Palmerton is the latest local school district to implement a program aimed at promoting a positive mental health environment for its students and staff.

Students from districts across Carbon County attended a session at Penn's Peak late last year on Aevidum, a club started in 2004 at Cocalico High School after a student there committed suicide.One of those students attending was Palmerton freshman Jacob Martinez."Every day we hear negativity in school, and Aevidum tries to promote a better environment," Martinez said. "At the Penn's Peak event, we heard one student talk about her own personal experience of trying to take her own life. There wasn't anyone who wasn't affected by that."Martinez helped to start the Palmerton chapter of Aevidum, which now has more than 20 members.Activities range from students making encouraging statements on the morning announcements to giving notes of appreciation to teachers and other staff members."We don't give those notes because it's teacher appreciation week, we give them because it goes a long way to let them know we value them and what they do for us," Martinez said. "It's not just a club, it's a movement to try and make the school a better, more positive place."The club has no elected president because all of its members work together as one.According to Martinez, Aevidum is still growing in Palmerton, gaining one to two new members a week."We actually had a discussion with Lehighton, and they are going to host an Aevidum seminar in April," Palmerton Superintendent Scot Engler said. "Thirty of our students will be attending that, and the hope is we can work with them again next year and have something here. We'd really like to see this keep growing."In other business Tuesday night, the board:• Set May 25 as the graduation date for the Class of 2016.• Approved Karen Thomas, Jessica Ferdinand and Daniel Costenbader as substitute teachers, and Jessica Cohen as a substitute secretary and instructional aide.