2000s
2000
The Chess Club at WPSD expanded to include three parts: 1. Learn How to Play Chess; 2. Computer Chess; and 3. WPSD Chess Club Lessons. Students in third through sixth grade could join the club.
WPSD participated in the 2000 Marie Jean Philip ASL Poetry/Storytelling Competition for the first time. The students were required to submit videotapes of their poems and stories in various categories.
The Alumni Association set up an Alumni Tree and Seats. People can buy a gold brass leaf for $100, sponsor a Seat for $300, both leaf and seat for $375, $500 for a small rock, or $1,000 for a big rock. The donations have helped to continue with the renovation of our Auditorium, Learning Center, and TV studio.
The first Alumni Association website (www.wpsdalumni.org) was created by Todd Langer ’90.
2001
An incinerator was installed outside the kitchen to burn trash and garbage in 1936. It was taken down, and all the bricks were saved and then used to build the TV studio, which included a control room, an editing suite, and a video production classroom.
The Outreach Center was opened in Camp Hill. This satellite facility offered services to families such as videoconferening for meetings and special events at WPSD, professional development for teachers and interpreters, and events to keep people informed and connected.
The Center on Deafness was closed. The ground and first floors were renovated into Math Science Technology Center (MSTC).
An Independent Living Program was opened for qualified junior and senior boys and girls. It was designed to help the students develop their school-to-work transition skills. It was located on the second floor of the former Center on Deafness Building.
Jacob Gruseck ’01 was selected as the Silent News Soccer Player of the Year.
At the Kentucky Classic Basketball Tournament the WPSD boys beat Kentucky, Alabama, and South Dakota to win the championship. The girls’ team beat Kentucky and South Dakota but lost to Alabama for the co-championship.
The George Colaizzi Fitness Center was opened with various exercise equipment.
2003
The Alumni Association donated a new scoreboard to be used on the Teegarden Field in 2003.
The first yearbook in 1969 was printed in black and white. Now it is printed in colors.
The Snack Bar was relocated from the basement of the Boys’ Side to the basement of the Boy’s Dormitory. One student remarked, “The most popular drink is the old-fashioned milkshake-thick or thin.”
After proven success of students’ performance in the Math Science and Technology Center, the Science and Computer labs in the Lower School were renovated.
WPSD purchases a building for the Outreach Center in Camp Hill, large enough to hold family workshops, ASL Camp, and fund-raising events. When it was opened, parents could drop off and pick up their children at the center.
2004
The Chess Club – the older students were ready to compete against the hearing schools.
Deaf senior citizens volunteered their time to learn effective storytelling techniques and read books and stories to our young children.
A new bleachers were installed in the gymnasium.
WPSD won the championship in the Northern Region/Upstate ESDAA Soccer Tournament. Also, WPSD was chosen the Soccer National Team of the Year.
Mini SUNSIGN was started by Advisor Mary Ann Stefko for older elementary students. Later Middle School students were included as a performing group.
2005
A “Dormitory Council” was set up for students to set and agree on the rules for the residents who stay in the dormitory during the week.
Students from the Applied Studies Department began to attend an annual camping trip.
2006
In the 2006 ESDAA Track Tournament WPSD boys and girls won fourth place. Andrea Aquilino ’07 set a personal and ESDAA record for the long jump with a distance of 15’ 9 ½”.
The past Alumni Association presidents were recognized during homecoming with a plague listing their names and years served. The plaques were placed under the scoreboard on the Teegarden Field.
Silent News, written by students, was brought back.
The Battle Bots (Bots IQ), an educational program in which homemade, remote controlled robot’s face-off competed against Southwestern Pennsylvania school districts in a gladiator type arena, was begun at WPSD by teacher Bonnie Banas.
WPSD volleyball team won the champion ship at the Tri-County Christian League (TCCL) Tournament, held at Penn State New Kensington.
2007
The reorganization of the Academic Program resulted in High School for grades 9 through 12, Middle School for grades 5-8, Lower School for grades 1-4, and Children’s Center for preschool children in 2007.
Chess Club undefeated with a 4-0 record, gained 3-2 victories over Central Catholic, Oakland Catholic, and Quigley High Schools and went 4-0 against Upper St. Clair.
Fourteen 11th grade students from Sydney, Australia’s Royal Institute for the Deaf and Blind Children visited WPSD for two weeks.
The Children’s Village, a place to learn, a place to have fun and a place to remember! The Children’s Village was first and foremost an educational tool. The various playhouses including a bank, police station, town hall, etc. allowed the students (Preschool to 2nd grade) to learn civic and business functions through classroom lessons and role-playing.
Boys’ and Girls’ basketball teams won the Kentucky Classic championship. The boys also won the championship in the First Annual Spartan Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
2008
WPSD soccer team won the champion of the ESDAA Northern Region/Upstate Tournament. WPSD and Lexington School for the Deaf were named Soccer Teams of the Year by the National Deaf Interscholastic Athletic Association (NDIAA).
Bonnie Mahnick ’08 was selected to play on the East team that beat West 73-66, in the East/West Deaf Girls’ High School Basketball All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida.
Lights! Camera! Action! In two different entries, WPSD students won an award in the Public Service Announcement category for their video on “Bullying…No Laughing Matter.” The award in the Magazine category went to WPSD students for their weekly in-school TV production of “Lunchtime Challenge.”
“Lion Works” was set up to do all WPSD printing jobs on campus and to build relationships with the community by meeting their printing needs.
Eleven juniors and three staff members were chosen to participate in WPSD’s first ever cultural exchange program, and they traveled to Sydney, Australis.
2009
WPSD became responsible for the new “Scranton School for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children” (Scranton State School for the Deaf) and its 9-acre campus.
National City Bank and a barn with John Deere tractors were added to the Children’s Village.
In the first annual East/West Pennsylvania Basketball Classic held on the campus of Penn State University-Harrisburg, both boys’ and girls’ teams lost to the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
Mighty Mites soccer team played their first-ever away game against Schenley Dynamo at the Schenley Oval.