Each year I enjoy sharing the many accomplishments of our students. These accomplishments range from excellence in academics and vocational skills to excellence in fine arts and athletics.
In academic subjects, noteworthy accomplishments were achieved at both middle and high school levels. The high school Science Olympiad Team won first place in the county and sixth place in regional competitions. They qualified for the state competition for the 19th straight year and placed 31st. The middle school team won fourth place in regional competition and 21st in the state-wide competition. Two of the students on the middle school MathCounts team placed in the top 10 in this Berks County Mathematics Competition. In other county competitions, Envirothon assesses students’ knowledge of our natural environment. The competition is held at the Nolde Environmental Education Center here in Berks County. The two middle school teams earned second and fourth place respectively.
In technical and job related skills, Tanner Kurtz was the SkillsUSA State Gold Medal Winner for Electrical Construction Wiring and Weston Laity was the SkillsUSA State Gold Medal Winner for Computer Programming.
Many students were recognized for their achievement through their induction in honor societies. Twenty-five juniors and 10 additional seniors were honored through their induction into the National Honor Society this year. This recognizes excellence in academic achievement, character, leadership and service. They joined 25 seniors in the Society. Twenty students were inducted into Quill and Scroll (an international honorary society for high school journalists). Eleven Fleetwood students were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society.
This year, one of our students distinguished himself in the national student council association. Through a rigorous selection process, Joseph Moyer earned the position of National Region II Student Council Representative. Region II represents the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.
Thirty students from our chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competed in the state leadership conference. Amanda Meck received the Keystone Leadership Award. Ying Ling Lian earned first place for the Community Service Award. Three students were inducted into the National Business Honor Society. The chapter won second place for the amount of community service hours that the members logged. Our chapter also earned fifth place (out of 293 chapters) in the Outstanding Chapter Award. I am very pleased to report that FBLA set a new record with 11 students qualifying to compete in the National FBLA competition in Atlanta, Georgia this summer.
In music, many of our students were selected to participate, through auditions, in ensembles from the county up to the state level. One student, Marisalley George, was selected for All-State Orchestra. Two students participated in Regional Chorus, and two in Regional Orchestra. At the district level (consisting of seven counties), we had five students participate in District Chorus, one in District Band and two in District Orchestra. Thirty of our high school students participated in Senior County ensembles, including eight in the Orchestra, 12 in the Chorus and 10 in the Band. Eleven students participated in the Junior County Chorus, nine in the Junior County Band and 16 in Junior County Orchestra. Eleven students participated in the Sixth Grade County String Fest.
In fine arts, the high school’s literary magazine (Artifact) won a silver medal in the state from the Pennsylvania School Press Association. Thirty-eight students were inducted into the National Art Honor Society this year, the largest ever. We also had 31 students complete senior art projects that were publicly displayed last month.
Our students also earned recognition in athletics. Our girls’ soccer team were the district champions and were state semi-finalists. Nicholas Hope earned recognition as an All-State and All Region-All American in soccer. Meghan Sadler earned the Scholar of Distinction for Field Hockey award. Six of our field hockey students earned a place on the 2015 NFHCA/Keith Waldman-Optimal Performance Association High School National Academic Squad. Thirteen of our students were state and national qualifiers for cheerleading. Carl Fortna placed 19th in the state in cross country and Charles Wildermuth was a state qualifier in wrestling. In Track and Field, as this article is going to print, we have five students preparing to compete in the state competition.
The Fleetwood Area School District is very proud of all of our students and is pleased to recognize those students who have excelled through numerous end-of-year awards programs.
Upcoming Events in the Fleetwood Area School District: June 5 – Baccalaureate 6 p.m. high school auditorium; June 7 – Graduation 7 p.m. Keystone Hall on the campus of Kutztown University; The Board of School Directors will hold meetings on June 14 and 21, both at 7 p.m.