News and Events | Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School :: Online Cyber Charter School

PALCS is taking enrollment orientations on the road!

We are coming to a town near you to enroll your student. Please mail your enrollment packet in today so we can sign you up for one of our locations. Seating is limited, so it is important to get your packet in soon. All orientations will begin at 4:00 PM. After we receive your enrollment packet, you will receive a call to confirm.

The 2008 launch of the PALCS Near Space Balloon will occur at approximately 9:30am from the Samuel S. Lewis State Park near Wrightsville, PA.

Ms. Yassara Antar leads the project this year as well as the launch and recovery team. She teaches Conceptual Physics and Physics at PALCS and has been an integral part of the PALCS Near Space Balloon project since its inception 3 years ago. News items from previous launches may be found in our Archived News items (links above.)

The launch will be facilitated by other members of the PALCS Science Department and members of the New Jersey Battleship Ham Radio Club (NJ2BB). The NJ Battleship Ham Radio operators will also be primarily responsible for tracking the balloon payload on it's journey to near space and then back down to Earth.

Currently enrolled PALCS families tune in to this course on launch day to view real-time tracking data and updates on the launch and recovery of the payload.

Update, 6/10: After a successful launch at 11:07 am on 6/9 and about two hours of tracking, the PALCS near-space balloon signal was lost. However, almost a full day later, on the morning of 6/10, the signal reappeared near Kleinfeltersville. The balloon will be retrieved on 6/11.

In addition to students receiving PALCS-sponsored scholarships (list to be publicized after graduation on 6/14,) we are proud to present students who have received additional scholarships.

Robert Walls, PALCS 11th grader, was selected by the New Enterprise Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. to attend a one week expense paid trip this June to Washington, D.C. for the NRECA Youth Tour. Congratulations, Robert!

Congratulations to the 2008 National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society inductees!

National Honor Society	National Junior Honor Society
Jesse Alward	Jameson Achuff
Magdolna Balogh	Liana Blankenbiller
Joshua Barber	Vivian Dutton
Shanna Pelkey-Williams	Colleen Kolb
Catherine Natter	Alexis McCreary
Max Onufer	Jessica Minor
Andrew Pitts	Jasmine Pitts
Sarah Rodden	Kathleen Sicinski
Porsche Steele	Cecilia Sweeney
	Rebecca Torre

The student inducted this year worked hard to prove that they not only have what it takes to succeed academically, but that they also possess extraordinary character, service, leadership and citizenship skills. Kudos to these amazing students!

PALCS 4th grader, Nicole Ehinger, has landed the lead role in a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) short film called “Tara.” Nicole previously appeared in several television commercials, and this will be her first starring role in a movie. Though details are not yet released, the movie should begin filming in June in Asheville, North Carolina. Congratulations, Nicole!

Several PALCS students studying French just returned from a ten-day immersive language trip to Quebec, Canada. From May 17 - 27, students stayed with French homestay families, visited historical landmarks, and spoke and learned a lot of French! The trip blog can be viewed here!

Congratulations to Alexander Koren, an 11th grade University Scholars student! Alexander was accepted into the PA Governor's School for Information, Society and Technology as well as the PA Governor's School for Teaching.

Citadel Heart of Learning Award Given to PALCS Teacher

Erin Keefe, PALCS high school English teacher, was awarded the Citadel Heart of Learning Award during a special faculty and staff meeting today the PA Leadership Charter School's West Chester Office. The award honors Erin's contribution to students, families, and the community. Erin was nominated by students and staff. She is being recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of her students.

Erin will be recognized, along with 15 other Citadel Heart of Learning Award finalists at a special awards banquet held in a few weeks. To learn more about this award, click here.

Congratulations Erin!

Alexandria Kennedy, PALCS ninth grader, was named Region 7 Regional Floor Champion for her gymnastics floor exercise during a competition held last weekend in Allentown. Alexandria competed against girls from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey.

The PALCS University Scholars program is holding two informational sessions about the upcoming 2008-2009 School Year:

Information about the program, specifically how it works, the curriculum, and application procedures are provided. Members of the program's administration will be available to answer any questions. Prospective students are welcome to attend!

Throughout the spring and summer, PALCS will host informational meetings across the state. We welcome you to attend one and find out about us! Informational meetings last approximately one hour.

Reservation is not required, but you may contact one of our offices for more information:
West Chester (Eastern PA) Office: 610-701-3333
Pittsburgh (Western PA) Office: 724-274-2978

PALCS would like to congratulate the following students for making a difference in their lives and in the lives of others:

Hope Cornelius, senior, is one of twenty winners of the Future Achievers College Scholarship from the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Read the article.

Miya Gossett, freshman, made news for her PALCS Leaders in Action project, a water purification undertaking called Pure Water for Panama. Miss Gossett raised $4,600 and would like to set up a trust fund to ensure that the water purifier is maintained. Read the article.

Catherine Natter, sophomore, organized a group of walkers to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and raised almost $2000. View the video (Windows Media Player movie.)

Our 2006 and 2007 PALCS Proms were smashing successes – view photos from the proms here: 2006 or 2007.

Now for PALCS Prom 2008, we’re introducing TWO proms – one for Eastern PA and one for Western PA!

The proms will take place in May and be for students in 11th and 12th grade, able to bring guests from grade 9 to age 21.

Five deserving PALCS seniors will receive our CEO Scholarship in June, with the Platinum Award winner receiving $2000. The five CEO Scholarships together will total $4000. Click here to see the scholarship criteria.

Following in the footsteps of the West Chester Open House, Pittsburgh had a great turnout for the Western Office Open House on Tuesday, January 15. The theme of “Around the World” showcased fun, creative and educational activities from fourteen countries and allowed families to meet with almost three dozen PALCS staff members.

PALCS students in grades 4-12 and their families are invited to come on an exciting trip to Greece for spring break, March 17 – 24. Click here to read about the adventure!

In addition to easy phone access to your teachers at 1-877-PALCS-TLC, PA Leadership will offer evening and weekend Homework Help beginning Monday, December 17.

Students at every level can drop into our Homework Help rooms from 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays and from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. Rooms will be available for Elementary Help, Middle School Help, High School Help and 7-12 Math Help.

Our PALCS Open House in West Chester was held on Monday, December 10 from 9 am to 3 pm. Dozens of activities were held in the six-hour event – games, crafts, meet & greets and tours kept the Eastern PA office hopping! A complete list of the day’s activities can be found here.

PALCS is pleased to honor our students who have made significant academic achievement in the 1st Marking Period. Our Honor Roll identifies three categories of students - Distinguished (all As), Honor (As and Bs) and Merit (As, Bs and no more than one C).

The faculty and staff of PALCS place a high value on parent participation and communication – so much that a committee was formed last spring to develop an official Parent Involvement Policy for PALCS.

Using a template provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, an official and very formal policy was written and adopted by the Parent Involvement Committee and the School Board. A summary of the policy can be found by clicking here. This summary version includes the main points of the formal version of the policy.

We are seeking several volunteers to participate on the Parent Involvement Committee for this school year. Please contact Steve Rockelman or Lynn Rodden if you are interested in participating.

Three PALCS students arrived in Shijiazhuang, China on October 5 to begin an in-depth study of Chinese language and culture. Rebecca Szymanski, Robert Walls and Nathaniel MacArthur are receiving intensive Mandarin Chinese language instruction for five hours a day, living with a Chinese family, and still maintaining their PALCS studies. They will return home on November 2. They are accompanied by Mr. Charles Goebel, PALCS chemistry teacher, and his wife Georgianna, along with Courtney Quinn. They are all having a wonderful experience!

Students in PALCS Radio Broadcasting class have compiled their first broadcast of the 2007-2008 School Year. Throughout the year, PALCS students will cover school news, Pennsylvania sports and weather, as well as updates on your favorite movies, music and TV shows. You can expect to hear some familiar voices from last year's broadcast team along with many new voices.

To access the latest broadcast, click here.

Students in the school will soon have an easy access button from the Moodle home page.

New broadcasts are produced every Wednesday and Friday, so be sure to check back or subscribe to our news feed at the above link!

Cyber Schools are once again under scrutiny and we need our families to help! The third House Education Committee hearing is taking place on September 19 at the State Museum of Pennsylvania on North 3rd Street in Harrisburg.

We have experienced excellent turnout at prior anti-cyber school legislation meetings and we hope to show the same dedication this time! The auditorium at the State Museum holds around 500 people, and we would love to fill every seat with a cyber school family!

The committee members and the media need to witness, again, our commitment our schools and how much they mean to our children.

The hearing is scheduled from noon to 5 p.m. Please click on this link for directions and general information. Street parking and public parking garages are available in the immediate vicinity.

In order to best meet the needs of our students, enrollment is closing for seniors effective today, September 10. All pending students will continue to be processed; however, any missing paperwork must be on file by Friday, September 21 to be eligible for enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year.

Welcome to the new palcs.org! We have introduced an entirely new layout to our public website along with a new portal platform, which students will get to see on September 5, the first day of school. Please take a look around - we hope you enjoy!

PALCS would like to invite you to one of our informational meetings this summer! Click here for the location, date and time of a meeting near you!

PALCS will receive PSSA testing results in late August - results will be mailed to families after September 7th.

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