28660 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS October 3, 1986 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS ST. AGATHA ELEMENTARY It has become quite clear that American Fox CHAPEL MATH WHIZ GETS SPECIAL SCHOOL education has no more precious resource WoRLD PRizE than a first-rate elementary school. That is <By Eleanor Chute> HON. CHALMERS P. WYUE why it is so gratifying that St. Agatha Elemen­ A Fox Chapel Area student, who considers OF OHIO tary School, one of the 60 finest examples na­ math and chemistry books his favorite bed­ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tionwide, is in my congressional district. I time reading, has been rewarded for his salute the principal, Sister Julienne Guy, and study with a special prize at an internation­ Thursday, October 2, 1986 wish for your school the very best in educa­ al contest. Mr. WYLIE. Mr. Speaker, St. Agatha Ele­ Joseph Keane, 17, of O'Hara, led the U.S. tional achievement during the coming year high school team to a first place tie with the mentary School in my congressional district and the years to follow. Soviet Union in the International Mathe­ was selected recently to receive an elite and matics Olympiad in Warsaw, Poland. distinguished honor from the Secretary of Keane received a special jury prize in the Education, the Honorable William J. Bennett. PITTSBURGH AREA STUDENT annual competition for his solution to one May I congratulate St. Agatha Elementary LEADS UNITED STATES TO problem. School, its faculty and students on receiving INTERNATIONAL MATH VICTO­ The competition was held last week and the Excellence in Education Award attesting RY the awards were announced yesterday. to their superlative efforts and extraordinary Keane's mother, Kathryn, said her son's in­ achievement. Only 60 private schools were so terest in math dates to childhood. HON. DOUG WALGREN "Other kids would go to bed reading fic­ honored nationwide, so it is indeed a source tion books. His favorite would be to read a of great pride for me to represent this fine OF PENNSYLVANIA math book or a chemistry book . He just school. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES kept reading and reading . , " she said. The awards were based primarily on how Keane, who graduated from Fox Chapel well the schools used resources at their dis­ Thursday, October 2, 1986 this year, plans to study electrical engineer­ posal and how well they met the needs of Mr. WALGREN. Mr. Speaker, I want to ing and computer science at the University achievement in reading and mathematics, and of Pittsburgh. salute a young man in my congressional dis­ The last math course he took at Fox on the school's record of overcoming obsta­ trict who this summer led a team of American cles and sustaining progress. Chapel was calculus-in seventh grade. high school students to a first place tie with Since then, he has taken some computer sci­ Among the criteria utilized in selecting the students from the Soviet Union at the Interna­ ence courses and studied independently. He schools were: tional Mathematics Olympiad in Warsaw, also took a couple of courses at Pitt. School organization, including its mission, Poland. Thomas Anewalt, sponsor of the math goals and philosophy; club at Fox Chapel Area High School, said The instructional program, including curricu­ Joseph Keane of O'Hara Township, PA, is the victory was "super." lum and the character ethical development; an outstanding 17 -year-old student who has "Joe seems to see math in a global way, Instruction, including teacher evaluation and honored his family, his community, and his seeing the overall picture and the interrela­ tionship between problems," Anewalt said. staff development; country by his prize-winning work in mathe­ matics problem-solving under the pressure of Keane was among more than 300,000 stu­ School climate; dents who competed nationwide for one of Efforts to make improvements and maintain international competition. Joe, a recent gradu­ six berths on the U.S. team. high quality programs; ate of Fox Chapel Area High School, scored The international competition included School-community relations; and the most points of the six American students 192 students from 37 countries who tackled Student achievement. competing in the international contest which six problems during the two-day event. 1 think Secretary Bennett said it best when included 192 students from 37 countries. "He Three Americans-including Keane-won announcing the award winners: gold medals, and three won silver medals. seems to have a flair for cutting to the very Of the six Americans, Keane scored the These fine public and private schools are heart of a problem," the director of the Ameri­ most points. as diverse as America itself, but they share a can Mathematical Association says of Joe The team was selected after three exams common attribute: they're good schools. Keane. and a four-week training session in Annap­ They provide their young students with a olis, MD. solid foundation for later life. They have On Monday, October 13, Joe will be hon­ ored by the Fox Chapel Area School District About 20 finalists attended the session, in­ helped their students develop a strong core cluding Karl Westerberg, a senior at Allder­ of skills and knowledge, good values and for his achievement. Mr. Speaker, I want to dice High School who did not compete in habits, and an enthusiastic attitude toward join with them, and his family and friends, in Warsaw. learning. congratulating Joseph Keane for his accom­ For Keane, this was the third time he has Naturally, St. Agatha Elementary School plishment. attended the summer program and the was quite pleased to receive this prestigious As chairman of the Subcommittee on Sci­ second time he has been a member of the recognition of its educational efforts. St. ence, Research, and Technology and as U.S. team. Last summer, he competed in Helsinki, Finland, where the U.S. team Agatha Elementary School was presented someone who has tried to put special focus placed second. with a special flag symbolizing outstanding on the need for a strong math and science "I was a bit nervous last year. This year, I educational achievement. In addition to the program in our schools, I am particularly think the exam was a bit easier, and I was flag, ceremonies will be held to present a pleased that Joe comes from my congression­ more confident," Keane said yesterday in plaque to the school. al district. I wish him the very best as he Warsaw. This year, which has been proclaimed by seeks to develop and use his special skill for "He seems to have a flair for cutting to Congress and the President as the Year of the very heart of a problem, which enabled the benefit of all of us. him to come up with a particularly elegant the Elementary School, marks the first time I urge my colleagues to read the short arti­ that elementary schools have been awarded solution to a problem," said Alfred Willcox, cle reproduced below from the Pittsburgh executive director of the Mathematical As­ this honor. Public secondary schools have re­ Press about this young man who considers sociation of America. ceived comparable awards the past 3 years math and chemistry books his favorite bed­ In math talk, "elegant" means a solution and private secondary schools have received is efficient, dealing with just the essential comparable awards the past 2 years. time reading. parts of the problem. e This .. bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. October 3, 1986 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 28661 "Elegant" is the word used to describe the There are other examples: understanding will cure sickness and avoid solution that won Keane the special jury The Rev. Robert Hymers of the Funda­ medical treatment for themselves, but do prize in Warsaw, the only such award given mentalist Baptist Church in downtown Los not impose their views on others. this year. Angeles hired an airplane to carry a banner Sinith said he had not faced such a con­ Cecil Rousseau, the U.S. team director, saying "Pray for death: baby-killer Bren­ flict as a state representative or as a county said Keane had a "particularly original and nan" as Supreme Court Justice William commissioner. He said "I believe in the best elegant solution" to a problem on algo­ Brennan, who in 1973 voted with the major­ medical attention for those who want it"­ rithms, or repetitive calculations. ity to legalize most abortions, was to deliver and, in fact, he was endorsed by the Ameri­ Although this was the 27th international the commencement address at Loyola Mary­ can Medical Association. Smith said "At­ competition, the United States did not start mount University. Hymers first released a tacking an individual's religion is an attack participating until 197 4. press release saying his congregation would pray for Brennan's death, but after deciding on one of our most sacred institutions-free­ Wilcox said "lots of people felt the prod­ dom of religion. It has no place in American ucts of the American egalitarian high school that would sound like "a lunatic fringe," Hymers merely prayed for Brennen's remov­ society." Smith won the nomination, but system would not be able to compete on the Archer got 46 percent of the vote. same playing fields with the top students of al from the court. the European, highly elitist school systems But two weeks later, after the court LYNDON LAROUCHE ... We felt if we tried to assemble a team, upheld the right of a couple to withhold The major upset of the 1986 political they would be plowed under, particularly by medical treatment from their handicapped season occurred in Illinois on March 18 the Eastern European hotshots.