Valley View High School students placed 2nd and 4th in the annual Envirothon competition

Valley View High School students placed 2nd and 4th in the annual Envirothon competition held at Keystone College on May 11, 2016 . Valley View sent 3 teams to the competition with their advisor Anastasia Zabielski. “Spruce It Up!,” the team of juniors placed 2nd, Lindsay Ubaldini, Kassidy Leggin, Alexa Kobrynich, Vinny Betti and James McKane. The sophomore team, “Soiled It!,” team finish 4th in the competition, Jennifer Nguyen, Mike DeLeo, Mason Black, Samantha Humen and Brandon Judge. A freshman team placed 6th, “Mem-brains,” (Bella Picchini, Connor Judge, Brien Wedlock, Robert Walker and Megan Zabielski). Most of the information that is learned for the Envirothon is information that is not addressed in the regular curriculum, and the students involved go above and beyond to prepare for this competition. While at the competition students are presented with experiences that take them further than the classroom. This year a presentation by Naturalist, Rick Koval, allowed them to see species of Amphibians and Reptiles native to Pennsylvania, and an interactive demonstration teaching them how to make Maple Syrup. It’s the practical nature that makes this an invaluable experience for the students. Several teams competed from Lackawanna County, including teams from Abington Heights, Lakeland, Old Forge, Mid- Valley and Riverside.