Through the ending of autumn and the coming of a warm winter, Lehigh Valley Academy has been busy.

Dec. 2 was Financial Aid Night for 12th grade, featuring the Associate Director of Financial Aid of Moravian College Melissa LaBrie, explaining FAFSA and the financial aid process. The next day, visitors from The Art Institutes came to present their programs in visual arts, media arts, fashion and culinary arts to senior high students seeking careers in those fields.

On Dec. 8, the fourth to sixth-grade choirs performed their holiday programs. The following day, the seventh to 12th-grade jazz band, choirs and concert bands demonstrated their craft in Cedar Crest College’s Alumnae Auditorium.

Throughout the beginning of the month, senior high students took on their Keystone Exams and had a well-deserved extended weekend for parent-teacher conferences Dec. 10 and 11 with a half day on Thursday and a full day off on Friday.

On Dec. 16 and 18, Lehigh Valley Academy celebrated its traditional brunches to note those who earned honor roll and distinguished honor roll. Also on Dec. 18 was LVA Family Movie Night, where students and their parents donated winter wear to send to a shelter and watched “Home Alone” and “Rise of the Guardians.” On Dec. 21, LVA’s Step Eternity step team performed at the Bethlehem Boys and Girls club’s holiday party.

In the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme, students must earn 150 CAS hours, where CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service. This requirement can be met through types of activities, but many students prefer helping others in the community. LVA senior Megan Konrath held a gift drive for Lehigh Valley Hospital Muhlenberg’s Pediatric Oncology clinic, using the day off on Dec. 11 to visit the clinic with a group of other seniors and distribute the gifts. Another DP student, junior Sierra Austin, organized a coat drive for American Family Services from Dec. 14 to 23.

Through the end of the month and into the new year, seniors finished off their college applications and hunkered down to work on their 4,000 word Extended Essays and other DP assessments. Some of these will be sent to the International Baccalaureate Organization, along with the exams that will be administered in May.

In the nearer future, the 10th grade PE field trip to a local CrossFit gym will be on the Jan. 12. The first Ski Club trip to Blue Mountain of the season will occur Jan. 14, with trips scheduled for the next five Thursdays after that.

Jan. 15 marks the end of the second marking period for the high school.