopin Country Club

Pretzel CrazyA.W. Beattie Culinary Arts

Graeter’s Ice CreamPittsburgh Nitro Coffee

Soergel OrchardsBellissimo’s Pizza and Deli

Ditka’s WexfordOne Hope Wine

Peace, Love and Little DonutsCoffee and Tea provided by

Turo Family Chiropractic

Premier Auction and Raffle Items Include:

Pittsburgh Steelers Football Helmet with 12 Legendary Signers!

Autographed by: Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, James

Harrison, Franco Harris, Joe Greene, Troy Polamalu, Jack Lambert, Le'veon Bell, and Rod Woodson.

$50 gift cards to each of the participating restaurants

$50 gift card to Il PizzaioloWine Gift basket

Free Facial or Massage at Massage Envy4 Free sessions with E.T.H.I.C. Training

And more!

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

A Taste of North AlleghenyMarch 18, 2017 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Grazie Restaurant

North Allegheny Foundation is dedicated to encouraging excellence and innovation in

North Allegheny Schools.

Your support provides funding for classroom grants, innovative programming,

and scholarships.

www.northallegheny.org

February 2017

FOR DISTRICT INFORMATION

www.northallegheny.org

NATV CableArmstrong, Ch. 210

Comcast, Ch. 98Consolidated Cable, Ch. 406

Verizon, Ch. 33

North Allegheny School District,200 Hillvue Lane, Pittsburgh, PA

15237 • 412-366-2100

Paid advertisements in District communications and/or on District property do not represent the District’s en-dorsement or approval of the matters or organizations represented in the advertisements. (School Board Policy #2580 - Approved Commercial Advertising.)

To become an event sponsor, participate as a vendor, or donate auction items please contact:

Abigayle TobiaNorth Allegheny Foundation

Executive Directoratobia@northallegheny.org