School Happenings – Page 10 – Penn Points Online

The Season Of Sickness Starts Now

By Laura Myers-

You may spot a new fashion trend in the nurse’s office in the past few weeks, surgical masks. Dry coughs, stuffy noses, and sore throats. It’s that time of the year: cold and flu season.

“Cold season is here and one of the reason that it becomes more prevalent at this time is because we’re in close quarters and people sneeze and cough,” said certified school nurse Anne Butterfield.

“People sneeze and cough, and flu and cold are air borne virus,” she said. “But you can also get it by touching contaminated surfaces, and then touching your mucus membrane, which are your eyes your nose and your mouth. So that’s how you get these bugs.”

butterfield — High School nurse Anne Butterfield checks students for flu symptoms. Photo by Simon Zimmerman

“With the Swine Flu going around last year, it’s not as bad as it was,” said attendance officer Stacy Riffert

But it’s hard to tell when to push through the pain or to stay home.

Butterfield says “If you wake up and your joints are achy and your throat hurts and you have a dry hacky cough and your temps over 100 (degrees) you need to stay home, because you probably are getting into influenza.”

She advised staying home until a person’s temperature has dropped to normal for at least 24 hours.

“Plus you won’t really be able to move with the flu you will feel so bad you don’t have any energy,” Butterfield said. “With a cold you can take some over-the-counter medication or some simply I think what’s best is fluids, take it easy and maybe some Tylenol or ibuprofen for the general scratchy sore throat and the headache that sometimes comes.”

Now there is a difference between the cold and flu, but being able to tell the two apart can be tricky.

Flu symptoms are as followed according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:

Fever
Cough
Sore throat
Stuffy or runny nose
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
Tiredness
Headaches

Cold Symptoms Are As Followed:

Sneezing
Stuffy or runny nose
Sore throat
Coughing
Watery eyes
Mild headache
Mild body aches

Both flu and cold symptoms are very similar because they are both upper respiratory illnesses. But the flu tends to be worse than a cold virus, according to the CDC.

Prevention is a big way to keep yourself safe from acquiring the virus and according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. A few ways to protect your self are as followed.

Get plenty of rest
Eat a well balanced diet
Talk to your doctor about getting the flu vaccine
Cover your nose and mouth when coughing and wash your hands right after to prevent the virus from spreading
Minimize time in crowds or in closed quarters
Stay home if you are ill

While following all of these precautions can help decrease your risk of getting the flu, the biggest prevention may to get a flu shot.

“Get a flu shot, it’s not to late because flu will still be with us until end of February and even into March,” said Butterfield.

To find where you can get your local flu shot click here, to be directed to the PA Department of Health.

PMMU Places Top 3 in CBA Championship

By Laura Myers-

With screaming fans and lots of blue and gold it would almost seem as if it was a sporting event. But fans came out to support the Penn Manor Marching Unit during their championship performance and congratulate them for their five first place wins, one second and third at championships. All in all it it was a priceless season for the PMMU.

They went up against 18 other bands, on their “home” field of Chryst at Millersvilles Biemster stadium for the season ending championships.

“Championships was a very successful day even though a lot of people were expecting first place, third place is still awesome,” said drum major Tim Deubler, about their Nov. 6 competition performance.

“I think we were probably expecting to not get third,” said director Tom Mumma. “I think if we had gotten second, I think that would probably have been less surprising. Just because we were coming into championships in second place, and we had our best show at championships, and so we figured our score would increase, which it did, which was good. I guess maybe (I’m) a little surprised we ended up third.”

Their show, “Insurrection” was a three-part performance that told the story of serenity, war, and regret. PMMU placed third with a score of 93.15, with six tenths of a point separating them from second place.

“It’s frustrating and feels good at the same time,” said Mumma. “It’s better than getting third, and totally being blown out of the water by the bands that beat you. It’s very close, which is good but on the same token you go back and say ‘aw man where could we have picked up those six tenths worth of points,'” said Mumma.

PMMU competes in the Liberty division which is made up of 18 bands in the Cavalcade of the Bands Association. But for championships they competed in the “Liberty Open” division along with nine other bands.

“The reason they separate them is they take the best of each of those classes and they put them in the top which is called “open,” and the bottom group is called “A.” And then there are groups who don’t even make it into that,” said Mumma. “It’s just a way of separating the really good bands from the okay bands as far as their skill level so that there are different levels for championships,” said Mumma.

This year Championships were held at Millersville, in years past championships had been held at Hershey stadium. Rarely has a Championships been held at Millersville.

“I definitely felt like we still had the upper hand,” said drum major Mike Helwig

“It was fabulous being here being at home. There were a lot of fans here, more so then we’ve had a Hershey, which was really fun. The fact that it was our own field made us feel more comfortable,” commented Mumma.

Even without the “Comet Crazies,” family, students, alumni, and other PMMU supporters went wild as PMMU marched onto the field.

“We got tons of support it was crazy how loud everybody was when we came on (to the field),” said Helwig.

Although many think it’s all about wining, PMMU band members see it a different way.

“We didn’t come out to championships to beat anybody, we wanted to have our best show, and we did. And we were really hoping our show would be the best show of the night,” said Mumma

“We run a program here that our competitors, the people we compete against are ourselves,” said Mumma.

Overall the season was a success for the unit.

“I’m really proud of our third place win because it’s the first time we made the top three since 2000 and I’m really glad it’s one of my years that we started getting really good again,” said Helwig.

“Definitely the best year, in all the years I’ve been involved which has been nine years we’ve never gotten higher then fourth, so third place is pretty darn good,” Deubler.

“It’s a great way to finish the end of our season and our high school senior year” said seniors Kelly Herr and Kayla Laukhuff.

“Both on and off the field we had a great season,” said Herr.

“Groups like Hatboro and Southern have been doing this for 20 years this is my eighth year here and were already making them nervous, so absolutely I have no doubt in my mind that we could be a championship band sooner than later,” said Mumma.

If you missed the show check it out here to see PMMUs performance at Manheim Township. The third place comes as a bittersweet end to the season, all can rest easy as the “war” is over.

“I don’t know if we’ll be a liberty band next year, but if we are I’d say look out because we’ll be trying our hardest,” said Helwig.

All photos courtesy of Kristen Deubler.

School Board Members Visit High School

By Becca Frankford–

Dr. Mike Leichliter and four other school board members visited Penn Manor this Thursday for a perspective on what Penn Manor students are thinking.

Penn Manor's school board members visit the high school

The meeting took place in the chorus room, with the nine school board members. After being introduced, the board members split up to talk with members from the various clubs that meet throughout the school. Every club was represented by at least one person, whether it was the president of the club or just a member. Some clubs there included NHS, student council, Do-Something club, journalism, chorus, band, FFA, and more.

“What are some strengths of Penn Manor?” Rich Frerichs, the head of the school board asked the students.

“I like the amount of diversity… there is so much to offer,” one senior said.

“Our school has so much to offer, and when the middle schoolers come in, there is something for them,” another junior added.

A question was directed by Frerichs toward sophomores to find out if Penn Manor did well getting them ready for high school and how the school can better prepare them for their future.

The students in the group said they really enjoyed the opportunity of being able to be in a club of their choice and meeting every week.

“Do more to advertise the clubs,” one sophomore suggested.

They all agreed that when the eighth graders come to the high school orientation they are told how they are going to be prepared for the 21st century, the dress code, teachers, core classes, and sports teams, but there is hardly any information on clubs they can join.

The students also thought that if they had a representative from every club go to the middle schools and inform middle schoolers on what different clubs are offered that can benefit their high school experience. Suggestions were made to include the lists of clubs and activities that are offered and include contact person, email, blogs, etc. in the course selection books that are given out each year.

Underclassmen take a benchmark test which decides whether or not they must go into remediation or enrichment based on their scores. The issue of our school failing and not making adequate yearly progress struck a debate on whether or not the school should get rid of enrichment.

“I am really strong on academics. It really breaks my heart to not make AYP,” Frerichs said.

“The reason our school is failing is because of the various sub groups that are held to the same standards as the rest of the student body and when they fail the PSSAs everyone is affected,” students said.

“It wasn’t taken seriously… seniors are losing time doing enrichment,” a Penn Manor junior commented on enrichment schedule and classes.

A student council member mentioned that all the enrichment schedules are messing up with the chances to meet for student council. Other comments were made that when students are in a club but have enrichment, they can’t go to club. More concerns were directed to the loss of homeroom and the benefits it had to completing make up work and homework.

“There’s people all over the place.. its ridiculous,” a student commented on how math teachers are covering English classes and vice versa.

“A lot of flaws in the current system… a lot of flaws,” one junior said.

In the attempt to understand and connect with Penn Manor students, Frerichs asked, “If you’re running the schools, how do I make it better?”

Students suggested that there needed to be more consequences for their actions.

“Remediation should be a consequence,” a girl said.

Suggestions varied from having teacher evaluations, to having designated enrichment and club days. When voting on the teacher evaluation, there were 11 yes and 1 no.

The chance of cutting down classes for a dwindling budget was considered. Cutting out classes from each area of academics was thought to be a good consideration so no one area is cut more then another. No classes have been cut as of yet.

Holiday Weekend Looks to Be the Best it Has in Years

By Kevin Holton –

Besides eating turkey and stuffing, there’s not much more to do on a rainy and cold Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Luckily, this year will not be that way.

Those stuffed with turkey and mashed potatoes will be able to take a leisurely walk or play a game of football to work off the extra calories.

According to the The Weather Channel, Thursday through Saturday will offer a stretch of beautiful weather for late November with temperatures rising high into the 50s.

Millersville University’s Meteorologist, Eric Horst, believes its going to be even warmer than that for the holiday weekend.

“If everything lines up, it could get up to the 70s this Thanksgiving weekend,” said Horst.

A beautiful thanksgiving day only brings joy. photo from wallpapertimes.com

This kind of warm weather is very unusual for this time of year. But this has been a year for unusual weather.

“I looked through the records and 2001 was the last time we had a Thanksgiving this warm,” said Horst.

Penn Manor students couldn’t be more excited about the weather turning out this way.

“I’m gonna be tearin’ it up everyday on my quad,” said Penn Manor senior Dylan Tremellen.

Students plan to soak up the warm weather since it is usually quite scarce at this late in the fall.

“I will be playing a lot of basketball and also playing football with my friends,” predicted senior Reagan Forrey.

Senior Alex Cummins also plans on having a good time with family this year, outside.

“I’ll be eating a lot of food for Thanksgiving and then probably going to my cousin’s lake to hangout,” he said.

“I would love to go outside and play with my dog Bronson and take him for walks in the warm weather,” said senior Matt Noll, who was savoring the sunny forecast. ” Also I’d like to go to the beach and see the ocean.”

Everyone should enjoy the summer-like temperatures when they can because it won’t be long until winter sets in and snow begins to fall. However, Horst said the winter of 2011-12 may be a mild one without much of the white stuff that has plagued the region for the past two winters.

“This winter looks to be an ordinary one with not too much snow,” said Horst. ” So for all you big snow lovers out there, sorry.”

Penn Points’ Authors Awarded in 2011

By Alex Kirk –

Penn Points is proud to announce that some of its writers have won top state and national writing competitions this year.

On the national level, Penn Points was tied with a another newspaper from a school in Kansas for the most national awards, with four a piece from the National Scholastic Press Association.

One story, named in the top five feature stories by the NSPA, is still in the running for feature story of the year and overall national story of the year. This story, entitled “Life” has a different meaning for juveniles tried as adults, was written by Penn Manor grad Bryan Hess and senior Sarah Schaeffer.

“It’s an honor to be nominated coming from a small school in Pennsylvania and be in the running against California schools with very strong school newspapers,” said Schaeffer.

Penn Points received three other awards from the NSPA. Blake Wales and Jordann Stekervetz’s story titled A Permanent Remembrance Bears Painful Burden won an honorable mention in the Multimedia Package category. Morgan Fletcher’s story entitled Should the N-Word be given a green pass in school? received an honorable mention in the Diversity category. Faith Walauskas also received an Honorable Mention for an editorial cartoon.

Connor Hughes's PSPA Certificate. Photo by Alex Kirk

Penn Points’ authors were also rewarded for their talent in state-level competition. The Pennsylvania School Press Association awarded ten different authors for a combined total of sixteen awards. Here’s the list of PSPA awards……..

Kendal Phillips – Bronze in News Writing
Connor Hughes – Bronze in News Writing
Cheyenne Weber – Silver in Feature
Amber Brenner – Silver in Feature
Bryan Hess – Gold in In-Depth Coverage
Jake Shiner – Bronze in News Writing
Sarah Schaeffer – Gold in In-Depth Coverage
Alex Geli – Silver in Sports Feature, Gold in Sports Feature, Bronze in Feature
Simon Zimmerman – Bronze in News Analysis, Bronze in Column Writing
Sarah Garner – Gold in In-Depth Coverage, Bronze in News Analysis, Bronze in News Writing (2).

“I’m really glad I won something” said Hughes. “It was a big surprise to me that I received the award.”

Snow in the Forecast for Penn Manor

By Taylor Goldberg –

“Yeah we’re going to get snow,” said Dave Bender, Penn Manor science teacher and school weatherman extraordinaire.

There is a winter storm warning in the Susquehanna Valley, according to Bender and other weather reporters. Snow is supposed to start at 2 am Saturday morning and keep snowing until 10 p.m. Saturday night. Anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected.

All sports and other activities in the district have been postponed.

The snow is coming from the Tennessee Valley.

“Lancaster is right on the fence of heavy rain and wet snow,” said, Millersville meteorologist, Eric Horst. “We are located in low elevated area so the conditions will result in a wet sloppy mix.”

The heavy wet snow will create slippery travel conditions for those planning to drive early in the morning or after dark.

As for the winds: North about 5 to 10 10 MPH and gusts up to 25 MPH. Temperatures in the lower 30s.

“A lot of snow might fall but it is going to turn into rain,” said Bender. “The amount of snow we get all depends on how much of it melts.”

Annual Spook House Slated for Friday

By Frank Herr –

You can’t purchase much with a dollar these days, let alone buying something with canned food.

But in what might be the biggest bargain this year, $1 or a can of food can entertain you and scare you senseless.

This is the case when it comes to Penn Manor High School’s Thespian Spook House. On Friday, October 28, PMHS International Thespian Society will be holding its annual transformation of the auditorium into a haunted attraction. Admission will either be covered by a $1 entrance fee, or a canned food donation.

image courtesy of toddfrisbie.wordpress.com

“It’s an ITS club activity, organized by club officers,” said club advisor Melissa Mintzer. Although this is a ‘haunted’ attraction, no chainsaws or daggers will be incorporated into the production, like those of similar Halloween spectacles.

From 6 to 8:30, ITS tour guides will be leading groups of six to eight people through two paths in the auditorium. Along with these smaller trails, the majority of ghouls and goblins will be found on the auditorium stage.

All donations will be given to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, through ‘Trick Or Treat so Kids Can Eat’ and the cash generated will be used to purchase even more canned goods for the bank.

For four of the past five years, Penn Manor’s ITS troupe has had the highest donation of canned goods in the state. After North Penn collected more than Penn Manor’s troupe last year, the Comets are hopeful that this will be fruitful. The nationwide goal for this charity is to bring in 375,000 pounds of food. Penn Manor averages a substantial 18,000 pounds of goods each year.

“Who doesn’t want something free or really cheap, to do on a Friday night?” said Mintzer. All in all, the ITS Spook House is a scary good deal, regardless whether folks are inclined to come for the fun, the food or the funds.

President Richard Frerichs Named Master School Board Member

By Becca Frankford –

Richard Frerichs was named as a Master School Board Member recently, one of only five honored with the title by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

Frerichs is one of more than 4,500 school board members across the state who could have been eligible to win the award.

Penn Manor School Board President Rich Frerichs.

The award recognizes outstanding board members of public schools who have been working to meet the needs of education students during the challenges facing schools today, Frerichs said.

This award recognizes board members who have accomplished goals in the five categories of effective board service, professional development, community engagement, advocacy and state involvement.

Frerichs service to the board entails his work for the district since 1997.

Now the President of the School Board, Frerichs makes a point of knowing what is going on in the district and keeping on top of upcoming issues the Penn Manor School District will face in the future.

To further his own professional development, Frerichs said he reads books on education, attends conferences, goes to various education sessions and often joins in on webcasts with the PSBA.

Outside of the board duties, Frerichs community engagement includes being the past president of the Millersville Alumni Association and a member of the Ryan Aument Education Advice Committee.

Advocating throughout the state he meets and sends letters to state legislators, as well as being associated with the Federal Relations Network. Being on the board he has to keep up with information from the 16 school districts in Lancaster County.

“I was both humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Frerichs. “First, I was honored because it’s only given to five people in the state. I was humbled because the fact that I was recognized for this, I felt that I was doing what any good school board member would.”

Military test always a draw at Penn Manor

By Chris Gotwals and Sam Valentin-

They are only in high school but they are making decisions and taking tests that will decide their future.

On average, about 20 Penn Manor students take the ASVAB test every year with intentions to go into the military and this year was no different.

The ASVAB or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is a military-based aptitude test with multiple parts of the test covering math, reading, science, vocabulary, mechanics and electronics.

“Fourteen males and three females took the ASVAB this year,” said Penn Manor Counselor Jim Yearsley.

“The past few years it has varied how many students take it, more students now take it more now than five years ago,” he said.

“Some students do better going straight into the military,” Yearsley noted. “While some do better going to college and going through ROTC and military courses.”

Although Yearsley said it would be “awful” if someone from the school, either a counselor or teacher who helped a student decide to join, reads that they passed away during combat, he said he has come to appreciate how many Penn Manor students decide to go into the military service for their country.

“This is a very patriotic school district,” he said.

The ASVAB test is different from the SAT and other standardized tests at school because the overall grade doesn’t matter as much as the individual parts of it. If a student scores high on mechanics but not math, the military branch may place that student in a job with mechanics, and not math. It’s that simple.

The highest score possible is a 99, but to get into the military branches you only need to score a 31 for the Army, a 32 for the Marines, a 35 for the Navy and a 36 for the Air Force. However, the lower the score the lower the number of jobs open up for that soldier in each branch.

“I think I did pretty good, it was easy except the mechanics section,” Penn Manor Junior Josh Shetrompf said.

Penn Manor Sophmore Kurt Devlin, he is sure he is joining the military.

Penn Manor senior Michael Schneider took the ASVAB at a local Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) so he could get medical tests done at the same time that he needed to join the Army.

“The ASVAB test at MEPS was a little harder and longer than the one I took at school last year,” said Schneider. “I did a little better than the first time so I’m happy about that. But spending the day at MEPS was alright, lots of tests like hearing, vision, drug tests, blood tests and mobility tests to see if you’re in shape for the military.”

Schneider plans to go back to the station in the near future to actually be sworn into the United States Army.

Kurt Devlin, a Penn Manor sophomore, didn’t take the ASVAB yet, but he is sure the military will be part of his future.

“My dad was in the military, his dad was in the military, it’s a family thing,” said Devlin. “My dad was looking for me to go in since my brother didn’t. He got a scholarship to play soccer in college.”

Devlin’s dad and grand dad were both in the Air Force and his grandfather also served 20 years in the Navy, retiring last year.

But Devlin is looking to the Marines for his career as a sniper.

“I think it will be exciting,” he said.

Penn Manor Fails to make AYP . . . Again

By Taylor Goldberg –

There are lots of changes to notice around school this year, new teachers, a new librarian and a WHOLE NEW SCHEDULE!

For the first time in many years, Penn Manor High School is dropping its full blocks of classes and dividing each class up into instruction and enrichment or now, remediation.

“The more time we have the practice the prep the better prepared we will be – the more practice you get, the better you become if you practice the right way.” said Penn Manor principal, Phil Gale, “It’s an indicator of where students’ skills are.”

The purpose is to raise the PSSA test scores, according to administrators. The high school and Martic Elementary school did not make adequate yearly progress, according to the state, and the high school has been put on Corrective Action II designation.

“Remediation is a waste of valuable class time. I know people that did well on the benchmark tests and are still in remediation,” said junior, Hannah Breidenbaugh. “This is also keeping students from getting tutoring and participating in school clubs.”

Kids in remediation are not allowed to participate in school clubs.

“We need to soar with the strengths we have and tend to our needs.” said Penn Manor assistant principal Dr. D’Amico.

Students who are not designated to go to remediation must still get enrichment every day in a revolving block schedule.

Maddie Rohrer and Dani Landis. Photography credit Taylor Goldberg

“The new schedule is not making me feel more prepared for the PSSA test,” said Penn Manor junior, Maddie Rohrer. “Enrichments don’t relate to the test, the lessons are so random.”

Manheim Township and Conestoga Valley reportedly both made changes to their school schedule in order to bring test scores up in reading and math. The changes in both districts paid off, boosting test scores. However, schools including Pequea Valley, Solanco, Penn Manor and Warwick all failed to make AYP (Annual Yearly Progress).

“They may not agree with the test, they may not like the format but it’s what the state has mandated that all students across Pennsylvania be proficient in,” confirmed D’Amico.

In order to make AYP, at least 67 percent of students had to score “proficient” or “advanced” in math and at least 72 percent in reading PSSAs. Cutoff scores increase several percentage points each year. In 2011 the state increased cutoff scores by 9 percent in reading and 11 percent in math.

“I give the kids credit for coming in and working hard, they may not like it but it’s like a hard practice,” stated Gale. “They’re working hard and that’s all we can ask for, that they continue to give us that effort.”

Penn Manor seniors aren’t too thrilled about having to participate in these enrichment periods.

“Focus on younger kids, like kids at the middle schools,” said Penn Manor senior, Jade Hess. “Enrichment sucks, I vote seniors shouldn’t have to do it. I miss homeroom!”