In The Q
September 15, 2022 Newsletter
Ready to Rock in 2022-23
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National Public Parks Tennis Champ
Max Arkans captured the 2022 championship in the under 16 singles division
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Baseball team recognized for academic excellence
The Panthers received the American Baseball Coaches Association’s 2021-22 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes college and high school programs from across the country that posted a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for the entire 2020-21 academic year. More than 250 high school programs and 420 collegiate programs were recognized with this year’s award.
Only six high school teams in Pennsylvania qualified, including two in Bucks County, Quakertown and Central Bucks West.
“Each year we make it a goal to earn this award and we emphasize that ‘student’ comes first in ‘student-athlete,’ ” baseball coach Jonathan Pallone said. “Watching their improvement in the classroom is as fulfilling as it is on the field.”
The Panthers’ classroom prowess carries over to the baseball field. In 2021-22 they finished 10-5-1 in the Suburban One League’s Liberty Division.
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Teacher receives Literacy Fellowship
Richland's Becky Pallone honored for her work in reading education
As part of the fellowship, Mrs. Pallone will share her structured and evidenced-based literacy instruction through videos, student work samples, and photographs to effectively capture these practices for other teachers who are trying to learn how to translate research into practice.
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Panthers capture Triple Hot Play of the Week
Vince and running back Brett Hileman teamed up for WFMZ's Triple Hot Play of Week.
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Pronking Pacas at Middletown Grange
The 4H club Pronking Pacas from Harley Hill Farm brought home an impressive amount of ribbons in the Intermediate and Junior age divisions at the Middletown Grange Fair. Pronking Pacas also had members in the Juniors division with the highest and second-highest score of all age groups in showmanship. The members were awarded a Grand Reserve Champion ribbon with plaque, and a Grand Champion ribbon with plaque.
In the above photo, left to right, are Grace Lutes, Clara Brems, Layla Cotter, Catherine Vincent, Franny McCloskey and David Dutertre.
Alpaca showmanship classes are like other animal shows in that the handler is scored on how well he/she knew and showed their animal. The obstacle event demonstrates the alpaca’s ability and willingness to accept training and to work with its handler through a variety of obstacles that they will use in most everyday life. The obstacle course had participants leading their alpacas through a set of challenges, including a jump, a seesaw, running to a stop, a safety knot to a fence, a tunnel and cones just to name a few.
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Grads In The News
Sadie Fowler, 2018
Sadie Fowler, a Fulbright scholar and Dickinson magna cum laude graduate with a B.A. in International Studies (with honors) and Educational Studies, and a minor in Italian, gave an impressive talk at the September 8th School Board meeting.
Sadie will be completing a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award in Italy from October 2022 to June 2023. She praised the district’s curriculum and teachers for a rigorous course load that helped her achieve these heights.
Board member Brian Reimers said “You just wowed everybody up here.”
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Tyler Merwarth, 2021
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Blake Griesemer, 2021
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Important information about school meals
The federal program to waive the cost of meals for all students has expired. Families can make online payments for student meals at SchoolCafe. Lunch accounts for students at the Upper Bucks County Technical School are separate and may be paid at My Payments Plus.
In addition, we’re asking that QCSD families fill out 2022-2023 Free & Reduced Meal Applications. Households must submit a new application each school year unless they receive a Direct Certification letter, which was mailed by the district in mid-August.
A situation has arisen for families with students on Free and Reduced Meals where your child may be charged for not taking enough items to qualify as a reimbursable meal. This is a federal regulation. Here’s information on what a meal consists of. Please speak with your student. And here’s a video from Chartwells Food Service.
Click here to access all information about Free & Reduced meals in QCSD.
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Video enforcement to begin on school buses
All Levy school buses are now equipped with BusPatrol’s safety technology, including stop-arm enforcement cameras designed to detect vehicles that illegally pass stopped school buses. This safety initiative seeks to curb dangerous motorist behavior around school buses and make the journey to and from school safer for all student riders.
Click here to learn more about the Bus Safety program.
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Super Blog: The Latest from Dr. Harner
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QCSD hosts school safety exercise
Kasey Kollar, Chief of Operations at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, facilitated the event, which simulates an emergency situation in a low-stress environment. Participants were taken through a scenario and the courses of action a school will need to take before, during, and after an emergency, and there was a detailed discussion of roles, responsibilities, and anticipated courses of action.
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TMA Bucks: Free bicycle safety helmets for QE
The TMA Bucks Community Traffic Safety Program distributed free bicycle safety helmets to students in need at Quakertown Elementary School's “Back To School Ice Cream Social Event” on August 24.
The free helmet distribution was made possible by a mini-grant through Safe Kids Pennsylvania. Students were properly fitted by TMA Bucks staff for the right size helmet. The TMA also provided other safety brochures and materials to parents to educate them on keeping their children safe.
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2022-23 QCSD Calendar
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Employment Opportunities in QCSD
Quakertown area families, QCSD has several openings for paraprofessionals at Quakertown Community High School. Each of these open positions comes with health insurance, additional benefits, and an additional $1 per hour stipend. It's a great opportunity to work with young people in a wonderful educational setting!
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988 Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has been launched to help those struggling with mental health and other crisis situations.
Through the lifeline, those experiencing crises may obtain immediate life-saving counseling from professional operators, as well as critical expanded connections to community-based providers who can deliver a full range of crisis care services.
For more information on 988, click on this link.
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VFW 2022-23 essay contests
The Veterans of Foreign Wars has two contests for students, one for those in high school and another for students in grades 6-8.
The theme of the Patriotic Essay Contest for high school students is “Why Is The Veteran Important?” The student entry deadline is October 31, 2022 and the patriotic audio essay competition comes with a $30,000 grand prize.
The theme of the Patriot's Pen Contest for students in grades 6-8 is “My Pledge to Our Veterans.” The patriotic written essay competition comes with a $5,000 grand prize.
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2022 Lens on Litter Photo Contest
Since 1984, Pennsylvania Resources Council has held an annual Lens on Litter Photo Contest, not to glorify litter but to bring attention to the litter problem in communities across Pennsylvania. Contestants are eligible for monetary prizes up to $500. Contest deadline is October 31, 2022.
Amateur students (through 12th grade) and adults are asked to submit photos of unusual or unsightly litter in their Pennsylvania communities. Photos should demonstrate how litter threatens public health and safety, scenic beauty, property values, the environment, pets or wildlife. Entries will be judged on six criteria: anti-litter message, originality, photographic technique, quality of photo, originality of title and severity of the litter. Contestants are also encouraged to safely initiate a clean-up of the subject area and provide a photo of the results of their efforts for additional judging points.
Entries (limit five per person, no smaller than 4x6 and no larger than 8x10) should be sent to PRC Gene Capaldi Lens on Litter Contest, 1671 North Providence Road, Media, PA 19063. High resolution digital submissions may be sent to lensonlitter@prc.org. All entries (including digital) must include the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, email address, title given to photo, location of litter site and how you learned about the contest. Students should also include age, grade and name of school. All photos may be used by PRC at their discretion.
Questions may be directed to lensonlitter@prc.org and additional information, previous winners, sponsors and an online entry form can be found at https://prc.org/programs/projects/lens-litter/
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Levy donates school bus with supplies to Ukraine
The Levy School Bus Co. is donating a school bus to the Solomonova school district in western Ukraine. The bus made stops in towns served by Levy, including Quakertown, for drivers to sign their well wishes.
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Looking for past "In The Q" issues?
Quakertown Community School District
Email: gweckselblatt@qcsd.org
Website: www.qcsd.org
Location: 100 Commerce Drive, Quakertown, PA, USA
Phone: 215-529-2028
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