Heritage Wins the Cup One More Year!

Heritage Elementary families once again prove to show just how generous they are by raising an amazing $10,341.10 for the Westmoreland County Food Bank and winning the Turkey Cup Challenge for the 6th year in a row! Congratulations to Mrs. Sherwin's 5th grade class for raising the most at $1,611.34! A BIG thank you to Kristie Praksti and her team for leading this effort.

Heritage 4th Grade Mixes Poetry and Art with Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation

Each year Louise Sturgess, Executive Director of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, engages Heritage 4th grade students in a one-of-a-kind workshop of poetry and art!  Students begin by selecting a historical detail of a local landmark and then work to craft poetry about the detail utilizing literary devices such as alliteration, simile, metaphor, and point of view. Students then get messy with charcoal to sketch the detail. A big thank you to our PTO for once again sponsoring this authentic and worthwhile experience for our students! 

Artwork Created by Students at Heritage is Part of a National Traveling Art Exhibit!

Two years ago, fourth grade students at Heritage Elementary created quilt squares in art class that were included in a national collaborative fiber arts initiative called The Cancer Moonshot Ribbon Quilt. This month, the quilt will be on display in our home state! The 363 foot quilt is a traveling fiber arts exhibit that will be featured at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza from September 13-16 2018 in Philadelphia, PA. Heritage Elementary was one of only two schools accepted into the project (the other school being the British International School of Houston).

Each quilt square in the entire project has been photographed and assembled into a book, which is available in our school library. Congratulations Heritage artists!

Franklin Regional's 11th Annual Fourth Grade Science Olympiad

Franklin Regional's 11th Annual Fourth Grade Science Olympiad featured Edison Robots and a STREAM platform. Awards were presented to the winning team for each of the ten stations. An additional award, The Team Spirit Award, celebrates collaboration, respect, cooperation, and teamwork was presented to the team that most exemplified those characteristics. Congratulations to Team Purple for this great accomplishment.

Congratulations to Heritage Girls on the Run!

The Heritage Elementary Girls on the Run team completed another season culminating in a 5K at Hartwood Acres on Sunday, May 20th. The 5K had a record 2,300 participants from all over the Pittsburgh area. All of the Heritage team members and coaches completed the 5K and received a medal, high fives, and hugs for their efforts. The Heritage GOTR coaches are so proud of the team. Way to go GOTR!

An Engaging Experience for Heritage Readers and Writers

What do you get when you mix reading, writing, and an expert on both? Kids and teachers who get excited about reading books and writing stories...that's what! This past week, world renowned author, Ralph Fletcher visited students and teachers for a PTO sponsored event. Ralph Fletcher has published over fifty books for young writers and teachers of young writers alike. During his two-day visit with the Heritage family, Mr. Fletcher conducted engaging workshops for both students and teachers in all grades. In his workshops, participants sat at the edge of their seats while engaging in oral storytelling, read-aloud, and acquiring numerous tips to use in their own writing as well. A big thank you goes out to the generous support of the Heritage PTO for providing this incredible experience for our students and our teachers!

First Grade Visits Loyalhanna Watershed Farm

This past week, first grade visited Loyalhanna Watershsed Farm to participate in a unique, hands-on STEM/Environmental Science field trip called "Habits for Homes."  First graders have been studying habitats this year as part of their science curriculum. Dressed to interact with mud and muck, students eagerly engaged in learning how the natural world works and trying to make sense of how we as humans impact the environment in which we live. Activities included creating a terrarium, searching for insects and birds, petting a frog and much much more!   For more information on the Loyalhanna Watershed Farm, please visit their website http://www.loyalhannawatershed.org/index.php.

Good Enough to Eat!

On Thursday, March 22, Franklin Regional hosted the second annual Festival of the Arts featuring elementary, middle, and high school student artwork. This year, fourth grade students at Heritage created realistic paper mache' sculptures of ice cream sundaes. The paper mache' 'sundae bar' looked good enough to eat!

The Best Part of Me!

Second grade has been dedicated to working on writing. Using the mentor text The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald; students wrote about the part of themselves that they are most proud of. Students wrote through all the stages of the writing process and incorporated their own illustrations accompanied by an individual picture of the best part of them. The publishing company Student Treasures, helped to bind and publish the class books for students to share this memory of second grade with their families. Second grade classrooms had publishing parties to celebrate their work and share their success. 

Kindergarten Writes!

A crowd gathered at Heritage Elementary to hear the published work of our young authors. Each student published a unique piece which featured a character who wanted something, a problem that created an obstacle for the character's want, and a solution that satisfied the reader.  Student families were on hand for this celebration in addition to teachers and principal. Cookies culminated this special celebration.

First Grade Gets Inspired to Write at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art

Young writers in first grade visited the Westmoreland Museum of American Art on a fully funded grant awarded to Heritage Elementary from the museum.  Students and teachers experienced the museum's art in unique ways which included writing about the artwork utilizing poetry and personification, and feeling the artwork through music. Heritage is grateful for its partnership with the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and excited to return next year for this unique and educational field trip!

 

STEM Design Challenge

Heritage second graders won third place at this year's Primary STEM Design Challenge hosted by Norwin School District. The challenge was to create a new product for the home that made life easier, better or more environmentally friendly. Taylor B., Madelyn R., Alex S. and Madison W. designed "The Get-Up," a product to help you get up and get ready in the morning. Other participants included third graders, Alex B., Lily D., Tanisha N., and Jaineel V.,and second graders Rebekah A., Evelyn M., Ava R. and Anthony S. ​

 

Franklin Regional hosted its second annual STEM Design Challenge in the Newlonsburg gym on March 12th. Each year the challenge is released by the state and shared out by regional intermediate units. This year's challenge asked students to design an environmentally friendly home product. Nine teams made up of fourth and fifth graders from Heritage, Newlonsburg and Sloan competed in the FR event. Heritage fifth graders, Riley B., Callie K., Abby M., and Anna P., placed first with their trash sorting invention, Le Trieur. They will move on to represent Franklin Regional at the regional event held and the WIU on March 19th. Fourth grade students Harper L. and Cruise L. were members of the second place team for their solar powered charging station and lawn products, Solar Lawn Care. Other Heritage participants included fourth graders Aadi A., Anika J., and Chris Wu, and fifth graders Roman C., Nick M., and Deven R.​