The Future DOES BELONG to Those Who Believe
Message from the Superintendent:
DR. LINDA HIPPERT
Eleanor Roosevelt said that
“the future belongs to those
who believe in the beauty of
their dreams.” As a school
district, our responsibility is to
help our students to “dream”
about their future and to
prepare them to fulfill that
dream. When this occurs, we
have indeed accomplished
our mission.
As I communicate with the
parents of our graduates and
our graduates themselves, I
want to know how they are
doing and whether or not they
are prepared for that which
they have chosen to do
beyond high school – college,
technical school, military orcareer. In addition, I
am always curious as
to whether or not
they have been able
to discover their
“dream” and work
towards making it
come true.
As a four-year
recipient of the
Project 720 Grant
from the
Department of
Education, South
Fayette High School
has been afforded
the opportunity to
make many positive
changes to “encourage the
dream.” The “project” is
entitled “720” because in a
typical school there are 180
days and 4 years of high
school (180 x 4 = 720) that
lead to graduation and the
journey towards achieving
one’s dream.
In collaboration with the
Three Rivers Workforce
Development Board as well as
utilization of web-based
Keys2Work software at school
and at home, the Graduation
Project, our Post-Secondary
Transition Coordinator,
Maureen Pedzwater, the
guidance department and
other resources, South
Fayette has established a
comprehensive career
awareness path for all
students. Indeed, our County
Executive, Dan Onorato,
visited eighth grade students
in Mrs. Dena Hoffman’s class
earlier this year and was
impressed by our students’
abilities to articulate their
knowledge and ask questions
which demonstrated their
ability to access and
assimilate information about a
variety of career
opportunities.
We don’t expect children
who are 13 years old or even
18 years old to know for sure
“what they want to be when
they grow up.” As we know,
many of the jobs that our
current students will hold
when they enter the
workforce do not even exist
today. What we do strive to
accomplish, however, is that
our students develop a keen
awareness of their likes and
dislikes, their strengths and
areas of interest and that they
realize how important these
characteristics are in thinking
and dreaming about their
future.
Students learn and are able
to successfully examine the
possibilities that exist when
they apply those strengths and
they also explore the amount
of compensation they might
receive when they make a
choice to pursue employment
in a particular field. They also
research extensively, the
education necessary to meet
those career goals as well as
the actual workplace skills
needed. The Keys2Work
program which they use from
eighth through 12th grade
further permits them to
individualize and assess their
own personal skills along with
a constant monitoring of the
improvement of those skills
as they continue throughout
high school.
The program, which is
embedded in a variety of
activities and not reduced to a
single course, includes self
assessments, research, mentors,
advising, interviews,
meetings and presentations
that occur over five years as a
student in South Fayette
Middle and High School
(grade 8 – grade 12). Each
year, we look to improve what
we do and how we do it
based upon feedback from our
students and staff. Portions of
grant dollars have enabled
South Fayette, under Mrs.
Bisignani’s leadership and initiative
to become a model for
accomplishment of this goal
of Project 720 and our students
have greatly benefited
because of it.
We hope that during their
years at South Fayette, our
students continue to “dream”
about their future and that
we enable them, through their
experiences, to realize those
dreams and ultimately become
productive citizens in our
global economy. We are
confident that they will.
The Future of Media at South Fayette
On February 27, South Fayette
Media teacher Kim Guthrie
and two of her media
students, Brittany Troyer and
Gretchen Carr, opened the
doors of the High School’s
media lab to Tiger Scout Troop
#2 from South Fayette Pack
#843. The students
demonstrated to the boys
how media works and how
communication through
television is possible through
SF-TV 3. Mrs. Guthrie and her
students put together a
45 minute presentation that
informed the students about
why a multi-media course
exists and is important in any
high school curriculum. They
then went through the steps
on how the messages are
created and demonstrated
each facet of equipment and
its function in the television
studio’s editing room.
Next, they took the troop
into the Control Room and
taught the
scouts each
job’s
responsibility
and positioned
the scouts at
particular jobs
in the room. Finally, the scouts
were introduced to the studio,
dressed as talent and had them
run the “evening” announcements.
Had anyone been tuned in to
SF-TV 3 in the district that
night from 7:15-7:30 p.m.,
he or she would have seen
and heard the students of
multi-media’s future delivering
the news and operating it
behind the scenes. Through
their participation in the visit,
the scouts each received their
communication badge.
|
 Home Remodeling 2008
As savvy homeowners remodel, they are doing so with an eye to the future.
Cover
Focus
With its Asian-influenced wall and window treatments, this
bathroom melds a contemporary and futuristic design comfort
and simplicity of line. Courtesy of the Kohler Co.
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 Successful Women of the South Hills
How Kathleen Refosco has built a career out of creating inedible mirages
SF Basketball
No failure in trying
Serious Business
South Fayette has become one of Pittsburgh’s
hottest commercial development locations
Pucker the Polka Man
His foot-stomping playing has brought smiles
to generations of East European immigrants
Whatever Happened to
High-School Wrestling?
SF senior
Tammy Veneski finds that bowling success comes naturally
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