Nineteen color guard units celebrated the US Scholastic Band Association’s last event of the season on April 16, 2011 at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, N.J., during the USSBA’s second annual Indoor Championship. The North Penn Visual Ensemble (High School ensemble) with a first place finish. The Visual Ensemble earned the title of Class AA Champions with a score of 94.30 for their first place finish.


The North Penn Lady Knights (combined Middle School unit) indoor color guards also received a first place finish in the USSBA Indoor Championships. The Lady Knights earned the title of Class Junior "A" Champions with their outstanding performance. The Lady Knights scored 91.65 to take home their trophy. This is the second year in a row that both groups took home the championship banner since the USSBA inaugurated an indoor color guard and percussion circuit last year.

Leah Harrell of Harleysville was named to the Dean’s list for academic excellence for the fall 2010 semester at The Johns Hopkins University. To be selected for this honor, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale in a program of at least 14 credits with at least 12 graded credits.

Leah Harrell is the daughter of Meacham and Catherine Harrell and attended Souderton Area High School in Souderton

Leah Harrell, who is majoring in economics, will graduate in May 2013.

MILLERSVILLE -- Millersville University of Pennsylvania student Jessica Do, of Hatfield was recently inducted into Alpha Epsilon Rho (AERho), the nation's oldest broadcasting honor society, at the 69th convention of the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho in Los Angeles, March 16-19. Twenty-five students from Millersville University attended the conference, along with more then 325 students from across the nation. Do, a junior communications and theatre major with an option in broadcasting, has been an active member of the University's National Broadcasting Society (NBS) for three years. She was recently elected as NBS president for the fall 2011 semester and also serves as the public service announcement director for MUTV-99, Millersville's student run television station. Currently, Do works for Millersville University's Communications and Marketing Office as a video intern, coordinating video scripts, capturing and editing footage and uploading the final product. Members of AERho are decided based on superior academic achievement and dedicated work to the organization, among other qualifications, and enter through an application process. Millersville was also one of five schools recognized as a Model Chapter in the AERho society.

Chestnut Hill College Inducts Lauren Moore into the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society PHILADELPHIA -- Lauren Moore, a Psychology major from Hatfield, was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society for the Fall 2010 semester at a ceremony on campus on March 23, 2011. Chestnut Hill College inducted 43 new members into the society this year. Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society for first-year college students, recognizes academic achievement. Full-time students are invited to become members of Alpha Lambda Delta if they succeed in maintaining a 3.5 G.P.A or are in the top 20 percent of their class. The mission of Alpha Lambda Delta is to "encourage superior academic achievement, to promote intelligent living and a continued high standard of learning, and to assist students in recognizing and developing meaningful goals for their unique roles in society." At Chestnut Hill College, the honor society sponsors several charity and social events, including coffee houses, Alex's Lemonade Stand, and a Mystery Dinner Theatre. Students being inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta are also athletes at the College, representing the 14 intercollegiate athletic programs.

Local students selected to present as part of LVC's Celebration of Student Learning First Annual Celebration of Student Learning showcases cholarly, scientific, and creative accomplishments of Lebanon Valley College students ANNVILLE -- The first annual Celebration of Student Learning at Lebanon Valley College, Annville, will include poster presentations, art displays, poetry readings, oral research presentations, and musical recitals. The celebration begins on April 25, and will feature select student presentations from every department on campus. Local students include: Alyssa Godown of Quakertown, is a junior elementary education major, and will present with the Education department. Halley Washburn of Lansdale, is a junior biochemistry and molecular biology major, and will present with the Chemistry department. Sarah Morasco of Norristown, is a senior elementary education major, and will present with the Education department.

Harleysville resident and La Salle University student Claire Fisher was awarded the university’s Flubacher Scholarship, given annually to an outstanding economics student.. Fisher will also be spending the summer in Moscow to study. Her Russian trip is through the Summer Language Institute at the University of Pittsburgh's Slavic and Eastern European Languages Department. She will spend five weeks in Pittsburgh taking language, culture and contemporary history and politics classes daily. She and other students will travel to Russia to continue with language classes at MoscowState University for five weeks. Fisher will also spend weekends in nearby cities Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Suzdal. The last four days of the program will be in St. Petersburg. Fisher received a full tuition scholarship and stipend for her trip to Russia. Fisher is pursuing a double major in Economics and International Studies and Political Science.

Two North Montco Technical Career Center (NMTCC) Automotive Technology students recently participated in the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia Student Troubleshooting Competition. This competition has three components. First, each automotive technology program from Career and Technical Centers located in SE Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware were invited to send five students to participate in the written portion of the competition. This competition consisted of 180 questions to gauge the students’ automotive knowledge. Two students from the top 12 scoring Career and Technical Centers, with the highest combined scores on the exam, were invited to participate in the troubleshooting/hands-on portion of the competition. Joe Josko (Souderton) and Chris Kinner (North Penn) earned the opportunity to compete during the troubleshooting competition by earning the highest two scores for NMTCC students. During the troubleshooting competition, the students had to troubleshoot (diagnose) and repair several electrical and mechanical “bugs” inserted into a vehicle. Additionally, students competed at various workstations, demonstrating their tire and wheel service, vehicle information management system, electrical diagnosis, and brake, engine and emission/performance repair skills. Joe and Chris earned fourth place for this competition, missing third place by one point. The final component of the competition was a mandatory essay for all students who participated in the troubleshooting competition. The owners of dealerships believe that qualified technicians must also have strong written and verbal communication skills. Joe Josko earned first place for his essay which required him to “explain how and why the Service Department is important to a dealership’s business.”

North Montco Technical Career Center (NMTCC) students competed at the state level SkillsUSA competition held in Hershey. Using the skills they have learned in their classrooms, NMTCC students competed in various technical competitions against their peers from across the state. NMTCC students earned two first place medals, two second place medals and one third place medal. First place winners have the opportunity to represent the state at the National SkillsUSA Championships held in Kansas City, Missouri during the last week of June. Following are the medal winners: FIRST PLACE: Brendon Miller (12th grade, North Penn) - Technical Drafting Competition Robert Greisemer (11th grade, Cyber) - Computer Maintenance Technology SECOND PLACE: James Windfelder (12th grade, North Penn) - Architectural Drafting Competition Trevor Mountain (12th grade, Perkiomen Valley) - State Pin Design Competition THIRD PLACE: Emily Hash (12th grade, Souderton) - Photography Competition

Whitpain/Pottstown — Five Montgomery County Community College Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) chapter students earned awards during competitions at the PBL State Leadership Conference in Gettysburg on April 1-2. The winners will compete in the national conference in Orlando, Fla. in June. Business Administration major Jessica Jurbala, of Glenside, earned first place in the Small Business Management competition. Hospitality Management majors Liliana Avila, of Phoenixville, Heather Spangenberg, of Elkins Park, and Christina Rubeo, of Trooper, earned second place in the Hospitality Management category. Business Administration major Ryan Welby, of Vernfield, earned third place in the Networking Applications competition. Students competed against PBL charters from across the state, including four-year institutions, such as Temple University, University of Pittsburgh, Bloomsburg University and Shippensburg University. Eight MCCC students attended the conference, which included also included workshops and business events in addition to the various competitions. Phi Beta Lambda is a student-led, collegiate-level organization of the Future Business Leaders of America.

NEW YORK (Grassroots Newswire) April 13, 2011 -- Jes Sang Lee, a resident of North Wales, is among the filmmakers selected to have work screened at the 22nd annual Dusty Film and Animation Festival taking place at the SVA Theatre in New York City from May 6 - 10, 2011. The Dusty Film and Animation Festival will showcase more than 100 films by students graduating from the BFA Film, Video and Animation Department at the School of Visual Arts. The program includes screenings of short films, videos and animations and culminates in an awards ceremony. Awards are presented in the following categories: documentary, screenwriting, cinematography, sound, editing, directing and outstanding film. Animation achievement awards are presented for traditional, stop-motion and outstanding design. This year's Screenwriters Night is in collaboration with Susan Batson Studio featuring SVA graduating screenwriters' selected scenes performed live by professional actors. More information and screening schedules are available at www.sva.edu/dusty.

MILLERSVILLE -- Millersville University of Pennsylvania student Jordan Kuhns, of Harleysville, was recently inducted into Alpha Epsilon Rho (AERho), the nation's oldest broadcasting honor society, at the 69th convention of the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho in Los Angeles, March 16-19. Twenty-five students from Millersville University attended the conference, along with more then 325 students from across the nation. Kuhns, a junior communications and theatre major with an option in broadcasting, has been an active member of the University's National Broadcasting Society (NBS) for two years. As the chief field producer for MUTV-99, Millersville's student run television station, Kuhns coordinates shoots at various campus events. He is also the primary voice of Millersville University's sports coverage, and has received national awards for his work with Millersville's hockey team.

The North Penn School District announced that three of its teams placed at the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Pennsylvania State Competition that took place on Saturday, April 9th in Williamsport. The Penndale Odyssey of the Mind team that consists of both Penndale and Pennbrook middle school students took first place in their division at the event. Pennbrook Middle School students on the team include Robert Gaibler, Max Ives and Madison Wiernusz. The students from Penndale Middle School include Tim Bilodeau, Kevin Chen, Will Hagan and Jackson Simpson. This team is coached by Kate Early and Mark Bilodeau and will be competing at the World Finals that will be held from May 27th to May 30th at the University of Maryland. The team chose a long term problem this year called "Extreme Mousemobiles." It involved creating vehicles powered only by mousetraps, and the vehicles had to complete six different tasks. All tasks had to be completed in eight minutes or less, and had to have a team-written creative story to be performed while the vehicles were completing their assigned tasks. North Penn students Bilodeau and Simpson have been solving OM problems for seven years and have been on the same team together for six years with fellow student Gaibler. Chen and Ives have been a part of this team for two years, with Wiernusz and Hagan joining the team last year. Many of these students have held several years of OM experience before joining this team. In addition to the Penndale OM team, two Bridle Path Elementary School OM teams placed in the state competition. Bridle Path Team B, consisting of students Reanna Bull, Marta Capron, Michaela Jones, Jake Millevio, Taylor Molitierre, Brenna Ryabin and Maggie Walsh, placed fifth in the competition. They are coached by Lisa Anne Bull and Keith Jones and worked on the long term solution "Le Tour Guide". The team proved, through a tour, that when musicians die, their music lives forever. Bridle Path Team A, consisting of students Julie Kratz, Eric Nawrocki , Brennan Orth, Sabrina Palmer, Puja Samant, Vinny Shankar and Billy Wang, placed seventh in the competition. They were coached by Ed Nawrocki and Shankar Venkatraman and also worked on the long term solution of "Le Tour Guide". These students used the Pippi Longstocking character as the guide of the "P"-themed team (Plankton, Pink Panther and Popeye) as they toured China to visit the Great Wall of China, Bird's Nest Stadium and a team-created site, The Leaning Tower of Pizza. For more information, please visit http://www.odysseyofthemind.org/, or contact North Penn Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator Amy Ryan Faga at fagaar@npenn.org.

Melissa McIlhenny of Harleysville and a senior at West Chester University received a Who's who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award. She is the daughter of time and Cathy McIlhenny and a 2007 graduate of Souderton Area High School. She is pursuing a degree in history adn education. She is a member of Alpha Phi, Sister to Sister and is involved in student activities leadership.

Lauren Suelke daughter of Jeannie and Ken Suelke of Quakertown and a sophomore at Quakertown High School is the recipient of a full scholarship to attend Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week 2011 at Pennsylvania College of Techonology, Williamsport in July.

Jill Weiskopf, a 2005 graduate of Souderton Area High School was inducted into Golden Key's International Honour Society but then went through the necessary channels to start LaSalle University's very own chapter; their first induction was held February 20.

Souderton Area School District students showcased their independent science research projects at the Montgomery County Science Research Competition, which was held at the Montgomery County Community College on March 18. The 29 Souderton School District students presented their projects to a panel of scientists and were judged against other students in their category from other schools in the county. Winners from Indian Valley Middle School included Katie Collins, Erin Solomon, and Kyle Wetzler with Honorable Mention awards; Ali Tomasevich with a First Honorable Mention award; Bryan Freedman and Hamna Imtiaz with Third Place awards.

Mike Kullmann, pictured here, from Indian Crest Middle School also won a Third Place award.

The Third Place winners will compete at the Delaware Valley Science Fair at the Philadelphia Expo Center in early April. Winners from Souderton Area High School include Natalie Robertson with a First Place award; Ryan Harkins, Chris Malanga and PJ Ryan with Third Place awards; and Cameron Connors and Grant Welby with First Honorable Mention awards. Cameron Connors also won a special monetary award from the Montgomery Bucks Dental Society.

Natalie Robertson is eligible to compete at the Delaware Valley Science Fair in April.

Kyungil Moon of Ambler, has been cited for academic achievement for the Fall 2010 Semester at the State University of New York College of Technology at Delhi. Moon, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing major, has qualified for the Dean's List. To qualify for the Dean's List, a student must have an academic average between 3.5 and 4.0.

Kyungil Moon of Ambler, has been cited for academic achievement for the Fall 2010 Semester at the State University of New York College of Technology at Delhi. Moon, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing major, has qualified for the Dean's List. To qualify for the Dean's List, a student must have an academic average between 3.5 and 4.0.

Brian St. John was recently honored by the Ambler Rotary Club as its Student of the Month for March.

Brian attends Wordsworth Academy and is ecribed by his fellow students and teachers as decent and caring, always ready to lend a helping hand. He is involved with the Interact Club at Wordsworth Academy where he continues to demonstrate his fine leadership skills, according to the Ambler Rotary Club.

GREENSBORO, NC -- The American Hebrew Academy announces that Michael Webb of Ambler, has been inducted into the esteemed American Hebrew Academy Honor Society. Now in its second year, the American Hebrew Academy Honor Society is an international honor society that acknowledges exceptional 8th and 9th grade students who have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, leadership and service to their communities. Along with the other students who have been inducted into the Honor Society, Michael was invited to attend a Scholars Weekend at the Academy over the weekend of March 25-27.