Category: School Happenings

By Brandon Bowers –

Get up kids, you’re coming with me to work.

Yessss!  No school today.

However, you will be working – with me.

The “Take Our Daughters To Work” program was founded by Gloria Steinem and the Ms. Foundation for Women in 1993. It was changed to both sons and daughter in 2000.

Several teachers at Penn Manor celebrated The national “Take Our Child to Work” day Thursday by bringing their offspring to class.  The kids got to watch their parents’ classroom experiences – even a severe weather drill.

Trey and Ty, social studies teacher John Erisman’s two younger sons, accompanied their dad on the special day.

“They are helping with handing out the students’ tests,” said Erisman.  “They will not be doing any grading or looking over any handed-in work the students give me.”

“Their big thrill of the day is I am taking them down to lunch, and they want to sit with some students to eat,” Erisman added.

The boys may not look like typical high school students but, with their dad with them, they may even make a few older friends.

Hayley Astheimer, English teacher Holly Astheimer’s daughter also came to work with her mom Thursday.

“I love it so far,” said Hayley.

“Well we don’t want anymore weather drills,” said Hayley’s mom.  “Hayley has helped with vocab and has read a book so far. We also plan to go to the library later.”

“We are going to be getting lunch here but we are going to be coming back to my room and having lunch with one of the other teachers who brought in their kid as well,” said Holly Astheimer.

 

 

 

By Sarah Schaeffer and Jake Shiner –

Only eight days remain until 55 chorus students and seven adults board a plane to Hawaii.

The trip was open to any chorus student interested in attending. Chorus director Melissa Telesco said that she organized many fundraisers to help kids who had a serious interest in going, especially seniors as this is their final opportunity to take such a trip in their high school career.

The fundraisers have been completed and all that is left to complete is packing and final organization.

“We’re still organizing tickets, shirts and luggage checks,” said head of the music department and chorus director Melissa Telesco.

“I’m packing the night before,” said two juniors, Ryan Dettrey and Mitch Wise.

“I haven’t even started [packing] yet!” said chorus student Brendan Kincade.

The group will be staying at a hotel on The Big Island, the main island of Hawaii.

The students have the chance to perform at the recognition of the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which took place on December 7, 1941. According to chorus student Jared Bonawitz, about 50 other choral groups are attending this event.

Telesco said Penn Manor had to apply to sing, but is unsure if any chorus groups were cut from the line up.

Apart from singing at the ceremony, the students will hike on Diamond Head, a volcano, and have lots of ‘beach time,’ said Telesco.

“For the week we’ll be going to a luau, the beach, a catamaran sail, hiking Diamond head, going to sing at Pearl Harbor and a whole lot more,” said Kincade.

There are a few worries that linger:

“[Hawaii] is five hours behind us here, so there will be some jet lag on the way back,” said Telesco.

“Boys can’t wear speeods,” said Kincade.

Despite these minor setbacks, students are looking forward to the week-long adventure.

“I’ve never been there before, it’s warm…” said Bonawitz.

“I’m excited. I’ve never been on a plane before. It’ll be fun to experience that for the first time with all my friends,” said Dettrey.

“It’s a whole week off with my friends from the music department…we’re going on vacation for a whole week in Hawaii,” said Wise.

“I’m looking forward to being across the ocean with all of my classmates. Also, the beautiful weather is going to be amazing,” said Kincade.

The group will meet at the school at 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday the 20 and return the following Wednesday.

 

By Kendal Phillips –

Penn Points Newspaper is taking a field trip…to Anaheim, California.

Sarah Garner, Kendal Phillips, Jordann Stekervetz, Sarah Schaeffer, Crystal Bugner, Jake Shiner, Sam Valentin, and Blake Wales will be representing Penn Points at NSPA this year.

Every student in Penn Points club and the Journalism classes were given the option to attend the National Scholastic Press Association this year in California.  The cost was relatively high and the notice was short but those eight students made the effort to go.

Over 160 entries were submitted but only 17 were chosen in the online news category.  As more and more school newspapers go online, the competition in the online category is becoming more competitive.

Last year Penn Points was not only nominated for the Pacemaker Award at the NSPA conference in Portland, Oregon but was one of seven that won the Award. Throughout the year Penn Points continued winning awards.

Two out of the four final nominations in the Multimedia category were from Penn Points.  Sarah Schaeffer and Taylor Groff’s story on a Chinese student musician in Penn Manor won second place and Kendal Phillips and Taylor Groff’s story on the mosaic wall snagged honorable mention.

At NSPA the students will attend seminars and conferences to gain more information on how to successfully write for a newspaper.  Keynote speakers at the conference are Steve Lopez from the Los Angeles Times, Lisa Ling host of “Our America” and Laura Ling host and reporter on “E! Investigates.”

No matter how the competition turns out, the conference is expected to be a rewarding experience for the students attending.

By Morgan Fletcher, Lauren Richards and Alyssa Byers –

And you thought dissecting frogs was gross. How would you feel about watching rabbits breed?

Well, that’s part of the curriculum for Veterinary Science, one of the many Ag classes Penn Manor offers to its students. They also offer welding, Ag science, horticulture and engines among many others. But what goes on behind the closed doors of the Ag hallway?

“I think people get the wrong ideas about Ag classes and that’s why they don’t take them,” said junior Caleb Hess.

Hess has taken Ag classes all three years of high school and will continue to take them next year.  He cites Ag Science III as being his favorite class.

“I enjoy them and I think they’re relevant to my life and future career goals,” said Hess.

In Ag Science III, students are given a plot of hypothetical land where they must manage the type of land and the various types of soil.  They also learn to build a resume (as if they haven’t done that enough already) and keep a record book on animals they show.

Welding class is offered as well, allowing students to play with fire while they’re in school. In welding, students are asked to combine two pieces of metal using intensive heat. They use certain techniques such as MIG, oxyacetylene and stick welding.

Joe Bucek, a welding student, enjoys the freedom he gets in his welding class.

“I get a bunch of free time to weld,” said Bucek. “It’s fun.”

How about that engine you’ve been meaning to fix? Penn Manor has a class for that. Not only do you get to tear apart engines, but you learn to rebuild them. Lawnmowers, snow blowers and chainsaws are only some of the engines you could work on. Students also learn about specific engines such as electrical and intake.

For those interested in construction, Penn Manor’s Ag department is the place for you. Construction class offers many ways to learn about construction, even using a hands-on method to help students learn better. Small sheds and other objects are built, all while learning the basics of construction.

“I like taking Ag classes because I get to meet new people and a lot of them have the same background as me,” said junior Laura Wissler.

So, the next time you take a walk down the Ag hallway, don’t be alarmed by the loud noises or the crowing of roosters. It’s all a part of a day’s work for the Penn Manor Ag students.

By Evan Shertzer –

There is no I in team.

Penn Manor’s FFA sent two teams March 2 to the regional competitions at Lampeter-Strasburg High School. The two events that Penn Manor participated in were the Mechanic’s Competition and Dairy Food’s Competition. The teams had different contests they competed in at the event.

The Mechanic’s team consisted of four students, Scott Appel, Ben Groff, Adam Campbell and Collin Koser. The Dairy Food’s team consisted of five students, Darren Pickel, Devin Pickel, Hunter McVey, Aaron Breneman and Andrew Rohrer. Both teams practiced hard during after school hours and stayed after multiple days to try and learn as much as they could for the competition.

“The Mechanic’s team had multiple challenges in the contest,” said Amanda Stoltzfus, an Ag Dept. teacher, “like the plumbing, welding, electrical, tractor, and harvest crib practicums.”

At the end of the competition, Appel felt very good about how the Mechanic’s team did.

“We did excellent I feel,” Appel said. “We worked together and to the best of our ability.”

Appel also had a good learning experience at the competition.

“We got to learn various things like how to put spark plugs on an engine and how to work as a team,” said Appel.

Groff also shared the same enthusiasm as Appel on how they performed.

“I think I did okay,” said Groff. “I had fun, but we need more practice.”

The Dairy Food’s team also participated in multiple challenges at the event.

“The Dairy Food’s team had cheese ID and testing,” Stoltzfus said.”They had to ID off-flavors and milk by smelling and tasting. They also had to ID milker parts for a cow milker and take a written test.”

Pickel was very pleased on the Dairy Food’s team performance at the event as well and also had a good time at the competition.

“It was pretty fun and we placed fourth. We are good at cheese’s now that we have practiced,” Pickel said. “Milk tasting was disgusting though.”

The Mechanic’s and Dairy Food’s teams both placed fourth at the competition and are moving on to the next round.

“Both teams will be practicing their skills and enhancing their knowledge in their subjects for a competition at Penn State this summer,” Stoltzfus said.

The next competition is at Penn State and will be occurring June 13-16 this summer.