Fox Chapel area student achievements for the week of Nov. 4, 2025

The Fox Chapel Area High School Marching Band won first place at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association Championships. The Marching Foxes placed first in Class 2A at the competition, which was held Oct. 18 at Deer Lakes High School. The Marching Foxes earned a score of 86.375, and also won awards for the highest Music and General Effect.

The theme of this year’s show is “From the Ashes.”

The band is under the student direction of drum majors senior Sophia Nguansiri and junior Nadre Digbohou, and band directors/teachers Daryl Lesnik, Evan Hertrick, Joshua Branker and Karli Umholtz.

A recent Fox Chapel Area High School graduate won a writing award, and two other graduates had their writing published as part of the 2025 Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest. Meera Reddy, class of 2025, won second place and a $100 prize in the poetry category for her piece “Slam Dunk.” Meera also had a prose piece, “I’m Not Good Enough,” qualify for publishing in the 2025 “Ralph Munn Creative Writing Anthology.” Additionally, Anna Delale-O’Connor had a short prose piece, “Dinner for One,” and Devon McDonald had a short prose piece, “Lying in a Puddle,” published in the anthology as well. These pieces were all submitted when the graduates were seniors at Fox Chapel Area High School.

The contest, sponsored by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, was open to all high school students in grades 9-12 across Allegheny County.

This year, 43 teens had their poetry and prose published in the anthology. The work of the winners and honorees will be displayed during November at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s main branch gallery. There will also be a gallery event on Nov. 8 to honor the students.