Category: Student Life

By Austin Rowley and Becca Hess –

No Penn Manor senior at Post Prom left without a prize and, more importantly, no one left without special memories to take with them for the rest of their lives.

Every year, after the Penn Manor’s Prom, a Post Prom is held at the high school. Post Prom is organized and planned out by a Post Prom committee. The committee is comprised of the parents of the graduating class of that year. Linda Simpson and Lynda Charles were the the heads of the committee.

Learning support teacher Kathy Kirk also played a huge role in conducting the activities that would take place at Post Prom.

“People were so good about helping out… I can’t say enough to thank them,” said Kirk. “Everybody had a hand in it, whether it was donating money or equipment. We used connections from all over to get donations and sponsorships… We went all over the place.”

Activities at Post Prom included a mechanical shark, a casino and beach volleyball. The committee also called in Chris Ivy, a fourth grade teacher at Eshleman Elementary, who juggled everything from bowling pins to machetes and Joanna Cameron, also known as “The Trance Lady,” who is a hypnotherapist.

Dylan Kniesley, a senior at Penn Manor, was one of the few students who had the opportunity to get hypnotized by Cameron. She gave those on stage who were getting hypnotized suggestions, and they would do what she said accordingly. Some of the suggestions included performing as Michael Jackson or Brittany Spears, playing the role as a Disney character running for president, and acting like a five year-old.

Kniesley was most noted for his Michael Jackson performance.

“I was zoned out the whole time. I don’t remember a thing,” said Kniesley. “You feel really relaxed once you start zoning out.”

Her Michael Jackson suggestion cued “Beat It,” to play in the background and Kniesley willingly took the stage and danced and sang along with the song. Videos of his performance were then posted on Facebook.

“I thought it was funny; I didn’t mind the videos on Facebook at all,” said Kniesley.

At the end of the night, prizes were raffled off. Students won tickets while playing the many games at Post Prom. The tickets that were awarded were placed into bags with different prize options on them, and a ticket with a name on the back was randomly selected for a lucky winner.

Kevin Brubaker, also a senior at Penn Manor, won an Xbox 360. Brubaker said that winning the Xbox was “sweet.”

“I only put in two tickets for the Xbox. I already sold it because I already have one,” said Brubaker. “Post Prom was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.”

“(Post Prom) was a lot of fun,” said senior Ryan Dettery. “Me and Austin (Hess) were doing the bungee thing and I was getting thrown around. It was more fun then I thought it would be and there were a lot of good prizes.”

Senior Elisa Ott also commented on how much she enjoyed Post Prom. “Seeing people getting thrown off of the (mechanical) shark and the hypnotist were funny… It was all great, ” said Ott.

The preparation that was involved to bring Post Prom to life, according to Kirk, took about a year. Anyone that attended Post Prom came to a pretty clear consensus that their efforts paid off and it was a huge success.

By Breiana Herr  & Alexa Stewart –

Most students can’t wait for that big “shazzam” at the end of their senior year, but that “shazzam” might just cost them an arm and a leg.

Females overall spend more on the prom than do the males because they have a lot more to get done. They have to get their hair, nails, dress, shoes, make-up, jewelry, flowers, and more while males really only need to get their tux, shoes, haircut, and flowers.

“I spent $400 on my dress including alterations, $85 on my hair, and $30 on my nails,” said Senior Taylor Goldberg.

“I spent $260 on my dress including alterations, $70 on hair including hair pieces, $35 on nails, and $13 on flowers,” said Senior Angela Oppido.

“I spent $115 on my dress, $450 on make-up, and $25 on nails,” said Senior Courtney Jacobs. “My make-up was so expensive because I got a whole set of make-up from Sephora and it was also a graduation present.”

“I spent $99 on my dress, $12 on make-up, and $8 on nails,” said Junior Katie Irwin. “I didn’t spend a lot of money on prom because it’s only my junior year and my friends did a lot of things for me like make-up and hair.”

“I spent $300 on my dress, $60 on hair, $30 on nails, $40 on make-up, $25 on shoes, $8 on flowers, and $130 on jewelry, but I had a $100 gift card for my jewelry,” said Senior Lindsay Sympson.

“I spent $166 on my dress, $200 on hair, $25 on nails, and $20 on flowers, said Senior Glady Clay.

One senior, Rebekah Shue, saved a lot of money on prom by borrowing a dress from her neighbor for free, she used shoes she already had, her friend did her hair for free, she did her own make-up, and they only thing she paid for was her nails.

Guys on the other hand spent way less . . .

“I spent $120 on my tux, and $32 on flowers,” said Senior Brendan Kincade.

“I spent $140 on my tux, and $20 on flowers,” said Senior Adam Morris.

“I spent $140 on my tux, and $20 on flowers,” said Senior Ryan Dettrey.

“I spent $175 on my tux, and &20 on flowers,” said Senior Austin Hess.

According to a 2012 Visa survey, the prom industry is valued at $4 billion, with the average family spending $1,078!

Most seniors agree that more students should of participated in the fund raising so that prom tickets were not as expensive as they were which each couple spending around $100 for tickets.

Katie Irwin is a class officer for the class of 2013 and said that they’re drilling it into their classes heads that they need to fund raising and it’s working. Their tickets should be around $30 as of now.

After the five hour night of fun, most seniors agree after prom is done that every penny they spent was well worth it.

 

 

 

By Alex Sorce –

It’s that time again.

The time that affects the same victims every year.

You know, the sneezing, sniffling, itchy eye watering, nose running time of the year.

It’s allergy season.

The spring season is bringing more than warm weather. Allergies are at the top of the charts again here in Penn Manor. Sniffling, and sneezing, there seems to always be someone blowing their nose in a classroom.

“The seasons are getting longer—they’re starting earlier and pollens are getting released earlier,” said Dr. Stanley Fineman, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and an allergist at the Atlanta Allergy and Asthma Clinic.

“There is also more CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the air, which plants feed off of causing them to release more pollen. This pollen can be more potent and more allergenic than it is with less CO2 in the air,” said Dr. Fineman.

Some students think that the allergies can be blamed by the weather changing. Most are affected by the release of pollen from flowers that are beginning to bloom.

“Trees, weeds, and flowers are blooming which is releasing pollen. Pollen is what causes allergy symptoms that causes trickily throats, runny noses, etc… Pollen is the agent causing symptoms,” said nurse Anne Butterfield.

“I just got allergies and I’m mostly affected when the weather changes drastically. In the morning my sinuses are congested,” said senior Brendan Kincade.

Not only are allergies effecting the wellness of students, it’s distracting to students and can even be embarrassing at times.

“I hate having allergies I have to blow my nose in front of people which I also hate doing.” said senior Karli Heiserman.

It seems that when not in allergy season everything is great for students and teachers, but when it finally hits, there’s no doubt that spring is here.

“I always forget about my allergies until spring time comes and it just hits me. Allergies cast a small shadow over my summer,” said science teacher Nick Schwartz.

Not everyone is as lucky as one Penn Manor student. Senior Matt Shroyer has no allergies and isn’t a victim to the terrorizing pollen.

“I can smell flowers without crying,” said Shroyer.

By Iris Santana and Brandon Bowers –

Globally, there are about 900 million Facebook users.

Worldwide, there are about 150,000 people waiting for an organ transplant.

Thousands of the 150,000 people die each year, due to the lack of donors. Now only if there was a way to get more people to be willing to donate their organs…

Well, Facebook has an idea. They plan to create a unique section called ‘Health and Wellness’ that will be attached with other biographical information where you will be able to share with the Facebook world that you’re an organ donor.

Penn Manor senior Matt Duvall is an organ donor.

“I think that this is a good idea for Facebook to have a direct link just for organ donors because if not many people want to donate then that’s their choice. But it will also help save lives and let people live a long life,” said Duvall.

According to an article in the New York Times, ‘The company announced  a plan on Facebook to start advertising their donor statuses on their pages, along with their birth dates and schools- a move that it hopes will create peer pressure to nudge more people to add their names to the rolls of registered organ donors.’

“This is going to be an historic day in transplant, This math will radically change and we may well eliminate the problem,” Dr. Andrew M. Cameron said in the interview with Times.

This application will have links to state online donor registries where users can become a donor.

“I went on the Facebook page where the donor information sheet was and it was so intense. They were asking everything like, if I ever broke a bone, if I ever overcame a habit, stuff like that. It was crazy just for a simple thing,” Duvall added.

A day after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement last week, 3,900 users signed up to become a donor, just in California alone. It also showed that each day, 70 more people registered online.

“That’s why this could do a whole lot of people a lot of good,” said Anne Paschke, the spokeswoman for UNOS, a nonprofit that manages the U.S. transplant system under a government contract, in an interview with philly.com.

Will Welsh a Penn Manor senior thinks otherwise.

“I’m not against the whole donating your organ thing because my mom is an organ donor and I respect that, but I just don’t want people digging in my body after I die to have my organs. I think that is nasty to put me inside someone else that needs it,” Welsh said.

“And also I saw the Facebook information sheet about it and its complicated. They ask for a lot. Even if I was a organ donor I wouldn’t waste my time filling it out,”  said Welsh. ” Yes I know they only take them once your dead, but its just weird to me.”

Facebook’s new organ donor program may be a great way to help save lives. They will be able to get the help they need and have it done efficiently.

By Alexa Stewart –

Teen birth rates in the United States have fallen to a record low in the seven decades since such statistics were last collected, and although not everyone agrees on the reason, it is reason to be encouraged.

“I believe that students are more aware of the availability of contraceptives then in the past. As the school nurse, I see females who have chosen to maintain their pregnancies. I have worked with approximately the same number of young mothers each year, over the past seven years,” said Anne Butterfield, a school nurse at Penn Manor high school.

The number of babies born to mothers 15 to 19 year old was 367,752 in 2010 compared to 409,802 in 2009. The teenage birth rate for U.S. teenagers fell 9 percent from 2009 to 2010 and the national level fell as well, 34.3 teenage birth rates per 1,000 women between the ages of 15-19. This is the lowest since 1946, according to a report released by the National Center for Health Statistics.

“This nation has made truly extraordinary progress in reducing both rates of teen pregnancies and teen births,” said Bill Albert, the chief program officer for The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. “It is not a stretch to say that this is one of the nation’s great success stories of the past decades.”

The rates dropped across all racial and ethnic groups, and nearly all states. Experts suggested that the numbers may mean more teens are delaying sex or using contraception, representing gains for both abstinence-only and contraceptive education programs. The teen birth rates also vary widely by race in the United States. Hispanics have the highest teenage birth rates at 55.7 births per 1,000, and black teenagers have the second highest with 51.5. Asians have the lowest teenage birth rate with 10.9, according to an article in CNN.

Although teen birth rates have dropped overall in the nation, there are still young girls becoming pregnant at Penn Manor and a Penn Manor senior  has even been featured on the new season of 16 & Pregnant airing on MTV.

A teen girl who goes to Penn Manor and acknowledges she is pregnant but wishes for her name not to be published has recently become pregnant at the age of 15. The girl knows others her age who are newly pregnant as well.

“I understand what has happened is a mistake, but now have to take full responsibility for my actions so that I can give my child the best life they deserve and hope that he or she doesn’t make the same mistakes as me,” said the girl.

Movies and TV shows about teen pregnancy, such as MTV’s Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are spreading awareness about the issue, said Albert. A national survey of teenagers asked whether the shows glamorized teen pregnancies and the majority reported that it had the opposite effect.

“I think the show The Secret Life of the American Teenager shows more awareness that teen pregnancy is 100 percent preventable because they constantly show websites during the show that can help teenagers and the show portrays the real life of a teenager with a kid compared to the shows on MTV which are real life but they don’t show a lot of awareness,” said Demi Greenawalt, a senior at Penn Manor.

A Penn Manor student, Jordan Howard, is on the new season of 16 & Pregnant and her episode recently aired.

In her interview with Penn Points, she stated she didn’t enjoy the experience and that she would never do it again. Most teens only take part in those kinds of shows for the money they will receive to support their children, according to a report on “16 & Pregnant.”

Teenage pregnancy is linked with several health and social issues such as poverty, out-of-wedlock births and education, as well as developmental issues, welfare and physical and mental health issues for the child, according to CNN.

“With teens, there are a lot of factors,” said Brody Hamilton, an author of the report and a statistician at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The economy is cited for overall downturn in the number of births. With teens, there are public policy programs directly addressing this teen pregnancy issue. It’s a mixture of things involved. We cannot tease that out with the data set that we have.”

“Over the past decade in particular, there has been a growing number of sex education programs that have been carefully evaluated and have shown it can change teen behavior, get them to delay sex or use contraceptives.” Albert said.

Penn Manor recently presented awareness to students at Penn Manor with a program at a local womens health center. Free services that are offered are pap tests, GYN services, STD testing and treatment for men and women, contraceptives, pregnancy testing.

Teens also have shown a decrease in sex over the past 20 years and a increase in contraception such as condoms and birth control, according to a recent report released last year. This has highly contributed to the decrease in teenage birth rates.

If teens continue on this path and more help and awareness becomes available, the U.S is well on their way to being one of the countries in the world with the lowest teen birth rate.

 

 

 

 

 

By Taylor Skelly-

A 2,000 graduate of Penn Manor High School who is the guitarist in the band Slackwater News. Who is Matt Johnson?

If you are familiar with Jeopardy, then that form of answering a “question” with a question is also familiar to you. It’s also familiar to former Penn Manor alumni Matt Johnson who went to battle with two other contestants on a recent episode of Jeopardy, which aired on Tuesday, April 24. Despite his third place finish, Johnson managed to rack up a respectable 12,400 points on the most popular game show on TV, walking away with $1,000 in prize money.

“I don’t think it matters what place he got, he still scored a good amount of points and represented Penn Manor well,” said junior Harrison Schettler, who watched a portion of Johnson’s episode of Jeopardy.

Johnson, who is a huge movie buff, admitted that the questions were actually pretty good for him, but struggled with the buzzer through out the contest, which impeded his ability to get his answer in.

Along with his struggles with the buzzer, the personalities of the other contestants also made it especially hard to compete to the best of his best ability.

“The woman who won was super nice, so it made it hard to compete,” said Johnson, “I’m naturally very competitive, but she was so positive and kind, it made it tough.”

Leading up to the airing of the show, the recent TV star had actually been threatening not to watch, largely because of the “weirdness” of seeing himself on TV. However, come “jeopardy time,” Johnson enjoyed the episode with around forty of his friends at his favorite restaurant in Philadelphia.

“It ended up being like a Phillies play off game type of atmosphere, the place was going crazy,” stated Johnson.

I was a little nervous about what my friends’ reactions would be once they saw it, because I knew for the past several months that I didn’t win, and I didn’t know if they would be disappointed or upset, said Johnson.

If you weren’t able to catch Johnson’s episode when it came out last Tuesday, make sure to tune in to any future rerun’s of the 2000 graduate of Penn Manor’s attempt to win the most popular game show on TV.

 

 

 

 

 

By Aaron Brown –

Calvin “Megatron” Johnson caught the opportunity to appear on the cover of Madden 13 and time will tell if it is an honor or a curse.

The Detroit Lions unstoppable wide receiver beat out Carolina Panthers Rookie of the Year quarterback, Cam Newton for the honor. Johnson won the voting be receiving 52 percent of the 651,000 votes.

“I wanted him Calvin Johnson to be on the cover because I like him more than Cam (Newton),” said Mike Eshleman, a junior at Penn Manor.

“Man, it’s great,” a smiling Johnson said in an interview with ESPN. “Just to see yourself on this Madden (cover) and seeing all the guys that have been on Madden? C’mon, man.”

“Well I think he’s one of the most dynamic players in the NFL,” said Mark Dano, a junior at Penn Manor. “He’s very deserving of being on the cover.”

Students in Penn Manor are highly anticipating the new Madden for its spectacular graphics and reinvented game play.

“The graphics always improve, sooner or later it’ll feel like you are in the game,” said Dano.

Being on the cover of Madden comes great joy, but also, the “Madden Curse.”

“It’s hard not to believe in the curse after seeing some of the injuries that the players have suffered,” said Eshleman. “I think that Megatron will actually break the curse.”

Many former athletes that appeared on the cover of Madden have been affected by the curse.

Peyton Hillis, then the running back of the Cleveland Browns, the player on the Madden 12 cover, rushed for a mere 587 yards in a season plagued by injuries.

Shaun Alexander was on the cover of Madden 07, after winning the Super Bowl, the league MVP, and signing a $62 million contract. He suffered a broken foot in the third week of his post-Madden season.

Michael Vick, then the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, was on the cover of Madden 04. He broke his leg during a preseason game and missed 11 games.

Now for the new game play in Madden 13. There are many new improvements on this game.

“Total Control Passing enables gamers to use the L-Stick to direct passes, so you’re not only throwing to a specific receiver, but you’re throwing to a certain spot on the field,” according to ESPN,

Also, wide receivers will have to be looking for the ball to catch it. No more of the insane catches where the receiver catches the ball through his back.

Cornerbacks will have to be looking back to be able to swat the ball away or intercept the ball. This will eliminate the corner back or safety hitting the ball away with the back of his hand.

“We don’t want gamers to hike the ball and instantly hold back on the stick to run backwards,” explained game play designer Larry Richart in an interview with ESPN.

“This improvement has been made to both ‘Madden’ and ‘NCAA’ this year, and if you hike the ball and don’t hold back, your quarterback will take the proper drop automatically, helping you time up your routes rather than just passing the ball to a receiver who has only taken two steps and has his back to the action.”

“The changes are awesome because it makes the game more realistic,” said Dano. “You become the quarterback without getting off the sofa.”

 

By Alex James Cummins –

Whether it’s a family beach vacation, hours spent at practice and sporting events, or just sitting by the pool, doctors insist keeping your skin safe under the sizzling summer sun should be a top priority.

According to skincancer.org, a new study has revealed an alarming rise in melanoma, a tumor of skin cells, among people aged 18 to 39. Over the past 40 years, rates of this potentially deadly skin cancer has grown by 800 percent among young women and 400 percent among young men.

Skin cancer is an abnormal growth of skin cells and most often appears on skin that is continuously exposed to the sun. Skin cancer can also show up on your skin when unprotected parts of the body that aren’t used to sun light are exposed for extended period of time.

A person should never have to deal with skin cancer let alone in there teen years.

“I’m not worried about getting melanoma or anything like that,” said Penn Manor senior, Chris Flemming.

“I love being tan in the summer, and I don’t think about getting skin cancer too much when I’m laying out all the time,” stated another Penn Manor senior Ashley Richards.

“Increased use of tanning beds and sun exposure is likely one of the major causes in the increased melanoma incidences in teenagers,” says Jennifer Aldrink, MD, a pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in an interview with wusa9.com.

Indoor tanning, outdoor tanning, terrible sun burns from a lack of using sun screen, geographic location, moles, skin type, and even a weak immune system all cause or are leading to this rise among teens.

All of these factors, however, don’t seem to come into teens’ minds when going through their day.

“I never use sun screen when I’m outside fishing all day,” said senior Robert Warfel.

There are a lot things that teenagers can do in order to keep themselves safe and probably lower the statistics that are showing the rise in skin cancer.

According to skincancer.org some ways to protect yourself and your family include —

– Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
– Cover up with clothing to protect exposed skin.
– Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
– Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
– Do not burn.
Avoid tanning and UV tanning booths.
– Use a broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher every day. For extended outdoor activity, use a water-resistant, broad spectrum (UVA/UVB)
sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.
– Apply 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of sunscreen to your entire body 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply every two hours or immediately after swimming or excessive sweating.
– Keep newborns out of the sun. Sunscreens should be used on babies over the age of six months.
– Examine your skin head-to-toe every month.
– See your physician every year for a professional skin exam.

 

By Daulton Parmer –

Facebook’s trying to keep on getting bigger, buying Instagram for a billion dollars in cash should do it.

“Facebook is just becoming another Myspace, Instagram and Twitter is the only thing I get on anymore,” said Penn Manor junior Kyle Musser.

Facebook announced April 9, that it would buy Instagram for $1 billion. It was Facebook’s largest acquisition to date.

Instagram is an app that has the same type of goal that Facebook and Twitter has. It’s a social networking tool that lets people snap photos and enhance them to their liking. After the picture has been edited, the picture can be tagged at someone or just shared with friends. The pictures will allowed to be viewed by people and liked or commented on. It is the top free app on the Apple Store and Android Market.

“This number one trending app is so easy and fun,” said Musser.

“Being on Instagram is like being on a vacation to a whole variety of places, it’s like no other social network,” said Penn Manor senior Logan Kramer.

Why did Facebook buy this app?

It’s probably not because of the 30 million users on Instagram. Since Facebook has 850 million.

One reason might be because it just simply could. Facebook has slightly under $4 billion. Another reason is because it didn’t want any other social network to buy it.

People go on Facebook to look at other people’s pictures and the company wants to keep it that way.

“Facebook is having a midlife crisis, and the acquisition of the beloved, hip photo-sharing app is its equivalent of buying a sportscar,” according to an article in Forbes.com.

Many people were worried that Instagram would become another perverted and annoying social network as Facebook is being seen as now. Words that keep being thrown around are ‘Facebook-y’ and ‘Facebook-ified.’ A lot of users don’t want to see Instagram go down the same path, according to an article from CNN.com.

“I hate logging on Facebook and all I see is nasty pictures, I hope Instagram doesn’t do the same now,” said Penn Manor junior Josh Lefever.

No need to worry, Facebook company representatives said that they weren’t going to change Instagram. Facebook created and abandoned a photo sharing app before and a lot of people were upset with it. So, Facebook says ‘why mess with an app when everyone already loves it’, according to an article from Businessinsider.com.

Everyone is waiting to see how long Instagram will stay number one.

By Alex Sorce –

It seems that the sandman is skipping over students at night here at Penn Manor.

Without the “magical sand” it’s making it difficult for students to fall asleep. Students may not be getting the recommended sleep to function properly in school. Being sleep deprived has many side effects. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), having a lack of sleep will limit the ability to learn, concentrate and solve problems, lead to aggression, and can cause drowsiness while driving. If students would get more sleep it could lead to them getting better grades.

“The more days students get adequate sleep, the better GPAs they attain,” study leader Dr. Ed Ehlinger of the University of Michigan’s Boynton Health Service said in a statement. “There is a direct link between the two.”

“Unfortunately, cell phones and computers, which make our lives more productive and enjoyable, may be abused to the point that they contribute to getting less sleep at night leaving millions of Americans functioning poorly the next day,” said Russell Rosenberg, the vice chairman of the Washington DC-based National Sleep Foundation.

“I usually try to lay down around 10:00 to go to sleep but my phone keeps me up for about an extra hour,” said senior Bob Warfel.

Not getting enough sleep at night is not only unhealthy but can be dangerous. Being drowsy while driving could put you and others in danger.

“Any degree of sleep deprivation will impair performance: behind the wheel, in the classroom or workplace,” said sleep expert Dr. Mark Mahowald.

“Sometimes when I’m tired I get nervous about closing my eyes for too long,” said Penn Manor graduate Matt Flick.

Although most students are nervous or scared while driving if they’re too tired, senior Josh Morgan thinks on the bright side.

“Sleeping while I drive is really nice because I kill two birds with one stone,” said Morgan.

Students are staying up later at night, but why? Technology is what’s keeping Penn Manor up and awake throughout the night. Between texting, social networks, and video games, it makes it difficult to get the appropriate amount of sleep.

If students would get the correct amount of sleep each night, 8.5 hours to 9.25 hours a night for teens according to NSF, they would score better on tests and homework.

“The amount of sleep you get is directly correlated to test grades,” believes senior Tyler Smith.

“When I don’t get enough sleep at night I won’t pay as much attention in class,” said senior Mitch Domain.