HAMPTON TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT
Hampton Township School District
Recognizes and Honors Veterans
The Hampton Township School District
recognized and honored veterans at the 18th
annual Hampton Heroes event, held at 9 a.m. on
Monday, Nov. 13, in the Hampton Middle School
Auditorium. This year’s event was hosted by the
middle school.
The Hampton Heroes program has been an
ongoing effort by the Hampton Township School
District to recognize and honor veterans. To date,
over 200 men and women who have served in
the Armed Forces have been inducted into the
program. This year, the District inducted 12 new
members to its ranks.
The 2017 inductees were: the late Michael
Buchanich, U.S. Army Ranger; Thomas Clark, U.S.
Army; Fred Conners, U.S. Navy; John Ference, U.S.
Army; Charles Fleet, U.S. Air Force; James Hill, U.S.
Marine Corps; Dave Knechtel, U.S. Army; William
Pease, U.S. Army; David Rowan, U.S. Marine Corps
and U.S. Coast Guard; Jonathan Tomko, U.S. Army
National Guard; Roger Whitezell, U.S. Army; and
Jerry Wittmer, U.S. Marines and
U.S. Air Force Reserve.
A full breakfast was served
to veterans and their guests
prior to the event. Following
breakfast, inductees were
honored during a special
ceremony that featured guest
speaker Corporal Brandon
Rumbaugh of the U.S. Marines.
At 24, Corporal Rumbaugh
retired medically from military
service in September 2012 after serving five
years on active duty with the 1st Battalion
8th Marines as an 81mm mortar gunner. He
served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. During
an attempt to rescue a fellow Marine who had
stepped on an IED during a security patrol
around their temporary makeshift outpost,
Corporal Rumbaugh stepped on a secondary
IED, causing him to lose both of his legs. He
underwent 16 months of intensive therapy at
Walter Reed.
Corporal Rumbaugh is the recipient of several
medals for his service: the Purple Heart, the U.S.
Navy Unit Commendation and the Navy and
Marine Corps Achievement Medal (Combat V),
U.S. Navy Unit Commendation, NATO Medal-
ISAF Afghanistan, the National Defense Service
Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal,
the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Iraq
Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign
Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Marine
Corps Good Conduct Medal and the Rifle and
Pistol Expert Medals.
Two Shaler Area schools
named Title I Distinguished
Schools
Shaler Area is proud to announce
two of its primary schools were
named Title I Distinguished Schools
by the Pennsylvania Department
of Education, Division of Federal
Programs.
Jeffery Primary School and Reserve
Primary School are two of only 123
Title I schools in Pennsylvania to be
named a Title I Distinguished School
for the 2016-2017 school year. Both
Shaler Area primary schools received
High Achievement status by meeting
all four annual measurable objectives
and performing in the top 5 percent
for English language arts and math
proficiency on the Pennsylvania
System of School Assessment (PSSA)
test. Schools in Shaler Area have been
named Title I Distinguished Schools in
three of the past four years.
“We are so proud of the academic
advancements made in our schools,
and to receive the Title I Distinguished
Schools distinction again for two of our
primary schools speaks to the hard work
of our students and dedication of our
staff,” says Superintendent Sean Aiken.
The Pennsylvania Department
of Education, Division of Federal
Programs, will honor Jeffery and
Reserve Primary Schools at the 2018
Improving School Performance
Conference January 28 through 31, in
Pittsburgh.
Middle School, High School Students Present at STEAM Showcase
Students from Hampton middle and high schools participated in one of the largest celebrations of
STEAM education in the region on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Nova Place in Pittsburgh. This year’s showcase
event is sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3.
Hampton’s students joined those from 25 other local schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania to
highlight how they have infused science, technology, engineering, arts and math to redefine student
learning. In addition to the breakout sessions and demos. Hampton students also participated in an
ignite talk.
The purpose of the ignite talk was to provide a multiple perspective of how school districts
across the region have used STEAM grant funding to promote cross-disciplinary instruction.
Hampton students’ presentation, titled “HTSD Students Infuse STEAM,” featured the student-
designed, student-built portable STEAM carts for Hampton’s three elementary schools.
Students at the middle school designed the carts, while high school engineering and design
students tweaked the designs and constructed the carts. They were delivered for use in the
District’s three elementary buildings in February 2017. The carts house tools and devices such as
Beebots, Makey Makeys and Osmos kits that can be used to enhance regular classroom instruction.
Students will present on the process that was involved with creating the carts, and how they have
impacted learning at the elementary level.
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