District Newsletter - East Penn School District

Issue: May | 2016
ATTENTION PARENTS OF GRADUATING
SENIORS: Order Your 2016 Senior Signs Today!
The East Penn School District Educational Foundation is excited to launch a new “Senior Signs”
project for families of our graduating Emmaus High School class. Come be a part of this inaugural
event that will soon be an Emmaus High School tradition! Each sign is $25: All sign orders are
due by May 27, 2016
Read more
EHS Students Win Philadelphia
University Architecture Awards
Students in Mr. Didra’s architecture class recently participated in Philadelphia University’s
Innovation in Design Contest. The College of Architecture challenged participants to design a
dragon boat clubhouse to be located on Barbados Island in the Schuylkill River. In order to create
a design that was innovative, creative, and sustainable, students had to bring together the
disciplines of Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture. Mr. Didra’s students
worked on these design challenges throughout the winter months in addition to continuing the
pursuit of completing the Observatory project for the class. The students experienced real world
challenges and the need for time management as they neared the deadline for the contest.
Read more
Willow Lane Students Win Grand
Prize in Scholastic's "Kids Are
Authors Contest"
Mrs. Dweck and Mr. Weimann worked with 3rd graders from the Ink­
Readable Willow Writers club on a nonfiction entry for Scholastic’s final year of the “Kids Are
Authors Contest.” These Willow Lane students won the grand prize out of over 900 entries. Those
entries were judged by Scholastic authors and editors. The prize is 5,000 Scholastic Dollars
redeemable for books, educational resources, and technology through the Scholastic catalog.
Read more
EHS Special Olympics Athletes
Shine
The Health and Wellness/Fitness Club in combination with PALS and
Key Club, participated in the Special Olympics on Friday May 13,
2016. Students volunteered as buddies for the athletes competing in a variety of track and field
events. Although the weather wasn’t perfect, our student buddies and athletes had a fantastic day
of fun, friendship, and physical activity!
Read more
Wescosville Elementary School Receives Award
for SWPBS Program
Principal Tara Desiderio accepted Wescosville Elementary School’s sustained fidelity award for
its School­Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) program on May 5, 2016. SWPBS refers to
a systems change process for an entire school. The underlying theme is teaching behavioral
expectations in the same manner as any core curriculum subject.
Read more
Fourth Graders Host Author’s Tea
at Macungie Elementary
Throughout the school year, Mrs. Thomas’s fourth grade students
have been busy studying Lucy Calkin’s Units of Study. For the
narrative unit of study, the students wrote realistic fiction stories. They learned how to write
exciting leads, construct story arcs, and write culminating endings. Also, they worked on adding
dialogue and transition words to their stories. Finally, they focused on revising, editing, and
publishing. Through this process, they became excellent authors. Read more
2016 SADD Recognition
Reception at Historic Hotel
Bethlehem
Lehigh and Northampton County, SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), Lehigh Valley
DUI Highway Safety Task Force, Lehigh Valley Health Network, and Valley Youth House hosted
and presented awards to students who have played a pivotal role in their districts SADD
programs at Historic Hotel Bethlehem during a dinner on May 9, 2016. Emmaus High School's
SADD advisor Jeannine Martini spoke about the clubs award recipient for 2016.
Read more
SADD/ Kid to Kid Visits Eyer 6th
Graders
On May 6th, Emmaus High School SADD/ Kid to Kid club presented to the entire sixth grade at
Eyer Middle School. Club members created informative presentations on local trends regarding
substance use and consequences. Sixth graders viewed a movie, produced and filmed by club
members, predicting what the outcome could be depending on choices made by actors.
Read more
EHS World Language Department
Hosts Trip to Merida, Mexico in
June 2017
The EHS World Languages Department will be hosting a trip to
Merida, Mexico in June, 2017, for students who have completed
Spanish 2, 3, and 4 by that time. This is a trip that has a focus on service and the students will
spend a day volunteering in a local orphanage and a half day helping local Mayan villagers.
Read more
SADD Attends 2016 Lehigh Valley
DUI Highway Safety Task Force
Youth Conference
Emmaus High School SADD/ Kid to Kid club members were among 30 school districts from
Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon County attending the 2016 Lehigh Valley DUI Highway Safety
Task Force Youth Conference on April 22, 2016. Students learned how important it is to make the
right choices in life. The students heard how drugs and alcohol cost Elliot Lipsky, 23, of South
Whitehall, and Donald Yesik, 26, of Slatington, their freedom. They also learned from Cindy and
Lonnie Kester of Palmerton, how making a bad decision cost their son, Lee, his life.
Read more
EHS Students Compete in Biology
Olympics
Fifteen area high school teams competed in both individual and team categories in biology in this
year’s Biology Olympics. This year's Emmaus H.S. Biology Olympics Team members are:
Matthew Kermitz, Gabriela Landi, Katie Xue, Abigail Galiardo, Del Vierling, and Sydney Beltz.
They were an excellent representation of our high school combining both academic and social
skills needed for this competition.
Read more
EHS Architecture Class Presents
at CSI Expo
The CSI Expo, featuring hundreds of Architects, Engineers,
Designers, and Contractors, was held at the Holiday Inn Conference
Center in Fogelsville on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The EHS Architecture students presented
their "Design to Build" projects to professionals in the fields of Architecture and Engineering. Read more
Eyer Middle School Hosts Game
Design Competition
The Pod 6 teachers at Eyer Middle School hosted a game design
competition. Students were asked to tap into their inner creative
genius for this competition. Students worked in self­selected groups of 4 to 6 students each to
develop a playable game based on any of the core subject topics listed below:
Read more
Plant Seeds of Kindness...
LEMONADE STAND
Mrs. Arnold’s first grade class joined forces with Mrs. Kling’s 4th
grade buddies to help Plant Seeds of Kindness and learning by
running a lemonade stand during this week’s Shoemaker Elementary School Parent/ Teacher
Conferences. They raised over $426 in their first 2 days alone with a grand total of $600! Parent
and students donated the lemonade and cups and are donating time to watch the stand. All
donations will be donated to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Students will use their learning
to reinforce money, reading, writing, and higher level thinking skills and then show kindness by
donating the money raised.
Read more
Macungie Elementary Students
Celebrate Earth Day
On Friday, April 22, 2016, the first graders at Macungie Elementary
celebrated the 46th annual Earth Day in a special way with the
community. The first grade students learned about the importance of Earth Day during their
science classes throughout the week. They discussed the different ways they could help their
planet. The students concluded their study of Earth Day with a special community project. Read more
Emmaus High School Jazz Band
Wins Award at Jazz Festival
The EHS Jazz Band performed at the Easton High School Jazz
Festival on Saturday, April 23, 2016. The EHS Jazz Band won the
Best Reed Section award for the evening and received and overall
rating of Superior! Ryan Taranto won an award for Best Trumpet
Solist, and Ian McCardle won for Best Saxophone Soloist. Read more
Alburtis Elementary School
Celebrates Earth Day
Fourth and fifth graders from Alburtis Elementary School celebrated
Earth Day on Friday, April 22, 2016. Students rotated through
stations to learn about ways to help our planet. Stations included learning more about the water
cycle, creating fans for cooling, experiments, and getting trees and flowers for planting. What a
wonderful spring day at Alburtis Elementary School!
Read more
Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Denise Torma,
Leads Workshop at the 2016 NSBA Annual
Conference
Dr. Denise Torma, Assistant Superintendent for the East Penn School District, led a workshop
session at the National School Board Association’s 76th Annual Conference for Public Education
Leaders held in Boston on April 9­11, 2016. This conference brings more than 6000+ attendees,
exhibitors, and guests representing school districts from across the nation.
Read more
Shoemaker Elementary School's Community
Service Club is "Filling Buckets" Across the
Lehigh Valley
The Shoemaker Elementary School Community Service Club has “filled the buckets” of many
people all over the Lehigh Valley and the world. This year they collected 145 boxes of tissues,
paper towels and toilet papers, as well as 265 assorted toiletries for St. Paul’s homeless shelter;
collected 98 coats and 363 hats, gloves, mittens, boots, snow pants, and scarves for New
Bethany Ministries; collected 1,982 cans of food for the food bank at Zionsville Church; created
placemats for the St. Paul’s soup kitchen; brought in 132 shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas
Child; collected 220 items for Forgotten Felines and Fidos, and raised almost $4,000 for Pennies
for Patients for Leukemia/ Lymphoma.