School Happenings – Page 3 – Penn Points Online

Students staff 1:1 help desk

Seniors and members of the 1:1 Student Help Desk Andrew Lobos, Nick Joniec, Collin Enders and Aaron Jandzio (left to right) set up a new batch of 1:1 computers. (Photo by Wyatt Shiffler)

By Wyatt Shiffler

The 1:1 Student Help Desk is a group of students who are assisting in the setup and support of the new 1:1 computer project at Penn Manor High School. The technicians are Andrew Lobos, Nick Joniec, Collin Enders, Aaron Jandzio and Ben Thomas, all of whom are seniors.

Involved students take the help desk as an independent study class for a honors credit. As of today, there are five students in the student help desk. With 1:1 laptops already in use, the help desk technicians have been busy.

“Currently there are 88 students participating in the 1:1 laptop program.” said Joniec. More students are joining the help desk to address next semester’s increase in laptop use.

Lobos wrote software to set up all the computers automatically. It works by sending the operating system to each computer simultaneously. It also configures all the settings automatically for each laptop.

This allows them to deploy a batch of 100 computers in under 10 minutes. Lobos also developed a program to track support issues and laptop inventory.

“The student tech team has been incredibly helpful to our efforts. The team has been instrumental in assisting with the preparation of laptops for the 1:1 pilot and helping with the distribution and troubleshooting of technical issues.” said Charlie Reisinger, district technology director, in an email.

Joniec works on developing documentation to help students use their computers and posts on the 1:1 resource site. He also works on fixing laptop hardware.

Enders and Jandzio do software support for students when they have questions about how to use their laptop.

Thomas works with Lobos to develop code for the ticket and inventory system. He also works on developing other software projects for the 1:1 computers.

The Open Campus students have already found the help desk useful, as a few of them have had trouble with the computers. As laptops get damaged or the students need help operating the laptops, they just come to the help desk located in the library,and the team fixes the problem.

Laptop pilot kicks off high school 1:1 program

By Alexis Cunningham

Senior Dezire Diaz uses her 1:1 laptop during homeroom to work on her Open Campus course.

Penn Manor High School launched the pilot of the 1:1 program this past September. Laptops were issued to students taking an Open Campus class in the fall semester. The pilot is a test run prior to the school-wide implementation of the 1:1 laptop program.

According to Charlie Reisinger, head of Penn Manor’s technology department, the switch is still on schedule to happen in January of this coming year.

“We are tremendously pleased with the 1:1 pilot thus far; The laptops have demonstrated a good balance of cost and capability,” said Reisinger.

The school board policy that explains student’s use, rights, and responsibilities was approved at the school board meeting August 19. According to the policy, the laptops are the property of Penn Manor School District, but are the student’s responsibility from the time the laptop is given out until it is returned to the district at the end of the school year.

The laptops can be accessed remotely if one is stolen or missing or if there are any technical problems. Employees are not allowed to access student files until the laptop is returned to the district or if there is reason to believe that the student is committing or participating in suspicious activity.

In the official contract, students must agree that the laptops are for academic use only. Students may not use the laptops in harmful ways that may threaten the welfare of someone else or the community. Students are also prohibited to promote any unlawful activities. Students may not update and change any hardware and/ or software unless approved by the technology staff first.

Students are expected to treat the laptops as if it was their own property. Students may not copy any copyrighted material for any reason and may not download any illegal software. However, students may download purchased music. Students should avoid viruses and scams and back up their information. The laptops are not to be at any sporting event or left unattended.

If the laptops are damaged, used for any non school purposes or any of the school rules are violated, the student may be punished.

According to the discipline section of the school board’s official 1:1 program’s laptop policy, punishments include the limitation or prohibition of the laptops permanently or temporarily and any cost is to be paid if the laptop is damaged or missing.

Students are encouraged to contact the technology department if support is needed. The 1:1 program has a number of students who are helping out with any of the laptop issues or support.

“The student help desk team has been a vital part of this program. They are doing an outstanding job with troubleshooting issues, preparing laptops, training peers and writing documentation,” said Reisinger.

“The computers function pretty well,” said Ryan Conner who uses the laptop for a Chinese class.

Open Campus student Kelly St. John said, “They (the laptops) are nice and light to carry around.”

Reisinger is pleased that the pilot has been going as expected. Reisinger states that the only significant change needed is to purchase more durable laptop cases for January’s switch.

“Overall, students are acting professionally and being respectful of the laptops… and having fun while they learn,” said Reisinger.

Library receives updates for new school year

By Tori Ressler

Penn Manor High School’s library has a lot of new additions this year, from new laptops to new books and even a new library website.

The main addition to the library is the student tech help center. In January, all students will be getting their own personal laptop. The library will have a tech area where students can go if they need any help or have any questions.

Librarian Mr. Jeff Taylor said the library will continue to offer printing and the library computers will remain.

Mr. Taylor also said that there are many new books this year. Some of the books he had listed were the Mortal Instruments, the third book in the Divergent series, the second Ravens Boy book, and many more.

He had said that most of the books that they were gathering for this year were because of all the movies based off books coming out.

Another book Mr. Taylor is excited for is a new book called House of Hades coming out soon from the author of the Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan.

“I already pre-ordered it!”, said Mr. Taylor.

The high school’s library has a very cool way for students to be able to take out 80 books at once. They have seven Kindles available to students. All the Kindles have the same 80 books on them. In order to check out a Kindle you have to first get a permission slip and have your parents sign it.

The library also now has its own website. Mr.Taylor said it is up and running but there are still a few blank pages that they have to fill in. It is a work in progress but he said for the most part everything is almost up.

Cafeteria changes intended to provide healthier school lunches

By Sarah Sanchez

Have you walked into the lunch room and noticed a difference? Yes, small drinks such as, lemonade, tea and even small waters are gone. Students might have also noticed that desserts are officially missing from the main lunch and many other changes have been made.

“Lunch changes are due to the sugar content,” Mrs. Sherlyn Wolf, cafeteria manager, said.

According to Mrs. Wolf, Penn Manor is only able to serve students and staff a certain amount of starches and sugars, and serving sizes are important. Government regulations determine how many fruits and vegetables and which kinds of fruits and vegetables to serve since Penn Manor is included in the National School Lunch Program. The National School Lunch Program is a federal program that provides low cost or free lunches to students who need help paying for meals.

There’s just one question. Whatever happened to the small waters that came with lunch last year? They don’t have sugar or starches, so why are they gone?

Mr. Randy Wolfgang, director of support services, explained that federal regulation will not allow any substance to substitute for milk, not even water.

“Students are not required to get a milk, though they are required to get a fruit or vegetable,” said Mr. Wolfgang.

Other school districts are also involved in the healthy food kick. Jeanne Kandra, director of food services for Manheim Township, told Lancaster Online, “We continue to serve more and more local fruits and vegetables when in season.”

A new addition to the new lunch changes that Wolfgang brought to attention was that last year there was only 50 percent whole grain in lunches, but this year it’s 100 percent whole grain. If you have not noticed, even chicken nuggets and meats are now whole grain.

Next year school will be required to have sodium reduced. The cafeteria will be required to serve more fruits and vegetables, and meat will be optional since most of the lunch’s calories come from the meat that is served. These changes will also affect breakfast according to Wolfgang.

Lunch changes are also market driven or due to student preferences. For example, last year clam chowder soup was not a huge hit, so this year you may notice that clam chowder with not be around as often.

“Last year I loved being able to get a small water that I didn’t have to pay extra for. I hate that I have to pay extra for a big drink and I hate milk,” said Penn Manor senior Sierra Bland. “I also never eat the fruit. I just give it to someone else.”

Lunch changes are also to make lunches that are sold more healthy. You can choose to get your sweets, but they will no longer come with main lunches.

New club hopes to impact students

By Cassie Kreider

There was a banana in school on Friday September, 13. No, not a real banana; those can be found in the cafeteria. This banana was all flesh and bone under its felt fabric.

At an assembly, it was explained to students that depression doesn’t always stick out like someone in a banana suit does. The person in the banana was a high school student from Cocalico, where the movement called Aevidum, first started.

Ms. Maria Vita, psychology teacher, and Mrs. Kimberly Marsh, a counselor at Penn Manor High School, were approached by the former superintendent of the school, Mr. Don Stewart, about potentially starting a branch of Aevidum at Penn Manor High School.

Vita hopes that starting Aevidum here will “encourage students and faculty to practice behaviors that promote their well-being; no one in this school should feel alone in their struggle or sadness. We recognize that this life can bring trauma and difficulties, and we want a platform where it is acceptable to talk about these heavy ideas (depression, stress, body-image, etc,).

“As a psychology teacher Aevidum appealed to me because there are a growing number of empirical or scientific studies that support positive psychology,” said Vita.

Aevidum, which is a made up word, gets its meaning from its Latin root “vid”, meaning life. According to the Aevidum website, Aevidum in schools means, “a culture of care,” an “I’ve got your back” philosophy that transforms elementary, middle and high schools.

Aevidum was started by English teacher and now Executive Director of Aevidum, Joe Volupas, at Cocalico High School after one of his students, Kyle, took his own life. Kyle’s younger sister, Emily, spoke about her brother’s suicide for the first time here at Penn Manor.

Among the things Volupas called for were musicians, skaters, artists and athletes to help spread the word of Aevidum as far as possible, with songs written about friendship, skateboards with the Aevidum logo on the bottom, posters promoting Aevidum and videos showcasing what Aevidum is all about.

Aevidum is an “empowerment movement that is creating a culture of care where every single person matters.” People need to believe in the voices of youth, said Volupas.

Volupas went on to say that, “suicide is almost 100 percent preventable.” It’s everyone’s job to get their friends to a counselor, a teacher or to someone who can and will do something to help that friend out.

This sign hangs outside Ms. Vita’s room in the history hallway.

Olivia Bailey, a senior at Penn Manor High School, said she joined Aevidum because, “I have a couple of friends who have gone through really hard times and I loved the whole idea of the club and how it tries to promote a positive atmosphere throughout the entire school.

Because Aevidum hasn’t officially started at the high school yet, a few students have been working to get students to pledge Aevidum, which means pledging to help a student in need.

Bailey said that so far, about a hundred students have signed up. Aevidum will most likely split up between the club days so that certain students come on different days.

For more information, there is an official website for Aevidum, http://aevidum.org/. Vita has also started her own wikispaces page for Penn Manor’s branch of Aevidum, http://pmaevidum.wikispaces.com/.

Aevidum will meet Tuesdays in room 316. More information concerning sign-up and meeting times and places will be available in the cafeteria during club sign ups.

Penn Manor’s top five favorite outdoor activities

By Lauren Hillegas and Alexis Cunningham

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We recently surveyed a total of 45 students in grades 9 through 12 about their favorite outdoor activities from a list of 10 and then the top five were recorded. The top five are as follows:

1. Outdoor games and sports

2. Swimming

3. Music festivals and concerts

4. Camping and bonfires

5. Boating and kayaking

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Local places to go for these activities:

Sports- parks, fields and yards

Swimming- Millersville pool, Conestoga pool and Mountville pool

Music festivals- Longs Park, Chameleon Club and personal preference

Camping- Muddy Run, Outdoor World and Tucquan Park Family Camp Ground

Boating- Susquehanna river, Conestoga river and other large bodies of water

Penn Manor students, staff share summer plans

By Emily Adams and Cici Padua

When that final school day ends letting you know you’re free for three months to enjoy your summer, what will you be doing? Some say they might be working, getting ready for their next couple years of schooling (college), or just basically relaxing for the time being before they have to strap down and start another year of schooling and work. We asked students, teachers and staff how they plan to spend the summer, and here is how they responded:

Chris Roberts-Junior "Going to South Carolina beach." — Chris Roberts-Junior
“Going to South Carolina beach.”

Ms. Lonergan- Teacher ‘Working, hiking in Maine, and also training for a marathon.” — Ms. Lonergan- Teacher
‘Working, hiking in Maine, and also training for a marathon.”

Mark Smith-Senior “Working at a company in New Jersey” — Mark Smith-Senior
“Working at a company in New Jersey”

Mrs. Valentine-Secretary “Going to see my grandparents preview of their movie.” Opening date is the 19th of July 2013. Name of movie is called “The Conjuring.” — Mrs. Valentine-Secretary
“Going to see my parents preview of their movie.” Opening date is July 19. The name of the movie is called “The Conjuring.”

Sarah Evarts-Senior “Working at the pool and teaching swimming lessons.” — Sarah Evarts-Senior
“Working at the pool and teaching swimming lessons.”

vmXpGM4exvLCiQ1OCzsBcG9IyUBOOFKyJnpY57No1VWreZjPTddL5Y5_DOhgIVMaRw=w1600 — Kelsey McBryde-Senior
“Senior week, then a family vacation to North Carolina, and working.”

UOOujeSygVxqKFUUj-_gjn8suKN_8761q-JRER2in8GO48eUvvvSze_w2Vo8dWh24w=w1600 — Mr. Eby- Principap
“Working all of June and August, but gets to enjoy the beach in July for a week spending time with family.”

ujrbn4AT9mOCt5Vs2bcV8gskSOvz-5ofDqQI0O_NL4jZx3rpi4ldpZ_8wcdLLeEiFg=w1600 — Mr. Taylor-Librarian
“Spending time with my 3-month-old daughter and 2-year old son.” The end of this year makes the mark of his first year as a librarian.

Salma Tumanga-Senior Getting ready for college; going to attend Millersville. Going to stay at home while attending college and working a lot. — Salma Tumanga-Senior
Getting ready for college; going to attend Millersville. Going to stay at home while attending college and working a lot.

Kyle Musser-Senior modeling on June the 31st, Dutch Wonderland in mind, Phineas & Ferb inspires his ideas.” — Kyle Musser-Senior
modeling on June the 31st, Dutch Wonderland in mind, Phineas & Ferb inspires his ideas.”

Ryan Flexman- Senior “Going to the beach a Lot, working and going to college, hangout with girlfriend.” — Ryan Flexman- Senior
“Going to the beach a lot, working and going to college, hang out with girlfriend.”

Samara Figueroa-Junior(on right) “Getting a summer job, going to the beach and amusement parks.” Whitney Wise-Junior(on left) ‘Working at Wendy’s, going to the beach and amusement parks, enjoying her cotton candy.” — Samara Figueroa-Junior (left)
“Getting a summer job, going to the beach and amusement parks.”
Whitney Wise-Junior (right)
‘Working at Wendy’s, going to the beach and amusement parks, enjoying her cotton candy.”

Mr. Brenton- Teacher “Going to Seattle, Washington to watch son graduate.” — Mr. Brenton- Teacher
“Going to Seattle, Washington to watch son graduate.”

Josh Bennett-Senior “Going to Disney” — Josh Bennett-Senior
“Going to Disney”

Mr. Schueing- Teacher “Recruiting for F&M baseball across the country, playing baseball locally, going on a vacation with wife (Tybee, Georgia) basically relaxing.” — Mr. Schueing- Teacher
“Recruiting for F&M baseball across the country, playing baseball locally, going on a vacation with wife (Tybee, Georgia) basically relaxing.”

Penn Manor Class of 2013 Lights up the Night at prom

By Danielle Johnson and Michelle Zercher

The Penn Manor Class of 2013 celebrated the ending of their high school years on Friday, May 10 at the Eden Resort from 5-10 p.m.

The theme of this years prom was “Light Up The Night.” The theme allowed decorations of hanging lanterns and candles on the tables. Even the monogrammed gel candles for the students to take home tied in with the theme.

The Prom Committee worked hard to prepare a night of relaxation and celebration for the senior class.

Senior Jillian Heckman said, “The goal of this year’s prom committee was simple. We wanted to give seniors one last chance to celebrate all the remarkable accomplishments we have achieved over the past four years and to recognize they are a part of an amazing class of individuals.”

A total of 400 students and guests gathered in the courtyard of the Eden to eat and dance the night away.

Of the 400 attendees, 227 people ordered the stuffed chicken breast, 109 ordered the sliced beef and 50 ordered the manicotti. There was one gluten-free meal served and five vegan meals.

The following are pictures of students who attended prom and some of their favorite parts.

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Spring cleaning at Long’s Park

By Mrs. Taylor’s and Mrs. McMichael’s Life Skills and School to Work classes

On Friday April 26 the Serteen Club, Autistic Support Class, Life Skills and School to Work classes joined together for a day of spring cleaning at Lancaster’s Long’s Park. The Serteen Club organizes a park clean up every year to beautify the park in preparation for the Sertoma Chicken BBQ on May 18.

The Serteen Club advisor, Mrs. Rathbone-Frank explained, “Most of the students really just want to help other people.”

Serteen is a teenage branch of the Sertoma Club. The Serteens do service projects that they plan and help other organizations such as the Millersville Parade Committee.

The Autistic Support, Life Skills and School to Work classes help at Long’s Park side by side with the Serteen students weeding, planting, mulching, and picking up trash. It’s a day of hard dirty work, but the chance to socialize and make new friends is priceless.

The day is a very productive one with old beds being cleaned out, new annuals planted in the various beds throughout the park, and finally fresh mulch being spread on the flower beds and the playgrounds to keep the little ones safe. The Long’s Park staff supplies everything needed in the way of gloves, garden tools, digging shovels, and wheelbarrows, just to name a few.

This year was especially nice because the weather cooperated and no one had to deal with the cold, rain or mud. At lunch the students break for a pizza party, and appetites are satisfied with the pizza, snacks and drinks that are supplied by the Serteen Club and Life Skills class. During the day while the students are working hard, fresh drinks are delivered periodically to those who needed them.

“It was fun, and I would definitely come back next year,” Destiny Osborne, a first year student.

“I find the day interesting, and I learn something new each time I go,” said Cristian Phibbs.

Senioritis strikes again

Perhaps these sleeping students are also suffering from senioritis. photo credit: Jens-Olaf via photopin cc

By Josh Lefever

Every year new students graduate from high school. Every year students begin to slack and some of their work starts to slip. Many colleges each year take back their acceptance to students for low academic performance in their senior year.

When many students were asked if they thought that they did procrastinate more in their senior year some had very different answers.

Richard Schulz is a prime example of a “procrastinator.“

“Yes, I have waited way too long to do papers and homework assignments, said Schulz. “I’ve found myself up late many nights trying to get a paper done for the next day.”

Harrison Schettler also agreed that he has slacked much more his senior year.

Some students allow senioritis to carry over from their senior year to their freshman year of college. They slack and some even get kicked out of college.

Many students at Penn Manor do not think the overall slack of their senior year will transfer into college.

“I am going to make sure I actually get my work done in advance, and study for all my tests,’” said Schulz.

Shettler actually has some motivation to keep his grades up here and in college.

“Next year I’ll be running track so I think that will help me keep my grades up.”

Some of you may be wondering if these students planned for an easy senior year.

“I did not purposely make me schedule easier, but I would say that i’ve had much more fun this year in many of my classes,” said Schulz.

Danielle Landis and Shettler both agreed they also did not plan to have an easy senior year.

As the year is dwindling down now students can see how their effort decreased across time.

“Yes I would say my work ethic at the beginning was much higher than now,” said Schulz. “Just all the things that i’ve done this year has shown me I am almost done with this part of my life.”