1. SPRING 2016
icmags.com
School District News
Page 36
Spring Events Guide
Page 25
Special Section:
Home Improvement
Page 13
On the
RiseNorwin grad and
emerging R&B pop star,
Aubree Nicole, lights up
the local music scene
Norwin

2. Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 35
36 Norwin High School Theatre Company Production
of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
37 Norwin Celebrates School Director
Recognition Month
38 Congratulations to Norwin Winter Sports Teams!
39 Spring Sports Schedules
39 Norwin Employees Support United Way
40 Veterans Monument
42 Norwin High School Students Make Splash with
U.S. Navy Underwater Robotics Program
42 Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC Unit Excels at Regional
Drill Competition
43 STEM Summer Camps
43 Middle School Students Engineer Their Own
Aqueducts
School District News
NORWIN
Dr. William H. Kerr
Superintendent of Schools
Mr. Jonathan D. Szish
Executive Assistant / Board Secretary
Mr. Robert J. Perkins
President, Norwin Board of Education
44 Norwin Middle School Earns First Place at IndEEE
500 Robot Car Race for the Third Straight Year
44 Norwin Named to College Board’s“AP District
Honor Roll”
45 Norwin High School, Middle School Student
Patriotic Essay Winners
45 Norwin Students Create Riveting Public Service
Announcement
46 Winners of the Red Ribbon Bookmark Contest
46 Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Visits Hillcrest
46 The Ultimate Math Challenge at Sunset Valley
47 Norwin High School Students Awarded Prize in
“Made by Milk”Contest
47 Norwin High School“Cookies for a Cause”Raises
More Than $8,300
47 Middle School Food Drive Collects 10,470 Pounds
of Donated Food
AQuarterlyReportoftheactivitiesandaccomplishmentsof
NorwinSchoolDistrictanditsstudentsforthe2015-2016school year

3. 36 Norwin36 Norwin
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
Three Cheers for Norwin High School
Theatre Company Production of
IrvingBerlin’sWhiteChristmas
H
undreds of community members enjoyed
the Norwin High School Theatre Company’s
production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,
which was performed March 17-20, 2016.
Based on the beloved, timeless film, this
heartwarming musical adaptation featured 17 Irving
Berlin songs and a book by David Ives and Paul Blake.
The musical’s storyline portrayed
veterans Bob Wallace and Phil
Davis, who had a successful
song-and-dance act after World
War II. With romance in mind, the
two followed a duo of beautiful
singing sisters en route to their
Christmas show at a Vermont
lodge, which just happened
to be owned by Bob and Phil’s
former army commander. The
dazzling score featured well-
known standards including
Blue Skies, I Love a Piano, How
Norwin High School students rehearse for the
musical, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.
Deep Is the Ocean and the perennial favorite, White
Christmas. White Christmas was an uplifting musical
worthy of year-round productions.
Lauren McCurdy served as Director, Erin Shrader was
Director/Choreographer, and Todd Leighty served as
Technical Director.
“White Christmas was at the top of the list because
the show has major production
numbers to showcase many of
our talented students,”said Ms.
McCurdy.“It is an honor to work
with such talented high school
students here at Norwin.”
As a choreographer, Ms.
Shrader said she loved the
many styles of dance that were
represented in this musical.“It
is not just musical theater, there
is jazz, tap, ballet, and this really
challenged the students. They
certainly rose to the challenge.”
“White Christmas was at the top of
the list because the show has major
production numbers to showcase
many of our talented students”
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews

4. Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 37
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
E
very January, Norwin School District celebrates
School Director Recognition Month. It is a time to
honor the nine elected school board members who
serve our students and educational system. The theme for
2016 was: “Stronger Schools, Stronger Pennsylvania.”
Superintendent Dr. William Kerr acknowledged the
Board of Education for its leadership and dedication
toward improving the quality of education during a
special presentation at the regular Board meeting on
Monday, January 18, 2016.
School directors volunteer, on average, 25 hours a
month as policymakers. The school board makes difficult
decisions for the betterment of our students. They
vote on multi-million dollar budgets, hire personnel,
approve textbooks, review curriculum, and decide capital
improvements, to name a few.
These dedicated volunteers reside in our community.
They are our friends, neighbors, community leaders,
parents at your school and engaged citizens. We thank
the members of the Norwin Board of Education for their
dedicated service and for making our students’success a
top priority.
Norwin Celebrates
School Director Recognition Month
Front Row (L-R): Mrs. Barbara A. Viola, Vice President; Dr. Becky A. Gediminskas; Mrs. Darlene J. Ciocca;
Dr. Tracey L. Czajkowski.
Back Row (L-R): Mr. Shawn N. Petrisko; Mr. Robert J. Perkins, President; Mr. Donald W. Rhodes, Jr.;
Mr. Dennis J. Rittenhouse; Mr. Albert C. Lynn.
YEARS OF BOARD SERVICE
Mr. Robert J. Perkins, President:
Dec. 1999 – Present
Mrs. Barbara A. Viola, Vice President:
Dec. 2009 – Present
Mrs. Darlene J. Ciocca: Dec. 2011 – Present
Dr. Tracey L. Czajkowski: Dec. 2015 – Present
Dr. Becky A. Gediminskas: Dec. 2001 – Present
Mr. Albert C. Lynn: Dec. 2013 – Present
Mr. Shawn N. Petrisko: Dec. 2015 – Present
Mr. Donald W. Rhodes, Jr.: Dec. 2005 – Present
Mr. Dennis J. Rittenhouse: Dec. 1999 – Present
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews

5. 38 Norwin
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
CongratulationstoNorwinWinterSportsTeams!
We take this opportunity
to congratulate all winter
sports teams for their
successful seasons. We
are also pleased to share
information about these
varsity sports teams that
made it to the post-season.
As of press time, several individual and
team post-season tournaments were just
beginning, so this is not a complete list.
Two Girls Varsity Tennis players, Maria Santilli
and Anna Lanyi, were Section Champions and
participated in the WPIAL playoffs in doubles during
the fall season. This achievement was inadvertently
omitted from the fall sports roundup. From left to
right: Maria Santilli, Ryan Hornick (Norwin Varity Girls
Tennis coach) and Anna Lanyi.
Alayna Gribble
(Girls Basketball)
Became all-time
leading scorer in
Norwin basketball
history
Boys Basketball – Qualified for WPIAL playoffs
Anika Kukich
(Gymnastics) –
Qualified for WPIAL
Finals in gymnastics
Wrestling – Qualified for WPIAL playoffs (first time in more than
a decade)
Drew Phipps (Wrestling)
– Became all-time wins
leader in Norwin wrestling
history; KDKA Extra Effort
Award Winner
Girls Basketball – WPIAL Champions; 21-0 regular
season record; WPIAL Champions for second straight
year; competing in the state basketball tournament (as
of press time for this publication)

6. Norwin - Baseball -Varsity
Day Date Time Versus Location
Wed 04/06 4:00pm Connellsville TBD Norwin H.S.
Mon 04/11 4:00pm Greater Latrobe Sr TBD TBD
Mon 04/18 4:00pm PennTrafford TBD TBD
Wed 04/20 4:00pm Hempfield TBD TBD
Mon 04/25 4:00pm Albert Gallatin TBD TBD
Mon 05/02 4:00pm Armstrong Sch.Dist. TBD TBD
Norwin - Lacrosse: Boys -Varsity
Wed 04/06 7:30pm Baldwin Norwin H.S. Stadium
Thu 04/14 7:30pm Greater Latrobe Sr. Norwin H.S. Stadium
Mon 04/25 7:30pm Fox Chapel Norwin H.S. Stadium
Thu 04/28 7:30pm Indiana Area Sr. Norwin H.S. Stadium
Tue 05/03 7:30pm Gateway Norwin H.S. Stadium
Wed 05/11 7:30pm PennTrafford Norwin H.S. Stadium
Norwin - Softball -Varsity
Mon 03/14 4:00pm BelleVernon Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Thu 03/24 4:00pm McKeesport Area Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Thu 03/31 4:00pm Hempfield Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Fri 04/01 4:00pm Bethel Park Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Wed 04/06 4:00pm Kiski Area Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Fri 04/0 4:00pm Connellsville Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Thu 04/14 4:00pm PennTrafford Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Tue 04/19 4:00pm Albert Gallatin Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Fri 04/22 4:00pm Gateway Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Tue 04/26 4:00pm Greater Latrobe Sr Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Thu 05/05 4:00pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H.S. Softball Field
Norwin -Tennis: Boys -Varsity
Mon 03/14 3:30pm South Park Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Wed 03/16 3:30pm McKeesport Area Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Fri 03/18 3:30pm ChartiersValley Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Mon 03/21 3:30pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Thu 03/31 3:30pm Franklin Regional Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Thu 04/07 3:30pm Kiski Area Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Wed 04/27 3:30pm PennTrafford Norwin H. S. Tennis Courts
Norwin -Track & Field -Varsity
Thu 04/07 4:00pm Derry Norwin H.S. Stadium
Wed 04/20 4:00pm Greensburg Salem Norwin H.S. Stadium
Thu 04/21 4:00pm TBA Norwin H.S. Stadium
Wed 04/27 4:00pm Indiana Area Sr. Norwin H.S. Stadium
Thu 05/12 2:00pm TBA Norwin H.S. Stadium
Norwin -Volleyball: Boys -Varsity
Tue 03/22 4:00pm Beaver Cty. Christian, Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Deer Lakes, Plum
Sat 03/26 8:30am Altoona Area,
Beaver Cty. Christian,
Bethel Park, Forest Hills,
Greater Latrobe Sr.,
South Park Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Tue 03/29 7:30pm Hempfield Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Tue 04/05 7:30pm Armstrong Sch. Dist. Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Thu 04/07 7:30pm Gateway Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Tue 04/19 7:30pm PennTrafford Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Tue 04/26 7:30pm Plum Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Mon 05/02 7:30pm North Allegheny Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Thu 05/05 7:30pm Penn Hills Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Tue 05/10 7:30pm Greater Latrobe Sr. Norwin H. S. Main Gym
Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 39
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
Spring Sports Schedules
Forthemostcurrentsportsschedule,
visitnorwinwpial.org
Norwin Employees Support United Way
Norwin School District employees donated a total of $7,293.98 during this year’s United Way campaign for 2015.
That’s an increase of 27 percent from last year!
Mrs. Maria Doyle, Employee Campaign Chair and Confidential Secretary in the Human Resource Department,
thanked the many employees who donated.“So many of you stepped up to give generously and help advance the
common good for so many in need throughout Westmoreland County,”Mrs. Doyle said.“I know that this generosity
will help to build a stronger community.”

7. 40 Norwin
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
H
undreds of spectators gathered for the Norwin
Veterans Memorial dedication ceremony, which
was held Saturday, November 14, 2015 just outside
Norwin High School.
The 20-foot-tall obelisk was completed after a
community-wide fund-raising campaign led by VFW Post
781 Commander Donald Kattic. Contractors included Arch
Masonry, Bittner Construction, and Matthews International.
The program included:
n Invocation by Rev Msgr V. Paul Fitzmaurice, St. Agnes
Parish, North Huntington
n Raising of Colors, Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC cadets
n The National Anthem, Gary Ed
n Honor Guard 21-Gun Salute
n Flower presentation by JROTC
n Speaker, Mr. Donald Kattic, VFW Post 781 Commander,
Veterans’Day
n Speaker, Mr. John Polivka, retired Norwin High School
teacher
n Speaker, Congressman Tim Murphy
n Speaker, Dr. William Kerr, Norwin Superintendent
of Schools
Veterans Monument
n History of the Norwin Veterans’Memorial
n Song (God Bless the USA), Mr. Georgeo Reccelle
An emotional highlight of the program occurred at 11
a.m. that morning. At that time, three United States Marine
Corps Harrier AV-8B jets flew over the ceremony in honor
of Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, a 1990 Norwin graduate
who was killed in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan. Lt.
Col. Raible was a squadron commander for the Harrier jet
squadron VMA 211, based out of Yuma, AZ, so the jets flew
in the“Missing Man”formation to honor Raible.
Mr. Kattic noted the efforts of two Norwin High School
students, siblings Sophia Melocchi and Carmen Melocchi,
who raised $2,000 in donations for the memorial by
making door-to-door solicitations. Carmen Melocchi
spoke to the crowd and told them to remember that this
monument is in plain view of the daily activities of Norwin
High School students, and it will serve as a vivid reminder
to generations of students.
Afterward, guests enjoyed a luncheon in the Norwin
High School cafeteria.
NorwinSuperintendentDr.WilliamKerrspeaksatthe
ceremony,joinedbyNorwinAirForceJROTCCadets.

8. Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 41
(Listed order from most recent)
Name Date of Casualty Branch
Checque, Nicolas 12/8/2012 Navy Seal
Raible, Christopher 9/15/2012 Marines
Wieger, David 11/1/2007 Air Force
Buck, David 1/10/1992 Navy
Keough, Frank 2/25/1991 Army
Malloy, Mark 11/10/1981 Navy
Shipley, Mike 12/12/1985 Army
Watson, Robert 10/2/1982 Navy
Acalotto, Bob 9/25/1978 Army
Gibson, Clifford 8/16/1969 Marines
Hill, Howard 5/23/1969 Army
Singler, Jr., Delbert 3/31/1969 Navy
Gilkey,Timothy 7/5/1968 Marines
McClelland, James 4/11/1968 Marines
Bennett, Donald 2/29/1968 Marines
Speilman, John 2/26/1968 Navy
Hughes, Julius 7/29/1967 Navy
Wright, Lester 7/31/1966 Navy
Shogan, Paul 6/10/1966 Marines
Hetzer, Jr., Joseph 1/5/1966 Army
Hildenbrand, Leslie 8/10/1965 Marines
We honor these
American Heroes
who paid the
ultimate sacrifice
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
Mr.DonaldKattic,VFWPost781Commander,
addressesthecrowd.
ThreeUnitedStatesMarineCorpsHarrierAV-8Bjetsflyover
theceremonyinhonorofLt.Col.ChristopherRaible.
TheNorwinVeteransMemorial.

9. 42 Norwin
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
Norwin High School Students Make Splash with
U.S. Navy Underwater Robotics Program
S
ome Norwin High School students are building and
operating underwater robots through the United States
Navy SeaPerch program.
In the SeaPerch program, students build an underwater
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from a kit comprised of
low-cost, easily accessible parts, following a curriculum that
teaches basic engineering and science concepts with a marine
engineering theme. Then, they put them through challenging
underwater obstacle courses.
Building a SeaPerch ROV teaches basic skills in ship and
submarine design and encourages students to explore naval
architecture and marine and ocean engineering principles.
Students held their first preliminary contest at the Norwin High
School pool on December 16, 2015, complete with judges from
the U.S. Navy present to officiate.
Then, on Saturday, February 20, 2016, a team from the Norwin
Technology Club advanced to the Sea Perch Regional Event at
Carnegie Mellon University.
The team that competed consisted of students: Christiana
Skrabak, Luke Cordle, Kelly Sage, and Kyle Schofield. They
were led by teachers Mr. Robert Shuber and Mr. William Hribar.
The students had to navigate their underwater ROV through
an obstacle course and record their best time. After that they had
to complete a task called the ORB challenge in which they had
to release floatable balls and dispose of them in an underwater
container. After the pool events, the team members had to
present their experiences with the Sea Perch program in the form
of an interview along with defending a poster display.
The Norwin High School Technology Education Department,
with efforts that were led by Mr. Shuber and Mr. Hribar, worked
with U.S. Navy officials to bring the underwater robotics program
to Norwin High School.
Above:TheNorwinteamthatcompetedatCarnegieMellonUniversityincluded,from
left,KellySage,LukeCordle,ChristianaSkrabak,andKyleSchofield,withtheirRemotely
OperatedVehicle.
Left:Ascenefroma
preliminarySeaPerch
underwaterobstaclecourse
atNorwinHighSchool’spool
heldDecember16,2015.
Norwin Air Force Junior ROTC Unit Excels at Regional Drill Competition
The Norwin Air Force JROTC unit participated in their first
regional drill competition the weekend of February 20th,
2016. More than 20 cadets traveled to the Marion Center
High School JROTC unit, along with three other schools,
to participate. Norwin JROTC has been preparing for this
competition for several months and all that hard work
and preparation paid off. Three of the five teams placed
and took home trophies. Norwin’s Advanced Armed and
Unarmed Drill Teams placed first and Norwin’s first-year
Color Guard Team placed third. Congratulations to all
cadets who participated and to the team commanders, who
had to prepare by learning drill sequences that included
more than 50 different movements, conduct practices, and
training for their team. Following the drill competition, all
cadets participated in a volleyball tournament. After the
February 20th competition, Norwin JROTC’s was scheduled
to compete Saturday, March 5th, at North Allegheny.

10. Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 43
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
Seventh-graders in the gifted program at
the Middle School engineered their own
aqueducts as part of an interdisciplinary
lesson that fused science and social studies.
Since Mrs. Danilko (social studies) and Mr.
Zundel (science) teach the gifted students
back-to-back with alternating prep periods,
they were able to plan an interdisciplinary
lesson. In social studies class, students
learned about Roman aqueducts as steps
toward early engineering projects; in
science, the students learned about physics.
Ms. Danilko and Mr. Zundel decided to
combine forces and have the students
engineer their own aqueducts according to
specifications.
Middle School Students Engineer Their Own Aqueducts
STEM Summer Camps
Norwin School District is continuing to offer many educational
summer camps to excite students of all ages about Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). At right is a tentative listing
of camps that are being planned, and additional camps are being
designed. All camps will occur in June and July.
A complete list of camps is anticipated to be available in late April
and will be shared with Norwin parents / guardians at that time.
Tentative Offerings Grade level entering
We’re Alive! Biology Camp 1-2
Click, Click, Move … 3-6
Stop Motion Mini-Movies
It’s Never Too Early for STEM K-1
Earth Science 1-2
Fairy Tales and Engineering 2-3
Little Bits 3-6
Lego WeDo - 4-5
Beginning Robotics
Baseball Math 4-5
Beginning Game Design – 4-8
Gamestar Mechanic
Lego EV3 – 5-8
Intermediate Robotics
Lego Mindstorms – 6-8
Advanced Robotics
Alice (computer programming) 9-12
Scuba Diving 9-12
Speed Typing
(Elementary and Secondary) 3-6, 7-12
Camp Invention 1-6
Photos from Norwin’s STEM Summer Camps from 2015.

11. orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
44 Norwin
Norwin Middle School Earns First Place at IndEEE
500 Robot Car Race for the Third Straight Year
O
n Saturday, February 20, 2016, four eighth-grade students
travelled to the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh to
defend their title in the IndEEE 500 robot car race. The race
is sponsored byThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) and requires participants to design, build, program and race
an autonomous robotic car to follow a 500-centimeter line, sense
a wall at the end of the line, and return to the beginning of the
racetrack.
Racers are not allowed to interact with their sponsoring teachers
during the event, but are instead mentored by professional
engineers from the IEEE and engineering students from the
University of Pittsburgh’s student IEEE chapter. This year’s Norwin
Middle School team included Juliana Boyd, Ceci Fidler, Ryan Kerber,
and Kevin Marsiglio.
The team had a rough start when their robot lost track of the line
during their first race and didn’t finish, and then again during their
second race causing them be overcome by a much slower robotic
car. By their third race they worked out their programming issues
and won.
“It was very frustrating watching my team struggle with their
program knowing I wasn’t allowed to help,”stated robotics team
coach Matt Mincucci. “It was, however, very satisfying watching
them use the programming and problem-solving skills they
learned in class to work through their issues.”
The rocky start earned the team a fourth seed out of 10 teams
from public, private, Catholic and home school organizations for
the elimination rounds. Another loss would put an end to their day
and break the Middle School’s two-year winning streak. The team
triumphed through to the finals where they defeated the powerful
first seed, St. Bernadette School, in a very close race, bringing the
gold home for the third year in a row.
Above:TheMiddleSchool’swinningteamincluded,fromlefttoright:
KevinMarsiglio,JulianaBoyd,CeciFidler,andRyanKerber.
Right:NorwinMiddle
Schoolstudents
competeattheIndEEE
500robotcarrace
atCarnegieScience
Center.
Norwin School District is one of 425 school districts in the U.S.
and Canada – and one of only 43 in Pennsylvania and the
only school district inWestmoreland County – that was honored
by the College Board with placement
on the Sixth-Annual AP District
Honor Roll for increasing access to
Advanced Placement course work
while simultaneously maintaining or
increasing the percentage of students
earning scores of 3 or higher on AP
Exams.
This indicates that Norwin School District is successfully
identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are
ready for the opportunity of AP.
To be included on the 6th-Annual Honor Roll, Norwin School
District had to, since 2013, increase the number of students
participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the
number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher.
“Norwin High School students have an opportunity to
challenge themselves and earn college credit by selecting one
of 14 AP Courses offered in Social Studies, Science, Mathematics,
Music, and Art,”said Mr.Tim Kotch,
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary
Education. “Norwin School District’s
selection for the sixth-annual AP District
Honor Roll demonstrates the culture
of high achievement our teachers and
students have created at Norwin High
School through their hard work, dedication and willingness to take
academic risks.”
“We are very appreciative of the College Board naming Norwin
High School as an AP Honor Roll Recipient,”said Mr. Michael
Choby, Principal of Norwin High School.“Our faculty will continue
to challenge our students through the addition of another course,
AP Human Geography, for the 2015-2016 school year.This course
will be open to High School students of all grade levels interested
in challenging themselves with an AP-level social studies course.”
NORWIN NAMED TO COLLEGE BOARD’S “AP DISTRICT HONOR ROLL”
High School Has Improved Access to Advanced Placement Courses
While Maintaining High Achievement
NorwinSchoolDistrictisoneofonly425school
districtsintheUnitedStatesandCanada–and
oneofonly43inPennsylvania–thatwas
namedasan“APHonorRollRecipient.”

12. NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 45
NORWIN HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT
PATRIOTIC ESSAY WINNERS
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 981 Provides Awards in Voice of
Democracy & Patriot’s Pen Contest
N
orwin High School and Middle School students have earned accolades –
including one student who earned second place at the state level – in a patriotic
essay contest sponsored by the Irwin/North HuntingdonVFW Post 781 and
coordinated by their teachers.
At Norwin High School, students participated in the annualVFWVoice of Democracy
essay contest.This year’s theme was,“MyVision for America.”Students were asked to
compose a three-to-five minute audio essay that was judged on originality, content,
and delivery.
The two Norwin High School students honored by theVFW included:
• Hunter Stecko, Grade 11. His essay also took first place inWestmoreland
County and second place at the state level.
• Victoria Carrick, Grade 12.
Hunter’s second-place finish at the state level represents the first time a Norwin
student’s essay had ever been recognized so highly, according to Mr. Donald Kattic,
Commander of the Irwin/North HuntingdonVFW Post 781.
Hunter’s essay began as follows:
“Whether figuratively or literally, every American is, at one point in life, asked to briefly
pick up a brush and add his or her own flair to the complex mural that is America’s
future. It is the decisions made with that opportunity, whether that is expressed as one
instant vote or multiple terms in office, which shape the future of this great country.”
Hunter’s full essay can be accessed at the Norwin School DistrictWeb site,
www.norwinsd.org, under“headlines.”
AtNorwinMiddleSchool,studentsparticipatedinthePatriot’sPenessaycontest.This
year’schallengewasa300-to400-wordessayonthetheme,“WhatFreedomMeanstoMe.”
The three Norwin Middle School students honored by theVFW were as follows:
• Savanna Hindman, Grade 8
• Ethan List, Grade 8
• Gweneth Reichert, Grade 8
Their work was overseen by teachers Kelly Lynch,Wendy Johnson, and Connie
DeMore. Donald Kattic, Commander of the Irwin/North HuntingdonVFW Post 781,
presented the awards to the students on December 10, 2015.
Above:VoiceofDemocracywinnersfromNorwinHighSchool.
FromLefttoRight:Mr.DonaldKattic,CommanderoftheIrwin/
NorthHuntingdonVFWPost781; VictoriaCarrick,Grade12;
HunterStecko,Grade11;andMr.MichaelChoby,Principalof
NorwinHighSchool.
Below:2015Patriot’sPenWinnersfromNorwinMiddleSchool
withthecontestsponsors.FromLefttoRight:Ms.KellyLynch;
Ms.WendyJohnson;SavannaHindman,EthanList,andGwen
Reichert,allGrade8;andMr.DonaldKattic,Commanderofthe
Irwin/NorthHuntingdonVFWPost781.
Three Norwin High School students – Ashley Divens, KellyTran, and
Lizzy Rodgers – created a riveting Public Service Announcement
for a new video contest called“Speak Out to Save Lives.” The contest
was offered through the FBI Pittsburgh Heroin Outreach Prevention
and Education (H.O.P.E.) Initiative.
They were awarded third place in the pilot video contest, and
travelled to the FBI’s Pittsburgh Division headquarters in February for
special recognition, along with the other schools that participated.
Their video can be found at www.youtube.com by typing the
video’s title, which is“#4wantofanail,”into theWeb site’s search bar.
The video creator’s name is“NorwinVideoClass”(no spaces between
the words).
They are all members of KWIN, the High School video production
team, which is led by teacher Ms. Sue Spadaro. Kelly is also the
President of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD).
Norwin Students Create Riveting Public Service Announcement for FBI
“Speak Out to Save Lives” Contest
Lefttoright:AshleyDivens,KellyTran,andLizzyRodgers.

13. 46 Norwin
orwinNorwinSchoolDistrictNews
Winners of the Red Ribbon Book Mark Contest from
Stewartsville and Sunset Valley Elementary Schools
T
he Stewartsville Lions Club recently honored four Norwin
elementary students as the winners of the Red RibbonWeek
Bookmark Contest. Sydney Rose and Natalie Amantea from
Stewartsville Elementary and Mackenzie Brokaw and Paige Shrum
from SunsetValley were chosen as the winners. All fourth-grade
students from each of the two buildings were encouraged to
participate. They had to design a bookmark encouraging students be
drug free. These students were awarded a cash prize along with their
framed entries. Prior to being presented their awards, the students
and their parents were invited to enjoy dinner with the Lions at Penns
Woods Civic Center. L-R: Ms. Anita Miklos, School Nurse for Sheridan
Terrace and Stewartsville Elementary; Sydney Rose; Natalie
Amantea; Mackenzie Brokaw; and Paige Shrum.
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Visits Hillcrest Intermediate to Present
The Incredibly Innovative Innovators of Pittsburgh
The Ultimate Math Challenge at Sunset Valley Elementary School
SunsetValleystudentsworkonapizzaproblemattheUltimateMathChallenge.
Fifth and sixth-grade students at Hillcrest Intermediate School
enjoyed a children’s musical theater production titledThe
Incredibly Innovative Innovators of Pittsburgh, performed by the
Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (C.L.O.) on January 29, 2016.
The 50-minute show portrays a young student, Lisa, who has
been putting off her social studies assignment too long when her
favorite rock band magically appears in her game room. To help her
with her neglected studies, they take a musical journey exploring
the historical innovators from Pittsburgh over the past 250 years,
including portrayals of Rachel Carson, GeorgeWestinghouse, Jonas
Salk and Henry J. Heinz (scene shown in photo).
The Pittsburgh C.L.O.’s Gallery of Heroes program brings historical
figures to life.Their visit was funded by the Hillcrest PTA. Plans are
in the works to bring another CLO production to Hillcrest next year
about Pittsburgh’s steel industry.
An interactive math competition called the Ultimate Math
Challenge showed SunsetValley Elementary School students
how math is all around them.
Students worked together to solve everyday math problems by
visiting five stations. Students made pretend pizzas at the Pizza Shop,
filled orders and made change at the Concession Stand, poured
drinks (using water) at the Drink Shop, planned and calculated trips
at theTravel Agency, and sorted and weighed mail at the Post Office.
Teams of students circled through the different event stations,
competing in every activity once while being scored on how quickly
they completed different tasks.
The event was organized and staffed by SunsetValley Elementary
School PTA volunteers.

14. Norwin | Spring 2016 | icmags.com 47
NorwinNorwinschooldistrictNews
Above,backrow:L-R:HarleyScherrbaum,SebastianPratt,Madison
Mozingo,AliGeyer,AlexaLoy
Frontrow:LieselMitchell,SummitJordan
FrontRow:HannahBergman,HayleyLovett,RoseEgan,Hanna
Rhoads,MadisonStanley
Norwin High School Students Awarded Prize in
“Made by Milk” Contest
N
orwin High School Art Club students used 166 milk cartons to create
a three-dimensional earth sculpture in a contest that challenges
students to repurpose milk cartons.
Their effort won a $1,000 prize for their school in the Made by Milk contest
sponsored by Evergreen Packaging.The contest, held in fall 2015, drew 156
creative entries from elementary, middle and high schools across the country.
The art students collected 166 used milk cartons from school lunches and
arranged them to create a piece of art that fit the contest theme of“Animals.”
Their submission,“WildWorld,”was one of three winners in the Middle/High
School category for fewer than 300 cartons.
On February 11, 2016,Turner Dairy Farms
representatives Jim Monroe and Art Maskin visited
the art students to present the award.
According to Norwin High School art teacher Ms.
Debra Roberts, the prize money will be used to add
soil and plant flowers in the courtyard garden, and
possibly add a few sculptures to that area as well.
Studentleadersandthose
involvedintheFourth-Annual
CookieFundRaiserincluded,from
lefttoright:LeahVorce,student;
ClaudiaKomondor,student;
Mr.BrianO’Neil,Principalof
HillcrestIntermediateSchool;
PedroSchmidt,student;Mr.
MichaelChoby,Principalof
NorwinHighSchool;Peyton
Deri,student;AliDunlay,
student;JocelynMarko,student.
Middle School Food Drive
Collects 10,470 Pounds of
Donated Food
The annual food drive spearheaded by Ms.
DiVittis and Ms. Amic and sponsored by the
Norwin Middle School Students Against Destructive
Decisions (SADD) program was highly successful
this year, collecting a total of 10,470 pounds of
food. The food drive took place from November
12-19th at the Middle School, and set up a friendly
competition between teams and homerooms in
both 7th and 8th grades.
The winning team for the school was the Jaguar
team, which included the following homerooms:
Ms. Danilko, Ms. Brooks, Ms. Bennett, Ms. Rutowski,
and Mr. Zundel. These five homerooms collected a
total of 3,375 pounds of food. The overall winning
homeroom for the entire school was Mr. Evanov,
homeroom 115, which collected a total of 1,092
pounds of food. The winning team received an ice
cream party and the overall winning homeroom
received a pizza party. Since the participation was
so tremendous in the school, donuts were given
to 17 homerooms for bringing in more than 300
pounds of food each.
All food was donated to three local food banks,
including St. Agnes, Irwin Methodist Church, and
St. John’s in Larimer. All food banks were extremely
appreciative and have stated that the Norwin
Middle School Food Drive will feed more than 300
families for the year in our community. Thank you
to all those students, their families, and the Middle
School faculty for participating.
FOURTH-ANNUAL NORWIN HIGH SCHOOL
“COOKIES FOR A CAUSE” RAISES MORE THAN
$8,300 FOR ANDREW’S AVENGERS IN 7½ HOURS
Blood Drive Also Benefits Andrew’s Avengers
The Norwin High School Marketing Applications class, under the guidance
of instructor Mrs. Kristen Kelly and and with help from Assistant Principal
Mr. Joe Shigle, raised more than $8,300 in a mere 7 ½ hours during their Fourth
Annual“Cookies for a Cause”fundraising event.
This year’s recipient of the donation was Andrew’s Avengers. Andrew’s
Avengers was set up to honor Andrew O’Neil, a four-year-old Norwin resident
fighting neuroblastoma, a form of cancer. His father, Mr. Brian O’Neil, is principal
at Hillcrest Intermediate School in the School District.The students felt very
connected to this cause, wanting to help one of their own.
The five-day event took place during the lunch periods held the week of
December 7th -11th. For every dollar donated by the students and some faculty
members, a free cookie was supplied by the two classes.
In addition, Norwin High School’s December’s blood drive was also held in
honor of Andrew O’Neil, who benefitted from blood transfusions during his
battle with cancer. Blood drives are held three times each school year. One
hundred thirty two students donated to the drive to benefit Andrew, which was
held Friday, Dec. 18, 2015.