Ben Fearer, a student in Patrick Robert’s seventh-grade science class at Greater Latrobe Junior High School, works on a bubble lab in order to demonstrate the properties of water. The class learned about cohesion (water sticks to water), adhesion (water sticks to other things) and surface tension (strength in water based on cohesive properties.)

Derry Area School District Barbara Thompson Early Literacy Center students recently visited the Latrobe Art Center. Shown with their artistic creations are students Colin O’Brien, Ava Braden, Alyssa Murphy, Connor Bosco and Mackenzie Komar.

Pre-K Counts 1 students at Latrobe Kinder-Schull recently learned all about their bodies and how they work. The students dressed in their doctor gear each morning and learned about a new part of the body and then labeled that part on an outline of their own bodies drawn on paper.

Georgia Teppert (center), superintendent of the Greater Latrobe School District, accepts a check for $3,000 from Jerry Supko (left) and Ron Pastor (right) of the Latrobe Rotary Club to complete funding for the district’s Stop the Bleed program. The money will provide for the purchase of 30 bleeding control kits to ensure that all classrooms will be equipped with these life-saving kits. Stop the Bleed is a national campaign designed to promote awareness and action in the event of a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives on the scene. More than 200 kits have been purchased by the district.

On Jan. 27, Grandview Elementary School was recognized as a Distinguished Title I School by the Pennsylvania Department of Education Division of Federal Programs at the Title I Improving Schools’ Performance Conference in Pittsburgh. Grandview was presented the Keystone Award for Academic Excellence, accepted on behalf of the school by Rod Bisi, principal; Kris Higgs, director of elementary education, and Alisa Gardner, Jen Faas and Amy Casey, all Title I teachers. The award recognizes schools that were in the top 5% in academic achievement and growth in the two most recently completed school years and schools that made the greatest gains in achievement in all student groups. This is the second consecutive year that Grandview has been designated a Distinguished Title I School.

Students in the Latrobe Kinder-Schull Pre-K Counts program, including Maddie Hill, Harper Smolleck, (second row) Peyton Wuchina, Gannon Ballash, Emily Smith, Liam DeChicchis, Arieona Eller, Adalyn Hendrick, Anna Lauer, Andrew Tomich, Faithlynn Bluey, Julian Levay, Oriana Rice, Landon Miller, Parker Price and Khloe Shaffer, celebrated National School Choice Week (observed this year from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1) by sharing the many reasons why they love Latrobe Kinder-Schull.

Greater Latrobe Senior High School students Christopher Cox, Noah Schaefer and Sarah Dill recently participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 1 Orchestra festival held at Chartiers Valley High School.

Three Derry Area School District young musicians participated in the Seton Hill University Honors Band on Jan. 18, including David Kerin, John Kerin and Kendrick Jones. Their instructors are Karen Kerin and Matt Roble. The concert was under the direction of Dr. Christopher Marra.

The Derry Area School District Foundation recently awarded 13 grants to Derry Area educators. Displaying the grant are Jen Welty, who is showing a grant for AP testing; Lindsey Robertson, a grant for “Kick Off” to Focus; student David McElfresh, a grant for for the genetic engineering lab and AP testing; Lisa Tatone, a grant for Club Ophelia (an after-school girls’ group); Anna Mack, a grant for Pick Each Other Up; (back row) Brian Clawson, a grant for the genetic engineering lab; Elizabeth Hower, a grant for appliance replacement in the four high school kitchens and Google training to become certified; Joanna Markle, a grant for a Cross Circular Global Scholars cultural field trip; Holly Newhouse, a grant for for a sensory bubble tube; Brian Sabo, a grant for Pots and Palettes; Michelle Henderson, a grant for third-grade English language arts fluency and math computational accuracy incentive programs, and Leanne Shaw, a grant for service learning and supplies. Not in the photo are Lindsay Hudak, who is displaying a grant for the Emergent Reader Library, and Carly Jean Rippole, a grant for Pots and Palettes.

Greater Latrobe’s Principles of Marketing class recently presented its final products at Inventionland.

Derry Area Middle School’s Future City team competed on Jan. 21, at the Pittsburgh Regional Future City Competition at Carnegie Science Center, and brought home the Student Choice Award. Team members included Annabelle Stoner, Haley Glitsky, Sophia Doherty, Kayla Enos, (not shown) Colin Bush, Brady Angus, Bella Speirs, Heath Esposito, Alex Mullen, Ella Sylvis, Regan Repak, Callie Krause, Eli Borbonus, Roman Fridley, Timmy Miller and Michael Jellison. Teacher Jennifer Welty and mentor Layne Burd assisted the students. This year’s challenge was “Clean Water: Tap Into Tomorrow”; teams chose a threat to their city’s water supply and designed a resilient system to maintain a reliable supply of clean drinking water.

The group Young Writers recently organized a creative writing contest called Survival Sagas: Mission Contamination.

Four Derry Area High School students auditioned successfully to participate in the PMEA District 1 Chorus Festival, held at South Fayette High School, Jan. 16-18, including Alyssa Main, Christian Burdick, Andrew Downs and Addy Hildebrand. Their guest conductor was Dr. Susan Medley, the director of choral activities and professor of music at Washington & Jefferson College, and the music director of the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale. Main, Burdick, and Downs also successfully auditioned to participate in to the PMEA Region I Chorus, which will take place at Hickory High School in the Hermitage School District, Feb. 26-28. At this festival, these students will have the opportunity to audition for the PMEA All-State Chorus, which will take place at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in the Poconos, April 23-25.