It’s close to the time when Penn Manor High School’s orchestra and chorus members go on a week trip to perform for a crowd. This year is Disney World. The Disney trip happens every three years and the trip is for fun and a chance to sing in front of a big and new crowd of people.
“Performing in Disney is an exciting experience for high school students,” said chorus teacher Lauren Forbes. “It provides them with an opportunity to share their talents with a large audience outside of the traditional Penn Manor High School auditorium setting.”
The chorus will sing on Thursday, April 18 at Downtown Disney, but begin their journey in the Animal Kingdom. The rest of the trip they may go where they please as long as they stay in Disney World.
The 95 people including chaperones have spent about a year raising money for the trip. The fundraisers that helped pay for each individuals trip were Mary Kay, Joe Corbi’s Pizza, christmas wreaths, Bender Bingo, chicken bbq and subs.
Some of the members going are first timers, while others are revisiting.
“I’m really excited! I haven’t been to Disney in awhile. I’m excited to sing there cause it’s a new experience I will have.” said Patience Burd, a senior who is an active chorus member.
While others are excited to see new attractions, some are ready for a brand new experience.
“I have never been there, so it will be a new experience.” says Hanna Eichelman, a ninth grader and a first timer for Disney.
The week-long trip will be from April 16-21, 2013.
The 2012-2013 Manor FFA officers will hand over the reins to the new officer team at tonight’s banquet. Photo provided.
By Danielle Johnson
Manor FFA will hold its annual awards banquet tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria.
The main event of the banquet is the new officer installation. On February 25, FFA members interviewed for a chance to hold an office for the 2013-2014 school year. The new officer team was selected by a group of alumni and three FFA seniors.
The old officers will swear the 13 members of the new officer team into their positions. The president will be junior Kayla Major and her vice presidents will be juniors Katie Hess and Jesse Burkholder. Junior Victoria Herr and freshman Nathan Phan will be the secretaries and junior Aaron Breneman the advisor. The treasurers will be freshmen Katey Bleacher and Justin High. Freshman Brooke Pannell will be the reporter. Freshman Cheyanne Ditzler will be sentinel and freshman Sammy Bleacher will be chaplain. Freshman Brooke Riffert will be the historian, and Parliamentarian went to sophomore Wayne Rineer.
When the new officers were announced, Major said she was excited and hoped to involve new people in the organization.
“I’m looking forward to making the entire chapter feel even more like a family. I want to get our members more involved and excited about FFA and agriculture,” said Major. “I don’t come from a direct ag background so I want to make more people aware that you don’t need to live on a farm of come from a farm background to be in FFA.”
The new officer team will be in charge of the FFA members and activities for the next school year. Current president Katrina Reiff, a senior, said that the banquet is a great example of the leadership by the officer team. The banquet is a great time to portray the responsibility the new officers will be taking on.
Another important part of the banquet is the awards ceremony.
Members interviewed at awards interview night on February 11. All members going out for an award are interviewed about their FFA involvement by a panel of alumni.
The panel then decides who will receive each award. For those members who interview for a specialty award, the panel elects them to receive awards based on their FFA involvement and record books.
Many members just go out for their degrees. These are the awards that you earn for each year of involvement in FFA. There will be 35 first-year members receiving Greenhand Degree, five second-year members receiving Chapter Degrees, 12 third-year members receiving Red Rose Degrees, six seniors receiving Keystone Degrees, and one graduate receiving an American Degree.
Graduating seniors have the opportunity to give a speech, which allows them time to reflect on their growth and thank everyone who has helped them along the way.
Students in the Activities Club enjoyed a “Minute to Win It” game at a recent meeting.
By the Life Skills and School to Work classes
The Activities Club was started by the Life Skills and School to Work classes in the 2008-2009 school year. Club members have a great time meeting new people and socializing during club time and after school activities.
Every year the Activities Club plans many fun events. During the club period, the members meet and plan a monthly activity to participate in after school hours.
The first big event of the current school year was tailgating. The club makes Penn Manor merchandise and snacks to sell. They then go to the football game and enjoy watching the game together. This year, Activities Club members even got to sit on the field to watch the game.
The club also celebrates the holidays by holding a party during club period at school, which includes a Secret Santa gift exchange. The club also recently held a game night where the students played video games, board games and enjoyed snacks together.
“The club is wonderful. I like hanging out with my friends,” said club member Alex Ditmer.
Students in the Activities Club enjoyed a “Minute to Win It” game at a recent meeting.
On Thursdays during club period, the students are challenged with “Minute to Win It” and team building activities.
“My favorite game was ‘Junk in the Trunk’ because we had so much fun,” said club member Cristian Phibbs.
The club ends the school year with a picnic at the Millersville Park to celebrate another fun and successful year with games and a cookout.
Some future activities the club might participate in include bowling, miniature golf and watching movies together.
To be part of this club, students must see Mrs. Melissa McMichael in room 239 or Mrs. Rachel Taylor in room 235 to fill out an application at the beginning of the school year during club sign ups. The Activities Club can accept up to 35 applications.
“I play a string instrument because I can’t sing” said Sam Huyser, senior in the PMHS orchestra.
For many orchestra members, that is the case. But when joining orchestra, there are plenty more benefits than a “non-singers support group.’’
Every cycle day one, three and five, string players from all areas of Penn Manor high school join in practicing for the upcoming concerts and gigs planned throughout the year. This year, the orchestra has expanded the number of participating members.
Sara Ricciardi, conductor of the Penn Manor Middle and High School orchestras, recalls her first year conducting the high school orchestra.
“In my first year here in 2008, I only had six musicians-total,” Ricciardi said. “There were five violins and one viola. It was shocking.”
This year, there are seven cellos — a very rare sight in a high school orchestra-two basses, three violas and 18 violins.
Why care? Studies show that musically involved young adults perform better academically in all subjects.
Ricciardi explains that in music, there are many different types of subjects, all combined.
“In music, musicians use math to count each beat in the measure to know when they join in,” said Ricciardi. “Many musicians also have utilized history, language arts, reading skills and physics to aid them while playing.”
She also believes that students gain knowledge when learning to play an instrument.
Ricciardi also stated that music is an international language. Musicians speaking any language can look at the exact same sheet of music and be able to understand and play them-the notes don’t have to be translated into that musician’s language as do most things in the world.
Students without a musical background who are interested in playing an instrument shouldn’t be afraid to try, according to Allison Ulaky, who plays the oboe.
“When I began playing the oboe, I had absolutely no musical background, but I decided to try it anyway,” said Ulaky.
Many students, teachers and staff have needed items like these as the flu has affected many this season.
By Lauren Hillegas
H3N2 hit the East Coast with a vengeance this winter, and young people are the most susceptible to this strain of flu.
Penn Manor High School was just one of many schools that was hit hard by the flu epidemic this winter. Numerous students and faculty members were victims of the 2013 H3N2 strain.
“I’ve seen at least 30-40 students with flu-like symptoms within a time period of three weeks,” said Mrs. Ann Butterfield, nurse at Penn Manor.
Junior Alexis Cunningham said that she missed one week of school and had the flu for a total of 12 days.
“It was the week before finals, so I had to cram all the work I missed and studying together,” said Cunningham.
Commonly reported symptoms of the flu include fever, chills, sore throat, dry cough and body aches. And this latest flu epidemic had many students missing school at a vital time of the year — Keystone testing, final exams and the beginning of a new semester.
According to Mrs. Butterfield, preventing sickness and staying well is imperative.
“A flu vaccine, coughing into your elbow, not touching your face and frequent hand washing are excellent prevention steps that anyone can take to stay well.”
However, for those students who fall victim to the H3N2, Mrs. Butterfield has advice that will hopefully aid in the recovery from their ailments.
“Drink plenty of fluids, get a lot of rest and tell a doctor.”
She adds that it can take up to two weeks for one to recover from the illness, but they will continue to experience phases of tiredness.
As the height of the reported H3N2 cases start to dwindle here on the East Coast, as well as in Lancaster County and throughout the Penn Manor community, the flu still continues to be prevalent.
Hershey Park is one of three options for the senior class trip.
By Anthony Polaski
Although a decision of where and exactly when hasn’t been reached yet, the Penn Manor senior class trip is rapidly approaching. Seniors were given a chance to vote recently on which of three amusement parks they would like to attend for the trip.The choices were Hershey Park, Dorney Park and Six Flags Great Adventure.
According to senior class officer Katie Irwin, Hershey Park appears likely to come out on top.
Hershey Park is the closest out of the three choices with only about a 50-minute, 30-mile drive. It also received the highest reviews out of the three on Google reviews scoring a 25/30. Hershey has more than 65 rides and attractions, 11 roller coasters and 13 water rides.
Recently, Hershey tore down one of its roller coasters, The Roller Soaker, and is replacing it with a new 5000-square-foot water “sprayground” area suitable for all ages but generally geared towards those looking for a less thrilling water experience.
Hershey Park differs from the other options and most amusement parks in general because its chocolate factory and Chocolate World at the entrance of the park. Chocolate World consists of multiple Hershey-related amusements including a historic tour ride. Also, this complex is a superstore of Hershey products.
After taking a poll of 10 students’ destination choices, Hershey Park was chosen 7 out of 10 times.
“It’s a closer drive than Six Flags but still a really nice park, said senior Jason Green, one of the polled students. “Also it’ll give us more time to spend in the park.“
Another option for the senior class trip was Dorney Park. Dorney Park has 59 rides including eight roller coasters and 18 water rides. It’s about an hour and a half away from Penn Manor High School. Compared to Hershey’s 25/30 on Google review, Dorney receives a 22/30.
“It has always been my favorite park to go to as a kid, and I always have a blast,” said senior Richard Schulz, part of the minority who voted for Dorney.
The last choice was Six Flags Great Adventure. Great Adventure is two hours and 15 minutes away. Featuring Kingda Ka, a multiple world-record-breaking coaster, there is a total of 51 rides at the park including 12 other roller coasters. Even though they possess a super coaster and other famous attractions, they only manage a 24/30 on Google reviews, putting them slightly below Hershey.
Families, coaches and classmates piled into the Penn Manor High School library on February 6 to watch 23 Penn Manor student-athletes sign their letters of intent. According to Penn Manor Athletic Director Jeff Roth, this is the largest number of participating students in Penn Manor’s history.
First Row (left to right): Jessie Greenslade, Lindsay Hutchinson, Shannon Sloss, Danielle Landis, Eryn McCoy, Emily McCoy, and Lauren Ali. Middle Row (left to right): Tim Harris, Darren Weidman, Daulton Parmer, Brady Charles, Harrison Schettler, Aaron Brown, and Kyle Musser. Back Row (left to right): Connor Fink, Taylor Skelly, Adam Hess, Zac Burke, Alex Quinn, Cooper Lindsley, Travis Wells, Jonathan Bitner, and Mac Evarts.
There were 11 Division I athletes, four Division II athletes, five Division III athletes and three nominated to military academies. According to NCAA.org, student-athletes who sign a letter of intent agree to attend the designated college or university for at least one year.
Senior Danielle Landis had mixed emotions after signing with East Stroudsburg to play soccer.
“I’m one of the people who isn’t ready to leave high school because I know I’m going to miss everything, especially my friends,” said Landis. She added that adapting to a new surrounding will be difficult, but that she is prepared to focus her attention on soccer and the exercise science program she plans to attend.
Senior Brady Charles, who signed with Jacksonville University and will play lacrosse, had a positive attitude when talking about leaving Pennsylvania for Florida.
“Jacksonville is very strong in my major, the team is on the rise, and the campus is amazing,” said Charles. “Also is nice knowing that I’ll be 10 minutes away from the beach and in nice weather year-round.”
Brady plans to major in Nursing at Jacksonville.
Seniors Eryn and Emily McCoy will play field hockey at Boston College. When asked about why they chose Boston College, the twins agreed that the size of the campus, great academics and excitement of a new level of field hockey were the deciding factors.
Dreams will become a reality for baseball player Zac Burke and soccer player Lindsay Hutchinson.
Playing baseball in the south has been a goal for Burke for as long as he can remember. Burke signed to play baseball for Coastal Carolina University.
“It’ll be so nice being able to practice outside in the offseason and also for the opportunity to play for a school where the baseball program has always been respected, competitive and successful,” said Burke.
It wasn’t about the weather for Lindsay Hutchinson.
“It’s been my dream since I was a little girl to play D1 soccer, and it’s exciting that it’s finally here,” said Hutchinson, who signed with Stony Brook University.
Even though they both will be living their childhood dreams, Burke and Hutchinson were two of many who agreed that leaving friends and family behind when starting their own life in college will be very difficult.
Louisville University’s newest field hockey recruit, Shannon Sloss, leaves Pennsylvania on July 10 to get a head start on classes and team training. Sloss described her initial visit as nothing short of perfection.
“When I went out there, I fell in love with the campus and the devotion the school has to sports,” said Sloss. “Everyone was so nice, and I felt really comfortable there, unlike at some other schools.”
She is most excited to play Division I field hockey and meet new people.
Senior Harrison Schettler’s words of wisdom to student-athletes were simple, but definitely sum up the life of an athlete.
“It’s cheesy, but hard work does pay off,” said Schettler.
Schettler will attend Shippensburg University to run cross country and track. He loves the idea of meeting new people and teammates, but knows that he’ll miss his Penn Manor teammates, coaches and friends.
“It’ll be weird knowing that we are all going our separate ways,” he said.
In addition to Landis, Charles, Hutchinson, Sloss, Burke, Schettler, Eryn McCoy and Emily McCoy, the following Penn Manor students signed letters of intent:
Lauren Ali, Saint Mary’s College of California (lacrosse)
Jonathan Bitner, Cedarville University (cross-country & track)
Aaron Brown, Lebanon Valley College (golf)
Zac Burke, Coastal Carolina University (baseball)
Brady Charles, Jacksonville University (lacrosse)
Mac Evarts, Washington & Lee University (wresling)
Connor Fink, Nominated for Appointment to West Point (cross-country & track)
Jessie Greenslade, George Mason University (volleyball)
Tim Harris, Lebanon Valley College (baseball)
Adam Hess, Nominated for Appointment to Naval Academy (football, basketball, lacrosse)
Lindsay Hutchinson, Stony Brook University (soccer)
Danielle Landis, East Stroudsburg University (soccer)
Cooper Lindsley, Seton Hall University (swimming)
Emily McCoy, Boston College (field hockey)
Eryn McCoy, Boston College (field hockey)
Kyle Musser, Kutztown University (football)
Daulton Parmer, Lycoming College (football)
Alex Quinn, Nominated for Appointment to West Point (football, basketball, baseball)
Harrison Schettler, Shippensburg University (cross-country & track)
Taylor Skelly, Franklin & Marshall College (soccer)
Darren Weidman, Saint Joseph’s University (baseball)
Travis Wells, Coastal Carolina University (track)
Valentine’s Day is a time when pink hearts seem to pop up in every place imaginable, roses are top sellers in all flower shops and those delicious chocolates and heart-shaped candies end up being the majority of our diets for the month of February.
For some, this holiday is just commercialized to make us spend a couple more dollars. While to others, it’s one day of the year you get spend telling and showing your sweetheart how much he or she really means to you. And to the others still, it is just another day. But what does it mean to you?
Penn Manor students offered a variety of persepctives.
“Valentine’s Day is overrated,” said freshman Jack Zimmerman. “It’s made to be way more than it actually is and I don’t enjoy the holiday.”
Sophomore Carolyn Weber offers another perspective.
“It is a cute holiday, and even more so if you have someone to share it with,” said Weber. Her plans are to spend time with some of her friends getting dinner and watching a movie together.
“I enjoy Valentine’s Day because it is a holiday full of happiness and love,” said freshman Will Forrey. Forrey plans to take his girlfriend of more than one year out for dinner.
Some students have no opinion on the subject of Valentine’s Day.
“I’m neutral,” said freshman Bennett Manning. “I don’t really care about it one way or another. Heck, I don’t even know when Valentine’s Day is.”
The holiday is celebrated at Penn Manor High School in a couple of ways. Tri-M sends singing grams out for students, and the Thespians sell candy grams. About every two years, Student Council organizes a match-maker event where students fill out surveys and receive matches, but that event is not being held this year.
In one way or another, almost all Penn Manor High School students and teachers have been affected by the November 8 dryer fire that began in the FCS wing and spread smoke throughout the hallways of the school. Most of the fire’s effects have since been resolved.
“Most of the damage was in terms of smoke damage,” said Dr. Phil Gale, principal.
After the smoke spread to the halls, the ventilation system sucked up the smoke and spread the smoke to the other parts of the school. As a result, the hallways around the Central Complex, the East Gym, the auditorium, and the FCS wing were impacted the most.
Dr. Gale said there were no permanent effects from the fire.
“If we hadn’t cleaned it thoroughly, the smell would have come back,” said Dr. Gale.
The district hired Paul Davis Restoration to clean everything thoroughly to get rid of the fine particles of soot the naked eye can’t see. The school district chose Paul Davis because the district has worked with the company before and it is one of the largest companies in the country. The clean up was paid for by the district’s insurance policy after the district paid a $1,000 deductible.
By Christmas break, Paul Davis Restoration had cleaned everywhere except the cafeteria. The company came back during the break to clean this area because students use the cafeteria every day and it cannot be replaced by another room. According to Dr. Gale, the company finished the project ahead of schedule.
“They did a very thorough job…very accommodating for what we needed to have done,” Dr. Gale said.
The fire also affected the teachers of the FCS department whose classrooms were closest to the source of the fire.
“They took every chair, table, filing cabinets, my aprons, my food; they threw out my hand soap. They cleaned the appliances and cabinets,” said Mrs. Mindy Rottmund. All of her videos and files were ruined, and much of her food and supplies were, too.
Rottmund’s classes were moved to the computer lab in room 208 so that her room could be completely cleaned. Other teachers gave her supplies to help replace things she lost.
“For a few days, it was like being a brand new teacher because I had to start new lessons from scratch.”
FCS teacher Ms. Elizabeth Sheerer was also affected by the fire. Sheerers classes were relocated to the computer labs until after Thanksgiving break. If it hadn’t been for Sheerer’s laptop, she wouldn’t have had any of her files.
“I almost felt like a new teacher because I didn’t have my normal files, activities and supplies,” said Sheerer.
Her students did miss their room and asked frequently when they would return.
“I made use of the computer labs by having different activities relating to nutrition, car shopping and loans and housing options. With the generosity of the staff, (and the) whole district, we were able to have some supplies to last until our things came back and we could “run” a normal class,” said Sheerer.
The washer/dryer combo was damaged in the fire and many things were cleaned, but many items cannot be treuend. Some of the items lost included those for a fashion class.
“Mrs. Rottmund and I lost some of our Thanksgiving break due to unpacking over 400 boxes and trying to get our rooms organized again. We had to clean all the dishes and inside cabinets of the two kitchens, organize our office and the main room I use had to have all the cabinets cleaned inside,” Sheerer said.
Students in the First Priority Christian Club had collected toys, clothing, toiletry products and money to donate to Operation Christmas Child.
“The completed boxes were stored in my IPC until mailing scheduled on Friday, November 9. However, the fire broke out on the 8th and the shoe boxes were removed from school. We did not know if they would return or not,” said Rottmund.
Luckily, a $400 donation was given to the club to replace the lost donations.
“Unfortunately, the mailing deadline had passed, so the club decided to purchase toys at Toys R Us and donate them to the Toys For Tots/Water Street Rescue Mission,” Rottmund said.
Meanwhile, the original donations were returned, so First Priority decided to donate the $168, which was supposed to have been used to mail the donations, to Samaritan’s Purse. The club then gave the original donations to the Penn Manor Needy Family Program in order to give the other toys along with the Giving Tree donations.
By Mrs. McMichael’s and Mrs. Taylor’s Life Skills and School to Work classes
Students from the Penn Manor High School Life Skills class joined other classes from Lebanon-Lancaster Intermediate Unit 13 to show and sell an assortment of homemade crafts. The bazaar, held at Burle Industries in Lancaster, is is an annual event that the Life Skills class participates in each year. It is designed to help prepare the students to learn basic work skills, good communication and money skills.
The Life Skills class had a lot of success selling a variety of holiday crafts, including cinnamon ornaments and Silly Santas made from old Christmas balls.
“I liked the smell of the cinnamon as we were rolling out the dough,” said Jordan Hillery, a Penn Manor student.
“I had fun being creative,” said Freddie Antes of making the Silly Santa ornaments.
One customer purchased the entire box of Silly Santas.
The students also made neck warmers with different fragrances. Aaron Dimm helped sew the neck warmers.
“I had fun learning to use the sewing machine ,” said Aaron.
Some of the students’ parents helped the class with the Christmas Bazaar, including Mrs. Barb Phibbs, Mrs. Kristina Bates-Ross and Mrs. Di Ann Duick. The students were grateful to benefit from their creativity, generosity, help and support.
Some of the money the class earned from the Holiday Bazaar will be used to pay for a trip at the end of the school year for the students of both the Life Skills and School to Work classes. The Life Skills class will also use some of the profits to purchase items for their classroom as needed throughout the school year.
Remaining holiday crafts will be for sale at the tables in the cafeteria from December 11-13 during all lunches. Teachers are encouraged to stop by Room 239 prior to the sale in the cafeteria to purchase Christmas gifts and décor.
