Morgantown/Honey Brook townlively.com
FEBRUARY 14, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXII • NO 2
TVHS to host Jazz in the Valley BY FRANCINE FULTON
The community is invited to enjoy an evening of jazz as the Music Boosters of Twin Valley in conjunction with band director Robert Bennett host Jazz in the Valley, a jazz band festival, on Friday, Feb. 16, beginning at 6 p.m. at Twin Valley High School (TVHS). In addition to the music, attendees will have an opportunity to purchase dinner and there will be a chance to win prizes. TVHS merchandise will also be for sale.
Jazz in the Valley will feature a competition between eight groups. In addition to the host band, other local high schools that will participate are Radnor, Upper Darby, Hempfield and Wilson high schools along with Pottsgrove High School, which will send two jazz bands to the event. Also participating will be Cherry Hill East High school from Cherry Hill, N.J. According to Cheryl Skoniczin, president of the Music Boosters of Twin Valley, jazz bands are groups of students who perform music in a big band style. Unlike See Jazz in the Valley pg 4
Members of the Kardia Robotics team
Local robotics team advances to state competition BY FRANCINE FULTON
on the computer using computer aided design (CAD) software. Then they will usually fabricate the robot components out of plastic using 3D printers,” he explained. “These initial prototypes help them test and interact with the parts, so they can make sure it’s exactly the way they want it.” He noted that if the team members decide they want to modify the part, they will go back to the computer and modify it in the CAD program, then repeat the prototyping process until the part is exactly the way they want it. “Once they have decided on their final design, they will 3D print it again,” Tim noted. Certain elements of the robots from previous years may be used to construct the new one. “During the design process, we look at what has worked in previous years. There are certain elements of the game that are recycled.
The Twin Valley High School jazz band
Plans underway for Birdsboro Farmers Market BY FRANCINE FULTON
Even though it is wintertime, plans are already underway for the Birdsboro Farmers Market, which will be open for its fourth season beginning on Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year, the outdoor market, which is presented by the Birdsboro Parks and Recreation Department, will be held on the third Saturday of the month from May through October at Main Bird Park, located at 226 N. Water St., Birdsboro.
See Robotics team pg 4 waterproof
Vendors are encouraged to begin the registration process by completing an application at www.facebook.com/Birdsboro FarmersMarket. Local farmers selling produce, as well as crafters and artisans, are invited to take part. “(Items for sale) must be locally sourced. (For example), we have a honey vendor. He is a beekeeper and produces his own honey,” explained board president Christen Thompson. “When it comes to crafts, it has to be handmade and produced by (the vendor). They must produce See Farmers market pg 2
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ombining their creativity and knowledge of computer programming, design and construction, members of the Berks County -based K ardia Robotics team recently qualified to complete at the state FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) championship event to be held in March at Saucon Valley Middle School in Hellertown. To advance to states, the team competed at the FTC state qualifier held in January at McCaskey East High School in Lancaster. Kardia Robotics is composed o f middle and hig h s cho ol students who are part of the Kardia Learning Center, a Christian homeschool group. As part of the competition, FTC teams design, build and operate a robot that is created to complete a specific task. Each year’s competition task is
different. Past tasks have included having the robot use a claw to stack objects. This year, the game revolves around pixels, which are small, hexagonal-shaped game pieces that come in various colors. “They release the game around September every year, and competitions start in December,” noted 11th-grader Brandon Tam, one of the lead robot designers. “The name of this year’s competition is Centerstage. Basically, the game revolves around stacking game elements called pixels on a vertical board. You are trying to make patterns and you get points for them depending on the colors of the pixels.” Tim Tam, one of the team coaches, explained that Brandon and other members of the design team creatively come up with robot design concepts to compete in the game. “They usually start with designing the robot components