South Hills student and school news for November 2021

PTC Richard S. Caliguiri Award

Samuel Seiple of Jefferson Hills was recently honored with the Pittsburgh Technical College Richard S. Caliguiri Award, given to the top students in a graduating class.

Seiple, a 2013 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School, was presented the Caliguiri award at PTC’s fall 2021 commencement ceremony at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.

“This Caliguiri award exists to allow PTC faculty to distinguish graduating students that have demonstrated success in academics, perseverance, professionalism and leadership during their education at PTC,” said Christine Ioli, alumni coordinator for PTC. “The honorees can take great pride that their faculty has chosen them as models of exemplary students.”

The Richard S. Caliguiri Award was created in 1981 to recognize both academic achievement, personal achievement, and perseverance. It is named in honor of PTC graduate Richard Caliguiri, former mayor of Pittsburgh. To date, there are 941 award winners in PTC’s Alumni Association.

Baldwin High School launches Innovation Shop

Eric Jankoski, transition coordinator at Baldwin High School, is always looking for new ways to create opportunities for students. In cooperation with colleagues and through the funding from a PaTTAN Competitive Employment Grant, a sponsorship from EdCorps, Jankoski has launched Innovation Shop, an online store filled with merchandise made by BHS students using resources from the Fab Lab beyond.

The first line of products consisted of Halloween earrings, Pittsburgh-themed key chains and phone stands. All products are made in-house, by students, using a Glowforge laser cutter and engraver.

“For the past year, I have been working on this new project and I am beyond excited to see it finally come to fruition! Innovation Shop is the latest example of our Partners Model that pairs students with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, this time in an integrated employment setting,” Jankoski said. “The goal of this model is to not only teach employability skills in a real-world setting but to also further promote inclusion.”

The Innovation Shop will be producing seasonal items for the winter holidays and more.

Jefferson Hills Intermediate School students recognized

Jefferson Hills Intermediate School students and a member of the West Jefferson Hills School Board were recognized by the WJHSD School Board during the board’s Oct. 26 meeting.

Nine JHIS students were recognized for their selection as the school’s September Students of the Month for being welcoming. The students are Lamar Fawaz Almutairi, Kaitlyn Arreoloa, Kimberly Brink, Charles Colaianni, Ava Jesionowski, Ruza Mahat, Lyla Moore, Derrick Robinson and Ryleigh Weathers. The students also were recognized at a breakfast with their families at JHIS in October.

School Board member John Hosmer was recognized for his contributions to the district and the board and was presented a certificate of appreciation and small gift by district superintendent Dr. Michael Ghilani. Hosmer has served for eight years and did not run for re-election.

Scholarship opportunities

The Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania is offering 13 scholarships to students who plan to further their education in agriculture education, agronomy, floriculture, horticulture, landscape architecture, botany, biology (excluding medical), conservation, environmental concerns (management: environmental engineering, conservation, etc.), forestry, plant pathology, city (rural/urban) planning, wildlife science, land management, and/or allied subjects. Each scholarship award is a minimum of $1,000.

GCFP scholarship information and application are available online at pagardenclubs.org. These scholarships are available to high school seniors, college or graduate students who are residents of Pennsylvania. All applications must be signed by a Pleasant Hills Garden Club, which can be contacted at pleasanthillsgc@gmail.com.

The deadline for all applications is Feb. 1, 2022, to the GCFP State Scholarship Chairman in Pennsylvania.

Academic honors

Jordyn Tegtmeier is recognized for achieving Academic Honors in adult degree and continuing studies through Francis Worldwide. Tegtmeier is studying CE-early childhood education at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. Students achieving these honors must have a minimum of 15 credits completed between Sept. 1 of one year and Aug. 21 of the following year, with a quality point average of at least 3.5.

Enrollments

Sara Menand is enrolled at Lehigh University as part of the class of 2025.

Aiden Wardzinski enrolled at Marietta College and is a member of the class of 2025.