This weekly column is coordinated through Sue Gerhard at Carbon Career and Technical Institute. Schools who would like to participate in this program are invited to email her at sgerhard@carboncti.org.

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

Gracie Heintzelman

Hello everyone from CCTI, I would like to start by congratulating the newly inducted National Technical Honor Society members: Noah Bryfogle, Marissa Blasko, Lily Dickson, Samantha Muthard, Isabel Wentz and Jalin Burns. I would also like to congratulate the second-year members who received their pins: Zack Anthony, Gracie Heintzelman, Fragile Colon, Jordyn Drumbore, Angelika Gines, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Julia Romankow, and Jada Saldukas.

Also, good luck to all students attending SkillsUSA states on April 3-5.

CCTI will have a talent show from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 9 in the cafeteria.

Seniors check the senior Google classroom and fill out the form for senior spotlights. These will be shown at graduation, so please fill it out.

CCTI DECA will have a dine-and-donate fundraiser at P.J. Whelihan’s from 11:30 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. April 3. CCTI DECA will benefit 15% from each order (take out or dine in). Please tell your server you are there for Dine and Donate. CCTI DECA would like to thank everyone for their support in advance.

Congratulations to Amanda Gowin for being recognized by the Carbon County Commissioners for 4-H Week. Amanda participated in the weekly commissioners’ meeting on Thursday, March 21, to accept the proclamation to recognize March 17-23 as 4-H Week. Carbon County 4-H is operated under Penn State Extension and has been a staple in the community for decades. It is open to children ages 5 to 18. The commissioners’ message: “If you ate today, thank a farmer.” There are great opportunities in 4-H and new members are always welcome.

Prom tickets for seniors only will be available at lunch starting Wednesday. Non-CCTI guest tickets will be $55. You must have payment to receive a ticket. Tickets will be available to all students from Tuesday, April 9-Friday, April 19, at all lunch periods. Seniors who are participating in the SkillsUSA State Competition may get their Prom tickets on Tuesday, April 2. Stop by the Business office to sign up and get your tickets.

Happy Easter to all!

Don’t forget: Monday, April 1 is April Fools’ Day.

CCTI will resume classes on Tuesday, April 2.

Lehighton High School

Koy Wentz and Abby Bauder

Welcome back.

To start, Spring Meet the Tribe Night was held on March 20 in the high school gym. This year’s spring sports athletes including, baseball, softball, tennis, and track and field were introduced. The high school band and cheerleaders were also be on hand to provide entertainment and familiar musical tunes.

Next, nine students from the high school had the opportunity to visit the Lehigh Valley Health Network Education Center.

Also, all of the underclassmen have been hard at work with their course selection for next year. The course selection process is very involved, and allows students to cater their interests to the classes they want to participate in.

Finally, nine students from the high school had the opportunity to visit the Lehigh Valley Health Network Education Center. Students learned a variety of skills, such as narcan administration and CPR skills. Students were able to speak to many different panelists, such as doctors and specialists in mental health. Students also spoke to a trauma surgeon, and a retired police sergeant from the area.

Panther Valley High School

Mikayla Yuricheck

Hello everyone, we’re back with another edition of what’s going on in Panther Valley. It has been a busy month here in school. The third marking period has ended and we are now at the beginning of the last marking period of the 2023-2024 school year. With the end of the marking period, comes the latest edition of the PawPrints Newspaper which can be found on the PV Sports Facebook page. The spring sports seasons are now in full swing, and the respective schedules can be found on the panthervalley.org website. Please come out and support our athletes. Students will have off on Monday for the Spring Holiday.

As the end of the school year approaches we would like to remind all students to be sure that their grades remain up to par, so that they can participate in the many fun events coming up. Prom ticket sales will begin on April 2 when students return from the spring break. The Harmony Scholars students will be performing at the American Cancer Society Telethon on April 7, and their show will be held May 10 and May 11. There has been a lot of excitement coming up in regard to the Solar Eclipse on April 8, however, students will remain in school as scheduled for a full day. If you plan on viewing the event, be sure to wear your protective eye wear.

Finally, we would like to commend our National Honor Society students who have committed their school year to service and have been volunteering at various locations. Thanks for checking in, and I look forward to checking back next week.

Jim Thorpe High School

Gabriella Cerra

This week marks the students’ return from Spring Break, which spans a week due to April Fools’ Day Monday, not being in session, in addition to Monday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 26 both being in session, due to prior snow days, rather than being the initial dates of the break.

With the beginning of return to academia on Tuesday, there will be no Student Advisory Council meeting, which will be held next Tuesday, April 9, during PODS, and every other Tuesday following that. The upcoming meeting’s topic will be lunch food, and members or students interested in joining will be able to attend to sample potential lunch food and supply the school with their opinions.

In preparation for Law Day, which will take place on May 2 in Jim Thorpe, the Mock Trial team will begin preparing this week to send the prosecution team for this year’s case to compete against Palmerton’s defense team. More details regarding which day and what time weekly meetings will take place will be decided upon and clarified soon.

As per usual, a weekly history club meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 3, from 2:45-4 p.m. in Mr. Ellison’s classroom. History club will be focused on preparing for Civil War Day, which will be held on April 15. Members are encouraged to come up with ideas for activities and presentations to share.

The school’s newspaper, the Olympian Current, will be revamping the excitement to investigate and report on the important matters among the high school community with a meeting during PODS on Friday, April 5. Anyone interested in becoming new members or old members are requested to attend, to share any ideas, provide other insight, and possibly receive assignments. The meeting will be held in Mrs. MacCorkle’s room.

The Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit meet, for which Scholastic Scrimmage Team members have been preparing, will also occur on Friday, April 5. Encourage your trivia team in their endeavor.

The sale of prom tickets ended on Tuesday, March 26, and Junior/Senior Prom will be on May 10.

The theater crew is still working diligently, rehearsing numerous times every week, to prepare for their shows of the Addams family that will be held in the JTAHS auditorium Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.

This Saturday, April 6, is the Class of 2025’s Breakfast Buffet & Basket Raffle. Volunteers will be serving hot, delicious breakfast and selling raffle tickets for various goods donated by locals. Make sure to attend to support Jim Thorpe’s Junior Class.

This weekend there will be many service opportunities available, provided by JT FBLA, for members who want to serve their community, earn hours for the chapter, or accumulate hours to earn eligibility to become a National Honors Society member in the future. Saturday, April 6 there will be an American Cancer Society Telethon at Penn’s Peak from 4-7:30 p.m.

Also on Saturday, in the morning, the Jim Thorpe Youth Soccer organization would like volunteers to work the concession stand. In order to take up these opportunities, interested members must go through the Band app. Clothes for Pros, run by PA FBLA Region 21 President and JT FBLA Historian Jon Duffy is still open in the LGI to receive donations or be perused by members attending the SLC in need of business-appropriate attire.

Lastly, the long awaited and greatly worked toward PA FBLA State Leadership Conference will begin this weekend, with the attendees departure time being 8:15 a.m. Sunday, April 7. It is imperative that any attendee who wants transportation to Hershey must arrive by 8 a.m. The trip will begin with a day spent at Hershey Park on Sunday, followed by two days of workshops, testing, and awards ceremonies at Giant Center. The morning of Wednesday, April 10 is when members in attendance will leave Hershey Lodge, to head back to Jim Thorpe.

Thank you very much to everyone who helped Jim Thorpe’s FBLA members fundraise for this event, intends to help the Class of 2025, or whomever else that reads this column to support Jim Thorpe and be aware of the high school’s ongoings. Have a great first week of April, and be weary of fools!

Palmerton High School

Mrs. K. Baumgardt’s Journalism Class

As Palmerton Area High School students reach the halfway mark of the second semester, many extravagant events have recently occurred to motivate the students. Starting with Spirit Week, Student Council came up with five creative themes throughout the week: Green Day, Hippie Day, Fictional Character Day, Teacher/Student Swap Day, and Neon Day. Palmerton teacher, Mr. Falkenstein, commented on spirit week. He said, “I’d like to congratulate the spirit week advisers ... They have done a wonderful job, and go Neon Day!” To cap off the week, Student Council hosted a volleyball tournament/pep rally to celebrate spring sports and the Spring Fling Dance on March 23.

Spring Fling tickets have been sold in lunches the entire week and are resulting in a sellout. Art Club has worked tirelessly to create beautiful backdrops for the Spring Fling dance.

Spring sports kicked off with meets, matches, and wins. Tennis went 2-1 for matches the week while varsity baseball is 1-2. The track and field team started with success as both the boys and girls teams both beat Palisades. Girls softball won 12-8 at Notre Dame Green Pond. The student body is filled with joy and gratitude for the fun-filled events to kick off the spring season.

As for the drama club and stage crew, they just concluded their tech week for their upcoming production, Chicago. All of the members and advisers of the club are thrilled to perform this show for the community. Tickets are currently on sale for $5-10, and the dates of the show are April 4-6.

Editor’s note: Sue Gerhard and all the columnists wish everyone a happy Easter.