Name: Laura Erle Grade: Junior at Emmaus High School Accomplishment: Laura has been selected by Penn State University as a finalist in the 2011-2012 Penn State Essay Contest for High School Students. She is one of 20 students chosen to receive this honor from participating school districts throughout the state. Key to Awesomeness: Each year Penn State holds the writing contest to recognize student achievement in writing.  Laura and her current English teacher, Aaron Gavin, have been invited to attend the awards ceremony at the Nittany Lion Inn on April 20, 2012.

Name:  Gabriel Walters   School:  Seventh-grader at St. Thomas More School in Salisbury Township. Accomplishment:  He recently earned his first level black belt in Kung Fu. Key to Awesomeness:  Gabriel, a Lower Macungie resident, has been a student at Lehigh Valley Martial Arts in Emmaus for the past five years.  “It’s my second home,” he said.  He currently holds a first level black belt and is working toward earning his second level. Gabriel has learned a lot in five years including: How to take down someone bigger by using a nine-point system.  He said there are nine vulnerable points on …

Name:  Sabino Basso  School:  Fifth-grader at St. Ann School, Emmaus Accomplishment:  He earned his first level black belt in Kung Fu. Key to Awesomeness:  Sabino has been a busy young man for the past five years—he recently earned his first level black belt and is now working toward his second level. He has been a student of Lehigh Valley Martial Arts, Emmaus, since kindergarten and said he has learned many things from his instructors including The history of Kung Fu and karate How to defend himself during a confrontation How to correctly use force when needed Self-discipline and respect How…

Name:  First-graders at Shoemaker Elementary School Accomplishment:  They wrote their first books. Key to Awesomeness:  Parents and grandparents were treated to a special tea on June 14.  It was an author tea -- their children and grandchildren were the authors. Beginning sometime in the middle of the school year, the first graders started working on their “All About Me” books and family books. In these books, students described themselves and their family members, how they look, their likes and dislikes, as well as various other bits of interesting information and pictures. According to the …

Name:  Fourth grade students at Shoemaker School     Accomplishment:  Performed King Lear for students and parents Key to Awesomeness:  Shoemaker fourth-graders studied the Bard last year and put on some of his plays. During their WIN (What I Need) Time, one of the enrichment activities was to put on "King Lear."  Ten students participated in the activity, under the direction of fourth grade teacher Christine Gogel: Landon Pitts – King Lear Olivia Coleman – Goneril Jackson Karrat – Edmund and the Fool Taira Fadler – Narrator Ashley Donegan – Earl of Gloucester Katherine Moore – Reagan and …

Name:  Quentin Snyder School:  Seventh-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment:  March Student of the Month Key to Awesomeness:  Quentin was chosen as the Student of the Month by his teachers because he pays attention in class, receives good grades and has good behavior throughout the school.  He is a very positive influence, they said. His favorite class is art.  “I like art,” he said, “because it allows me to be more creative.”  Quentin enjoys everything in art class, especially drawing and working with clay. He is a member of the school’s volleyball team, and also plays the …

Name:  Nicholas Andronis School:  Sixth-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment:  May Student of the Month Key to Awesomeness:  Nicholas earned the title of May Student of the Month because his teachers said he earns good grades, is polite and respectful to school staff and he obviously enjoys school. “My favorite subject is science because I like doing experiments with different things,” Nicholas said. Indeed, he entered the Lower Macungie Middle School’s science fair and said, “I did pretty good.”  He hopes to enter the state competition next year, when he is in seventh grade…

Name:  Karisa Barkis School:  Eighth-grade student at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment:  She won first place in the chemistry division of the Region 3 science fair for the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. This region includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties. Key to Awesomeness:  Karisa chose the project, ‘How Different pH levels Affect Common Metals” for her science fair entry. She said, “I soaked five different metals (zinc, copper, nickel, brass, and stainless steel) each in five different pH levels (1.2, 4.4, 7.0, 9.2, and 10.2) for five weeks. “Every …

Name:  Nisha Mony School:  Eighth- grader at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment:  Won first place in the chemistry category at the Region 3 science fair of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science which includes students from Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties. Key to Awesomeness:  Nisha’s project was “Does the Direction in Which Rain Clouds Come Affect the pH of the Rainwater?”  In her experiment, she tested the pH of rainwater which came from different directions, checking to see if the pH would be different or the same, depending on the direction.  After …

Name:  Boy Scout Troop 71 of Macungie  Accomplishment:  Cleaned up along Mountain Creek in Macungie on April 16 as part of the Earth Day activities throughout Pennsylvania. Key to Awesomeness:  On a cold, dreary day, with the threat of rain in the air, the boys of Boys Scout Troop 71 sloshed through Mountain Creek from the Macungie Fire Company to the railroad along Macungie Park picking up trash.  As they walked along the banks and through the water, they picked up bottles, cans, paper products, straws, even a hat.  Some collected downed tree limbs and branches and placed them onto a pile. …

Name:  Daniel Amankwatia School:  Eighth-grader at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment:  First place winner in the Region 3 science fair of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science in the physics division.  This region includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton counties. Key to Awesomeness:  Daniel’s project was entitled, “Which of the 6 Model Rocket Nose Cone Designs will More Effectively Enhance the Model Rocket’s Altitude?”  For his experiment, he used six common nose cone designs, one at a time, on the model rocket he made.  He then shot off the rocket, each time with a …

Name:  Gwyn Pacheo  School:  Eighth-grade student at Eyer Middle School Accomplishment:   Gwyn was a first place winner in the Region 3 science fair for the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science.  This region includes Schuylkill, Berks, Lehigh, Carbon and Northampton Counties. Key to Awesomeness:   Her project, “The Effect of Garlic on Bacteria Growth” was in the microbiology division of the competition.   For her experiment, she “grew bacteria [in a Petrie dish] and then prepared different forms of garlic. I then tested to see if it could kill the bacteria.” In her results, she said some of…

Name:  Emily Grace School:  seventh grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment:  She was voted January’s Student of the Month by her teachers. Key to Awesomeness:  Emily is a lovely and polite young lady who gets 100 percent of her homework and projects finished on time.  According to her teachers, she receives good grades and is an excellent student.  Her favorite class is social studies, because, Emily said, her teacher makes the class fun and enjoyable. An Emmaus resident, Emily enjoys swimming, biking, playing volleyball and playing Wii.  She is a member of the Girl Scouts, …

Name:  Ryan Bilger School: Eighth grade student at Eyer Middle School. Accomplishment:  Ryan took first place in the regional science fair.  He also won a cash award for his project. Key to Awesomeness:   Ryan’s science fair project, “What Effects Do Different Salts have on Daphnia Magna?” was in the Biology category.  He placed tiny water fleas into varying concentrations of different salts, and recorded the number of water fleas that were killed by the toxin to win the top prize of $25. He also participated the regional spelling bee held at Northampton Community College on March 24 …

Name:  Brett Christian-Burgess School:  6th-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School Accomplishment:  Voted Student of the Month in January by his teachers Key to Awesomeness:  Brett, a very polite young man, works hard in school and gets very good grades.  His favorite subjects are math and social studies.  A Lower Macungie resident, he enjoys playing football, baseball and basketball with the Lower Macungie Youth Association. Someday, he said, Brett would like to be a firefighter or play football with the New York Giants.

Name: Green Hornets School: Emmaus High School Accomplishments: The Emmaus boys swim team won the two-day District XI Championships held March 4 and 5 and the girls took second. Key to Awesomeness:  Practice, determination and talent. And the boys' bald heads, of course. Team: The complete list of swimmers chosen for the district meets includes freshmen Robert Bishop, Andrew Bond, Shanna Carwell, Patrick Champagne, Timothy Chien, Alex Duddy, Ben Farabaugh, diver, Jessi Fosburg, diver, Matt Kline, Anna Overholts, diver, Kate Reed, Natalie Schaeffer, Kayli Stuhmeier, Drew Switzer, diver, …

Name:  Jacob Licker School:  Sixth-grader at Lower Macungie Middle School. Accomplishments: Jacob plays the alto saxophone with the Jazz Band and is participating in the school play “Thoroughly Modern Millie."  In the play, Jacob  sings with the school chorus and dances a bit.  In his spare time, Jacob likes to read, go for bike rides, hike and camp. Key to Awesomeness:  Jacob received an award for his essay on the theme “Does Patriotism Still Matter?” in December 2010 for the Patriot’s Pen contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9264 in Macungie.  This contest was only open to…

Name:  Ryan Bilger School:  Eighth-grader at Eyer Middle School Accomplishments:  Ryan placed seventh in the regional spelling bee in 2010, as well as winning the Reading Olympics with his team from school, also in 2010.  He has also won the Geography Bee this year and has high hopes of moving on to the state competition.  In his free time, he enjoys playing the violin and soccer. Key to Awesomeness:  In December, 2010, Ryan was awarded honors for his essay on patriotism by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9264 in Macungie for the Patriot’s Pen contest.  This contest is only open to sixth …

Name: Laura Erle. School : Sophomore at Emmaus High School. You may see it sometime in a playbill listing her as an actress or a dancer or maybe a singer—or all of the above. Accomplishments: Erle's favorite class is English.  She is also a member of both the SGA (Student Government Association) and drama club.  However, it is not English she plans to pursue following high school.  Her future plans include the musical theater—performance, of course, and possibly teaching someday. Key to Awesomeness: This multi-talented Lower Macungie resident enjoys singing, acting, dancing and playing the …