92 participate in Science Olympiad

Fourth-grader Kimber Rogers and third-grader Dale Soltis spooned sand into a clear plastic cup as they tried to estimate how much would equal 100 grams.

That was just one experiment the students had at Joe Walker Elementary School for the Science Olympiad Thursday. Ninety-two students, including several gifted students from Claysville Elementary, participated in the McGuffey district event.

The cup was roughly a quarter of the way full when Dale had a question.

"How many scoops has that been so far?" he asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't counting," Kimber said as she eyed the sand in the cup and then the spoonful in his hand. "I'd put that scoop back."

He did.

Then she put the cup of sand on the gram scale to measure how much they had in the cup.

They ended up with 150.2 grams.

"Oh, that's terrible," Kimber said.

Teacher Elaine Calvert came over to ask how their experiment was going.

Kimber told her the results.

"No kidding?" Calvert said. "I guess grams must be really small."

The purpose of the experiment was not for students to be exactly right, but to get an idea of how small grams really are.

For each experiment students had to work with a different student, said Kelley McGuier, McGuffey gifted teacher. She said all Joe Walker third- and fourth-graders were participants. They had the chance to experiment with a variety of ideas, including density, an owl's food chain, building a barge, building rotary flying devices and magnets.

"It's been a wonderful experience to watch the students learning about things they don't have a strong background in," she said.

The Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh donated $2,000 to the school for the science equipment used during the event. Parents donated other materials, and the PTO gave money for each of the students to get an Olympiad T-shirt.

"It's the Joe Walker community that allowed this to be so successful," McGuier said, adding that she plans to have another Science Olympiad next year.

Parents and high school gifted students volunteered in the classrooms for the event, which senior Morgan MacBeth said was really nice.

"I wish I would have done it in fourth grade," she said.

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West Greene, teachers reach contract agreement

ROGERSVILLE - Negotiations between West Greene School District and its teachers union have lasted more than a year, and the process finally bore fruit.

The school board approved a new three-year pact at a special meeting Monday.

Teachers will receive raises of $1,600 this year, $1,700 next year and $2,100 in 2011-12. In exchange, they will begin paying for a portion of their medical insurance coverage in the final year of the contract.

Teachers worked most of this school year without a contract since the old one expired June 30. The changes are retroactive to that date, so teachers will get their raise for this year in a lump sum.

"In these negotiations, it always seems to come down to salaries and benefits. It's just a matter of hashing that out and coming to a resolution," said Thelma Szarell, district superintendent.

The road to that resolution was a long one. Representatives from the district and the teachers union started negotiating well over a year ago. The union never publicly threatened to strike, but stalled talks prompted several educators to resign from club sponsorship positions at the beginning of the school year. Administrators took the reigns of many of those clubs.

"We are pleased that we have reached an agreement that reflects compromises made by the bargaining unit and the board that are in the interests of students and the community," said Myleen McCollum, president of West Greene Education Association. "We feel it is good for the members of the bargaining unit and affordable to the district."

She said the teachers wanted their salaries increased so they would be paid similarly to teachers in neighboring school districts.

A teacher with a bachelor's degree but little or no experience will make $30,300 this year, and the starting salary will jump to $34,100 in 2011-12. At the top end of the scale, teachers with 30 years of experience, a master's degree and at least 30 credits beyond that degree will make $59,975, and in the final year of the pact, the top salary will be $63,775.

Teachers' health insurance will be relatively unchanged for the first two years of the contract. Teachers pay a $10 co-pay for every doctor visit, but they pay nothing toward the premium. In the final year of the agreement, the teachers will pay between $20 and $34 each two-week pay period for medical insurance. The cost for a single person is $20, $26 for a parent and children, $30 for a couple and $34 for a family.

The school board approved the contract with a 8-0 vote. Director James Handley, whose wife is a teacher, abstained.

"We are glad to go about the business of educating the students after two years of preparing and negotiating," McCollum said.

However, the district will soon have to begin negotiations again, since the newly approved contract expires in a little over two years.

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Pre-school considered after closure at Penn-Pitt

MAPLETOWN - A Southeastern Greene School Board committee agreed Tuesday to investigate starting a preschool program to replace one being closed at the end of the school year by Community Action Southwest.

Parent Travis Barkley spoke of how Community Action's pre-kindergarten program, operated at the Penn Pitt school, had benefited his six-year-old son. He cited studies that emphasized the importance of preschool education on a child's later success in school.

Heather Franks, another parent, also urged the board to consider the program, saying having to drive her child to the nearest pre-kindergarten programs in Waynesburg or Jefferson would be too costly. "This program is important to me and to my son," she told the board.

Community Action is ending the pre-kindergarten program at Penn Pitt because of state budget cuts and low enrollment. The program was supposed to serve 17 children but only 13 are enrolled. Barkley noted, however, in two of the last three years the program had started late.

Board member Janet Pennington said her education committee would discuss the program, including whether the district can afford it, at its meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday at the high school.

She said that though state money is not available, after the first year students in the program can be included in the district's enrollment for its basic state subsidy, which could help make the program self-sufficient.

In other business, the board failed to approve a motion to extend the contracts of the district's five teaching coaches, after administrators spoke of their importance in analyzing test scores and helping teachers develop strategies to address deficiencies.

The motion to extend the contracts failed with four members voting for it and three against. The motion needed five votes to pass. Voting for it were Tom Howard, Gary Yoskovich, Dave Richter and Ed Kamenos; voting against were Pennington, Richard Barzanti and Joe Spiker. Leonard Novak and Sam Cossick were absent.

The coaches have been used in the district the past three years and are paid through federal funds, which are available for another year. Former board member Ginny Eberhart, who attended the meeting, said she believes the coaches have been an "integral part" of the district's success.

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Blog: Kids need to focus not multi-task

By Daniel Willingham on The Answer Sheet Blog on www.washingtonpost.com

How often have you heard someone say “kids today learn differently—they multitask constantly.” The implication often drawn is that kids "need" to multitask in order to be engaged, or perhaps we should even say that that’s how they think best.

The data suggest otherwise.

It is true that kids today multitask a lot, usually with media. That is, they have music or videos on while they do other things.

It’s also true that kids are better at multitasking than older people. That advantage is supported by better working memory, and young people have better raw processing speed on those sorts of functions.

So it’s not likely that young people are better at multitasking than old people because they have practiced it a lot. It’s likely that young people have always been better at multi-tasking than older people.

If doing a lot of multitasking made you better at it, we should see differences in multitasking ability among kids who do a lot and kids who do very little. But those differences are not observed.

In fact, college kids who report being chronic multitaskers are actually somewhat "worse" than their peers at some basic components of cognitive control (like switching attention).

There is not good evidence that students today “must” multitask. But there is good evidence that multi-tasking is seldom a good idea, if you really care about the task you’re working on.

Doing two things at once usually is detrimental. No big surprise there.

Somewhat more surprising is that even just having the television on as background noise produces negative effects.

The impact of background music on cognitive tasks is more complex: Sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn’t. Whether the differences are due to the type of music, type of task, type of person, or a combination of factors is still unknown.

Kids today may "want" to multitask because they are used to doing it. But that doesn’t mean they should.

Trinity doesn't approve nepotism policy after all

After a brief discussion, it appeared that Trinity Area School Board passed a new nepotism policy by a 4-3 vote Thursday.

However, that was not the case.

After the meeting, solicitor Dennis Makel checked the district's policy for approval of policies.

Trinity policy dictates that any policy must have the approval of five board members, he said. That means that even though a majority of the members present voted for the policy, it was not enough to reach the threshold for approval.

The policy can be brought up for approval again if it is the wish of the board.

The policy states that no one can be hired if they are related to an employee or a school board member.

Board member Tamara Salvatori, who voted against approving the policy, said there is so much nepotism at Trinity that she understands the need for the policy.

However, it seems to blanket everyone, when the best candidate for a job may be related to someone in the district, she said.

"I fear that we may be knocking out people who would be good for the district," she said.

School board member Jim Knapp, who is a Bethel Park guidance counselor, said he's been in education for 22 years and he thinks it's a bad policy. He said it backfired at a district where he worked.

Superintendent Paul Kasunich said nepotism reflects the hiring policy of a school district.

"If a hiring policy is sound, typically you won't need a nepotism policy that's so stringent," he said.

He said what he hears from the board is a dissatisfaction with the process in place. He said he would be willing to bring an updated hiring policy before the board.

Salvatori and Knapp asked for the nepotism policy to be tabled while the issue was revisited. However, that motion did not pass.

After that, the board voted on approving the nepotism policy and it was a 4-3 vote. School board members Sandy Clutter, Scott Day, Colleen Interval and Dennis McWreath voted for the nepotism policy. Salvatori, Knapp and William Clemens voted against the policy. Tom Bodnovich and Jack Keisling were not present at the meeting.

After the vote, three residents told the board they disagreed with the just-approved nepotism policy and thought employees should be hired based on their credentials without worrying about whether they already have family working at Trinity.

Earlier in the meeting, there was not a second for a motion to hire Frederick Ullom, who is Clutter's cousin, as a substitute custodian. Clutter said at a previous meeting that she did not want the existing nepotism policy waived so her relative could be hired.

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Trinity dispels rumors of alleged sexual assault

Widespread rumors about an alleged sexual assault at Trinity High School prompted Principal Donald Snoke to send a message to parents today disputing the allegation.

He sent the message through an automated call and via e-mail. His message was also posted on the district Web site.

The messages came after students started a Facebook page demanding that a student be removed from school for a sexual assault.

Students also posted posters on school walls Wednesday with statistics about unreported rapes. Staff members removed the posters.

Superintendent Paul Kasunich said Wednesday that there was an inappropriate interaction between two special education students. He said the matter was handled by the special education office and the administration.

He said no rape occurred. He said he could not provide more details because of federal student privacy law.

Snoke said the incident was investigated by the administration and law officials.

“However, let me make it clear, no sexual assault of any fashion occurred,” he wrote in the statement on the district website.

Trinity School Board meets tonight for its regularly scheduled meeting at 6:30 in the administrative offices.

Chartiers-Houston approves lease for baseball field

The Chartiers-Houston School Board approved a lease with Chartiers Township Monday night for property to be used as a baseball field.
The township approved the lease earlier this month. The district will not pay to lease the property, but will be responsible for building the new baseball field, said Business Manager Don Bennett.
He said the lease calls for the district and township to maintain the property. Chartiers-Houston will maintain the ball field and dugout areas, and the township will take care of the rest of the property, he said.
The Patsch family donated 13.5 acres across from the high school to the township so it could be used for a baseball field, he said.
A new baseball field is necessary because of renovation plans for the junior/senior high and new gym that will use the existing baseball field.
The architect has not scheduled a timetable for the completion of the field, Bennett said.
However, a new timetable has been set for the rest of the renovation project. Chartiers-Houston plans to advertise for bids on May 24, June 1 and June 7 and wants to receive bids on June 30.
The completion, which remains the same, is Aug. 24, 2012.

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Waynesburg Central students show their vision through recycled window project

WAYNESBURG - The directions were simple: Here's a window, here's an art book. Paint what interests you.

Students in the advanced art class at Waynesburg Central High School took their cue and responded in a big way. Using their imaginations, not to mention suggestions from some rather unorthodox sources, they created thought-provoking, inspirational works of art.

"It was my favorite project," said Jessica Rogers, who used a peace sign as the backdrop for her colorful piece. "I liked doing it. I never did anything like this before."

The repurposed art project, "Windows of Opportunity," was a collaborative effort conceived by Sandi Kern, manager of Washington County Habitat for Humanity's ReStore at Renovation Station, and Adrienne Day, a student teacher at Waynesburg. The purpose of the project, in addition to teaching students about recycled and repurposed art, was to encourage students to become more involved in their communities and to cultivate a sense of respect and responsibility as individual artists.

"I love to paint on old windows. To me it's very Zen," said Kern, who donated the windows from Renovation Station for the project. "I like to try to find ways to help different nonprofits. I love collaborative efforts. It broadens your exposure and makes a bigger impact in the community.

"This way, the kids can show off something. A lot of them are applying to art school. It helps us, it helps them and it helps the environment. It completes the circle for a lot of these materials. It's definitely a trash-to-treasure story."

And that's exactly what Day hoped to achieve. Day previously worked full time at Washington Community Arts and Cultural Center, borrowing some ideas - at least in the beginning - from director and founder Sandee Umbach, and she has brainstormed on more than one occasion with Kern, whom Day called the "visionary" of this project.

"Repurposed art is the most common art," Day said. "It was a great adventure for the art students. This is an amazing school, and the kids are so talented."

The students' finished pieces will be auctioned later this summer at the grand opening of the ReStore's new location on East Maiden Street in Washington, site of the former Maiden Street Foodland near the entrance to Washington Park. Kern said she hopes the grand opening will coincide with the city's bicentennial celebration. Proceeds from the auction will be evenly distributed between Renovation Station and the high school's art club.

Waynesburg art teacher Joe Kuhns said the project was a "fantastic" idea, and he could almost see the "wheels start to spin" in the students' minds as they processed Day's assignment. Still, "I didn't know what to expect," he said.

Neither did Day.

But in no way was she disappointed.

"I was really surprised by their work," she said. "A lot of kids went back to art history, and some painted in their own style. They really made it meaningful to them."

Even though Day taught at Waynesburg for just seven weeks, she made quite an impact on the students.

Brittany Koval, for instance, may buy back her painting at the auction.

And nobody could blame her. Her window features an anchor flanked by the words love and stability, and rosary beads are intertwined around the anchor in lieu of a chain. It's a tribute to her older sister, Kelli, and resembles the siblings' matching tattoos.

"Getting the tattoos was a bonding experience for us. We're each other's anchor," said Brittany, who sought advice for the painting from her tattoo artist.

Love and stability are painted in bright, bold paint, because, Brittany said, "We wanted it girlie. We didn't want the anchor to be dominant."

Kristen Tustin's inspiration came from a Renaissance painting of two angels that hangs in the family's bathroom. However, it was a bit challenging for her: Tustin never before embarked on a full-scale painting project.

"I just draw with paper and pencil. I usually don't do anything in color," she said. "It was a little frustrating at times. I couldn't get the colors to match. There are a million different colors on the face."

Regardless, the painting is stunning.

"The project itself was cool," Tustin said, "but the picture I chose was a challenge."

Erin Rishell's piece is a work in progress. She's using pencil eraser tips as her paint brush, dotting the window with paint to create a tropical scene.

"I just thought it would be cool to do," said Rishell, who serves as president of the art club. "Repurposed art is not as easy as I thought. You have to put a lot of effort into it to make something cool. But it's nice to know we're giving back to the community."

Kern has yet to see the finished pieces, but she hopes to make "Windows of Opportunity" an ongoing project with the help of more schools in Washington and Greene counties or artists in the community.

"What a great program for the students. They really took to it," Kern said. "It's such a rewarding thing."

West Greene students take flight with Civil Air Patrol

West Greene High School senior Blaise Loughman, junior Jacob Durbin and sophomore Peter Coote recently found a very interesting way to put their math and science skills to the test.

They have become involved in the Civil Air Patrol Morgantown Composite Squadron. The squadron, under the command of Lt. Eric Judy and Cadet Cmdr. Loughman, is the official U.S. Air Force auxiliary.
Recently, these West Greene students were invited to participate with their squadron in the 171st Air Refueling Wing for its annual open house.
Loughman experienced the thrill of taking flight in a KC-135 Stratotanker for a mid-air refueling of four F-22 Raptors, the Air Force's newest attack planes. Durbin and Coote participated with the rest of the squadron in intense ground activities and competitions with other local junior ROTC units.
"We are very proud and thrilled that these students are representing West Greene in such a worthwhile and challenging activity," said Anthony Paull, principal at West Greene.
The Morgantown Composite Squadron meets on Mondays at the Morgantown airport from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Anyone interested in becoming involved with CAP should visit www.gocivilairpatrol.gov for more information.

Washington School Board approves bids for renovation

Construction bids for the Washington High School renovation project came in at $13.24 million, roughly $270,000 less than architects estimated.
The school board approved bids for the project at Monday night’s meeting. They were awarded based on state Department of Education approval of district documents about the construction project.
The awarded bids are: Alex Roofing & Construction Co., $615,900 for roofing construction; East End Plumbing & Mechanical, $798,000 for plumbing/fire suppression construction; ABMECH, INC., $73,600 for hazardous materials abatement; TriMark SS Kemp, $412,685 for food service construction; Waller Corp., $5.14 million for general construction; DeGol Carpet, $1 million for flooring construction; R&B Mechanical, $2.55 million for HVAC construction; Vern’s Electric, Inc., at a cost of $1.2 million for electrical construction; and Information Technologies, $847,945 for security and communications construction.
Business Manager Rick Mancini said the board is still considering whether to have one or two offices in the renovated school. He said that will likely be discussed at Monday’s meeting.
Work is expected to begin as soon. In the fall, while work is being completed on the cafeteria, meals will be made at the Washington Park School and sent to the high school.
Contractors will do the work in small phases so as classrooms are worked on, students are moved to other areas. There will likely be work on the project during two summers.

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McGuffey board, union meets with arbitration panel

McGuffey School Board and teachers union representatives met with an arbitration panel Monday night to discuss a new contract.
Each side presented a shortened version of its last best offer to the three-member panel, said school board member Doug Teagarden. The unresolved issues are salary, health care, length of contract and retirement incentive.
Teagarden said the panel met for about 20 minutes in executive session before adjourning the meeting.
The panel will meet again in the next 10 days and will come back with a proposal. If necessary, it will issue a finding, Teagarden said. However, the finding is nonbinding.
The panel can come back with one of three findings: supporting the union offer, supporting the board offer or supporting the fact-finder’s report.
The board and union have been negotiating for more than 15 months. Together, they decided to bring in a fact-finder. The union accepted the fact-finder’s report, while the school board rejected it.
The union struck for two days earlier this year and the arbitration began.

Authority wants Canon-Mac to extend tax breaks

The Washington County Authority director of operations wants the Canon-McMillan School Board to renew business tax breaks at Southpointe II for five years.
The current five-year Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance, or LERTA, at Southpointe II ends in June. Board President Manuel Pihakis said the board would consider the request.
Under the existing LERTA, businesses get a 100 percent tax break on buildings in the first year, 80 percent the second year, 60 percent the third year, 40 percent the fourth year and 20 percent the fifth year.
Cecil Township renewed the LERTA for five years in April. The county’s LERTA for Southpointe II runs until 2013.
“We ask this because it’s been a great marketing tool for us,” William Sember, director of operations for the authority, told the school board Monday night.
When businesses consider locating at Southpointe II, one of the first questions they ask is about tax breaks, he said. Currently there are roughly 100 businesses and 8,000 workers at the Southpointe properties, he said. There is $30 million in assessed value and in the last few years $100 million has been invested in Southpointe II, he said.
Sember anticipates this will be the last time the authority asks for the LERTA extension because he expects Southpointe II to be full within five years.
He said there were some concerns for Southpointe I that business owners would appeal assessment values after the LERTA was over. Of the 45 properties, 11 appealed and the value of nine did not change, Sember said.

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Trinity approves preliminary budget without tax increase

Trinity School Board approved a 2010-11 preliminary budget worth $46 million at Thursday’s meeting, which is roughly $1.6 million more than this school year.
The budget does not include a property tax increase. The millage rate will remain 103.
However, board member Jack Keisling said he doesn’t see how the board can continue without a tax increase because of future costs, including the skyrocketing employee pension rate.
“We had some tough decisions to get where we are,” he said.
He said full-day kindergarten is in the budget. However, the board doesn’t know the final staff numbers because final student numbers aren’t available. There could be a reduction in staff, Keisling said.
Keisling said he is a proponent of half-day kindergarten, except for those who need extra help.
He said there will be tough choices for Trinity ahead.
Board member Jim Knapp said that in two recent years the board reduced taxes, even though it was aware of the coming pension crisis. He said he didn’t support those tax reduction because of the pension projections.
Board member Dennis McWreath agree with Knapp, saying enough money wasn’t set aside in the past, but the board needs to start now.
“We couldn’t get board members to start squirreling money away a few years ago,” he said.
McWreath said as the administration and board continues to work on a preliminary budget, he said he would like to see a 2 to 3 percent reduction in expenses to put toward the retirement costs. That would bring the amount in the retirement fund to $1.2 million.
But that will not be enough to pay the costs, which are set by the state. Employees, the state and districts pay into the pension system. District rates are set by the state retirement board. The school rates are estimated to jump from 4.78 percent this year to 33.6 percent in 2014-15. The state reimburses districts roughly 50 percent of what it pays into the system. Most teachers pay 7.5 percent into the system.
A Pennsylvania School Boards Association representative recently told the district’s finance committee that the pension increases are equal to at least 19 mills and that no district can meet those increases by only cutting costs.
The school board must approve a final budget by June 30.

State Board of Eduation proposes new nutrition, physical activity standards

The State Board of Education today advanced proposed student nutrition and physical activity standards, according to a state BOE news release.
“Today’s schoolchildren are part of what may be the first generation with a shorter life expectancy than its predecessor’s,” said State Board Chair Joe Torsella said in the release. “Getting junk foods out of our schools - and getting healthier food options and 30 minutes of daily physical activity into them - are simple steps that can have a tremendous impact for our young people.”
The Board’s regulations would set baseline nutritional standards for foods provided outside reimbursable school meals, including items dispensed from school vending machines and sold through fundraisers.
Torsella said that the regulation takes a “common sense” approach by exempting homemade and home-baked goods from the requirements while providing schools with “important flexibility to ensure successful integration of the standards with local food service programs.”
“These comprehensive standards will not only curb childhood obesity but are good for all students to ensure they get the proper nutrition and enough exercise to develop strong bones, healthy hearts and sharp minds,” said Secretary of Health Everette James. “Schools play a crucial role in the health of our children.”
The regulation also requires 30 minutes of daily physical activity for every student, while giving schools broad discretion in implementation. Students could satisfy requirements through physical education classes, recess, classroom “energizers” or curriculum-based physical activity.
“The research is clear: young people need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day,” said Torsella. “With children spending nearly one-third to one-half of their waking hours in school each day, we have an obligation to meet them halfway on a critical public health goal.”

Principal puckers up for diabetes

AVELLA – Daisy rolled on her side in the grass, getting a belly rub as she waited for her big smooch.
Inside, Avella Area Elementary students were chanting: “Kiss the pig! Kiss the pig!”
They knew what was coming.
Their principal made a promise. And the time had come for him to pay the piper.
Principal Joel Kirsch promised that if students raised at least $2,000 for diabetes research, he would kiss a big pig.
They raised $5,900. It’s an issue that hits close to home because three students in the school have diabetes, Kirsch said.
“You guys really came through,” he told them before Daisy was brought into the school.
He said he was assured that she was nice so he wasn’t worried.
“Let’s give Miss Daisy a big round of applause,” he said.
The students did, but perhaps a bit too loud. She didn’t enter.
“Where is my girlfriend?” Kirsch asked, walking over to the door. “C’mon, Daisy.”
She slowly meandered in the school door, wearing a pink ribbon.
He tried a couple times before scoring a kiss.
“Let’s hear it for Daisy,” Kirsch said as she headed for the door.
Kirsch was a good sport about the whole thing.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “She smelled very beautiful. She wasn’t that dirty.”
He said the families in the area were fantastic to support the cause of diabetes research.
“Any little thing I can do, I will,” he said.
The students thought it was hilarious.
“He deserved it,” said fifth-grader Mitchell Macik. Turning to his principal, he added with a grin, “You don’t like to get dirty.”
First-grader Christopher Peterson thought it was great.
“He kissed a pig!” he said as he chortled.
It’s a great cause and a good time, said fifth-grader Victoria Clarchick.
“It’s helping the diabetes association and watching our principal kiss a pig,” she said.