Eighth graders honored at annual awards ceremony

North Hills Middle School’s annual Eighth Grade Academic Awards Assembly was held on Thursday, May 30. Traditionally held on the last day of school, students are given awards for not only academic achievement but for displaying the characteristics that make up the pillars of the school’s Strong as Steel positive behavior reinforcement program.

For each eighth grade team, an award is given to two students in the core subjects of English, Math, Social Studies and Science. Additionally, students are chosen for each team’s Rising Star, Most Diligent Worker and Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor awards.

Departmental awards are given to students for band, orchestra, chorus, tech ed, art, computer science, literacy arts, health and physical education, and world languages, among others. 

Musical groups also perform during the event and students who achieve highest honors during the school year are recognized.

The awards assembly is organized each year by eighth grade teachers Vicki Truchan and Joe Welch. Students do not know ahead of time that they have won, adding to the fun of the event. Parents typically attend.

Congratulations to our winners for the 2023-24 school year:

• Principals' Strong as Steel Award: Travis Speer, Gabby Gouch and Molly Marchini
• Principals' Student of Distinction Award: Julia Nease and Drew Amatucci
• Academic Grit/Perseverance Award: Janae Harris, Mallory Lutz, Nik Collins and Brianna Hogg
• Perfectly Positive Award: Thea Crowley
• Student Leadership Award: Emerson Pierce

Team Awards

• Team Westinghouse
  • English: Alivia Tinkey and Bella Love
  • Math: Leo Martinelli and Kenley McCurdy
  • Social Studies: Yasmine Salem and Austin Ellis
  • Science: Chase Thompson and Carter Kozusko
  • Rising Star Award: Johanna Manjerovic and Kaelin Williams
  • Most Diligent Worker Award: Carlo Vendetti and Delaney Winner
  • Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor Award: Addison Specht and Carter Steiner
• Team Carnegie
  • English: Paige Johnston and Scarlett McCarthy
  • Math: Domenic D'Alessandro and Haylie White
  • Social Studies: David Roth and Harlow Huber
  • Science: Annabelle Arrigo and Max Laird
  • Rising Star Award: Olivia Slagle and Hailey Heiles
  • Most Diligent Worker Award: Graham Conaway and Keagan Abbott
  • Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor Award: Dominic Bergeron and Zach Wrigley
• Team Heinz
  • English: Elena Williams and Jocelyn Sauers
  • Math: Haaseni Ramkumar and Brady Steve
  • Social Studies: Jackson Fairley and Luke Tobik
  • Science: Claudia Drake and Julia Torok
  • Rising Star Award: Jayden Maruscak and Brianna Graczyk
  • Most Diligent Worker Award: Vivian Kulesa and Daniella Borne
  • Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor Award: Elyanna Manse and Aiden Guszczynski

Departmental Awards

• ESL/ELL: Camila DeSouza and Steffany DePaula
• Band: Grace Lavelle and Nathan Strother
• Orchestra: Jordan Simon and Nathan Liang
• Chorus: Leah Byrne and Sophia Negri 
• Music: Easton Shipkowski and McKenna Cote
• Tech Ed: Luca Massucci and Lauren Patsilevas
• Sustainable Engineering: William Yameogo and Pluto Hagy
• Art: Izzy Sim and Charles Prieto-Rodriguez
• Digital Fabrication: Zoey Kirkton and Eden Bowers
• Next Level Fitness: Brian Gruber and William Ebitz
• Health: Eibhlin McConnell and Karter Schmidt
• Literacy Arts: Makazia Long
• GATE: Grace Sparbanie and Willa Dickinson
• Computer Science: Sarah Leirain Mendoza and Dylan Dixon

World Language Awards

• German: Colin Boyle and Connor Boyle
• Latin: Gabriel Palmer and Linka Hinterlang
• French: Maddison Kuhn and Frank Duku
• Spanish: Cameron Mellinger and Carli Heidinger