Newsroom

Registration for the 2023-24 Pre-K Counts program is open. Preference will be given to children who will enter kindergarten in the 2024 – 2025 school year and who are not currently enrolled or selected for other Pre-K programs.

The Pre-K Counts classroom is located at Bellevue Elementary School. There is no cost to parents/guardians for this program.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Space for this program is limited. If you are interested, registration packets are available at both Avalon and Bellevue elementary schools.

For more information, please call (412) 732-3300, Ext. 2109.

Click here for the registration flyer.

The Northgate Flames boys basketball team will play Erie First Christian Academy in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A State Basketball Playoffs on Wednesday, March 15, at Sharon High School. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Tickets: https://piaa.hometownticketing.com/embed/all?tile_item=78

The Northgate/Avonworth swimming and diving team finished 2nd overall in the WPIAL Class 2A Swimming & Diving Championships.

The girls and boys teams had fantastic swims on both days of the swimming championships, breaking multiple records and finishing the competition placing runner up for both teams. The girls team had solid swims over the two days of competition with multiple swimmers making the podium. The boys would also go on to match the ladies with solid swims of their own during the competition. 

Additionally, divers Lilia Mackenzie and Ryan Hartle earned crucial points for their respective teams at the diving championships.

Below is a breakdown of the WPIAL swimmers and their accomplishments. Next up for the team is the PIAA state championships being held March 14-17 at Bucknell University. Congrats to all of the swimmers and coaches on yet another successful season!

 
Girls:

• Amelia Hardiman - 200 free relay 3rd place, 200 free  3rd place, 500 free 2nd place, 400 free relay 2nd place
• Catrina Raich - 100 fly 9th place, 100 free 10th place, 200 medley relay 12th place, 400 free relay 2nd place
• Kendall McKelvey - 200 free 5th place, 500 free 6th place, 200 free relay 3rd place, 400 free relay 2nd place
• Katie Petrina - 200 medley relay 12th place
• Kacey Lavelle - 200 medley relay 12th place, 200 free 26th place, 100 back 25th place
• Elise Nardozzi - 200 free relay 3rd place, 200 free 2nd place, 100 free 2nd place, 400 free relay 2nd place
• Lilia Mackenzie - 1 meter diving 7th place
• Izzy Schuster - 200 medley relay 12th place, 50 free 22nd place, 200 free relay 3rd place, 100 breast 23rd place

 
Boys:

• Jack Blaser - 200 free relay 6th place, 200 free 15th place, 100 breast 18th place
• Nate Campbell - 100 breast 24th place
• Sam Cavanaugh - 200 medley relay 5th place, 200 IM 7th place, 500 free 7th place, 400 free relay 5th place
• Ryan Ehman - 100 fly 29th place
• Caleb Gratner - 200 free relay 6th place, 100 free 21st place, 200 IM 19th place
• Ryan Hartle - 1 meter diving 2nd place
• Sam Kohler - 200 free relay 6th place, 500 free 10th place, 200 medley relay 5th place, 400 free relay 5th place
• Matthew Purcell - 200 IM 1st place and new WPIAL RECORD, 500 free 2nd place, 200 medley relay 5th place, 400 free relay 5th place
• Zach Schuster - 100 fly 3rd place, 200 medley relay 5th place, 100 breast 3rd place, 400 free relay 5th place
• Isaac Stoeckle - 50 free 19th place, 200 free relay 6th place, 100 back 12th place
• Jakob Vranick - 500 free 17th place
• Henry Wagner - 100 back 19th place

The Northgate Flames boys basketball team will play the Aliquippa Quips in the WPIAL Class 2A Championship on Saturday, March 4, at the Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.

Both general admission and reserved tickets are available on Ticketmaster. There are no student tickets. 

General Admission: 
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16005E5C83DD173F

Reserved: 
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16005E5C83E31755

Seating in the arena will be split into two halves. Northgate fans will occupy seats in sections 115-126. 

The game also will be streamed live on the TribLive High School Sports Network: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Go Flames!

The Northgate Flames boys basketball team will play Bishop Canevin in the third round of the WPIAL Class 2A Playoffs on Tuesday, February 28, at West Allegheny High School.

Tipoff is 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at: https://gofan.co/wpial

The Northgate Flames boys basketball team will play the Clairton Bears in the second round of the WPIAL Class 2A Playoffs on Friday, February 24, at North Allegheny High School.

Tipoff is 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at: https://gofan.co/wpial

The Flames defeated the Jeannette Jayhawks 89-65 Tuesday night during the opening round of the playoffs. Junior Josh Williams highlighted a fantastic night when he scored his 1,000th career point.

The Northgate School District is excited to host a spaghetti dinner for the families of students entering kindergarten in the 2023-24 school year!

The dinner will be 5 to 7 p.m. March 2 at Bellevue Elementary School, 435 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue. This event will be for families from both Avalon and Bellevue boroughs.

Join us for a fun and informative evening! Get to know school administrators, teachers and other parents of our future learners.

Click here to RSVP: https://bit.ly/3XEWOuA

Jaia Harrison, a ninth-grade student at Northgate High School, will be joining U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in Washington D.C. on Monday to celebrate Black History Month.

Jaia was selected to join the senator after winning Pittsburgh’s “Do the Write Thing” essay contest during the 2021-22 school year. She is one of five Pennsylvanians who will be honored by the senator for inspiring bold and bright futures in their communities.

Do the Write Thing is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence that tasks students to examine the causes and impact of youth violence. Communities from across the country participate in the essay contests.

Two ambassadors — one male and one female — are selected in the annual Pittsburgh challenge, which was established in 2007 by the Family Court Division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Jaia submitted her essay in November 2021 while she was in eighth grade after being encouraged by a teacher to enter the contest. The following spring, she received a phone call from Judge Dwayne D. Woodruff, who notified her she was a finalist in the competition.

“He told me I made it to the top 10 out of hundreds of submitted essays,” she said. “I was shocked.”

Jaia and the other finalists were invited to interview with the judge. During a ceremonial dinner event in June, Jaia learned she was selected as an ambassador.

At the dinner, she also met with representatives in Sen. Casey’s office to speak about youth violence.

“We talked about ways we feel would be beneficial to end youth violence in Pittsburgh,” she said.

Jaia said her essay focused on the mental health aspect of youth violence and the need for supports in schools.

“Mental health has a big toll on kids my age and in youth violence,” she said. “A lot of students struggle with mental health."

But Jaia said she sees change in the emphasis being placed on social-emotional well-being of students.

“It is changing,” she said. “I truly do believe it is. There has been a drastic change from even five years ago.”

After she was selected as an ambassador, Sen. Casey called Jaia’s home to invite her to join him in Washington, D.C. She is one of five Pennsylvanians who will be honored by the senator during the Black History Month celebration.

“It was surreal,” she said about speaking to the senator. “He told me he was honored to speak with me.”

Jaia will be meeting with Sen. Casey on Monday, which is coincidentally her 15th birthday. There, she will meet with other national leaders to discuss youth violence issues.

“I’m a little nervous, but I’m really excited,” she said.

She added she will be spending a few more days in the nation’s capital to celebrate her birthday and the national recognition.

The Northgate School District will host guest speaker George Nagle on Feb. 24 for a presentation about Creative Approaches to Innovation, and parents are invited to RSVP!

George is bringing his years of creative innovation for productivity to Northgate. He will begin the day of exploration at 8:30 a.m. in the Northgate Middle/High School auditorium.

The initial session will entail reframing the attendees to understand where they truly are and how to shift their perspective to where they want to be. Following that path will be a discussion on how our minds work with fear and how to move forward by building natural teams that want to engage with each other. The discussion removes statuses between students, faculty and staff by outlining how leading innovative businesses use these practices. The audience will be experiencing how to break down those silos that so often come up in the working world by learning, in real-time, tools that add value to their future lives at work and home!

He also will be engaging not only the students and faculty within the 7th to 12th grades but also other participants that can make the event in a live workshop. In real-time, this workshop will teach methods to develop ideas that also build teams naturally. The first workshop will start at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium and will finish by 11:15 a.m. There will be three additional workshops for 1 hour and 15 minutes each.

We are excited for you to join us on this expedition to creative approaches for innovation at home and work.

The Northgate School District is proud to present its annual Student Art Exhibit at the John A. Hermann Jr. Art Museum, 318 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue.

Students and their families are encouraged to join us at an Opening Reception on Friday, Feb. 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. This is a great opportunity to celebrate these amazing students throughout the district.

A Closing Reception will be on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. The public may also view the exhibit on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Avalon Elementary teacher Sherrill Farmer has been nominated for this month's Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher program, presented by the NHL, NHLPA and SAP!

Please visit www.nhl.com/mvt to vote Mrs. Farmer throughout February. You can vote once per day, every day, during the month.

Mrs. Farmer, who is among 20 teachers being recognized, was selected due to her dedication to teaching STEM lessons to our students. The teacher who receives the most votes this month will win $10,000 towards Environmental Sustainability Resources for the district donated by SAP. Vote today and every day!

Cast your vote here: www.nhl.com/mvt

Dr. Jeff Evancho, Director of Partnerships and Equity, and Dr. Chris Caton, Director of Curriculum, were recently selected as winners of the Innovation in Education Award: Leader Category by the Three Rivers Educational Technology Conference.

The nominator of Dr. Evancho and Dr. Caton wrote:

“They represent what modern education can and should be - inclusive, engaging, dynamic, future looking, holistically supportive of child and adolescent well-being, and more. If the budding Pittsburgh innovation ecosystem is going to deliver on the promise of creating broad- based economic opportunity for everyone that lives here today – it will happen because of educators like Jeff and Chris.”