SPRING 2024 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY

Fort Couch Team Earns Gold atHistory BowlThis past December, Fort Coucheighth graders Claire Birmingham, AlexaGalbraith and Kiran Khurana placed firstin the middle school division (6–8) of theannual History Bowl, marking back-tobackHistory Bowl wins.The event, sponsored by the AlleghenyIntermediate Unit, brings togetherhundreds of local students from dozens ofschool districts for a fun and experientialcompetition. History Bowl requiresparticipants to use the John HeinzHistory Center’s collection to answerlocal trivia, collaborate/problem solveand demonstrate creative writing skills.Marching Band Earns Top Scoresat PIMBA CompetitionThe Upper St. Clair Marching Band earned first place, as well as Best MusicPerformance and Best Effect awards, in Class AA at the Pennsylvania InterscholasticMarching Band Association (PIMBA) competition held at Mt. Lebanon High School.The performance featured the marching band’s Graceland to Liverpool show.The band is under the direction of Dr. John Seybert, performing arts curriculumleader and director of bands. The band was led on the field by USCHS senior BrianMcFerran, drum major.#HaveYouHeard?Heard?Students Explore Technology-Based Career PathwaysStudents at USCHS explored Full Sail University’s Mobile Experience. Housed inan 85-foot trailer, the Mobile Experience offers hands-on exhibits in five technologyrelatedareas, including Art, Animation and Design; Game Design and Esports;Video Production; Technology and VR; and Audio Engineering.Full Sail University staff presented different opportunities in the music, movieproduction and gaming fields, including the production and business-side of theindustry.“Students were surprised atthe opportunities available inthe different industries that werepresented,” said Monica Erwin,USC Esports Club sponsor.“This gave students options fordifferent pathways they may nothave known even existed and/orhow to pursue that pathway orinterest.”Located in Winter Park,Fla., Full Sail University offersassociate, bachelor’s and master’sdegrees.Robotics Team Advances to StateCompetitionThis past December, Upper St.Clair robotics team Blue Biohazardzplaced third overall in the WesternPennsylvania FIRST LEGO League(FLL) Grand Championship,advancing to the PA-West FLLChampionship. The team also placedsecond in robot design and ninth inrobot performance. This marks thefirst time that a USC Robotics team hasadvanced in this competition.The Blue Biohazardz team ofeighth graders includes Sadie Dilmore,Noa Guizzi, Lily Seal, Suhavi Singh,Mahi Thacker, Emma Wakefield andBetsy Zheng, as well as seventh graderAanya Jha. Coaches include Jake Seal,Amrit Singh and Susan Wakefield.More than 60 teams fromthroughout the region competed inthe event and were scored in fourcategories: robot design, innovation,core values and robot performance.40 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY Spring 2024

Eighth Grader Named Essay Contest WinnerUpper St. Clair eighth grader Suhavi Singh wasnamed top winner in the annual Creative Writingand Arts Contest, part of the 2023 MahatmaGandhi Birthday Celebration at Carnegie MellonUniversity.This marked Suhavi’s third time earningrecognition in the contest. She was among thetop winners in 2020 and in 2022.The theme for this year’s contest was“Promoting Non-Violence through Spirituality:Lessons from Gandhi and Martin Luther KingJr.” Students in the 6–8 division were tasked withwriting an essay, poetry or musical compositionthat represents Gandhi’s and MLK Jr.’s beliefthat through spirituality and working together,different religions can promote non-violence.Suhavi SinghSixth Grader Earns Silver in RaceThis past September, USC sixthgrader Juliette Hirzel placed secondin the 12–13 age group at the 46thannual Richard S. Caliguiri City ofPittsburgh Great Race.At 12 years and 20 days old,Juliette was among the youngestto compete in this year’s event. Shefinished the 6.2-mile course with atime of 55:59, placing her in the topthird for all women runners.USCHS Students Earn Top Finishes at Model UNUpper St. Clair garnered seven top finishes at the Model UN high schoolconference, sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh this past October.First Place/Best DelegateRepresenting China, Syrian Civil War: Isabel VilenskySecond PlaceHellenic Parliament — Position Paper: Roshan MishraThird PlaceOverall Delegation — Representing Equatorial Guinea: Max Biedrzycki,Prachi Chetlur, Anoushka Barve, Pritika Gupta and Kaia PetrickEconomic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN) — Representing China:Shiven Verma and Ian PutortiSocial, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues (SOCHUM) — RepresentingEquatorial Guinea: Anoushka Barve and Pritika GuptaSpace Regulation — Position Paper: Rohan MehtaU.S. National Security Council — Position Paper: Will WhitmanSenior Named 2024 Coca-Cola Scholar FinalistUpper St. Clair High School senior IsaacBernstein was named a 2023–24 Coca-ColaScholar Regional Finalist. Isaac is one of onlythree in the Pittsburgh area, 15 in Pennsylvaniaand 250 in the nation to earn this honor.“This is a huge accomplishment — thesestudents have progressed to the second stage ofselection after the review of 1,514 Semifinalistswho were chosen from among more than103,800 applicants hoping to be named Coca-Cola Scholars this year,” said Jane Hale Hopkins,president of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation.One hundred fifty Coke Scholars will benamed in March to receive a $20,000 collegescholarship and attend Coca-Cola ScholarsWeekend in Atlanta.Isaac BernsteinUSC Teams Excel at Lit. Fest!This past November, Upper St.Clair students earned a first placeand two third place finishes inthe South Hills Literary Festival,held at the Andrew Carnegie FreeLibrary & Music Hall in Carnegie.In the high school division,the team of Josh Beitler, SophiaWhitman and Carlee Santelplaced first in the book sculpturechallenge and third in the Battle ofthe Books. The Fort Couch teamof Seth Pedretti, Will Kreizenbeck,Owen Maher and Max Belczyktook home third in the Battle ofthe Books middle school division.Spring 2024 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY 41