Community

Newsletter of

The New Brighton

Area School District

3225 43rd Street

New Brighton, PA

15066

TheThe

New Brighton Area School District Where LIONS take PRIDE in learning.

www.nbasd.org Winter 2012

CC OMMUNICATOROMMUNICATOR

Honoring Our Veterans, Showcasing our Students

T he value in honoring

those who serve our

country is not lost on

the students and staff of the

New Brighton Middle School.

For the past six years, they

have planned and executed

an amazing Veterans’ Day

celebration. Led this year by

8th grade social studies

teacher Matt Wagner, the

day is focused on both hon-

oring local veterans and showcasing the talents of

middle school students.

Students and staff prepared for the day beginning

just after the first days of school. Art teacher, Lisa

Ellis held a poster contest for students to create pa-

triotic works. Sixth and Seventh Grade Language

Arts teachers, Pam McCune and Kayse Hicks, held

poetry contests in their classes. Students also learn

instrumental and vocal music pieces to perform

during the assembly.

The morning of the Veterans’ Day programming be-

gan with guest speakers from the Vietnam Veterans

of America. Each eighth grade homeroom had two

speakers who told their stories and shared their ex-

periences. The eighth grade students rotated

through each homeroom so the students would

have the opportunity to hear each speaker.

In the afternoon, students in all grades at the mid-

dle school were part of the assembly. The Junior

National Honor Society decorated the gym for the

event under the supervision of sponsor Keith Wolf-

gong. The assembly highlights the students’

achievements, including the poetry and poster con-

test winners, performances by student trumpet so-

loist Lexi Whalen, a guitar solo by Curtis Walsh, vo-

cal performances by Salvatore Greco and the Ad-

vanced Chorus.

The keynote address was given by Dave Brailey,

United States Marine Corps. Mr. Brailey gave an

informative and inspirational talk to the students.

He is also the tour guide for the eighth grade trip to

Washington, D.C. each year. He enjoys sharing his

knowledge and love of country with students of all

ages.

Finally, students and siblings Maxx, Chloe, Nate and

Legion Lake presented their father with a special

recognition for his service in the Marine Corps.

2 www.nbasd.org

Elementary School Happenings…

E ducation is not all about book learning, memorization, or even criti-

cal thinking. Just as important is teaching students to be good citi-

zens, caring individuals, and compassionate people. Mrs. Linda Na-

tali and Mrs. Jody Zuchelli take this aspect of teaching very seriously, and to

reinforce the ideas to their students, took their second grade class to E.B.

McNitt apartments to visit with the residents for both Veteran’s Day and

Christmas celebrations.

For Veteran’s Day The residents were thrilled to listen to patriotic

songs, receive an American Flag, and have some fun playing BINGO

with the students. At Christmas the students entertained the resi-

dents with plays, carols, and a Christmas tree raffle. These visits

brought joy to both the residents and students, with some of the stu-

dents commenting that they were “the best days ever!”

Bringing a Little Extra Joy

3rd Graders Lend a Hand

Students from room 305 (Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Tomczak’s

class) and 306 (Miss Pfeifer’s class) did a community

service project in conjunction with the Thanksgiving

holiday. The students wrote and videoed their own e-

vites and sent them to their families inviting them to see them participating in an entertaining performance. The stu-

dents collected canned goods for the local soup kitchen as admission to the show.

Madison Walko and Kelsey Porto were the MC’s for the “We Give Thanks” show. The performance also included Thanks-

giving songs sung by Chase Yopp, Emily Rizer, Aidan Fry, Josh Byrd, Gage Smith, Kya Moltzen, Frankie Kamicker and Jaelyn

Clark. “The Meal Must Go On” was a play performed by Stephanie Houk (narrator), Alexis Butler (Mother), David Camp-

bell (Father), Blake Beighey (Grandpa), Makayla Parkes (Grandma), Areyana Clark (Daughter), Autumn Wheeler (Megan),

Tyler Davis (Tyler), Trenton Beabout (Gary), Parker Reed (Sparky), Jonah Janicki (turkey), Isabella Lodovico (mashed pota-

toes), Naszai Beasley (gravy), Callie Hickman (stuffing), Eddie Shields (cranberry sauce), Madison Mamula (pumpkin pie),

and Ka’Liyah Dillingham (whipped cream). Sam Jackson and Lawrence Hickman entertained the audience with Thanksgiv-

ing jokes, and India Carlisle and Kaylee Miller recited original poetry. “Turk and Runt, A Thanksgiving Comedy” was per-

formed by Reyna Valdez as Narrators 1 & 4, Melanie Harley as Narrator 2, Jade Farnsworth as Narrator 3, Jamison Ahmed

as Narrator 5, Samara Boring as Mother, Xavier McKenzie as Father, Cole Darnley as Turk, Nicholas Doyle as Runt, Nolan

Nicholson as Madame Waddelle, Nya Greene as Coach Giblet, and Aimee Cox as Little Old Lady. Following the show, re-

freshments were provided by the high school Lioness Club and Mrs. Holsinger’s class.

The show received an exceptional turn-out, and several boxes of canned goods were donated. The third graders were

extremely excited to not only perform on a stage, but to help local people in need. The students worked very hard, and a

good time was had by all.

The overall success of the show could not have been possible without help from Mrs. Dzikiy, Mr. Knight, Mrs. Fry, Mrs.

Pfeifer, Mrs. Campbell and the Lioness Club, Mrs. Holsinger and her students, and the high school audio-visual crew.

www.nbasd.org 3

An Extraordinary Performance

The elementary and middle schools were treated to performances of The Amaz-

ingly True Adventures of Nellie Bly by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. At only 23

years of age, Western Pennsylvania native, Nellie Bly began to pioneer a new kind

of undercover, investigative journalism sometimes known as “stunt reporting.” The

peak of Bly’s fame came when she took a whirlwind trip around the world in 1889

to beat Phileas Fogg, the fictional hero of Jules Verne’s “Around the World in

Eighty Days.” Traveling by ship, train and even burro, she returned to New York in

72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes as a celebrity, cheered by crowds of men and

women.

The book, music and lyrics were written by Jason Coll and the program cov-

ered standards relating to the subjects of history, geography and music. Miss

Rhonda Ficca, elementary music teacher and PTA Assembly chair arranged

the Civic Light Opera performances.

Sharing a Love of Reading

Fifth Graders from Mrs. Derbaum, Mr. Mitt-

ner, and Mrs. Smith’s classes participated in

a reading project at Christmas where they

shared a holiday book with the kindergar-

ten students. Each fifth grader brought in

their favorite holiday book, created a Book

In A Bag book report about it, and practiced

reading the book and presenting their re-

port to their peers. On December 12, the

fifth graders read their books and shared

their reports with the kindergarten stu-

dents. The kindergarten students returned

the treat by reading a holiday sight word

book to the fifth graders.

In addition to reading to each other, the

fifth graders helped the kindergarten stu-

dents create a holiday bookmark craft.

Future reading events are planned between

the students of 5A and kindergarten, in-

cluding a Read Across America Day activity

in March and a summer kick– off at the end

of the school year.

4 www.nbasd.org

Middle School Happenings…

N ew Brighton Middle School hosted the 2012

Western Region Pennsylvania Middle School As-

sociation’s Professional Development Institute

on January 16, 2012. More than 200 teachers from ten

school districts across Western Pennsylvania attended

workshops and presentations promoting best practices in

Middle Level Education. Members of the NBMS Band and

Advanced Chorus provided the entertainment.

The highlight of the conference was the keynote speaker

from Rachel’s Challenge. Rachel Scott was the first victim

of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Her life,

acts of kindness and compassion, and the contents of her

6 diaries have been combined to create an inspirational

and instructional program for students and communities

across America. This keynote message contained powerful

challenges taken from Rachel Scott's life. According to the

Rachel’s Challenge website the objectives for the school

program are:

Create a safe learning environment for all students by

re-establishing civility and delivering proactive anti-

dotes to school violence and bullying.

Improve academic achievement by engaging students'

hearts, heads and hands in the learning process.

Provide students with social/emotional education that

is both colorblind and culturally relevant.

Train adults to inspire, equip and empower students

to affect permanent positive change.

Thanks to a generous contribution from the New Brighton

United Methodist Church, the Rachel’s Challenge program

will be brought back next year for the New Brighton stu-

dents. Mark your calendars because there will also be a

community presentation on September 12, 2012.

The New Brighton Middle School administration, faculty

and staff are to be commended for hosting a successful

event that showcased the district in such a positive light.

In the Fall Issue of The Communi-

cator, there was an article about

the launch of the Olweus Anti-

Bullying program at the middle

school. This program was rolled out in order to promote a

collaborative and compassionate learning environment.

Sixth grade students in Ms. Samantha Dawson’s classes

are working hard to continue to build and spread this cul-

ture.

Ms. Dawson took 13 students to the elementary school to

read to Ms. Krista Schwartz’s first grade class. As a group,

they read the holiday classic, Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein-

deer to the first graders and discussed with them what

bullying is, how bullying can make you feel, why people

are bullied, and how sometimes the things others are bul-

lied for are what make them unique and special. First

grade students created a candy cane Rudolph craft with

middle school students helping the little hands with wiggle

eyes, antlers, and noses.

Homework was given that students were only allowed to

eat their candy cane Rudolph once they retold the story to

someone at home. The sixth graders helped out and set a

positive example for the first graders and shared an impor-

tant message about treating each other with kindness and

respect.

Lessons from a Classic

www.nbasd.org 5

High School Happenings…

Almost Live

From Japan

This past month Mr. Pasquale’s period four and eight

classes have been participating in a cultural exchange of

sorts with a high school from Aoya, Japan. Utilizing the

online network, “Skype in the Classroom,” Mr. Pasquale

was able to facilitate a very unique learning opportunity

for the students in his social studies classes.

Each class made a series of videos explaining to the stu-

dents of Japan what student life is like for them in New

Brighton and also introduced them a bit to the town and

history of New Brighton. For their part the students from

Aoya, Japan did the same and asked the New Brighton

students numerous questions about everything ranging

from, “What are your lunches like?” to “How do you de-

cide what to wear in the morning?”.

This unique exchange allowed the students a glimpse of

what life is like for the students in Japan, recognizing simi-

larities and celebrating differences.

You can view many of the videos the two classes ex-

changed on Mr. Pasquale’s Podcast page located at:

http://www.mrpasquale.com/Mr._Pasquale/Podcast/

Podcast.html

High School Participants – (L – R) Front Row: Lauren Lund, Jessica Locy; Middle

Row: Cody Fabyanic, Essence Barron; Back Row: Suzie Morrell, Katarina Whalen,

Julian Whalen, Dennis Habrle, Stephen Tkacik

Middle School Participants- (L-R) Alexandria Whalen, Alexis Starcher, Zachariah

Boswell, Katy Knechtel, Yasmina Sommers, Jonathan Lund, and Shane Johnston

This event is held annually within the county and is hosted by a different

school each year. It gives students in grades 7 – 12 the opportunity to per-

forming in a group with complete instrumentation as well as gain the ex-

perience of playing with other students and rehearsing with guest conduc-

tors.

County Band Festival

Participants

The mission of the Pennsylvania Music Educators

Association (PMEA) is to advance music education by

encouraging excellence in study, teaching, and mak-

ing music. The District Band festival is just one of

many that PMEA puts together each year. This festi-

val includes high school students in grades 10 – 12 in

Beaver, Butler, Mercer, and Lawrence counties and

gives these students the opportunity to perform in a

full instrumentation ensemble and the opportunity

to rehearse with a guest conductor. This year’s guest

conductor was Dr. William Stowman who is the Chair

of the Department of Music and Director of Instru-

mental Studies at Messiah College in Grantham, PA.

Congratulations to Suzie Morrell, Dennis Habrle, Lau-

ren Lund who represented New Brighton High

School. The stu-

dents commented

that they really

enjoyed Dr. Stow-

man’s sense of

humor and

learned a lot from

him in their time

working with him.

District Band Festival

6 www.nbasd.org

High School Happenings continued…

Serving the Community

I nteract is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by

individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.

Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers interna-

tional understanding and goodwill. Through these efforts, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local

and overseas clubs and learn the importance of:

Developing leadership skills and personal integrity,

Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others,

Understanding the value of individual responsibility and hard work,

Advancing international understanding and goodwill.

The New Brighton Interact Club has been very busy so far this year. They

began by selling chocolate covered oreos at Halloween. Proceeds were

used to purchase toys for The Salvation Army's Gifts for Children program. With the amount of money they

raised, the club was able to purchase gifts for 4 children.

In conjunction with the Young Men's and Women's Leadership Club, many

members of the Interact Club volunteered to deliver community newsletters

in Pulaski Township in early October. The students went door to door deliv-

ering the newsletters and were rewarded with pizza when they returned to

the Pulaski Fire Hall.

Several Interact members also volunteered to rake leaves for residents in

New Brighton during November. They stayed after school and brought their

own rakes!

The month of December and the holiday seson proved to be very busy for

the Interact Club. Some very dedicated members baked cake pops in December and sold them at school. Pro-

ceeds from the fundraiser were used to purchase blankets for Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh. The stu-

dents will deliver the blankets, help serve a meal, and visit with residents in the coming weeks. Also during the

holiday season, several of the Interactors volunteered to ring the bell for the Salvation Army on December 10 in

front of the New Brighton Foodland. Even though it was a very cold day, Kailey Bonner, Jenna Rosenfeld, Brittany

Zahn, Paige Janicki, Hannah Bintrim, Shyanne DeBaker, and Tanner Evans gave of their time willingly to help raise

money for such a worthy cause. Jenna Rosenfeld, Tanner Evans, Haley Bolland, Baylee McFadden, and Kailey Bon-

ner also gave part of their Christmas Day to serve Christmas Dinner at Holy Family Church.

Congratulations to the Interact Club members and sponsors on their commitment to serving the community.

www.nbasd.org 7

Parent Involvement and

Appreciation Event

The Guidance Department in the district is

hosting a Parent Involvement event on Febru-

ary 29, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. in the

middle school. This event is being held to

thank parents for their continued support and

present information about the many ways

that parents can be involved in their students’

education. Food and beverages will be pro-

vided and childcare for elementary age stu-

dents will also be available.

Please cut out and return the form on the

right to your child’s guidance counselor or so-

cial worker. We hope that you will be able to

attend and get involved in the many exciting

things going on in the district.

You Can Get There From Here

One of the newest and most exciting features of the district web page

(www.nbasd.org) is the feature article each month about a New Brighton

Alumni. Over the years, there have been more than a few noteworthy success

stories from the New Brighton Area School District. Past spotlight alumni in-

clude a best selling author, award winning journalist, nuclear engineer, and a

Big 12 Football Official.

We're looking to share your story and would welcome you to contact us if you

would like to be featured on our website or nominate someone else for recog-

nition. Please contact Mr. Rob Lee at 724-843-1795 ext 408 or via email at

rlee@nbsd.k12.pa.us.

Getting Involved In the District

Parent Involvement Event RSVP

February 29, 2012

NB Middle School

Name(s) of Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

_____________________________________________________

Name(s) of Student(s):

_____________________________________________________

Number of Adults Attending: ___________________

Number of Elementary Students Needing

Childcare During Event:

_____________________________________________________

8 www.nbasd.org

Notice of Nondiscrimination

The New Brighton Area School District will not dis-

criminate in its educational programs, activities or

employment practices based on race, color, national

origin, sex, or any other legally protected classifica-

tion. Announcement of this policy is in accordance

with state and federal laws, including Title IX of the

Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 503

and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Employees and participants who have an inquiry or

complaint of harassment or discrimination or who

need information about accommodations for handi-

capped persons should contact the Director of Pupil

Services at 724.843.1795 extension 331.

Linda Emert

School Board Secretary

Rick Start, Esq.

Solicitor

Marjory Warnes, Ph. D.

Director of Pupil Services

Joseph Guarino, Ed.D.

Director of Curriculum

John Sepe

Business Manager

Robert Lee

Director of Technology

Edward Kasparek

High School Principal

Robert Budacki

High School Assistant Principal

Julian Underwood

Middle School Principal

Jason Hall

Elementary School Principal

New Brighton Area School District

School Board of Directors

Mitch Yanyanin, President

Kent McDermott, Vice-President

Enrico Antonini

Christeen Ceratti

John Ludwig

Gary Rombold

Gretchen Rombold

Melanie Smith

Kim Williams

Administration

David C. Pietro, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

The Communicator is a publication of the

New Brighton Area School District. Editor is

Johanna Guarino. Story ideas, questions or

comments should be directed to

joguarino@nbsd.k12.pa.us.

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