Penn Points Staff

As Last Harry Potter Movie Approaches, Excitement Grows

There’s a feeling in the air, and it’s not Halloween spirit.

It’s Harry Potter.

“I’m so excited!” said Carolyn Zimmerman, of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Nov. 19 movie release date.

harry potter book 2 — The Harry Potter series spans seven books.

First released in 1997, the Harry Potter book series has since skyrocketed across seven books and dozens of languages, becoming one of the world’s most popular book series.

The author, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, has gone from a single mother on welfare to the first author in history to make a billion dollars. The series has captivated millions and now is coming to its final end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in the summer of 2007, ending the journey of the boy wizard and the magical school.

Now the release date of the second to last movie approaches, and Penn Manor’s fans of the series are making their plans to pay homage to their favorite characters.

“Harry Potter has a way of sucking you into the books. It almost feels as if you can relate to the characters to some point, and most kids have grown up with the books. I think the books will be around for awhile, I just can’t see them becoming unpopular anytime soon,” said sophomore Cate Shipley.

And it hasn’t since Deathly Hallows was released. Even though the books are over, the fans still take Harry’s journey with them.

First, there’s the Youtube sensation A Very Potter Musical, which as of October 28 had 2,754,300 views. A Very Potter Musical, or AVPM, first appeared on July 5, 2009, and since then has gained a remarkable following in the Harry Potter fandom. It spans two acts, and follows Harry Potter (Darren Criss) as he tries to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort (played by Joe Walker) with some hilarious lines and dangerously catchy tunes in between. It was so popular that the cast (mostly made up of students) found the need to make the follow up to their hit – A Very Potter Sequel. The link to the first act of AVPM can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

“AVPM/AVPS is something that anyone can find hilarious even if they are not a big Harry Potter fan. It has humor for everyone and it’s impossible not to like it,” said Zimmerman.

Darren Criss, who plays Harry Potter in the AVPM and AVPS musicals, also will be making an appearance in the show Glee in November.

AVPM isn’t the only outlet fans have had to express their love of Harry Potter. According to the Harrypotterfanfiction.com, they have a library of over 65,000 individual stories and receive over 30 million hits every month.

HP has even crossed the gap into music. Wizard Rock, or Wrock, is a genre full of bands whose songs are only Harry Potter-related. The first band known to have songs with lyrics that reference Harry Potter is Switchblade Kittens, who has a song entitled “Ode to Harry.”

But the band usually credited with being the “first” Wrock band are Harry and the Potters, the most well known and probably most successful Wrockers.

Other bands include The Whomping Willow, Tonks and the Aurors, The Draco Malfoys, The Mollywobbles, Remus and the Lupins and the Severus Snaped.

The second to last of the Potter movies- and the beginning of the end for the official merchandise and the wait for movies- is titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It will be released into theaters Nov. 19, 2010. Part 2 will come out July 15, 2011 – during summer vacation.

The two movies are being split – for those fans who are in the know – after Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive at Shell Cottage.

Harry Potter has impacted the lives of millions of children, and has been lauded as the series that has helped child literacy come back into focus.

The author of the series, J.K. Rowling, had published two books earlier in the series: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages, both of which had the proceeds go to the nonprofit Comic Relief. After the seventh book was released, she also hand wrote seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and sold one of them at auction. The final selling price was $3.98 million, and all of it went to The Children’s Voice charity campaign.

Along with the numerous charities that Harry Potter books have benefited, they also have impacted the lives of some of Penn Manor’s students.

“When you read Harry Potter, it takes you somewhere new and gives you a break from reality,” said sophomore Kael Miller. “I love reading in general but Harry Potter just takes it a step farther. It becomes an obsession. I find myself quoting Harry Potter all the time, for various subjects. Harry Potter will always be part of my childhood that I remember.”

735265_platform_9_and_34 — Some of Penn Manor's students can't wait to see the next movie.

“Harry potter is so fascinating because it takes you out of your world and into another for a brief time,” added Sarah Whyler. “It’s also so easy to imagine a picture while you’re reading, which I love about the books.”

“It is what made me fall in love with fantasy books. My group of friends is obsessed,” said Eleni Jones, “Its something you can read to get away from your world and sort of hop into another -where magic is real and anything can happen.”

It’s the beginning of the end of a journey, one that the fans have lived through as much as the Boy Who Lived himself.

by Gabrielle Bauman

Tis the Season For Flu and Flu Vaccines

Achoo!

The fall season is already here. As the leaves change and fall, it’s time for scarves, gloves and fears about the flu.

We hear the words, “the flu,” and think to ourselves that we won’t catch the illness, but that isn’t always true. Each year, schools see high rates of absences going into the fall and winter seasons. Last year, the swine flu hit Penn Manor students and teachers alike.

The flu or influenza can be deadly.

flu warning — Healthy advice is posted in the school nurse's office. Photo by Allana Herr

About 30,000 to 40,000 deaths occur each year in the United States due to flu, according to health officials and 300,000 to 500,000 deaths occur worldwide. The majority of flu-related deaths occur in people over the age of 65.

Many people are taking precautions this year and are getting vaccinated which is good advice, along with washing your hands and covering your cough.

“Definitely get the flu vaccine,” said senior Samantha McCrery. “I get it every year and so do my parents. It saves lives.”

While the flu vaccine is very important, being courteous to yourself and others is just as important.

“Wash your hands as often as you can and use the alcohol gels,” said Penn Manor High School nurse Anne Butterfield. “Stay away from sick people and cough into your elbow rather then your hand. Use plenty of tissues.

“It is best to get immunized,” Butterfield also explained. “The vaccine that is currently available covers you for H1N1 in addition to the other strains of flu. The vaccine is widely available.”

The previously free flu vaccine was offered to teachers this year for $10.

“You can get the vaccine almost anywhere. Most doctors offices offer it, as well as Weis, CVS, Walgreens, Target and Walmart,” McCrery explained. “Just look for the signs, they give out flu shots almost anywhere.”

Penn Manor Administrator, Eric Howe, is taking the illness seriously this year.

“I will definitely be getting the flu shot this year,” Howe said. “And students need to make sure that they are constantly washing their hands and covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze. I tell my kids the same thing at home.”

By Allana Herr

Messages of Support Continue in Girls’ Bathrooms

inspiring notes in bathroom — Inspiring notes are still being found in the girls' bathroom. Photo by Sarah Garner

“You are so beautiful,” “hey there beautiful… smile,” and “smile, you’re too pretty not to.”

Wouldn’t you like to wake up each morning having someone say these things to you?

Well, you can if you’re a girl at Penn Manor High School.

Lately, mornings at Penn Manor have been self-esteem boosters for some Penn Manor students.

Usually walking into the girls’ cafeteria bathroom consist of straightening your hair, doing your makeup or fixing your clothes. But lately, girls are getting a kick of confidence from positive messages and even flowers and candy left conspicuously by each sink.

“We feel appreciated because [the people doing it] know the girls go in this bathroom,” said freshman Aalyiah Glen-Cephas.

Notes first appeared in September and may have been part of a national effort to raise self esteem among girls.

Caitlin Boyle, a 26-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., is credited with starting “Operation Beautiful” that strives to help women stop the negative talk about themselves and other girls.

Boyle started her healthy lifestyle blog online in June 2009. She also started the posted-note trend which has spread to many public schools and bathrooms across the country and includes the walls of Penn Manor bathrooms.

Other notes in Penn Manor’s girls’ bathrooms read:“You are so much beautiful” and “God Loves You.”

Now, it looks like it’s being expanded from the last time these notes appeared because now there are flowers and candy rather than just notes on the mirror.

notes in bathroom — Juniors Maribel Dixon and Aaliyah Glenn-Cephas take time to appreciate the message left randomly in the girl's bathroom. Photo by Sarah Garner

The group of girls in the bathroom who found these items were at first confused because they were not sure what all the fuss was about, but then they were pleasantly surprised when they read the messages along with the gifts.

“It boosts up my self-esteem in the morning,” said junior Maribel Dixon

Some girls at Penn Manor are loving the excitement of not knowing what is next.

“It makes me feel precious because the note I found said so,” said freshman Michelle Keck.

“It makes me feel beautiful,” said freshman Stacie Millson.

The girls look forward to seeing these notes and now with additional candy and flowers they are even more excited.

They ask themselves, what will we find next?

By Sarah Garner

Veterans Day a Day to Celebrate and Remember

Officially there are 11 federal holidays celebrated in the United States: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Out of those 11 holidays, I would argue that only four of them are celebrated properly. Veterans Day is one that is not.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are around 23 million veterans in the United states and about 4o percent of them are 65 years or older. The number of veterans in the United States almost makes it impossible for every other person not to be related to one. Veterans Day is a day to celebrate warriors of all different kinds. Whether they served in World War II or the Iraq war, the holiday is in honor of them.

Although the war in which they served may have ended, the problems may have just begun. Vets face a numerous amount of health issues after leaving service whether the problems are physical, mental or both. There are scars of war that millions of vets deal with everyday.

Lost limbs, gunshot wounds, and head injuries are just some of the physical scars left by war that can be seen walking down the street. But some of the scars not visible to the naked eye are post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Not only are these hidden problems hard on the veteran, but their family and friends may suffer as well.

This holiday is not only important because we are celebrating their courage and bravery during the war but also because of their ongoing attributes after. The national Veterans Day ceremony, which is held every November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery, will start precisely at 11 a.m. But make no mistake, you don’t have to be there to celebrate. Here are some events happening here in PA:

Military Appreciation Monday Free “Thank You” dinner Nov. 15- Golden Corral, Bensalem
A tribute to veterans will be held 11 a.m. Thursday- Shappell Park, Main Street, Phillipsburg, PA
Veterans Day celebration will be held 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday- Lehigh County Senior Center, Allentown, PA
Commemorate Veterans Day at The National Constitution Center Thurs. Nov. 11- Philadelphia, PA
Veteran’s Day Commemoration at Valley Forge Thurs.- Valley Forge National Historical Park, King of Prussia

By Robert Henry

District Finals, Here We Come

Back-to-back hopes drive the Comets field hockey team.

Tuesday night the Comets took on the Hempfield Black Knights, for the third time, in the district semi-finals.

The Comets would complete a three game sweep of the Knights. Blasting them 6-0, 6-2, and 4-1. This time, it would put the Comets in the district finals.

PM Field Hockey 4 — Renee Suter moves the ball upfield during the game.

Comets’ Madelyn Hess and Emily McCoy added goals, while Renee Suter added two.

“The game was pretty exciting. We played sloppy in the first half, but controlled the second half,” said Hess, who added one of the four goals for the Comets.

“We calmed down and realized we could score and we broke them down,” said Matt Soto, head coach for the Comets.

The Comets will play Hershey, the winner of a huge upset against Lower Dauphin, Saturday at Milton Hershey at 2:30p.m.

Field hockey — The Comets stand hand in hand ready for the district semi final match.

“We need to stop their #1 goal scorer, and we have to score on them. They haven’t seen the type of scoring power we can do all year,” said Soto.

The Comets will look to win back-to-back district titles and continue their tradition of winning.

By Jessen Smith

Penn Manor Experiments With Science Fair Success

While some schools take as many as 150 students to the science fair, Penn Manor usually takes only 10 students.

Here students are now beginning to meet and plan their projects for Lancaster County’s annual science fair held in March at Franklin & Marshall College.

The difference in numbers may be because many schools demand their students participate in the science fair, while at Penn Manor it’s optional.

Surprisingly, Penn Manor has one of the highest percentage of winners at the science fair but without many students participating, it’s hard to get recognized.

“We have no common time in class. It would be nice to have an elective class where we could focus on the science fair,” said Penn Manor science teacher David Bender, who has coordinated and advised students in the science fair for five years.

Science Fair Advisor, David Bender. Photo by Kyle Hallett

This year Bender plans to present the school’s best projects, including Ben Clark’s much-anticipated astrophysics research.

“The worst part of doing this is just tracking down the kids, and having to get all of them together trying to get all of the information I need from them,” said Bender.

The science fair consists of roughly 50 schools, with 50-60 students per school, and only two students will go to the next level.

“We take most of the students’ projects to the fair, unless the project is very bad. If the project is that bad and the student is willing, I will sit down with them and help them improve their project and take it to the fair,” said Bender.

Some students like Ben Clark are working on projects with professors at some higher educational institutions. Also, Anthony Crognale is working on a project dealing with cancer.

If a student has completed a project and entered in the fair, they will get 1/4 of a credit. If the student participates in this all four years of their high school career, they will revive one extra credit. This credit can either be an AP or honors credit, depending on how well the project was put together.

The select group that will admit their projects into the science fair put as much time into their projects as they need. Some of the students tend to spend more time on theirs than some others. Their are assignments that need to be turned into Bender by a certain time though.

“The students seem to relax after the due date, and then when something is due soon they struggle with having to turn that part in. It’s like a roller-coaster going up and down,” said Bender.

The science department has to evaluate other school’s projects, as other schools will do the same for Penn Manor’s projects. They do it this way so there is no bias judgments on some students projects.

At the fair there are nearly 100 judges. The judges score the students on their projects with a rubric first. After they have gone around scoring with the rubric, they ask the students certain questions about the project. This is to clarify the student doesn’t have smart parents that will do their child’s project for them.

“My favorite part of doing this is just seeing how well the students did,” said Bender.

By Kyle Hallett and Dillon Walker

Education day at Penn Manor High School

Ready or not, here comes college.

Penn Manor High School had its annual Education Day yesterday, when many colleges came to the school gym and set up stands with lots of information about open houses, scholarships, majors, minors and applications.

There was also a College Night held at Conestoga Valley High School.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Information at one of the college stands. Photo by Sarah Garner

Many of the schools return each year to the annual event with vital information to help students choose colleges.

Gretchen Schwartz from The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design said, “I came for Education Day before.”

“West Chester is the school that I am very interested in,” senior Morgan Talbert said, “I visited the college and I also went to the table. There were many colleges here today that I’ve never heard of.”

Students were eligible to visit the event during their lunch and some teachers were allowing students to visit during their third block class.

“Education Day shows a variety of schools that you can choose to go to, Penn State is currently the college that I am most interested in,” junior Matt Duvall said.

Last night, there was a bigger education event which was held at Conestoga Valley High School.

Guidance Counselor Mrs. Long said the Conestoga Valley event would include three sessions.

Representatives of different colleges are looking to help students with any questions they may have and help them to choose the right college, Long said.

“Penn Manor is only offering 75-different colleges today, but at Conestoga Valley, 250-different colleges will be present,” Long said. “Any information about tonight’s event can be picked up in the guidance office. There are pamphlets that explain a lot of the details and the different seminars.”

For some younger students, there is plenty of time to think about the future, but for others, deadlines are coming fast and the pressure is on.

By Allana Herr

Penn Manor’s Scientist to Vie in Competition

National competitions, prize money and speeches at MIT are all part of 15-year-old Ben Clark’s busy schedule.

Clark, who’s interested in Astrophysics as a major in college, is currently competing in the National Siemens Competition and is one of 60 regional finalists. The competition starts off with 1300 competitors overall and is broken down by regions. Clark is one of the 30 individual finalists, while there are also 30 teams.

Clark is known as a whiz kid at Penn Manor High School, top in school rank, level of classes and all-around academic achievement. He is looking at many top colleges around the nation, and they, most likely, are looking at him.

“Cal Tech and MIT are the only schools I have applied to so far,” said Clark.

With an astonishing GPA of 4.772 Clark is sure to get in to one of his top schools, being Cal Tech and Princeton, in that order.

“My focus for college will be my courses and studies, fun stuff also, I’m not boring, but I do find studying and research fun,” Clark said.

Clark in fact is doing his own research on stars and has formulated a new theory about them, hence the Siemens competition and possibly a little stardom for himself.

Ben Clark Student — Fifteen-year-old senior of Penn Manor Ben Clark.

The Siemens Competition winner gets a prize of $100,000 and Clark is already guaranteed $1,000 in scholarship money for winning his region.

“I was looking for binary stars and I used a very large, low-quality data set, but through my analysis I was able to get useful results,” said Clark about his data.

Clark’s evidence is deemed so useful that he is going to MIT on November 5 and 6 to read his research.

It all started one year ago when he got involved in Astrophysics research.

“I decided to look for a mentor so I sent an email to Dr. Spergel, the head of the Astrophysics department at Princeton. Two days later I got an email back providing me with a mentor, Dr. Blake,” said Clark.

“Astrophysics is going through its golden age,” said Clark.

As he started his analysis he realized that they could look at close binary stars. He knew that binary’s have significant applications to star formation so Clark and his mentor decided to focus on that instead.

“That’s what I love about science, theories lead to new theories,” said Clark.

“He (Blake) suggested that we use SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) to look for M dwarf and brown dwarf binaries. M dwarf is a small star and a brown dwarf is between the size of a star and planet,” Clark said.

The competitions have some serious competitors. “I would like to win, but I don’t think I’ll win,” said Clark. “I don’t like to assume things like that.”

“I also have no idea what I’ll be up against,” he added.

Clark’s results will be published in a major Astrophysics journal.

Clark also has competed in various other math and physics competitions. A significant math competition Clark is very proud of was the United States of America Math Olympiad (USAMO). Only 500 people in the nation qualify and Clark qualified in 2009 and 2010.

For Physics, Clark competed in the United States of America Physics Olympiad (USAPhO) and was one of 300 in the nation to qualify. He also made it to the semi-finals of that competition.

By Brian Dunne

Third Time’s the Charm for the Comets

Tonight the Comets square off in a District semi-final field hockey game with the Hempfield Black Knights.

But it won’t be the first time they have met this year.

“I think we have a really good game plan. And I think if we play a good game it could be a lot of fun,” said Matt Soto, head coach of the Penn Manor Comets field hockey team.

The Comets and Knights have done battle twice before this season. The Comets got the better of the Knights both times, with scores of 6-0 and 6-2.

The Knights made it to the district semis by beating Cedar Cliff 4-3, and Dallastown 3-1, proving that they aren’t anyone to be taken lightly.

“We cannot be overconfident. We must play our game and we have to improve on the last time we played them,” Soto said.

Suffering only one loss this season against Emmaus, a state power house, the Comets are heavy favorites in this match up.

If the Comets win, they will play the winner of Lower Dauphin and Hershey at Milton Hershey High School for the District Championship.

By Jessen Smith

New Inductees “Honored” at Penn Manor

Academics, Character, Leadership and Service.

Those four words are the qualities of each and every of the 45 juniors and seniors inducted into the National Honor Society at Penn Manor High School.

The National Honor Society is a nationwide organization that has been recognizing outstanding high school students since 1921. Penn Manor, on the other hand, has been an active chapter since 1930.

nhs — According to the Education Encyclopedia, in 1921 an official emblem for the National Honor Society was created in the form of a keystone and flaming torch. The letters C, S, L and S stand for the four fundamental virtues of character, scholarship, leadership, and service. The torch symbolizes the search for truth. Photo by jcsd.k12.ms.us

Students who faculty members say excel in academics, character, leadership and service can be nominated. Nominated students must maintain a grade point average of 3.85 or higher and stand out in their community to be considered to the National Honor Society.

This year, 24 juniors and 21 seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society. Not only can a student be a member of NHS, but they also can be one of the officers. Sophia Wu-Shanley was elected president, Jessica Cheng; secretary, Allison Duke; treasurer and Mikah Farbo; historian. Advisers are Kathy Grenier and Erick Dutchess.

The inductees are:

Landon Alecxih, Lars Andersen, Sara Bennis, Abigail Barley, Kayla Bixler, Haley Blazer, Ian Bricker, Josh Carle, Mark Christman, Eric Clark, Erica Coakley, Benjamin Crisman, Natalie Dell’Estate, Andrea Deibert, Olivia Dietrich, Zachary Estep, Kayley Gaukler, Jennifer Hanner, Selena Hasircoglu, Mikayla Herbert, Andrew Herr, Peter Horning, Elsie Huber, Zachary Kauffman, Peter Keares, Alex Kirk, Kelly Lenahan, Jing Li, Erin Loy, Harrison Manning, Karen Myers, Michael Nitroy, Abigail Novak, Zachary Rayha, Lauren Ressler, Brianna Rice, Abigail Sanders, Jenna Santaniello, Sarah Scheaffer, Megan Schlegelmilch, Conner Snow, Cody Straub, Ian Toomey, Laura Witwer, Faith Zimmerman.

By Cree Bleacher