Middle School Class Day is a celebration of our students’ local and national achievements. Students are honored for their academics, athletics, arts, and community service. The following students were recognized:
MathCounts is a nationally recognized Middle School math enrichment/competition program. In February, seven Middle School students competed in the Pittsburgh Area MathCounts Competition. Approximately 160 students from 21 schools around the Pittsburgh Area took part in this competition.
Isaac Berman, J. Oliver Choo*, Aria Eppinger, Owen O'Malley, CB Roman,
Nicole Shigiltchoff, Samuel Zlotnikov
*Special recognition to J. Oliver for finishing in seventh place overall.
American Mathematics Competition: Each November, WT Middle School students participate in the American Mathematics Competition. This contest is taken by thousands of students across the United States and internationally. It aims to further challenge and recognize students who have exceptional mathematical ability.
Scoring in the top 15: CB Roman
Two-way tie for third place; finish in the top 5% in the Nation: Clare Morton and Nicole Shigiltchoff
Two-way tie for second place; finishing in the top 1% in the Nation: Aria Eppinger and CB Roman
Two-way tie for first place; finishing in the top 1% in the Nation: Isaac Berman and J. Oliver Choo
Calcu-Solve Olympics Recognition: Accuracy, speed, and mathematical knowledge were essential components in solving challenging math word problems at this year's Calcu-Solve competitions.
Isaac Berman, J. Oliver Choo, Joseph Creiman, Aria Eppinger, Claire Morton, Owen O'Malley,
CB Roman, Scott Routledge, Matie Sadeh, Nicole Shigiltchoff, Mat VanBriesen
The Future City Competition is a cross-curricular educational program where students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades imagine, design, and build cities of the future. Students worked as a team with an educator and a volunteer mentor to design a virtual city using SimCity Software. They researched and wrote an essay addressing this year’s theme of Creating a Sustainable Food Supply for Our City of the Future. They built a model of their city using recycled materials, and three students presented to a panel of judges at the Regional Competition in January:
Aria Eppinger, Claire Morton, Nicole Shigiltchoff
The Southwestern PA Science Bowl is a question and answer format competition in which teams of students compete school against school in a round robin format. Students are quizzed on topics including Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science, Energy and Math.
Drew Fingeret, CB Roman, Scott Routledge, Samuel Zlotnikov
Science Olympiad is a competition consisting of 23 rigorous, standards-based events in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.
Joseph Creiman, Aria Eppinger, Drew Fingeret, Morgan Graham, Griffin King, Claire Morton,
John Price, CB Roman, Scott Routledge, Kayla Zemek, Samuel Zlotnikov
The First Lego League Robotics Competition is an annual competition that challenges students to build and program robots to do a series of missions based on a specific theme. This year’s team was recognized with a second place trophy in programming and software design.
Vishal Bandaru, Isaac Berman, William Caballero, Nicholas Chreky, Drew Fingeret, Joe Molder,
Keshav Mukherjee, Nicole Shigiltchoff, Daniel Taimanov, Samuel Zlotnikov
The Daughters of the American Revolution present American History Awards to students who produce outstanding work in History in Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, and Independent schools.
Zachary Marzan, Megan Sullivan
Each year the Sons of the American Revolution recognize those eighth graders in the Pittsburgh area who best exemplify the qualities of dependability, cooperation, leadership, and patriotism.
Emily Pressman, William Charlie Tiberio
Every year, WT participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. We host a Middle School Bee to determine who will represent the school at the Western Pennsylvania Regional Scripps Spelling Bee.
Tied for second place: Eva Boeglin and Nora Caballero
First place: Joseph Creiman
Joey represented WT at the Western Pennsylvania Regional Bee.
Battle of the Books is a trivia contest offered by the Carnegie Library. To prepare, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade members read at least two, and as many as ten books, from the grade list supplied by the Carnegie Library.
Mirisa Alfonso Wells, Mya Clark-Beadle, Ella Benec, Isaac Berman, Eva Boeglin, Megan Bulova,
Nora Caballero, Nicholas Chreky, Drew Fingeret, Morgan Graham, Eliot Herron, Jack Keane-Lizano,
John Kubiak, Owen O’Malley, CB Roman, Maite Sadeh, Rachel Sadeh, Daniella Shear, Leon Sleator,
Kayla Zemek, Andrew Zivkovic
National French Language Awards: Each year, the eighth grade French students take the National French Exam. More than 20,000 students around the country take this test and the following students scored in the top 10%:
M. Washington, Daniella Shear
National Spanish Language Awards: Each year, the eighth grade Spanish students take the National Spanish Exam. The exam assesses their levels of Spanish and serves as a nationwide competition. Two students earned gold medals in the national competition, scoring in the top 5%:
Joseph Creiman, Isana Raja
Four students earned silver medals, scoring in the top 15%:
Isaac Berman, Jonah Green, Madison O'Malley, and Jack Yousem
Two students scored in the top 25%: Nora Caballero and Charlie Tiberio
Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association Award for Mandarin Chinese: We recognize our students who have displayed enthusiasm, interest, and excellence in the study of the Chinese language for at least three years.
Nicholas Chreky, Patrick Costa, Kian Delaney, Drew Fingeret
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards has an impressive legacy dating back to 1923. Over the years, the awards have grown to become the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S., and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists and writers. A noteworthy roster of past winners includes Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, and Stephen King.
Each year, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual and literary-arts organizations across the country to bring the awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7 - 12 can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published. Submissions are juried by luminaries in the visual and literary arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.
This year, one of our Middle School students was honored by being accepted into the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. We recognize Eva Boeglin who received an Honorable Mention for her flash fiction and a regional Gold Key for her short story.
The Winchester Thurston Athletics Department presents the Middle School Coaches Award to acknowledge athletes who represent the best of what defines Middle School athletics at WT. Our coaches have chosen students who exemplify exactly what we expect from our students both on and off the playing field. The recipient of this award consistently demonstrates commitment to WT athletics, represents fair play, team spirit, and has made a significant and positive impact on the landscape of athletics and their team for the 2014-2015 school year.
WT Coaches Award for Field Hockey and for Girls Basketball: Ella Benec
WT Coaches Award for Soccer: John Wittig
WT Coaches Award for Cross Country: Sean Heintzleman
WT Coaches Award for Boys Basketball: Eli Harrison
WT Coaches Award for Girls Lacrosse: Claire Morton
WT Coaches Award for Boys Lacrosse: Charlie Tiberio
Technology Award: This award is given to the Middle School student or students who demonstrate an appreciation for computers by enthusiastically participating in computer class, sharing his or her expertise with others, and showing a genuine appreciation for the computer as a tool for exploration and learning.
Isaac Berman, Claire Morton, J. Oliver Choo
Student Council Recognition: As elected officers of the Middle School Student Council, the following students have served the entire WT community with their leadership:
Officers: Isana Raja, Ella Benec, M. Washington
Advisory Representatives: Mirisa Alfonso Wells, Talia Busquets, J. Oliver Choo, Aria Eppinger,
Morgan Graham, Griffin King, Max Lasky, Gwynnyth McGough, Jesse Rabner, Rachel Sadeh,
Nicole Schigiltchoff, Daniel Taimanov, Charlie Tiberio, Jacob Yousem