Two McDowell High School students have qualified to compete in the national level of the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO). McDowell senior Philip Ropelewski and McDowell junior Bridget Gutting will take part in the Olympiad at Mercyhurst College on April 22.

The students scored the highest for McDowell at the local competition qualifying them to take the national test. The national test is four and a half hours and includes multiple choice, free response, and laboratory practical sections.

The USNCO is a multi-tiered competition designed to stimulate and promote achievement in high school chemistry.

Four McDowell High School students earned a place at the state-level National History Day competition that will be held at Penn State University on May 10 and 11.

McDowell students Mike DeDad, Laura Currie, Mike Leone, and Matt Harrison competed at the regional-level competition at Edinboro University.

Each year a broad theme is selected for the contest. The theme of National History Day 2006 is Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events.

National History Day is a year-long education program that engages students in grades 6-12 in the process of discovery and interpretation of historical topics. Students produce dramatic performances, imaginative exhibits, multimedia documentaries, or research papers based on the annual theme.

Students in Mr. Okey Graham’s honors social studies classes are required to put together a project for History Day. This is the seventh year McDowell students have competed in the regional event.

Winners from the Pennsylvania competition will next compete at National History Day held in June at the University of Maryland at College Park.

Nine members of the McDowell High School Speech and Debate Team have qualified to compete at the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Championship in Chicago, Illinois, May 26 through May 28.

Competing at the tournament will be: freshman Robert Mingey (Lincoln-Douglas debate); juniors Andrea Ortiz (policy debate) and Matt Mingey (policy debate); and seniors Andrew Natalo (Lincoln-Douglas debate), Brandon Herring (student Congress), Camille Gajewski (Duo Interpretation), Megan Manganaro (duo interpretation), Sarah Raley (original oratory), and Samantha Moore (original oratory).

The National Catholic Forensic League was founded in 1951. Based upon the ideal of open membership, the NCFL welcomes membership to all schools public and private in the United States and Canada.

(Erie, Pennsylvania) The Millcreek Township School District Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and the Department of Information Technology announce an event for parents titled iSAFE™ an Internet Safety Program. This program will begin with a presentation by District Justice Paul Manzi on the serious issue of underage drinking. Manzi’s presentation will be immediately followed by the iSAFE™ presentation. The program will be held on Wednesday, March 29, 2006, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Little Theater at McDowell Intermediate High School, 3320 Caughey Road.

“Internet safety and underage drinking are both very serious issues for every community,” said Millcreek Superintendent Dr. Dean Maynard. “It is important that every parent take an active role in these areas, and our goal is to provide a forum for accurate and direct information to help our parents and students.”

The iSAFE™ program is part of a nationwide Internet safety campaign to teach parents how to protect their family from online risks. The program teaches how to avoid being victimized by Internet predators.

“It is midnight and your child is on the Internet. Do you really know were he/she is?” said Millcreek’s Coordinator of Information Services Tom Del Fratte. “Each parent should stop and think about that statement.” Statistics reported by iSAFE™ indicate that one in five children who use chatrooms have been approached over the Internet by pedophiles. Also, 20% have met someone face-to-face they came to know online.

In addition to the issue of Internet safety, McDowell principal, Tim Rankin, invited District Justice Paul Manzi to address parents about underage drinking. “It is important that parents understand the seriousness of underage drinking and the consequences that families face when children decide to take part in this illegal activity,” said Rankin. “We are pleased that Justice Manzi agreed to partner with us to present information to parents so each parent can talk with his/her child about the choices they make. Good choices directly affect school behavior and performance,” said Rankin.

Parents are encouraged to attend this important event. No preregistration is required. If parents have questions, they may phone Tom Del Fratte at 835-5315.

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Editor’s note: More statistics from iSAFE™:
•89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages.
•13 million youth use Instant Messaging. Just under half of all seventh graders
visit Internet chatrooms.
•More than 30% of high school seniors have posted their photo on the web.

McDowell’s 2006 Varsity and Junior Varsity Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) teams each placed first in the large school division at the local JETS competition on March 1. The average score of the varsity teams in the large school division was 41. The McDowell Varsity JETS team scored 61.

Students are recommended for the JETS teams by their math and science teachers. The advisor then chooses the students who will compete. The McDowell Varsity team consists of seven seniors and the McDowell Junior Varsity team consists of eight juniors.

The teams who place first, second, and third in the local competition qualify for judging on the state and national levels. Ms. Ellen Aldrich, mathematics teacher at McDowell High School, is the advisor for the JETS team.