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

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

Serenity Houston

National Technical Honor Society, Skills USA, and the school community are hosting their one-day toy collection to benefit Toys for Tots from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Students will serve hot chocolate, coffee, and cookies for everyone who helps donate to children who may not be able to have any toys this Christmas season.

Any questions, concerns, or details you may have about the event can still be directed to Mrs. Gerhard at this phone number, 570-325-3682.

CCTI is busy getting ready with all of its upcoming events, club interactions, and activities that can engage our community in the best way possible.

Our Newspaper club is releasing their seasonal issue this week.

The gardening club has teamed up with our culinary technical area to remove fruit and vegetable waste and use it for school soil instead by implementing a new composting system concept that was introduced by Kairi Stashefski.

The turkey dinner donations, hosted by the student council, have been sent out to their selected families at CCTI, and we thank all of our students for their various support so a few CCTI families could have a helping hand with Thanksgiving dinner.

Jim Thorpe High School

Gabriella Cerra

On Saturday and Sunday the National Honor Society will be hosting a Cookies and Milk with Santa event at LB Morris Elementary.

The elementary students are welcome to attend, and high school students, whether NHS or not, are invited to volunteer. Santa will be there with elves and many other familiar faces, like Olaf, Rudolph, the Beauty, and the Beast.

This past Saturday, Nov. 30, members of the Future Business Leaders of America from the high school and both elementary schools of the district attended the Lehigh Valley Phantoms vs. Laval Rocket game at PPL Center.

This is also the week of competitive event testing and presentations for the members of FBLA. All members must compete for placement at the Regional Leadership Conference, which determines eligibility for the State Leadership Conference in Hershey in April.

This year, the Regional Leadership Conference will be a day trip on Tuesday, Jan. 7, to Northampton Community College, during which time there will be workshops and an award ceremony for students who place in their respective events.

Jim Thorpe’s History Club has a Winter Holidays series, which means they are conducting presentations on different holidays.

Members learned about Diwali presented by Isaac Oliver, New Years presented by Evan Rosenbrook, and Hanukkah presented by Madison Freeby.

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, History Club will have its annual pre-winter holidays party.

This year, the event will include food and beverage; Victorian era parlor games; a White Elephant gift exchange; watching a Christmas movie; and the final chapter of the Winter Holiday Series, which is Christmas.

Last of the before break activities is, on Dec. 18, with History Club set to embark on a trip to Bethlehem, during which members will experience a historical walking tour and learn of Moravian history.

Jim Thorpe’s Mock Trial team met this week to work on case planning and role assignment. For the next several weeks, this will be the Mock Trial team’s main focus.

As always, the Olympian Current, Jim Thorpe’s Newspaper, run by senior Kaylee Tate, is live and available to read the student written articles.

The link is (olympiancurrent.com). It is regularly updated, and student writers come up with many creative topics and brilliant articles.

Jim Thorpe’s Literary and Arts Magazine, The Flame, is also live and available at any time to view.

The link to view The Flame’s website is (sites.google.com/jtasd.org/theflame) The Flame currently has an ongoing competition in which all Jim Thorpe students are encouraged to participate.

If the submission total amasses to 20 or more, submissions will be selected for the places of first, second, and third. First earns a $25 Visa gift card, while second gets a $15 Amazon gift card, and third receives a $10 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card.

The prompt for this competition begins, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year … or is it? What if not all Christmas stories had a Hallmark end? What if the elves aren’t there to make toys but to cause mischief?…”

To see the rest of the prompt and the three types of submissions students are asked to make, check out the website. This competition concludes on Dec. 16.

The Student Council’s door decorating contest is currently on. All PODS are encouraged to decorate their doors in accordance with festivity.

Winners will be named for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place before Christmas break. Student Council will also be having a Polar Express Day on Dec. 18.

Students are encouraged to purchase a $2 ticket to get hot chocolate during lunch and wear pajamas to school.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries of the Year team from Jim Thorpe will be having a Winter Ball in the student commons on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Advanced payment of the $10 fee is requested. This fee includes admission, dinner, snack, and beverage. For any out of district students who have friends at Jim Thorpe and would like to attend, that option is available for Jim Thorpe students to get the paperwork from the office.

Jim Thorpe’s theater is having a cabaret tonight in the high school auditorium. There will be a small admission fee, but anyone from the community is welcomed and encouraged to attend.

Thank you for reading to support Jim Thorpe Area High School and all of the student activities.

Palmerton High School

Mrs. Baumgardt’s Class

Teachers at the Palmerton Area High School held their annual Thanksgiving celebration. They have been doing this for several years, and it’s mainly a chilly/soup cook off. It is like a non traditional Thanksgiving dinner for the faculty and staff.

The high school held their annual dodgeball tournament last week with 13 teams and a faculty team.

Every team gets to go twice, and in the end the staff goes against the winning team to raise money for the FBLA leadership conference.

FBLA also has performance events coming up. On Dec. 16, FBLA will have their performers show off their skills and be judged. These performances include public speaking, broadcast journalism, social media strategies, and more.

The talent show will be held Dec. 20. Many students will be showing off their talents to the entire school, and will have the chance to watch some other students express themselves on stage. This is a fun way for students to transition themselves into the holiday break.

Aevidum recently had their awareness week where they talked about mental health and expressed what days meant: Monday- Acceptance, Tuesday- Acknowledge, Wednesday- Appreciate, Thursday- Care For, and Friday- Aevidum overall.

Aevidum is a club that helps students feel accepted and helps them adapt into school life.

The Palmerton Drama Club’s fall production, “Anne of Green Gables” is selling tickets online for the show tonight, Friday and Saturday.

The play is about a little orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who is adopted by a brother and sister duo who are struggling to run their farm. The play is about her journey through

life, and how she eventually saves Green Gables. It is a heartfelt story full of humor, rivals, and friendships. Tickets can be bought on their Facebook page.

Panther Valley High School

Brenna McAndrew & Marlena Smith

As winter sets in, the season for winter sports is kicking off.

From wrestling to bocce ball, Panther Valley is preparing for the upcoming competition season. Wrestling state champion Brenda Banks is returning as well as six other starters.

The boys’ team is playing. Head coach, Pat Crampsie said a lot of players are “adjusting to new rules” and believes that “it will be crucial for them to adapt quickly.”

Opposed to previous years this year there is a bigger post presence that Crampsie hopes to “take advantage of.” Despite the limited time between the start of the season and the first game, Crampsie has been holding various 6 a.m. workouts that he calls the “Breakfast Club.”

The girls’ team started this week. Head coach Rob Kovac is “excited about the mix of returning players and new faces,” despite losing many powerful seniors.

Panther Valley will also have a Bocce Ball team this year. This is a part of the Special Olympics’ Interscholastic Unified Indoor Bocce program.

Coach Evelyn Hydock believes that this program will be “a wonderful opportunity for our district to continue fostering (a) sense of unity.”

Competitions are scheduled to begin the week of Dec. 16. Hydock “hopes to see the school body at the games supporting the peers and celebrating this incredible experience together.”

Weatherly School District

Elizbeth DiGennaro and Jillian Esposito

K-12 will be participating in the Daughters of American Legion contest where they can make a poster, a stamp, a photographic essay, a digital drawing, a banner, a poem, a short story, or a comic strip about the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The students are hosting a Warm Tootsies contest, where the students compete to see who can bring in the most pairs of new socks that will be donated to veterans in nursing homes.

Kindergarten through 3rd grade students were able to bring in family members to have lunch with them on the following days: Tuesday, Nov. 19, Wednesday, Nov. 20, Thursday, Nov. 21 and Monday. Nov. 25.