• Five Fox Chapel Area High School students placed at the annual M&M Lake Erie Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament. The team of juniors Joanna Li and Zachary Rubin won first place in Policy Debate. Senior Swati Mylarappa and freshman Ottilie Happold each were named Merit Speakers, which is equivalent to third place, in Student Congress. Senior Emanuel DiNatale won sixth place in Impromptu Speaking.

The tournament, sponsored by Mercyhurst Preparatory School and McDowell High School, was held Nov. 9 on the campus of Penn State Behrend in Erie. A total of 138 students from eight public and private high schools from Western Pennsylvania participated.

• Two Fox Chapel Area High School students won awards at the 44th annual University of Virginia High School Model UN Conference Nov. 15-17 at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Junior Ori Goldin was awarded the Best Delegate, and senior Emanuel DiNatale won an Honorable Mention, which is equivalent to third place.

The conference included 970 students from 47 public, private and charter high schools from nine states and Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the Model UN conferences is to enable students to role-play and simulate the countries in the United Nations. As a part of the conferences, students debate and try to solve global problems from the perspectives of other countries.

• Eight Fox Chapel Area students were selected to participate in the 2024 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 1 Honors String Orchestra Festival on Nov. 16 at Upper St. Clair High School.

The students are senior Anna Delale-O’Connor (violin); juniors Xing Carlough (viola), Michael Costello (bass), Charles Hahl (cello) and Eloise Johnson (violin); sophomores Hayden Trac (violin) and Leonidas Vandapel (cello); and freshman Henry Sun (violin).

The orchestra was conducted by Dr. Timothy Dixon, professor of music at Messiah University.

• Six elementary students recently placed in the 2024 grades 5-6 CalcuSolve competition. Individually, Fairview fifth graders Daniel Wu and Samuel Barritt, and Kerr fifth grader Stephen Lei, all tied for second place. In addition, Daniel’s Fairview team of fellow fifth graders Finnegan Frank, Eleanor Hoff and James Minor won third place.

More than 350 students from nearly 30 school districts participated in the contest. The tournament, held virtually Nov. 6, was sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

• Fox Chapel Area senior Rachel Pegher won an award as part of the 2024 HOSA International Leadership Conference. Pegher won fifth place in the Cultural Diversity and Disparities in Health Care test category. She competed against about 250 students. More than 12,000 students attended the HOSA (Future Health Professionals) ILC from June 26-29 in Houston.

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