During the Nov. 19 Catasauqua Communities That Care meeting, Lois Reed, Catasauqua Community Cares Program coordinator, mentioned they were on track for the Thanksgiving holiday food distribution. About 50 families were scheduled to pick up holiday foods such as turkeys and food items for breakfasts and lunches during the break. She noted they received donations of turkeys and other holiday ingredients from a local day care, and the district staff were a big help in donating.

The food distribution for the winter holiday break is set for the Saturday before Christmas — Dec. 20. This year’s winter holiday distribution will have a new feature this year.

Thanks to Julie Miller, of Clean, Organize, Repeat, the event will include a Santa shop for the families taking part in the C3P distribution, starting 10 a.m. at Catasauqua Middle School, 850 Pine St. Students in grades K-8 will be able to pick out two or three items to give to members of their family.

Miller noted the distribution will also include toiletry bags and detergent for families, thanks to her clients and donations from a local laundry.

Reed reported the recent coat distribution was a success. She noted they gave away about 106 coats, with the majority of coats going to youth in grades K-6. She said many of the older students and family members said they still have the coats they received in previous years from the annual distribution. There are extras the schools can distribute individually as needed.

Additionally, Reed said they had a great turnout during the recent women’s clothing distribution. There are plans to possibly hold another one in early 2026.

Amy Dymond-Jones, CMS counselor and CTC coordinator, reported they are still working on scheduling vaping presentations at the middle school. She noted they are usually done by the Center for Humanistic Change.

This prompted some discussions about vaping in the district. Dymond-Jones and Tara Roseman, Catasauqua High School counselor, briefly talked about trends they see and the vaping detectors in the bathrooms.

One of the CTC members asked the counselors if they are seeing any issues with edibles or THC gummies. It was noted these are not a big issue in the district. Discussions continued about the problematic marketing for some of these products, which can make it hard to tell the difference between regular candy and THC candies. Additionally, it was reported there are some backpack brands, which specialize in having extra compartments to hide things.

There were discussions about introducing discussions about drug trends at an earlier age. It was noted “they are going to learn it from somewhere,” so it might as well be an educated look from the school.

There was repeated interest in having a certified recovery specialist to come and talk with the students. It was noted February might be a good time for this program.

Dymond-Jones reported the students took the Pennsylvania Youth Survey in early November. The data should be compiled and ready for review in spring or summer of 2026.

An update was provided on the Big Brother Big Sister program coming to the district. Potential Bigs are filling out applications, and Littles are being identified in the fifth and sixth grades. It is expected they will start meeting in February.

Pastor Brian Riedy, of Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, reported they found a community partner to help fund the program. To help alleviate pressure on the district, the churches in Catasauqua, led by Riedy, funded the program at least for its first year.

Riedy noted Catasauqua Community Thrift Shop has agreed to help support the program. Shop organizers are proud to help support youth and adult programs and services.

Dymond-Jones reported the school’s new social emotional learning screening tool, Panorama, is getting finalized and should be ready for the students in January.

“I’m looking forward to that,” she said.

It was reported a healthy living expo would feature about 13 organizations and eight schools. This was held Nov. 20 at CHS. Participating groups had a small activity and a snack. Dymond-Jones said the CMS SAVE Promise Club members led people through breathing and grounding techniques and provided apples and clementines.

Donna Tercha, district nurse, reported the district received a Highmark grant for a new otoacoustic emissions audiometer. This new device will allow them to check the hearing of all students without needing them to respond to the stimuli. Tercha noted this is great for the younger or nonverbal students who may struggle with needing to respond.

She also noted they have relationships to help provide vision referrals and mobile dentist visits for students in need.

One of the coalition’s newest focuses is on increasing parent involvement. There were discussions about what the barriers are keeping parents from attending school events. Some concerns included busy schedules, transportation and childcare.

Possible solutions could be providing care and activities for children, offering virtual or recorded options and “piggybacking” off other events to “meet the parents where they are.”

Dymond-Jones also reported they are starting a Coffee With Counselors event at the middle school to help engage parents in a fun and informal environment.

Dymond-Jones said she is interested and focused in also supporting the staff who go above and beyond for the students. They serve as the caretakers of the students all day and often use their spare time to help students. She asked the coalition to consider ways to support and show appreciation for the staff. Staff spotlights and shout-outs were among the suggestions.

The next Catasauqua CTC meeting is set for 7:45 a.m. Dec. 17 in the district administration board room, 201 N. 14th St.