At the Whitehall-Coplay School Board committee meetings Dec. 5, members heard about the new 2023-24 course catalog, which will be presented to the board in January 2023. The course catalog will be referred to as the program of studies.

A half-credit course, Community Service, for grades 9 through 12 will be introduced. Students will have to participate in at least 12 hours of community service before graduation. Students will be able to explore career goals, become employable and learn vital interpersonal skills.

“We have the opportunity to say to students, giving back to your community is important, and it’s one thing that Whitehall prides itself in, which is why we’re recommending this, not only as a requirement, but codifying it with a half-credit course that must be completed before graduation,” Whitehall High School Principal Dr. Peter Mayes said.

Mayes added that it was a volunteer opportunity during high school that led to his interest in the education field.

A half-credit course, Guitar, is for grades 9-12. It will teach basic guitar skills, such as basic music theory and chords, melodies and scales and adds to current guitar studies at Whitehall-Coplay Middle School. It is anticipated guitars will cost $3,000; storage racks, $1,500; and books, $449.70.

Half-credit course Modern Band for ninth- through 12th-graders will teach students how to be part of an ensemble on guitar, bass, drums, piano, vocals and horns in pop and jazz music. Students will participate in solo, small and large ensembles, performances, rehearsals and self-evaluation. Estimated costs include instruments, storage and equipment for a total of $1,200.

In other business, Athletic Director Bob Hartman brought field trip requests before the board for the boys basketball team to travel to Bloomsburg University, which was to take place Dec. 10-11, with the use of school vans and lodging paid for by the basketball Booster Club and no days of school missed; for the wrestling team to travel to the Wrestling War on the Shore Tournament in Ocean City, Md., Jan. 13-14, 2023, with the use of school vans and lodging paid for by the wrestling Booster Club and no days of school missed; for the softball team to travel to the Softball Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C., March 15-19, 2023, on a charter bus, with all accommodations and expenses covered by the softball Booster Club, with two school days missed.

Hartman also proposed the use of an online cloud-based service to help parents and coaches. He said there has been some coaching turnover, and this module would act as a coaches’ academy for those new to the district or to coaching. There is a parent module as well, which would provide parents with 10-minute educational models on topics such as sportsmanship.

This would be an annual subscription and would come out of the athletic budget. Whitehall-Coplay School District would be one of the first in the area to implement this.

In other news, District Registrar Michelle Khouri gave an update on the Snack Pack Pals program, saying she is happy to announce they are now partnering with Whitehall Food Pantry based at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. They are running a pilot program at Steckel Elementary School with the hope that it can be implemented at all five schools. Volunteers from WHS’ Interact Club and members of Whitehall Rotary Club assisted with the project.

The first distribution went out Nov. 15 before Thanksgiving break, and 31 snack packs were given to select students in need.

Additionally, 250 “Zephyr tough” duffel bags were purchased and filled with food items, such as nonperishable milk, oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, juice boxes, peanut butter and Chef Boyardee. The bags are then returned and reloaded for the next distribution. The next bags will be ready Dec. 20 to help students over the winter break.

During the operations/transportation meeting, Jim Hanna, of D’Huy Engineering, updated the board on the new elementary school project. Current progress includes an elevated concrete slab preparation and placement in the classroom wing; construction of a load-bearing CMU exterior and interior walls to roof level in the classroom wing; installation of a perimeter insulation vapor barrier; wire mesh in preparation for the concrete slab on grade in the classroom wing; concrete foundations in the core space wing; CMU foundation wall installation in the core space; installation of underground plumbing and electrical in the core space; and installation of a grease interceptor.

Work commencing includes a slab on grade preparation and placement in the classroom wing; roof installation in the classroom wing; mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in in the classroom wing; steel erection in the core space wing; and CMU backup wall installation in the core space.

Hanna said, overall, the project is on schedule and is actually ahead in some phases. Work will continue through the winter with interior work in the classroom wing. The project budget was value engineered to include load-bearing masonry construction, and Hanna said it would be wise to utilize about $10,000 in contingency for winter protection and overtime in to keep the momentum of the construction. More manpower has been on site since the project has gone vertical, with the focus on getting the roof on over the classroom wing.

Hanna said the budget remains strong, and the board has allowed $234,417 in change orders, which includes executing the $162,500 alternate for the irrigation system, already included in the project budget.

Hanna also said a change order related to the WHS piping project will require the replacement, rather than the refurbishment of, the grease trap in the WHS kitchen. The grease trap was rotted through, leading to a change order of $14,250.

The project will be done over Christmas break and will come out of the capital reserve fund. However, Hanna reported WCSD will be getting a $12,000 credit from the roofing project at the maintenance building.