Nick Joyce makes his mark
And as is often the case in the success of a Panther, the school community rallied behind one of their own. So when the 16-year-old sophomore competed in the state’s Class 3A boys competition at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York, there was a scoreboard set up in the school where everyone could follow along.
“The kids knew (Nick was in the state championship), the teachers knew. Everyone wanted to know how he was doing,” said Rea Lemuell, a QCHS instructional aide. “That's all they talked about.”
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Strayer eighth graders 'cook up' Edgar Allan Poe
Students in Rachel Loria Miller’s eighth-grade English Language Arts class at Strayer Middle School recently wrapped up an awesome unit studying literature and prose from Edgar Allan Poe.
They studied Poe’s biography and analyzed his innovative writing style — the master of macabre!
Students synthesized traits from Poe’s life story, his short stories, unique craft of writing, and generated a recipe poem: how to “cook up” an Edgar Allan Poe.
“Students had a thrill utilizing clever puns, vivid verbs, and creepy descriptions to craft this creative recipe poem,” Mrs. Miller said. “They did a great job, and I’m extremely proud of them.”
Thanks to Mrs. Miller for sharing this information!
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Orchestra students from Strayer Middle School and the Sixth Grade Center performed for teachers during Tuesday's non-instructional day.
The students who volunteered their time on Tuesday included Hailey Alsup, Cadence Gerstenberg, Dean Orrison, Gussie Taylor, and Willa Taylor of Strayer and Martha Barbour, Marley Hunnicutt, Christopher Oldham, Alex Orrison, and Daniel Williams of the SGC.
"When planning for the non-instructional day for teachers, the middle-level administrative team wanted to find a way to support social-emotional learning for the adults," Strayer Principal Dr. Jennifer Bubser said. "Adult SEL includes self-care practices to help educators cope with stress. Mr. Thompson, Mr. Garger, Mr. Smith, and I decided to make our teachers breakfast and then surprise them with a special concert performed by 10 of our very own middle school orchestra members.
"Thanks to our Orchestra Director, Mrs. Edinger, for making this idea become a reality, these talented and thoughtful students got up early on their day off to perform for their teachers! As I listened to their beautiful performance, there was a presence of calmness and relaxation that filled the auditorium. What a perfect way to help teachers prepare their minds for a productive day of collaboration and work toward district goals."
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With candy donations from several teachers and administrators, the Quakertown Community High School’s Best Buddies Club had a special Halloween with a Scavenger Hunt to find trick-or-treat spots around the school.
Best Buddies is a club dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides opportunities for one-to-one friendships; leadership development for students with IDD; makes all students feel valued by society; and helps improve life skills
Student presidents are Julia Reich & Julie Pizzi. Student advisors include Olivia Caputo, Jessica Meirinho, Carli Maha, Emma Pham, Madalynn Willing, Aubree Thrush, Stone Renshaw, Madelyn Byrnes, Katherine Catalano, Anna Zheng, Maureen Healy, and Dylan Aponte.
Thanks to Brittny Buonanno for sharing this information!
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Chris Polk: Educator in the workplace
"I had an amazing time today at Shady Maple learning about careers," he said. "The place is truly amazing right down to its values. I even bumped into the founder, Marvin Weaver, while he was shopping.
"I can't wait to share my day with my students!"
Sandi Frisch: Educator in the workplace
Sandi Frisch, left in the photo, a business teacher at Quakertown Community High School, spent a day shadowing Danielle Bodnar, executive director of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce.
They met at the Rotary Club of Quakertown as part of “Educator in the Workplace” day before exploring career fields throughout the Upper Bucks area to support QCHS students with their career paths.
Ken Carr, the Rotary's Sergeant-at-Arms, joins Mrs. Frisch and Mrs. Bodnar in the photo.
QCHS begins girls wrestling club team; seeks coach
Quakertown Community High School is starting a club team for girls wrestling. Boys coaches Kurt Handel and Dan Ziegler have been working with a handful of girls in recent weeks following the Panther Clubs and Sports Fair, where nearly 20 girls showed interest in the program.
“We’re trying to get this thing rolling,” Coach Handel said. “It’s the fastest-growing sport in America and we want to give our girls a chance to be part of it.”
Participation in girls wrestling has been on the rise since the 1990s. Things really took off when the sport was added to the Olympics in 2004. In 1994, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, there were 804 high school girls wrestlers. That’s grown to more than 20,000 today.
Locally, Quakertown Youth Wrestling has girls in its program. Girls wrestling is a varsity sport at Souderton High School, and Delaware Valley University has a women’s wrestling program.
“There’s a real opportunity out there with scholarships at all levels of college,” Coach Handel said. “At this point, there aren’t enough girls to take advantage of the scholarships out there.”
Coach Handel said he’s looking for a coach for the girls club team. He can be reached at khandel@qcsd.org.
Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarships
Daughters of the American Revolution is offering dozens of scholarships for graduating high school seniors, college, and graduate students in varied areas of study.
Scholarship applications are being accepted through January 31, 2022.
Click here to visit the online application portal.
Click here for additional scholarship information.
Quakertown Community School District
