Congratulations to the 70 seniors who were inducted into National Honor Society Oct. 19.

NHS celebrates students that embody the four pillars of scholarship, leadership, service and character. All inductees must have a 3.8 or higher grade-point average as well. Throughout the year, the Allentown Central Catholic Chapter of NHS organizes various drives to benefit local charities, provides tutoring opportunities for classmates every day and often holds a “coffeehouse” event to showcase talents and provide fellowship for community members. Before Thanksgiving, NHS led a food drive to stock our very own Central City Project Food Pantry, which then distributed those food items to families before the holiday.

NHS hosts its annual toy drive this week through Dec. 15. Students may bring in one new, unwrapped toy, which Catholic Charities will then gift to children around the diocese. Any student donating a toy earns a spirit wear dress down day Jan. 8, 2024. NHS members will collect the toys during homeroom. Please remember all toys must remain in their original packaging and no toy may be opened or used.

NHS also invites all elementary and middle school students and their families to “An Afternoon in Santa’s Workshop” 2-4 p.m. Dec. 17 in Masson Auditorium.

Families may pay their admission fee through a donation toward a toy or by bringing a new and unwrapped toy donation for the NHS toy drive. The afternoon will include a Christmas sing-along, various holiday refreshments, cookie decorating, stocking stuffing, Christmas tree decorating and several crafts. Please direct any questions to Director of Admissions Cara Meskill at cmeskill@acchs.info.

Central invites parents, alumni and the public to the 21st Annual 40 Hours Devotion Dec. 14-15. This year’s event will follow Campus Ministry’s 2023-2024 school year theme, “Jesus, I Trust in You.” The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed 3-10 p.m. Dec. 14 with silent adoration 3-7 p.m. and musical praise and worship 7-9:45 p.m. concluding with benediction 10 p.m.

The solemn closing procession and benediction will occur noon Dec. 15. All students will be dismissed 1 p.m. Dec. 15 following the end of 40 Hours. If you would like to attend Adoration Dec. 14, RSVP via https://tinyurl.com/ACC40hr so the Blessed Sacrament is never alone.

Spend some time with the Lord during the busy Advent season by attending 40 Hours.

The scholastic scrimmage team of students Toby Broun, Anna Edwards, Ben Keenan, Kaysiana Yeager, Catherine Raynock and Matt Keenan recently concluded its regular season. The team won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference West Division and battled for the championship Dec. 4. After defeating the EPC North champion Pleasant Valley in the semifinals, the Vikings advanced to the final match.

Unfortunately, they fell to Wild Card team Parkland to earn silver medals for the 2023 EPC season. The team also competed in the PBS39 Studios Tournament. They won their first round match against Notre Dame High School, but lost to Southern Lehigh High School in the second round in a thrilling game. After an early deficit in the match, the Vikings rebounded to take the lead, but the score tied again, with Southern Lehigh earning a 5-point victory in the last seconds of the game. Stay tuned for more Scholastic Scrimmage news when the team participates in several regional tournaments this winter.

Shoutout to the ACCHS Swim and Dive team for defeating Pocono Mountain East in their first meet of the season. Congratulations to Izzy Kehoe-Huck for earning this year’s first “Swimmer of the Meet” award. Please come out to join the Rockne Rowdies to support our basketball teams this season. The Vikette basketball team will face Dunmore High School tonight 7 p.m. in Rockne Hall. They will travel Dec. 15 and 16 to play East Stroudsburg South and Gwynedd Mercy Academy, respectively.

The boys basketball team will host East Stroudsburg South 7 p.m. Dec. 15 and Conwell Egan High School 3 p.m. Dec. 16, with both games in Rockne Hall. They will also play at home 7 p.m. Dec. 19 and 21, versus Easton and Emmaus both nights. Visit acchsathletics.org for all complete athletic schedules.

All ACCHS students may now register for the upcoming SAT prep course. The course will occur for five Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 27, 2024, Feb. 3, 2024, Feb. 10, 2024, Feb. 17, 2024, Feb. 24, 2024, (and March 2, 2024 as a snow makeup date if necessary).

The course will include assistance on both the English and math sections of the SAT, but students may opt to only take one session. The course will detail SAT format, review skills and provide test-taking strategies. There are fees for the prep courses. Sessions will happen in the Barry classrooms. The course’s design allows students to prepare for several weeks before the March 9, 2024 SAT exam, so students may easily transfer their skills and strategies. Students should register for the March 2024 SAT by email or at collegeboard.org by Feb. 23, 2024. To sign up for the prep course, complete the form available in the Weekly Viking Newsletter.

The school will be closed Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, 2024 for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

Merry Christmas to the whole Viking Nation!