BASD

CLA names PV Olympics winners

The Center for Language Assessment held its annual Power Vocabulary Olympics for all of the BASD third through fifth grade English learners on May 7 at Broughal MS. Schools chose students at the preproduction/beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of English proficiency to represent them in the competition. The winners are: PrePro/Beginner Level: Yaksaury Espada (Miller Heights); Intermediate Level: Johniel Concepcion (Marvine); and Advanced Level: Emily Gomez (Governor Wolf); Idioms Champion: Lincoln Elementary.

Team competitions: Grand Prize winners: Advanced Level from East Hills MS: Maria Alejandra Garcia Meza, Adangelis Ortiz Torres, Juan Roman Mendez, and Jean Carlos Cruz Landro; Intermediate Level from East Hills MS: Darwin Caraballo Berbereno, Chad Chen, Yariel Sanabria Perez, and Ibrahim Alkabsh; and Pre Production/Beginner Level: Broughal MS: Asael Hernandez, Wisam Al Ezzi, Omar Montalvo, and Anthony Garcia.

STEM Camp opens June 25

There will be a 2018 STEM Youth Experience for grades five through eight from 8 a.m. to noon June 25 to 29 at Freedom HS, staffed by FHS Project Lead the Way instructors and students. There is a cost. Email tbroczkowski@basdschools.org or visit https://spark.adobe.com/page/HJvzXvkWErHty/.

Charter schools

Charter Arts’ literary arts students present works

The Lehigh Valley Charter HS for the Arts 2018 commencement ceremony on June 11 at Miller Symphony Hall, formerly known as the Allentown Symphony Hall, Allentown, included the first ever Literary Arts department’s 18 graduates.

The literary arts seniors presented their works and spoke about their high school experiences at a recent showcase in the school’s Commons Cafe, 321 East Third St., Bethlehem. Visit www.CharterArts.org.

The Class of 2018, which has more than 150 graduates, is the largest graduating class in the school’s history.

Lehigh Valley Academy students take honors

Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School’s team of graduating senior Alex Schmidt and fourth grader Nathaniel Schmidt placed 12th out of 350 teams in the High School National Quiz Bowl Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, recently. Most of the teams had four members; LVARCS had only these two on its team.

Alex was the highest individual scorer in the Jeopardy style event. Last month, he also won the National History Bee and National Geography Bee.

The team’s coach is Peter Schmidt of Allentown, who specializes in test prep classes such as SAT and ACT.

PPL Cover to Cover program will boost summer reading for nearly 6,000 students

Lehigh Valley

PPL promotes summer reading

Nearly 6,000 students in grades K-3 will experience the joy of summer reading and reap the benefits of avoiding the “summer slide” through PPL’s Cover to Cover reading program.

Nearly 29,000 new or gently used books were donated by employees and the PPL Foundation in the third annual Cover to Cover reading program. Books were delivered to 20 schools throughout the company’s 29-county service area. Each student was able to select four books to keep and read over the summer. In addition, books were delivered to children attending summer learning programs in Harrisburg and Lancaster.

“Cover to Cover helps children who would otherwise miss out on reading and learning opportunities in the summer,” said Lissette Santana, senior manager-Corporate Relations. “Not reading over the summer can cause these youngsters to fall behind as much as two grade levels by the fifth grade. We’re proud to put books into the hands of these students and help to inspire their love of reading.”

PPL partnered with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Cops ‘n’ Kids of the Lehigh Valley, WVIA, and Barnes and Noble.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Camp

Northampton Community College will host an innovation and entrepreneurship camp for ninth, 10th, 11th and 12fth grades from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 25 through 29 at the Fowler Family Southside Center, 511 E. Third St.

The week will includes talks with practicing entrepreneurs, field trips and learning how to use a business model canvas.

There is a cost. Scholarships are available. Applications are due by June 18. Call 610-332-8661 or email rbhattacharya for information.

To submit your news item in SCHOOL NOTES, send the information to George Taylor at gtaylor@tnonline.com or mail the information to SCHOOL NOTES, Bethlehem Press, 1633 N. 26th St., Allentown, PA 18104.