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

By Serenity Houston

At Carbon Career & Technical Institute, we have various news regarding SkillsUSA, Keystone testing rewards, and our Newspaper club’s latest issue coming up soon.

The SkillsUSA competition was held Dec. 10, with our students trying their absolute best to represent our school.

National Technical Honor Society and SkillsUSA students along with the school community also hosted a one-day toy collection to benefit “Toys for Tots” on Dec. 7. The students served hot chocolate, and cookies.

The CCTI Dance Committee, with the help of Student Council, will be hosting a Semi-Formal Dance from 5 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 31. Tickets are on sale. Please see Mrs. Johannsen in the Tech Department, or a member of Student Council during lunch, to purchase. Permission forms will be due prior to the dance.

All of our students who passed their Keystone exams had their names placed into a drawing of various prizes for their efforts. These prizes include gift cards, Dorney Park tickets, and a lunch event at Penn’s Peak on the 28th.

Finally, the Newspaper Club’s winter issue is coming with a few interesting articles to hear about things occurring around the school.

Jim Thorpe High School

By Gabriella Cerra

This festive and spirited week at Jim Thorpe had much going on.

First, the schoolwide 14 Days of Holiday Fun continues. The 14 Days of Holiday Fun are a spirit week reminiscent, dress up activity in which all students and faculty are encouraged to participate. The days for this week are listed below:

• Dec. 9 was Deck the Halls

• Dec. 10 was Dress like your Favorite Holiday Movie Character

• Dec. 11 was Shine Bright Like a Light: Light up your wardrobe with holiday lights, glitter tinsel, light-up necklaces, etc.

• Dec. 12 was Santa’s Ho Ho Ho-down, Western Holiday Wear.

• Dec. 13 is Friday the 13th: Mix Halloween with Christmas. Nightmare Before Christmas, Gremlins, Die Hard!

Members of the Future Business Leaders of America helped out with sorting toys for Toys for Tots this week at the Salem Bible Fellowship Church.

On Wednesday, History Club members met from in Mr. Ellison’s classroom. This meeting was the annual Christmas party History Club has before Winter Break.

KaylaAnn Kandy executed the final chapter of the Winter Holidays Series, which will be about Christmas. Previously covered were Diwali presented by Isaac Oliver, New Years presented by Evan Rosenbrook, Hanukkah presented by Luke Bosi, and Thanksgiving presented by Gabriella Cerra. This year, the party included food and beverage, Victorian era parlor games, the annual White Elephant gift exchange, and a Christmas movie to be voted on by History Club members.

Last of Jim Thorpe’s History Club’s December activities is the trip to Bethlehem, during which members will experience a historical walking tour and learn of Moravian history.

Members of Jim Thorpe Mock Trial met after school on Dec. 11 in Mr. Strubinger’s classroom. Members worked in their respective sides to case plan.

As always, the school newspaper, The Olympian Current, is live and available for anyone who is interested in reading students’ articles. The link to view is (olympiancurrent.com) New articles are regularly written and posted.

Currently, The Flame, Jim Thorpe’s Literary and Arts Magazine is running a contest. The contest prompt is, “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 cause mischief? What if the Yule log brings forth Pagan spirits when lit?

One of your prompts for this month is to write a Christmas story with a darker twist. Feel free to incorporate the other sources of our current Christmas traditions such as the Yule log, Christmas tree, etc. Deck the Halls and not your family fa la la la la, la la la la.

The second prompt for December is to create your own version of a common Christmas song. The year is coming to a close, and the Ghost of Christmas Past has come to make you confront your past mistakes.

The third prompt for December is to write a story where your character is made to take account, not for their actions on past Christmases, but for their actions on every holiday (doesn’t have to be a popular one) from the past year.”

The contest closes on Dec. 16 and then contest winners in the places of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will be voted upon and announced by Flame staff. Students can make submissions through the website, (sites.google.com/jtasd.org/theflame), until the 16th. The website also has all previous Flame submissions for anyone interested in checking them out.

If any Jim Thorpe students are interested in becoming part of the Flame Staff, they are welcome to attend the Flame Staff meeting in Miss Zakrewsky’s classroom from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

On Dec. 18, Student Council’s Polar Express Day, Students Against Destructive Decisions will play the Polar Express movie for students to watch.

The Science Club met during PODS on Dec. 12 in Mrs. VanBritsom’s classroom.

December is quite busy for the Student Council. First off, forms, money, and canned goods donations for teams to participate in the Volleyball Contest are due on Monday, Dec. 16.

Then, Wednesday, Dec. 18 is Polar Express Day. This means that students will be able to buy tickets for $2 to wear pajamas to school and receive hot chocolate during lunch.

Lastly, the volleyball tournament will be held on Dec. 20. Students who are not competing will still be invited to either watch or go to the auditorium to watch a movie.

Peer Buddy met on Monday, Dec. 8. Peer Buddy intends to host a Special Olympics at JTAHS in May. To be able to do this, they raised over $1,500 in sponsorships from local businesses. Congratulations to Peer Buddy for their success in achieving their goal.

Lehighton High School

By Hailey Heimbach

What a fun end to the November Lehighton Area High School had!

Not only are our winter sports starting for the season, Lehighton held a Floor Hockey Tournament the Wednesday before break!

Students had the opportunity to form a team of 6 to 8 students and enter into the bracket for three “Tribe Pride Tickets,” a good behavior incentive system, per student. All the student teams faced off during the day, and the final match was open for all to see for the price of one “Tribe Pride Ticket.”

In the final match, the best student team played against the “All-Star” faculty team. After an exciting first half with the teachers in the lead by three points, the student team came back in the second half and won the game. It sure was an exciting way to start off the break!

On Nov. 21, the National Honor Society inducted 21 new members for their club. New inductees were recognized for their accomplishments, as well as current members. Lehighton 2010 graduate, Timothy Sultzer, gave a very nice speech to our students.

Winter sports have started and teams have been practicing hard for their games. On Dec. 3, there was a Boys and Girls Basketball doubleheader away at Palmerton! Then on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Girls Wrestling had their first match away at Southern Lehigh.

There are more fun days coming as we approach winter break. Stay tuned!

Palmerton Area High School

By Paige Kibler and Payten Miquel

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

The high school held its annual dodge ball tournament on Nov. 27. It had 13 teams ready, and a faculty team. Every team got to go twice, and in the end the staff went against the winning team.

“This has been an event for a decade now, and we did it as a way to help us with the cost for the state [FBLA] leadership conference.” Mrs. Danziezen, one of the FBLA advisers, states.

FBLA also has performance events coming up.

On Dec. 16, FBLA will have their members show off their skills and be judged. These competitions include public speaking, broadcast journalism, social media strategies, and more.

The talent show in December is arriving. This is on the 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,” was held on Dec. 5, 6 and 7.