We all know about the successes of the Bellwood-Antis high school’s sports programs.
The football team lost just one regular season game, the boys’ basketball team brought home district gold, both the boys’ and girls’ track teams earned Mountain Conference championships, the boys’ cross country team won the Mountain Conference, and the boys’ baseball team will take its district championship with it when it plays for the PIAA Class A title Monday.
But there’s other things going on in the land of the Blue Devils. Academics are also excelling.
“We really need to be proud of these kids, not only for what they’re doing on the athletic field, but also for what they’re doing in the classroom,” said B-A District Superintendent Rodney Kuhns recently at a regular meeting of the school board. “They are an incredible bunch who have really worked hard to achieve everything they did. This is absolutely one of the best classes to ever graduate here at Bellwood-Antis.”
More than 110 seniors walked before a packed Memorial Stadium last Friday evening to receive their diplomas.
Academic
According to the district, the Class of 2003 has distinguished themselves as the “highest academic achieving class” as measured by the percentage on the honor roll in the last 14 years.
Regarding the Scholastic Aptitude Test, B-A noted that 14 senior students and six juniors had SAT scores higher than 1200. Janelle Mock was B-A’s 18th commended PSAT student.
Four of nine seniors passed their Advanced Placement English/Literature exam high enough to receive college credit.
CTBS test results show the average score in grades 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 show:
•95 percent of B-A students scored at or above their ability in reading;
•94 percent of B-A students scored at or above their ability in math; and
•94 percent of B-A students scored at or above their ability in language arts.
These test results show the average score in grades 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 were above the 50th percentile in 30 of the 30 areas tested. The percentage of students falling into the lowest quartile (1-25 percent) continues to be less than predicted.
The Spring 2002 PA State Reading Assessment average score for 8th grade was above the state average and similar schools band for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s score of 1410 is 100 points higher than the state average and the seventh straight year in eight that 8th grade students are above the state average.
The Spring 2002 PA State Reading and Writing Assessment scores in 11th grade were significantly higher than state average and above the similar school band. This marks the third time in four years that 11th grade reading assessment scores are higher than both the state average and similar schools band.
The Fall 2002 PA State Writing Assessment scores in 9th grade were significantly higher than the state average and above the similar school band. This marks the fourth time in seven years that 9th grade writing assessment scores are higher than the similar school band and sixth time in seven years that 9th grade scores exceed the state average by 50 or more points.
The Spring 2002 Reading Assessment scores for 5th grade were above the state average for four of the last five years.
The PA State Writing Assessment scores for 6th grade were above the state average seven of the last eight years.
The Blue Team of the middle school reading competition placed first in the spring and fall competitions and the Gold Team placed first in the spring and second in the fall.
Blue Team members include: John Wolfe, Andrea Isola, Jenna Nevling, Jonathan Thompson, Nathaniel Gray, Lauren Seidel, Matthew Flaigh, Beth Wheeler, Corey Miller, Emily O’Shea, Chelsea Thompson and Jessica Garber.
Gold Team members include: Cooper Campbell, Alyssa Davis, Mackenzie Sternberg, Trey Campbell, Lindsy McElhinney, Grant Martin, Troy McCrum, Allison Derr, Emily Cook, Grant DeArmitt, Lindsee Clark and Jessica Maynor.
Coaches for both teams are Kathy Burch and Kathy Taylor.
One-hundred four students qualified for the Middle School Scholarship Banquet; 110 students qualified for the High School Achievement banquet.
Nine members of the Class of 2003 won substantial college scholarships. They include: Chris Carrier, $8,000, Waynesburg College; Clayton Diehl, $8,500, Juniata College; Matt Duffield, $10,000, Juniata College; Andrea Genesi, $7,000, St. Francis University; Glenn Henry, $13,300, Ohio Northern University; Dan Himes, $12,000, Bucknell University; Erin Thompson, $16,350, Susquehanna University; Pad Flynn, full NROTC Scholarship to University of Pittsburg; and Emily Worthing, full scholarship to West Point Military Academy.
The Junior Achievement program, conducted by Andrea Brant, won the 2002-03 Impact Award, to be presented in Pittsburgh at the annual meeting.
Arts
Two students qualified for Regional Chorus: Elizabeth Walker and Lauren Otto. Otto continued on and was selected to State Chorus.
Lauren Otto, Emily Sharer and Glenn Henry were selected to Regional Band.
Six students qualified to compete at Nationals in Arlington, Va. They were: Katrina Holdren, Lauren Otto, Erin Thompson, Pat Henry, Mike Seidel and Shawn Wertz.
Lauren Otto was recognized as a NFL National Qualifier.
From this region of 48 schools, Bellwood-Antis is sending the only student to the NCFL Student Congress – Patrick Henry qualified for this national competition.
Treva Anspach was recognized as a PLCB State Art Winner.
Amber Dillen was an FBLA State qualifier.
Ashleigh Diehl was a A Junior Academy of Science state winner.
Agriculture
Two students won the FFA Keystone Degree. They are Angel Kelley and LaToya McClellan.
Discipline
There were 131 high school suspensions this year. That number is down 27, or 17 percent, from last year. There were also seven student-related discipline hearings.
There were 55 middle school suspensions this year. That number is down 73, or 57 percent, from last year. There were also three student-related discipline hearings.
There were also 15 elementary school suspensions. That number is down 5, or 25 percent, from last year.
Community support
The Bellwood-Antis Scholarship Fund is $52,675.
BASD Foundation awarded two teacher mini-grants for 2003-04, totaling $2,080.20.
DelGrosso’s is donating $1,500 per year for the next five years to the Bellwood-Antis School District Foundation.
