Editor’s note: This column is compiled by Sue Ann Gerhard, administrative assistant at the Carbon Career & Technical Institute. Area Carbon County students send weekly reports from their schools.

Carbon Career & Technical Institute

Gracie Heintzelman

Hello from CCTI. Seniors make sure that you are checking the Senior Google Classroom for important updates.

The prom is scheduled for Friday, May 10, at Penn’s Peak. The prom begins at 5 p.m. and ends promptly at 10 p.m. All students and guests attending the prom must have a ticket and a signed permission slip. Non-CCTI guests must also present ID at the door.

Yearbooks are available to order online or in school. The link to order online is as follows: https://link.entourageyearbooks.com/my/CCTI2023. The cost is $35. The deadline to order online is May 6.

Senior Awards is Wednesday, May 22, in the school cafeteria at 6 p.m. If your senior will be receiving an award, you will receive a phone call with information regarding this event.

CCTI Class of 2024 graduation will be held at the CCTI campus on Friday, May 31 at 5 p.m. Seniors must be at the CCTI bus entrance at 4 p.m. This is a rain-or-shine event. The event will be undercover. In the event of severe weather, there is a rain date set for Monday, June 3, same time and place. All guests must have a ticket to attend and all graduates will receive six tickets. If your student does not need all six tickets, please have them give extra tickets to a senior who may require more than six tickets.

Tickets will be distributed at graduation practice. Graduation practice is Thursday, May 30, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. This event will be livestreamed. You may view the ceremony by going to CCTI’s homepage and clicking on the link. The graduation ceremony is handicapped accessible. Any guest who is wheelchair-bound can be dropped off at the field. Any guest needing to be driven up to the field can take the shuttle. For further questions regarding accessibility to the field please call the main office at 570-325-3682.

Lehighton High School

Koy Wentz

The Lehighton High School Drama Club recently wrapped up their production of “Once Upon a Mattress.” The students put on three amazing nights of performances. The play was great, and the crowd truly enjoyed the production. Come on out to support the Drama Club in any of their future productions.

Students are gearing up for the Keystone Tests scheduled in May. Biology Keystone testing will be May 13 and 14. Algebra Keystone testing will be May 15 and 16. English Keystone testing will be May 20 and 21. Good luck to all students!

The Top 10% Program will be held on Tuesday May 21. Judge Steven Serfass will be the speaker.

The graduation parade through town with the Class of 2024 graduates will be held on Monday June 10 at 6 p.m.

Lehighton Area High School Graduation for the Class of 2024 will be held Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m.

The end of the school year is rapidly approaching. As seniors, we are all getting excited!

Panther Valley High School

Mikayla Yuricheck

Here at Panther Valley things have been running smoothly.

Our National Honor Society students donated $1,500 to the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation after all of their fundraising efforts. They would like to thank everyone in the community for their support.

The students in the National Honor Society have been completing a large number of service efforts recently and their work does not go unnoticed. They have been volunteering at the elementary school, the intermediate school, the nursing home, and the Lehigh Valley Children’s Center in Coaldale. They have worked so hard to give back to the community what the community has given to them.

Our Panther Valley JROTC students recently had the opportunity to partake in their annual JROTC ball. This was a very formal event that educated students on some of the various military traditions that our very own United States Military holds.

Our spring sports athletes have been doing well in their recent events, and we wish them continued success for the rest of the season.

Some upcoming events: Prom, May 3; Act 80 Day, May 3; Keystone Exams, May 13 - 24; Last day of school, May 31, and board meeting, May 15.

Jim Thorpe High School

Gabriella Cerra

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the JT Mock Trial Prosecution team will be practicing in Mr. Strubinger’s classroom, to prepare for the Thursday, Law Day Competition at the Carbon County Courthouse. Students who may be interested in participating in Mock Trial next academic year are invited to attend the PODS practices as well. The Prosecution team and Business Law classes will be departing at 8 a.m. and arriving back at 12:30 p.m.

Jim Thorpe’s literary and arts magazine, The Flame, is looking forward to the end of this year and coming into next year with full force. This means more membership, fundraising, and programs. Any students who may be interested in gaining the wonderful experience of this kind of extracurricular involvement are welcome to speak with Mrs. MacCorkle for next year about what The Flame is and does. Specifically, students who feel a creative spark, interest in contributing to their school, or interest in the literary or artistic setting are likely to enjoy membership in The Flame.

Students are always welcome to submit their photographic, drawn, or digital art and poetic, descriptive, and storytelling writing to The Flame at any point in time. However, the group is currently looking specifically for writing that expresses “what ignites the flame within you.” Any students who have or want to produce artistic or literary work that expresses personal passions, motivators, or meaningful experiences are welcome and encouraged to do so as a part of the current program. To view all the work that has been published thus far for The Flame can be seen on (theflamejtasd.com). Any students who intend to make a submission can share it with heather.maccorkle@jtasd.org.

History club’s weekly meeting will be held Wednesday, from 2:45-4 p.m.

Senior and Junior Prom will be on May 10. Last Tuesday, class advisors toured various potential venues to decide which one would be ideal for the night.

The Spring Band & Choir concert will be on Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. The price of tickets will be $5 for adults, $3 for students, and no charge for children ages 5 and under.

Keystone testing dates will be May 15 for literature, 16 for Algebra I, and 17 for biology. For any students enrolled in a 10th grade literature course, test taking is mandatory. The same applies for students in Algebra 1, Algebra 1B, LS Applied Algebra 1B, ES Math 11, Biology, LS Biology, or ES Science 11. Passing with a score of proficient or advanced in each one is a requirement to graduate. For any students that are not test taking, there will be a Flexible Instruction Day. Information regarding specifics of the schedule for each day will later be sent out.

The theater’s production of “The Addams Family” will be performed in the high school auditorium, at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Main cast members that will be performing include Jon Duffy as Fester Addams, Ethan Ruch as Pugsley Addams, Chloe Tantala as Grandma Addams, Nicholas Germino as Lucas Beineke, Lila DeJessa as Mal Beineke, Kate Newstead as Alice Beineke, Devin Vasquez as Gomez Addams, Ada Finsel as Morticia Addams, El Smith as Wednesday Addams, and Kyle George as Lurch Addams.

FBLA held a meeting regarding the officer elections and End of the Year Banquet. Candidates are to submit their applications to run for officer positions by May 1. The meeting for candidate speeches and the election will be held during PODS on May 6. The End of the Year Banquet will take place on May 21, starting at 5:30.

Palmerton High School

Mrs. K. Baumgardt’s Journalism Class

Upcoming events for the Bombers include prom on May 3, as well as many field trips. The Buddies Club is traveling to North Schuylkill High School to participate in the Spartan Games, The National Honor Society and Gifted Program members are traveling to the Philadelphia Zoo on May 10, and P.A.A.C. is traveling to Carbon County Friends of Animals on May 20 for a service trip.

After competing at Leagues last Friday, Palmerton Tennis ended their season with their last two matches this week. Monday, they traveled to Notre Dame Greenpond before celebrating their senior night at home on Tuesday. The softball team also had something to celebrate as senior Megan Matsko, recorded her 100th career hit the previous week. On the other field, the baseball team had three games this week. The boys went to Salisbury to start the week, then came back home for a game on Thursday, before traveling to Palisades on Saturday.

On April 18, students from the journalism class and yearbook club attended a journalism summit at LCCC. There, they learned about the different aspects of journalism and got to meet students from other schools. Earlier in the week, on April 15, Taylor Lyon, Kylie Mattrazzo, and Sofia De Angelis went to a student advisory board in Weatherly. They discussed mental health and drug issues in school and learned ways to prevent them.