GHS Students Calculated Win At Math Competion

Math skills of our GHS students were showcased at the recent CalcuSolve Competion. Gateway 's CalcuSolve Teams placed third overall last week in the competition hosted by Robert Morris University. Michael Kelly, Michael Richards, Haley Clinton, and Brian Wallace earned third place out of 32 teams in the 9th and 10th grade competition. Brian Wallace earned third place individual in that competition. Matt Lambert, Audrey Chiao, Yatindra Patel, and Katia Parmonova earned third out of 36 teams in the 11th and 12th grade competition. Josh Phillips earned third place individual. Congratulations to these excellent academic competitors !

4 GHS Students Selected for PA Music Assn Honors Jazz Band

Four Gateway High School music students were selected for the The Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Honors Jazz Band. Students selected include Michael Murray, Alto Saxophone - placing 1st chair; Ethan Wightkin, Trumpet - placing 2nd chair; Kimberlyn Bloise, Vocalist - placing 1st chair; and Nick Diana, Bass - placing 1st chair. Michael Kelly also auditioned on trumpet and placed 12th. The students selected performed in the Honors Jazz Band concert at Kiski Area High School. Faculty advisor for this event was Robert Read.

A Day in the Life at GHS

I always find it fascinating to see how much goes on at Gateway High School. Here is a sampling taken from one day's Morning Announcements (todays, actually):
"There will be a Beta Club meeting on Wednesday, November 5th after school in room 1132. We will be signing up for elementary school readings for later this month. Please bring your pretzel money!
--Club Culture will be completing its second community service project on November 14th. Members of the club are to pick up their permission slips in Mr. Taylor's office and return to him no later than Monday, November 10th.
--There will be a Science Club meeting on Thursday, November 6th after school in room 1134.
--Attention all Spanish Club members who are NOT currently participating in our dance practices: We will be having a meeting this Thursday November 6th in room 1132 to discuss our upcoming projects.
--All Video Enthusiasts are encouraged to attend a reorganization meeting for the high school's video club on Wednesday, November 5th after school in the LGI. We will be video taping our first commercial for November's "Blood Drive."
--"Unleash your talents!" All YEARBOOK MEMBERS must attend a mandatory meeting after school in the computer lab on Thursday, November 6th.
--So what in the world do you want to do with your life? You mean, you haven't figured it out yet?! "The Future is Mine" can help! TFIM is a new organization at Gateway that is committed to helping kids in grades K-12 to find their passion and pursue their dreams in an informed way. Please see Mrs. Weiss with any questions about "The Future is Mine."
--The Community Service Program is looking for leaders for the PALS leadership program. These students will help to coordinate service projects and lead the A MUST program. Please see Mrs. Weiss for more details on how to get involved! Sign up sheets are now posted in the Community Service Center, room 234. There are many great volunteer opportunities to get involved!
--TEEN OASIS is OPEN with even more hours now! The teen center is open Monday-Thursday from 2:30-8pm and Friday-Saturday from 2:30-10 p.m. All Gateway High School students are invited to stop in and see what's new!
--COLLEGE VISITS: Slippery Rock University will be at Gateway on November 5th. If interested, please sign up in the Guidance Office. California University will be here on November 7, 2008.
--The Gators opened their 2008 playoff run with a dominating 42-0 shutout of Mt. Lebanon.
--D.J. Krystek finished in 4th place this past Saturday in the AAA Division of the PIAA STATE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS held in Hershey.
--Former Harlem Globetrotter, Seth Franco, will be the guest speaker at Youth Alive today, Wednesday, November 5th
--Senior Class Council is holding a ticket design contest for the Flashback Dance. Please submit a design drawn on the ticket/program design papers
--There will be a Robotech Gamemasters practice on Wednesday, November 5th during periods 3, 4, and 5.

All this, and time for school too !

Americorps' Public Allies Program Advances Leadership at Gateway

On Monday, Nov. 10th at 10:30 am Gateway will host a speaker from Public Allies, a 10-month Americorps program that advances new leadership to strengthen communities, non-profits and civic participation. For ten months, Allies serve their community by being placed in full-time paid apprenticeships in a local non-profit organization. Allies work in direct service to their communities in areas such as youth development, public health and safety and the environment. Seniors who would be interested in this type of work starting next September, should plan to attend this presentation. Students who are chosen for the Public Allies program will receive on-going support and training and are eligible for benefits as well. For more information on this great post-high school opportunity, please sign up in the Guidance office or see Mrs. Weiss in the Community Service Center, room 234 to receive a pass to attend the presentation. See also http://www.publicallies.org/ .

Harlem Globetrotter speaks to GHS 'Youth Alive 11/5.

Former Harlem Globetrotter, Seth Franco, will be the guest speaker at Youth Alive, Wednesday, November 5th. The meeting will be held at 2:35 p.m. in the #2 Press Box.

GHS FBLA Students Selected To Participate in PA Leadership Conference

Gateway High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students, Gabe Bloomfield and Patrick Glass, recently met up with 500 other FBLA members from across the state to participate in the 2008 FBLA Fall State Leadership Conference conducted at Penn State University, Main Campus. The students attended leadership workshops along with opening and closing sessions. The conference gives students a chance to explore business related topics and workshops, while getting to connect with other business students from across the Commonwealth. Faculty sponsor for the event was Andrea Campbell.

Winners in National Literacy Project Contests

The National Literacy Project in place at Gateway Middle School has announced the winners of the motivational Slogan and Poster contests. Congratulations to Montae Nichols for his winning slogan entry, "Books are the Gateway to our future". Congratulations to Kayko Ohkawa for the winning entry in the National Literacy Project poster contest. The National Literacy Project works to improve the reading and writing skills of children in the middle, intermediate and high school levels. More information is available at: http://www.nationalliteracyproject.org/ .

CalcuSolve Competition Heats Up

The 9th and 10th graders at GHS who qualified for the Calcusolve Competition will enter their battle arena on November 3, 2008. This is a mathematical competition involving problem-solving varying in content and difficulty. Good Luck...more info to follow, I hope.

GHS Marching Band Readies for National Championships

Gateway High School's Marching Band is now in final preparations for their performance in the Bands of America National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. The band will be leaving on November 12th and will return on November 16th.

National Merit Scholars Students 'Merit' High Praise !

Congratulations to the following Gateway High School students for outstanding performance in the National Merit Scholarship Competition:
Semi Finalists: Mohamed Koubaa, Martin Culig
Commended Students Luke Ament, Aaron Crittenden, Christina Douglas, Aaron Eisenberg, Katherine Kromka, Matthew Lambert, Matthew MacMurchy
Outstanding Participant Avionna Baldwin
Rensselaer Medal Award for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Brianne Garness

More than 1.5 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.