Student Directory
JACKSON TOWNSHIP — The Seneca Valley Academic Decathlon Team once again earned the title of state champs and is heading to nationals.
With a score of 41,476 and a lead of 1,100 points, the team placed first in its division against 15 of the top high schools from Western, Central and Eastern Pennsylvania at the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) Pennsylvania State Competition in Philadelphia.
The team will now represent the state for the USAD National Competition this month.
Each high school competed with a team of nine students. Students competed in 10 events over two days. All subjects are related to the 2021-22 theme, “Water: An Essential Resource.”
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Two Indiana University of Pennsylvania students from Butler County were recently initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.
Macy Grieb of Cranberry Township and Sheila Mueller of Evans City were among approximately 25,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year.
Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.
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Mars Area Middle School eighth-grader Makenna Myler will compete in the 50th annual World Irish Dancing Championships April 10 to 17 in Belfast, Ireland.
Myler, 13, daughter of Ethan and Stephanie Myler of Valencia, first became interested in Irish Dance at age 5, when on vacation with her family she saw an Irish dance group perform. Shortly thereafter, she joined the Bell School of Irish Dance in Wexford and has been dancing ever since.
The World Irish Dancing Championships or Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne is the highest level of competition for Irish dancers within the Irish Dancing Commission organization, said Julia Bell, Bell School of Irish Dance director.
Myler qualified for the world event at the 2021 Irish Dance Teachers Association of Mid-America (IDTAMA) Regional Oireachtas, Nov. 25 to 27 in Schaumburg, Ill. She previously qualified for the world championships that were scheduled in 2020 and 2021; however, both events were canceled amid concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to regional events, Myler also competes at the annual North American Irish Dance Championships (NAIDC), which bring together dancers from throughout the United States and Canada.
