Latest news with #GreaterJohnstownHighSchool
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Johnstown students preview drone emergency service program
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WTAJ) — Community members and students at Greater Johnstown High School saw a preview of the newest advancement in emergency services. Aerium, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a pipeline between students and the aerospace industry, demonstrated how one of its drones can deliver medical supplies to an emergency site. The drone service is part of a pilot program called Drone 814, which will soon come to the Johnstown, Westmont and Southmont areas. 'Today's event was an opportunity for us to display to the public the first demonstration,' Glenn Ponas, executive director of Aerium said. Showcase for Commerce returns to Johnstown convention center Once someone calls emergency services, the drone will head over to the site with a package full of supplies, featuring tourniquets, glucose for diabetics, Narcan for drug overdoses and electric defibrillators for heart failures. Once arrived, the dispatcher on the phone will instruct the patient to use the supplies until paramedics arrive on scene. 'We want to ensure that we are getting first response faster and that the outcomes for patients are better,' Ponas said. 'So once the 911 team gets there, the end result is that we have better patient outcomes at the end of that.' Test flights are set to begin in the first week of June and continue into the summer. Drone 814 expects to release a regional rollout plan in October. Click here to view the plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Greater Johnstown students getting ready for annual Empty Bowls dinner fundraiser
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Students in Greater Johnstown High School's Key Club are shaping clay and decorating ceramic dishes as they prepare for the 14th annual Empty Bowls dinner in a little more than a month. Students gathered in art teacher and club co-adviser Cindy Maloy's classroom Monday to help create roughly 400 bowls for the fundraiser, scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. April 24 at Bottle Works in the Cambria City section of Johnstown. 'Being in a community like Johnstown, where there's a higher rate of unhoused people and people who are experiencing food insecurity, it's nice to know we're helping,' said sophomore Jackson Synan, who is in his third year in Key Club and his second year helping with the Empty Bowls dinner. PHOTO GALLERY | Greater Johnstown High School Key Club Empty Bowls Fundraiser The fundraiser supports the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Altoona-Johnstown, the Cambria County Backpack Project and the Women's Help Center. 'I specifically love that it's our community and we get to choose where the money goes,' Synan said. 'We know the people it's affecting.' Empty Bowls was started by a Michigan art teacher in 1990 as a way to raise awareness of food insecurity and to allow artists and students to make a difference. Spinoff fundraisers have sprouted across the U.S., including in Johnstown, with proceeds going back to the community. 'When I think about when we started this venture to where we are now, it's hard to believe we'd be this successful after 14 years,' Maloy said. She said the opportunity to help the community is paramount, and so is showcasing students' good work. As of Monday, Maloy had 47 students making bowls, with plans for more than 75 to assist this year. 'We have a lot of new students who have picked this up, which is awesome,' she said. Key Club students from the middle school chapter are also being tapped to help out with glazing bowls. Delanie Kiser, a Greater Johnstown senior, described the dinner as a great opportunity for the community, adding that she enjoys making the bowls. She has made about 30 bowls so far in her third year of helping with the event and being a Key Club member. 'I'm so grateful to be part of it,' she said. 'It's so great to see the money raised go back to the community.' A new addition this year is the Soup 'R Bowl event at Made in Johnstown to raise proceeds for Empty Bowls. The pottery challenge will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, with money from registration fees being donated to the Key Club. Made in Johnstown has also donated the clay for the event and will provide the bowls for the dinner April 24. Getting more community members involved is exciting, Maloy said. 'This is here and this is just beautiful,' Key Club co-adviser Luigina Magistro said. Empty Bowls was her introduction into being a club adviser and is a fundraiser she is passionate about, Magistro said. She added that she's always excited to see the students do positive work and support their community.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Event will honor Black History Month essay, poster contest winners
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Addressing differences served as the inspiration for Zayona Thomas' winning essay in The Tribune-Democrat's Black History Month contest. The Greater Johnstown High School junior wrote about how races are treated differently and how she as a young Black woman has been perceived. She wrote about creating the hashtag #WeAreNotTheSame to illustrate how Black people are treated based on skin color. A panel of judges chose Thomas' essay as the winner from more than 50 essay submissions. The essay contest was open to students in ninth through 12th grades. Zayona Thomas Zayona Thomas 'I came to the idea for my essay because in basketball I had an incident with a white female, and I faced a lot more consequences than she did,' Thomas said. 'I felt like my voice needed to be heard on it because it played a huge part in who I am today.' Students were asked to 'create a social media hashtag for Black History Month. In 500 words, explain the ideas, events, adventures or activities that your hashtag will represent.' 'With my hashtag, I was trying to have a powerful statement without saying a lot of words,' Thomas said. In her essay, she wrote that 'although we are not the same', she hopes 'one day we can be equal.' 'I think it's amazing that my voice can be heard and that other people can read my essay and get the same feeling,' Thomas said. 'Just because you feel a certain way sometimes doesn't mean that you always have to feel like that. We are equal and all together.' A poster contest was offered for pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade, who were asked to depict an influential African American in performing arts. Students in fifth through eighth grades were asked to design the cover of a magazine that showcases one of their favorite famous African American- or Black-owned/operated businesses. This year, 193 posters were received. Alexis Fisher spearheaded the contest in honor of her brother, Tribune- Democrat reporter Ron Fisher, who died in December 2019. Through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, the Ron Fisher African American History Educational Fund was established to create opportunities for local students to learn and experience Black history. 'For the essays, I saw that students picked an individual in history or the present day and told their life story and found a hashtag that applied to that specific person, or they picked a hashtag that was a theme about how they feel, and they tied a bunch of different stories into that,' Alexis Fisher said. 'There were so many stories about African Americans and the contributions that they've made to America that are unheard.' She said she applauds the high school students for opening up and expressing themselves. 'I think the hashtag probably resonates a little bit more with students because of social media, so those who participated took the idea and ran with it,' Fisher said. She complimented the middle school students who were asked depict African American- or Black-owned/operated businesses. 'It's inspiring to know that students look forward to this and get to put their artistic abilities on display and show us what they are interested in and thinking,' Fisher said. 'There were some really good posters this year, and for middle school students they really thought it through on creating a magazine cover.' She said elementary schoolers' posters featured African Americans in the performing arts. 'Historically, for the younger students we get posters with people we typically learn about in school, but this year I shifted gears because I wanted them to learn and think about the performing arts,' Fisher said. 'We got some different names this year and that was nice.' Adeya Fyock Adeya Fyock Adeya Fyock, a third-grade pupil at Greater Johnstown Elementary School, won first place in the elementary category. Her poster depicted actress Cynthia Erivo in her performance as Harriet Tubman in the film 'Harriet.' It featured lyrics from the song, 'Stand Up.' 'This feels really good to win,' she said. 'It makes me feel that I can be good at doing things and be chosen as winner.' Fyock said she chose Erivo for her poster because she's inspired by her. 'I like in the movie how her character helped people,' she said. 'My mom and I talked about what I could do and my mom said about the Harriet Tubman movie because it's all about being kind and helping people.' Avery Smith Avery Smith Avery Smith, a sixth-grader at Forest Hills Elementary School, was named winner in the middle school contest. Her poster depicted the cover of Time magazine featuring Alaffia, a Black-owned business that specializes in skin, body and hair care products. 'My family uses the soap at home, and we really like it,' Smith said. 'It's very encouraging because on the bottle of soap it has information on how they distribute bicycles and glasses, build schools and distribute school supplies, so I kind of based my poster off of that stuff.' For her poster, she drew how she perceives the company and how it cultivates beauty, equality and empowerment. 'It's exciting to be chosen winner,' Smith said. 'It's pretty important to have this contest because Black people have a lot of history in the United States.' To acknowledge the work by the students, a student art exhibition will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bottle Works, 411 Third Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown. 'This gives people a chance to come out and be with others within the community,' Fisher said. 'It's a positive, family-friendly event and is an opportunity to spotlight students.' Contest essays and posters will be on display at Bottle Works. Contest winners will be announced and monetary prizes will be awarded. Donna Baxter Porcher, co-owner of Studio 404 in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown, will serve as emcee. The event will feature music from DJ Moe of 102 JAMZ and performances from Elena Tuinstra, Darlene Seals and Flood City Youth Fitness Academy's dance team. Light refreshments will be provided. Admission is $5. Proceeds will benefit the Ron Fisher African American History Educational Fund. Fisher said she hopes students are encouraged to express their opinions and talk about important issues and experiences. 'I hope they take away the feeling of being able to participate and show us what they're thinking, whether that's in a poster or talking us through an essay,' she said. 'It gives them a voice.'
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Greater Johnstown senior gets Black history award from McDonald's
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Greater Johnstown High School senior Zoey Kurcin was nearly speechless Friday when she accepted her McDonald's Black History Makers of Tomorrow scholarship, but she said she was honored and humbled by the award. 'Nice to know that my accomplishments have been recognized,' she said. 'It makes me feel like I can do more.' Kurcin was nominated by teachers Gena Myers and Luigina Magistro for an award aimed at celebrating diversity and recognizing leadership, community service and character in students. Magistro and Myers said that when they read the qualifications for the scholarship, Kurcin was the first student that came to mind. 'Honestly, it was a no-brainer to nominate Zoey,' Myers said. Kurcin's involvement in several extracurricular activities, including the school's Agents of Change group, made her a top candidate, the pair added. Kurcin is also involved in the Aevidum club, the Greater Johnstown soccer and track teams, Girl Scouts and Upward Bound. In the recommendation letter, Myers described the senior as a 'remarkable young woman' whose contributions continue to impact those around her. 'I'm just so thrilled to see some of the history she makes,' Magistro said. In addition to a $1,000 check, Kurcin also received 'Black and Positively Golden'-branded McDonald's gear and gift cards to the restaurant. She said she plans to save the money for college. Although Kurcin is still selecting a school, she plans to major in psychology and pursue a career in that field. The senior was joined by her parents Friday for the presentation of the award. 'It's what every parent wants to see out of their kid,' father Joe Kurcin said. Heather Davis, the student's mother, agreed, adding that they were extremely proud of their daughter and it was nice to see her recognized. John Coyle, the local McDonald's owner-operator who presented the award, said Zoey Kurcin and her parents should feel really proud. He told a small crowd at the high school that he was impressed by her accomplishments and 'couldn't be happier to be part of this.'
