Penn Points Online

Penn Manor Students Forgetting to Recycle

By Matt Hatch and Mark Dano –

Penn Manor High School students may not be as “green” as you think.

Recycling comes naturally for some students at home, but when it comes to recycling at Penn Manor, a simple task can become a tedious chore.

“They just throw them (the recyclable bottles) away,” said Brian Frantz, a custodian at Penn Manor who said he is offended by the lack of recycling here.

Throughout the school, bottles are thrown in trash cans with recycling bins nowhere to be seen in classrooms. Students are even putting water bottles in regular trash cans at lunch despite the fact that a recycling bin is sitting right next to it.

“It upsets me,” said Eddie Bley, a Penn Manor student who frequently recycles.

It may be laziness, lack of care or just plain ignorance. Either way, the recycling efforts at Penn Manor are mediocre at best. Many students admit to not recycling at school because they have “better” things to worry about.

“I think Penn Manor should give reminders to students or a public announcement,” said Lake Heckaman, a junior at Penn Manor. “What we have now is too easy to miss.”

The tattered recycling sign in the cafeteria signifies what the students think of recycling.

“There’s always recyclable materials mixed in the trash,” said Frantz.

The students are not the only problem, the school is also to blame.

“It is not something that has been encouraged here like it is in many homes,” said Phil Gale, principal of Penn Manor High School.

At the same time, there is no way the school can effectively make students recycle.

“I don’t think (recycling) is something you can force people to do,” said Gale.

Despite efforts by both the school and some students, Penn Manor has failed to create and keep a successful recycling program. This goes against a Pennsylvania law.

“All state-owned institutions of learning must implement waste reduction and recycling programs in compliance with Commonwealth Management Directive #205.22 (8/7/89),” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“Recycling has gone in phases. There have been many attempts to begin recycling, but due to various reasons a sustained effort has not happened,” said Gale.

Recycling containers are located in the cafeteria. Every time you drink a Turkey Hill drink or water, throw out the bottles in the blue and white containers. Every effort could make a difference at Penn Manor.

Penn Manor Teacher Explores “Final Frontier”

By Sarah Schaeffer and Tim Harris –

Imagine NASA: Apollo missions, anti-gravity chambers and bulky spacesuits, the things that make up the fantasies of many children and adults alike. For one Penn Manor teacher, NASA was anything but a fantasy.

For Earth Science and Astronomy teacher, Dave Bender, an interest in the skies began at an early age. It was on his tenth birthday that the first man landed on the moon. Permitted by his parents to stay up and watch the grainy, black and white broadcast, Bender has been fascinated ever since.

Kelsey & Stephanie-2 — Two Desert RATS team members work in the Arizona field. Photo courtesy of Dave Bender

In late August through early September, Bender participated in NASA’s annual Desert Research and Technology Studies (commonly known as the Desert RATS) exploration study. Bender traveled to Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to be a part of the Science Operations team, a behind the scenes component of the mission.

It all began with a phone call from one of Bender’s former students, Dr. Jacob Bleacher. Bleacher, the youngest person in Penn Manor’s hall of fame, is now a scientist at NASA and had previously completed field studies as a crew member with the Desert RATS team. With NASA being interested in bringing educators into the process, Bleacher asked Bender to participate.

However excited Bender was to accept the offer, it was necessary to get an “O.K.” from someone in a higher position at the school district. To ensure that Bender could miss the first few days of a new school year, Bleacher contacted Dr. Michael Leichliter, Penn Manor’s superintendent.

Leichliter said the decision was easy, as Bender was one of only two teachers invited to participate in the expedition.

“This speaks of both the respect Dr. Bleacher has for Penn Manor as well as the level of esteem he has for Mr. Bender as a teacher,” said Leichliter.

“Dr. Leichliter was like ‘NASA calls? You can go,'” said Bender.

“How could we say no to NASA!” said Leichliter in an e-mail.

For Bender, the purpose of the experience is the opportunity to bring his newly-gained knowledge back to Penn Manor to share with his students. He, along with fellow Earth Science teacher William Yarnell, plan to work on an educational outreach program to bring NASA work into the classroom.

“It was my hope that this program would lead to a connection between the work of NASA and Penn Manor High School. Penn Manor has achieved some great successes in the past two years in relation to science, our International championship Rocket Team, and the groundbreaking work of Ben Clark. I am hopeful that this relationship will lead to more opportunities for Penn Manor students,” said Leichliter.

Connect with the Desert RATS team, learn more about analog activities and read blogs from Bender and Bleacher at http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/analogs/desertrats/.

PM Field Hockey Achieves First of many Goals

By Sam Valentin –

Penn Manor Field Hockey team captured their fifth consecutive section one crown last night in a 2-o win over Hempfield. They can check this one off the list.

The Comets defense was stifling the Black Knight offense, not allowing any shots on goal. The Penn Manor scoring started with sophomore midfielder, Rachael Suter who put in a reverse stick chip shot in the middle of the second half to put the lady Comets up by one.They never looked back.

The scoring also ended with Suter who scored again with about three minutes left in the game to solidify the victory as the Comets finished with an 11-1 record in their section. They may have been nervous heading into this big game but after the game there was a sense of relief among the lady Comets.

“It’s a relief because its a penta-peat,” said senior defender, Vicky Nase who knows what it is like playing in big games. She and a few other players were on the state championship team their freshman year.

The lady Comets had a chance to wrap up the section title against Warwick at home on the Monday night but they couldn’t capitalize on their chances losing 2-0.

“Should have beaten them, they outplayed us,” said coach Matt Soto after Warwick gave his team their first section lost.

Penn Manor played section two runner-up Ephrata on Saturday at Hempfield where they achieved goal number one on their list.

The girls won handily, beating Ephrata 8-0.

Their list of goals include winning leagues, distracts, and taking home the state crown.

Counterfeit Bill Was Found In Penn Manor

By Jacob Harvey –

One pen mark on a $10 bill can ruin a kid’s day.

Ask Will Downs, a Penn Manor senior, who tried to pay for his lunch in the school cafeteria recently with, unbeknownst to him, a counterfeit bill. Downs had received the bill as change for a $20 bill from the Turkey Hill gas station in Millersville, PA.

“We don’t check $10’s because we get so many bills we don’t have the time to check smaller bills like that, but we do check like $50’s and stuff in the light to see if people are counterfeiting the big bills,” said an employee at Turkey Hill.

The counterfeit $10 bill was flagged by Lisa Caldwell, a member of the Penn Manor cafeteria staff, who reported it to Doug Eby and Eric Howe.

the marker changing color on a counterfeit bill — The pen mark on a bill to check if it's a counterfeit image courtesy of bookofodds.com

“To check the bill we (lunch ladies) use a pen with special ink that will turn from yellow to brown on a faked bill,” said Caldwell. “The second I marked the bill it turned noticeably brown and I put it off to the side and brought it to the administrators attention.”

After Doug Eby received the bill, he brought it to school Resource Officer Jason Hottenstein’s attention and turned it in to him. Since it is a serious federal issue, the school couldn’t take part in investigating the counterfeit bill.

Once Hottenstein received the bill, he turned it back into the cafeteria. The cafeteria then turned the $10 bill into their bank who does an investigation to see who needs to be punished and how to go about contacting them.

“Both Mr. Howe and Mr. Eby came up to me and asked me how I got the $10. I told them I got it from the Turkey Hill in Millersville, and then they made me pay for my lunch again,” said Downs. “When they told me that I had to pay for my lunch again, I was so mad. I would have to say on a scale of 1-10 I was like a 7.”

Downs talked to administrators about getting his money back. They turned him down, saying that him paying with a counterfeit bill was similar to a kid trying to buy lunch with monopoly money.

In turn Will Downs lost $10, had to repay for his lunch which cost him around $5, and he had to give back all the change he got from the ten.

Ultimately, Downs spent nearly $20 on one cafeteria lunch.

Teachers Dress Down for Casual Friday

By Mark Dano –

While students rock the latest trends, Penn Manor teachers have developed a fad of their own.

They call it “Casual Friday.”

Teachers at Penn Manor pay a small fee ranging from $5 to $10 to dress in more laid-back clothing. The proceeds raised from these days are donated to various charities or school related clubs or activities.

But it’s not all fun and games since the number of “dress down” days has reached an all time high and the price for all the giving and casual wear can add up.

“There are definitely more [dress down days] now than there were five years ago,” said teacher John Erisman.

Each week is for a different cause. Those who wish to collect the proceeds propose their plan for the money to the school administration. Principal Phil Gale and the administration have the final say as to who runs each casual Friday.

“It’s always for a school-related club or activity, or for an organization,” said Gale.

Fowler dress down — Math teacher Mike Fowler teaching in a comfortable pair of jeans. Photo by Mark Dano.

With many quality places to donate money, these days occur frequently.

“We try to have one or two a month,” said Gale, “but sometimes they happen more often.”

There have been a couple of these days so far this year.

“There’s been one for post-prom, one for the football team and one with the field hockey team for breast cancer,” said Gale.

There are two reasons that most teachers choose to participate in these days.

“I don’t like wearing a shirt and tie,” explained biology teacher Matthew Fox, “and I like giving money.”

Not participating has became a fashion faux-pas among teachers.

“I’ve had to endure a constant stream of ridicule,” said Nick Swartz, forensic science teacher at Penn Manor, who did not participate in one Casual Friday. “Both teachers and students have been making jokes about it all day.”

With the increasing number of dress down days, some teachers have cut back their participation.

“It’s almost overkill,” said teacher Melissa Frerichs, who held her own Casual Friday for breast cancer recently. “Teachers have started to choose the days where they can best connect to the fundraiser or charity.”

Even though he dresses down on Casual Friday, Fox can understand why some teachers may choose not to.

“It’s not cheap,” said Fox. “When you add it up, it’s about $70-100 if you participate in all of them.”

Nonetheless, these days have had much success and will continue throughout the year.

“I’d guess about 60-70 percent of the teachers participate,” said Gale. “Each one (dress down day) raises anywhere from $250-500.”

Friday Night Battle: Streaks defeat PM Comets

By Travis Wells –

Penn Manor got pushed back by Manheim Township on the football field Friday night, ending a two-game winning streak for the Comets.

“We played the best we could,” said running back Adam Hess. “But they ended up coming out on top.”

After winning the homecoming game against McCaskey last Friday 48-14, the Comets were hoping to beat Township to keep the winning streak alive, but it didn’t end that way.

The Streaks came out strong in the first quarter scoring and scored within the first five minutes of the game but the Comets charged right back scoring a touchdown on the next drive. The extra point was missed by Brian Sloss so the Streaks still had the lead at the end of the first.

Mid-way through the second quarter, Penn Manor’s Adam Sahd threw a touchdown pass to take the lead. And after Sloss’s missed extra point the Comets decided to go for two to try and widen the lead to 14-7 but Township’s line wouldn’t let them through.

The half ended with a field goal kicked by the Streaks to make the score 12-10 Penn Manor.

“We are playing a pretty good game right now, making the plays we need to make,” said Sahd at halftime.

The Comets came raging out in the beginning of the second half causing multiple interceptions that Daulton Parmer picked which resulted in a 24-yard field goal kicked by Sloss.

Township refused to give up. Early in the fourth quarter, the Streaks returned the ball 96 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked but Township still took control of the lead 16-15.

The Comets tried for one last drive but were forced to punt the ball and the Streaks rushed the ball back for another touchdown. The clock wound down and there was nothing Penn Manor or Coach Mealy could do. The game ended 36-22 Township.

Sports and Video Games becoming a Problem in Relationships

By Alicia Ygarza –

“Here honey, I brought you chips and dip,” says a loving wife to her husband and his friends.

“Aw thanks sweety, but could you move over a little, you’re blocking the game,” replies the husband.

Sports are becoming an addiction that are gaining more importance than relationships for some people.

In a letter on peele.net, a woman complains about her husband watching sports on TV too much, and admits she’s fed up with it.

Her letter is written to a man named Stanton who gives her advice on how to cure her husband’s addiction.

The woman quoted,”Sports is affecting our relationship. He doesn’t just play with our 2 1/2 year old son. He has one eye and ear glued to the game on TV. When we finally get out of the house on the weekends, he rushes us to get home before the start of a game. No more hiking. No more walks on the beach which is only three blocks from our house! No more exercising together. He even bought a second TV so that he wouldn’t feel too guilty, since our son and I could sit in another room watching a different show…”

Group of Men Watching Football Game on TV --- Image by © Chip Henderson/Monsoon/Photolibrary/Corbis

According to USA Today in their article, Are sports obsessions damaging your relationships?

Psychologist, Josh Klapow said, “It’s not how much time you spend watching football that matters, it’s whether or not that is causing negative behaviors in your life. Whether it’s 10 hours per week or 40, the issue is its effect on your real-life obligations.”

According to Bodog Beat, the most watched sport is the NFL, with the Super Bowl being the most watched event each year. Then the NBA with MLB Baseball following.

Every Sunday, boys with their gang of friends will cozy down in a recliner at a friends house, and watch the nightly football games.

A video game is a different type of game that is effecting relationships.

Kayleena Hess, a student at Penn Manor, said on occasions her boyfriend would rather play video games than hangout with her.

When Hess was asked how much time her boyfriend spends playing video games, she replied, “All the time! From the time he gets home, until he goes to bed. He’ll play it until 3 a.m. if it’s a new game.”

kids playing video games — A group of boys paying high attention to their video game. Courtesy of students.hw.com

A video game is like food to many, they can’t live without it.

So how does Hess feel about this addiction?

“It upsets me when he doesn’t respond to me. He picks games over me too often.”

The makers of video games most likely don’t mean for them to cause damage to relationships.

“There are other things he could be doing instead of playing games for that amount of time,” said Hess.

But when her boyfriend found out she said that, he responded, “Like what?”

Beware of People Jumping Off Roofs

By Cody Straub –

Think back just about one month ago to the beginning of September: Philadelphia sports fans were living it up.

All those jolly fans were getting their fingers fit for their World Series ring and buying their “dream team” jerseys by the bulk at local sporting goods store. Who knew so much could change in just a month in the sports world.

Those pre-ordered rings are now worth as much as the plastic rings you find in the cereal box and Michael Vick jerseys have become quite a popular dog toy over the past few weeks. So what happened in this dreadful month that led Philadelphia fans down this dark, tumultuous road?

The Phillies had the best rotation in baseball and too much depth to even gander a thought of losing a playoff series while the Eagles just shelled out all sorts of money to star free-agents in a matter of days, making them everyone’s early Superbowl favorite. Then September 18 rolled around, the day the world went dark for all Philadelphia sports fans.

Nobody is as good at disappointing then Philadelphia sports teams. Photo from rss2.com

While right then it may have just seemed like a bump in the road with both the Eagles and Phillies losing that day, it was really the start of catastrophic events for all of Philly. The”dream team” (I guess I should call them just the Eagles from now on, because who in the right mind would call a team with one win in five tries a “dream team?”) have not won a game since that week two loss to Atlanta and the loss on September 18 was the start of an eight game losing streak for the not so “phitin phils.” Now the Phillies are sitting at home watching the playoffs like everyone else and the Eagles aren’t even worth your Sunday afternoon anymore.

The sad part is that there is no one else for these teams to blame but themselves and their fans know it. Believe it or not walking around school you don’t hear, “The refs made them jump off-sides,” or “Well maybe if the umpire could see, the Phillies could have manged one run.” No, none of that is heard because as obnoxious as Philly fans are, they are smart enough to know that their teams have not met the lofty expectations everyone had for them.

This season has been one big headache for Vick and the Eagles.

All of these tragic events have led to many people asking themselves: what’s next? Football has all of a sudden become meaningless in Philadelphia, baseball being over before November has many Phillies fans confused and to top it off, Sixers fans won’t be able to cheer their team on because of the NBA lockout. This has led to many people climbing on top of their roofs and asking the sports gods what they did to deserve this, only to be talked down from jumping off the roof by the promise that there is always next year.

iPhone 4S Excitement for Some, Disappointment to More

By Chris Fleming and Andrew Morales –

Even with all the new bells and whistles featured on the new iPhone, students don’t seem to be too thrilled about it.

“The iPhone 4 is good enough for me,” said senior Aaron Sellers. “They’re probably going to make another one in a year or two anyway, so there is no need to be psyched.”

“The only new thing about the iPhone 4S is the S added onto the end,” said Senior Alex Sorce. “The new phone isn’t a big deal to me.”

Despite some students’ skepticism, the new phone still has much to offer.

With the added dual core A5 chip, the phone will run up to two times faster and the graphics up to seven times faster.

Also, according to the Apple site, the new phone is supposed to have an 8 mega pixel camera and have 1080p HD video recording. Not only will the mega pixels help the photo quality, but so will the five precision elements which transform incoming light to add to the quality to make the lighting of the picture just right.

You’ll also be able to access the photo app from the lock screen so you can take quick pictures. Just press the camera app and then press the volume up bottom to snap the picture.

icloud — This is the iCloud logo. Courtesy of www.businessweb designcharlotte.com

Siri, featured on the iPhone 4S, will allow the user to actually ask questions to the phone and it will reply with a serious and accurate answer. According to the Apple site, when Siri is asked questions it uses other apps on the phone to figure out your answer based on location, even if you’re just hungry.

Let’s say you want pizza. Simply ask Siri if there are any good pizza places around here and it will reply based on your location and provide a list of pizza places nearby. Also, Apple said on its website that Siri is proactive. Meaning that it keeps questioning you until you’re satisfied.

iCloud, also featured on the new phone, gives the user the capability to access a newly purchased song or T.V. show from iTunes on any of their devices. They can even look up old purchases from iTunes without syncing.

According to msnbc.com, the iPhone will now be on Sprint’s network as well, allowing more people to have the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. The price for the phone will be $199 with a two year contract. The price of the original iPhone 4 will also drop to $99 dollars with a two year contract.

“As soon as they come out, if there’s no line, I’ll get one,” said Penn Manor tech teacher Matthew Soto.

Penn Manor Hosts October ACT Test

By Taylor Goldberg –

Attention: all students interested in taking the ACT.

If you are curious as to why the ACT could be a supplement or an added bonus to your SAT scores, the answers are easy.

To start, you have the option of taking a writing test that tends to reward creative writers. The test has been proven to be more successful for those with a more “imaginative” mindset. Keep in mind that the SAT and ACT are different tests, they can measure different skill levels. Students’ strengths and weaknesses can determine better performance on one test instead of the other.

act — Penn Manor hosts the ACT test on October 22. Photo courtesy of couresy of Amazon.

Another benefit is that the registration fee for the ACT is less than that of the SAT.

Finally, the majority of state colleges are accepting ACT scores along with, or even without, the score of an SAT test.

Penn Manor is hosting ACT tests on Saturday October 22. Students planning to take the ACT are required to bring : ID, admission ticket, #2 pencils with a good eraser, a permitted calculator such as a TI-89, a watch (optional) and a snack to munch on during breaks.

Anyone planning to take the test should not bring any type of electronic device such as MP3 players or cell phones. Students are also encouraged not to bring reading material, notes, scratch paper, highlighters, colored pencils/pens or dictionaries.

You can sign up for ACT test at www.actstudent.org. Visit the counseling office to receive more information such as the school code and details on signing up for your ACT test.