Chalked Up: Baden Academy's successful Cereal Bowl; Pitt to offer new chiropractic program

Garret Roberts, Beaver County Times
·3 min read

While most of the nation was focused on the Super Bowl last month, students at Baden Academy were packing an RV with the "winnings" of their competition.

Started as a community service project with the Little Free Pantry at House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Aliquippa, Baden Academy's annual "Cereal Bowl" competition is hosted around the Super Bowl to help bring food to local families in need. As students rush around the neighborhood to collect hundreds of boxes of cereal throughout the week, staff arrange the donations into a domino-like display in their gym, making the collection for a good cause have a sweet reward for students.

Second-grader Amelia Sorge poses with the "golden cereal bowl," the ultimate prize of Baden Academy's Cereal Bowl competition.
Second-grader Amelia Sorge poses with the "golden cereal bowl," the ultimate prize of Baden Academy's Cereal Bowl competition.

During this year's competition, the school broke its previous records by collecting over 1,776 boxes of cereal to donate to the food pantry over the course of one week. Students in the second-grade class got front-row seats to the event on Feb. 8 as the school's top cereal collectors, with one particular student taking home the Golden Cereal Bowl trophy for her efforts and having the honor of starting the chain reaction.

The final collection of Baden Academy's Cereal Bowl, which totaled 1,776 boxes of cereal.
The final collection of Baden Academy's Cereal Bowl, which totaled 1,776 boxes of cereal.

"The winner this year was second-grader Amelia Sorge," Creese said. She collected 730 boxes, which allowed her classroom to win the Golden Cereal Bowl. The students in Ms. Keller's classroom collected 741 boxes."

Several "runner-up" donors participated in this year's competition, such as fourth-grade student Langston Ramos, who collected 123 cereal boxes. Other top donors included brothers Connor and Oliver Acs, who collected 120 boxes of cereal in their fifth-grade and kindergarten classrooms, and second-grade student Sophia Booher, who donated 72 boxes of cereal.

University of Pittsburgh to offer Doctor of Chiropractic program

A new medical program at the University of Pittsburgh will open the door for chiropractic studies in Pennsylvania.

Officials from the university's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) have announced they will now offer a Doctor of Chiropractic program at the public university, making it the first of its kind in the state. The program will focus on evidence-based training for spine and musculoskeletal conditions while also training students in best practices for interprofessional teamwork.

“Major drivers of this program include an accumulation of scientific evidence showing that chiropractic care is a safe and effective approach to the treatment of pain and the important role it can play in mitigating opioid use for back and neck pain through nonopioid interventions,” said Michael Schneider, who will be the program’s acting director. “According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 619 million people live with low back pain. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide.”

According to school officials, this will be the only chiropractic program in the United States led by a staff member with National Institutes of Health research funding. Schneider, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008 with a Ph.D. in rehabilitation sciences, is currently a co-investigator in four NIH-funded clinical studies valued at $30 million.

Other education news to note:

  • Seniors graduating from Ellwood City High School and Riverside High School are asked to apply for the Dom Viccari-McDonald's of Ellwood City Scholarship. The $1,000 academic award is being offered to students who plan on attending a two-year or four-year vocational or academic program. The award seeks to recognize a combination of academic achievement, leadership ability, and community service. Applications can be downloaded from the Beaver County Foundation's website and must be submitted by May 2.

  • The Zeta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International is offering a $1,000 scholarship to women from Beaver County pursuing degrees in education. Applicants must be juniors attending either a college or university in Pennsylvania and maintain a QPA of 3.0 or higher. Interested applicants should contact Sallie Alviani at salviani@comcast.net for the necessary materials. Applications are due by April 29.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Chalked Up: Baden Academy's successful Cereal Bowl; Pitt to offer new chiropractic program