Easton Student Gets Gift of Music

Anna Smith, a 7th grade cellist at Easton Area Middle School, gets a cello from an 80-year-old Easton resident.

Anna Smith walked into the music room at Easton Area Middle School recently not knowing she had the surprise of her life waiting for her. There, standing in a wooden case was a cello—only for her. "I'm in shock. I don't know what to say. I'm really happy," said Smith, 13, a 7th grader and cellist in Donna Palmer's school orchestra. "It's a great honor. I'm happy to accept it." The gift came as a donation from Dave Kellner, an 80-year-old Easton area resident who said he could no longer play the cello because of his arthritis. "I thought I would put the cello to better use," Kellner said to Palmer, Smith and Smith's parents Keith and Katie. Smith tested out the cello by playing it for a few minutes to a round of applause. (See video below…

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Sell or Snort 'Smarties,' Get Suspended

Kids in Easton are apparently snorting and smoking crushed up candy, the middle school principal says.

Search "snorting Smarties" on Google and you'll get a a few thousand results, including a few how-to clips that teenagers have posted to YouTube. Smarties—for those of you that haven't had candy in a while—are tangy little pink and purple candy discs. The trend of crushing up and then snorting and "smoking" them appears to be a few years old, but it has apparently made its way to the Easton Area Middle School, where the principal last week suspended four students who were selling Smarties. The Express-Times reports that principal Charlene Symia is warning parents about the trend, and says other students using or selling Smarties could be suspended. ("Smoking" in these cases seems to indicate inhaling the dust, but not actually lighting it…

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Bomb Scare Reported at Easton Area Middle School

School buses were delayed after a bomb scare at Easton Area Middle School Monday afternoon.

A bomb scare was reported at Easton Area Middle School Monday afternoon. School officials and authorities confirmed that a bomb scare was reported at the 5-8 grades school, delaying school buses at least 20 minutes at the end of the school day. The bomb scare took place in the 5th and 6th grade building, sources said. Police from Forks and Palmer townships and Wilson and a Northampton County rescue unit responded. A Forks Township fire truck and Suburban EMS vehicle was also at the scene. The Easton Area School District issued alerts about the bomb scare and informed parents at neighboring Shawnee Elementary School that school buses were delayed from "an incident at the middle school." One parent said that her son was informed to leave his…

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Panda

8:19 am on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I agree! Bottom line: The kids were kept safe, were comforted by the school staff and got home ALIVE and SAFE!   more ›

"I Heart Boobies" Appeal Set for February

Case involving two Easton Area Middle School students suspended for wearing breast cancer awareness bracelets scheduled for Feb. 20.

The "I Heart Boobies" appeal case now has a date. The rehearing before all the judges of a federal appeals court is slated for Feb. 20 in The Albert Branson Maris Courtroom in Philadelphia, according to the Easton Express-Times. A panel of three judges heard the case in April. The entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals had agreed to hear the "I Heart Boobies" case in which two Easton Area Middle School students were suspended for wearing the bracelets for breast cancer awareness. The court will sit "en banc" -- which means all the active judges on the Third Circuit bench will hear it, according to the ACLU of Pennsylvania.  The American Civil Liberties Union initally sued the Easton school district in federal court in November 2010 on …

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Easton Area Layoffs Still Bother Parents

School starts Monday, and some parents are concerned education will suffer with fewer teachers.

Last week, Susan Eagle's grandson took a tour of the Easton Area Middle School. He walked the halls, saw his locker, found his new homeroom. There didn't seem to be many teachers around, Eagle noted. And when her grandson begins sixth grade Monday, he'll have the same teacher for English, reading and math. In the past, the same teacher wouldn't have taught all those subjects, Eagle said. But that was before the district cut 131 jobs, many of them at the middle school. "That is a concern to me, that our children are not going to get the education that they need," she said. She's part of a larger group expressing those concerns. At last week's school board meeting, Tara Gilligan of the PTA said many members of the group were upset with how …

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Calling All Easton School District Parents

Patch is looking to talk to parents at Easton Area School District -- especially the middle school-- about the new school year.

School starts in less than two weeks in the Easton Area School District, with a lot fewer teachers working for the district than last year. Before school starts, we'd like to talk to parents in the district to find out how they think the layoffs from this spring will affect their children's schooling this year. We'd also like to see whether they've approached school officials about it. We'd especially like to hear from parents of students at the middle school, which seemed to bear the brunt of the layoffs. If you'd like to talk to us, e-mail tom.coombe@patch.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Tom Coombe

7:30 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012

I deleted three comments from this story because they crossed the line from "healthy debate" to "vicious name calling." Let's keep things civil.   more ›

Easton School Board Cuts 17 More Teachers

Easton school directors vote to lay off 17 middle school teachers, plus one assistant principal.

The Easton Area School Board continued shedding school employees, eliminating the jobs of 17 middle school teachers and its assistant principal following a lengthy executive session Tuesday night. After an executive session that lasted two hours and 30 minutes, the board took swift action that took just a few minutes in slashing positions. The cuts came on top of the 47 teachers the board voted on recently who would not be returning for the 2012/2013 school year. "We said we would continue getting ready for the budget," Board President Robert Fehnel said. "We had a $6 million shortfall looking us in the face." Fehnel addressed the 20 people in the audience who waited through the executive session for a meeting which was supposed to start …

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ted.dobracki

8:47 am on Tuesday, July 24, 2012

4 day a week school could be a way to achieve the benefits of year round school without paying for 180 days. It could also increase the capacity of schools by 80% by still using the schools 5 days a week.   more ›

Middle School PTA Offers Rover Christmas Tree Bling

Holiday ornament sale profits will benefit middle school programs and activities.

  So, you've put up the tree, but it feels like something's still missing. Perhaps your evergreen needs a little Rover red to complete the holidays? The Easton Area Middle School PTA is selling collectible blown glass Rover ornaments for $8 apiece for the second year in a row. The baubles feature the Easton logo and bulldog, and the year “2011.” For an extra $2 apiece, the ornaments can be personalized. Proceeds from the ornaments goes toward the PTA's funding of field trips, assemblies and promotion gifts for eighth graders when they are headed for high school, sale organizer Carrie Sanal said. So far, more than 100 have been sold, mostly to students, parents and school staff. However, members of the public are welcome to purchase the …

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Easton Middle School Celebrates Young Writers

Five and sixth grades at Easton Area Middle School host writing olympics with author Alan St. Jean.

The entire fifth and sixth grade classes at Easton Area Middle School competed in Olympic games last week with the hopes of clinching gold medals awarded today in the school auditorium. Instead of showcasing their athletic skills, their writing skills were on display after a week of coaching by author, speaker and teacher Alan St. Jean. Author of the medieval Aidan of Oren chapter books, St. Jean conducted a week-long writing workshop for an estimated 1,300 students, who focused on genres including fantasy, romance, humor and oodles of horror. "Everything in these stories comes from the children. I was only the editor. If it was a good idea – we ran with it. If it wasn’t – I kicked it back and told them to work harder," said St. Jean …

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Volunteers Bolster Program for At-Risk Students

Volunteers tutor students at Easton Area Middle School despite funding cuts