The Palmerton Area Superintendent Scot Engler congratulated Palmerton students recently for their successes in several regional academic competitions. Many of them took first place.

From the middle school, three members of the STEM K'Nex Design Challenge team brought in their tower built with K'Nex pieces and demonstrated how it could hold a bowling ball. The team members that went to the state competition included: Mitchell Hourt, Ella Cronk, Drew Frank and Dylan Gonyo.Hourt said when his team was deciding on a design he said, "Let's hold a bowling ball." So they did.Engler asked them if they encountered any problems as they worked on the project?"We discovered we were using a yard stick instead of a meter stick," Cronk said.They caught it though and added the extra centimeters to comply with the design specs provided for the competition."It was a lot of trial and error," Hourt said about the design phase.Cronk said her father stepped in and helped them create drawings using computer aided design.School board members asked the team what they thought of participating in the competition.Hourt said he enjoyed it. "I've always had a love for K'nexs.""I thought it was cool to get to experience it," Cronk said.Sixth-graders from S.S. Palmer and Towamensing elementary schools took first place in the 30th Annual Sixth Sense Competition in April at Panther Valley High School. The undefeated team included: Shea Finney, Maggie Himmelwright, Isabella Mujevic, Kyle Sebelin, Kayle Stewart and Chris Walkowiak.Fourth- and fifth-graders from Palmerton's elementary schools competed in the Carbon County Envirothon on May 10 at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The Brilliant Bald Eagles team also took first place and included: Justin Sebelin, Eliana Brazil, Carly Ellis, Emily Houser and Ryan Vanderweel. The team competed in science categories about aquatics, invasive species, forestry, soil and wildlife.