In The Q

Max Arkans holds his trophy after winning the under 16 division of the 2022 National Public Parks Tennis Championship.

Max Arkans captured the 2022 championship in the under 16 singles division

Max Arkans proved his undefeated sophomore season last spring was no fluke as he captured the 2022 National Public Parks Tennis Championship in the under 16 singles division, which included a semifinal triumph over top seed Mark Lancaster, of two-time undefeated state champion Lower Merion High School.

Please click here for more about Max.

Baseball team recognized for academic excellence

For the third time in four years, the Quakertown Community High School baseball team is receiving national recognition for its academic success.

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.

Becky Pallone at the podium speaking to the school board near the American Flag and US News Best high schools sign.

Richland's Becky Pallone honored for her work in reading education

Becky Pallone, a kindergarten teacher at Richland Elementary School, is the recipient of the Goyen Foundation’s newest initiative, the Literacy Fellowship. The award gives exceptional teachers a stipend to document the literacy teaching taking place in their classrooms.

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.

Please click here for more about Becky Pallone.

Vince Micucci wearing his number 7, red practice jersey

Panthers capture Triple Hot Play of the Week

The Intelligencer and Courier Times highlights the play of Quakertown quarterback/defensive back Vince Micucci in the Panthers 42-28 victory over Southern Lehigh.

Vince and running back Brett Hileman teamed up for WFMZ's Triple Hot Play of Week.

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.

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.”

Tyler Merwarth, 2021

The Quakertown Football Family would like to congratulate Tyler Merwarth from the class of 2021 for being put on scholarship at the University of Albany! Great work, Tyler. Proud of you!

Blake Griesemer, wearing his number 97 Loch Haven uniform holding out his right hand signaling number one.

Blake Griesemer, 2021

Congratulations to Loch Haven University defensive lineman Blake Griesemer for being named a Week 1 MVP!

A tray of schoo,l lunch food, including milk, sandwich, banana, beans, broccoli, carrots and a cup of peaches

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.

Mounted camera showing outside a school bus.

Video enforcement to begin on school buses

The Quakertown Community School District has launched a school bus safety program in partnership with Quakertown Borough, Richland Township, and Pennsylvania State Police in line with PA Motor Vehicle Code § 3345.1.

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.

QCSD hosts school safety exercise

Nearly 50 people attended an August tabletop exercise at Quakertown Community High School, one of several steps the district has taken to increase safety in its facilities.

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.

Click here for more about the tabletop event.

A member of TMA Bucks puts a bicycle safety helmet on a student.

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.

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.

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.

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/

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.

Here's more information from WFMZ News.