Pink Ribbon Cheer Classic

Pink Ribbon Cheer Classic
YOUNGSTOWN -- Hundreds of cheerleaders and dance squad members from high schools and junior high schools across the region will by on the Youngstown State University campus Sunday for the 5th annual Pink Ribbon Cheer Classic.
The event is a cheer and dance exhibition to raise money for Zeta Tau Alpha sorority's national philanthropy -- breast cancer awareness, research and education. Doors open at 9 a.m. at Beeghly Center and the event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This year's goal is $44,000, which would bring the Zeta Gamma Chapter of YSU to bring its five-year contribution total to $100,000. High school students from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the Midwest are scheduled to participate.
There is a $5 admission fee for spectators but breast cancer survivors will be admitted free with a special pass. To donate online, contact cheerclassic@hotmail.com. Pledges can be made by calling Nicole Cunningham, (330) 718-2226.
Photojournalist to speak
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Kirsten Elstner, photojournalist and freelance photographer for The New York Times and the International Red Cross, will speak at 3:15 p.m. Nov. 11 in Phillips Lecture Hall in the Hoyt Science Resources Center.
Elstner's career has taken her to remote locations such as Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, and her own back yard of Annapolis, Md., where she is the founder and director of VisionWorkshops, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring inner-city children through photography.
This event is free and open to the public. Contact Dr. Sherri Pataki, visiting assistant professor of psychology at Westminster College, at (724) 946-7361 or e-mail patakisp@westminster.edu for more information.
Chosen for conference
COLUMBIANA -- Kristi Couchen-our, daughter of Pam and Bill Couchenour of Columbiana, was selected to attend the National Young Leaders State Conference in Columbus this week. Kristi is an eighth-grader at South Side Middle School and was nominated for the honor by a teacher.
Outstanding eighth- and ninth-grade pupils from across Ohio were invited to participate in the four-day leadership development program, which ends Sunday. The National Young Leaders programs are sponsored by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council.
Top honors for band units
STRUTHERS -- The Struthers Marching Band and the Struthers Guardline took some top honors at a recent Ohio Music Education Association regional marching competition at Brunswick High School. Both units will advance to the State Marching Competition on Nov. 6 at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. The band took second place in its class while the guardline took first place overall. The guardline is undefeated.
The band is under the direction of Edward L. Stiles Jr. with assistants Sandra Stiles and Tricia Colburn. The Guardline is instructed by the Stileses, Marina Ciccone and Jason Detec.
State's poster winner
CANFIELD -- Katie Fernstrom, a sixth-grader at Canfield Middle School submitted the winning Severe Weather Awareness poster in a statewide Tornado Safety Awareness Campaign. Her effort garnered her the regional and overall state contest honor. Her school will get to keep a State of Ohio school trophy award for the 2005-06 school year.
Literary conference
CORTLAND -- The Trumbull County Educational Service Center will have its annual Trumbull Literacy Conference on Nov. 5. More than 500 teachers are expected to attend the conference, which will be at Lakeview High School.
The daylong professional development conference for teachers of children in kindergarten through eight focuses on increasing pupil achievement in reading and writing as well as on enhancing each teacher's knowledge about the connections between reading and writing.
Attendees will participate in three general sessions, each of which features a professional author.
Teachers attending the conference also will attend three small group sessions throughout the day. Each session is 50 minutes and participants may choose from a schedule that features numerous different topics presented by local educators.