JACKSON TWP — A donation from the Cranberry Sunrise Rotary Club is helping Seneca Valley High School seniors dress for success as they presented their graduation project, attend commencement ceremonies and even prepare for job interviews. The Cranberry Sunrise Rotary Club donated $1,000 toward professional attire to assist seniors in need of clothes for upcoming events.

This year, Seneca Valley’s graduation project partnered with No Cost to Shop, an on-campus store at the Senior High School available to students in grades 7 to 12 that provides free clothing, shoes, accessories, hygiene products and more to students in need. An angel tree was created and shared among the faculty to help gather donations. Several teachers helped by sponsoring a whole outfit (top, bottom, shoes) and others sponsored single items, but more donations were needed.

Natalie Green, Seneca Valley Senior High School English teacher and graduation project coordinator reached out to Rotary members to see if this initiative would be a community service project the clubs would be interested in. Green received both monetary and clothing donations from other Rotary clubs including the $1,000 donation from the Cranberry Sunrise Rotary club. This money was used to purchase the remaining items on the wish list which consisted of nine full outfits plus extras such as undershirts, socks and belts.

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ADAMS TWP — A team of Mars Area High School students took second place in the finals of the 2021-22 Hometown High-Q academic competition.

Seniors Christopher Dvorak and Luke Weiland and junior Cole Winstead competed against teams from Upper St. Clair and Homer City. Sophomore Lauren Karg served as an alternate.

The team’s path to final may be viewed on KDKA-TV. The quarterfinal round aired May 21; the semifinals will air at 11 a.m. June 11; and the finals at 11 a.m. June 25.

The program, sponsored by Westfield Insurance and KDKA-TV, offers students an opportunity to compete for academic grants and recognition by answering questions from a variety of curriculum areas.

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Diana Lozinger of Cranberry Township among the 20 University of Scranton students inducted into Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society in theology and religious studies. For induction into the honor society, students must have completed 12 credits in theology, have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in theology classes and have an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The University's chapter of the honor society was established in 1980.

Lozinger is a sophomore counseling and human services major at the Jesuit university.

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JACKSON TWP – The Seneca Valley Biology Club won first and second place at the Butler County Envirothon last month.

The first-place team will attend the state level competition in Mifflinburg Wednesday. Team members include Natalie Camilli, Zoe Schultz, Katie Kerr, Ash Stewart and Rowan Jones.

Second-place team members include Gretchen Kellar, Victoria Pimenova, Lexi Snyder, Miranda Wiggins and Rylie Butler.

The Envirothon is a natural resources competition that includes topics in wildlife, aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use and current environmental Issues. Each team applies what its members have studied in these areas during this outdoor competition. The competition is managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, fish and boat commission, department of agriculture and department of conservation of natural resources.

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JACKSON TWP – Two Seneca Valley High School juniors received higher recognition than just a good grade on exceptional essays they wrote – they won awards.

Nancy Chen and Maggie Monahan were recently awarded Honorable Mention for their entries in the Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP) High School Essay Contest. The students were also recognized with a $100 prize.

Each year, SACP hosts an essay contest that requires students to respond to a science-related prompt dealing with a current event. Schools in the greater-Pittsburgh area (39 Pennsylvania counties, 10 Ohio counties and 25 West Virginia counties) are permitted to submit no more than two student essays in the competition, and 13 prizes ranging from $100 to $500 are awarded.

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The 2022 YWCA Women in History essay contest winners were announced:

First place: $75 gift card, Ada Lovelace written by Addison Eicher, Butler Catholic School;

Second place: $50 gift card, Dr. Roberta Bondar written by Rebeca Springirth, Slippery Rock Area Middle School;

Third place: $25 gift card, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Velasquez written by Ruby Wissinger, Butler Catholic School

Seventh grade honorable mention (receives a certificate): Malala Yousafzai written by Macie McLister, Butler Intermediate High Schoo; Michelle Obama written by Riley Marsico, Holy Sepulcher Catholic School; Katie Ledecky written by Elizabeth Jefferis, Slippery Rock Area Middle School; Jane Austen written by Brendan Eicher, Butler Catholic School

First place: $75 gift card,Anne Frank written by Liam Throm, Slippery Rock Area Middle School

Second place: $50 gift card, Jane Austen written by Giana Warnick, Butler Intermediate High School

Second place: $50 gift card, Ida B. Wells written by Bailie Knight, Slippery Rock Area Middle School

Eighth grade honorable mention (receives a certificate) Mary, Mother of Jesus written by Daniel Hartle, Holy Sepulcher Catholic School; Daisy Bates written by Trinity Wilson, Butler Intermediate High School; Ruth Bader Ginsburg written by Gracyn Vardy, Butler Catholic School; Sofia Jirau written by Lead Paskin, Butler Intermediate High School