Fox Chapel Area School District news for the week of March

Four Fox Chapel Area High School students were selected by audition to perform with the 2025 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Region I Band. The students are senior Marina Dunham (bassoon) and juniors Elliott Broyles (trombone), Jack Murray-Krezan (percussion) and Joshua Shah (flute). The band included 150 of the best student-musicians from 60 high schools from throughout Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.

The PMEA Region I Band concert was held March 8 at Ambridge Area High School and was conducted by retired Colonel Michael J. Colburn, the 27th director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

Approximately 100 superintendents, district leaders and school-based educators from across the United States will visit the Fox Chapel Area School District on March 25 as part of the League of Innovative Schools Spring 2025 Convening.

Attendees will visit Kerr Elementary School, Dorseyville Middle School and Fox Chapel Area High School. The visit will spotlight Fox Chapel Area’s strategic vision, which focuses on educating the whole student, and illustrates how through inclusive, data-informed instruction, authentic learning experiences and a focus on fostering belonging, Fox Chapel Area demonstrates its commitment to cultivating a supportive environment where students can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally.

The day’s festivities at Fox Chapel Area will culminate in Fox Fest, an event that will highlight various programs and initiatives in the district, as well as a Unified Bocce game.

Other events during the Spring 2025 Convening will include industry visits, workshops and learning sessions.

Twelve other area school districts are hosting the League of Innovative Schools Spring 2025 Convening: Avonworth, Baldwin-Whitehall, California Area, Duquesne City, Elizabeth Forward, Hampton Township, Northgate, Quaker Valley, River Valley, Shaler Area, South Allegheny, and South Fayette Township. Each school district will host site visits in their schools as well. These districts, as well as Fox Chapel Area, are the member districts of the League of Innovative Schools in the Pittsburgh area.

Seven Fox Chapel Area High School seniors have been designated as National Merit Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. The Finalists from Fox Chapel Area High School are David Black, Anna Delale-O’Connor, Benjamin Fiedler, Rayna Huang, Arnim Kuchhal, Zhana Neumann and Rohit Velankar.

These Fox Chapel Area High School students were named Semifinalists in September 2024 and have met all the requirements to advance to Finalist standing in the competition for National Merit Scholarships. The students are selected as Finalists based on their Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores and other factors, including SAT and/or ACT scores, a student essay, a school recommendation and having an outstanding academic record throughout high school.

Each year college-bound 11th-grade students complete the PSAT/NMSQT. All the students who take this test are automatically enrolled in the National Merit Scholarship Program and approximately 15,000 advance to become Finalists. The Finalists represent less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors and compete for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered this spring.

The entire community is invited to participate in the Dorseyville Middle School Foxes on the Run 5K and Kids’ Dash at Hartwood Acres on April 26. The cost to participate in the 5K (prior to April 20) is $35 for adults, and $25 for those 18 and under. The cost to enter the 5K increases after April 20. The cost to enter the Kids’ Dash for ages 10 and under is $15 and participants must be registered by April 26. The Kids’ Dash will begin at 8:45 a.m. and the 5K race and the fun run/walk begin at 9 a.m.

All 5K participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt and awards for first- through third-places will be given in multiple age divisions. All Kids’ Dash participants will receive an award at the finish line.

The event is being coordinated by the DMS Student Council and Health and Wellness Committee and all of the proceeds raised will benefit the students at the middle school.

Vendors on site will be Millie’s Ice Cream and Knock About Coffee.

Race sponsors are GCXC Race Timing and Management, Drugs Kill Dreams, T.D. Brick Pointing, Smiles by Smith Orthodontics, PetVet365, Millie’s Ice Cream, and Knock About Coffee.

Fox Chapel Area High School junior Mira Owens had her artwork selected for the 2025 National Art Honor Society/National Junior Art Honor Society Juried Exhibition. Mira’s piece is titled “Reminiscence,” and is a drawing using all the ink in one pen.

“I illustrated my dance experience during quarantine,” Mira said. “Dance kept me connected to people and music when everything else seemed out of reach. Dancing is like drawing because proper technique takes time; lots of practice must be dedicated to it.”

Mira’s artwork is being exhibited virtually, along with 129 other selected pieces, on the National Art Education Association website through Aug. 31.