Holiday Mail for Heroes

The holidays are fast approaching and in this season of hope and giving, the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes, Inc. have teamed up for the third year to invite Americans to “send a touch of home” to United States service members and veterans across the country and abroad. This year, our Central Cambria Middle School students took part in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program by writing and sending holiday greeting cards to servicemen and women, veterans, and families of service members. On Wednesday, November 25 students had the chance to write, decorate, and design holiday cards to send to those who currently serve or have served our country. Thanks go out to all of the students and teachers for their help and cooperation in honoring our troops during this holiday season!

Girls Cross Country Team Wins States

Everyone in the Central Cambria School District would like to congratulate the 2009 Girls Cross Country team on their achievement of winning the State Title. Congratulations on your 3rd consecutive State Championship.



To view a slide show of their season click here. If a yellow bar appears at the top of your screen click on it and "allow blocked content. (Note: You will need to view the slide show in Internet Explorer.)

Sheetz Presents Gift to Central Cambria Education Foundation

Central Cambria Education Foundation (CCEF), the fund-raising arm of the Central Cambria School District, was the recipient of a $2,500 donation from the Sheetz Corporation at the October 29 grand opening of Sheetz along Route 22 in Ebensburg.

Several CCEF Board members were special guests at the Sheetz grand opening, accepting the check from Joe Sheetz and store employees. According to Dennis Simmers, President of the CCEF Board, “To say we were surprised and delighted would be a vast understatement. The Board is very grateful to Sheetz for selecting CCEF as their community action partner in commemorating their new store.”

Simmers said, “Aside from the unique opportunity to participate in the unveiling of a multi-million dollar enterprise, our Board was presented a monetary gift from Sheetz to forward CCEF’s mission in the community. This generous donation will benefit the students of the Central Cambria School District, and we are very grateful for the support.”

A number of local and state officials, residents of Ebensburg Center, members of the business community at-large, as well as citizen enthusiasts of Sheetz were on hand for the CCEF presentation and grand opening.

During the gift presentation, Simmers expressed the Board’s appreciation and admiration in these challenging economic times. Speaking to Joe Sheetz and his local staff, Simmers praised Sheetz’ forward-looking attitude: “The CCEF Board would like to acknowledge Sheetz’ tenacity and courage in pressing on with this project. We wish you all of the best luck in your business endeavors.”

Simmers assured Sheetz that the gift proceeds would benefit the children and promised to follow-up with photographs of the projects it will sustain.

Shown in Photo(front, l to r): Awanda Freeman, Joe Sheetz, Dennis Simmers, Michele Bonerigo, Wendy DeYulis, and Candy Long (back) Randy Seymour, Vincent DiLeo, Thomas Woods, Rep. Frank Burns, and Sen. John Wozniak.

Flu Letter to Parents

As you may know, flu related illnesses are spreading easily from person to person, and school-age children are one of the groups most affected. We are working closely with our school physician, Cambria County EMS and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take. Currently, we are seeing a slightly higher occurrence of respiratory related flu conditions in the school. We are taking steps to prevent the spread of flu in the Central Cambria School District. Strategies consist of basic every day approaches to limit the spread of germs. We want to keep the school open and functioning as normal for as long as possible.

Please click on the link below to read the rest of this letter about the flu.

DOWNLOAD PARENT FLU LETTER

Gateway Clipper Trip

On Tuesday, October 6th, the eighth grade students boarded the Gateway Clipper Ship “Princess” for an educational program entitled “Lord of the Mons: Steel, Coke, and Coal and the Men Who Moved Them”. The students learned about river life and the industrialists and immigrants who created the steel industry along the Monongahela River. Students were captivated by the interesting stories and numerous props that the speakers used to tell the story of the River City during the early 1900’s. They learned how their nationality played an important part in the type of jobs they may have held in the steel industry. Students dressed in fire-resistant clothing, examines how slag was produced, and had the opportunity to throw tow ropes to see how the boat was anchored.

After the presentation, students had an opportunity to visit the three decks on board the “Princess” while talking with friends, eating their lunches, and enjoying the beauty of the river. All seemed to enjoy the educational adventure. The Gateway Clipper staff made a special point to comment on the exceptional behavior of the students and their rapt attention during the presentation.

Attention Parents/Guardians: Swine Flu

The school is taking an aggressive step towards the attack of the swine flu. Mrs. Aurandt(High School Nurse)has been educating all of the High School boys and girls Physical Education Classes. Mrs. Aurandt has been very busy handing out tissues and hand sanitizers, and discussing many important strategies for the students to take to avoid contracting the Swine Flu.

Swine Flu

To Parents and Guardians of Pennsylvania’s Students:

In the spring of 2009, a new flu strain (known as pandemic influenza A/H1N1 or swine flu) appeared and quickly spread throughout the United States. Schools in Pennsylvania were impacted and a number had to close briefly due to the virus spreading so quickly. With the cooperation of our parents, we were able to minimize the overall impact of the flu virus.

Over the course of the summer, this new flu strain continued to produce illness in Pennsylvania, although not at the levels witnessed in May and June.

To combat this new flu strain, we plan to continue many of the measures previously put in place to protect your children. Additionally, new guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now stipulates that a student with the flu will need to stay home until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications (Tylenol, Motrin, etc.). In most cases, this would be anywhere from three to five days where your child would be kept home from school.

Your school will be taking steps to reduce the spread of infections like the flu. Frequent hand washing will be encouraged, and surfaces that are frequently touched or handled will be regularly cleaned and disinfected. If a child is sick, he or she will be moved to a sick room designated by the school, and you will be contacted to take your child home.

While school closure will remain an option, our current recommendations are to take such an action only if there is evidence that other measures are not working. School districts will work closely with their local and state health departments in making decisions. Each situation will be individually evaluated to assure the best course of action is taken to protect the children and school staff as well as minimize the burden and impact on affected families.

Many of you have questions about the availability and use of vaccines. Recently, persons between ages five and 24 were identified as a priority group to receive the vaccine against the new flu strain. The Department of Health estimates the first doses of the new vaccine will be available in October and details of distribution of the vaccine will be forthcoming.

We also expect to see illness due to the seasonal (or regular) flu in the coming fall and winter. The seasonal flu vaccine has been recommended for all school-aged children and is especially important for children with underlying health problems (like asthma and diabetes), since these conditions increase the risk for flu complications. Therefore, we encourage all parents to have their children annually vaccinated against seasonal flu. This vaccine will be available in the early fall, but it will not protect against the swine flu strain.

Information on the flu, and how you can protect your family, is available at www.health.state.pa.us, www.cdc.gov and www.flu.gov. For further information, contact your child’s school, your local health department, the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

Your child’s health and education are very important, and we hope to partner with you during the school year to assure that both are achieved at the highest levels. Thank you for your assistance.

Beneficial Student Programs

This year, Jackson and Cambria Elementary Schools are starting two new programs through the Pennsylvania State University that will be very beneficial to our students. They are the Intelligent Tutoring System for the Structure and the Siblings are Special Programs. If you are interested in learning more about each program, please contact your child's school.

The Pennsylvania State University
Intelligent Tutoring System for the Structure - (ITSS)

What is Intelligent Tutoring System for the Structure – ITSS?

• ITSS is a web based tutoring system that teaches students the structure strategy.
  

How does it work?

• ITSS is interactive:
  
  • The online tutor, I.T., models the use of the structure strategy for students.
    
  • Students respond to questions posed by I.T.
    
  • I.T. gives students immediate feedback on their answers. Students are then given more directions and multiple attempts to answer the questions.
    
• ITSS lessons are based on science, social studies, sports and current events.
  
• Students are given immediate feedback so they know exactly how they are doing.
  
• Teachers are provided with reports that show student progress along with an administrative tool to view the student's answers to questions, scores on activities and daily progress.
  
• Each student works at his/her own pace.
  
• Teacher support will be provided by a teacher aide assigned to each classroom using ITSS. This aide will be provided to the district FREE
  of cost, and paid for by the Pennsylvania State University grant. The aides will have the necessary clearances to work in the classrooms. The aides will ensure that the computers are accessible for ITSS and monitor the students during their ITSS use.
  

How will this benefit PSSA scores?

• ITSS provides 95 lessons throughout the year and concludes with PSSA practice tests that will help the students apply the structure strategy in the PSSA tests.
  
• Teachers and aides will be trained on the use of the structure strategy and how ITSS lessons work. They will also receive a teacher guide to the lessons and customized lessons to apply the students' skills in their classroom activities.
  

The Pennsylvania State University would like to request the participation of Central Cambria School District in this exciting project that can improve reading comprehension among our students and help the Pennsylvania State University evaluate the efficacy of the software in a rigorous randomized control study. The following are a list of eligibility criteria to participate in the study:

1. Students will need to have one-to-one access to a computer and earphones. The computer lab network connections must support all the students using the system concurrently. Each student workstation will need to have an internet connection with Internet Fox, Firefox, or Netscape installed as an available browser and the latest version of Java and Flash plug-ins.
   
2. The students will need to use the ITSS for approximately 60 minutes a week (this can be in one 1 hour session or two 30 minute sessions). Ideally, the students will use ITSS during the Language Arts or Social Studies periods.
   
3. The study will run as follows:
   
   1. Grades 4 & 5 – 2009 - 2010 academic year
      
   2. Grades 7 & 8 – 2010 – 2011 academic year
      
4. The school must be willing to allow a random assignment of two classrooms to the ITSS group and one to a control group. (If there are more than three classrooms, they can work with us in the groupings).
   
5. Both ITSS and control group students will receive a pre-test and post-test that lasts approximately 2 hours. The pre-tests will be conducted in September and the post-tests will be conducted in March.
   
6. All students, both the control and intervention groups, will be able to use the ITSS as soon as post-test data collection is completed, during the summer, and/or the following year.
   
7. There is NO cost to using the system.
   
8. They are also requesting a data file of student ID's (no identifying information) and the PSSA test scores for students be provided to the ITSS team, so that they may perform detailed analysis that can be useful to all stakeholders.
   

The Pennsylvania State University
The "Siblings are Special" Program

What is the "Siblings are Special" Program?

The Pennsylvania State University has just been awarded federal stimulus funds through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to implement and evaluate the "Siblings are Special" Program. In addition, to improve child and family well-being, this stimulus-funded project will result in financial benefits for participating families and schools. The effectiveness of "Siblings are Special" Program will take the form of a randomized controlled study. That means half of volunteering families will be randomly chosen to be in the program and half will receive a book on siblings written for parents. All families will participate in data collection and the Penn State University will compensate all families up to $500 for participation. (Families receive $150 for each wave of data collection, and up to $25 for each child participating in this program. Families who receive the book will also be paid $25).

The program is to help siblings learn to cooperate, problem solve, and support each other. The goal is to help siblings develop these skills with each other, and then to carry these positive behaviors over to their relations with peers and general behavior at school and home.

How long is it?

The program consists of a series of 12 weekly after school sessions for groups of sibling pairs, and 3 monthly Family Fun Nights for these families.

Who is eligible?

Eligibility Requirements – The older siblings must be in the 5^th grade. The younger siblings can be in 2^nd through 4^th grades. Adoptive siblings are eligible. Single and two parent families are eligible.

The Pennsylvania State University will take all responsibility for hiring/training/supervising program staff. They will provide all materials. They will also conduct all data collection with families in parents' homes (with confidential procedures that have been approved by Penn State's Human Subjects Institutional Review Board). For teacher questionnaires, they will approach teachers directly, with parents' permission, and compensate $25 to the teachers who complete each questionnaire.

The Jackson Elementary School and Cambria Elementary School will also be compensated $500. These funds will be put into the Student Activities Funds so that every student benefits.

Red Devil Classic

The Red Devil Classic Golf Committee is pleased to announce that the 5th Annual Golf Tournament will be held on Friday, June 26th, 2009. This event will be held at Ebensburg Country Club and all proceeds will benefit the Central Cambria Education Foundation. Donations are currently being accepted to be used as prizes at this event.

The Central Cambria Education Foundation is a registered non-profit that provides funding in the arts, music, sciences, athletics and many other endeavors to the student body of Central Cambria. CCEF has underwritten programs such as Girls in the Middle; Music Camp; Math Camp; Kindergarten Camp; After School Fitness Fun; Junior Ecology Adventure Camp; and many, many other wonderful programs.

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE (PDF)

The Central Cambria Health Care Team Newsletter

In response to the growing media coverage of influenza A (swine flu) the Central Cambria Health Care Team wanted to provide information to our families and students that can hopefully minimize the impact that this could have on our district.

Influenza A is a respiratory disease of pigs that normally doesn't infect humans. It has become contagious and is now spreading from human to human. This typically occurs the same way as seasonal flu: by coming in contact with infected people who are coughing and sneezing.

The Signs and Symptoms

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore Throat
• Body Aches
• Headaches
• Chills
• In some cases Diarrhea and Vomiting

Ways to protect your family:

• Stay at home when you are ill. Children should not come to school when they are sick.
• Wash hands often with soap and water. Teach your child to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. (Have them sing the "Happy Birthday" song)
• Do not touch your nose, eyes or mouth.
• Cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing with you inner elbow.
• Teach your children to stay three feet away from ill people.
• Stay healthy by eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of rest and exercise.
• Seek care if you have flu like symptoms.
• If you have a recent history of travel and experience mild flu-like symptoms stay home. If you feel symptoms worsen or become severe, contact your health care provider.
  

$4,000 Donation

Dennis Simmers, CCEF president, accepts a $4,000 donation from First National Bank . Next to him, (l to r) are Beth Ann Lombardi, CCEF Secretary, and Candy Long, CCEF board member, and Kim Flanders, bank Area Manager.

John Letizia Named to Central Cambria Education Foundation Board

John Letizia, President of Laurel Medical Supplies, has been named to the board of directors of the Central Cambria Education Foundation by a unanimous vote of the board at its March meeting. The Central Cambria Education Foundation is the nonprofit, fund-raising arm of the Central Cambria School District.

Letizia is a lifelong resident of the district who, along with his wife Angela, has two children, Maria and John, in elementary school.

"It was an honor to be asked to join the foundation," said Letizia. "Their mission is to support excellence in learning by helping to finance educational programs, activities, and projects in the school district. Few causes could be more worthy. I'm looking forward to working with the other members of the governing body to accomplish all that we can for the students of Central Cambria."

Letizia completes the nine-member board required by the nonprofit entity's bylaws. He joins Candy Long, Rich Bauer, Michele Bonerigo, Dennis Simmers, board president; Wendy DeYulis, vice president; Beth Ann Lombardi, secretary; Randy Seymour, treasurer; and John Kimball, Chair.

First Commonwealth Bank Donates Thousands to Central Cambria

Photo: Wendy DeYulis (left), Senior Vice President/Trust Officer of First Commonwealth Bank and Vice President of the Central Cambria Education Foundation, accepts a $2,500 donation for the students of Central Cambria School District from Elaine Bonanno, Office Manager, First Commonwealth.

First Commonwealth Bank, Ebensburg Office, has donated $2,500 to the Central Cambria Education Foundation, the nonprofit, fund-raising arm of the Central Cambria School District. Funds were made available through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program through which qualifying businesses can contribute a portion of their state taxes.

"Through Pennsylvania's EITC Program, qualified businesses can make donations to the Central Cambria Education Foundation and receive tax credits equal to a percentage of their gift," says Wendy DeYulis, vice president of the Central Cambria Education Foundation board of directors and Senior Vice President/Trust Officer, First Commonwealth Bank.

The Central Cambria Education Foundation is an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) in the EITC program. Gifts through the EIO program have enabled the foundation to provide more than 1,500 students with educational opportunities such as summer science, theater, art, and math programs that would just not be available any other way DeYulis explains.

"First Commonwealth is proud to support the community, and does so in many ways. This particular contribution allows us to enhance educational opportunities for children, in effect, by re-directing state tax dollars. The EITC program is an excellent way for you to donate and keep tax money working locally for a cause that you define," DeYulis says.

A company interested in giving to the Central Cambria Education Foundation through the EITC Program must complete an application form, which is available by calling the Department of Community and Economic Development at (717) 787-7120 or visiting their Web site at www.newpa.com.

Winners of the 2nd Annual CCHS Writing Festival

Winners of the second annual CCHS Writing Festival, April 18, 2009, from left to right: Sadie Smith, eighth grade poetry; CCMS; CCHS Winners--Seniors-Alexis Sobecky, Poetry; Mitchell Mercik, Feature Story ;Kurt Kretchman, Song/Lyric; Sloane Shearman, Short Story. Each student received a $75.00 cash award and a certificate of accomplishment from the CC Education Foundation.

Jackson Elementary Library Fundraiser Set for May 9; Steeler Tickets and Football to be Raffled at Dinner

A raffle for two Pittsburgh Steeler tickets and an autographed James Harrison football is just one of the highlights planned for a fundraising dinner that will be held from 7 pm to 11 pm on Saturday, May 9, at Pit Stop 271 to benefit the library at Jackson Elementary School. Tickets for the dinner are $20 per person and can be purchased at Jackson Elementary, The Vinco Pharmacy, Pit Stop 271 or from any member of the volunteer committee that is organizing the event.

"Ticket sales will end May 2," said Doug Weigel, a member of the newly formed Jackson Elementary Library Fund Committee. "The donation for the ticket will be $20 per person, and this will include dinner, entertainment by John Stiffler, and entry into a prize raffle. We will be raffling off Pirate tickets, Curve tickets, restaurant gift certificates, pro and college sports team memorabilia and more. The Steeler tickets and autographed football will be included in a separate raffle."

Weigel said the goal of the fundraiser is to help make the Jackson Elementary Library one of the best in the region.

"The school district has decided to renovate the library," he noted. "They will be making it larger for the students and upgrading the collection of books. We would like to enhance the district's efforts by holding a fundraiser to provide more books and resources to fill up this added space. The library is extremely important in early childhood education. Reading is the foundation that will help carry students through the rest of their educational careers at Central Cambria and beyond. For this reason, we have put a volunteer committee together that's dedicated to enhancing this important resource for children."

Members of the Jackson Elementary Library Fund Committee are Craig and Tracy Gibson, John and Angela Letizia, Keith and Cathy Gilkey, Doug and Stacy Weigel, and Linette Duman.

Checks should be payable to Central Cambria Education Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising arm of the school district, with "Jackson Elementary Library Fund" in the memo section.

"If you are unable to attend the dinner, donations of any amount can be made to the Central Cambria Education Foundation/Jackson Library Fund," said Weigel. "These donations are tax deductible and can be mailed to the Education Foundation at PO Box 624, Ebensburg, PA 15931.

"Each donation is appreciated and will be put to optimal use to benefit students."

Title I Family Carnival

National Honor Society senior Dominick DeYulis leads a game of word fishing at the Title I Carnival on March 25. Over 300 students and families attended this event.

Scholarship Applications

Seniors interested in applying for local scholarships need to submit the scholarship application by APRIL 15, 2009. Applications must be submitted electronically by clicking on the Scholarship Application link below and filling out the required information..

Scholarship Application

Central Cambria Takes First at PA Computer Fair

Three Central Cambria Computer Teams walked away winners in the 2009 PA State Computer Fair at the Altoona Campus of Penn State on Monday March 9th, 2009. There were 50 school projects entered in this year's regional fair, which was a qualifying event for the State Competition that will be held May 19th, 2009 at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Under the direction of Dr. Joseph P. Karwoski, the competitors and their prizes were:

• Team 1: Programming Division - John Salguero, Scott Shay, and Nate Sloan - First Place
• Team 2: Programming Division - Lonnie Ramirez - Second Place
• Team 3: Informative Web Page Design - Collier (John) Devlin - First Place

The High School Competition involves a three-tiered selection process. The first tier occurs at the high school when the school sponsor / advisor selects a maximum of two projects from each of the eight categories to send to the regional fair. At the regional fair, the judges select a first, second, and third place winner. Each of these winning projects will receive an award but only the first place winners will advance to the state competition at Dickinson College in May. A different team of judges will evaluate the entries on display at Dickinson College. Monetary awards will be given to the projects that place first second, third and honorable mention in each of the categories.

Congratulations to John Salguero, Scott Shay, Nate Sloan, Collier Devlin, and Dr. Karwoski; who will be competing for the state championship this May at Dickinson College.

Vaccinations

Attention Parents and Guardians:
Please make sure you child is vaccinated as required by state law. You can find a list of the required vaccinations on the Nurse page. You may also click on the link below to view a list of the required vaccinations.vaccinations.pdf

Third Graders’ Entries in Doodle for Google Contest

Boys Only Leadership Development

On March 21, 2009, the 4^th and 5^th grade boys from Jackson and Cambria Elementary Schools are invited to participate in the Boys Only Leadership Development at Jackson Elementary School from 9:45 AM – 2:45 PM. Men from the community will be presenting information to the boys about positive social skills. Some activities planned include basketball, a Wii rock band contest, Outdoor Odyssey rock wall climbing and a pizza party. This is a great way to hang out with old friends and to meet new friends.  Research has shown that the more that we get to know each other the less likely we are to bully each other. We hope all will attend. This event is free thanks to contributions from the Central Cambria Education Foundation and the Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program.

More Information/Permission Slip

Girls Only Leadership Development

On March 14, 2009, the 4^th and 5^th grade girls from Jackson and Cambria Elementary Schools are invited to participate in the Girls Only Leadership Development at Jackson Elementary School from 9:45 AM – 2:45 PM.  Women from the community will be presenting information to the girls about positive social skills and how to handle relational aggression.  Some activities planned include basketball, manicures, Outdoor Odyssey rock wall climbing and a pizza party.  This is a great way to hang out with old friends and meet new friends.  Research has shown the more that we get to know each other the less likely we are to bully each other.  We hope all will attend. This event is free thanks to contributions from the Central Cambria Education Foundation and the Cambria County Drug and Alcohol Program.

More Information/Permission Slip

CCHS Class of '58 Celebrates 50th!

Congratulations to the CCHS Class of 1958!

More than 130 people gathered in Ebensburg the weekend of September 25 for two days of reunion activities. There were the customary class pictures, and they even sang "Atop the verdant Alleghenies…" More than anything, they had a great time!

Reunion committee members Linda Vicini Ball, Bill Battista, Helen Shaffer Evans, Gertrude Lauer Glista, Jim Kushner, Carol Frank LaJudice, Al & Patty Balsinger Leonard, Maureen Kelly Long, Barbara Degretta Monborne, Arlene Vetock Murray, Bonnie Miller Peterson, Bill Plummer, Nancy Long Seliga worked hard to create the event. Nice work!

Enjoy the photo album provided by class member George E. Burkey:
Click to View Reunion Photos

Central Cambria Education Foundation Honors Four Teachers

The Central Cambria Education Foundation honored four outstanding educators with ACE awards at the end of the school year.

The ACE Award was established by the Foundation to recognize one educator in each of Central Cambria's four schools who represents the qualities of achievement, caring and excellence. This year's winners are Robert Nikolishen, Central Cambria High School; Barri Dziack, Central Cambria Middle School; Lorraine Kukucka, Cambria Elementary; and Patty Burkey, Jackson Elementary.

"The mission of the Central Cambria Education Foundation is to support excellence in education by helping to develop, promote, and finance educational programs, activities, and projects in the school district," explained Beth Ann Lombardi, secretary of the foundation board of directors. "To demonstrate that support, the foundation believes it is important to recognize educators for their service and extraordinary commitment.

"Educators are nominated by their peers, and it is a pleasure to present these awards to truly outstanding individuals who have such a positive impact on colleagues and students. These teachers empower students to find the best within themselves. They are positive role models who have willingly volunteered their time and talents for years and who are responsible for motivating and inspiring students. For the ACE award winners, teaching isn't a job-it's a way of life. Central Cambria is proud to honor these four individuals who are extremely dedicated to the well-being of our students," Lombardi concluded.


Winners of Central Cambria Education Foundation's ACE Awards for educators who represent the qualities of achievement, caring and excellence are: (l to r) Patty Burkey, Jackson Elementary; Lorraine Kukucka, Cambria Elementary; Barri Dziack, Central Cambria Middle School; and Robert Nikolishen, Central Cambria High School. Teachers were nominated by their peers for the award. Photo by Beth Ann Lombardi

Pirate Caravan Visits CCMS

On January 20th, five outstanding athletes from the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team visited the Central Cambria Middle School as part of their tour of some thirty cities. Lucky for us, we were one the schools they chose to visit! The Pirate Parrot, accompanied by pitchers Ross Olendorf and Paul Maholm, third base coach Tony Beasly, announcers Greg Brown and John Wehner, and outfielder Nate McLough presented a fun-filled program called "Are You Smarter than a Sixth, Seventh, or Eighth Grader?" One student from each grade showed off their science, math, and social studies knowledge against the players and won signed jerseys and hats, along with tickets to one of this season's home games. Tony Beasly challenged sixth grade teacher Mr. Moore to a round of questions about baseball. Mr. Moore won the challenge, and as a result, all students in the school received Pirate game tickets! Everyone enjoyed the program and how they encouraged students to never give up their dreams to do something special with their lives. The Pirates will definitely be seeing many Central Cambria Middle School students at their games supporting them!