Ephrata Area School District -

It’s National Library Week! This year’s theme, “Find Your Joy,” celebrates the power of libraries to inspire curiosity, creativity, and a love of learning.

We’re proud of our Ephrata Area School District learners and educators who make our libraries vibrant spaces for discovery every day. Thank you for turning pages into possibilities and helping every student find their joy!

While we're talking chess, we're SO PROUD of our Mountaineers who recently participated in the IU13 Chess Tournament! Both our elementary (The Dark Knights) and middle school (The Knight Shift) teams demonstrated commendable sportsmanship! Congrats to The Dark Knights who placed third, Sheldon who was a “Board Winner” winning all of his matches, and Chase who received an Honorable Mention for his board performance!

Checkmate! ♟️This year, Fulton Elementary launched a new chess club, and students are all in! Meeting weekly, they’re growing their love for the game while building important #EASDLifeReady skills.

Akron Elementary students who filled their “Mounts Card” by making positive choices earned a special visit from Cliff! They celebrated with fun activities, including a dance party. Congratulations to these Mountaineers on their well-earned reward!

Applauding the EHS students who attended the FBLA State Leadership Conference in Hershey... They learned a lot and were inspired by a personalized pep talk from Sheila Jones, CEO of Whicked Results, who encouraged students to embrace growth, resilience, and new opportunities. Her message left students motivated, confident, and better prepared for their next steps as future business leaders.

We are proud to have a group of students join Dr. Dietz and over 100 educators and advocates at the PA Capitol to raise awareness on a variety of needs to combat the state’s teacher shortage. Their message: Supporting future teachers is critical to equity, workforce stability, and student success. Well done, Mountaineers!

Another Reading Olympics in the books!
• 42 students
• 7 teams
• 56 competition questions
• 159 total books finished
• 161 days preparing and practicing
• 33,947 pages read

After three playoff rounds, here are the results:
First Place – The Last Chapter (EIS) – 27 points (Tie-Breaker Win)
Second Place – The Reading Renegades (HES) – 25 points
Third Place – The Title Titans (AES) – 23 points

Congrats to these deserving Mountaineers and thanks to all who support their love of reading!

Thank you to our generous community and Giant for "rounding up at the register" to help ensure all students are well fed and ready to learn!

Great news! Our Ephrata Middle School production team in the "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?" contest received the Storyteller Award this year for their video featuring High Concrete. Well done, Mountaineers!

If you think their hands are full, you should see their hearts! 💜💛 Thank you to our team of paraprofessionals for the meaningful work they do to support our students and staff.

This year was a first, but definitely not the last! Mountaineers in our autistic support classes held their own science fairs, complete with presentations and live experiments for classmates throughout the school. Students did an incredible job, leaving everyone impressed by their creativity, confidence, and enthusiasm.

EASD will be attending the annual Millersville University Teacher Recruitment Day on Tuesday! We’re excited to connect with future educators and share opportunities to make a difference in our schools. Stop by and meet our HR team. We look forward to seeing you there!

During Senator Malone’s visit to EASD today, he experienced firsthand the dynamic learning taking place across our schools. At EHS, he observed an Honors U.S. History Socratic Seminar, engaged in thoughtful discussion with prospective educators in our Honors Foundations of Teaching class, and learned how students are developing real-world skills through Mounts Tech Support—including earning drone certifications. The visit concluded at Clay Elementary School, where he saw the Coding Contest in action and celebrated our students’ innovation and problem-solving skills.

Kindergarten students are exploring life long ago and how it has changed over time. They studied historic artwork like The Crossing of the Delaware and recreated the scene with a classroom “tableau.” Students also learned the song You’re a Grand Old Flag while discovering important flag rules, including never to let it touch the ground and folding it properly with the stars on top. A special thank you to Mrs. McEllhenney for demonstrating how to respectfully lower and fold the outdoor school flag!

The PIAA State Wrestling Championships kick off today at the Giant Center, and we’re wishing Brody Musser and Dustin Hoover THE BEST as they hit the mats to compete against the top wrestlers in Pennsylvania. They’ve put in the work to earn their spot on this stage, now it’s time to shine! GO MOUNTS!

Join us tomorrow night to celebrate the amazing work of many talented Mountaineers who will have their work on display.

A group of EHS students had an amazing day at the annual Fulton Theatre technical workshop, ArtsTech! They joined students from across the region to tour and explore a wide range of careers in technical theatre. It was an incredibly informative and fun experience for everyone involved! We’re so grateful to the theatre’s education team, presenters, designers, crew members, and generous sponsors for sharing their time and expertise to inspire the next generation of theatre professionals!

The annual student vs. staff Bocce Bowl took place yesterday. This tradition is a favorite for all who are involved! Great job, Mountaineers!

Our Mountaineers had a strong showing at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Fair over the weekend! The following first place winners are now moving on to the state level of competition at Penn State University in May:
Claire Altemos
Kaelyn Bronson
Emily Comerford
Anthony Froggatt
Kiera Navarich
Tetyana Nebelyuk
Anna Weidman
Zoe Keller
GO MOUNTS!