(From L to R: Jennifer Pennebacker, Class of 2026 Guidance Counselor, Jennifer Pennebacker, Class of 2026 Guidance Counselor, Alin Grate, Daniel Kim, Ananya Bhatt, Lexi Steen, Ethan Luginbuhl, PHS Seniors, Tim Keddie, PHS Principal, and Hilary Czaplicki, PHS Assistant Principal for the Class of 2026) (Courtesy of David Thomas)
The Pennridge School Board Monday, September 29 recognized 11 students who have been named semifinalists and commended students in the National Merit Scholarship program.
“We’re still checking it out. But according to our records, this is the largest class of individuals being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Society this year,” said high school principal Tim Keddie. “So that’s something we’re really proud of at the high school.”
The semi-finalists are seniors Ananya Bhatt, Alin Grate, Daniel Kim, Ethan Luginbuhl and Lexi Steen, while the commended students are Clare Ahn, Surabhi Gupta, Ethan Kwon, Sophia Ogden, Tyler Streuber and Tanush Vekaria. The designations are based on the students’ PSAT scores, with the semi-finalists scoring in the top 1% of U.S. high school seniors and the commended students scoring in the top 3%.
Since the 2022-2023 school year, Pennridge has consistently had five students recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Contest as “commended” or “semi-finalists,” an achievement not seen since the 2010-2011 school year, said the district.
New logo
Communications Director David Thomas discussed the district’s new logo: a diagonally-split P in Pennridge green and ivory colors. Thomas said that the logo is aimed at unifying the school district and athletic department. He also informed board members of an ongoing Pennridge apparel sale, featuring a variety of tops with the new logo. $2 of every purchase will benefit Rampacks, a non-profit organization that provides weekend meals to food insecure children.
Thomas additionally announced some upcoming changes to the new district website following community feedback, such as a single student programs and services page, readily-available links to the student registration process and school boundary maps and a school newsletters page.
The new Pennridge School District logo. (Courtesy of the Pennridge School District)Upcoming events
The board highlighted some upcoming events, including an open house at the Upper Bucks County Technical School on October 9 from 6 to 8 p.m., Homecoming and the Pennridge High School Pink Out football game on October 17 and the Mini-THON main fundraiser on March 28, benefiting victims of pediatric cancer and their families.
The next Pennridge School Board meeting is October 27 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit pennridge.org.
