Community Newsletter of The New Brighton Area School District 3225 43rd Street New Brighton, PA 15066 The The New Brighton Area School District Where LIONS take PRIDE in learning. www.nbasd.org Fall 2011 C C OMMUNICATOR OMMUNICATOR From the Desk of the Superintendent Dr. David C. Pietro W inston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The 2011-2012 school year began under the cloud of budget cuts, national and state partisan politics, and tough economic times. The school district, like all others in the state, was faced with a 1.2 million dollar reduction in funding. This challenge was met head-on by board members, administrators, faculty and staff in order to maintain quality services and without interruption to student learning. Each member of the New Brighton Area School District community put aside their own needs for the greater good. I would like to thank the teachers and other personnel for their willingness to work together in the best interests of the students and district. It is this unique environment of cooperation that makes New Brighton a special place to live, work and learn. Even in times of challenge, New Brighton students and staff continue to succeed. We are pleased that the district again made Adequately Yearly Progress according to the No Child Left Behind Act and that there was again growth in PSSA scores. Please read the article on page 2 that better ex- plains performance on the PSSA exams and how New Brigh- ton students fared. There is always work to be done, how- ever, and areas needing improvement are determined though data analysis and curriculum focus. Each day in the classrooms teachers work diligently to assess student learn- ing in order to best prepare them for success. In other good news, Dr. Joseph Guarino, Director of Cur- riculum, secured an Enhancing Education Through Tech- nology grant for $50,000 that will be used to expand online learning programs in New Brighton. Currently, the Lions OnLine Academy (LOLA) is available for students in grades 9-12 as online learning at New Brighton. Through this grant, the district will begin expansion of an online learning program for the primary and middle grades. This will provide greater availability for more students to take advantage of online learning opportunities. We are also completing and undertaking buildings and grounds projects this year. The new Elementary School roof is nearly complete. Each building now has a new roof that should last at least 25 years. The next areas for repair are the concrete areas around the district that have deteriorated throughout the years. These projects are beginning this fall. We are also in the final stages of planning renovations to Memorial Baseball Field. The field has not been reno- vated in more than 35 years. Grants from the Depart- ment of Conservation and Natural Resources, Beaver County Community Block Development, as well as fund- ing from the district are making this much needed update possible. I hope you enjoy reading this issue of The Communicator and learning about some of the wonderful things hap- pening this fall in the district. I encourage you to keep abreast of all the district happenings by frequenting the district webpage at www.nbasd.org.
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Community
Newsletter of
The New Brighton
Area School District
3225 43rd Street
New Brighton, PA
15066
TheThe
New Brighton Area School District Where LIONS take PRIDE in learning.
www.nbasd.org Fall 2011
CC OMMUNICATOROMMUNICATOR
From the Desk of the Superintendent
Dr. David C. Pietro
W inston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees
the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist
sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” The 2011-2012
school year began under the cloud of budget cuts, national
and state partisan politics, and tough economic times. The
school district, like all others in the state, was faced with a
1.2 million dollar reduction in funding. This challenge was
met head-on by board members, administrators, faculty
and staff in order to maintain quality services and without
interruption to student learning. Each member of the New
Brighton Area School District community put aside their
own needs for the greater good. I would like to thank the
teachers and other personnel for their willingness to work
together in the best interests of the students and district.
It is this unique environment of cooperation that makes
New Brighton a special place to live, work and learn.
Even in times of challenge, New Brighton students and staff
continue to succeed. We are pleased that the district again
made Adequately Yearly Progress according to the No Child
Left Behind Act and that there was again growth in PSSA
scores. Please read the article on page 2 that better ex-
plains performance on the PSSA exams and how New Brigh-
ton students fared. There is always work to be done, how-
ever, and areas needing improvement are determined
though data analysis and curriculum focus. Each day in the
classrooms teachers work diligently to assess student learn-
ing in order to best prepare them for success.
In other good news, Dr. Joseph Guarino, Director of Cur-
riculum, secured an Enhancing Education Through Tech-
nology grant for $50,000 that will be used to expand
online learning programs in New Brighton. Currently, the
Lions OnLine Academy (LOLA) is available for students in
grades 9-12 as online learning at New Brighton. Through
this grant, the district will begin expansion of an online
learning program for the primary and middle grades.
This will provide greater availability for more students to
take advantage of online learning opportunities.
We are also completing and undertaking buildings and
grounds projects this year. The new Elementary School
roof is nearly complete. Each building now has a new
roof that should last at least 25 years. The next areas for
repair are the concrete areas around the district that
have deteriorated throughout the years. These projects
are beginning this fall.
We are also in the final stages of planning renovations to
Memorial Baseball Field. The field has not been reno-
vated in more than 35 years. Grants from the Depart-
ment of Conservation and Natural Resources, Beaver
County Community Block Development, as well as fund-
ing from the district are making this much needed update
possible.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue of The Communicator
and learning about some of the wonderful things hap-
pening this fall in the district. I encourage you to keep
abreast of all the district happenings by frequenting the
district webpage at www.nbasd.org.
2 www.nbasd.org
NBASD 2011 PSSA Performance
PSSA Reading Results 2011 PSSA Math Results 2011
PSSA Writing Results 2011
Basic
Below Basic
Advanced
Proficient
Below Basic
Basic
Proficient
Advanced
Advanced
Proficient
Basic
Below Basic
Each year students in grades 3
through 8 and grade 11 are challenged
to complete the Pennsylvania System
of School Assessments (PSSA). These
tests measure student knowledge in a
number of subject areas including,
reading , math, writing and science.
Every year since the inception of the
PSSA the district has met the standard
for achievement (Adequate Yearly
Progress, AYP) as set by the No Child
Left Behind Act. This year AYP re-
quired 11% and 9% more students
were to score proficient or above in
math and reading respectively. New
Brighton students achieved this goal.
Students in all grade levels across the
district showed improvements. While
we are very proud of their accomplish-
ments, students, staff, and parents
must continue to work together to
push for new levels of achievement.
This year’s PSSA exams will be admin-
istered beginning in March.
www.nbasd.org 3
Creating Safe, Secure Classrooms, Schools and Communities
National attention has been given to the serious and growing problem of bullying, both in and out of school.
Statistics show that 17 percent of students in grades 6-10 reported having been bullied "sometimes" or
more, with 8 percent being bullied once a week. 19 percent said they had been a bully to others "sometimes"
or more. (2001 study of 15,000 U.S. students). This year the New Brighton Middle School kicked off the
Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. This world-renowned program developed by Dr. Dan Olweus, is the
foremost in bullying prevention.
Bullying is defined by Dr. Olweus as when a person is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions
on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself. Bullying
can happen in many forms, including physical, emotional, cyber, racial or sexual. Bullying has consequences
for both the bully (poor grades, more likely to drink alcohol or smoke, engage in vandalism or get into fights),
the bullied (depression, low self esteem, health problems, poor grades), and the bystanders (anxiety, guilt, or
even decreased empathy). In order to create a climate where bullying is not tolerated the program has com-
ponents at four levels (school, classroom, individual and community) that promote long-term, system-wide
change. The goals of the program include reducing existing bullying problems among students at school, pre-
venting future incidents of bullying, and creating better peer relations at school.
In order to kick off the program for the middle school community, students and teachers gathered for an as-
sembly and activities on September 2, 2011. The bullying prevention program was explained and expecta-
tions of students were given. Students then had the opportunity to participate in team-building activities to-
gether provided by Sgt. Bergamasco of the PA Counter Drug Program.
It is only through cooperation between the schools and community that this program can be successful. Par-
ents should take time to discuss bullying with students and encourage them to get the help of an adult any
time they are bullied or see bullying occur.
A special thank you to Dawn Ackerman, parent volunteer and Daren Duncan, youth minister from New
Brighton Christian Assembly for their assistance during the event.
Students participate in team
building activities during the
kick-off of the Olweus Bullying
Prevention Program at the
middle school. Working to-
gether to solve challenges,
students were encouraged to
build positive peer relations.
4 www.nbasd.org
Homecoming Court 2011
Lauren Mittner was crowned Homecoming Queen on
October 14, 2011 at Oak Hill Field. Congratulations to
the 2011 New Brighton High School Homecoming
Court!
The following young ladies represented the Class of
2012:
Jenna Dewhirst, Crown Bearer, is the daughter of Ron
and Janet Dewhirst. Kelly Hart is the daughter of Ken
and Paula Hart. Jenna Jurich is the daughter of Steve
and Lisa Jurich. Lauren Mittner, Homecoming Queen,
is the daughter of Don and Aliene Mittner. Megan Syl-
vester is the daughter of Dean and MariBeth Sylvester.
Elementary Student Council
The 5th Grade Student Council Members were selected for the 2011-2012 school year. Students interested in running
for Student Council presented a 2 minute speech to the classmates in their homerooms. After hearing all of the
speeches, 5th grade students voted for 1 boy and 1 girl in each homeroom.
The purpose of the group is to involve students directly in improving self-esteem and to increase interest in school and
charitable work. The New Brighton Elementary Student Council is an organized
group of students who:
Represent the ideas of fellow students;
Serve as role models and school leaders;
Foster goodwill between students and teachers;
Participate in academic, social, and charitable activities at New Brighton Ele-
mentary School.
Student Council has various activities planned for this school year including:
Teacher Feature; Caps for Kids Cap Day; Lee National Denim Day to support
breast cancer research; PJ Day to raise money to buy Thanksgiving Gift Cards for
Enrollment for New Brighton High
School Preschool Program
The New Brighton High School Preschool Program
is now accepting applications for the January pro-
gram. The preschool will operate Monday -
Thursday, beginning January 17 and run until the
third week of May. The cost for the entire time is
$60.00. (This fee can be paid the first day of pre-
school. Please make all checks payable to New
Brighton School District.) The sessions will run
from 10:50 AM-12:05 PM. The high school stu-
dents will teach the lessons under the supervision
of Mrs. Campbell. At the end of the year, each
parent will receive a journal on the preschooler’s