School Happenings – Page 21 – Penn Points Online

AP Art Hosts Their First, And Last, Show

It looks like Andy Warhol has entered the building.

An “art walk” will be held in the art wing of Penn Manor High School Thursday, June 3. The event, hosted by the AP art students, will last the entire school day and it will showcase the work of students and faculty.

At any time, teachers may take their classes down to the art wing to view the artwork.

“It would be great if all classes could come see [the art] especially since not everyone comes down this hallway,” said senior Kayla Kauffman, an AP Art student.

Art Painting Drawing — Student art will be displayed during "art walk." Photo by Abby Wilson

The day is being planned by the current AP art class as a last hurrah since the probable cancellation of the class.

“We are starting an art movement,” said AP art senior Matt Blaisdell. “Gaining interest in the art department [is the goal].”

“It’s an opportunity to show off our work to students not in art classes and who normally wouldn’t see it,” said senior Addie Aukamp.

Despite disappointment over the proposed cancellation of the class, but the students are still excited for the show.

“[Our pieces] were really hard work, but it’ worth it in the long run because now everyone in the school can come see it and benefit,” said Megan Carr, another AP art student.

Art is already being hung in the showcases and signs are going up in the hallway.

“Come out and hang with some freakin’ cool art kids,” said Blaisdell.

By Emily Brody and Jacqueline Lennon

Small Ensembles Bring Crowd to Their Feet

Penn Manor’s small ensembles concert ended their season on a high note as the last performance finished with a deafening cheer and a standing ovation from the extremely pleased and more-than-satisfied audience.

On Wednesday, May 19, the Jazz Band kicked off the night with “The Work Song” which included a solo by senior Zach Levenson on saxophone. Levenson performed four other solos throughout the Jazz Band portion of the night and performed a combo tune with pianist Holly Mancinelli.

Nick Charles was mentioned before the start of “It Don’t Mean a Thing(If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” because he had to step in and replace fellow Jazz Band member, Tyler Funk, because of Funk’s inability to attend to concert. Charles took over Funk’s drum solo and prepared for the concert in a week’s time. His dedication paid off with a roar of applause at the conclusion of the song.

The line up on stage changed nearly every song as a different drummer replaced the last and allowed each their time to shine. Jesse Griffith, Nick Charles, Sal Dumas and Steven Resh each played a song.

Tommy Hotchkiss and Adam Zangari each had a trumpet solo for “Rooster Tail” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” respectively. Helen Hutchens had a vibes solo for “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and Tim Deubler had a solo during “Cut to the Chase.”

Hotchkiss and fellow trumpet player, Mike Helwig grooved to the music by swinging their bells to the rhythm of the songs.

The audience followed their lead by bobbing their heads and moving their feet. Band director, Tom Mumma, even let loose on stage and got into the swing of things.

A special guest player, Nate Sheaffer, joined the band from start to finish. Sheaffer was the woodwind instructor for the 2009-2010 marching band season.

The Manor Singers started out with laughs as Kyle Hallett received a ‘top secret’ envelope from an ‘unidentifiable mystery man.’ The Singers came out of the woodwork as they appeared from the audience and backstage decked out in dark sunglasses as a search light scanned the auditorium in a mock prison-break style.

After the song ended, Melissa Telesco, chorus director, encountered minor microphone difficulties which were quickly fixed and the concert continued.

The musical “RENT” came to Penn Manor in the form of the opening song “Seasons of Love.” Tim Deubler, Jenna Spayd, Brendan Kincade, Kate Harrold and Ian Bricker all performed solos.

Hannah Tucker, choral student president, showed off her leadership skills as she conducted the Singers while performing alongside them in “Build Me Up Buttercup.”

The lighting crew played up the ‘buttercup’ aspect of the song by illuminating the ensemble with bright yellow lights in a flower type pattern.

The alto section stole the show with their understanding of the lovey-dovey meaning of the song and their playful attitude and smiling faces.

“O Magnum Mysterium” had a haunting start that captivated the audience in stunned silence. The layers of harmony began with the song and continued throughout. The sacred piece received great praise from the crowd.

The Manor Singers concluded their performance with “Faithful Over a Few Things.” The constant dynamic changes created a hush over the auditorium as the crowd prepared themselves for the next rise and fall of the music. “Faithful” was the only song of the night to include accompaniment, and Kelly Lenahan, sophomore, was thoroughly applauded.

Manor Singers Video:

Build Me Up Buttercup – Manor Singers

During the classical Mozart piece, “Amadeus!”, Henry Stewart was captured by the music and showed the audience his passion for the music.

During “Arabian Nights” the beginning of the song started with a soft, barely audible violin solo from Sophia Wu-Shanley, which crescendoed to a suspenseful, dramatic inclusion of the other orchestra members.

Orchestra conductor Sara Ricciardi was left without a microphone after the song but was rescued by Mumma, who returned the missing mic. Mumma then raised the stand over Ricciardi’s head and quickly exited stage right. Ricciardi took the joke lightly and introduced “Bagatelle.”

Wu-Shanley and Mark Chrictman each had a violin solo and Shannon Nitry had a viola solo during the piece. The song included many dynamic changes and received much praise at its conclusion.

The lighting crew returned again to shower the full orchestra with pale pink lights during “Pink Panther.”

In the final performance of the night, Manor Singers and Colorguard members, Olivia Stoltzfus and Kimberly Riley, joined the full orchestra for “Baba Yetu.”

Ricciardi publically thanked Stewart for taking the time to contact the composer, Christopher Tin, and ensuring that Penn Manor could use the song during the concert.

The lighting crew created a sunset scene behind the orchestra to create an African-inspired backdrop for the piece.

Logan Falk, Nate Lussier and Luke Harvey each had a vocal solo as Stoltzfus and Riley executed their self-choreographed routine on the right and left-hand sides of the stage.

The crowd loved the song and rose to its feet and shook the auditorium with cheers, whistles and shout outs to their favorite performers.

The energy in the auditorium excited the musicians as their grins threatened to take over their faces.

Manor Singers Video:

Baba Yetu – Penn Manor Singers Video

By Danie Beck

Spanish Classes Celebrate Traditions of Spain

When you walk into room 214, most expect the sound of “Hola!” or students grunting while conjugating verbs. But on Friday, the Spanish III classes, taught by Julie Bibiloni, celebrated the end of their recent chapter with a fiesta like no other.

“The chapter deals with vocab of celebrations including birthdays, weddings, Christmas, Three Kings Day, Hanukkah and New Year’s,” said Bibiloni, “The grammar’s hard in this chapter. It’s a great relaxing way to end the chapter.”

Spanish celebration — Students in Spanish III celebrate traditional Spanish holidays. Photo by Mike Nitroy

And the students from the class were quick to grab at the chance to relax.

“Bibiloni’s made the course tough so we deserve one party a year,” said student James Servansky.

The party started with a simulation of the celebration of New Years Eve in Spain in a new way.

“In Spain, as a tradition, they eat 12 grapes, one for every second after New Year’s at midnight,” said student Kelly Lenahan.

Students gathered around with cups of grapes, attempting to chew one every second, but had more difficulty than most would think.

“I only got to cinco (five) [after 12 seconds],” said Lenahan.

A traditional Spanish wedding was then performed with students portraying brides, grooms, flower girls and the priest.

Students simulated a traditional wedding in Spain. Photo by Mike Nitroy

During this fiesta however, the wedding featured live music by Tosh Chambers on bass and Selena Hasircoglu on keyboard who serenaded the “newlyweds” Claire Collison and Brandon Stone.

“[I liked] playing the wedding march.We gave up our lunch to come in and practice,” said Hasircoglu.

“It had a good turn out,” said Chambers.

The rest of the party was filled with food, drinks, a birthday cake and the loud singing of Feliz Cumpleaños (Happy Birthday).

“The food was really fun. The music was really good too,” said Stone.

Students Tosh Chambers and Selena Hasircoglu played the wedding march during the fiesta. Photo by Mike Nitroy

“The wedding and the ‘orchestra’ [were my favorites],” said Bibiloni.

While most days Señora Bibiloni can be found concentrating on new verb tenses and weekly vocabulary quizzes, on this day she made every student want to run to the counselor and sign up for a Spanish course.

By Mike Nitroy

National History Day Makes History at Penn Manor

Three of Penn Manor’s brightest were competing in National History Day at a state level.

Jeremy Vital, Trevor Troup and Ande Olsen finished in the top six in state competition for their documentary on the innovation of refrigeration.

The project was made for National History Day(NHD), and took these three to glory.

“It was surprising because I started out just trying to get an A in the class, but ended up getting sixth in states,” said junior Trevor Troup.

The project for the three began in the classroom as just another class assignment.

“We didn’t even try that hard, then it ended up being a really good project,” said junior Ande Olsen.

Penn Manor also had the home school advantage in

the event since they hosted it.

“I felt right at home because I didn’t have to travel,” said junior Jeremy Vital.

This was the most successful year for Penn Manor at the NHD event, and the Social Studies department looks forward to next year’s event with enthusiasm.

“Even though we wont have the class together, were still going to make a project for the next event(NHD),” vowed Jeremy Vital
By Paul Slaugh

Spring Fling Gets Rained on… Again

Not only does the tradition of Spring Fling continue, the tradition of wet, rainy weather does too.

On May 14, Spring Fling, Penn Manor’s annual carnival, was held at Comet Field from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., with additional fireworks that started after dark.

spring fling sumo wrestler — Sumo wrestlers battled it out at Spring Fling 2010. Photo by Sarah Garner

The Spring Fling adviser and assistant principal, Doug Eby, was satisfied with the outcome of Spring Fling this year, setting aside the weather conditions.

“We were about running out of parking, but then it started to rain and people left,” said Eby. “[When the rain stopped] they came back.”

WeatherChannel.com had predicted afternoon thunderstorms for the day of Spring Fling, but Mother Nature surprised everyone by adding hail into the mix.

The hail was the size of marbles and did minor damage to stands and the surrounding cars.

“We had a good amount of people and when it started hailing we lost about half of them,” said senior Kayla Drexel, a Spring Fling coordinator.

“I think they need to have a rain date so the stands can make their money,” said sophomore Matthew Ulmer. “Mother Nature ruined it for the past three years.”

Although the rain and hail put a frown on many peoples’ faces, there are those who still had a good time.

“It was a little slow at first, but I feel people were having fun at the beginning,” said junior Emily Land.

“I worked ITS Thespian Club [stand] and it went pretty well, but we didn’t make [as much money as] we wanted to ’cause of the rain,” said junior Alana Herr.

Spring Fling has been a district event for several years and it continues to grow and change, according to Eby and Drexel.

“I think it was more organized this year,” said Drexel. “We had more stuff done ahead of time.”

“It costs about $4,000 to run Spring Fling,” said Eby. “We raise enough [money] to have Spring Fling [in order to] help clubs make money.”

But not everything went perfectly.

Drexel considered what she would change in the upcoming years if she could.

“I don’t think we’ve had as many clubs [as previous years],” said Drexel. “More sports clubs [will be asked to participate].”

Eby felt confident enough to say the weather will not be an issue next year.

“This will be the last year it rains,” said Eby. “It will not rain next year!”

By Sarah Garner and Kendal Phillips

This Week’s Weather Dreary But Sun Is On Its Way

April showers bring May flowers.

But, recently Millersville has experienced just the opposite.

Over the past two weeks, Penn Manor High School has seen more hoodies, jackets and boots than in the whole month of April.

According to The Weather Channel, Millersville will experience showers for practically the whole week.

raindrops window — Rain will be with us for the next few days.

For most of this week, students can expect more rain with cooler temperatures in the 60° range.

Good news though for students attending prom this upcoming Friday, looks like the rain will finally go away.

Thursday and Friday temperatures are expected to finally be warming up to the mid-80-degree range, with no rain.

But don’t put your umbrellas away just yet. The weekend will yet again, be wet.

Next week is predicted to be sunny with few clouds and temperatures in the 80s.

Remaining patient is difficult, but summer weather will be approaching shortly along with the end of the school year.

By Dessie Jackson

Show-Stopping Spring Concerts

The music department is in overdrive as they gear up for several spring concerts.

The band, orchestra and chorus students have two concerts this month on May 19 and 26 and another Coffeehouse night is scheduled for June 4. However, brand new this year, Penn Manor’s music-makers will have some special guests accompanying them on stage.

Penn Manor’s auditorium will be jazzed May 19 at 7:30 p.m. with high energy entertainment to compliment the musical selections. jazz band, Manor Singers and orchestra will each line the stage and perform a mix of up-beat Jazz, stealth spy tunes and movie soundtracks.

Manor Singers will showcase their vocal talents by performing various pieces ranging from Mission Impossible to African Gospel.

Chorus teacher, Melissa Telesco, said she wants her students to be “able to be exposed to so many different styles.”

“I like pulling in those other elements,” Telesco said about the combined performance of Baba Yetu, a Swahili version of the lord’s prayer, by Manor Singers and Orchestra, which will include a special performance from Olivia Stoltzfus and Kimberly Riley of the colorguard.

Orchestra teacher, Sara Ricciardi said she wants the final song, Baba Yetu, to be “as epic as possible.”

The tech crew will be contributing lighting designs to the number to add another layer to the performance.

“I’m excited about Baba Yetu because I’m designing a big light show,” Dana Landis, a member of the tech crew, said. She hopes the lighting designs will be a “big bang.”

The tech crew will also lend its skills to the orchestra with pink lights, as they perform the Pink Panther.

Ricciardi said she wants to choose pieces that challenge her students and the student reaction is overall accepting of her selections.

“I can hear it in their playing and see it in their faces,” Ricciardi said of the positive reaction to her decisions.

Band Director, Tom Mumma, said the jazz band will give the audience a taste of swing, rock, funk and they’ve even thrown in a little Latin-inspired music.

Mumma said he “tries to pick piece the students will be successful with.”

The lighting effects will be ever present during the concert and although most of the effects are hush-hush, the anticipation, as the musicians make final preparations, is contagious as the music directors watch the final pieces fall into place.

The Full Chorus and Concert Band will travel the world in the auditorium on May 26 at 7:30 p.m.

The Chorus members will show off their knowledge of Hebrew and an African language during their performances of “Erev Shel Shoshanim” (“Evening of Roses”) and “Bonse Aba.”

The Concert Band will be performing with effects from the tech crew that will make the pace of each piece as the songs become more “violent or calm,” Mumma said.

The Band will round out the show with a slower piece, “Isle of Calypso.”

The second edition of the Coffeehouse will be June 4 from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. and the admission fee is only $5.

Live musicians, including Tim Deubler and Tyler Funk, will be performing songs from artists such as Jordin Sparks and The Fray.

“I’m always trying to find places for the kids to sing,” Telesco said about the inspiration that lead to the start of Coffeehouse nights. “Everybody should have a chance (to shine).”

The original Coffeehouse night brought over 100 viewers and the huge success had the students begging for a second opportunity to show what they’re made of.

Refreshments, including coffee of course and baked goods will add a homey feel to the laid-back environment and the live entertainment will surely showcase Penn Manor’s musical abilities.

By Danie Beck

$1000 Dollar Reward Offered To Penn Manor Residents

Bring out your recycling bins Penn Manor- cash prizes could be coming your way.

Chestnut Grove, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the environment in the Penn Manor School District, is offering money awards to residents who are using innovative ways to change our community for the better. This year is their third “Seeds of Sustainability” competition.

In a press release, Cabell Kladky, the Chestnut Grove Foundation president said, “The “Seeds of Sustainability” program recognizes and rewards local homeowners who have demonstrated good stewardship of the natural resources on their properties.”

“This project was the brainchild of one of the board members to inspire people to protect our local environment,” said Kladky.

Homeowners in Penn Manor are eligible for cash prizes of up to $1000, $500, or $100 for any project that has been completed in the last five years.

One previous contest winner retro-fitted a farmhouse with geo-thermal heat. While this may be absolute gibberish to some, it is great news for environmentalists.

“Rather than forcing people to [‘go green’], we focus on what local people are already doing to protect our environment,” said Kladky. “The more innovative and inspiring the project, the better your chances are to win.”

Projects can be as simple as finding a way to grow your own fruits and veggies when living in an apartment complex.

Other possible projects for homeowners include : improved habitat for wildlife, increased home energy efficiency, woodland or wetland restoration, re-use of gray water, minimizing stormwater runoff, constructing a green roof, or using innovative energy conservation measures.

The cutoff for applications is July 9. However the applications have not yet come pouring in.

“Our first year we had very few applicants and the second year we had about twice that many,” said Kladky. “We have not been overwhelmed, but it’s only our third year.

According to the press release, application form are available at www.ChestnutGroveFoundation.org or by calling 872-4142.

Winners of the contest will be announced September 2010.

By Emily Brody

Winter Guard Impresses Student Body

Penn Manor High School, you may begin your performance.

Spinning flags, stomping feet, and the celebration of Penn Manor’s color guard.

On Saturday, April 10, Penn Manor Color Guard performed in the Cavalcade of Bands competition held at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, PA.

Winter Guard with awards — Winter Guard wins first place at indoor championships. Photo by Lyta Ringo

Penn Manor’s Color Guard placed first in the conference, defeating nine other schools.

“I am very proud of Winter Guard, we definitely deserved it,” said sophomore Shayla Moore, a member of Penn Manor Winter Guard.

The final score was Penn Manor with 92.8 points; Phoenixville in second with 88.2 points; and Wissahickon followed in third place with 87.8 points.

And at the end of the day, Penn Manor had a 17.9 point lead over 10th place Truman Senior High School.

Color Guard is not exactly a well-known sport but those in it say the more the audience sees it, the more they like it.

Ricky Eshleman, a member of the troupe, said “if more people would see it they would react differently to it.”

Has that been proven?

At the most recent pep rally, the Winter Guard performed for their teachers and peers, and the reaction was stunning. The students cheered like Green Bay Packers fans at a winning home game against rival Chicago Bears.

By Jacqueline Lennon

Heifer International Richer from Penn Manor Students

The Young Humanitarian League presented a $5000 check to Norma Good, a volunteer for Heifer International, during this week’s Tuesday homeroom, as part of a two-year long effort to raise funds for the organization.

The purpose of this foundation is to provide food and an income, based around animals, to those in poverty. The way the organization constructs their donation avoids shipping costs and ensures that the right breed of animal will be donated for the type of environment in that area of the world.

Before the animals are donated, volunteers go to the site of which the donation will be given and they construct a pen for the animals. They also take the time to educate people who will be receiving the animal so that they are properly cared for.

“Heifer is never done with a project until the people become self-sustained and self-sufficient for their livelihood,” Good said.

After Good gave an informational session on Heifer International to the Young Humanitarian League, she presented a plaque to the club. The plaque the “Heifer International Making a Difference Award” and it was rewarded to the club for their large donation.

Cody Diehl, a sophomore on the Young Humanitarian League, donated $500 dollars towards the club’s main goal of the ark last year, before he was even a part of the club. Cody’s donation was ten percent of the entire proceeds.

Will Shipley, the club’s president, and Diehl, handed the check to Good and received the award from her.

by Abby Wilson