Scheduling Smoother than Normal

              Each year, Allderdice students and faculty experience chaos and disorder at the beginning of the school year due to the challenge of scheduling. This year, however, teachers and students alike agreed that the scheduling process went smoothly and quickly for the first three weeks of school. Nevertheless, large numbers of student schedules were changed at the beginning of the fourth week of the school year.             For as long as students and faculty remember, scheduling at Allderdice has been a very long and…

News-in-Brief

Bus Routes Changed   The Port Authority of Allegheny County’s quarterly service adjustments went into effect on September 30. Although no major changes took place, the 74 Homewood-Squirrel Hill bus route will now service the Belmar Gardens area of Lincoln-Lemington and will arrive at Allderdice a few minutes later than before. The 63 Edgewood route will be eliminated. Many of its stops will be absorbed by the 61A Edgewood via Forbes Avenue route which only functions on weekdays. Other service changes include schedule adjustments to…

Health Careers Club Connects Students With Medical Opportunities

The Health Careers Club has been started up at Allderdice in order to help students take full advantage of what Pittsburgh’s extensive medical community has to offer. While this club is offered at many schools, Allderdice has not had one of its own until now. Janet Waldeck, physics teacher, and nurse Linda Diskin have worked tirelessly to establish and see this club through as both believe that it provides extremely valuable opportunities. The two related that Pittsburgh has long been reputed as one of the…

Romney Closes In on Obama After Debate

With an aggressive performance in the first presidential debate, Republican presidential nominee and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney has restored momentum to a campaign that has been on rocky footing since the candidate’s controversial “47%” remarks were publicized. The daily Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Romney trailing incumbent president Barack Obama 45% to 47%. The same poll had Romney trailing by six points in the days leading up to the debate. The weekly Gallup poll has slightly different figures; according to the organization, Romney is likely…

Alumnus Donates $25,000 to Allderdice Clubs

              The Taylor Allderdice Alumni Association periodically sends out requests for donations. The organization receives $100 here, $100 there but never an incredibly substantial amount. That is, until Louis Alpern, an El Paso, Texas based ophthalmologist, decided to donate $25,000 to Allderdice clubs.             Alpern’s donation began as challenge. He and his wife Laura pledged to donate $1 for every $4 raised by Allderdice clubs throughout the 2011 to 2012 school year, with the upper limit of their donation being $25,000. The various organizations…

New Policies Regarding Tardiness, Scheduling Take Effect

  The 2012-2013 school year began for all students with new teachers, new classes, new friends and new school policies. This year, Allderdice is beginning to implement and enforce an all-new tardy policy as well as new policies regarding student schedules and times during which students are to arrive and be dismissed from the building. In addition to these new procedures, the school plans to enforce existing rules in a much stricter fashion than in previous years. The short-shorts rule is one that will receive…

Student Council Elections Held

Despite all the current talk about the presidential election, Allderdice has managed to maintain its focus on a much different ballot: that of its student council. Throughout the final weeks of September, several candidates in each grade began their mission to convince the members of their grade to vote for them. The four positions that were up for grabs were president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Once the candidates signed up, the race for glory began.             Throughout the hallways were various posters promoting each…

Budget Cuts Force Teachers to Spend Half Days at Different Schools

            With recent cuts to Pittsburgh Public Schools’ budget, the district is trying to find the most efficient ways to use teachers. One way the district has stretched the work force is by making some teachers teach half days at two different schools. At Allderdice this year two teachers, music teacher Brian Lee and English teacher Alexa Tokarski, are spending part of their days at Allderdice and the other part elsewhere: Lee at Colfax and Tokarski at Perry.             Both teachers were full time at…

Nicholson Walkway Reopens as Construction Concludes

The metal gates were removed, and the walkway leading from Nicholson Street to the front of Allderdice was reopened during the week of September 23, several weeks ahead of the revised schedule. Over the summer, the school decided to install French drains — trenches containing perforated pipes that function to absorb surface water and groundwater — to prevent water leakage into the gym. Construction began in July and was scheduled to conclude before the beginning of the school year. However, the extent of the damage…

European Delegation Visits Allderdice

A delegation of Europeans interested in the U.S. economy made a stop at Allderdice to discuss the European Project with students.