News – Page 20 – Penn Points Online

Spring May Come Early This Year

By Alex Blythe –

On February second, Pennsylvania’s longest living groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow which means an early spring for Pennsylvania. However, Lancaster’s own Octorora Orphie hurried into his burrow after reportedly seeing his shadow.

No matter what groundhog is the authority, it sure doesn’t seem like spring is any time soon this week with snow, ice and freezing rain causing delays and cancellations.

Although the break from school was welcomed by many, the spring will not be quite as bright since all the snow days will be made up by missed vacation days this spring.

The district’s built-in snow days will have to be made up March 21, April 21 and also April 25, cutting Easter vacation to just Good Friday and the weekend.

January 26, when secondary reported to school amid unexpected snowfall and elementary was closed, will not have to be made up at the end of the year.

Not everyone could agree on the benefit of missing school on snow days.

Abby Newport, a senior at Penn Manor stated that “I’d rather go to school during snow days, I wanna get out of school as early as possible.”

Senior Mark Curtin wants a longer summer along with junior Gage Karr who is happy the district is replacing vacation days so far, not adding days to the end of the calendar in June.

But senior, Alyssa Jahnke, held the opposite opinion.

“I’d rather stay home during snow days and go at the end of summer,” said Jahnke.

Hopefully the weather will be nicer in the spring months to come.

Ben Clark Rings the Bell of Success

By Simon Zimmerman

Ben Clark has had many accomplishments in his young life, now he has another.

When the 15 year old Senior from Penn Manor won the Siemens Competition in early December, Clark was also rewarded with ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

stock exchange — Ben Clark rings the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Photo courtesy of Siemens

The Siemens Competition is a contention of math, science and technology whiz’s that recognizes their will and strive of research in either one of these fields.

Clark won the $100,000 grand prize for the individual category of the Siemens Competition for his research on how new stars are born. This is a very prestigious award and is regarded as on of Clark’s greatest achievements.

Ringing the closing bell is rewarded annually to the winner of this competition and Clark did not take this merit lightly.

“It was amazing to ring the bell, it is a pretty exclusive group and most people that have done it have been successful in some field,” stated the ecstatic Clark.

Seeing that Clark has skipped two grades in his high school career, qualified for the Untied States Math Olympiad twice, and won the Siemens Competition, success does not seem far out of his future.

Career Day: A Chance for Students to look into the Future

By Cody Straub –

Tomorrow Penn Manor High School students will get a little taste of what the real world is really like.They will have the chance to listen to anything from a firefighter, to a federal government employee, to a teacher and everything in between.

Tomorrow students will spend the first three hours of school going around classrooms listening to three different professionals talk about their careers.

For two of the sessions students will listen to professionals that they chose earlier this year, and Tom Baldrige, President of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be the third professional every student hears. He will speak to every class in the auditorium during each session.

Penn Manor holds Career Day each year to help students learn more about the real world, and different jobs. Students will have the opportunity to listen to a presentation and then ask any questions they might have. It allows them to talk to people in professional fields they are interested in, and learn everything about the job.

Marketing and Law Faces Changes

By Jake Shiner and Taylor Groff

Amy Wall’s Marketing and Law class is well known around the school for their sales competitions held during lunch every year, a major reason many students say they take the class.

But that class is now facing changes.

Due to conflicting issues involving federal funding for lunches, the Apprentice PM competition cannot sell during school lunch times.

“We can’t compete with the cafeteria,” said Wall.

This is because of the regulations of the federal funding for the food. Selling at lunch violates part of these rules handed down by the government. This would result in a loss of a few million dollars of funding per year.

“Yes, I’m still doing the apprentice competition but we have to find a different way to do it,” Wall stated, “Were still working on new ideas.”

Cody Welch is a former marketing and law student said he would have still taken the class even with the changes.

“Yes, definitely,” he said.

Cody Welch took Marketing and Law last semester. Photo By Cody Straub

He even threw in an idea about an alternative for the competition.

“Perhaps they could compete with snack cart, selling in the hallways during homeroom,” Welch said. But I feel it would take away from the experience of the class.”

Matt Weidinger, a junior, said that he took the class because of the competition, and was angry when he learned of the format revision.

But not all was lost.

“I took the class because Mrs. Wall taught it,” Weidinger said.

Welch also said the reason the class was one of his favorites was because of the teacher and the students in the class.

It appears that changes to the apprentice competition will be only a minor drawback, as the class in general will remain a fun and educational experience.

A Great Experience for Manor FFA Students

Manor FFA members helped celebrate the inauguration of Gov. Tom Corbett Jan. 18,

Kaleb Long, the FFA president received an e-mail asking for some Penn Manor students to help out at the ball. The nine lucky students included in the invitation were Long, Margret Drumm, Camren Long, Caleb Hess, Aaron Steager, Evan Shoutzer, Jen Drumm, Katrina Reiff and Katie Hess. Two instructors, Carol Fay and Amanda Stoltzfus also were invited.

At the ball they helped out by taking coats and serving foods.

Margaret Drumm with new governor, Tom Corbett.

The president of Manor FFA, Kaleb Long, had his club invited to the inagural ball by incoming Gov. Tom Corbett.

Manor FFA members meet in Harrisburg to attend Gov. Tom Corbett’s inagural ball.

“It was really fun,” said sophomore Katrina Reiff. “I would do it again, if I had the chance.”

The ball was held at the Exposition Hall at the Farm Show Complex.

According to PennLive.net, a news website, Tom Corbett’s inaugural ball was more expensive then most governor’s inauguration balls costing $150 a ticket, however it was all, reportedly, paid for with private donations.

Some FFA students had the chance to take pictures with the Governor.

Tom Corbett is Pennsylvania’s 46th governor.

By Cassie Kreider and Olivia Bailey

Weather Causes Cancellations for Penn Manor

By Lyta Ringo

Due to the accumulation of snowfall in the Penn Manor area, the elementary schools were closed in the morning, and the secondary buildings will be letting out at 12:30. After the students are gone, the schools will be closed for the afternoon.

On top of the early dismissal, all after school activities will be canceled and postponed. The girls and boys basketball games have been rescheduled for Thursday with the boys 9th grade game beginning at 4 p.m. and the 8th grade game starting at 5 p.m.

Early Dismissal Satisfies Students after Snowy Surprise

By Alex Geli and Kendal Phillips –

Delay? Nope. It’s definitely got to be closed then, right? Wrong again.

More like a 12:30 early dismissal.

Students all over Susquehanna Valley got a pleasant surprise when they peaked out their window Wednesday morning to find the roads coated with snow already at seven in the morning. Hopes shot up, but when WGAL didn’t show Penn Manor having a delay or closing, those hopes turned into fears.

Drivers were put to the test as they went out onto the snowy roads of Lancaster for the students who did come to school.

“The roads were really dangerous,” said senior Katie Maisel. “We definitely should’ve had off.”

After several students came in a tad later than the normal 7:40 a.m., teachers were sent an email notifying students and faculty that elementary schools in the district were closed and an early dismissal for secondary students was in the works. The high school followed the early dismissal schedule.

That email was then shared with the slim number of students that took the ride to school, putting a smile on their face knowing that they only have a half day ahead of them.

Some of those smiles, however, were to conceal inner nervousness for the ride when the clock hits twenty after twelve.

“I’m scared to drive home,” said Maisel.

Although weather reports earlier in the week predicted much of the snow that is now falling would be rain or a “wintry mix,” an update on conditions now lists the possibility of six to nine inches of snow for our area.

The Blizzard Of 2011

By Connor Rowe

Word of a so-called blizzard has been circulating the halls of Penn Manor.

Students at Penn Manor have been developing weather reports of their own based on what they heard on the news since last week and have been blowing them out of proportion.

Penn Manor student, Josh Carle said, “We are going to get 4 feet and will be so much that it will cover football fields!”

According to Eric Horst, Millersville University’s meteorologist, the storm will not be developing till Wednesday, but will most likely be arriving with rain that has been developing from the south. The temperature will rise to the upper 30’s making the precipitation difficult to accumulate.

If a delay or closing was to occur it would most likely happen Thursday if the temperature would happen to decline Wednesday night, according to Horst.

There is uncertainty about this arriving storm, but Horst says, “There is potential for a few inches.”

He also stated that there is a 1 and 3 chance of nothing.

As a lottery question on whether we will have a delay or closing this week Horst followed with,”Who knows?”

More Snow in the Future

With snow expected in the forecast, Penn Manor might get a delay of school on Friday. According to Millersville Meteorologist Eric Horst, the snow is expected to start overnight and end in the wee hours of the morning, accumulating 2-5 inches on the ground.

During the day on Friday it will be brisk with high teens through the twenties, and the winds will gust from 15-25 mph, “give or take” stated Horst.

According to WGAL, there will be a winter weather advisory from 7pm tonight continuing until 9am Friday, it may cause traveling difficulties and limited visibility.

“This will be the coldest air of the winter,” expressed Horst. Saturday will have a high around 20 degrees and the wind chill will make it feel like zero.

By Alex Blythe

Cows, Chickens and Pigs, Oh My!

By Jordann Stekervetz –

The sounds of pigs squealing, fans blowing the dust off cows and the mixed melody of human voices on the hunt for farm fresh food signals the 95th Farm Show is in town.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Cows get washed and are blown dry before their class. Photo by Kendal Phillips

Held in Harrisburg at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex, the event has once again given Penn Manor Future Farmers of America (FFA) members a showcase to display their skills and produce.

Katrina Reiff, a sophomore, showed off her cross-bred pig, Big Bang, on Monday. She showed Big Bang in Class 15, which was one of the heavy weight (between 268 lbs. and 280 lbs.) classes for pigs. Katrina has been a member of Manor FFA for the past two-years, but was part of the 4H club for five-years.

“I just show pigs in FFA, but I also show lambs and dairy cows at the Lampeter Fair,” Reiff explained.

When showing pigs, you have to have them look presentable. “You have to wash them, clip them, and clip their ears and tail,” Reiff explained, “some people also use sprays to make them look shiny.”

Reiff also ended up winning master showman for her class, but did not end up making sale which means the animal was not in the top half of the class to qualify for the Farm Show auction.

After the animals are shown, they get sold off and it is hard for non-farm teens to understand the emotional side of it.

“Since I have been doing this for so long, it doesn’t really phase me,” explained Reiff,

“But I am going to be a little sad about selling Big Bang, she has been my favorite pig since I started showing.”

Kaleb Long, a senior, also showed his Duroc pig in the lightweight class. Long ended up winning the master showman award for his class.

Hogs are not the only animals shown out at the farm show. Lambs, steer, dairy cows and many other animals re able to be shown also.

Another Penn Manor student, junior Alex Kuhl, has been doing rodeo for four-years and participated in bull-riding at the Farm Show. “It (bull-riding) is a good degree of difficulty,” Kuhl explained, “It can and can’t be painful. I have broke my arm, hyper-extended the elbow, tore my spleen and have had four concussions.”

Along with the rodeo and bull-riding, the farm show hosts barrel-racing, wagon-pulling, plus many other entertaining events throughout the week.

With help from: Sarah Garner, Alex Blythe