Snow Dates!

Mark your calendar! School will be in session March 21st and May 6th, due to the snow days on January 26th and February 16th.

Mock Trial

The Mock Trial Club is competing at the district level at the Lehigh County Courthouse on Tuesday 2/16 beginning at 5:30 PM. We graduated 11 of 12 team members last year so we have a young new team and are optimistic about our future! Mrs. Jen Boyer is the advisor for the club.

Literary Magazine

The Lit Mag Club held a Valentine’s Day Coffee house in the LGI, Friday, Feb. 12, from 2:45-5:00 pm. Mrs. Pat Kramer serves as the advisor for the Lit Mag.

Leo Club

The Leo Club has been averaging around 70 students at their recent meetings. Future plans include a group of 10 students volunteering at the food bank on Feb 20th at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity and a group of 6 students attending the Lions Club meeting on Feb 23rd. The club is making preparations for Relay for Life and Girls on the Run as volunteer opportunities. Mr. Mark Horrell is the advisor for the Leo Club.

Strength Club

The Annual Bench Press/Squat Meet will be held Saturday March 5 this year. As always, help is needed for judging the competition. If you are interested in serving as a judge or volunteer for the meet, please contact Strength Club advisor, Mr. Phil Yoder.

BCTC

The Berks Career and Technology Center announced their Students of the Quarter nominees for 2nd marking period. We’re proud to have five Schuylkill Valley Students of the Quarter. At BCTC East: Clayton Bentley (AM-PAL program) and Jacob Fenstermacher (PM-HVAC/Refrigeration). At BCTC West: Anthony Simko (PM-Automotive Technology), Nicholas Hanson (PM-Culinary Arts), and Brina Franckowiak (PM-Health Occupations). Congratulations to all the Students of the Quarter!

Music Education

The Berks Senior County Music Festival was held at Hamburg High School on Thu Jan 21. Schuylkill Valley students who participated:

Band:

Daniel Behler (11th) – Trumpet III

Chorus:

Daniel Behler (11th) – Bass 1

Kylie Brown (11th) – Alto I

Daniel Tetreault (12th) – Tenors 1 & 2

Kevin Cook (12th) – Bass 2

At the recent District Chorus competition, all three Schuylkill Valley participants advanced to the Regional Chorus competition! The students who will be representing SV at the Region V Chorus at Central York HS are Daniel Behler (11th), Daniel Tetreault (12th), and Kevin Cook (12th).

The following students will be representing Schuylkill Valley at the MEBC Junior County Chorus competition at Muhlenberg High School: Alexis Szymczyk (9th) and Lily Whitmoyer (9th). Mr. Kurt Schneiderhan and Mr. Scott Piergrossi support and instruct these students in these ventures.

National Merit Scholarship

Schuylkill Valley senior, Kevin Cook has been named a Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Kevin is one out of 15,000 finalists nation-wide, now eligible for scholarship opportunities. Congratulations on this prestigious recognition, Kevin! Mr. Tim Mogford and Mrs. Sarah Reed assisted Kevin during the application process.

Welfare of Animals Group (WAG)

The WAG club is collecting supplies for the Animal Rescue League for the month of February. Donation boxes are available at various locations in the high school. Mrs. Michelle Moran serves as the club advisor.

Computer Science

On Friday February 12, Kale Graybill visited the middle school to teach the gifted students block based programming. This student-to-student interaction was set up by Mr. Bryan Binkley and Dr. Deb Schmeck.

World Quest

The World Quest team competed at Alvernia University on Thursday February 11th.

For the third straight year the team finished 4th out of 15 schools. SV finished just two points out of 3rd place and five points out of 1st place. The team consists of Kylie Brown (11th), Kevin Cook (12th), Kyle Dimovitz (12th), Daisy Grace (12th), and Daniel Tetreault (12th). Mr. Tod Witman serves as the advisor for World Quest.

(l to r: Daisy Grace, Kylie Brown, Daniel Tetreault, Kyle Dimovitz, and Kevin Cook)

World Language Department

On February 11th, the Chinese Guest Scholars hosted an interactive cultural celebration at the BCIU. The evening began with a group Taiji lesson and continued with participants visiting stations that had Guest Scholars sharing their cultural expertise. Attendees participated in creating their own crafts such as: calligraphy, lantern making, paper cutting, knots, and puppets.

(l to r: Emily Gunkel-10th, Elizabeth Heffner-9th, Zachary Heffner-7th, Ms. Hui Wang-SV Chinese teacher, Courtney Blimline-10th, and Kaey Bubel-10th)

National Honor Society

The following students were inducted into the Socratic Chapter of the National Honor Society on February 4, 2016. Their induction was based upon their excellence in scholarship, service, leadership and character. Our guest speaker for the evening was Mr. Charlie Gerhart. Mrs. Lisa Chillot and Mrs. Dana Heins serve as co-advisors for NHS.

Thoneca Akhter Abbie Bailey Alysa Bainbridge

Daniel Behler Kylie Brown Hannah Degler

Lydia Forsythe Nicole Frank Elyse Geiger

Brynna Haupt Bethany Hepner Riley Horning

Kacie Jones Annabella Kolasa Megan Lynam

Jacqueline Marusiak Bailey Miller Steven Phan

Jenna Phillips Austin Robinson Olivia Roth

Bethany Schlott Brett Sigoda Madison Sisco Tristan Weller

The Reading Eagle ‘Berks’ Best’ Scholarship Program

Each spring, the Reading Eagle newspaper features the Berks’ Best program as a way to honor students in 10 academic categories and 1 service category. Each Berks County high school is allowed to submit 2 student names per category. These nominees then fill out online applications which are reviewed by a panel. The overall selection for each category wins a $500 scholarship and all students are listed in the special section of the Reading Eagle newspaper.

The Schuylkill Valley nominees for Berks’ Best are as follows:

Business: Damon Arena and Evan Whitmoyer

Communication: Daisy Grace and Daniel Tetreault

Computer Science: Michael Rinehart

Community Service: Kyle Dimovitz

Foreign Languages: Anna Johns and Brett Koch

Mathematics: Matt Milanek and Skye Douglas

Performing Arts: Daniel Tetreault and Kevin Cook

Science/Environment: Kevin Cook and Rhett Robinson

Social Studies: Kyle Dimovitz and Daisy Grace

Visual Arts: Ben Moody and Riley Horning

Technical/Vocational: Matt Milanek and Jacob Fenstermacher

National Signing Day

On February 3rd, senior football player Aaron Smith signed his letter of intent to attend and play football for the Millersville University Marauders (D-II). Congratulations to Aaron and thanks to head coach Mr. Jeff Chillot, position coach Mr. Phil Klahold, and the rest of the football staff for supporting and coaching Aaron.

Upcoming Events

February 22: PYEA hosts the Miller-Keystone Blood Drive at SVHS

March 1: BBEC sponsored 9th grade college visits