Moon Area Middle School Team Wins Odyssey of the Mind State Championship

Students qualify for World Finals; high school team also advances.

A team of Moon Area Middle School students have been named state champions with their first place win at the Odyssey of the Mind state tournament on April 13 in the Pocono Mountains. The team will move on to compete in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. Fifth- and sixth-graders Jenna Puhalla, Riley Graham, Madison Foster, Olivia Estright, Anthony Testa, Alek Kuzniarski and Ashley Sefranek will compete with 800 teams from around the globe at the international competition at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI on May 22-25. Coached by Lisa Puhalla, Kelly Graham and Joy Foster, the team placed first in the Pet Division II portion of the competition at states to qualify. Additionally, the Moon Area High School (MAHS) team of …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Moon Track and Field Athletes Hold Benefit Walk for Coach

Nick Bulat recently had a kidney transplant and students responded with a fundraiser for the National Kidney Foundation.

Moon Area High School and Middle School track-and-field members, along with other students and staff, participated in a benefit walk for retired middle school math teacher and current track coach Nick Bulat on Thursday. Bulat recently underwent a successful kidney transplant. The event raised more than $2,000, all of which was donated to the National Kidney Foundation in Bulat's name. ___________________ "Like" Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Get our email newsletter

• Photos (8)

Moon School Board to Address Change Orders, Sewer Issues on District Campus

School board members say no end date is yet available for continuing work on the district's main campus in Moon Township.

The vice president of the Moon Area School Board said remaining change orders on the middle school renovation project will be paid for through a capital reserve fund. School board member Ron Steele said a contingency fund for change orders on the district’s middle school overhaul was depleted several months ago. He said the fund was exhausted earlier than expected due to a “bank recording error.” “So now, quite frankly, we are limited to what we have through our capital reserve fund,” Steele said. “What’s making it difficult for us now is it seems like the change orders are getting more and more expensive.” The exact cost of overall change orders for the middle school project was not immediately available.  School board members on Monday …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (1)

Jenna Staul

10:12 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013

I'm going to turn off this commenting thread, just as its started to devolve and get off-topic. Even though we allow anonymous commenting, let's at least try to keep it polite and related to the topic. Thanks, Jenna   more ›

As Class Sizes Grow, Moon High School Lockers Could Come up Short

Class sizes at the high school are on the rise, Moon Area School District administrators say.

Crews will install an additional 117 lockers in the new Moon Area High School to accommodate increasing class sizes. The locker set, purchased through Tri-State Lockers at the state contract price of $18,150, will be installed during the summer season, along a second-floor wall spanning between the gymnasium and the auditorium. High school Principal Barry Balaski said the school’s current inventory of 1,200 lockers would fall 20 short when next year’s freshmen class enters the high school, necessitating the addition. This year, 1,072 students are enrolled in the high school—a figure that increased by 44 from the previous year. Balaski said the district projects those enrollment numbers will continue to climb in coming years. The purchase …

• Photos (1)

View Finder

VIEW: Demolition Begins on Old Moon Area Middle School

Crews began razing the vacant building today.

Demolition crews today began tearing down the former Moon Area Middle School building off University Boulevard.  The district closed the facility in 2012 with the opening of its revamped middle school, which had served as the high school before undergoing an extensive, $45.8 million renovation.  A newly constructed high school was completed and opened in 2011. The district's new middle school houses students in grades five through eight.  Opened in 1954, the former middle school served as the district's first custom-built high school, and then served as a junior high for grades seven through nine. Middle-schoolers were moved into the facility in 1989, according to the school district.  Crews will install a parking lot in the building's …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

You Sent It In

Fire Breaks Out Near Old Moon Middle School

A minor fire was reported on the Moon Area School District campus.

  A minor fire ignited this afternoon near the former Moon Area Middle School. Fire Chief John Scott said no one was injured as a result of the blaze, which was contained to a Dumpster at the site of the vacant building.  Scott just before 3 p.m. said Moon firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze. A cause has not been determined.  The building was closed earlier this year for the re-opening of the district's renovated middle school, which is located in the district's former high school.   The building is slated to be demolished in the coming weeks, said district spokeswoman Megan Edwards.  Thanks to reader Patrick Crago for submitting photos of the fire.  

• Photos (2)

Moon Area Hires Assistant Middle School Principal

Former middle school band director Jeffrey Jaworowski has been hired for the position.

The Moon Area School District has hired band director Jeffrey Jaworowski as assistant principal for its middle school.  Jaworowski has served as band director at the middle school since 1993, said district spokeswoman Megan Edwards in a statement.  He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in music education and has completed coursework at San Francisco State University and Duquesne University.  He will serve under middle school principal Melissa Heasley.  From district Superintendent Donna Milanovich:  "The district is pleased to welcome Mr. Jaworowski to the administrative team. His impressive skill set and knowledge will contribute to the continued success of our district."  Jaworowski's leadership …

• Photos (1)

Students Cut Ribbon for New Moon Area Middle School

A dedication ceremony draws hundreds of visitors to see improvements made to the former high school building, which now serves the district's fifth- through eighth-graders.

Visitors to Moon Area Middle School can be excused for not recognizing it for the building it used to be. Skylights and large expanses of glass windows bathe the corridors in natural light. Safe, wide stairways carry occupants between floors. Freshly painted, bright red lockers await students’ books and other essentials. It’s certainly a look for the 21st century for a building that originally was constructed way back in 1964. For more than four decades, it served as Moon Area High School. The newly renovated middle school opened in September. On Saturday, school officials invited members of the community to join a dedication ceremony, complete with a ribbon cutting. Representatives of each of the school district’s 12 grades wielded the …

• Photos (27)
• Videos (1)

Dedication Ceremony, Public Open House Set for Moon Middle School

The Moon Area School District will host an open house ceremony Saturday for its recently completed middle school.

The Moon Area School District will welcome the public into its newly revamped middle school with a Saturday open house.  A dedication ceremony for the new building, which now houses grades five through eight, will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday. An open house will follow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The middle school's band, chorus and other student groups will be on hand to perform. Student art will also be on display for the open house.  The event is open to the public.  The building, constructed in 1964, formerly served as the district's high school. An extensive, $45 million renovation on the facility was completed in September, weeks before students began classes in the building. The building carries two names, the Moon Area Upper …

• Photos (1)

New Moon Middle School to Serve as Polling Location

The closure of the former Moon Area Middle School means a change in polling locations for some Moon voters on Election Day.

Registered voters who reside in Moon Township's precincts seven and nine will cast ballots on Nov. 6 at the newly renovated Moon Area Middle School.  Voters in those precincts in the past voted at the district's old middle school, facing University Boulevard. That building was closed at the beginning of the school year and is slated to be demolished.  The former school will be closed on Election Day in favor of the new middle school, according to the Allegheny County Division of Elections.  Motorists can access the new middle school, which is located on the Moon Area School District's high school campus, at either the Beaver Grade Road or University Boulevard entrances.  Polls for voters in precinct seven will be located at the auditorium …

• Photos (1)