001Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The board met in executive session prior to tonight's public meeting to discuss with council information or strategy in connection with pending litigation matters and other issues on which identifiable complaints are anticipated. The board also reviewed information related um to discussion of an employment matter and district business that if conducted in public would lead to the disclosure of information or confidentiality protected by law. Mrs. Anusley, please call the role. >> Mrs. Cooper >> here. >> Miss Dad here. >> Miss Finley >> here. >> Mr. Frank >> here. >> Mr. Good >> here. >> Mr. Hamilton >> here.
002>> Dr. Hasselorn >> here. Mrs. Lynch, Miss Sitch >> here. Eight members present. Mrs. Lynch absent. >> Thank you. Dr. Rejack, will you please introduce all of our wonderful guests? >> We have wonderful guests this evening, and it is my pleasure to have everybody here tonight. Um, we are I'm going to introduce uh each guest a little bit differently, but we're going to start with the Fox Chapori High School assistant swimming coach, uh, Win Kersner, who's here to introduce the members of the boys and girls swimming teams who won their sections and some of whom also went on to win gold medals and participate in Whipio and PIAA competitions. >> Thank you very much for the Fox Chapel Area School District board for having us all here tonight. We couldn't be more honored to be
003recognized for this accomplishment. I also, they're not here tonight, but I want to give thanks to my fellow coaches, our head coach, Bailey Bonnet, assistant coach Matt Harris, and our diving coach Vernon Yanick as well. I couldn't do this without them. I'm really proud of everyone on both the boys and the girls team for coming together on such a great season. Our boys, as has already been noted, were the section three champions with a 10 and4 record and undefeated in the section. And we also broke one team record this year. The girls also won the section 3 team title with a 13-1 record, undefeated in the section, and they set six pool records and seven team records. Some of them were broken multiple times as well. At the Whiples Championships, the boys played state a
004team, qualified multiple swims for states, and had a season best time in the 200 freestyle relay and set a team record in the 100 fly at states as well. The girls scored the most points in Fox Chapel history at Whipfields and finished second overall as a team and also had the most medalists ever as well. So well done. Our whipill champions were the 200 medley relay that consisted of Cameron Brenza, Ellie Lang, Josie Stanzic, and Delaneio Tul. For individual champions, we had 200 IM with Ellie Lang. And in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, we had Deleno Tul. And finally, for our last whip champion, it was the 400 freestyle relay that consisted of Ellie Lang, Nola Wrestler, Charlotte Rushi, and Delaney Oul. Adding on to the accomplishments. The accomplishments don't even end there.
005The girls team finished third overall at states by one point, which is the highest Fox Chapel finish ever at the state championship. And we had two state champions, Delaneio Tul in the 100 backstroke and Ellie Lang in the 200 IM. I want to just say how proud I am of all the swimmers. Um, they really just bought in and had an absolutely incredible season. Worked really hard and accomplished so much. And I really think that this is just the baseline for our success. We can't wait to see what happens next season and we're looking forward at raising the bar even higher than what we set this year. With that in mind, I would like all of the swimmers to go ahead and line up on this side over here and I would like to call
006out all the names of the people that are here. All right. So in front we have Desi Ruff, Nick Bell, Sam Asher, David Polaro, Will Henderson, Christian Burkner, Nora Kovatch, Nicole Wrestler, Lizzie Mariana, Ellie Lang, Charlotte Rushi, Josie Stanzic, Marin Shelby, Bray, Cameron Brinsa, Felicity Anderson, CC Sunrock, SJ Daring, and Sarah Wang. Congratulations to all of our swimmers. You guys are awesome. In the interest of time and given how many wonderful swimmers and divers we have here, if you can all just follow me out into the hallway and I will give you all of your certificates for your achievement. Thank you all for having us. >> Thank you. Well, not only did swimming have a wonderful winter sports season, but we also have assistant varsity basketball coach Kelly Gibson, who is here to introduce the
007members of the girls basketball team that made it to the PIAA playoffs. Um I would like to thank you board members for recognizing our team. This group exceeded expectations. We finished second in our section. We made whipple champ uh whipple playoffs won playoff game and also made PIA state playoffs. Um more than anything this group they supported one another and played with genuine joy. They represented Fox Chapel the right way and we couldn't be more proud of them. Um, girls are sign up. All right, the girls we have with us today are Jane Weber, Nina Kulicowski, Llaya Jadlin, Bella Geller, Reese Spiel, Bailey Sacko, Olivia Arca, Emily McKe, Ka New Ka Kolicowski, Abby Goodman, Ella Chevchek, and Addison Sacko. into the hallway. >> Congratulations to our girls basketball team. We are very proud of you.
008Uh in uh we also had a busy winter season in indoor track. And so we have indoor track head coach Tom Mole who is here to introduce some members of the girls indoor track team who made it to the indoor state meet. So uh Coach Mole, >> thank you. All right. Um, we're missing one. Uh, but I'll introduce I'll introduce these three. We have, um, on right here, uh, Sydney Kimmans, and, uh, in the middle there, uh, Claire Lois, and then, uh, she was just up here with basketball, Ella Chevchuk. Uh, we're missing Bridget Hemingray as the the fourth. Um, you know, th this group, you know, was fun to work with. Just just a fun group. Um, you know, making it to to states in any sport is is quite an accomplishment. As as
009you know, indoor track's a little different because it's not a PIAA sport. So, there's no classifications. So, you're you're competing against every every school in the state for top 20 slots in in in each event make it. And uh for for this for this crew to get there, they had to really run a monumental race in the second to last meet uh to get a time that would put them in the top 20. So they did that and they get to the uh the state meet seated 19th. So they run the they run the um they run the the the top 20 in two heats of 10. So heats uh seeds 11 through 20 go first. That was us. And then seeds 1 through 10 go second. And you know, getting there was was quite
010a feat, like I said, and and and coach Patterson and I were, you know, certainly happy to be there the night before at dinner. Um, you know, I I was talking, we were talking to the girls and and said, "Hey, you know, it's not unheard of for a team out of that first, the slower heat to get on the podium. Top eight top eight make, you know, make the podium." And um, you know, not unheard of, you know. So, one of them I think Ella said, "Do we have to win our heat, do you think?" And I hated to answer that question because I don't want to be def deflating, but I said, "Yeah, probably." And they kind of looked at each other and said, "Oh, okay." Like, "No problem. Is that all?" Now that
011they know, now that they knew what they had to do, it was like, you know, check. So, didn't they go out and do that the next the next day? And um ended up with a with a sixth place podium finish. um just just one of the most uh thrilling races the parents are here will attest to that like that that I've that I've witnessed and um super proud of them and uh we're in the middle of outdoor season now so they're they're uh they're they're keeping on with their you know with their their great performances. So thank you again and congratulations to these young ladies. Well, congratulations to our girls indoor track team. That's quite an accomplishment. We also have uh the president of the Fox Chapel Fencing Club and parent volunteer Vincent Thomas and
012he is here to introduce members of the girls fencing team that won the Pittsburgh Fencing Championships. It was a busy winter. >> Indeed, it was. H Good evening everybody. Uh my name is Vincent Thomas and on behalf of our coach Bill Fischer and the parent board of the Fox Chapel Tencing Club, uh I would like to thank the school board for honoring the student athletes of our bar girls varsity team this evening. Um I'd also like to thank uh Mike O'Brien, the staff of the uh athletics department for all their support throughout the year. Uh fencing is a club sport at the high school and so two years ago a group of parent volunteers reorganized the club by establishing a nonprofit organization and hiring a new coach. And this year marked a major milestone with
013a record of 42 students joining the club. Uh the varsity team uh the girls team led by captain Lil Thomas had an outstanding season and I'd like to ask all of those who are present to come up and join me here. We're a slightly smaller club than some of what we've seen tonight. Um the girls varsity team advanced to the playoffs of the Pittsburgh International Pittsburgh Intercolastic Fencing Association League where they ultimately triumphed over the reigning champions North Alagany High School to win first place and claim the 2026 women's team foil champions title. So, I'd like to introduce them and to present them with a certificate of recognition from the board. Uh, beginning with Captain Senior Elizabeth Thomas. Uh, senior Kora Litwin could not be with us, but I would like to recognize uh, Junior
014Victoria Mlin. And I guess for the second time tonight, sophomore Felicity Anderson and freshman Kate Lynn. So, congratulations to the team and again, thank you to the board for recognizing our student athletes tonight. Well, congratulations to our girls fencing team and all of our our uh students on the fencing team. We were really proud of you and uh excited that you unseated North Alagany in their reign. So, congratulations. Um we also want to thank all of the parents that happen to be here. We know that it takes a lot of effort to support your children as students, as athletes, as children. uh and we know that uh it it it's a big commitment for an entire family and we appreciate it. Uh we're excited to celebrate them and we know that we're also celebrating your
015hard work and dedication. So, thank you. >> That concludes all of our guests this evening, Miss >> All right. Thank you. >> And our guests are welcome to stay, but if you have other things, we do understand and we won't take that personally, but you're always welcome. I'd like to plug that there's a home track meet tomorrow if anyone wants to come by. I'll be working the concession stand. >> Oh, even better. >> Thank you all for coming. Okay, next we have our Fox Leadership Council Student Representatives, Leila Gola and Riley Graham. Come on up. Hi everyone. We're here representing the Wellness Council. We are the two chairs this year. I'm Leila Gola and I'm a senior and this is Riley and she's a junior and she's going to be taking over next year. And
016for the rest of the year, just to give a brief like overview as to what we have planned, we're continuing our Instagram and kindness initiative where students will post random compliments and submit those to our QR codes hung around the school so that we can just spread some cheer and positivity in a culture where there's not a lot of positivity and there's a lot of comparison on social media. So, we think that that'll be a really effective way to make like gentle improvements in students moods throughout the day. We'll also be grabbing random QRTs and making sure students like feel seen and know that the wellness council is there for them by spreading affirmations on their lockers and sticking notes with resources and just letting them know how proud we are of them. Especially as
017like finals start to come up, people might feel more stressed and we want to make sure people know that there's always support if they need it. We're also starting a wellness bulletin outside of the cafeteria where it has resources for students to be in tune with what they need and resources, the compliments page and infographic as well as like the different spheres of wellness, financial wellness and how they can start to reinforce that, social wellness and how they can hang out with their friends in a positive way and thing things like that. We'll be finishing off the year strong with continuing our monthly newsletters. Riley is going to be talking about some of the ones we've done already, but we're going to do stress and drug and alcohol awareness for April and we have our
018main newsletter coming up as well. All of our articles will be due May 1, and we'll send that out as soon as we can. Our big event of the year is wellness day and it's the best day of the year. If anyone's still left, they should absolutely come to Wellness Day. And we'll have like so many clubs in the school organizing a full day, a half day of activities with like panels and workshops. We'll have mental health for athletes and jewelry making. And we'll also have raffle baskets for each of the different spheres of me spheres of wellness we mentioned for every student to participate in. And then we'll have therapets as well because therapets make everyone's lives better. Um, and then lastly, this Thursday, we have we're hosting a speaker on mental health that's
019been recognized pretty broadly throughout the Pittsburgh region, and we think that she's going to help with like building resilience. She will also be hosting a pullout session for interested students. So, we'll really try to reinforce these next couple of years and the next student body to help propel and reinforce the wellness council next year. Hi. Uh, I'm Riley and I'm gonna start off with what we've done. So, we've done monthly newsletters where each month we focus on a theme that we've done and we write um just some uh articles on them. So, September we've done suicide prevention. Uh October we've done anxiety. November gratitude. December depression and seasonal effective disorder. January stress management. and uh February and March nutrition and uh movement. We've also done a winter wellness day where we distributed uh free hot
020cocoa and resources um to all students before finals and keystones where it just helped uh release some stress and just a reminder that there's resources available to them. Uh we've also had a schoolwide distribution of candy canes and resources uh just to inform students of the 988 hotline uh where we had candy canes with a little piece of paper with all the resources listed available and we distributed those candy canes to the students QRTs where they distribute them further to all the students uh individually. We also had a fall wellness day where it had therapets and coloring books where the coloring books were made uh by the students. Um and then it just helped uh relieve stress and then uh just um helped just uh distribute wellness further. We also had a activating agency and
021well-being student symposium where a few students from uh Fox Chapel went to the student symposium and um we just shared some of the school's wellness and student support um where the uh student symposium just learned a few ways to improve uh their changes in their education systems through our conversations. So we used our voices to make a change statewide. Also, some other uh schools came and uh used their voices to make a change as well. We also had a Rachel's challenge pullout session where all the grades came during QRT down for an assembly to learn about Rachel's um story. And then uh this learned to this challenge we uh learned to spread kindness and hope throughout our school. And then after the assembly, uh, kids had a chance to sign a banner where they, uh,
022could sign to accept Rachel's challenge of, uh, spreading kindness and hope throughout the school. And then there were announcements each morning after, just a reminder to spread kindness and hope throughout the school. And then we also had a compliments page where uh there were posters around all the school where students could sign up and then post compliments about other people where that just uh therefore connected back to Rachel's challenge about spreading positivity. And then we also had the Instagram account where we posted reminders about wellness and tying it all back together. Thank you.