Category: Student Life

This Thanksgiving the Penn Manor community wasn’t just stuffing their own mouths with turkey and pumpkin pie.

Penn Manor’s Student Council participated in a food drive organized by the YMCA of Lampeter-Strasburg.

Benefitting from this event were families right here in southern Lancaster County, including the Penn Manor, Lampeter-Strasburg, and Solanco school districts.

A social psychology teacher at Penn Manor, Maria Vita, was helpful in the organization and planning of the event.

Vita shared responsibility with Richard Brenton, a history teacher, in overseeing the Student Council club.

“Thanks to the wonderful staff, donated money helped feed over 100 families in the school district,” said Vita.

Through a $5 donation, teachers and staff were able to participate in “Dress Down Friday” where they wore jeans and T’s instead of dresses and ties.

“We were not sure how much we would raise, considering dress down is a teacher/staff choice, but we were pleasantly surprised with $753,” explained Vita.  “One teacher-aide donated $100 to the cause!”

But the benefit was much more than a work day for Penn Manor personnel, there was work to be completed.

Packaging day had finally arrived.

The student’s got right down to it on Nov. 21 at the YMCA, putting together meals and decorating the boxes the meals would be delivered in.

The number of boxes reached 450, 150 boxes more than was packed by the YMCA last Thanksgiving!

Through raising funds in the form of direct money donations, vouchers, and food collections, the event proved to be very successful.

A new annual event is sure to continue.

By Christa Charles

They may be called laptops, but a lap is probably not the best place for them.

A new health risk has surfaced involving the use of laptops on bare skin and it is called “toasted skin syndrome.”

Toasted skin syndrome is “an unusual-looking mottled skin condition caused by long-term heat exposure”, according to medical reports. The disease was noticed in people that work in front of open fires or coal stoves.

But now laptop users who use laptops as they were intended – on their laps – are susceptible to the same disease.

Researchers, Andreas W. Arnold and Peter H. Itin, from the University Hospital Basel, in Switzerland wrote in the November 5 issue of Pediatrics Journal that the temperature of 111.2 degrees Fahrenheit is enough to cause toasted skin syndrome.

“Computer-induced lesions are typically found on only one leg because the optical drives of laptops are located on the left side,” said the researchers.

So far, there have only been 10 reported cases of the condition, officially called erythema ab igne.

The youngest case was documented in a 12-year-old boy who kept his laptop on his lap for as many as six to eight hours a day while playing computer games. The boy “recognized that the laptop got hot on the left side, however, he did not change its position,” Arnold and Itin reported.

With the increased use of laptops in Penn Manor classrooms, toasted leg syndrome might be “catching on” here.  However most students use their laptops on a desk and are not concerned.

“I’m not worried about it,” said senior Erika Roop.

Sophia Wu-Shanley, also a senior, isn’t worried about toasted skin syndrome either.

“Laptops don’t heat up fast. It shouldn’t be shocking if it burns you,” said Wu-Shanley.

“Generally I have it on a lap desk,” said Helen Hutchins, a senior. “I’m careful.”

“Use your common sense. If it’s hot, take it off your lap,” said senior Amy Wagner.

Arnold and Itin are predicting an increase of this diagnosis in the near future.

By Cassie Funk and Christa Charles

Nick Joniec wakes up and goes to school everyday, like any other 15-year-old.

But when school is over for the day, all similarities disappear.

Yes, he’s only a freshman, but Joniec works at a business. HIS own business, to be exact, which is a computer and tech help service. He pulls down a salary that would make many other students quite envious.

“I like to help people and I like computers,” said Joniec as if it is totally normal for a high school kid to make house calls and hand out his own business card.

Besides earning a living, Joniec said starting and running his own business has taught him to multitask and to balance his time efficiently.

“In the long run I want to be in the field of Information Technology,” he said.

According to one national website, the average age of an entrepreneur is 37.  It looks as though Joniec has quite the head start.

“It’s [technology] constantly changing and I love to keep up with it,” Joniec said.

But the business, like most, is not without its problems.

“One time I had a new network deployment and the previous server’s database had lost some of the users. That was a mess to straighten out.”

Joniec encourages other students to follow his lead.

“Pick something that you like and work your way up,” he said.

By Jordan Sangrey

With Black Friday and Christmas right around the corner, the stress of finding the perfect gift is becoming more and more of a treasure hunt.

It’s hard to know exactly what a high school student’s hoping to wake up to on Christmas morning?

Here’s a map to find at least some of the gifts teens at Penn Manor are seeking, which is not in any particular order.

1.  Ugg boots seem to be a popular trend for girls. Even though many girls own a pair of Ugg boots already, they seem to want more!

“I really want a new pair of UGGS!” said Samantha McCrery.

2. Laptop computers are a popular gift for teens in high school, mostly because students are graduating and will be entering college in the near future. Laptops are a necessity for college students and are in high demand.

3. As the prices for gas are continuing to rise, many teens from Penn Manor High School are asking for gas cards or any type of money for to pay for gas.

4. Another gift requested by teens in the high school is an iTrip so that they are able to listen to their iPod while driving.

5. Kids who have older cars that can’t accommodate the newer technology, like an iTrip or FM transmitter, hope to get CDs on Christmas morning.

6. A gift request, common to all high school students, seems to be any type of game system or video game controller. For example, ps3 and xbox are on many teens’ gift lists.

7. Here’s another idea: concert tickets and game tickets, whether they are professional football or basketball tickets.

8. Some students want a sound system for their car, or surround sound for their rooms. When many seniors go to college next year they hope to have surround sound in their dorms.

9. A mall gift card is always welcome.  You can use it for anything and get change back.

10. Clothes and jewelry will also surprise and delight your teen on Christmas morning.  Outfits from American Eagle, Forever 21, Nike and PacSun are a few suggestions. Tiffany’s jewelry, while expensive, is a classic and sought after gift.

So Santas, get shopping.  Black Friday and Christmas will be here before you know it.

By Mary Treier