Penn Points Online

By Brandon Schuman –

Penn Manor fans didn’t get to see their team win Tuesday against their arch rival but they did get to see history made.

There was a feeling of anticipation inside the gymnasium even before the game started.

The student section was riled up before tip-off as students waited for the beginning of Penn Manor basketball’s nemesis, J.P. McCaskey. The entire gym had cheering fans as Penn Manor and McCaskey supporters showed up in droves for the long awaited rivalry game to begin.

Penn Manor’s fans went home happy even though their team lost. The fans had the privilege of witnessing an unheralded performance, a school record, by one of the players in blue and gold.

“It was probably the best offensive showings I’ve ever seen,” said Penn Manor Athletic Director, Jeff Roth. “That would have to be one of the best performances I’ve seen.”

Marc Summy, a senior guard at Penn Manor, drained six three-point bombs en route to a Comet’s record 48 points. Even the great Penn Manor legend Wally Walker who went on to be the fifth player taken in the 1976 NBA draft and played 8 seasons in the league, never posted more points in a single game then Marc did on Tuesday night. The previous school record , 46 points, was held by Walker.

“It’s kind of hard to put in perspective,” Summy reflected on his record-breaking night, “To know that you accomplished something in your career that people will remember you for is beyond what words can describe.”

Although Summy lit up the scoreboard, it wasn’t enough to stop the McCaskey Red Tornado. The Tornado beat the Comets 81-78 in a triple OT thriller. The game had many peaks and valleys, one of which was Summy drilling a three-point shot to send the game into overtime. Throughout the game Penn Manor repeatedly passed Summy the ball enabling him to score at will  even with some rough defending from McCaskey.

“They were practically draped all over me,” Summy said about McCaskey’s physical presence.

The crowd on both sides complained about the officials. Penn Manor fans complained about some rough defending on Summy.

“It was ridiculous, absurd,” said Penn Manor senior Adam Morris while recalling the rough treatment Summy received.

Even the questionable defending couldn’t slow Summy down.

“It got to the point where it really wasn’t an option if it was going in or not,” senior Penn Manor forward Landon Alexcih commented. (Alexcih was the only other Comet with a point total in double figures)

“Marc made those buckets to keep us in contention when we needed it most,” said Roth.

” I just wanted to win,” Summy remembered his super human performance, “I thought as a team, that we played our hearts out. I just play for the love of the game.”

Teammates notice Summy’s work ethic at practice.

Landon Alexcih praised Summy’s diligence by saying, “It’s great that it happened to a guy who is as great as Marc. He’s a guy who puts in so much work and he finally got to see the fruits of his labor.”

Jeff Roth has noticed the team’s improvement. “Our basketball program has come a long way.”

Alexcih noticed the profound meaning this game has for the team. “It’s going to have a huge affect on the rest of the season.”

David Burch contributed to this article.

By Alex Kirk –

‘Tis the season to be jolly.

When it comes to holiday decorations, there are a few different types of decorators.  There are those that waste no time and have their lights and ornaments set up the day after thanksgiving, those that set up a few weeks before the break, and those that wait until the absolute last minute and put up their decorations the day before Christmas to avoid looking like the “Humbug House”.

In any case, the Penn Manor community was quite festive this year with holiday cheer.

On most streets, those passing by can see radiant shades of red, green, and other bright colors covering houses, trees, and other yard objects. The crazier decorators even went as far as lining their properties with an armada of Santa and snowman inflatables.

To witness such inflatables, those interested can take a drive down Millersville Pike.  One house has every inflatable that a person could imagine, ranging anywhere from Spongebob in a Santa hat to Frosty the Snowman with his broom.  Take caution though because during the daytime the house does not keep them inflated.  The extravagant scene must be seen at night to experience the full effect.

Please enjoy a video showing just a few of the many houses in the area that went above and beyond with decorations.

By Kevin Holton-

Get out those winter coats but keep those snow shovels away.

The Christmas of 2011 looks to be a cold and sunny one.

“I’m dissapointed,” said Penn Manor junior, Juan Cubano.  “I was really looking forward to snow on Christmas since there hasn’t been any the last few years.”

According to The Weather Channel, there will be rainy and cold weather surrounding Christmas day.  With highs in the mid 40s and lows in the lower 30s over the weekend, it will surely be a chilly day but most likely not a snowy one.

Some students at Penn Manor couldn’t care less if there’s snow on Christmas.

“I don’t care if it’s a white Christmas, all I want is the presents,” stated junior Brady Charles.

“I’m glad there won’t be snow because it will be a safer holiday,” said senior David Schnieder.

Others are really frustrated about not having snow on Christmas.

“I’ll be sad because I wont be able to make snowmen with my cousins,” said senior Reagan Forrey.

“I’ll be [angry] because I love white Christmas’s,” said senior Tyler Smith.

Millersville University’s Meteorologist, Eric Horst, explained there is about a 1 in 10 chance of there being snow on Christmas. With a cold front coming on Friday, the temperatures will change to about seasonal with high 40s during the day and upper 20s at night, explained Horst.

“I don’t see any signs of a major outbreak,” he said.

With only maybe a few flurries on Sunday or Monday, there is no big storm in the forecast.

“Beyond Christmas we’re going to be seeing the same pattern during the week with seasonal temperatures and a possible decrease in temperatures during the weekend,” said Horst.

Even though the forcast isn’t calling for snow, you can never stop believeing especially if you’re full of holiday spirit.

“If you truly believe then it will be a white Christmas,” said Penn Manor senior Bryson Neely.

By Corey Fry and Becca Frankford –

With the swoop of her hand Grace Gundel drops to the line and smoothly loops the L and flows on with the rest of her sentence, finishing the handcrafted capitals and small letters carefully linking them with graceful curves. The captivating expression she displays through her writing are portrayed simplistically through elegance and cherub. Moving through the alphabet she finishes her work with a loop of an s, completing an entire line in what is, to most high school students, a foreign language.

Except it’s not.  It’s cursive.

Grace Gundel is one of the few students remaining in high school who is fluent in reading and writing traditional cursive.  The fact that so many other students can neither read or write cursive presents quite a few problems.

“Sometimes I write in cursive on the board and kids look at me like… uh…. they cant read it!” Gordy Eck, a social studies teacher at Penn Manor High School said about the abilities of his students that can and cannot read this so-called impossible script.

Eck, a football coach for the high school’s team, attended a catholic elementary school when he was a child where cursive classes were part of the curriculum, and where he perfected his now precise cursive.

“I had to practice every night when I got home from school,” Eck said.

“I like writing in cursive, like the hand written notes.. I think people should still be taught to write in cursive.. I still write hand written notes because its more personal,” Eck went on to say.

However, on the other side of this debate, some people argue that cursive is “a waste of time,” and not worth the time and effort.

Tim Joyce, an English teacher at the high school, is one of several teachers who do not write in cursive.

“My stepdad was an engineer, and his handwriting was block print so mine looks like his,” Joyce said.

But as far as today’s students not knowing how to read or write cursive,  Joyce said,”Sometimes surprised but, I don’t find it mind-blowing.”

Most private and public elementary schools issue 60 minutes of lessons on proper cursive writing techniques everyday.

“As long as its legible, who cares if all the letters connect or not,” Joyce said,” Why would we waste our time on that when we have kids that aren’t reading on an appropriate level.”

Cursive is something we’re seeing less and less of every day.  Most people are no longer familiar with the style beyond their own signatures.

But what happened to the longhand writing style that all of our ancestors had learned growing up?  Many call its absence a result of our rapidly evolving technological advances.  No need to write out a letter to a friend when you could much more easily call them on the phone.

There are a number of modern methods one can use to get in contact with someone far away, such as cell phones, email messaging, and facebook.  In a society where letter writing is obsolete, there is hardly any demand for quality penmanship.

“I would rather text because I can’t write cursive, and its faster and doesn’t waste paper, ink, or lead. I like to go green,” one Penn Manor senior said.

After taking a poll throughout the high school, for one student alone the average amount of texts being sent and received from November to the beginning of December was 7,618. About 2,000 of them were sent during school.

Almost all schools include cursive handwriting as part of their curriculum even though they don’t necessarily have to teach it.  In the majority of school districts, students are only briefly taught the cursive alphabet as part of their elementary education.  Some schools have even removed it from their curriculum entirely.

“I think it looks nicer then regular print, and if i am in a hurry or if its really important and i want it to look good,” senior, Grace Gundel said about why she still likes to write in cursive. “I think its becoming a lost art. Not many kids know how to write in cursive which is pathetic. They aren’t being taught it anymore. I learned it in first grade. I remember the teacher putting it on the overhead, one letter everyday.”

According to Edutopia, in a poll regarding whether or not text messaging is harming students’ writing skills. 54 percent stated that they believe that the writing habits kids acquire from texting are being carried over into the writing skills they use on paper. The other 46 percent said that they see some to no relevance.

Some students have become concerned about the disappearance of cursive in their peer’s writing styles.

“The younger generation… Some don’t even know how to write in cursive,” said Rachel Shetler, a senior at Penn Manor.  “Grace Gundel is the only person I know who uses it.”

According  to Carl Brown, principal of Manatee Elementary in Viera, Florida, in USA Today, “With all the other subjects we must teach, we just don’t have the time to spend a lot of effort on cursive.” Brown also stated that 25 years ago he had to attend a summertime handwriting camp in Brevard County Florida because his chicken scratch was illegible.

Cursive is still taught throughout the private schools around the U.S., mostly because in schools like, Vanderbilt University, it is required to teach lessons on cursive writing.

According to Lisa Smoak in USA Today, only 3 out of 22 students could sign cursive when giving a thank you card for the entire fifth grade to sign.