The Salisbury Township School District Board of Directors held a curriculum and technology meeting April 17. Highlights of the meeting included student representatives’ reports, a teaching and learning update and an overview of the district’s comprehensive plan.

Salisbury High School students Soledad Lausch and Nolan Grejda reported on the recent success of the Salisbury debate team who placed first in the debate finals against Northern Lehigh.

The Salisbury Scholastic Scrimmage team is also headed to the finals after placing second in the Colonial League Quiz Bowl tournament.

Congratulations are in order for several groups of high achievers.

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute students Riley Knecht and William Sterner each placed third in the SkillsUSA State Competition in Hershey.

Thirty-one students were inducted into National Honor Society and senior Laurens Tran participated in the prestigious Pennsylvania Music Educators Association All State Wind Ensemble.

Recently nine German exchange students visited for two weeks taking part in Salisbury student activities, field trips and visiting classrooms.

In June, Salisbury students will go to Germany and stay with their host families for two weeks to attend school and participate in activities. While they are in Germany they will visit Austria, Switzerland and France.

Students interested in the health sciences were recently afforded the opportunity to spend a day with a nurse through a program at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Students were able to use simulators, talk with health professionals and ride in the MedEvac helicopter.

In efforts to help their community, the Key Club held a canned food drive and collected 432 pounds of canned goods to donate and National Honor Society sponsored a blood drive. Student Josh Orach announced Lehigh Career & Technical Institute will hold Spa Day May 20 in the school salon. Appointments can be made through LCTI.

In addition to the success of students Knecht and Sterner, two students Madison Fostner and Eric Krim placed eighth and 10th respectively in the Future Business Leaders of America competition.

LCTI senior recognition night will be held at the PPL Center May 29.

Salisbury Middle School students Kaelyn Beer and Corin Kuchinos report middle school spring sports are in full force as students participate in soccer, softball, baseball and track and field. April is also the time for the middle school spring concert which was held April 18 and in preparation for the upcoming state assessments, a spirit week was planned featuring themed days starting April 22.

Salisbury Elementary School students Amina Boujelajel and Dylan Hoffman highlighted the many events students have enjoyed participating in including a third grade trip to the Zoellner Arts Center, Down syndrome Awareness Day, Autism Acceptance Week and PTO Night Out with the Phantoms.

The Super Mario Coin Wars was a great success and students raised enough money to have a basketball hoop installed on the playground and they relished the opportunity to turn both Principal Zach Brem and Assistant Principal Brian Muschlitz into human sundaes.

Future events include a field trip to Quiet Valley for second grade students and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment testing for grades three and four.

To start off the teaching and learning update, Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling showed a short video of the excitement exhibited by SES students as they viewed the eclipse. Grant money was secured to pay for glasses for students to safely view the eclipse and even though the clouds obstructed the view at times it did not dampen the students’ enthusiasm. Administrators were pleased teachers were able to capitalize on the teachable moments provided by the momentous event.

Teachers and administrators have been working to encourage families of future kindergarten students to register early for kindergarten so students can be properly placed and have the opportunity to meet teachers, fellow students and their families and become familiar with the school through several planned transitional activities.

SMS Principal Ken Parliman updated the board about the elimination of Project Wonder at the middle school level.

Discontinuing the program will result in some scheduling changes as the teams strive to incorporate some of the key aspects of the program into a fifth core subject in an effort to meet the needs of students.

Parliman presented an overview of the middle school Positive School Behavior Support Program and explained how student representatives visited Nazareth Middle School to tour and plan the implementation of the program at SMS.

Pauling and Director Sarah Nemitz talked about attending the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? competition. Students at the middle school level are assigned a manufacturing company and are tasked with learning about the company and creating a video for the competition. A live broadcast of the event was held at Stabler Arena.

Parliman also informed the board SMS was recently awarded the Michael Meilinger Sportsmanship Award for 2023-2024.

In closing, Pauling noted plans are now being finalized for the many summer programs offered to students. They include SOAR camp, STEM camp, Extended School Year, Title I summer program, Project LEAP and several IU programs.

Next up on the agenda was an overview of the district’s comprehensive plan which is required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education every three years. The focus of the plan is on student growth and achievement and PDE requirements. In order to complete the plan steps must be followed sequentially and a final plan must be submitted by March 31, 2025.

Pauling outlined a tentative timeline for completing the plan and announced she is seeking board members, teachers, staff and community members to serve on the steering committee. If you are interested in serving on the steering committee for the comprehensive plan contact kpauling@salisburysd.org.

The next meeting of the curriculum and technology committee will be held 7 p.m. May 15. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.