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George Washington Elementary School

Second Graders Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Second Graders in Colleen Manganello's classroom learn Spanish throughout the year and enjoy celebrating Cinco de Mayo.  This year the students welcomed Miss Lynn and Miss Noreen from the Bethel Park Library to their classroom to sing songs about colors, numbers and days of the week.  The students also read books about Cinco de Mayo and had the opportunity to play maracas while singing.  Cinco de Mayo was a lot of fun!

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Third Graders Stage "Two Bear Cubs"

Third Graders in Melissa Kottmeier's classroom did a fantastic job staging the play, "Two Bear Cubs."  The play was about a pair of sibling bear cubs who disobeyed their mother and wandered far from their den.  They fell asleep on a rock that magically grew into a mountain while they slept, and they couldn't get off the mountain by themselves.  Mama Bear enlisted the help of other animals in the forest--a hawk, fox, badger, deer, two fawns, a mountain lion and a mouse, but none of them could reach the bear cubs on top of the mountain.  The only animal who could help was the little measuring worm, who climbed up to the top of the mountain and brought the bear cubs back to safety.  It was a great show with a great message about friendship and not judging someone by their looks.

Please click here to see photos from the performance!

Rhythmic Cultures Perform at Washington

Washington students enjoyed a performance by Rhythmic Cultures.  The performance introduced students to Appalachian, African (Zulu) and Louisiana (Cajun) cultures and music.  The students had the opportunity to explore a variety of instruments and were invited on stage throughout the program to accompany the artists on an array of instruments, including banjos, mandolins and fiddles, balfones, hardwood drums, shakaras, manyangas, spoons, washboards and triangles.  Joining the students were "lumberjack" clog dancing puppets who danced along with the students!  The program was made possible by Gateway to the Arts.

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Third Grade Welcomes Former Steeler Tunch Ilkin

Washington Third Graders welcomed former Pittsburgh Steeler and current Steelers broadcaster Tunch Ilkin to Ms. Osman's room to read The Hole in the Dyke to them.  Mr. Ilkin wanted to be a part of Washington's celebration during Young Reader Week, but that was during the Steelers' season, so he rescheduled in time to help the students wrap up their participation in the Book It program.   The students had a great time learning about the boy who saved his town from flooding by putting his finger in the hole in the dyke until it could be repaired.  The students also enjoyed asking Mr. Ilkin questions about the Steelers past and present.  Thank you for visiting, Mr. Ilkin!

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Washington Receives Flag Flown In Iraq

United States Army Major Greg Toth, husband of Washington Special Education Teacher Melissa Toth, paid a special visit to Washington upon his return to the States from a tour of duty in Iraq to speak with the students about life in Iraq.  He showed the students several photos of the base in Iraq and answered questions from the students.  At the end of his talk, he presented an American flag to Mr. Pearson that was flown over the American military base in Iraq on George Washington's birthday.  Major Toth wanted to present the flag as a way to thank the Washington students for all of the cards, letters and gifts they sent to the troops.

Please click here to see more photos from the presentation.

Congratulations to Nathan Runja, who won four tickets to a Pittsburgh Pirates Game and Angela Burns, who won a Pirates Gift Basket in the most recent Accelerated Reader Drawing.  Their names were drawn by Major Toth during his recent visit to Washington to present an American flag to the school.  Thanks to everyone who has been working so hard on Accelerated Reader to become eligible for the prize drawings!  Keep up the good work!

Washington Students Welcome Artist/Musician Saihou Njie

Washington fourth graders learned the art of batik from Saihou Njie, an African artist now living in Pittsburgh.  Mr. Njie spent the day at Washington teaching students about the art of batik.  At the end of the day, the students enjoyed a program in the Multi-Purpose Room where they had the opportunity to play the drums and dance.  The day was organized by Art Teacher Amy Smeal and Washington parent and local artist Peggi Habets.  Thank you for a wonderful day!

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Students Discover that Math is Magical!

All Washington students had an opportunity to participate in several math-related activities on a day called Magical Math Day.  First graders were paired up with third graders and second graders were paired up with fourth graders to participate in two projects that showed them how much fun math can be.  Kindergarten students had a chance to learn about the ways math impacts their lives as well.  The day culminated with a program in the Multi-Purpose Room, featuring Margaret Hooten, who took a musical look at how much fun math can be!

Please click here to see pictures from Magical Math Day and learn more about the projects the students worked on.

Second Grader Featured in March 'Highlights'

Congratulations to Second Grader Garrett Hoffman, who contributed to the "Your Ideas, Please!" section of the March "Highlights" magazine.  Garrett offered his advice on how to deal with wanting to be popular.

Washington Welcomes BPHS Soccer Champions!

Washington Fourth Graders welcomed two members of the WPIAL Soccer Champion Team to their school--Floyd Butler and Ethan Talbott. The players demonstrated their award-winning soccer skills and answered questions from the students.  Two lucky fourth graders from each class had the opportunity to play goalie against the champions, and while the Washington students gave it a great effort, they were no match for the high school athletes!

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Candy Drive Nets 304 Pounds for Charity!

Washington students donated 304 pounds of candy during their annual Halloween Candy Drive.  The candy was given to the Light of Life Mission and Child and Family Services Group Homes to be shared with their clients.  To encourage donations, the drive included a contest where classrooms competed to see who could bring in the most candy by weight.  This year's winner was Melissa Kottmeier's class, who won a pizza party with pizzas from Caruso's and apples from Trax.  The Halloween Candy Drive is one of the service projects organized by the Washington PTO.  Thanks to everyone who donated candy to make Halloween a little sweeter for the needy!

Second Graders Study Native Americans

All four second grade classes at Washington came together for a big Potlash, or Powwow, to conclude their unit of study on Native Americans.  Each class gave a "Readers Theater" presentation on either a specific tribe or the Indians in a particular region of the United States.  In the afternoon, the students participated in a Native American Art Festival, where they made wampum, a teepee, totem poles and pinch pots.  It was a great way to learn about all of the Native American tribes and have fun with all of the Washington second graders.

Please click here to see pictures from the Readers Theater presentations!

Ken Rice Visits Mrs. Callahan's Classroom

KDKA-TV Anchorman Ken Rice paid a visit to the fourth graders in Mrs. Callahan's room to get them excited about reading.  Even though Mr. Rice works in television, he explained to the students the importance of not relying on television as their only source of news.  He encouraged the students to get in the habit of reading newspapers and books as comprehensive sources of information.  He also read poems from a favorite book of poems called If Kids Ruled the School, and talked to the students about television news.  The students presented Mr. Rice with a cake to take back to his colleagues at KDKA.  Thank you, Mr. Rice, for taking the time to visit with us.

Please click here to see more photos from Mr. Rice's visit.

Washington Students Support Orphans in Zimbabwe

All 16 homerooms at Washington Elementary have stepped to the plate and have sponsored an orphan at the Nyadire Mission School in Zimbabwe, Africa.  Each homeroom purchased a back pack and filled the back pack with school supplies to be shipped to a student in the mission school. Additionally, each homeroom raised $50 to send to Zimbabwe to financially support their assigned student.  The money will cover the cost of a school uniform and administrative fees for an entire year.  The Washington students will also correspond with their new friend periodically throughout the school year.  Additionally, Washington is donating several pairs of new Timberland shoes and cinch sacks filled with supplies for the Nyadire teachers.  Thank you, Washington students, teachers and PTO, for your enthusiastic support of students who are not as fortunate!

PRIDE Conducts Poster Contest During Red Ribbon Week

PRIDE of Bethel Park sponsored a poster contest in all Bethel Park Elementary Schools during Red Ribbon Week.  The contest was open to third and fourth graders and the posters had to portray a drug-free message.  Washington's winners were Zak Gorman and Katie Gorman.  The winning posters were displayed at Bethel Park Stadium during the last home football game of the season an d the winners received a Wal-Mart gift card.  PRIDE is a group of high school students who are devoted to drug prevention and education among their peers and elementary students.  They promote a positive, healthy lifestyle through community service, outreach activities and educational performances.  For more information about PRIDE and its activities, go to www.prideofbp.org.

First Graders Learn Vowel Sounds

First Graders in Mrs. Ellison's classroom spent a Friday morning sitting together and learning about vowel sounds, and in this case, the sound of the short i.  They helped Mrs. Ellison spell out several words containing that sound.  Way to go!

Kindergarten Students Participate in a Variety of Activities!

Washington kindergarten students are busy learning many things, including the alphabet and colors, and they participated in some projects which helped reinforce what they've learned.  Students in Mrs. Varley's class looked through magazines and were given the assignment of cutting out things that were the colors red and blue.  Students also got to play Alphabet Bingo and worked with letter puzzles to spell words.

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Third Grader Grows 17 Pound Cabbage!

Congratulations to Katie Gorman, who grew a cabbage this summer weighing 17.3 pounds!  She grew it this past summer as part of the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Scholarship Cabbage Program.  Her cabbage has been entered into Bonnie Plant's contest, and if she is selected as the Pennsylvania winner, she will receive a $1,000 United States Savings Bond.  Katie, now in fourth grade at Washington, was a third grader in Miss Kottmeier's class last school year and was one of several Washington third graders who participated in this project in connection with their science class unit on plants.  Good luck, Katie!