GHS Gifted Students 'Engineer' A First Place Win

Congratulations to the following AIM students for their first place finish at the ESSPA Engineering competition. Luke Grysiak, Brian Wallace, Jason Cole O'Leary, Mike Kelly and Awaiz Khan built a flawless, 24 step Rube Goldberg device that launched a rocket, built and designed a WWII style bomber plane that had laser guided bombs and a compressed air ping-pong ball launcher and spontaneously constructed an airplane that launched a helium filled balloon from over fifty feet away. The team competed against gifted students from Steel Valley, Woodland Hills, Highlands, Franklin Regional and other schools in the region. Fantastic job guys! You know, I've got a camcorder that still tells me the date is 01/01/01...maybe one of you knows how to fix it !

AIM Students at GHS Take Second Place in ESSPA GeoBowl

After a multi-round competition, a team of gifted students in the GHS AIM program won second place in the ESSPA's Geography Bowl. Team members Vivek Rajkumar, Will Randall, Awaiz Khan, Kristofer Pomiecko and Eric Pelkey had to display a diverse knowledge of the cultural and economic facets of Central and South America. It took five rounds to eliminate virtually all of the competition except one. Congratulations to these five young men !

Rita Jury, Elementary Gifted Coordinator, Hits Highlights For The Year So Far...

I've had parents ask me about what happens in the AIM program for identified gifted children at Gateway. I usually stumble through a response, so I asked Rita Jury, the Elementary Gifted Coordinator to give me a snapshot of what the elementary AIM students have been up to this year. Having read this, all I can say is...Wow. Here are Mrs. Jury's comments:

"Everyone is working hard here in the elementary buildings. We have begun implementing an Intervention Block in grades K through 4. This allows the Gifted Support teacher to actually get into the classrooms and build upon the skills and concepts being taught, while integrating more depth and complexity into the lessons.

Some second graders have studied various countries around the world and created their own A to Z books detailing facts about that particular country. Photo essays have also been created, with the students acting as photographers, interviewers, and writers. Writing in response to literature the children read has become a real focus, with an emphasis on elaboration and creativity. Following the reading of a biographical selection in second grade, students created a bio-poem including key facts related to the individual read about.

Many of the third graders have written and illustrated their own hard-backed books based upon interest, which are placed in the school library for everyone's reading enjoyment. Third graders are also involved in the Hands-On-Equations Program which is an introductory course in Algebra. Accelerated logic and problem-solving learning experiences are also an integral part of the our time together.

Fourth graders are busy working on a unit of study based upon interest. Some examples are Ancient Egypt, American History, and Colonial America. The fourth graders also completed a persuasive writing unit after studying all aspects and characteristics of a persuasive piece. Some fourth graders have created a newspaper with articles ranging from editorials to local and national news of interest. Students studied all elements of a newspaper before researching and writing their individual articles. As mentioned with third grade, accelerated math, logic, and problem-solving experiences are being utilized with this group of students. We are beginning a mystery unit where students will be challenged to use higher-level thinking skills to sift through evidence and solve a crime.

All of these grade level students are involved with accelerated math experiences based upon the pre-assessments taken during math class. They are also required to complete research using the library and internet/website resources. Some of these students are utilizing power point as a means of presenting their completed products. The Junior Great Books Program is being used with the third and fourth grade students. This program is specifically designed for advanced students as it delves into Socratic questioning, high-end critical thinking, exploratory discussion, and writing in response to focus questions.

So as you can see, the students in our elementary buildings are actively involved in their learning. It is a joy to work with such industrious, motivated young people. Their thirst for knowledge is the key to a bright future for all of us!"

Thanks so much for all of your efforts, Mrs. Jury !

Spring Musical 2009 at GHS: Les Miserables

The Gateway High School Music Department will present the Tony-Award winning musical, Les Misérables on April 24, 25, May 1, 2 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 26 and May 2 at 2:00 p.m. (matinee). Tickets are $12 (adults) and $10 (students and senior citizens). Tickets will go on sale in March at the Gateway High School Box Office, located outside the auditorium. Call the Gateway High School Music Office at 412-373-5751 for more information. The production will be under the direction of Larry Cervi, Director; Robert A. Read, Music Director; and Erich Lascek, Vocal Director.

Matthew Coulter Wins Moss Side Middle Geography Bee

Moss Side Middle conducted its school-wide geography contest in February, to select one student eligible to participate in testing for the state-wide National Geographic Geography Bee. Classroom winners were identified, and then the 5th and 6th grade students all competed for the Geo Bee Winner medal. This year's winner for Moss Side Middle is Matthew Coulter, a fifth grader in Mr. Schrum's social studies class. Good luck in the next level of competition !. (ed.note.: in the interests of fairness, Matthew is my son. Doesn't effect the results, but I try to keep this blog fairly representative.)

Moss Side Elem. Students Give Charity A Hand

The third graders at Moss Side Elementary really showed their stuff, raising money in December to support the food bank run by Cross Roads Presbyterian Church. They took the money to get groceries and toys for local families in need. The students also boxed and bagged the items, and got them to the food bank in time for the holidays. Nice job, kids !

AIM High Q Television Appearance Update - GHS Wins !

I posted in October that the GHS gifted department sent a team to the KDKA High Q challenge. I never heard the results until the recent edition of Spotlight came out, and noted that Gateway won, beating their two competitors, Baldwin and McGuffey school districts. The team from GHS was Eric Pelkey, Matt Lambert and Kelly Miller. The faculty advisors were Lynn Martin and James Pottinger of the AIM department.

Pitcairn Elem Nominated by PA Education Dept For National Blue Ribbon Award

Pitcairn Elementary is one of only 13 schools to be nominated by Pennsylvania as a /2009 No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon School./ The NCLB – Blue Ribbon Schools Award distinguishes and honors schools for helping students achieve at very high levels and for making significant progress in closing the achievement gap.“We are extremely honored by the state’s nomination,” said Dr. Joseph Petrella, Assistant Superintendent (Elementary). “It was an unexpected surprise, but well deserved. Pitcairn’s strong administrator and dedicated staff members have worked very hard to make the school an educational institution that fosters a caring environment where children want to learn and succeed. It is very gratifying to see our collective efforts be recognized by the State.” Since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program has honored many America’s most successful schools. The Blue Ribbon flag that waves proudly at these schools is a trademark of excellence and is recognized by parents and community members as a symbol of quality in education.