Welcome to
George Washington Elementary School

First Graders Correspond with and Finally Meet Their Lincoln Pen Pals

Washington First Graders enjoyed corresponding with their First Grade Pen Pals from Lincoln Elementary this past school year, and on June 2, they traveled to Lincoln to meet their Pen Pals face to face!  It was a fantastic morning!  Activities included playing together, enjoying popsicles and exchanging home addresses to keep the correspondence going over the summer!  It's great to make new friends!

Please click here to see more photos from our fun morning!

Students Read  to Tail Waggin' Tutors

Ms Orner's Reading Students had the pleasure of practicing their reading skills on some very special listeners--therapy dogs from Therapy Dogs International's Tail Waggin' Tutors program.  The students sat with the dogs on the floor and read a favorite story to them.  It was a great time for the readers as well as the listeners, who enjoyed some hugs and belly rubs when the stories were over.

Please click here to see more pictures from the afternoon.

Fourth Graders Visit Ft. Pitt

Fourth graders in Mrs. Callahan's room paid a visit to the Ft. Pitt Blockhouse and had a great time.  They learned a great deal about the importance of Ft. Pitt on the city and were inspired to write letters to Congressman Tim Murphy to ask for his help to save Ft. Pitt!

Kindergarten Student Earns Third Place in Writing Contest

Congratulations to AM Kindergarten student Sarah Plotz, who wrote a story titled, "The Boy and the Balloons" for the WQED 15th Annual Young Writers and Illustrators Contest for 2009.  Her story was selected as the Third Place Winner in the Kindergarten category!  She will be presented with an award at the Summer Reading Extravaganza that will be held at the Carnegie Library in Oakland on June 7.

Washington Students Celebrate Love of Reading

Washington students participated in a special assembly that celebrated their love of reading.  During a nine-week period this school year, Washington students read a total of 4,062 books and passed 3,717 Accelerated Reader tests!  An assembly was held to commemorate the accomplishment, with top readers announced for each grade level and class and raffle prizes drawn for everyone who passed one of the AR tests.

Please click here to see who the top readers are and to see some pictures from the assembly.

Gifted Students Participate in Enrichment Expo

Five Washington gifted students joined 29 other elementary enrichment students from all five Bethel Park elementary schools and St. Louise de Marillac for this year's Enrichment Expo, which was held at Memorial Elementary School.  Teacher Jennifer Sabol encouraged the students at the beginning of the year to begin thinking about a special project they wanted to work on that would showcase their interest.  The projects were creative and dealt with a diverse range of subjects, including space travel, games, writing books, creating their own companies and fundraising for charities.  All of the students had their own exhibit and visitors to the Expo had a change to interact with the students to find out about their projects.  It was a great evening of great ideas!

Please click here to see more photos from the Expo!

Students Play Deal or No Deal to Raise Money for Ronald McDonald House

For her Enrichment Project, Washington Fourth Grader Megan McClary decided she wanted to make a difference in the world and she coordinated a fundraising project for the Ronald McDonald House that involved the game, Deal or No Deal.  Megan sent out letters to local businesses, asking them if they would donate $150 to sponsor one of the 14 briefcases that would be used in the game.  On February 27, Washington students had their opportunity to not only play the game, but also serve as the models holding the briefcases.  The community was invited to attend and free will donations were accepted, with the proceeds benefitting the charity.  The event was successful, with five Washington students winning a combined total of $182.50 and over $1,800 raised for the Ronald McDonald House.  Thanks to everyone who supported this fun event!

Please click here to see pictures from the event and a list of supporting sponsors.

Washington Students Skate with BPHS Hockey Team

Mrs. Graney's Adaptive Physical Education students at Washington and Neil Armstrong had a real treat when they went to Bladerunners to skate with members of the Bethel Park High School Varsity Hockey Team.  The students prepared for their session on the ice by practice-skating at school in their socks on plastic and using carpet skates to get the feel of skating.  The students enjoyed the aerobic aspect of their preparation.  At Bladerunners, the students also enjoyed lunch with the hockey team.  This is the seventh year for this fun program.  Thank you, Hockey Team, for a great day!

Please click here to see more photos of the fun day!

Washington Celebrates Washington Day

When your school is named after the Father of Our Country, it's only fitting that you celebrate his birthday!  Washington School made our first President proud with an afternoon celebration that not only honored Washington, but also paid tribute our other Presidents, democracy, patriotism and the United States.  Every grade level had their own presentation, which featured songs, poems, interesting facts and a play about how Abraham Lincoln got his beard!  It was a great afternoon of celebrating patriotism and being thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and what that means.

Please click here to see more photos from our fabulous afternoon.

Third Graders Receive Dictionaries from Rotary Club

Thanks to the Bethel Park Rotary Club, every Bethel Park Third Grade Student has their own dictionary to use.  Members of the Rotary Club recently visited Washington to deliver the dictionaries. Thank you, Bethel Park Rotary!

Second Graders Celebrate Chinese New Year!

Second Graders in Mrs. Vescovi's room celebrated Chinese New Year in fine fashion, with several activities, including eating rice with chopsticks and enjoying fortune cookies and clementine oranges.  The students made dragon masks for a school parade, made hong bao for their Kindergarten Book Buddies, gave "fact reports" on non-fiction books about China and decorated for the celebration by making red paper lanterns.  Our celebration was enhanced by the talents of eighth grader Rachel Dailey, sister of second grader MaryRose, who led the parade and performed an amazing drumming demonstration.  Happy New Year!

Please click here to see more photos from our celebration.

Kindergarten Students Cheer on the Hawks!

Mrs. Varley's Kindergarten Classes were very excited that the Bethel Park High School Football Team was going to Hershey to play in the State Championship Game.  The students made signs showing their support for the Hawks and are holding Hershey candy bars for the photos.  While the team came up a bit short, the 2008 WPIAL Champions had a fantastic season, and earned the support of the entire Bethel Park community.  Who knows?  Maybe one of these students will be on the BPHS Football Team that wins the 2018 WPIAL and State Championship!  Thanks for your support!

Fourth Grade Service Project Benefits U.S. Soldiers

Washington Fourth Graders dedicated their Service Project this year to collecting items to send to the U.S. Soldiers in the Army's Striker Tank One, stationed in Iraq.  To kick off the drive, Staff Sgt. Will Foy from the South Hills Recruiting Office paid a visit to talk to the students about what life is like for an American soldier stationed in Iraq.  For a 10-day period, the students collected items for the soldiers, including toiletries, candy, nuts, socks, toothpaste, beef jerky and even a Terrible Towel!  Additionally, the students also sent over some school supplies that the soldiers delivered to an Iraqi school that had little or no supplies.  They also made cards and artwork to thank the soldiers for doing a great job.  When the drive was concluded, three boxes weighing a total of 135 pounds were mailed.  Special thanks go to the following businesses who paid for the shipping:  Spartan Pharmacy, $1.00 Stuff, Village Pizza, Tang Soo Do Karate and Dave Bonazza.

Please click here to see photos from Sgt. Foy's visit.

Fourth Graders Participate in Family Celebration Day

Mrs. Callahan's Fourth Grade Students spent some time talking about their families and discovering how important their families are to them.  They were given various assignments to get to know their families a little better, including interviewing their mom to find out what it was like when she was in fourth grade, and interviewing their dad to find out about the things he likes to do.  Students were encouraged to turn off the TV and spend an evening with their families, including playing board games.  The students also wrote "I Am" poems and created their own acrostic poem using the letters in "FAMILY."  At Family Celebration Day, the students gathered with their families on blankets in the classroom, read their FAMILY poems, enjoyed delicious food--even turkey!--and had time to really share with their families.

Please click here to see photos of the students reading their FAMILY poem.

Mr. Pearson Wears His PJs to School!

What in the world is Mr. Pearson doing wearing his pajamas to school?  He promised the students who participated in the Usborne Books Reach for the Stars Read-A-Thon that if they read 45,000 minutes over a two-week period, he would wear his PJs to school.  The students overwhelmingly responded and read 80,098 minutes!  The program was also a fundraiser, with students collecting pledges for each minute they read, and $8,808.08 was raised to purchase student and teacher books, as well as raise money for the PTO to fund future programs. Way to go, Washington students!

Fourth Graders Read "Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World"

Washington fourth graders read the story, "Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World" and participated in a livestock show featuring stuffed animals.  Ribbons were awarded to the best animals in the show.  And, of course, the students also enjoyed some of the best biscuits baked by their teachers, Mrs. Callahan, Mrs. Dressler and Mr. Dressler.  The activity ended with enjoying some trail mix while watching a western movie depicting life on a ranch.

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Second Graders Build Their Own Community

Washington Second Graders participated in a social studies unit called "Our Community," and the students decided to try and build their own community within their classroom.  Each student created a store, public service or house for their community.  They used their own community, Bethel Park, as their inspiration, visiting Bethel Park landmarks such as Miller's Hardware, Bethel Bakery, Giant Eagle and the Fire Station.  Once the students decided on their project, the class discussed how to develop the community--should the apartments be located next to the fire station?  Why or why not?  What should be next to the school?  Where would a farm be located?  Where will the high traffic areas be, and do we need a traffic light?  There are some budding future city planners in second grade!

Please click here to see more pictures from all three Second Grade classes.

Third Graders Host A Copycat Day

All Washington third graders read the story, "Ruby the Copycat," and paired up with a friend or two to have their own Copycat Day.  Besides dressing up alike, the students even ate the same lunches and snacks, and copied each other's behavior.  Their teachers even got in on the act!  While being a copycat is not generally a good idea (it's better to just be yourself!), Copycat Day was a lot of fun!

Please click here to see more pictures of the Washington Third Grade Copycats!