NORTHERN CONNECTION 2020 EDUCATION GUIDE

Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Today!

Oakland Catholic Partners with Outdoor Odyssey Leadership Academy

Leadership development is integral to the OC educational experience - even when school is not in session! Thanks to the newly established Leadership Fund, 10 rising Oakland Catholic Juniors participated in the pilot of a partnership between Oakland Catholic High School and Outdoor Odyssey in June.

Established in 1998 on 500 acres in the Laurel Highlands, Outdoor Odyssey provides a unique wilderness experience that incorporates leadership skills,

high adventure and team building into a week-long curriculum. Graduates of this Leadership Academy then cultivate their new skills by mentoring peers and younger students the following school year.

Ten rising Juniors accepted the invitation to represent Oakland Catholic, stepping up to the challenges presented with great success. For one week in June, they faced adversities and obstacles, pushed themselves far outside their comfort zones and managed

the group dynamics that every leader must face as she figures out curve balls thrown in her direction, while maintaining a positive attitude and encouraging those around her. Chaperoned by English teacher Jane Jeffries, OCHS’08,

with assistance from President Mary Claire Kasunic, Principal Marisa Greco, and School Counselors Elyse Lanzendorfer and Angela Orbin, the group took on physical challenges such as a high ropes course, a tower climb, zipline escape, a strenuous hike in the rain with camping gear and spelunking in Bear Cave. The young women engaged daily in leadership discussion sessions, debriefing conversations after challenges and motivational strategizing. Based on leadership principles that apply to everyday work, life and relationships, the ultimate goal of this high adventure experience is to build confidence while instilling ideas on how to become a more effective leader. The individual is definitely a focus, but the program also prioritizes team via communication, trust, cooperation and the acceptance of all members. Oakland Catholic looks forward to sending another cohort of OC Leaders to Outdoor Odyssey next June! n

St. Gregory Catholic School Service, leadership, and faith are all qualities embodied by eighthgrade students at St.Gregory Catholic School. Each year eighth-grade students under the guidance of Erika Barlow, a former student and current social studies teacher, visit Passavant Community’s Newhaven Court no less than six times. Newhaven Court is a personal care and assisted living home located in Zelienople. Now a longstanding tradition, Barlow visited Newhaven Court while she was a student at St. Gregory Catholic School. She was eager to bring the project back to life for her own students, sharing the fundamentals and community-oriented spirit instilled from her earliest visits.

During the visits, students easily converse with the residents and are eager to learn about their lives. What appears on the surface to be a large generational gap is always quickly filled as students learn how the sacrifices of yesterday relate to the lives that they enjoy today. One resident, Andrew Szakelyhidi, served during WWII and loves to quiz the students on their knowledge of the war and share his story of service. Although several decades may separate them, the relationship formed between the students and the residents of Passavant Community’s Newhaven Court appeared to be ubiquitous. In addition to participating in a Thanksgiving meal, students provide activities such as Bingo and a yearly Easter egg hunt. This Advent season, students have been diligently gathering and wrapping presents to be delivered to the residents. It would be fair to say that students look forward to each visit and are eager to bring the joy of the holidays into the lives of others. n

Is Your Child Struggling? It May Not Be Their Fault W ith the first semester of the school year winding down, students and parents are beginning to reevaluate whether their current school is meeting their needs. While brick-and-mortar schools work for many families, there are a number of reasons that the traditional learning environment becomes inadequate in its ability to meet a student’s needs. Agora Cyber Charter School, a tuition-free public school with year-round enrollment, offers an educational option for students who need to make the change to learn in a new environment — one that allows them to receive a more personalized education.

In many cases, a student is not to blame when they are struggling in school. From being bullied, to lack of consistent instruction, to the inevitable distractions, to learning in an over-crowded classroom — a student’s sub-par schooling environment often suppresses their desire to learn. If your child has endured any of these avoidable problems, now is the time to make the switch to a cyber school, which are being embraced across the state as necessary options.

Agora’s multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) identifies specific student needs and matches them with appropriate strategies. Each student is given individualized attention and a curriculum that works for their specific learning style, giving them the best possible chance for success. At this point in the school year, many students are realizing that their

grades may impede their ability to accumulate the necessary credits to advance. With twenty school counselors, math and reading specialists and programs geared towards remediation through advanced learning, no matter the grade, Agora focuses on school success and life after high school. After years of perfecting cyber education, Agora’s distraction-free, supportive environment meets the student at their level and ensures that they are equipped to live up to their true potential — socially, academically, and personally. n

EDUCATION GUIDE 2020 School Spotlight Fields of Learning: The Shady Side Academy Farm

Sustainability education and outdoor learning come alive at Shady Side Academy through its unique SSA Farm program, which includes gardens on all four campuses that provide interdisciplinary, experiential learning opportunities.

The SSA Farm includes a large 40x100-foot garden at the Senior School and raised garden beds at the Middle, Junior and Country Day Schools. Three of the campuses have egg-laying hens. Together, the gardens yield more than 600 pounds of organic produce annually, which is sold at the Fox Chapel Farmers Market and used by SSA’s cafeterias, bringing the farm-to-table concept directly to students’ lunch trays.

“The goal is for students to develop a curiosity and appreciation for the outdoors,” says Director of SSA Farms Anna Sekine. “The more you

learn about where your food comes from, and all the steps that it takes to get to your plate, the more it opens your mind.”

Sekine oversees the gardens and works with faculty to integrate the farm into the PK-12 curriculum. She also oversees the Fox Chapel Farmers Market, held weekly on the Senior School campus from JuneOctober. At the Senior School (grades 9-12), environmental science classes do soil testing and examine industrial and sustainable agriculture. Health classes utilize farm produce in a nutrition unit, learning about nutrient density and food access. Students can choose PE Farm as their fall or spring athletics option to earn credit working on the farm, and can serve as farmers market managers each summer, learning management, marketing and community relations skills.

Middle School students (grades 6-8) can choose Farm as their spring activity option or join the Ecology Committee to help tend the eight raised garden beds and native pollinator garden –or join the Chicken Committee to care for the hens. Science classes study the role of decomposers and pollinators in the food system and learn about sustainable growing practices, native and invasive plant species and plant biology.

SSA Country Day School in Fox Chapel (PK-5) has a U-shaped raised garden bed filled with herbs, flowers and tomatoes. Students start seedlings in the science lab, plant them in the garden and harvest vegetables for salads and salsa. They learn about soil, composting and insects, visiting the Senior School farm across the street to observe how bees aid in pollination, and how chickens provide nutrients and insect control. At SSA Junior School in Point Breeze (PK-5), students help tend five raised garden beds and hens, while science classes study plant life cycles, beneficial insects, nutrient cycling and taking food from seed to plate.

Sekine sees the SSA Farm as a valuable learning tool. “The farm is a powerful educational instrument,” she says. “Through gardening, students learn how to be responsible caretakers for their environments. They also develop patience, teamwork and a sense of ownership. It’s truly a field of learning.”

Visit www.ShadySideAcademy.org/SSAFarm to learn more. Or call the Admissions Office at 412-968-3180 to schedule a personal tour or register for winter admissions testing.

2020 Education Guide Directory

EDUCATION GUIDE 2020 School Movers & Shakers

Shady Side Academy

Newsweek announced its ranking of the top 5,000 STEM high schools in America for 2020, honoring excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The national news magazine ranked Shady Side Academy as the best STEM high school in the Pittsburgh area and No. 6 in Pennsylvania.

Aquinas Academy The Aquinas Academy Model EU club competed at the University of Pittsburgh at the High School

Model European Union. Two of their students, Samuel Everson and Sabrina Knox won the outstanding position paper for their room at the conference.

St. Joseph Saint Joseph High School senior Ethan Schroeder received his Boy Scout of America Eagle Award recently. Ethan refurbished the social hall for Bridgepoint Church in Tarentum. Ethan Schroeder

Seneca Valley Three Seneca Valley students won awards at Slippery Rock University’s (SRU) 2019 Regional High School Art Exhibition. Seniors Kelsey Gianfancesco, Corin Trejchel and Victoria Lydon earned three of the five awards presented during the exhibit reception on Nov. 21.

The Seneca Valley Academic Decathlon Team placed first in a regional Academic Decathlon Competition, held at Collegiate Academy on Dec. 7.

Mars Area Blair Gerlach, Mars Area High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team head coach, was named 2019 Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association (PSCA) Coach of the Year.

Blair Gerlach

Two Mars Area School District students were named Navigating Teen Life Ambassadors for UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics (CCP). Senior Julia McCarty and seventh-grader Isabella Rossi are among 26 teen ambassadors who have been working to promote health and wellness among teens in the Pittsburgh Region via UPMC CCP’s Navigating Teen Life program. Julia McCarty Isabella Rossi

Mars Area High School Girls Varsity Soccer Team earned the 2019 PIAA Class 3A Girls Soccer Championship, defeating the Villa Joseph Marie Jems 1-0 in final game of the competition on Nov. 16.

Fox Chapel Fox Chapel Area High School senior Rajeev Godse has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2020 class of the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. Rajeev is one of 1,928 high school seniors from across the nation (and one of 80 from Pennsylvania) to be chosen as a semifinalist from more than 93,000 applicants. Rajeev Godse

Two Fox Chapel Area High School students were named winners in the annual Wadsworth Grizzly Classic Forensic Tournament. Rajeev Godse and Jackson Romero advanced to the quarterfinal elimination round placing them in the top eight in the tournament.

Three Fox Chapel Area High School students won awards at the 39th Annual University of Virginia High School Model United Nations Conference. The winners were - Jackson Romero, Antoinette Faucher and Omar Shalaby.

Five Fox Chapel Area High School students were selected to perform with the 2019 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 1 Honors Band. The students chosen were Janise Kim, Nathaniel Kisslinger, Jacob Rendall, Anzu Sekikawa and Joey Wang.

The Fox Chapel Area Board of School Directors held its annual reorganization meeting December 3. Somer Obernauer Jr. was elected president, Marybeth Dadd was chosen as vice president, Edith L. Cook, Ph.D., was selected as the assistant secretary and Eric G. Hamilton was elected treasurer.

BC3 Butler County Community College’s efforts to increase the quality of life in its communities were recognized by Butler County Human Services, which presented BC3 with its 2019 Collaborator of the Year Award.

CCAC

Allegheny County Council honored recent graduates of the Community College of Allegheny County FireVEST scholarship program. The honorees were - Tanner Bock, Joseph Figueroa, Alexander Green, Tyler Hilliard, Mark Loya, David Moore, Jacob Poznik, Sean Ronick, Shelby Snyir, Harrison Tinney, Daniel Vaughn and Kaitlyn Wichelmann.

Nurture Feeding and Communication Support, LLC N urture Feeding and Communication Support, LLC provides occupational, feeding/swallowing and speech therapy to children, birth to 21 years in Western Pennsylvania. Nurture is also an Early Intervention Provider with Achieva. These services are provided in your home or daycare, so skills are naturally learned in the child’s familiar environment. We can help if your child is struggling with food, having difficulty with bottle feeding/spoon feeding, gagging/coughing/choking with foods, limited foods in diet and tube feeding. Our occupational therapists are trained to help with sensory needs, difficulty writing, using utensils and other self-help needs. The speech therapists with Nurture can help children communicate if struggling with expressive or receptive language disorders, articulation/sound errors, augmentative communication, stuttering and other communication needs. We are happy to announce we will provide physical therapy in 2020. Check us out at www.nurturemykids.com. Send us an email or give us a call at 412-708-2080 or info@nurturesupport.com. Remember, when natural skills are difficult, we help nurture them in your home. We hope to hear from you!