Mohawk pupils win awards

The awards were given at a school assembly on Friday.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Each morning Joey McPherson wakes up early because he's excited about going to school.
But that wasn't always the case, says his mother, Frankie McPherson.
"He's struggled since he began school. Every year its been a real fight," she said.
Joey, a fifth-grader at Mohawk Elementary School, has worked hard this year to improve his grades, and his parents and school officials say it is paying off.
Joey and two other pupils were honored Friday with the first Mohawk Elementary School principal's awards.
Principal Debbie Farelli gave out the awards at an all-school assembly because she wanted to show the others that these pupils are role models.
But 9-year-old Jenna Kostolnik doesn't think of herself as a role model. She's just doing what comes naturally.
"There was a kid in my class who would always get into trouble. I just figured if I played with him at recess, he wouldn't get in trouble. I also help this other girl. She never got picked for anything, so I would pick her," Jenna said.
Farelli said Jenna is always sensitive to special-needs children in the school who often can feel left out because of their disabilities.
Jenna's mother, Brenda Kostolnik, said Jenna is the same at home, whether helping with her 6-year-old brother or wanting to give money to someone who appears needy.
"She's always trying to help," Brenda said.
A cut above
Fifth-grader Olivia Kamicker also decided to help someone in need, and it took her two years to do it.
Olivia read about Locks of Love, a program where human hair can be donated to help make wigs for children with cancer, when she was a third-grader. Her hair, just below shoulder length, wasn't long enough, so she decided to keep it growing until she could donate it.
On Nov. 9, she had 10 inches cut off.
"I thought it would take five or six years to grow, but it only took two," she said. Olivia admits she was scared when the hairdresser starting cutting off her waist-length locks, but she's happy she did it.
Her parents, Larry and Andrea Kamicker, said Locks of Love was Olivia's own idea and she kept it in mind for the entire two years it took to grow her hair long enough to qualify for the program.
And Joey McPherson's parents say they are stunned at the improvements their son has made in the last school year.
He now goes to school an hour early every Tuesday and Thursday for tutoring and on days when he has tests. His grades have greatly improved, said his father, Frank McPherson.Joey said he decided to get serious about school when his parents threatened to hold him back a year.
The award
Farelli said all three pupils are good examples for the other kids in school and that's why she decided to create the new award. But, she noted, these awards won't be given out freely. She will give more out to only those who do something special.
"I'm very proud to be in a school where the children are so kind, caring and helping," Farelli added.
cioffi@vindy.com