In The Q

Wrestlers complete awesome season

Congratulations to the Quakertown Community High School wrestling team for wrapping up an outstanding season with two medalists in the PIAA championships in Hershey.

Senior heavyweight Freddie Retter finished third and freshman 132-pounder Collin Gaj was fourth among Pennsylvania’s finest high schoolers in their sport. Freddie’s Bronze Medal was the Panthers' highest placement by a heavyweight in more than 20 years. In addition to Freddie and Collin, Todd McGann, Calvin Lachman, and Mason Ziegler qualified for the state competition, helping the team to an eighth-place finish.

Overall, the 2021-22 campaign will be remembered as a total team effort as the Panthers captured the District One Southeast Regional championship, won their sixth consecutive Suburban One League Liberty Division championship, and Coach Kurt Handel earned District One Coach of the Year honors and his 300th dual meet victory.

The team's championship online store is open through April 3! Please share with family and friends. Apparel will be shipped directly to you! Click here.

Future pilot wins Good Citizenship Award

Jacob Wackerman, a Quakertown Community High School junior, has been selected to receive the 2022 Union League Good Citizenship Award. Top candidates for the prestigious honor have personal attributes of honesty, courage, tolerance, curiosity, loyalty, and endeavors to follow and uphold the principles of American patriotism. Award winners may apply for a college scholarship provided by the Union League worth at least $5,000 a year.

While Jacob, a Boy Scout since the age of 12, said he was surprised to win the award, the person who nominated him was anything but. “Jacob is an outstanding young man. He is a natural leader who others look up to and is respected by all who know him,” said Adam Patrick, Scoutmaster of Troop 13 in Trumbauersville. “Jacob is one of the most patriotic youth I have ever worked with and well-deserving of this award.”

Please click here for the story.

Richland students flock to leadership opportunities

As part of Richland Elementary School's Leader in Me philosophy, students have opportunities to apply for jobs at Richland. One job is being a morning announcer. When students are "hired" they work for the entire week as a team to coordinate and read morning announcements.

Each week on Wednesday and Friday, morning announcements are live via Google Meet, and all classrooms watch live and even participate on Fit Fridays. Roles include news readers, weather reporters, special reporters, and producers who manage slides presented.

Now, parents and families can join the Google Meet too! It is the same link every Wednesday and Friday. Applying for jobs, creating clubs, and suggesting new ideas are ways that students share their voices and have ownership in their learning to support them academically, socially, and emotionally. Richland is happy to give you a window into student leadership experiences.

Middle school math students extend their learning

Quakertown Community School District middle school students are developing incredible STEM-related projects as part of a new program called Math Extensions.

Used for the first time at Strayer Middle School and the Sixth Grade Center, accelerated math students are able to pick a project of their own choosing and, collaborating with one or more classmates, set goals for the project, document their work with a design notebook and blueprint, write a rubric to score their performance, and make a video.

“This is what this population of learners needs,” said Adam Smith, Teacher On Special Assignment at Strayer. “They have the freedom to choose and say what they want to learn about. It’s a self-directed learning opportunity that they wouldn’t normally have access to. It empowers them to have more control over their learning in the classroom, and gives them a sense of ownership.”

Please click here for the story.

Presentation: Federal Programs in QCSD; Please complete survey

When

Thursday, March 31st, 12pm

Where

This is an online event.

More information

On March 31st at noon, please click here for important information about Federal Programs in the Quakertown Community School District.

Click here for our website’s Federal Programs page.

Your input is important to us!

Parents with students at Quakertown, Neidig, and Richland elementary schools, please complete this survey to evaluate our Title 1 programming.

All parents, staff, students, and community members: Please complete this survey to provide input on district spending of federal program funds.

SOL American Conference All-League 1st team: Cody Johnson and Breanna Gardner

High average: Cody Johnson (202.95) and Breanna Gardner (151.48)

SOL American Conference All-League 2nd team: Daniel Feusner and Dominic Ficarra

High games: Tyler Bolich (279) and Anya Clark (160)

Most improved: Abigail Duna was the most improved bowler for the season, increasing her average 34.49 pins.

Student raises more than $2,000 for LLS

Congratulations to Quakertown Community High School sophomore Maddy Willing for her LLS Dimes for Drops fundraising project, which raised $2,182.39 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. LLS collects funds for blood cancer research.

Maddy's outstanding effort is on behalf of her late brother Harrison.

Pfaff Elementary students inspired to help others

After reading Change Makers by Libby Martinez, Mrs. Nazario’s Pfaff Elementary School second-graders were excited to learn about kids who saw a need in their community and decided to help.

In response, they decided to perform a service project to help others. They collected items from the Quakertown Food Pantry during the month of February. On March 10, they took all of their collected items to the pantry, which totaled just under 200 pounds.

Richland's Great Debate

Richland Elementary School students in Stephanie Traumuller's class recently held a great debate. Acting as historians, they came up with fabulous arguments for and against colonial independence from Great Britain!

Police hear good advice about people with autism

Area police departments recently had a planned visit from an autistic man to educate them with strategies to promote safe and positive interactions with people on the autism spectrum.

Alex Mann, 21, has visited more than 150 police departments over the last three years, and was hosted by the Quakertown Borough Police Department, which invited Richland and Perkasie police to the event.

“He shared a lot of good information,” said Quakertown Community School District psychologist Dr. Kevin Kelly, who listened to what Mr. Mann had to say. “We have students with autism, so it’s nice to know our local police departments are doing what they can to try and understand people with autism. No one wants a situation to escalate needlessly.”

Please click here for the story.

Wall of Fame nominations requested

Quakertown Community High School Principal Mattias van 't Hoenderdaal is seeking Wall of Fame nominations from the public. Alumni considered will have demonstrated exceptional achievement in a career or have contributed significantly to the health, welfare or human rights of the local, state, national, or international community.

A completed nomination form must be received by the QCHS Principal by March 25 to be considered. Successful candidates will be notified by May 1. Please click here for the nomination form.

Justin Butler, 2021

Justin Butler continues to put up big numbers for Lehigh University. Justin blasted two home runs, a double, and had five runs batted in as part of a 4-for-6 day as the Mountain Hawks ripped St. Peter’s 19-6.

The first 14 games of Justin’s college career have been amazing. He leads the Patriot League with five home runs and has a batting average of .382 with a slugging percentage of .912, which ranks 15th in the nation.

Kevin Juszynski, 2018

Kevin Juszynski has been hired as assistant director of football operations for Virginia Tech. Kevin spent the past two seasons working with Hokies assistant Athletic Director Michael Hazel at Penn State and helped the Nittany Lions earn a berth in the 2021 Outback Bowl.

Kevin will serve as the football staff's liaison to the marketing, digital strategy, creative media and strategic communications departments, as well as HokieVision. In addition to assisting with all team travel logistics, he will work with the personnel department in the execution of all recruiting visits and will help coordinate Tech's Pro Day and coaching clinics, as well as camps and other events. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day upkeep and maintenance needs of Tech's football facilities, as well.

He gained NFL experience working as an event operations intern for the Kansas City Chiefs during their 2021 training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri. He also served as part of NFL Green – the league's program that mitigates the environmental impact of the major events – at the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville. Kevin graduated Cum Laude from Penn State earning a bachelor's degree in recreation, park and tourism management with a minor in sports studies.

Superintendent Dr. Bill Harner's blogs

Please click here to read the latest blogs by the QCSD Superintendent.

Vaping and nicotine trends

QCSD families, "Vaping" continues to be a serious problem among young people. David Fialko, a certified treatment specialist with The Council of Southeast PA, recently presented information to parents of Quakertown Community High School, Strayer Middle School, and Sixth Grade Center students.

Topics included:

What is “vaping” - Content, makeup, method of use
Effects of Nicotine on learning
Effects of Nicotine on Physical and mental health
Traditional “tobacco” products and their popularity
Trends in adolescent vaping
Vaping and transition to tobacco products
Cross utilization of ENDS to vape CBD’s (non-THC) and Marijuana/Cannabis (THC) based products
Cessation / Quitting Options - FDA approved cessation/ quitting products
Available supports for youth and families

Please click here to download the PowerPoint presentation.

POR FAVOR VEA LA INFORMACIÓN EN ESPAÑOL AQUÍ.

The Quakertown Community School District is registering students for kindergarten classes through May 31. To be eligible for kindergarten in the 2022-23 school year, a child must be 5 years of age on or before August 31, 2022.

The intent of the School Board is to have full-day kindergarten for all students in each of the district’s elementary schools in 2022-23. Board leadership has given the administration the go-ahead to fill those new positions and the administration intends to advertise for them and budget accordingly.

More information on kindergarten registration may be found here. For a helpful video, click here. QCSD’s registrar, Kristine Fair, may be contacted at 215-529-2023 or kfair@qcsd.org.

Free gowns in the counselors' office

QCHS families, these have not been the easiest of times financially for many people. With that in mind, if you have a daughter who needs a gown for a prom or formal dance, the school counselors have been collecting them from thoughtful community residents. They're FREE!

Please have your daughter speak to her school counselor. They want to help! No questions asked!

If you have a gown to donate, please drop it off at the high school's main office.

The Bucks County PRIDE (Partnership for the Recruitment of Diverse Educators) Virtual Job Fair will be held on Friday, March 25, from 12 - 5 PM.

A consortium of school districts with a common mission of attracting diverse educators to Bucks County Schools to meet the needs of students and ultimately match candidates with job openings, Bucks County PRIDE school districts are eagerly seeking diverse candidates across all grade levels and content areas.

We look forward to meeting prospective educators.

School bus cancelations

QCSD families, by now you are well aware there is a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers. Brooke Ott, QCSD's Transportation Coordinator, has been in regular contact with you regarding bus cancelations.

A page on the website is dedicated to these alerts. They can be found here.

If you or anyone you know enjoys working with children and is looking for a part-time job, please contact Levy Bus Company, (215) 536-4567 or office@levybus.com.

Free COVID-19 testing for students, QCSD employees

The Bucks County Health Department is providing free COVID-19 testing for:

Bucks County school employees and contractors.
Bucks County children who have exhibited symptoms of COVID-19.

This free testing opportunity is not for individuals required to provide proof of a negative COVID test in lieu of vaccination. Per the Bucks County Health Department, individuals required to produce proof of a negative test in lieu of vaccination will need to secure other testing arrangements.

Click here for the flyer which contains all the necessary links, addresses, and expectations. Please note that appointments are required and can be scheduled by scanning the QR code or clicking on the link provided. No walk-ins are accepted.

COVID testing at St. Luke's University Health Network.

CVS and Rite Aid do testing as well, and appointments can be made via their websites.

Click here to find other COVID-19 testing locations.

For information on picking up free rapid test kits, click here.

COVID-positive student online form

The Quakertown Community School District nursing staff has developed an online form for families to use if their child has tested positive for COVID. We’re hoping that having this option available makes it easier for our families to communicate positive results to our nurses. This process aligns with the goals of the district’s Health and Safety Plan to safely monitor student and staff health.

If your student has tested positive for COVID, please fill out this questionnaire.

Spanish version