In The Q

Not your typical 17-year-old, Mason Smith has accomplished quite a bit in his young life. He’s a black belt in karate, earned his Eagle Scout rank with Boy Scout Troop 87, and is a Junior Councilman with Quakertown Borough.

Recently, the Quakertown Community High School junior was thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic and his legacy. “What will I be able to tell my grandchildren about what I did” during these unusual times?” he said in an interview.

Seeking to contribute to the community in a significant way, Mason aspired to help feed families facing financial hardship as unemployment has skyrocketed. His idea is similar to his Eagle Scout Project: a food drive for the Quakertown Food Pantry. His efforts have been joined by several municipalities.

The food drive is scheduled for Saturday, May 16th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food may be dropped off at Quakertown Borough Hall, Richland Township Police Department, Milford Township Building, Richlandtown Borough Benner Hall and Haycock Township Community Center.

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Please click here for information.

As we are about to begin our ninth week of staying at home, I would like to catch you up on what is going on in Quakertown schools. The most important thing is that despite our buildings being closed, high-quality teaching and learning is still taking place for a vast majority of our students!

Our approach has been to crawl, walk, run! Thanks to the Quakertown Community Education Foundation and other funding sources, we purchased and delivered hotspots to more than 30 families to ensure connectivity for all of our students.

We are providing breakfast and lunch to more than 200 students per day, and with a 1:1 Chromebook access for our students K through 12, we are providing technology repair services for 20 to 40 students per day.

Please click here for the Super Blog.

Quakertown Community High School senior Melissa Nong has been awarded a $2,500 scholarship by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. She was chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Melissa is one of only six Bucks County students to earn the prestigious award. The other five students are from the Central Bucks and Council Rock school districts.

"More than anything, I just want my parents, teachers and guidance counselors and friends to know how grateful I am to have had their unconditional support throughout high school,” said Melissa, who will be attending the University of Pennsylvania. “Even in my epic failures and moments of defeat, they believed in my potential and encouraged me to reach for my dreams."

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Chris Polk, one of Quakertown Community High School’s most popular teachers, advanced to the semifinal round in Pennsylvania’s 2021 National State Teacher of the Year competition but was not chosen as a finalist.

QCHS Principal Mattias Van't Hoenderdaal had nominated Mr. Polk for the highly prized honor earlier this year.

“I’m very proud of the nomination, and I thank everyone who has been part of this process,” said Mr. Polk, an educator for 20 years, including the last 12 at QCHS. “This is truly humbling. It’s an honor to represent Quakertown. That really means a lot to me.”

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Though only 12 years of age, Derek Calvello has shown both an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to help others.

The Strayer Middle School 7th grader is known for selling snowcones in his neighborhood and has gumball machines in several Quakertown businesses. Last year he created items to sell to raise money for a teacher battling cancer.

Now, with the life-threatening coronavirus gripping the United States and the world, Derek is using his personal 3D printer to make personal protective equipment, commonly known as PPE, for medical facilities, nursing homes, families and friends. He’s created face shields, facemasks, and straps for both.

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One by one as they spoke of the challenges they are dealing with or have overcome, those listening on the Google Meet knew they were hearing something special.

The speakers were either current or former Quakertown Community High School students, and they were discussing their lives, the peaks and valleys, breaking down and surviving. They were opening up to both strangers and to those they’ve shared a classroom with. And they did it hoping their words would help another person, in addition to lifting a burden from themselves.

Each individual had one thing in common - they were former students of Strayer Middle School teacher Shawn Storm.

During the Pennsylvania-ordered closure of all school buildings, Quakertown Community School District teachers have embraced the demands of online learning. Besides his regular classes, Mr. Storm has created a bi-weekly evening program titled SPARK, an acronym for Stories of Passion, the Arts, Reflection, and Knowledge. It’s based on a Cornell University series of talks for their graduate students. Each speaker is given five minutes to share their thoughts on a specific theme, followed up by a question-and-answer period.

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The Quakertown Community School District has come to a tentative four-year agreement with the Quakertown Educational Support Personnel Association (QESPA), which voted to accept the contract Tuesday night.

The deal for the approximately 225 full- and part-time employees will be on the agenda for approval at the School Board’s May 14th meeting. Should the Board vote in favor of the plan, salaries would increase 2 percent on July 1st. In subsequent years, salaries would rise 2.5, 3 and 3.5 percent

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To say that Rudy Levinski has become an amazing leader at Virginia Tech would be an immense understatement.

The 2016 Quakertown Community High School graduate has been the recipient of major awards at Virginia Tech, where he is a senior Industrial Systems Engineering major with a minor in leadership.

The former Panther is a Regimental Executive Officer within the school’s Corps of Cadets, the military component of the student body. He is formerly a Commander responsible for the behavior and operations of 361 cadets, four companies, four Company Commanders, along with his Resident Assistant duties.

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The Class of 2020 has a special message for all Quakertown Community High School teachers and staff.

Here's a thank you to essential workers from Trumbauersville Elementary School.

QCSD teachers, administrators and staff miss their students. Please see these video messages from Pfaff and Richland elementary schools.

The US News High School 2020 Rankings placed Quakertown Community High School in the top 10 percent of America's high schools. Of Pennsylvania’s 671 high schools, QCHS is ranked number 63.

In his latest blog, Superintendent Dr. Bill Harner said “Our rank is indicative of the high quality of our curriculum, instruction by our teachers, and student participation and performance at all levels. We are incredibly proud of our students, faculty and staff, and the Quakertown Community that supports our work. We are privileged to serve!”

Here’s a look at how Bucks County’s high schools ranked:

• Central Bucks East, 17

• New Hope-Solebury, 22

• Central Bucks West, 32

• Central Bucks South, 56

• Council Rock North, 57

• Quakertown Community High School, 63

• Palisades, 73

• Council Rock South, 107

• Pennsbury, 128

• Neshaminy, 131

• Pennridge, 191

• William Tennent, 275

• Bensalem, 344

• Truman, 446

• Bristol Borough, 453

• Morrisville, 511-671

Strayer Middle School held its first virtual recital this afternoon. Band director Rachael Urquhart organized the exciting event with Ms. Teprovich, director of the Messa di Voce choir, as the emcee.

Outstanding student performances were turned in by Autumn Kovacs, voice & ukulele; Hailey Disabella, voice; and Sienna Gonzalez, flute.

The recital is planned to take place each week.

Sixth Grade Center students continue their weekly recitals under the guidance of Todd Silvius, Megan Edinger and Melanie Hazelrigg.

Student performances on another musical Friday included Ashley Stank, Addison Allred, Makayla Weiss, Logan Koder, Daniel Williams, Katelyn DeSpirito, Kara Kelly, Shawn Zhu, Evan Patti, Paige Laird, Ava Mahanney, Maeve Henry, Katharine Halteman and Willa Taylor.

They were all outstanding!

Each week, the recitals include a surprise entertainer. One week it was high school world language teacher Alaina Wert. Another time it was Math teacher Kathy Anderson.

For those who haven't seen it, here's QCSD's Closing and Coronavirus page, which has vital information for our families, including:

• The district's Continuity of Education Plan
  
• A Parent's Support For Distance Learning
• Technical Support For Students and Staff
  
• Mental Health Resources
• Superintendent Dr. Harner's Latest Blog
• Pre-K Counts information, application

If your family is in need of food, please click here for information on how students can get free breakfasts and lunches.

Following the cancellation of the Spring Sports season, the Quakertown Community High School athletic department decided to honor seniors with daily Shout Outs. Here are the portraits of senior varsity Panther student-athletes.

The St. Luke's University Health Network has implemented the School-Based Get Your Tail on the Trail 165-mile Challenge!

Tail on the Trail - TOT for short - is a free program where users log their miles and earn free gear! It began May 1 and goes until November 2. If you reach 165 miles between May and November, you get a prize!

When students and families sign up, select the Quakertown Community School District. The school that logs the most miles from May to November will get an additional prize!

Please click on each item to signup and for information:

• The flier for the School-Based Tail on the Trail program
• How to sign up for Tail on the Trail and affiliate yourself with your school district
• The flier for the 165 Mile Challenge
• A Healthy Living Tracker which guides students to get adequate sleep, physical activity, and fruit & vegetable intake
• How to fill out the Healthy Living Tracker using Adobe Acrobat Reader

Gov. Tom Wolf's directive that has closed all schools in Pennsylvania through the end of the school year, includes stadiums, athletic facilities, playgrounds and parking lots.

In #QCSD, we understand that young people want to be outside. We're asking parents to please let them know they should not be gathering at district facilities. Local Police have been citing people on district property for not following the state directive.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Pre-K Counts is a free preschool program open to children ages 3 and 4 (by September 1, 2020) who meet the income eligibility guidelines. There are three local locations for this program: Pfaff Elementary, Richland Elementary, and LifeSpan's child care center.

Please click here for a flyer and click here for an application.

Haga clic aquí para obtener una solicitud en español.

Quakertown Community Outreach, a registered 501 C-3 nonprofit that has helped hundreds of people with food, housing and transportation needs since it was founded in 2016, has received a PHL COVID-19 grant from the United Way to assist QCSD neighbors struggling with the pandemic. They are now prioritizing housing and food needs to help you and your children.

They can be reached at quakertownoutreach@gmail.com.

Please click here for more information.

Click here to find them.

Gary Weckselblatt, QCSD Director of Communications, writes about the people and the programs that impact the Quakertown Community School District.

Email: gweckselblatt@qcsd.org
Website: www.qcsd.org
Location: 100 Commerce Drive, Quakertown, PA, USA
Phone: 215-529-2028
Facebook: facebook.com/QCSDNews
Twitter: @QCSDnews