This story marks the beginning of a series of different addictions that highschoolers have in their life.
Methylxanthine. 85 percent of you drink it every day.
But what is it?
Caffeine: the most widely used, physically addictive drug.
Every piece of chocolate that’s inhaled through the mouth of kids.
Every can of Pepsi or Monster that’s opened up at a sporting event.
Every Nonfat Soy Caramel Frappucino with whip cream and an extra pump of chocolate that teachers buy at Starbucks and bring to school.
All have caffeine.
“I started drinking it when I became a teacher,” said teacher Holly Astheimer, a well-known coffee addict from Penn Manor, “One cup in the morning and one cup in the evening.”
According to Brynmawr University, nearly 80 percent of Americans rely on caffeine each morning in order to get them started.
In fact, more than 450,000,000 cups of coffee alone are consumed every day in the United States.
Students and Teachers at Penn Manor appear to be addicted to caffeine. Photo by Mike Nitroy
About half of them seem to be at Penn Manor.
“I started drinking [coffee] in middle school. I drink one cup every morning. If I don’t, I get a headache because I’m so used to it,” said senior Kaity Deisley.
“I’m not as alert and I’m off my game all day [if I don’t drink coffee],” said Astheimer.
Caffeine is also popular with high school and college students who are forced to pull all-nighters to study or prepare for tests.
“I drink coffee every day, sometimes multiple times a day,” said senior Shannon Nitroy, “I have [gone a day without before] because I try not to get dependent on it.”
And sometimes, drinking it for other reasons.
“I like drinking it because it tastes good, and then I feel good,” said Nitroy.
So how hard is it to break a caffeine addiction?
After asking both Astheimer and Deisley to go a day without coffee, the results were bleak.
Both failed.
“I couldn’t do it. I failed at my task. I figured I was setting myself and my students up for a bad day,” said Astheimer, while holding her coffee mug.
This isn’t shocking, as Astheimer begged to not participate in the test when approached.
Deisley wasn’t much more successful.
“I’m sorry, it’s a habit. I wake up and think ‘I need coffee’. I need caffeine!” said Deisley.
The results show that the addiction to caffeine is stronger than some think.
You know it’s a successful high school event when the students are cheering each other on, and the elderly couples have left before the end of the final act.
Kelly Lenahan performs at ETPM Photo by Rob Henry
Entertainment Penn Manor, the annual talent show presented by the student council, had another outstanding show on Saturday, April 24.
“It was really great to have the opportunity to perform in front of my peers. I really enjoyed the experience,” said sophomore Kelly Lenahan, who played piano while junior Jill Wiley sang.
People from all over the community came out to watch the acts, with some acts even earning standing ovations from members of the crowd.
“I thought the acts were good, but I wish there was more diversity of talent instead of people mainly singing. There should have been more dancing acts and other talents like the talent shows previous years,” said junior Livie Stoltzfus.
“It was really good and exciting to see all the amazing talent,” said Sabrina Kurtz, “My favorite was the band that sang ‘Under The Bridge’ by ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’.”
Acts Included:
Becca Eckman, Tim Deubler, Jesse Griffith, Tosh Chambers: Singing/Guitar/Drums/Bass
Sierra Woodworth: Singing
Kim and Greg Gydush perform at ETPM Photo by Rob Henry
Ian Bricker and Emily Biechler: Singing/Piano
Corina Connelly: Singing
Alicia Ygarza and Marcos Rivera: Singing/Dancing
Kim and Greg Gydush: Singing/Guitar
Mandy Li: Piano
Shea Kurtz and Bri Potts: Singing/Guitar
Greg Gydush, Pat Navin, Shane Burkhardt, Spencer Barnett: Singing/Drums/Guitar/Bass
Dessie Jackon and Clayton Secrest: Dancing
Jill Wiley and Kelly Lenahan: Singing/Piano
Hunter Paulson, Henry Stewart, Tyler Funk, Gabe Eshleman, Dessie Jackson: Singing/Guitar/Drums/Tambourine/ Violin
Henry Stewart and Tyler Funk: Keyboard/Drums
Manhunt: Tim Deubler, Sid Kreitzer, Jesse Griffith, Tosh Chambers, Weston Chambers and Alicia Ygarza: Singing/Guitar/Drums/Bass/Keyboards
Emcees for the night: Ariela Contreras with Venessa Nogueras, Marcos Rivera and Xiomara Contreras
When you look at your computer screen, what if there were eyes looking back at you?
Lower Merion School District, in suburban Philadelphia, was brought into the spotlight after student Blake Robbins sued the district under accusations of taking pictures of him through the web cam of his school laptop.
Now, USATODAY reports that the district has secretly taken over 56,000 pictures of students over a two-year period through the web cams.
The classrooms of Penn Manor have been buzzing wondering whether our school has been watching us as well.
Lower Merion claims they turned on the tracking service in order to claim lost or stolen laptops. The FBI has begun a criminal investigation regarding wiretapping.
“There were no written policies or procedures governing the circumstances surrounding activating the program and the circumstances regarding turning off the activations,” said Henry Hockeimer, the lawyer who represents the school district.
Officials have said that students did not sign waivers, such as our Penn Manor internet safety contact, agreeing to the hidden use of web cams.
Local schools are watching through web cams, but not Penn Manor.
…So does that mean Penn Manor can do the same thing? And are they?
“No, we cannot do that. We don’t have the capabilities to do that. Lower Merion uses a purchased program called ‘Lanrev’ that can remotely switch the cameras on, but no we can’t do that,” said Penn Manor’s head of technology Charlie Reisinger.
But how have the students and staff reacted to the incident at Lower Merion?
“Honestly, I thought they already could when the little green light comes on because of the rumors I heard, but it would really creep me out. I wouldn’t do anything, just stay on my guard,” said freshman Kelly Shertzer.
Some teachers and staff have gone as far as to place a piece of tape over their web cams – as a precaution.
“I don’t like people looking at me when they shouldn’t be,” said art teacher Kim McMullen, “I don’t like the invasion of privacy.”
Both experts and Reisinger explain that there are different ways Lower Merion – and Penn Manor – could find computers.
“There are less intrusive ways to track stolen laptops, no question about it,” said Marc Rotenburger a Georgetown University law professor who serves as President of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, according to USATODAY.com
“We have a system similar to a GPS, if someone would walk out with one of our computers it would basically ‘phone home’” said Reisinger.
It’s safe to say that no one’s watching you at Penn Manor, for at least now.
Cody Straub: Welcome to another edition of PM Nation. With all the hype of the first prime time NFL draft now over, we’ll go back and review the winners and losers of the draft.
Taylor Groff: Wow. The NFL draft has never attracted more attention than this year. It seemed like the draft this year was more on drafting defensive players over the usual offensive weapons. Teams seemed to be more interested in taking the defensive linemen or linebackers than them taking a chance on an explosive offensive player.
Taylor Groff Co-editor for PM Nation
CS: I agree that teams did not want to take the risk on offensive play makers in the early rounds. Only six players in the first round were QB/RB/WR. Two of those players went to the Denver Broncos. Five years from now we could look back and say the Broncos were the real winners of this draft. They drafted two possible franchise faces in wideout Demaryius Thomas, and quarterback Tim Tebow. Although they were both very risky picks, unlike all the defensive and offensive lineman drafted who will be productive but not franchise faces, I think that these two names will be the ones we remember from this draft.
TG: No not at all. Franchise faces, please you have no clue where these guys will end up in the next five years. Tebow will have to fight for a spot with starter Kyle Orton and backup Brady Quinn. If anyone is the winner of the draft it would be the Detroit Lions. With the second pick in the first round they went with the explosive defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Their standout pick to me was Jahvid Best from California. He is probably not the every down back this season, but has the potential to become an NFL star. He reminds me of a Chris Johnson they both have a small frame , but don’t let that fool you they’ll blow past you in the blink of an eye.
CS: I also really liked the Lions draft, but in five years, Suh will just be a good NFL defensive lineman who nobody remembers because of his position. He can’t put his team on his back, and carry his team to a victory like Tim Tebow has the ability to do. I have to say the clear-cut loser of this draft was the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the 10th overall pick they got Tyson Alualu a defensive lineman from Cal who would have been available in the second round. To make it even worse with their second pick, they took yet another defensive tackle. I don’t really know what the Jaguars were thinking, they need playmakers on that team.
Cody Straub Co-Editor of PM Nation
TG: The standout pick to me was Dez Bryant. Even with his off-the-field troubles he will be a standout star. Be ready Dez the ball will be thrown to you. Miles Austin will draw a lot of attention his way to leave Bryant in a one-on-one cover with a CB. Bryant will have a monster rookie season. Thats all we got for this edition, stay tuned later this week for a PM Nation video
Live from the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, it’s the Penn Manor Brain Busters team.
Along with their coaches, Sallie Bookman and Chris Meier, team members Grant Elledge, Brendan Stoeckl, Lars Andersen, Henry Stewart and alternate Christine Sharp have high hopes for the final round against Hershey on May 27.
Henry Stewart and Brendan Stoeckl are part of the Brain Busters team. Photo by Emily Brody
“This is our third year [in Brain Busters] and we didn’t [win] the past two years. This is a big deal,” said Elledge.
If the team dominates after the 10-point first round, the “One v. One” second round, the “Point Wagering Section,” the “Pick a Topic Section” and the 20-point final round, they will receive $7,000. If the team takes second place after the hour long competition, they will receive $4,000 and one $5,000 scholarship to Shippensburg University.
Bookman said, “The money won’t go straight to the kids. We have to determine what to do with it.”
Along with the normal pressure of having to perform under a timer, the team must focus even harder on what they say, since the broadcast is live and it can’t be edited. There’s even a section where team members can get up and speak about a topic.
“The section’s not scripted, so you can say whatever,” said Stewart.
However the team is not too nervous about the knowledge aspect of the match.
“We’ve done so well because we are even. We have four different people with four different strengths,” said Bookman.
“I know when it comes around, I’ll be ready,” said Elledge.
The hardest part about being on Brain Busters, it seems, is getting fans to come out.
Elledge said, “We really want people to come. We’re trying to have buses for people.”
The Brain Busters final round, hosted by Rich Rosen, airs live on WGAL May 27 at 7 p.m.
The thirsts are quenched but not the growling stomachs.
No snacks after PSSA’s this week is leaving students outraged.
Elena Hart shows her frustration with being given just a small water after PSSAs. Photo by Sarah Garner
“We work hard to make the school look good so the least they could do is give us snacks,” said Kierstin Creasy.
“I didn’t eat breakfast because I thought we were getting snacks,” said Jackie Schmalhofer.
“We work hard and deserve our snacks,” said Anissa Gerlach.
After having snacks the past two weeks students were expecting to have snacks again this week but were disappointed with only getting water and ice tea boxes. Students want to know why the snacks have stopped arriving.
When Principal Jason D’Amico was asked why students stopped getting snacks his response was, “There was only so much to go around.”
He then explained how there was a certain amount of snacks and it didn’t match up with the amount of PSSA days.
Juniors, don’t get your hopes up for snacks next week.
After the story How Much Do You Know About Sex received attention because the statistics showed some teens at Penn Manor High School are having unprotected sex, it seemed logical to follow that story with another, exploring why students are not using contraceptives.
Penn Manor freshmen students in Shawn Maxwell and Stephen Weidner’s health classes agreed to talk with Penn Points and give their personal opinions on why some students participate in the high-risk behavior of unprotected sex.
Shawn Maxwell's health class. Photo by Kendal Phillips on why some teens are engaging in sex while in high school, yet aren’t using protection.
The students agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, therefore the names of many students are not used in this article.
The most common answer to the question why some sexually active teens do not use contraception was, “They don’t think it will happen to them.”
The other repeated issue was access to contraception.
“People are bashful about [contraceptives] and would rather have unprotected sex,” said junior Leah Freeman.
“I know teens who don’t have jobs or money and their parents don’t give them money, so they don’t know what to do or how to get [contraceptives],” said one Penn Manor freshman.
Several teens who were interviewed said they don’t use or try to buy contraceptives because they don’t care, they don’t have transportation to purchase it or they are scared their parents will find out and they don’t want to talk to them about sex.
Other Penn Manor students said they do not receive enough sex education. They said they are taught about STDs and the male and female parts, but not enough about contraceptives or the consequences of sex and unprotected sex.
“They teach about sex but only in one lesson,” said one Penn Manor student, “they talk about getting pregnant and STD’s, but only briefly on birth control.”
“They just talk about having a baby,” said freshman Nick Young.
“You can tell they don’t teach enough because of all the pregnancies and kids not using protection,” said junior Katie Coons.
Pregnancy rates among high school teens are on the rise again after years of decline. According to Time Magazine, in 2006 there were 21 births for every 500 U.S teens from 15-19 years of age, which is a rate more than three times the number in Canada. That may be why the federal government is reauthorizing two programs aimed at decreasing teen pregnancy and the rate of STD’s.
President Barack Obama recently signed a five-year, $250 million re-authorization of sex education funding. At the same time, the newly passed health care law provides $375 million over the same five years to promote more comprehensive approaches to sex education. This money will be available to public schools for funding Personal Responsibility Education and Abstinence Programs.
While some students are saying they don’t get enough sex education, Maxwell, the ninth grade health teacher, explained he does go into detail, as much as the curriculum allows.
“We talk about sexual anatomy to birth but not about parenting, and we also
Shawn Maxwell’s health class. Photo by Sarah Garner
talk about relationships, STD’s and birth control, but in a family-planning forum,” said Maxwell.
Recent statistics have pointed to the success of sex education in schools when it is combined with abstinence education.
In 1988, South Carolina passed the Comprehensive Health Education Act, which requires sexuality education from elementary school through high school, including at least 12.5 hours of “reproductive health and pregnancy prevention education” at some point during a student’s high school years.
Although their birthrates are high, South Carolinas comprehensive approach to sex education is credited with slowing that rate. It fell 27% from 1991 to 2006. In 2008, one school in South Carolina, using the comprehensive approach to sex education, had only two births to teen moms.
The study was widely used to show the effectiveness of sex education and abstinence education together.
It is not clear whether Penn Manor School District would take the federal funds for these types of sex education classes.
“Currently the state tells us what we must teach via the PA State Standards,” said Penn Manor Assistant Superintendent Ellen Pollock. “PA does not require an abstinence-only sex education curriculum.
“I would not be interested in applying for any grant funding until we know the specifics of what the Personal Responsibility Education Program must look like,” added Pollock. “Grants, especially federal and state grants, come with a lot of string and red tape and massive amounts of paperwork so I am extremely hesitant to deal with them.”
However, Maxwell said Penn Manor may want to consider the newly authorized programs for the students’ education.
“The only time kids talk about [sex] is in ninth grade,” said Maxwell about the school’s formal program, “after that they can only hear about it in electives such as child development.”
Within the five year re-authorization signed by Obama, the Abstinence Education Program will have as its exclusive purpose teaching social, psychological and health gains to abstain from sexual activity. It teaches that abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage is the expected standard for all students, and that abstaining from sexual activity outside of marriage is the only way to avoid pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other health issues.
The program spotlights mutually faithful and monogamous relationships.
The Personal Responsibility Education Program encourages delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active teens and reducing pregnancy among teens. It puts an emphasis on both abstinence and contraceptive use for the prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among teens. Activities are included to educate sexually active teens regarding responsible behavior.
Some Penn Manor students feel that more sex and abstinence education, such as these programs that could be available, will help them think about the consequences and options of protection when it comes to sex.
“I think we should try to take advantage of the money but no one will listen,” said a Penn Manor student, “hopefully it will make them realize that having sex doesn’t make you cool.”
“We should look into it so more people know what’s happening and what could happen,” said a Penn Manor freshman.
But not everyone is an advocate for more sex education at the high school level.
“I guess, but I wouldn’t take it,” said Young of the possibility of a sex education class being offered.
“I personally don’t wanna learn more about [sex or abstinence] because I feel like I know what I need to know,” said a Penn Manor student.
“I don’t think it’ll make a difference if they bring the programs to our school because everyone already thinks they know everything there is to know so they won’t care or want to listen,” said another Penn Manor student.
With Penn Manor students saying abstinence is not what teens are thinking about or care to think about, Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, once agreed with these Penn Manor students. She now says that abstinence is realistic for her personally. At age 19, she gave birth to her son in Dec of 2008.
“I don’t think anyone realizes how difficult it really is until you actually have a screaming baby in your arms and you’re up all night,” said Palin in a recent Associated Press interview, “I wasn’t prepared at all.”
Maxwell said he’d be willing to talk to students when they are not comfortable talking with anyone else.
“I’d be willing to talk to them about knowledge, not advice,” said Maxwell, “but I’ll always encourage them to talk to mom and dad for advice.”
They did it. Not only did Penn Points qualify for the honor of being finalists in the national Pacemaker award, they were one of seven who actually won this recognition.
The two seniors from Penn Manor who attended the conference, Abby Wilson and Alex Geiger, had the privilege to walk in front of the three thousand people in the main convention hall and receive two different awards. The first was a plaque stating that they were finalists in the Pacemaker award, honor enough for the Penn Points’ first year online.
Accepting the NSPA national award is, left to right, Alex Geiger, Rob Henry, Abby Wilson, adviser Susan Baldrige and Lyta Ringo. Photo by Lisa Mayo
To complete their achievements their name was called as one of the winners, which brought their adviser, Susan Baldrige, truly to tears.
The awards aren’t the only remarkable things that the staff is bringing back to Penn Manor. They are taking with them an abundance of fascinating information and brand new ideas to further improve their website and their journalism course.
“Journalism is the Twenty-First Century English” curriculum,” Paul Kandell, adviser from the Palo Alto Paly Voice in California.
By taking this trip across the country, the Penn Points staff is working toward making this statement a fact at Penn Manor.
The Penn Points staff would like to increase the views on our website. If you would like to be informed instantly when new stories are posted, we have a new idea to personally inform anyone via text message. If you would like to receive a text then please respond in the comment section with your name and cell phone number. Thanks to the filter on our website, your information will be completely confidential and WILL NOT be posted on the web for others to view when accessing our website. By Abby Wilson
Give us your cell phone number to stay in touch with Penn Points. Photo by Alex Geiger
Chosen as one of four students to be a member of a national panel on student journalism, I was deeply honored and just as nervous as the other three editors sitting by my side.
About 3,000 students from across the nation are attending the National Scholastic Press Association annual convention held in Portland, Ore. Penn Points is represented by four students and two advisers who are at the convention this week.
Penn Points editor, Rob Henry, served on a panelists of Pacemaker finalists at the NSPA convention. Photo by Alex Geiger
The panel was selected from among the highest-placing school newspapers, named online Pacemaker finalists, by the NSPA.
Those in attendance were there to glean information from the Pacemaker finalists. In other words I was supposed to be the expert answering questions from student journalists and their advisers how they could someday be where I was.
“These are the students who are on the cutting edge for journalism, these are the Pacemakers, these are the experts,” and that was our introduction from moderator Paul Kandell, nationally recognized adviser of the Palo Alto’s The Paly Voice and Verde Magazine.
One of the question that Kandell asked the panel was: “Why/ How do we think we’ve gotten to point we’re at in becoming one of the finalists?”
“The reason for our success is cooperation,” I told the audience. “We have a staff of more than 40 students and we all went out of our way to make this work in such a small amount of time.”
Penn Points journalism students working on deadline at the national convention. Photo by Alex Geiger
Also on the panel, were David Ryan, a Co-Editor-in-Chief of Wayland Student Press Network, David Zhengn a Sports Editor from Hilite Online and Suzanna Quiring, Editor-in-Chief of The Feather Online.
Mr. Kandell opened the discussion to the audience who asked everything from “how do you handle your advertising” to “do you think using WordPress is cheating” to “who has the final say in publishing a story?”
Some questions came as a surprise and some were expected.
With so many eyes on you, coming up with an answer on the spot can be unbelievably nerve-wracking.
About 3,000 journalism students are attending the NSPA in Portland, Ore. this week. Photo by Alex Geiger
My heart was beating a thousand beats per minute and I was sure everybody could see that, yet I kept my composure.
The other editors seemed calm, cool and collected.
I thought to myself, I’m the only one up here who has never even been on the newspaper before this year, do I really know what I’m talking about.
But if you know me, that question was quickly kicked aside with a “of course I do, I’m Rob Henry.”
A sea of hands rose to ask questions in the final minutes of our panel discussion.
After an hour of discussion, Kandell had to bring the session to an end, with many audience questions still unanswered.
The audience clapped and many rushed forward to ask additional questions. I’m not going to lie, a feeling of achievement overwhelmed me.
Next year I plan to remain an active editor-in-chief. But even when I graduate, I will continue to believe Penn Points can be the greatest online high school newspaper in the country and by extension of the web, the world.
