Allentown, PA (March 1, 2016)    Forty-six Allentown School District students won awards in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Region 3 competition at Easton High School on February 27. Students from Dieruff High School and all four Middle Schools – Harrison-Morton, Raub, South Mountain, and Trexler – won in their categories as follows: 16 earned First Place (a record number for the District); 23 earned Second Place; and 7 earned Third Place.

Fares Saed, an 8th grader at Harrison-Morton Middle School, earned a “perfect” score of 5.0 for his project in the Chemistry category. Each school had one First Place winner, with the exception of Harrison-Morton Middle School which had 12 students with First Place honors.

First Place winners include:

Dieruff High School

• Adeeb Saed, Grade 10, (Earth and Space)

Harrison-Morton Middle School

• Peter Capote, Grade 8, (Physics)
• Malachi Green, Grade 7, (Physics)
• Haley Ives, Grade 7, (Microbiology)
• Joshua Kingsley, Grade 7, (Physics)
• Arian Redzepagic, Grade 7, (Microbiology)
• Jesu Reynoso, Grade 8, (Chemistry)
• William Rivera-Torres, Grade 8, (Physics)
• Fares Saed, Grade 8, (Chemistry)
• Selena Saliby, Grade 8, (Physics)
• Batool Salloum, Grade 8, (Botany)
• Jakob Tyson, Grade 8, (Physics)
• Haya Zukimi, Grade 8, (Behavioral Psychology)

Raub Middle School

• Omar Pagan, Grade 7, (Botany)

South Mountain Middle School

• Alondra Rosario, Grade 7, (Physics)

Trexler Middle School

• Grace Edinger, Grade 7, (Botany)

These students were under the guidance of the following teachers: JoAnn Manjarrez, Dieruff High School; Kelly Caflin and Jessica Donahue, Harrison-Morton Middle School; Kathy Resnick, Raub Middle School; JoAnn Manjarrez, South Mountain Middle School; and Patrick O’Connor, Trexler Middle School.

PJAS is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, as an Affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The program is designed to promote greater participation in science and math activities and improve student success in math and science by encouraging students to participate in research and developing original ideas.

All PJAS first place winners move on to the State Competition at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, which will be held May 15 – 17, 2016. Approximately 3,000 of the best and brightest science students from Pennsylvania’s thirteen separate PJAS regions descend upon State College each May to present their research.

Support for the Allentown School District PJAS program is from the Allentown School District Foundation and major partners: The Trexler Trust, UGI Utilities and PPL Corporation.

About Allentown School District

ASD serves more than 16,000 students in a network of 22 early childhood, elementary, middle and high schools located throughout the City of Allentown, PA. The Allentown School District is the third largest urban school district out of 500 districts in the Commonwealth. A shared vision of the community, parents, guardians, staff and faculty focuses on “Empowering Students for Life,” providing ASD students with the skills and academics they need to realize their aspirations whether they be college, career or technical focus. ASD goals are aligned and compatible with the Pathways to Success Framework while providing a balanced education to all students. Allentown School District employs approximately 2,200 teachers, staff and administrators. The District, founded in 1866 and celebrating its Sesquicentennial throughout 2015-2016, serves students from 43 countries speaking 26 languages with nearly 90 percent of households qualifying as low income. ASD is committed to providing safe learning environments in which all students have equal access to education programs and resources.

www.allentownsd.org