< PreviousSpring 2022 20 • Allegheny West Magazine • Spring 2022 Each month, Cornell superintendent Dr. Aaron Thomas asks teachers to nominate students who are going above and beyond in the classroom. This doesn’t mean teachers can only nominate students who are achieving at a high level academically. Rather, it’s meant to recognize students who are showing up prepared and are enthusiastic, engaged, polite and kind to their fellow students. Winners selected were all nominated by multiple teachers. Honorees were treated to a special lunch by the superintendent and each received a certificate along with some Cornell gear. It is just a small gesture to thank these students and a way to highlight those who are shining examples to their younger peers. Congratulations to the winners for November/December. They are: Every holiday season, the Cornell School District hosts a project called the Angel Tree. The program, which is run at the high school and elementary levels, has become a seasonal staple for the district. The Angel Tree program helps to provide assistance to many families in the Coraopolis and Neville Island communities each year. With the help of generous community donors, Cornell teachers, staff, school board and administration, Cornell was able to provide almost 60 elementary families and over 80 elementary students with assistance this past holiday season. The Angel Tree was also a major undertaking in the high school as well. There, the Angel Tree project was a joint venture between Williams Company and some of the same stakeholders who assisted with the elementary project. The high school program is a bit different from the elementary, in that the selected students in the high school receive a questionnaire to complete to help assist shoppers from the Williams Company and Cornell community. Students answer questions regarding clothing size and preference, favorite sports teams, and hobbies. Gifts are delivered to the school and then school personnel deliver the gifts to each student’s home. The gifts are beautifully wrapped and very festive. Cornell students and families were very appreciative of the gifts. It is the hope of the Cornell School District that the Angel Tree program in the elementary and high school make the holidays for school families a little brighter. The district is very thankful for its partnership with Williams and all community members who contributed. Also, a special thank you to Kris Reagle, Cornell High School dean of students, and Officer Korczyk for making the home deliveries. Another special thank you goes out to Cornell Elementary guidance counselor Greg Paul for his efforts in making the elementary program run so smoothly. Angel Tree program brings joy to district families Superintendent Appreciation Students 7th Grade Dayton Schofield 8th Grade Fernando Batista De Sa’ 9th Grade Rakan Aldossari Ananda Korb 10th Grade Sasha Cucu 11th Grade Anderson Bando 12th Grade Victoria Cohen Conner Peterson #WeAre CornellSpring 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 21 When Scott Spencer was a kid, his dad once told him that he would never stop learning. At the time, Spencer didn’t give that statement much thought, but for him, it certainly ended up being true. A self-admitted fan of 3D printing, board games and Rubik’s cubes, Spencer has spent much of the past 25 years learning by pursuing his interests and keeping up with his evolving career in the technology sector. For 18 years, he worked for Comcast. Then, four years ago, he accepted a position with the bioengineering firm Thermo-Fisher Scientific. He’s now a senior security engineer with the Robinson-based company. For a couple of years, Spencer was also a volunteer at Cornell during the district’s technology days. At those events, he talked to students about the STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - disciplines, and how those subjects apply to a range of careers in technology and science. Now, Spencer is hoping to play an even greater role in the education of students at Cornell as the district’s newest board member. He was voted by the board to fill its last remaining vacant seat in January. Spencer calls it “an honor” to join the board, and says he’s already looking forward to attending his first technology meeting. “Mr. Spencer will be a great addition to the school board and will actively participate to do whatever is best for students, which is what you want from any board member,” says Dr. Aaron Thomas, Cornell superintendent. “I’m looking forward to working with him, and think he’ll do a fantastic job.” Spencer says he knows first-hand the kind of school Cornell is. He has a daughter, Leah, who is a sophomore at the high school and he has also lived in Coraopolis Borough for the past 15 years. Spencer says the school’s small student body and caring staff members make it a special place. “Cornell is a great school,” says Scott. “The class sizes are small. There’s more one-on-one with teachers, so they can accelerate accordingly. If all six kids in your class are excelling, you can tweak your curriculum around those students a lot better than if you had a class of 60.” From his own personal experience, Scott can’t say enough about the teachers at Cornell. “Cornell’s teachers are really involved,” he says. “I can’t say enough nice things about them. They’re dedicated to their students and not just there to get a paycheck.” Scott holds an associate degree in electronics and is looking forward to bringing his unique expertise and background to the position. Like many schools, Cornell has been embracing technology-related learning in a number of unique ways in recent years, from hiring a dedicated STEAM teacher, to forging relationships with Google, to founding a new video game sports team. “My biggest thing is that we need to keep the youth in our society moving forward,” he says. “We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to empower students to the best of their abilities.” Board appoints Scott Spencer as newest member Scott Spencer In the early morning hours of Nov. 16, Cornell School District lost a beloved member of its family when Edith Shoecraft, elementary secretary, passed away. Shoecraft had been battling some health issues for a few weeks and sadly passed away at Allegheny General Hospital. She left behind three lovely daughters - Erica, Kimberly and Ashley - all of whom are Cornell graduates, and her dog, Trixie Marie. Shoecraft, who was also commonly known as “Ms. Edie,” was an employee of the Cornell School District for 28 years. She graduated from Cornell High School in 1979. She was a lifelong resident of Coraopolis and seemed to know everybody. Everybody, too, seemed to know her. The passing of Shoecraft was very hard on the Cornell faculty and staff. The day of her funeral, the school day shifted to remote learning so members of the faculty and community could attend. Cornell superintendent, Dr. Aaron Thomas, said, “I am grateful that our families understood and supported the remote learning day, and we were all devastated by Ms. Edie’s passing. She really was a great person, and a very valuable member of our team. I think everyone will have something different they will remember about Ms. Edie, but I will miss talking to her about my kids, and getting updates on her three daughters. We miss her, but we are grateful we had the opportunity to know her.” Shoecraft’s favorite color was purple and, to honor her, staff members wore purple proudly in her memory. Remembering Edith Shoecraft Edith Shoecraft22 • Allegheny West Magazine • Spring 2022 Superintendent’s Message Dr. Aaron Thomas, Superintendent Cornell alumna Treniya Bronough was recently named a Social Justice Fellow by The Memorial Foundation, which is the same foundation that was responsible for creating the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Bronough, a Spellman College graduate, was named to the foundation’s fellows program this past summer. She was one of a number of young leaders who participated and gained mentorship in community-oriented leadership skills. More recently, the fellows were honored at a gala in the U.S. Capitol. Current Cornell High School sophomore Jersei Ramsey had the opportunity to attend the gala with her sister, Treniya. She describes her experience: “I would have never imagined myself ever being within 100 feet of the President and Vice President of the United States, but that became my reality last month. Recently, I attended the Memorial Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. I was invited by my sister, Treniya Bronaugh, a Cornell Alum, who is a Social Justice Fellow with the foundation. The foundation hosted a celebratory week of events that celebrated the legacy of Dr. King and social justice work. I was fortunate enough to attend and meet many influential leaders and social justice advocates. I shared the same room with many impactful people such as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Maxine Waters, and many others. I was able to be involved with many different people and conversations. I loved seeing my big sister go on stage and be recognized by such an important foundation and I was happy to be there to support the organization. As the youngest one in the room, I felt inspired to continue to grow as a strong leader and an advocate for social justice.” Cornell loves to hear about the wonderful accomplishments of its graduates. Anyone who would like to share news regarding outstanding alumni are urged to contact superintendent, Dr. Aaron Thomas, at athomas@cornellsd.org. Cornell alum spotlight Karen Murphy - President Linda Solecki - Vice President Stephanie Mazzocco - Treasurer Darlene Abbott Mark Cavicchia Cornell School District 1099 Maple Street • Coraopolis, PA 15108 www.cornellsd.org Dr. Aaron Thomas Superintendent athomas@cornellsd.org (412) 264-5010, ext. 120 Dr. Doug Szokoly High School Principal dszokoly@cornellsd.org (412) 264-5010, ext. 104 Jeffrey Carter Elementary School Principal jcarter@cornellsd.org, (412) 264-5010, ext. 241 Carla Antoniades Director of Pupil Services cantoniades@cornellsd.org Dr. Kris Hupp Director of Technology & Instructional Innovation khupp@cornellsd.org Patrick Berdine Business Manager Cornell School District Board of Directors *Patrick Berdine - Secretary *Trish Andrews - Solicitor - non-board member* #WeAre Cornell Michael Griffith Michael Engel Caryn Code Scott Spencer Cornell Families and Community Members, What a wonderful first half of the school year we’ve had! We continue to navigate our way through the COVID-19 situation, and I can’t thank our families and community members enough for their cooperation and understanding. This will continue to be a team approach, and I am hopeful we are on the tail-end of the pandemic and have a much brighter spring ahead! The first semester was full of wonderful student and staff accomplishments. Many of these were highlighted in our previous edition and we are happy to spotlight more this month. The winter months of January, February and early March can be difficult, but my days are routinely brightened by the efforts and kindness of our students, and the work our faculty and staff are putting in each day. Please continue to encourage and praise your children for the wonderful work they are doing, and drive home that consistent action over time results in great accomplishments. I hope you enjoy reading this edition of Cornell Today, and we look forward to spotlighting the upcoming accomplishments and achievements of our students and staff in the spring edition! We are Cornell!Spring 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 23 Mentor 2.0 volunteers got to spend some time crafting with students this past holiday season. Last school year was the first year of a partnership between Cornell High School and Big Brothers Big Sisters that brought a mentorship program to Cornell. Big Brothers Big Sisters has a mentor program called Mentor 2.0 that has been highly successful in a few area high schools. The program pairs a mentor, or a “Big” with a mentoree, or a “Little.” This partnership starts when the student is in ninth grade and continues throughout the student’s career, culminating at graduation. Last year was a bit difficult with the hybrid schedule Cornell was implementing but programming was able to happen through some creative planning. This year, programming is happening face-to-face and there are monthly events held in the evening hours where bigs and littles can connect and discuss an array of topics. The Winter Celebration took place in December, and everyone in attendance enjoyed some comfort food dinner selections alongside their very own hot chocolate bar. Homemade sugar cookies were also provided, with the option to decorate before eating! They were also introduced to salt watercolor winter painting and 3-D winter display projects. The cafeteria was full of creativity and it was a fun night with great conversations and connections. Mentor 2.0 program update Students in Tavis Bogue’s science class were recently given a design challenge to develop a way to share data such as temperature, moisture and air quality from a greenhouse they’ve been utilizing on the school campus. Inspired by the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh, students also decided to develop a lighting system for the greenhouse using an Arduino device that they programmed themselves. These were just a couple examples of the many projects students at Cornell High School have been tackling as they continue working on the Ohio River Heritage Project. This project, which has been in development since 2019, involves establishing outdoor learning spaces on the school campus. Initially, students worked with a landscape architect from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to redesign a portion of the campus. Students added a walk-through garden that includes Little Bluestem, Black-eyed Susan, Aster, Blue False Indigo, and Hackberry trees, along with an outdoor classroom and seating. When the pandemic first began and schools were closing, PJ Dick donated time and resources to pour a footer for the newly acquired greenhouse, and volunteers from Williams assembled the building last spring. Planting day has become an annual event at Cornell High School, when students put down their books and computers to dig into the soil and add more plants to the space. Last year, students added 130 new plants. Students can also be seen in the fall and spring weeding, mulching and maintaining the space with their teachers. This May, students and teachers will be hosting an event that is open to the public as part of Remake Learning Days Across America. Remake Learning Days began in southwestern Pennsylvania in 2016 and is now a nationwide innovative learning festival for families and youth. More information, including registration, can be found at remakelearningdays.org. Cornell looks forward to seeing lots of community members there. Ohio River Heritage Project continues The Ohio River Heritage Project at Cornell encompasses (top) a green house, (left) a walk-through garden with various plants and (above) an outdoor classroom area. 24 • Allegheny West Magazine • Spring 2022 The Cornell Tech Squad adores their teachers. Students in the club love to put their creative tech skills to use to show their teachers just how much they appreciate them. Such was the case this past holiday season when Tech Squad students Eriyah Goosby, Hanna Navarro, Jersei Ramsey, Heather Stephenson and Heidi Stephenson got busy creating an interactive, tech-based way to celebrate teachers. With the help of sponsor Rachel McVeagh, the group of students decided to make a Tech Squad gift exchange, similar to a Secret Santa activity. Students designed it so that each teacher would give to another, but they wouldn’t know right away who had given them the gift. Students organized the information for the gift exchange in Google Sheets. They also designed flyers to give to each teacher that let them know who their recipient was. As “Santas,” teachers completed a student-designed Google Form and Tech Squad update The Cornell High School Key Club is excited to be back in full- time action for the 2021-2022 school year. Last year, with a socially distanced schedule in place, all of the club’s efforts were focused in-house. As such, Key Club members helped create senior surprises for the high school’s senior class. This school year, students are once again focusing on efforts outside of the school and have thus far completed two separate fundraisers. They are also working on their next two. At the beginning of the year, students created a grade-level challenge to help fill the Coraopolis Food Pantry with needed supplies. In less than two weeks, students in grades seven through 12 were able to fill over 12 boxes with food items and multiple boxes of personal necessity items. Then, in December, the Key Club held a Penny War competition to raise money for #TeamSeas, a global campaign aimed at raising $30 million and removing 30 million pounds of plastic and trash from oceans, rivers and beaches. It’s also the second wave of the largest creator-led fundraising campaign to ever hit the internet: #TeamTrees. In just under two weeks, students in the junior and senior high schools raised over $850 for #TeamSeas. With plans to work with an animal shelter in the spring and continue their Senior Surprises program, the Cornell Key Club will be very busy this year. Cornell Key Club update selected the gift they wanted to give. Teachers also had to include a clue or riddle about themselves that would help their recipient guess their identity. The Tech Squad students then took care of the rest. Preparing gifts took much effort and time. Miriam Klein showed Tech Squad students how to use a vinyl cutter so they could customize each gift. Students created Cornell High School face masks as well as personalized items, including laptop sleeves, mason jars with candy and cell phone sticky wallets. They attached a unique QR code that they generated to each gift. Scanning the code led recipients to a student- designed, digital representation of their riddle. The students had a great time designing and executing their elaborate plan. Not surprisingly, their favorite part was seeing the warm reactions of teachers as they gave each recipient their gifts and riddles. Happy 2022 from the Tech Squad! Tech Squad members (above) facilitated a gift exchange among teachers and used QR codes attached to gift jars (below) that helped teachers guess who had gifted them. Key Club members have been busy this year, collecting supplies for the Coraopolis Food Pantry and funds for #TeamSeas.Spring 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 2526 • Allegheny West Magazine • Spring 2022 Post-secondary preparation is a top priority in the Cornell Counseling Office. The department spends much time in the second semester helping students plan for their “next step” toward a career. The Career Education Standards will be implemented through many classroom lessons, field trips and experiences at each grade level in the coming months. Seniors have been putting their post-secondary plans into action as they finish up their senior projects, complete individual senior interviews and hold individual meetings with the counselor. Most seniors have applied to colleges and many have already been accepted for next fall. Career goals, learning styles, school research, career exploration and financial aid are a few of the topics that will be covered with underclassmen. Listed below are some suggestions for what students can do to help prepare for their future. Anyone who has questions, or whose child wants to schedule a follow-up appointment, can contact Gina Walter, high school guidance counselor, at gwalter@cornellsd.org or (412) 264-5010 x 106. Freshmen and sophomores • Get involved in sports and clubs • Maintain a record of your academic and extracurricular activities and achievements, along with volunteer work and jobs for your future resume Juniors • Post-secondary planning - what are you interested in pursuing after high school? • Discuss your plans with your parents • Meet with your counselor to discuss your plan • Begin the college and career exploration process • Visit colleges, either virtually or in-person • Review college websites • Stay involved in clubs, sports and activities • Sign up to take the SAT or ACT • Study! Grades count! Your cumulative GPA at the end of 11th grade will be used for most college applications. Seniors • Register for the SAT and/or ACT if your school is requiring it • Follow up with your counselor to discuss plans for after graduation • Submit your applications and check for deadlines! • Request letters of recommendation if needed for applications • Register with the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse if you plan on playing sports in college • Complete the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) • Check your email frequently for important information from colleges Calling all athletes If your child is an athlete and considering playing Division I or Division II sports, be sure to visit the NCAA Eligibility Center website: www.eligibilitycenter.org. Students should register during their junior year. Fee waivers are available for those who qualify. Scholarship updates All scholarships are posted on the guidance website. The site is updated regularly, so be sure to check it weekly. SAT and ACT testing A common question students ask is when they should take the SAT or ACT. The best time to take the test for the first time is in the spring of their junior year. By that time, students have had significant content exposure in math and English in preparation for the exams. They’ve also had the opportunity to take the PSAT twice. The PSAT score is connected to Khan Academy, which can give students free individualized practice to increase their SAT score. This will also give students the opportunity to have time to retake the exam, if needed, before the application process begins. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges continue to be test-optional for admission purposes. This means SAT/ACT testing is not required for admission. However, this doesn’t apply to every university. Students are always encouraged to check the individual college website for their most up-to-date information. If your child plans to take either test, go to the testing website for information about registering. • SAT: www.collegeboard.org • ACT: www.act.org Some students may qualify for a fee waiver based on family income. Come to the Guidance Office to determine eligibility. Important Dates Coming Up! March 17 - In-Person National College Fair for 11th-graders at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center April 25-May 13 - PSSA Testing May 4 - AP English Literature Exam May 6 - AP U.S. History Exam May 9 - AP Computer Science Principles Exam May 10 - AP English Language Exam May 16-27 - Spring Keystone Exams May 27 - Graduation Direct appointment requests and questions to Gina Walter, high school guidance counselor: gwalter@cornellsd.org • (412) 264-5010 x 106. What’s happening in High School Guidance? #WeAre CornellSpring 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 27 ¡Pura vida! After a two-year wait due to the pandemic, members of the Cornell High School Spanish Club will travel for eight days to Costa Rica with the American Council for International Studies in early June. The group will visit several famous rainforests, most notably those in Braulio Carrillo National Park, Monteverde, and the Arenal Volcano National Park. While they are abroad, students will not only be touring the sites and spending time in nature but will also have opportunities to practice their Spanish. They will get to know local culture during school visits with local students and while volunteering with a community and reforestation service project. For many of the students, this will be their first international trip. To help them prepare, they will be attending some additional after-school classes that will cover everything from packing a bag and navigating the airport, to Costa Rican culture and history. The Spanish Club has been working hard to fundraise for their upcoming trip. Anyone interested in financially supporting students who will be traveling can contact the Central Office. Esquina de Español: Cornell’s Spanish Corner Cornell Spanish Club to Travel to Costa Rica Spanish teachers for a day Students from Sarah Sleasman’s Spanish 4 class had a chance to visit Casey Thomas’ third grade classes and Rachel Lubitz’s kindergarten classes and be teachers for a day. High school seniors have been using the beloved Eric Carle story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” or “La oruga muy hambrienta,” to review past tense and aspect in Spanish. They were then invited to present information from the book as a lesson for their elementary-aged peers. Students were taught how to design a lesson and the kinds of considerations teachers need to make with every pedagogical move: including how to check for students’ understanding, how appropriate an activity might be for a particular group, and how to adapt activities on-the-spot to meet students’ needs. They cooperated with members of their class to design an interactive lesson and used the story as a basis for talking about healthy and unhealthy foods in Spanish. In world language education, such a lesson is called content- based teaching, meaning the lesson is delivered in the target language (Spanish) to teach meaningful content (in this case, nutrition). These lessons help vocabulary to resonate and help students connect language with real- life scenarios. Designing such a lesson challenged the senior students’ critical thinking as they worked to develop a presentation and activities that would help their younger peers meet learning goals and have fun speaking in Spanish. Seniors in Spanish 4 (left to right) - Elyce Morales, Karly DiVito, Madison Litzinger and Lorayne Bando - present vocabulary to Casey Thomas’ third grade students. On Dec. 16, Kristen Bardelli’s eighth grade computer science students got to experience something that most students do not. As part of Computer Science Education Week, Google for Education offered to match classrooms with Google volunteers to engage in an “Ignite” experience, in which the volunteer would virtually visit the classroom. Once teachers signed up for the opportunity and were matched with a volunteer from Google, teachers and volunteers coordinated to plan a meaningful session for students. Bardelli’s class was matched with Googler Iris Wei, who is based on the west coast. During class that day, students used Google Meet to engage with Wei. They asked her questions about her career path and what she enjoys about her work in the field of computer science. She shared that she did not become interested in computer science until she was in college and began learning about electrical engineering. She discovered that computer science allowed her to continuously improve her skills. She also mentioned that, while collaboration is often an integral part of the tech world, computer science can still be a great field for someone who is more of an introvert. Students learned that, in addition to Google, Wei also works for Snapchat. They were very interested to hear Wei compare work experiences at the two companies, Google being much larger than the relatively small Snapchat. As a lesson extension, Bardelli’s students worked within Google’s Applied Digital Skills to complete the “Code a Joke- Telling Talkbot” lesson. When asked the following day, her students were enthusiastic about their experience talking with Wei. They said it was valuable to hear from her, especially since she started coding much later than they are learning the skill. Students seemed inspired and grateful to know of a potential path they can take in the future. Google volunteer visits classrooms28 • Allegheny West Magazine • Spring 2022 Cornell Elementary Guidance Update SNAP The Cornell Elementary Counseling Program will continue the second phase of its SNAP (Stop Now And Plan) Program. The SNAP Program, through Holy Family Institute of Pittsburgh, helps children ages 6 to 11 work through challenges when they begin to emerge in a student’s life. This program teaches a wide range of cognitive-behavioral techniques that empower and teach children to work through complex adversities in their lives. The program recently finished classroom lessons with fourth- and fifth-graders and will be conducting classroom lessons with students in second and third grade. Mrs. Ann and Mr. Art, the program facilitators, will continue to provide students with effective, fun and interactive classroom lessons that help students develop essential skills for their future. In February, Cornell Elementary fifth and sixth grade students will participate in classroom discussions that address social- emotional learning/well-being. The goal of these discussions is to provide information and resources that enhance the awareness of behavioral/emotional health and the social and emotional well-being of students. The discussions focus on resources and strategies to help support social well-being and emotional health. Cornell Elementary School continues to educate and support student social, emotional and behavioral health during the COVID-19 era. Social-Emotional Learning For the past few years, Cornell Elementary students in grades five and six have participated in a fun and interesting Veterans Day unit in their social studies classes. The unit, which was designed by fifth and sixth grade social studies teacher Jackie Pack, required students to reach out to members of their family and community who are veterans. Cornell wants its students to not only observe Veterans Day, but to have a deeper understanding of the significance of this important day. The students started by accessing prior knowledge about the five branches of the military and sharing some personal stories of family members who have served, or are currently serving, in the military. Pack highlighted the fact that the work military members do is very difficult, and they sacrifice their personal time, social lives, and time with their family to be away. Students found this unit quite fascinating, as most have a veteran in their family or in their circle of friends. Students are then able to go more in-depth about each military branch and learn about the requirements to join the service and what the word “veteran” means. Throughout the week-long unit, students learned about the history of Veterans Day and how the poppy was chosen to represent this historic day. Pack uses references and videos from Scholastic to help teach this unit, and students were also able to view interviews of different veterans about their time in the service. Writing is incorporated into this unit as well, with students completing a “Collins Writing Type 3” assignment. The students reflect and write a letter to either a veteran they know or don’t know. In this letter, students had an opportunity to practice their writing skills, all while being able to thank one of the country’s many veterans for their bravery and sacrifice. These letters were then mailed out to veterans locally as well as across the country. It was a great learning experience for elementary students. Veterans Day Spotlight! Local legislators visit Cornell Cornell High School students were able to connect with local legislative representatives when they met with state Sen. Wayne Fontana and state Rep. Anita Kulik recently. Kulik has been to Cornell School District before and was happy to return and meet with high school students who had prepared questions for her about her role, responsibilities and issues that she is currently working to address. It was a great visit and Cornell is hopeful she is able to come back soon. Fontana was able to visit as well, but in a different way that is becoming all too familiar: through a Zoom meeting. Cornell High School students were able to join a virtual session along with students from surrounding high schools in the senator’s district. Two Cornell students were able to ask direct questions and more were able to view the session. Both visits were great experiences for students, who came away with better understandings of each representative’s roles in government. Cornell is looking forward to similar opportunities in the future. Spring 2022 • www.awmagazine.com • 29 At the beginning of the school year, the Cornell Elementary math team created an out-of-school math club for interested students in grades three through six. This group of students are now known as the ArithmeRaiders and they are being led by Cornell Elementary teachers Alyson Rinaldi, Casey Thomas and Katie O’Neil. The students have been meeting before school to work on different math projects and assignments. A group of fifth- and sixth-graders also recently participated in a local CalcuSolve competition. The competition was held virtually and the students were challenged to answer two team questions and seven individual questions. Each question was timed and required students to use many different strategies to solve the problems. Some of the questions involved above-grade level content and students were forced to use math strategies they had already been taught to try to figure out these rigorous questions. Cornell put together two very strong teams. Team one was comprised of sixth- graders Cora Avon and Samantha Melius, and fifth-graders Christian Griffith and Connor Roland. The team was able to compile an impressive score of 33 total points. Cornell ArithmeRaiders team two consisted of sixth-graders Josiah Frantti and Clara Joranger, along with fifth-graders Bradley Barrett and Kyrin Yarmin. The team had an awesome score of 67 total points. In addition to the team scores, sixth-grader Josiah Frantti placed third overall by earning 25 individual points. Overall, both teams worked well together and were able to overcome some pretty rigorous problems. They had to utilize many mathematical practices and find a way to surmount frustrations experienced from these challenging questions. O’Neil and Rinaldi were extremely proud of them for pulling through and doing their absolute best. ArithmeRaiders excel in CalcuSolve competition For the past four years, Cornell Elementary has formed a bond with performers Josh and Gab, who deliver an anti-bullying program that students love. Last year, Josh and Gab couldn’t visit due to the pandemic, but this year they were able to reach students virtually while following COVID guidelines. The Josh and Gab show incorporates elements of a school’s culture and individualizes each experience to create language and scenarios to which students can relate. With the incorporation of Cornell’s core values of responsibility, respect and ready, the show did a great job guiding the student body through proper behavior and peer interactions. Students heard real-life stories about bullying, then heard about ways to overcome bullying, be a good friend and classmate and, better yet, not to be a bully. Cornell Elementary first grade teachers Robin Heigley and Kelly Foster stated, “The Josh and Gab anti-bullying assembly was such a relatable and engaging way to present the hard topic of bullying to kids of all ages. Josh and Gab incorporated music and dancing to encourage their audience to actively participate throughout the assembly. They have an amazing way of connecting with classrooms through questions that lead to important discussions.” Thanks to modern technology on the ends of Josh and Gab, and the tech savvy teachers at Cornell Elementary, all the students got to participate in the virtual assembly via Google Meet while maintaining social distancing guidelines. Classroom teachers chose between logging on through their Promethean boards at the front of each classroom or having each student log in through their iPads. The show has always been entertaining, engaging and informative - and this year was no exception. Students in every classroom could be seen singing and dancing along, as well as talking live with Josh and Gab. Throughout the show, there was plenty of sharing and live interactions. Finally, the show closed with a question-and-answer session that emphasized the show’s strong anti-bullying message. Josh and Gab show returns Members of the ArithmeRaiders recently had a strong showing in a local CalcuSolve math competition. Josh and Gab returned this year for a virtual visit.Next >