With less than two weeks until school bells ring for Lower Valley students, the Fox Chapel Area School District and Shady Side Academy are gearing up for new classes, welcoming staff and capping off renovations.
The first day of school at Fox Chapel Area and at the academy is Aug. 30.
Here's what students can expect:
Fox Chapel Area
(enrollment 4,098)
The $1.1 million turf and track renovation at the high school is complete. Work had closed the facilities to the public since May. A new track was installed at Dorseyville Middle School this summer as part of the contract.
Also at the high school, students will have 560 new Chromebook devices on technology carts that travel around the building.
“They are used by teachers so that students have access to additional technological resources in the classrooms,” said Bonnie Berzonski, district coordinator of communications.
High school algebra students will have a new course called Math Lab, in which instruction will focus on the application of algebraic concepts in real-life contexts.
Indoor track, now a PIAA-sanctioned interscholastic sport, will be offered to all high school students during the 2016-17 winter sports season.
Just completed is $30 million in construction at the high school.
Work took two years and includes a new pool, updated auditorium and library and new entrance.
Construction will begin at Dorseyville Middle School just after the start of school. The building is scheduled to get new and/or updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems in phased renovations that will continue all year.
The project also includes a new front office area, upgrades to the library and art classrooms and a new “maker space” adjacent to the library where students will “learn by doing,” Berzonski said.
Fairview and O'Hara elementary schools are getting new roofs this month.
The district's new computer science curriculum is in three units that include digital literacy, digital citizenship and computational thinking, said Megan Cicconi, district director of instructional and innovative leadership.
This approach infuses STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), robotics, cyber safety, digital processing, presenting and maker components, Cicconi said.
The elementary curriculum for gifted and talented students has been revised, adding experiences and interdisciplinary projects designed to encourage students to think critically and solve problems, Berzonski said.
Shady Side Academy
(enrollment 930)
At the academy's middle school on Squaw Run Road East in Fox Chapel, crews are expanding the seventh-grade science lab.
“The bright new lab space includes a greenhouse, moveable lab tables, sinks and homes for several class critters, including chinchillas, rabbits and fish,” director of communications Jen Roupe said.
Work follows previous renovations of the sixth- and eighth-grade labs in 2014.
Also at the middle school, eighth-graders in the advanced math track now have the option to take high-school level Physics 1 as a science class, allowing them to accelerate studies in math and science concurrently, Roupe said.
Work toward the 2017-18 merger of the academy and Fox Chapel Country Day School also will take place in the coming school year. The day school campus along Squaw Run East will serve as Shady Side's second pre-K to fifth-grade school.
“Programmatic and operational committees are meeting regularly to prepare for the merger, discussing curriculum, admissions, business operations, the new campus name and more,” Roupe said.
This week, SSA was expected to launch a new website.
“The site is responsive, meaning it automatically adjusts to fit the user's screen size, including mobile phones and tablets,” Roupe said.
At the SSA senior school along Fox Chapel Road, the boarding program will include more students than before. There will be 65 students from 10 states and five countries.
A new psychology elective will be offered in science, and there will be new advanced English and history electives.
New administrators at the senior school include Head of School Sophie Lau, Dean of Student and Residential Life Chad Green, Associate Director of Admission Dan Usaj and Director of College Counseling Lauren Lieberman.
For more on either school, visit fcasd.edu or shadysideacademy.org.
Tawnya Panizzi is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach her at 412-782-2121, ext. 2 or at tpanizzi@tribweb.com.
