News & Events

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Closure & Continuity of Education Notification Updates

Posted on March 12, 2020 by webadmin

Posted May 27, 2020

Good Morning EASTERN Parents, Students, and Community Members,

I hope this email finds you well and persevering through a challenging global situation.  I want to update you on our efforts to close out the school year and plan for 2020-2021.

Awards Night:  Tonight we will publish our first Virtual EASTERN Awards Night.  The slide show will be available at 7:00 tonight here on our website.  The link will be highly visible here on the home page of our website.  Having a set time for publishing this show will allow our EASTERN Community to come together, knowing we are all watching these amazing students get recognized at the same time.  We realize nothing can replace the joy of seeing your child walk onto the stage to receive an award, but our Awards Committee has done an outstanding job of putting together the slide show presentation.  This event recognizes many students and awards given out at this event exceed $40,000, thanks to the generous donations to our EASTERN Education Foundation.  Parents of students being recognized for an award were notified last week.  All are welcome to watch and celebrate the accomplishments of our students.

Lockers and Personal Items:  You should have already received an email notifying you that we will be bagging and tagging locker items for students to pick up June 1, 2, and 3.  A schedule has been sent out so we can stagger arrivals.  Another email will go out this week with more information.  Teachers have also notified students regarding dates and times.  Please touch base with your child(ren) to ensure they are aware of the time and date.

Renovations: We took advantage of the school closure to start our renovations early so there would be no disruption to the challenge of opening in September.  When students return next year, they will arrive in a building with a new roof, new hallway and lobby floors, and a new and state-of-the-art Robotics and Automated Technology program.

For those students graduating, we wish you the best of luck as you continue to pursue your career goals.  We hope you will come back to visit and keep in touch with our staff.

For those students returning next year, we will be using guidelines that will be provided by the Governor’s office and the Center for Disease Control to develop plans to safely re-open our school next year for staff and students.  We currently do not know what that will look like, but we will be working diligently over the summer to develop and implement a plan in coordination with our participating districts.  We will keep you posted as the plan develops.

Thank you for your continued support during these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Cathleen E. Plesnarski, Ed.D.
Executive Director
Eastern Center for Arts and Technology

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EASTERN Recognized 140 Students at May Awards Ceremony

Posted on June 4, 2020 by webadmin

On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, EASTERN held its annual Awards Night, virtually on their website at 7p.m. This year, 140 students were recognized with more than $40,000 awarded for academic and technical achievement. EASTERN is grateful to the EASTERN Foundation for their fundraising efforts, and to all award sponsors, contributors, advisory committee members, and local businesses for helping EASTERN honor its outstanding students during this unprecedented time.

“We know that the virtual presentation can’t replace the joy of being recognized publicly and in person for student achievements,” said Dr. Cathleen Plesnarski, EASTERN’s Executive Director. “We wanted our students to feel appreciated and know just how outstanding they are. They did well while in the classrooms at EASTERN and pushed through to make the best of an unusual and sometimes scary situation while learning from home. They kept up with their assignments and finished strong. Thank you to all EASTERN students for your determination.”

Student awards are provided by the EASTERN Foundation, and supported by businesses, various community organizations, and individual donors. The purpose of EASTERN’s Foundation is to recognize EASTERN student achievement and success by assisting both students whose goal is post-secondary education and students who intend to start a rewarding career. Our business and industry partners inspired this effort and continue to support it extensively.

If you are interested in making a financial contribution to the EASTERN Foundation to support student awards, checks can be made payable to the “EASTERN Foundation” and mailed to EASTERN at 3075 Terwood Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090. The EASTERN Foundation now has an online contribution link https://www.eastech.org/foundation/donate.

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Student Spotlight: Brianna Eisenmann, Commercial Art

Posted on June 4, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) Commercial Art student, Brianna Eisenmann, graduated from Hatboro-Horsham High School last week. She has been awarded the Trustee’s Award for Excellence in Art to University of the Arts. She contributes this award to her outstanding review at National Portfolio Day. She plans to major in Photography.

Brianna had an early interest in photography, and she visited EASTERN’s Open House while she was a sophomore at Hatboro-Horsham High School. Once enrolled in the Commercial Art program, her favorite aspects were photography and illustration. She became active in EASTERN’s student leadership organization, SkillsUSA, and was selected as class representative for this school year. She was also selected by her instructor as the student representative for the Commercial Art Occupational Advisory Committee, where her thoughts and opinions on instruction, software, and tools were taken into consideration. Last summer, she was selected to assist in teaching the middle school students during EASTERN’s Summer Fun Computer Art and Digital Photography class.

“I enjoyed the fact that Mrs. Mohrey, EASTERN’s Commercial Art Instructor, and Mrs. Simmler-Totaro, EASTERN’s Commercial Art Instructional Aide, put a lot of thought into the activities to make it fun for us,” said Brianna. “Commercial Art touched on all aspects of the field including photography, illustration, and graphic design. The instructors prepared me for portfolio review, resume writing, and actually helped me to become more vocal and interactive with others in this field. They helped me to challenge myself and my abilities.”

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Student Spotlight: Karis Hudson, Veterinary Science

Posted on June 4, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) Veterinary Science student, Karis Hudson, graduated from Hatboro-Horsham High School last week. Although an excellent student in the Veterinary Science program, Karis unexpectedly found another career path in which she is choosing to follow. In the fall, she plans to attend Pennsylvania College of Technology to pursue a degree in welding.

Karis initially chose Veterinary Science because of her passion for animals. She quickly found that she excelled in the hands-on portion of the class. She also had a passion for cars and building, and during her senior year, she began to explore more of those options.

On May 15, Karis represented EASTERN at the Teen Town Hall with Congresswoman Dean and state legislators via Zoom regarding the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education. She shared her thoughts on budget cuts and how they could affect Career and Technical Centers such as EASTERN. She noted that EASTERN maintains training equipment used in industry that can be very expensive, and she feared that this may be impacted by budget cuts.

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EASTERN Receives Training-to-Career Grant

Posted on June 1, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) was awarded a Manufacturing PA – Training to Career Grant of $200,000 to assist with planning and implementing the new Robotics and Automated Technology Program. The grant will assist with equipment expenses, teacher salary, marketing, and curriculum development.

The application for this grant was strengthened by the financial commitment of EASTERN’s Joint Operating Committee which approved the renovations and new equipment necessary to implement this program. EASTERN also had support from regional employers, such as Demco Automation, M&S Centerless Grinding, and Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center. In addition, Senator Maria Collett and Representative Tom Murt wrote letters of support.

In the Robotics and Automated Technology program, students will learn to design and build robotic devices and diagnose and repair state-of-the-art automated equipment. Students will perform activities and obtain knowledge in areas such as electronics, robotics, mechanical systems, fluid power systems, programmable logic controllers, and control systems. Building renovations to accommodate the program are now underway.

“We are so pleased to be chosen for this grant,” said Dr. Cathleen Plesnarski, EASTERN’s Executive Director. “Our new Robotics and Automated Technology program will offer training in amazing hightech career fields for our students. It is important for us to offer our students a wide range of career and technical programs, and we were looking for something in engineering that included both electrical and mechanical systems. This is the ideal fit.”

Manufacturing PA is part of Governor Wolf’s Jobs that Pay initiative, which supports Pennsylvania’s manufacturing community by offering targeted programs and services through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and its strategic partners. Training-to-Career Grants are be offered to support the implementation of new and innovative training programs (including curriculum development, skill certification, and/or course completion) to increase the skill level of entry-level applicants to better meet the needs and fill the open positions of manufacturing companies.

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Commercial Art Program’s Family Portrait Project

Posted on May 20, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) Commercial Art students enlisted their family members on their latest distance learning project. The assignment was for students to take a family portrait that included everyone staying in their households during the pandemic. Important elements to this assignment included location, lighting, outfits, and most importantly, posing.

 

Students were required to document the steps that led up to a well-planned portrait, such as coordinating schedules, investigating a possible location in or around the home, and coordinating the style or props they used. The Commercial Art Instructor, Nicole Mohrey, encouraged students and their families to do the best that they can considering the unusual circumstances.

“I am so pleased with the amazing response from our Commercial Art families,” said Nicole Mohrey, EASTERN Commercial Art Instructor. “This project definitely seems to have brought some joy and fun into their homes, and the results of the project have been amazing. There are so many outstanding portraits that these families will have to remember this usual time in history.”

EASTERN’s Commercial Art program covers everything from conceptual drawing and design to a professional portfolio. Students learn the value and application of their unique styles in both design and illustration and how to use industry-standard software on the Macintosh platform. Core software includes Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. Upon completion of the program, students will have a portfolio consisting of items for entry into their postsecondary school of choice as well as National Portfolio Day.

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COA Student Receives PA College of Art and Design Scholarship

Posted on May 12, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) is proud to announce that Commercial Art/Calvary Christian High School senior, Jenna Cervone, has received a partial scholarship to Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCAD) in Lancaster, PA. After she completes the foundation year at PCAD, which gives her the opportunity to sharpen her skills and confirm her major choice, Jenna plans to major in Graphic
Design.

Jenna was first introduced to EASTERN through her older sister, Julia, who graduated from Cosmetology in 2016. Julia always spoke to Jenna about how much fun she had and how much she learned at EASTERN. Jenna decided to take a tour of EASTERN when she was in ninth grade and chose the Commercial Art program for her 11th and 12th grade years.

Jenna recalls loving to take photos and videos of her family from a very young age. A lot of the photo albums in her home are filled with pictures taken by Jenna. Her parents purchased her a camera of her own when she was 12 years old, and she has not stopped since.

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EASTERN Student accepted Colorado State U Leadership Program

Posted on May 12, 2020 by webadmin

Eastern Center for Arts and Technology (EASTERN) is proud to announce that Veterinary Science/Upper Moreland High School senior, Isabella Fenerty, has been accepted into Colorado State University’s President’s Leadership Program. She has chosen Colorado State University and will major in Animal Science Biology following their Pre-Vet program. She will also pursue a double minor in Business Administration and President’s Leadership Program.

 

 

 

The President’s Leadership Program is a fourteen-credit leadership development experience consisting of three independent year-long (two semester) academic and experiential courses designed to explore the personal, organizational, and social dimensions of leadership through coursework, retreats, and service learning. The President’s Leadership Program is considered a minor that provides classes that will train
Isabella to become a better leader on campus and in the world.

From a young age, Isabella had a passion for animals and has always wanted to care for them. When she was a sophomore in high school, she learned more about the new Veterinary Science program available at EASTERN. She visited the program and decided to enroll for her junior and senior years of high school to get a head start on her education in the animal science field.

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