Editor’s note: High school columnists are ready to start reporting from schools in Carbon County, coordinated by Sue Ann Gerhard of the Carbon Career & Technical Institute.

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

Serenity Houston

Oct. 29 was the end of the first quarter.

Student of the Marking Period was held on Oct. 29. Students are chosen by the faculty members, presented with a certificate and served breakfast for the day.

The following students have been chosen for SOMP for the first quarter: Angelina Aurisano, Marissa Blasko, Devan Curran, Skyler DeVault, Macie DeVino, Riley Dorward, Taylor Eckhart, Shylah Fenstermaker, Owen George, Bella Haydt, Alessandro Hernandez, Joseph Hernandez, Anthony Hettler, Makayla Kline, Chloe Klotz, Brian Lapp, Jesse Lichtenwalner, Dean Marks, Bruce McFarland, James Miller, Blake Mininger, Beleza Ortiz, Aaron Owen, Calli, Peiffer, Grace Politi, Reiley Rider, Sophia Sarnowski, Makayla Scott, Keegan Swedar, Andrew Torgersen, Madeline Weaver, Hailey York.

Teacher of the Marking Period for the first marking period was Amy Guth.

A lot of interesting things happened recently at CCTI.

The school celebrated our Pink-Out event, with students running laps while being covered in colorful chalk and having fun.

The newspaper club released its first article of the year during the open house on Oct. 16.

Gardening club is working hard weeding the courtyard area of our school to get ready for planting in the spring.

During Halloween week, the school got spooky and silly for spirit week, with Halloween color wars against the different grades; rhyme without reason; Twin Day; Halloween Costume Day, and Lounge Day.

The technical area pumpkin competition called for the spookiest, silliest, and coolest pumpkins in the technical areas and finding the best to deem each pumpkin a winner or “6 feet under.”

Jim Thorpe High School

Gabriella Cerra

On Oct. 26, the Class of 2025 hosted a Halloween Bash at the high school to raise money for the prom.

• Jim Thorpe’s Chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America members went to Kalahari for the State Leadership Workshop, where they conducted activities to raise money for the American Red Cross; were educated on leadership, professionalism, colleges and universities, and FBLA.

The FBLA chapter is also coordinating an upcoming event on Monday to celebrate American Enterprise Day. Members will job shadow various local professionals for the day. This day is meant to teach young Americans about American enterprise and help them find their interests in the workforce for after high school.

The chapter has 160 members, and should this number continue to grow, we stand a strong chance at placing first in the state for market share, the percentage of students in the school that are paid members of the Future Business Leaders of America.

This title is released at the State Leadership Conference, where the team placed fourth out of over 220 chapters last year.

Lastly for FBLA matters is the LifeSmarts Competition, a competition in which members get to participate to test and expand their knowledge of practical information, such as personal finance and consumer rights. Last year, two students from Jim Thorpe placed first in the state for the LifeSmarts competition, giving them eligibility to compete nationally in July.

• Jim Thorpe’s History Club meets weekly on Wednesdays after school.

Club officers are President Madison Freeby, Vice President Gabriella Cerra, Secretary Isaac Oliver, Treasurer KaylaAnn Kandy, Historian Evan Rosenbrook, and Fundraising Chair Marvin Padilla-Pacheco.

History Club has assembled a display of propaganda from historical presidential campaigns available in the commons for anyone who wants to see all week. For anyone interested in seeing the display, the History Club’s Instagram @jths_history_club has pictures available.

History Club planned the annual Veterans Day Program, which, with coordination from the band and chorus, performing at the high school, LB Morris Elementary, and Penn Kidder Elementary. The club’s theme for the program performance this year is “A Legacy of Loyalty & Service.”

Other events coming up in November for History Club include a silent movie trip to watch The General, starring Buster Keaton, alongside live music performed by Alex Haggerty, a Jim Thorpe Area High School alumni and former History Club President. The club will go on a trip with the Summit Hill Historical Society for tours of Asa Packer Mansion, St. Mark’s Church, Dimmick Memorial Library, and the Carbon County Courthouse.

History Club will make its annual trip to Gettysburg for Remembrance Day on Saturday.

Members will visit various battle sites from the Civil War and discuss the rich history and scenery, in addition to enjoying a parade and visiting local businesses.

• On Oct. 30, Jim Thorpe’s top trivial experts went to compete at PBS39 in Bethlehem for the trivial knowledge quiz tournament Scholastic Scrimmage.

• The Mock Trial team divides in two to prepare a legal case for both sides of a lawsuit, defense and prosecution. Thus far, members of Mock Trial have gone through procedural information, regarding case planning and how a court proceeding works, with the help of local Attorney Matt Mottola.

• The student newspaper, The Olympian Current, led by Editor-in-chief Kaylee Tate, is releasing new articles on the newspaper website, olympiancurrent.com. After an informative article regarding the school board’s changes to Booster Club funding, the and website has experienced a resurgence of views and support.

• Jim Thorpe’s Literary and Arts Magazine, The Flame, released a new website on Nov. 1.

Members plan fundraisers, and program and competition activities for the year. The Flame intends to bring back the tradition of always having a printed edition, displaying beautiful literary and artistic work submitted by students, which sadly has not taken place since the 2020 COVID crisis.

The Flame is asking for submissions of Fractured Fairy Tales, which are retellings of known fairy tales with creative tips.

• Jim Thorpe’s Olympian Boys Soccer Team has had a successful season and postseason in competing for the district title. Congratulations to the team for an amazing season.

Lehighton High School

Hailey Heimbach

• On Oct. 17, Lehighton’s FBLA leaders went to East Stroudsburg University for the Regional Leadership Workshop. They participated in a business proposal competition and won first place, taking the trophy home for the second year in a row.

• On Oct. 23, Lehighton Aevidum partnered with Miller Keystone and set up a blood drive at the school for the third time. Students had the chance to sign up and donate blood during the school day.

• Oct. 25 was Senior Night for Football, Cheer, and the Band. Football won the game against Jim Thorpe and took the 209 Trophy.

Congratulations again to everyone!

Palmerton High School

Kate Baumgardt’s Journalism class

• The first Palmerton Fishing Club meeting hosted a speaker from the Beltzville to go over conservation of land and safety.

• The PYEA is starting to do their observations this week. This club lets you have the experience of observing, tutoring, doing small teaching groups, and doing teaching for a class you choose. We also go on a variety of field trips to visit lots of different teachers.

• The Palmerton Against Animal Cruelty Club is looking for a stray or foster animal to represent. The club plans to hold a lollipop fundraiser and is planning another fundraiser where some proceeds will go towards the animal they represent. PAAC also plans to take a class trip to volunteer at a local animal shelter.

• The Palmerton Area High School´s Drama Club is working hard on their fall production, “Anne of Green Gables.” The play is a dramatization of the novel by L.M. Montgomery, a story about a charming orphan girl named Anne Shirley. Performances are on Dec. 5, 6, and 7. Tickets are available on Facebook along with more information on the club and their productions.

• Palmerton FBLA members are choosing the events which they will compete in for a chance to qualify for the state competition in Hershey. They are raising money for the event.

• Students Against Destructive Decisions hosted Red Ribbon Week, to celebrate students being drug free. The red in RWR is used to stand for the awareness of the killing and destruction to kids from drugs in America.

• Art club has been working on painting a snow plow during enrichment and after school for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contest. The snow plow will be painted by students without the help of teachers.

• On Saturday, Oct. 13 Palmerton Area High School held the annual homecoming. This year’s theme was inspired from the movie “Tangled.”

The school rented a deejay, had the snack stand open, and had lots of photo opportunities. Leading up to homecoming we had a variety of activities including the powderpuff game. Powderpuff was fun to watch and participate in. Powderpuff was a game of junior and senior girls going head to head in a game of flag football where seniors took the win for the second year in a row.

• The school hosted a Veteran’s Day Assembly on Monday.

• Several college visits have already been completed, providing a lot of valuable information.

• Palmerton had the 33rd annual Halloween parade on Oct. 20 which featured many students from the Palmerton high school and elementary schools. Marching band, the homecoming court, cheerleaders and sports teams were represented for this event.

Panther Valley High School

Brenna McAndrew and Marlena Smith

Big things are happening in the Panther Valley Area School District. After looking for grants for the intermediate and high schools, Panther Valley received part of what they hoped for. While other districts in the area received around $300,000 each, Panther Valley received $780,000 from the State of Pennsylvania for the intermediate school. They are hoping to put this toward roofing, HVAC, and windows.

• The football team finished their season with 2 wins and 8 losses and the volleyball team finished with 18 wins and 4 losses.

The volleyball team competed in leagues and districts, placing second in leagues.

Cross-country runners Adam Gardiner (sophomore) and Abraham Cabrera (senior) “made improvements in times and placements,” said Cabrera. Both runners competed in leagues and districts.

Golfers Spencer Schirer (freshman), Connor Penberth (senior), Callie Kosciolek (sophomore), and Brenna McAndrew (senior) all participated in the Schuylkill League Championship.

Various seniors from these sports teams took part in Impact Day, where they started the tradition of gifting teachers shirts to show their appreciation for the impact the teachers had made.

• The Panther Valley Scholastic Scrimmage team went to PBS studios in Bethlehem to compete against Saucon Valley, on Oct. 31. Brenna McAndrew is the team captain.

• The Junior ROTC program took a trip to Fort Knox, Kentucky. On this trip, they participated in many team-building activities including a Gauntlet Race, wall climbs, and running through creeks. Senior Kadance Wents stated that through this experience they “learned to work together and communicate” and that it “brought everyone closer.”

• Panther Valley is keeping its schools drug-free by celebrating Red Ribbon Week across all three buildings. Each building hosted a week of dress-downs as well as posting various posters around the hallways to advocate for drug and alcohol awareness.

Weatherly High School

Elizabeth DiGennaro and Jillian Esposito

• The Middle School Halloween dance was Oct. 25. The costume contest winners for the middle school Halloween dance were Katie Knock and Maci Kane as the Wet Bandits for best overall costume. Ava Zimmerman, Elizabeth DiGennaro, and Jillian Esposito as Alvin and the Chipmunks for most original costume. Emma Posser, Jameson DeLauretis, Levi Aneskevich, and Ryley Jacoby as Toy Story for best group costume. Derek Moyer as Barney for the silliest costume. Zachary Hayes was an alien for the scariest costume.

• The school hosted a Veterans Day program on Monday.