Northampton Press

Even though classes are not in session, Northampton Area School District Board of Education met — virtually, that is.

The meeting room in the administration building, where the school board and administrators meet twice monthly, was empty March 23, except for NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik, NASD Business Administrator Matthew Sawarynski and NASD Secretary to the Superintendent Denise A. Vilkauskas.

Northampton Area School District, in conjunction with Aramark, will make available free bagged lunches to children through age 18 who are in the district.

Joseph S. Kovalchik, NASD superintendent of schools, made the announcement March 16 under Spotlight Stories on the NASD website.

Meals were available March 18-20 and were also scheduled for March 23-27 as well.

It was announced March 23 that district schools would be closed through April 3. An announcement of an extended meal distribution plan had not been released as of press time March 25.

Sarrah Ramos, a senior at Northampton Area High School and Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, is battling stage-four cancer. While Ramos was in school, she was always happy and was an upbeat student in the classroom, according to students and staff at BAVTS, who wanted to fundraise to do something different for her.

The hiring of an accountant was approved by Northampton Area School District Board of Education March 9.

School directors voted to hire Jessica Lear as senior accountant, effective March 25, pending receipt of proper documentation, at a $55,000 salary, pro-rated with benefits.

The board also voted to approve the revised job description for the senior accountant position, effective March 10.

The next school board meeting was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 23 in the NASD Administration Building, 2014 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

Spring picture days are set.

• Lehigh Elementary School — March 12

• George Wolf Elementary School — March 13

• Borough Elementary Schools — Franklin, March 18; Siegfried, March 19

***

The North East Pennsylvania Regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament will be held at Pocono Mountain West High School March 14. Students in kindergarten through grade 12 receive a problem at the beginning of the school year that they must solve in an eight-minute performance that includes original costumes, scenery and technical elements.

Northampton Area Middle School recently named the students who made the honor roll for the second marking period of the 2019-20 academic year.

DISTINGUISHED HONORS

Northampton Area School District has received a nearly one-half-million-dollar school safety grant, believed to be the largest of those received by school districts in Northampton and Lehigh counties.

NASD received the $450,928 grant from the School Safety and Security Committee of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), which announced the allocations Feb. 26.

Congratulations to Northampton Area Middle School for winning Outstanding Editing in the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest. Winners were announced during an awards presentation Feb. 25.

***

Mark your calendar for spring picture days. All students will have their pictures taken, but purchase is optional.

• Moore Elementary School, March 6

• Lehigh Elementary School, March 12

• George Wolf Elementary School, March 13

• Franklin building, March 18

• Siegfried building, March 19

***

Seniors Joel Valencia, of Northampton Area High School, and Isiah Quinones, of Liberty High School, competed at the Greater Lehigh Valley Automotive Dealers Association Automotive Technology Competition Feb. 15. Representing Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, they competed against students from Upper Bucks County Technical School, Lehigh Career & Technical Institute, Carbon Career and Technical Institute and Monroe Career and Technical Institute.

High schoolers throughout the Lehigh Valley were given the opportunity Feb. 12 to learn about the latest advances in microscopic surgeries at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, thanks to an invitation from Lehigh Valley Health Network and its deputy chief of surgery, Dr. Angelo A. Baccala.