Bethlehem Area SD recognizes student winners of manufacturing video contest; student representatives report on prom, finals and athletics

The Bethlehem Area School District honored student teams from multiple middle schools for their entries in the regional "What's So Cool About Manufacturing" video contest and received reports from student representatives at Freedom and Liberty high schools at the May 19, 2025 board meeting.

The contest — organized regionally by the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) of Allentown — encourages students to explore manufacturing careers and produce short profiles of local companies. The district presented winning videos and recognized participating students and teacher coaches from several schools.

Northeast Middle School received the outstanding editing award; the board read the team roster aloud and recognized students listed in the meeting record as Dashel Brown, Quintin Roy Brown, Macy Fadibin, Cole Frey, Sebastian McCool, Olivia Matson, Jackson Pine, Jay Repnick, Theodore Chang, Cooper Stamets and Vi Tang. Nitschmann Middle School earned the outstanding pool award; students listed included Kelsey Bolash, Cooper Goetz, Ellen Hirtney, Madeleine Lavinka, Noah Lixo Lixko, Maximus Querrey and Sofia Querrey. Brockle Middle School earned the outstanding educational-value award with students named MacKay Hill, Malachi Hill, Naomi Monfrie, Rainier Rosado Florian and Reggie Sulpaveda.

The board also recognized the district's student school-board representatives for the year. The meeting record named Molly Patrick of Liberty High School and Brady Roche of Freedom High School as the student representatives, with Eliza Moore (Freedom High School) and Farida Ishmael (Liberty High School) identified as alternates who will take over in September.

Student representative reports provided updates on recent and upcoming school events. Brady Roche (Freedom High School) reported that prom was held at ArtsQuest with a "House of Cards" theme, senior finals are scheduled this week with graduation preparations beginning June 4 at Stabler Arena, and that the boys baseball team was competing in district play while girls softball had won the EPC championship. Molly Patrick (Liberty High School) said seniors finish finals this week and were advised to move important materials from school email accounts ahead of deactivation on July 1; she noted 70 students reached more than 200 community-service hours and that 37 of those were from Liberty. She also listed Liberty’s graduation on June 5 (Stabler Arena), senior awards dates, and athletic achievements including seven track athletes advancing to state competition and a state championship in girls freestyle wrestling for Penny Miller.

The recognitions and student reports were presented near the start of the meeting; the board hosted a brief reception during which students and families were invited forward for photos and congratulations.

The contest materials and videos were produced with support from the Manufacturers Resource Center; the district said the contest aims to change students’ perceptions of manufacturing careers by offering hands-on video production experience and connections to local employers.

Speakers at the recognition included Dr. Leeson (introducing the presentations), teacher coaches Rachel Shook (Northeast) and Toni Darrington (assistant principal, Northeast), and the student presenters called forward by the board. Student names above are those read into the record by district staff.