Penn Points Online

Penn Manor Puts On Successful Seussical

By Shadrock Kiprop –

It has the energy of a sporting event but it’s filled with laughter and wise words to learn from Dr. Seuss.

The hard work of Penn Manor students and faculty have been on display for two weekends in the production of the musical, The Seussical.

“The theater crew compiled days of hard work and dedication since the beginning of the first week of December. Since then, they have had to rehearse the play four days a week, Monday til Thursday, and an extra all day Saturday,” said Melissa Mintzer, an assistant director and house manager.

The Cat in the Hat, Jojo, and Horten make an appearance in the play.

It shows. The high energy play is filled with color and music, based on Dr. Suess’s original books and short stories, many of which have already been made into full length, feature films. The child-friendly topic has triggered a huge turnout of many families, students and kids who have come and watch and also celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday which happened last weekend.

“Its great for kids (because) it’s fun, exciting, and very musical show,” said Sara Ricciardi, the pit director for the musical.

The Seussical was first written by Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty, after their show, Ragtime, had a triumphant opening on Broadway. The musical successfully takes small parts of several previous Dr. Seuss works and weaves them into a one-hour-plus long play.

In the musical, the Cat in the Hat takes the audience on a journey through the jungle of Nool, with Horton the elephant, and all the way down to Whoville, with Jojo. On this jaunt, Horton faces guarding Mayzie’s egg and saving the Whos from the sour kangaroo and the rest of the jungle creatures, while Getrude is just trying to fit in and capture Horton’s heart.

Don’t ever give up, use your imagination, your journey can take you to unexpected places, and that rewards can indeed be great when you are ‘faithful’, are all reflections that Dr. Seuss wanted to be remembered by, and many of which are represented in the amazing odyssey of the Seussical.

The Penn Manor theater will be presenting The Seussical, in all of its fantastic and magical grandeur, for the last time this weekend. The musical will be shown this Friday and Saturday nights in the Penn Manor auditorium at 7:30.

Project X Getting Mixed Reviews

By David Mohimani –

The party you’ve only dreamed about.

That’s the slogan for Warner Bros new creation – Project X, but in reality it might be the party in your parent’s worst nightmare.

The trailer has a quote that says this movie is basically a mix between Superbad and the Hangover.

The movie follows a group of lovable losers led by main character Thomas Kulb. Thomas’ best friend Costa is a sex obsessed teen from Queens who convinces Thomas to throw a huge party for his seventeenth birthday.

A party that turns them from second class students to the most popular kids in the school.

Thomas reluctantly agrees and the greatest house party of all time is born.

The epic party includes(but is not limited too), booze, babes, a gnome filled with ecstasy, booze, a midget, a flame thrower, a taser,booze, a police horse,moon bounce oh and did I mention booze.

Insanity ensues and everyone appears to have the time of their lives.

The film was released on March 2nd.

The movie cost a mere $12 million to make and was filmed over the course of five weeks.

The film ended up grossing more than 20 million dollars in it’s opening weekend.

promo_ProjectX_0 — The film's main 3 characters trying to gather themselves at the climax of the film. Photo of courtesy of Warner Bros

Also the name of the movie created some serious buzz. It was originally entitled Project X, but that was considered to be a working title.Then when the studio realized the title had gathered hype they decided to stick with it.

Also, all the main characters except for Thomas (played by Thomas Mann who was also in “It’s Kind of a Funny Story”) were acting in their first feature film.

While everyone knows it is a movie, some fear that it may give teenage kids the wrong impression.

“I think Project X is a stupid movie for glorifying partying,” said senior Janelle Musser.

Even worse it may have inspired some kids to throw a crazy party.

“It was insane.It would inspire to throw a ridiculous party,” said Penn Manor Senior Dylan Webber who went to see the film this past weekend.

“It was a good movie, but it didn’t ruin my future expectations for future high school parties,”said senior Mitch Domin.

At the party’s climax, Thomas says to Costa “Is this big enough to be cool?” He says this almost jokingly as he stands on his roof overlooking a sea of nearly 2000 kids.

Some have criticized the film saying the movie gives the impression that all you have to do is be well liked is throw a huge party.

Screenwriter for the movie Michael Becall told The Hollywood reporter “I think we’d be disappointed if there wasn’t some kind of outraged response to Project X.”

Other respected publications have given it rave reviews.

Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone wrote, “Most teen flicks just fake being fueled by anarchy. But the gut-bustingly funny Project X is the real deal.”

Even with the mixed reviews Warner Bros has decided to move on with a sequel to Project X, but if they will use the same cast remains a mystery.

The sequel is sure to shock,enrage and amaze viewers everywhere.

Penn Manor Lends the Perfect Gift

By Shadrack Kiprop and Brianna Kelly-

With a kind and generous heart, students could change someone’s life.

A sweater can be wrapped- A bow can decorate a bicycle – one thing that cannot be wrapped is a lifesaving blood donation. That’s just the kind of thoughts that attracted students and staff to give blood during a recent drive at Penn Manor.

Sacrifice some time, give a life chance to someone by donating blood. Its simple, free, rewarding and the generosity is shown and appreciated. Blood drive donations are a generous task because, by donating blood, students are saving a life – pint by pint.

Selena Hasircoglu is down for the cause Photo by Brianna Kelly

“Its a good cause and most people should do it if they can,” said Emily Roberts. Roberts insisted it’s an opportunity to be a hero and to show that someone cares about them.

Many people have a unique reason as to why they donate their precious blood, according to Penn Manor senior, Kristina Simon. Simon with compassion in her voice claims she did it for her grandmother, who had to get a hip replacement surgery after an incident that occurred at her house.

Although many people do not donate blood because they are afraid, Comets have anchored their hearts with a reason, to give a second chance to someone.

Sam Wright, a junior at Penn Manor, walked into the band room to donate blood for the first time, her heart pounding as hard as a drum, legs shaking and trembling in fear. She sat down on the queue line waiting, eager and frightened.

The entrance fee to the blood drive is – a snack and refreshing drink. The doctor’s precautions are – no recent piercings or tattoos, cannot be sick, cannot have been out of the country for the past year, and at least 110 pounds.

So, Penn Manor, don’t let the chance slip away – one contribution could save a life.

Nicknames Common Among Penn Manor Students

By Joey Jackson –

Puff, Jay, Milhouse – all students here at Penn Manor…but those can’t be their real names – who are they really?

There are always those kids who don’t go by their real name. Some because they don’t like their given names, others are forced into a name they don’t even like.

Brandon Schmertz was once a victim of this form of name calling. Schmertz used to only be known to his peers as “Puff” after his classmate, former Penn Manor student Matt Ulmer, noticed how puffy Schmertz’s old Eagles jacket was.

“That’s all anybody ever called him,” senior Dylan Weber said. “I don’t think I called him his real name a single time in middle school.”

Schmertz, however, never particularly enjoyed the name, and worked hard in his middle school and early high school career to get rid of the name altogether.

“I was growing up and frankly the name was just getting annoying,” Schmertz said. “I was extremely hard for people to stop calling me Puff.”

This effort paid off, as Schmertz now goes by his given name, Brandon, full time, other than a few people who still hold on to the remnants of his past name.

Some other students though, embrace their new found names.

Take Michael Andrusisin for example. Michael is known by a different name among his friends and classmates. He goes by the name of Milhouse, or Mil for short.

Andrusisin has had the famous nickname since elementary school because his friends thought that he looked like Milhouse, the character from the widely popular television show The Simpson’s.

The name has stuck ever since, even though Andrusisin has changed his visual appearance, and now has little to no resemblance of the character that originally inspired the name.

These changes, Andrusisin claims, had nothing to do with the name. Andrusisin, like a victim of grief, went through several stages before finally accepting his new name.

The nickname has become so prominent that some people didn’t even know that Michael Andrusisin was his real name.

“I played D-team football with him in like third grade and I barely realized that (Michael Andrusisin) was his real name when I got to know him in high school,” said senior Landon Alecxih.

Andrusisin plans to kill the Milhouse name after graduation, as he plans to introduce himself as “Mike” to his new classmates at Temple University.

There are many other popular nicknames within the realm of high school. And amazingly, the most popular ones seem to be the names that have nothing to do with the person’s real name like a common nick names.

Take Jordan Rineer for example. Rineer has been called “Gordo” ever since he was a little kid when when his dad coined the name. The name caught on in elementary school and has stuck ever since.

Or Wardell Jackson, who is known to everyone, including his teachers, as Jay.

So, it seems that all it takes for a good nickname is a catchy name that has absolutely nothing to do with the person’s legal name, though the parents will probably never adapt to the name, peers and sports buddies will be using it all the time.

The Number One Watched Sporting Event

By Jay Jackson-

It is March and now you know what time it is. It is March Madness and students are starting to get excited.

“I can’t wait to fill out my bracket,” said Robert Warfel, ” Even though I know I won’t win.”

The match ups for the tournament will be announced Sunday night during Selection Sunday. There are a handful of teams that are gunning for one of the four number-one seeds.

Kentucky is probably a lock for the first overall number one and Syracuse will definitely be a number one as well. However after that it is a hodgepodge of teams that have a chance to be a number one seed.

Kentucky: According to most, Kentucky is by far the best team. People can’t argue with their dominating performances in SEC play. They got through their tough league play with no losses. Their only loss came on a desperation three to Indiana early in the season. They have victories over North Carolina, Louisville, Kansas and two wins over Florida.

Syracuse: If Kentucky is the best, then Syracuse is next in line. They, as well, went through their tough regular season with only one loss to Notre Dame. They had wins over Florida, Marquette, Georgetown and Louisville twice. The Syracuse Orange look to be a lock for a number one seed.

Kansas: Kansas is playing their best basketball of the season at the right time. Each game they seem to get better and better. Kansas has some tough losses to top notch competition and one really bad loss to Davidson. The Jayhawks have beaten Ohio State, Kansas State, Missouri, and Baylor twice.

North Carolina: With the pure talent they have on their team they should be either one or two. Carolina has slightly under achieved. Four of the starters are projected to be drafted in the first round. Their peak of disappointment was at Florida state where they were blown out of the gym by 33 points. However UNC has been playing better and better and they just dominated Duke at Cameron Indoor stadium.

Missouri: Best guards in the nation. They were looking like one of the top three programs in the country before they blew a 19-point lead in the second half against Kansas recently. The Tigers just lost two straight to Kansas State who swept them this season and obviously Kansas. They had a tough schedule and had a very good season under their first year head coach. Nobody expected them to make this big of a splash.

Duke: After Duke got beat down last Saturday it seems to be an outside chance that they get a number one seed. They had a tough out-of-conference schedule this year. Duke is ranked number two in the RPI. They have big wins over Kansas, Michigan State, and North Carolina. Duke lost to Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, North Carolina, and a terrible loss to a weak team in Temple.

Rainboot’s Splash Into Style

By Maggie Dubbs –

Who knew that rubber shoes would ever be a fashion.

Ladies and teens have taken these seemingly childish shoes to make them a stylish fashion must-have.

Rain boots have become more and more popular since 2008 according to ‘Google’s’ graph on trends, and according to retail profits for rain boots.

“I got them before everyone, I was in the store with my mom, and she was like’you’ll never wear them’ but I knew I was going to,” said Emily McCoy.

“I actually got them after Emily, I saw hers, and I liked them,” said Eryn McCoy, Emily’s twin sister.

Sales of rainboots really took off when Kate Moss was spotted in 2005 at the Glastonbary Festival in a pair of Hunter Wellingtons.

Although these rubber shoes were not always directed towards women and fashion. In fact, they started out as a leather riding boots for the first Duke of Wellington.

The Duke did not see his leather shoes as comfortable, so he had his tailors fix them. All at once, the boots were now made in rubber, easily wearable, and they were comfortable.

Hunter started the company in 1856, and worked toward today’s success.

Now, top name designers such as Burberry and Coach are making rainboots in fashionable designs.

(From left to right) Eryn McCoy, Brooke Hemcher, and Emily McCoy Wearing Their Rain Boots, Photo Courtesy of Facebook

“I just think they’re really comfortable,” said Brooke Hemcher.

But, rain boots aren’t only used for fashion.

Students at Penn Manor in the agriculture clubs and classes especially take pride in their boots. They might not always be stylish, but they come in handy when getting dirty.

“You know you use your boots for the right purpose when they’re muddy,” said Margaret Drumm.

Drumm is vice president of the agriculture club and participates in many farm shows.

“They’re very easy to clean off, that’s why we (ag students) use them so much. They’re just more convenient,” said Drumm.

With a pair of rubber boots underneath their belt, nothing is impossible for the agriculture classes. They might not be in floral or Burberry print, but they help get the job done.

“I love April for that reason, it’s the time I get to wear my rain boot’s the most,” said Hemcher.

Wildly Popular with Others, Teens Not Yet “Pinning” It

By Becca Hess-

Teens are not the top users of the newest and hottest social networking site.

Pinterest, the latest social networking website has taken the interest of a surprising group. Home to over 12 million users, Pinterest’s top users are women aged 35-44 according to a recent study by Google’s Traffic Statistics shown on Mashable.com. It is most popular in the United States however, it has been making its way to the United Kingdom where 200,ooo people have an account.

So what makes Pinterest so appealing? For starters, it’s simple and easy for anyone to use. It’s a new and fast way to share ideas on a variety of topics, from food and fashion to sports and cars. It allows users to organize and share anything they want.

“There are several keys to Pinterest’s success,” according to an article written by The New York Times, “but one of them is the simplicity and pleasure of adding a photo to one of your boards. As you surf the Web each day, whenever you see something that looks interesting or inspiring or funny, you click the Pin It button on your bookmarks bar.”

The most popular “pins” for users in the U.S. are on crafts, gift ideas, hobbies, interior design, fashion and blogging. Compared to the United Kingdom where they’re more interested in Venture Capital, blogging, public relations and marketing. The US is using it more as a leisure and a way to share and find new ideas on any topic, whereas the UK is using it for business and marketing purposes.

Pinterest is the number one paid for app in the social networking category according to TopAppCharts.com. The app makes everything available whenever you need it. So why aren’t teens using it the most? And for the small percent who are, what are they using it for?

Quotes, pictures, craft and fashion ideas seem to be a big hit with teenage girls, explained Ashley Gochenaur.

“I don’t have one yet, said Gochenaur, “but I can’t wait to make a Pinterest account because some of my friends with iPhones have them and always show me the great ideas.”

Because there are very little limitations as to what you can post or search and this is a major reason as to why Pinterest is starting to attract more teens.

“Pictures and comments are not filtered, so inappropriate material and language can potentially be shared,” said Renata Rowe who writes for icybersafe.com.

There is also only one privacy setting on Pinterest. So not only is Pinterest a way for teens to share ideas with each other and plagiarize photos or quotes, there are little to no limitations as to what they can post and what they are able to view. It opens up a whole new world to them.

“This is a teen’s dream! Imagine the sheer freedom of being able to pin up anything that interests them for everyone to see. The catch for young players is that their definition of ‘interesting’ may not always be ours,” said Rowe.

Pinterest may not be networking like Facebook or Twitter where you can see exactly where people are, what they’re doing or even chat with them, but Pinterest is beginning to challenge top social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The word is: Teens are leaving Facebook for Pinterest,” said Rowe.

As of now it looks like the roles have reversed as middle aged women have taken the newest social networking site to the top. Will teens take back the crown as masters of the internet and all social media/networking site? Only time will tell, but for now, parents pin.

Twitter is Trending – Is Facebook Flopping?

By Connor Hughes and Alex Lombardo –

Facebook better watch its back – because Twitter is on the rise.

For better or for worse, this new-age micro-blogging site has piqued the interest of today’s teenagers, who are now dropping Facebook, and beginning to tweet their heads off.

Twitter, created and launched in early 2006, is a social networking site that allows the site’s members to compose text-based posts up to 140 characters long called “tweets.”

Users have the ability to “follow” each other, which adds the followed users’ tweets to the followers’ Time Line.

You can even follow your favorite athletes, for example: Desean Jackson (@DeseanJackson10) or LeBron James (@KingJames).

“It’s an easy way to follow celebrities,” said Penn Manor junior Lindsay Hutchinson.

Any user can follow their favorite celeb, such as: Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) or Justin Bieber (@JustinBieber).

Some people use Twitter almost as a digital diary, displaying their thoughts and actions for all of Twitter to see.

“Twitter is a great way to just say what is on your mind,” said avid Penn Manor tweeter Reagan Forrey(@_Ischa).

“So full #Beanies #101flavors,” is a recent tweet by Forrey. This tweet refers to a restaurant he was at and their all you can eat wing special.

The # symbol that Forrey used, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created by Twitter creators as a way to categorize messages.

People use the hashtag symbol before relevant keywords in their Tweet to categorize their Tweets so they show up easier in Twitter Search.

Twitter Search can be a way to look up anything extremely recent. If you see a shocking event on live television, you can immediately type it in on Twitter Search and almost guarantee someone around the world has already tweeted about it and hashtagged the keywords.

Clicking on a hashtagged word in any tweet shows you all other Tweets in that category. Hashtags can occur anywhere in the tweet. Hashtagged words that become very popular are often known as “trending topics.”

A trending topic is a topic that shows immediate popularity, not something that has grown popular over time.

Twitter is short, sweet, and to the point.

Also, it is under the radar to a lot of parents.

Teens today are moving toward Twitter, mostly because Facebook is too popular, or too many people are on it, including parents.

Most teens are now friends with their parents on Facebook.

In an interview with Huffington Post a teen had this to say, “I love Twitter, it’s the only thing I have to myself … cause my parents don’t have one.”

One Penn Manor teacher is now using Twitter to connect on an educational level, and leaving Facebook for his less serious encounters.

“I just recently got on Facebook, and Facebook is good, and I like Facebook to maintain my personal friendships,” said Penn Manor High School teacher and professional tweeter Gregg McGough. “But, Twitter is definitely more professional.”

Youths may have given Twitter its uprising, but even a 30-some-year-old adult with three kids can still use Twitter effectively.

“I’m actually a professional (Tweeter). I am a social media person, paid to fly to different conferences around the country,” said McGough.

McGough described an enlarged screen with a rolling twitter feed during these conferences.

“As people were attending different sessions, people were tweeting what they were hearing, and as a result, I could attend every session without having to physically be there,” added McGough.

McGough is using it in professional situations, but some teens are using it in drastic situations.

In the Camden, Ohio school shooting on Febuary 27th, a student brought a gun into school. It shouldn’t have been a surprise: because he tweeted about it.

According to Liberatemedia.com, the number of Twitter users increases by 300,000 each day. And according to Tweetsmarter.com, 11 new accounts are created each second.

During the last minutes of Super Bowl XLVI, one of the busiest moments on Twitter, tweets about the game were pouring through the network at a blazing rate of 10,245 times a second.

Twitter is projected to make $259 million in advertising in 2012 and $540 million by 2014.

Twitter’s making money, and Twitter’s gaining fans. So, something has to give, right?

With the recent uprise of Twitter, Facebook is now losing popularity among teens, especially at Penn Manor.

“It’s way better than Facebook,” said senior Demi Greenwalt.

Toys Becoming Digital for Technology Craved Kids to Enjoy

By Alicia Ygarza –

Barbie was more realistic 30 years ago than she is now, and Hot Wheels is more realistic now than 30 years ago.

Due to the number of children obsessed with technology nowadays, classic toys are becoming more digital and it is not always clear if the change is a benefit.

Monopoly money can now be counted by a tablet computer. Hot Wheels is the fastest it’s ever been on, now on the iPad. As for Barbie, she’s an innovated two in one collaboration. She’s become a play toy, and an actual camera.

The new camera Barbie has a lens on her back, and when you press a button on her belt, the image appears on the from of her T-shirt.

barbie_video_girl — The new digital camera Barbie, photo courtesy of seerpress.com

An item that stores could not keep in stock this year was the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer.

“More than a third of children ages 8 and younger use mobile devices, such as iPads or smartphones. About a quarter of children ages 5 to 8 multitask with digital devices most or some of the time,” states a Common Sense Media study.

Elizabeth Sheerer, FCS and Child Development teacher at Penn Manor said her five year old son enjoys Legos, tech decks, and Hot Wheels and he also enjoys playing digital games and using technology.

“Charlie loves all electronics, starting with his Leap Frog, DS, our Wii and playstation 3. He has even figured out games on my iPhone, like Temple Run,” said Sheerer.

Sheerer said that her and her husband allowed their son to begin using technology when he turned four. She also said they limit his time using digital games so “it’s not life and death if he doesn’t play a video game.”

“‘Kids like to play with gadgets that they see their parents using, so I think it makes sense for toy makers to find a way to freshen up,”‘ stated the director of toys and games for Amazon, John Alteio, in the Lancaster New Era.

Samantha Smith, a senior at Penn Manor, believes games should remain how they were originally made.

A child using an iPad, courtesy of nspt4kids.com

“I don’t think I would have enjoyed games being more digital when I was younger because you get more enjoyment out of doing something with your hands, than the game being digital,” said Smith.

Smith also believes younger kids should be allowed to use digital devices to an extent.

“I think the younger generation will be too dependent on technology in the future,” said Smith. “My 10 year old brother has an iPod touch, and he’s constantly using it.”

However, Kate Destafano has a different view on children using technology.

“The world is changing with technology, my parents don’t know how to turn on a computer, so it’s good to start using technology when you’re younger,” said Destafano.

Either way, children are becoming more experienced with technology, and companies will continue to make digital toys.

“We don’t want a world where our kids are just staring at a screen for their play constantly,” said chief executive of Mind Candy, Michael Acton Smith.

Music fills the halls of Penn Manor

By Jake Shiner and Sam Valentin-

This week the halls will be filled with the euphonious sounds of music. With a different genre each day, the students will be able to participate in the march music madness.

Each day students can join in and celebrate their favorite type of music, dressing according to the day. Monday is favorite 21st century band tee, Tuesday is 50’s, Wednesday is Irish/Celtic, Thursday is Classical, and Friday is country. Participation is up to the students.

“I don’t plan on dressing up, but I may do it spontaneously,” said Matt Weidinger, a senior. “(But) there wasn’t good advertisement for the event,” he said.

music month — These poster could be seen around Penn Manor supporting music in the school week. Photo by Jake Shiner.

Tim Deubler, a senior, is involved with the coordination of the week long event.

“We are trying to raise awareness about music in schools, how important it is,” said Deubler. “We started it last year.”

He continued to explain that he and a group of others including Courtney Jacobs, Lily Ngo, and Mitch Wise are cooperating with the Tri-M Music Honor Society in spreading the importance of music in schools in light of recent school budget cuts.

“Basically it gets funding for school music programs,” said Deubler. “This week isn’t about the money, its about raising awareness.”

Afterward they will begin fund-raising.

“[We’re going to] try and have a dress down day on Friday to raise money,” said Deubler.

“I wish everyone would dress up. Its fun, at least for me. I think everyone should participate.”

Unfortunately some students don’t share the opinion of Deubler. Joziah Rodriguez says he will not be participating and doesn’t think others will either.

“I dont think as many students find it as fun as spirit week,” said Rodriguez. In fact he had no clue the event was even happening this week until we told him about it.

According to Deubler, the halls will be filled with music this week. Secretary PJ Peters will be playing the music over the loudspeakers in between classes. But when interviewed, she was also not up to speed about music week and her assignment.

“No one has approved or given me music for that week,” said Peters. “Last year I did play music for them, but I haven’t been notified this year.” Although she says she will gladly orchestrate the music if she is given the CD’s. Peter’s also commented that she will try to have the hallway music continue to run past Music Week.

“I’ll talk to Mr. Gale and see if I can start the music in the halls again,” she said.

This is to the delight of Weidinger and Deubler but not to Rodriguez.

“I like quiet in the hallway but that is just me,” said Rodriguez.

Regarding the school-wide participation, Weidinger believes that Friday will be the most successful.

“I feel like country will be the biggest because it’s Pennsylvania and every Friday is flannel Friday. It’s the easiest and people might do it unknowingly, by accident,” said Weidinger.

Penn Manor music lover should savor this week as it may be the only time we hear music again.