Students win grants, stage community fundraisers and national coding success at Franklin Regional
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Summary
Students from Franklin Regional presented projects ranging from a national Girls Who Code placement to middle‑school CARES finalists, a successful blood drive and high‑school fundraising teams (MiniTHON and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries) that raised community donations.
Franklin Regional students on Monday showcased a string of student projects and community fundraising efforts that school leaders said demonstrate student leadership and civic engagement.
At the elementary/intermediate presentation, third‑grade student Ellie Anderson told the board she used Scratch and block‑based coding to build a game that won third place in a national Girls Who Code Code Art competition. “I used Scratch,” Ellie said during her presentation, and staff noted the game tied to the district’s creek studies and trout‑rearing lessons.
Middle school staff described FRMS CARES Day, a January event in which every sixth‑through‑eighth‑grade student picked a career interest, identified a community problem and developed solutions; eight finalist teams pitched projects and four teams received $500 grants funded by the district’s Bridal Foundation allocation of $2,000 for student initiatives. Student projects included a blood drive (the students reported 63 signups and 54 units collected on April 11), a youth rides concept, whiteboard desk coverings to reduce paper waste and a Best Buddies–style unified program.
High school students and sponsors highlighted MiniTHON and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries campaign. MiniTHON leadership said their local efforts support Penn State Children’s Hospital through 4 Diamonds; “all of our money goes to 4 Diamonds,” student leader Sydney Nguyen told the board. The school’s Student Visionaries team reported raising about $81,000 in the region; Erica Gribben, the Pittsburgh Student Visionaries campaign development manager, said Luca Bertucci raised more than $42,000 and received a regional team‑member award.
Administrators told the board the student efforts build skills (the district framed them around “the 5 C’s”: collaboration, creativity, communication, citizenship and critical thinking) and bring both small grants and larger community donations into district initiatives.
