October 2017 Board Highlights
Oblock Junior High
School
Word
Master Competition
Ten GATE students from O’blcok Junior High attended the Word Master Competition at West Hempfield Middle School on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. The students participated both individually and in groups in SAT and word-related games and competitions. The team comprised of Rachel Bunce, Leila Durham, Addison Sofran, Ellie Tongel, and Gowri Warrier placed 2ndoverall.
Leila Durham and Rudra Thakkar also tied for fifth place and Ellie Tongel and
Gowri Warrier tied for fourth place in the individual events. Other team
members included Annabelle Bunce, Katrina Evankovich, Cameron Porado, and Alex
Taylor.
Student Council
Student Council
members, under the leadership of Mrs. Jenna Romanelli, are busy planning fun
and charitable activities for Oblock students to participate in this
year. The mission of Student Council is to cultivate leadership, to
provide opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills in the school and the community,
and to instill the value of service through charitable acts. Activities
for this year include planning and decorating for the Welcome Back Dance,
Harvest Dance, Snow Flake Dance, and Spring Dance, along with sponsoring Hat
Days, organizing a pet food drive, and fundraising for the Heart
foundation.
Girls’ Basketball
The Oblock eighth grade girls’ basketball team is having a successful season so far! The following athletes are members of the eighth grade team: Sydney Anderson, Sofia
Boriello, Alexandra George, Faith Holyfield, Kai Johnson, Kasey Kiggins, Talia
Leone, Maura Marston, Megan Miller, Jenna Nardo, Ashley Pastor, Ashley
Polakovic, Emily Simmons, Cassidy Starr, and Bailey Walker.
The 7th grade girls’ basketball team is enjoying a very positive season as well. Members of the team include: Emily Bologna, Waverley Dulaney, Faith McGowan, Maggie Mossburg, Camryn Rogers, Dannika Susko, and Morgan Yingling. Good luck girls!
Girls’ Soccer
The girls' soccer
team finished their 2017 season with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses, and one tie.
According to Coach Mendenhall, the captains for the 7th and 8th grade girls'
soccer team were Tori Ruggerio (8th grade), Bailey Walker (8th grade), and
Kaley Simqu (7th grade). The players with the most goals and assists were
Marissa Liberto with 12 goals and 2 assists, Kaitlyn Killinger with 12 goals
and 5 assists, and Emma Bennethum with 3 goals and 1 assist.
Congratulations to the girls' soccer team for their great season!
Boys’ Soccer
The AEO Boys’ Soccer Team finished with a successful record this year. Coach Paradise said the team worked extremely hard and worked well as a team. Coach Paradise stated that it was a great team effort throughout the season.
Cross Country
A total of 45 boys and
girls participated in cross country this year at Oblock. According
to Coaches Mr. Wade Campbell and Mrs. Karen Mienke, the team worked
extremely hard. For the
girls, Maddie Bevaqua placed 5th Sydney Anderson placed 26th
in the Fox Chapel invitational, as well as Connor Pivirotto placing 4th
and Nathan Mienke placing 6th.
In their final WAADA meet, the team ran very hard, and both teams
finished in 4th place. Most of the runners ran their best
times of the year. Morgan Filar placed 6th
overall, while Maddie Bevaqua placed 14th and Sydney Anderson 16th,
and for the boys Ethan Jones placed 2nd and Nathan Mienke placed 4th. All of the athletes had a great season, and
every single one of the runners improved their times from the beginning of the
year to the end. Both teams ended the season with winning records. Their
coaches couldn't be more proud of them.
Fall Fest
On
Friday, October 13, the 2nd annual Fall Fest took place outside the Art and French rooms during all lunches. Apple cider and s’mores were on sale, along with a fire pit and music. Both teachers and students had a great time. The proceeds benefited Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Thanks to all those who participated.
Football
Over twenty-five 7th and
8th grade boys learned football fundamentals this year under
the guidance of head coach, Mr. Rich Bernardi, and assisted by Mr. Bill
Depew, Mr. Vince Russo, and Mr. Kyle Cline. Over the
course of the season they learned the game of football and became a better team
ready to move on to the next level. The
athletes worked hard as a team and had a successful season.
Creative
Convention
On October 30, two teams
of GATE students from Oblock traveled to Springdale Junior-Senior High School
to compete in the Creative Convention with GATE advisor, Mrs. Dinga. Of the seven teams from school districts in the eastern suburbs, one of Plum’s team placed first. Congratulations to the following students: Gowri Warrier, Jacob Pedley, Ellie
Tongel, Alexandra George, and Rachel Bunce.
Also congratulations to the team who placed 3rd- Maura
Jodkin, Mark Van Orden, Cameron Porado, Addison Sofran, and Leila Durham. Maura Jodkin won best overall costume. Congratulations students!
History Bowl
Twelve GATE students traveled from AEO to the Heinz History Center
on October 25th to participate in the History Bowl, an academic
event designed to engage students in problem solving and creative thinking.
Accompanied by Mr. Miller, GATE Coordinator, the students had to complete
challenges using the exhibits. The challenges were: What is it, AllAbout
Heinz, Sports, and Pittsburgh. Over 200 students from area schools took
part.
The purpose of the event is to promote interest in American history and the
heritage of Western Pennsylvania through the interactive exhibits. AEO
students did an excellent job in the competition and had fun, while learning
about local history. Attending the event were the following students: Annabelle Bunce, Rachel Bunce, Connor Domke, Katrina
Evankovich, Maura Jodkin, Austin Mitchell, Cameron Nese, Aidan Searle, Addison
Sofran, Ellie Tongel, Mark VanOrden and Gowri Warrier.
Library
News
Oblock is working
hard on reading again this year as more incentives and programs challenge the
students to read more than they ever have. Students are listening to excerpts
from books during their lunch periods, they are already being rewarded by
getting in the lunch line first when they reach the Reading Hall of Fame, and
teams are preparing for the Battle of the Books competition.
Many students have already earned numerous AR points to guarantee their place in the Reading Hall of Fame as part of the library’s Team Read competition. All students may participate in Team Read by accumulating Accelerated Reader points in order to reach one of the four levels of the program: Junior Varsity, Varsity, All-Star, or Hall of Fame. There are 24 at the Hall of Fame level already, including 4 in the 300 Point Club and 2 in the 500 Point Club. There are 24 more at the All-star level, 257 at Varsity level, and 148 have made it into the JV level!
There are 30
students comprising 5 teams preparing for the annual AEO Battle of the
Books. Books from the Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice list and
Pennsylvania Book Consortium are circulating among the team members as they
prepare for the first day of competition on November 1. Teams will
compete during activity periods with the winners being declared after the final
competition on November 14.