Category: Student Life

By Richard Schulz –

With summer on it’s way, students are looking for that special kind of money-maker, that pay-for-gas, movies, dates and pizza that is supposed to last all year  A summer job.

Finding a job isn’t the only hard part in getting the job it’s the interview that can actually determine if you’re hired or not. Teens may be aware of the simple tips while be interviewed but that doesn’t mean they’re prepared.

“I’ve never researched the place I was going to work at,” admitted Anthony Polaski, a student from Penn Manor High School.

Polaski says during his interview for his current job at Woodcrest, the Mennonite retirement community, he dressed appropriate, turned off his phone and showed up ten minutes early.

“If you go in ignorant, it’ll reflect,” said James Yearsley, a Penn Manor school counselor.

Yearsley agrees to be early to an interview and most importantly, speak correctly and politely. Another important thing to remember is to sanitize any social networks students may have.

Not only can school officers look into Facebook accounts but the interviewer can too. The interviewer can also ask for the email and password of the students social network and if the information’s, the door will be shown.

“My interview was really easy actually,” said Juan Cubano, a junior from Penn Manor. “They didn’t ask much and it was over in about ten minutes.”

Apparently the grammar of the interviewee is being closely examined by the interviewer as they speak. The simple use of pronouns can affect the chances of being hired. The difference between the pronouns of “my friend and I” vs. “me and my friend” can also mean hired, or given the boot.

Top 5 tips in an interview

• Arrive early
• Use proper grammar
  
• Dress the part (ex. cover tattoos, formal, etc.)
• Research the job to ask the interviewer questions
  
• Make frequent eye contact

 

 

By Alex Sorce and Richard Schulz –

The unemployment rate in Lancaster County has dropped from a high of 8.8 percent to 6.1 percent this month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since the rate has dropped, some students from Penn Manor High School feel it will be easier to get a job than it has been during the past several years.

Deion Valentin, a junior from Penn Manor, has had a seasonal job but has recently been looking for something more part time. So far he’s sent out four applications in the last two weeks with no response, yet. He plan’s to check his email with hope of one new message.

“I haven’t heard anything from any of the places I’ve applied to, but I”m still looking,” said Valentin.

Even when the unemployment rate was at it’s highest, the teen rate was as high as 23.8 percent and has been in the 20’s since mid 2008, according to the US News website.

For some it’s easy to find a job, but for others it seems nearly impossible.

Even younger students such as, sophomore, Kelly St. John will be on the hunt. Her expectations for her summer will be to send out at least three applications.

“Yes, it will be easy,” she said with knowledge of the unemployment rate lowering and her optimistic point of view.

While a majority of students have had trouble finding a part time job, others, including junior Missy Shultz, it comes as second nature.

In search of a job, Shultz is two for two in being hired. She is employed at Shenk & Tittle in Park City Center and left a job at Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill.  Although she has had a flawless record, she quit her first job to pursue her second.

“Everyone says they’re having trouble finding a job, but it hasn’t been difficult for me,” said Shultz.

 

By Dayonte Dixon –

Popular drama Walking Dead Season 2 ended Sunday March 18. Walking Dead script writers did a great job holding up to their usual action-packed and suspenseful reputation.

The season 2 finale was full of action – from killing zombies, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary,  to burning barns to fast paced and wild driving. For those who were unfortunate enough to have missed the previous episode, they missed the killing of Shane.

The finale starts when Rick and his son Carl are heading back to the farm when a parade of walkers appear in the distance.

“It kept me on the edge of my chair the entire time,” senior Reagan Forrey praised the show.

Back at the house, the group is occupied by what seemed to be the second half of the parade. Herschl (Owner of the farm) has his mind set on standing his ground, but the rest of the group realizes that it is time to abandon ship. The group begins dividing as they split to enter their different vehicles attempting to get away but making sure they terminate as many walkers as possible on their way out.

Herschl, too stubborn to leave his farm behind, begins spraying his rifle into the sea of walkers but these fish were a little to big to be cast away.

During this time, Rick and Carl are stumbling through the fields but soon take refuge in the barn, where Rick realizes that it is time to strike back. With all of Rick’s skill and experience, he draws a gang full of walkers into the barn and closes the door behind them. After Rick and Carl escape through the back entrance, the barn quickly erupts into flames.

What seems to be an hour of shooting, stabbing and running over walkers ensures and the group abandons the farm. But not everybody escapes alive or well. Two members are overwhelmed by the army of walkers. Jimmy and Patricia (Members of Herschl’s family) do not make it.

Rick and Carl finally make it back to the farm where Rick convinces Herschl to leave his farm behind. They begin driving down the road with the glow of the barn burning brightly in the background.

The group eventually meets back on the highway only to realize that Andrea was left behind. Assuming she did not make it, the group continues on to find a new place to call “home.”

However, the group’s assumption was wrong. Andrea did survive, but only by the skin on her back. She is running through the woods taking out every walker in her way.  But walkers resemble wolves, where there’s one there’s really twenty.

The finale is almost at it’s end, but the show could not wrap up without the usual barrage of  cliffhangers. Some of the things that will leave the Walking Dead fan base on their toes until next season is the sight of the prison at the end of the episode and the hooded stranger who saves Andrea’s life in the woods. Plus the cliffhangers from earlier in the season that haven’t yet been answered, like what happens to Merle and the father and son who were heading to Atlanta are also reasons viewers will tune in next season.

The season finale has its fans both excited and sad at the same time. Excited because of the action and thriller of the episode, but also sad because it is the last episode they will see for some time.

“Season 2 finale; how pumped?” said junior Ian Martzal via Twitter ” But so bummed that it’s over for a while.”

 

 

By Maggie Dubbs and Austin Rowley –

“It’s actually kind of cliche to say but, the kid’s teach us,” said Jocelyn Lurie, vice-president of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association (SPSCA) club at Millersville University.

Millersville University has set up a program called “Study Buddies” where children from all over Lancaster County including Penn Manor can come on to the campus Monday and Tuesday nights, and receive teacher-in-training help with their homework or studies.

These college students are usually in their junior or senior year of college and hoping to go out into the elementary education field. But, this program is not only offered to elementary school children, it is offered kindergarten through 12th grade.

Some, however, find that by doing this, it helps them decide specifically what grade or even what levels of children they will be working with.

“I actually started out in elementary education, but then moved to special education,” said Derick Tilburg, senior college student.

At these sessions, students arrive around six at night, and check in on a sign in sheet. At this point, students then file off with their “buddies” into a large group room or into more secluded rooms depending on concentration issues. Then the students pull out their homework for that night or other materials and work one-on-one with the college students.

Also the college setting allow students to use other resources such as the college’s computers to assist in studying.

Janice Di Ilio, a grandmother with  grandchildren in the Lancaster School District, said that she hopes to see her two granddaughters benefit from this by helping them to focus and prepare them with materials for what they’re doing academically. She said her daughter signed her children up for this program to help them work on their studies, and use their communication skills. Also to see how the college students handled themselves.

“She thought it would be better since the college kids are younger, they would find more comfort in explaining their problems to a younger kid, and be more comfortable talking to them,” said Ilio.

There are no profits being made off of Study Buddies, but president Amy DaJazak hopes to continue the Study Buddies tradition now going on for 21 years.

“It helps our students gain experience, and with the budget cuts there’s not enough room for students to get the help they need,” said DaJazak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By Brad Kruger and Alex James Cummins

It seems that teenagers these days like anything that’s portable.  Penn Manor students are no different, especially with bottled water.  They would rather carry water than go to the fountain.

The International Bottled Water Association said that since 2009, bottled water consumption in the United States increased to 8.75 billion gallons of water. Every person in America is now drinking, on average, around 28.3 gallons of bottled water as of last year.

Don’t be surprised to be walking the halls of Penn Manor and feel like an outcast without a plastic bottle of water in hand.

“Most definitely, in every class there is a good 75-80 percent of kids with a water bottle slurpin’ away,” said Austin Richwine.

Water bottles are popular with students and teachers because they are convenient and eliminate trips to the water fountain.

“Yeah a lot of people seem to have a water bottle nowadays,” said senior Mitch Domin, who usually brings a water bottle to school.

The rise in bottled water in Penn Manor has many reasons.

One common reason is people feel bottled water is better in taste and even health than the water at school water fountains.

“Some of the school water fountains are warm,” said physical education teacher Billie Jo Atkins.

“People want nice clean, crisp water so they bring it in themselves,” said Domin.

“I don’t think the water fountains taste very good,” said senior Taylor Goldberg.

“Millersville water is horrible, I always have a water bottle with me in school,” said Cindy Bachman, Athletic Director Secretary

The IBWA also wants consumers to know that bottled water safety and quality result from multiple layers of regulation and standards at the federal, state and industry levels.

The industry is touting that bottled water is truly going to be clean and pure, and taste incredible.

Another reason students and teachers have been bringing in bottles of water is because they are easy to carry on the go.

“They are more easily accessible then having to sign out and go to a water fountain and are good for after-school activites,” said Richwine

Students love having their their water bottles in class and most teachers are okay with it.

“I don’t have a problem if the students have it in class,” said Steven Widener, a physical education teacher at Penn Manor.

Widener also stated that it is more convenient for him and the students because they don’t have to leave in the middle of class just to get a drink.

By Joey Jackson –

Puff, Jay, Milhouse – all students here at Penn Manor…but those can’t be their real names – who are they really?

There are always those kids who don’t go by their real name. Some because they don’t like their given names, others are forced into a name they don’t even like.

Brandon Schmertz was once a victim of this form of name calling. Schmertz used to only be known to his peers as “Puff” after his classmate, former Penn Manor student Matt Ulmer, noticed how puffy Schmertz’s old Eagles jacket was.

“That’s all anybody ever called him,” senior Dylan Weber said. “I don’t think I called him his real name a single time in middle school.”

Schmertz, however, never particularly enjoyed the name, and worked hard in his middle school and early high school career to get rid of the name altogether.

“I was growing up and frankly the name was just getting annoying,” Schmertz said. “I was extremely hard for people to stop calling me Puff.”

This effort paid off, as Schmertz now goes by his given name, Brandon, full time, other than a few people who still hold on to the remnants of his past name.

Some other students though, embrace their new found names.

Take Michael Andrusisin for example. Michael is known by a different name among his friends and classmates. He goes by the name of Milhouse, or Mil for short.

Andrusisin has had the famous nickname since elementary school because his friends thought that he looked like Milhouse, the character from the widely popular television show The Simpson’s.

The name has stuck ever since, even though Andrusisin has changed his visual appearance, and now has little to no resemblance of the character that originally inspired the name.

These changes, Andrusisin claims, had nothing to do with the name. Andrusisin, like a victim of grief, went through several stages before finally accepting his new name.

The nickname has become so prominent that some people didn’t even know that Michael Andrusisin was his real name.

“I played D-team football with him in like third grade and I barely realized that (Michael Andrusisin) was his real name when I got to know him in high school,” said senior Landon Alecxih.

Andrusisin plans to kill the Milhouse name after graduation, as he plans to introduce himself as “Mike” to his new classmates at Temple University.

There are many other popular nicknames within the realm of high school. And amazingly, the most popular ones seem to be the names that have nothing to do with the person’s real name like a common nick names.

Take Jordan Rineer for example. Rineer has been called “Gordo” ever since he was a little kid when when his dad coined the name. The name caught on in elementary school and has stuck ever since.

Or Wardell Jackson, who is known to everyone, including his teachers, as Jay.

So, it seems that all it takes for a good nickname is a catchy name that has absolutely nothing to do with the person’s legal name, though the parents will probably never adapt to the name, peers and sports buddies will be using it all the time.

 

By Maggie Dubbs –

Who knew that rubber shoes would ever be a fashion.

Ladies and teens have taken these seemingly childish shoes to make them a stylish fashion must-have.

Rain boots have become more and more popular since  2008 according to ‘Google’s’ graph on trends, and according to retail profits for rain boots.

“I got them before everyone, I was in the store with my mom, and she was like’you’ll never wear them’ but I knew I was going to,” said Emily McCoy.

“I actually got them after Emily, I saw hers, and I liked them,” said Eryn McCoy, Emily’s twin sister.

Sales of rainboots really took off when Kate Moss was spotted in 2005 at the Glastonbary Festival in a pair of Hunter Wellingtons.

Although these rubber shoes were not always directed towards women and fashion. In fact, they started out as a leather riding boots for the first Duke of Wellington.

The Duke did not see his leather shoes as comfortable, so he had his tailors fix them. All at once, the boots were now made in rubber, easily wearable, and they were comfortable.

Hunter started the company in 1856, and worked toward today’s success.

Now, top name designers such as Burberry and Coach are making rainboots in fashionable designs.

“I just think they’re really comfortable,” said Brooke Hemcher.

But, rain boots aren’t only used for fashion.

Students at Penn Manor in the agriculture clubs and classes especially take pride in their boots. They might not always be stylish, but they come in handy when getting dirty.

“You know you use your boots for the right purpose when they’re muddy,” said Margaret Drumm.

Drumm is vice president of the agriculture club and participates in many farm shows.

“They’re very easy to clean off, that’s why we (ag students) use them so much. They’re just more convenient,” said Drumm.

With a pair of rubber boots underneath their belt, nothing is impossible for the agriculture classes. They might not be in floral or Burberry print, but they help get the job done.

“I love April for that reason, it’s the time I get to wear my rain boot’s the most,” said Hemcher.

 

By Becca Hess-

Teens are not the top users of the newest and hottest social networking site.

Pinterest, the latest social networking  website has taken the interest of a surprising group.  Home to over 12 million users, Pinterest’s top users are women aged 35-44 according to a recent study by Google’s Traffic Statistics shown on Mashable.com. It  is most popular in the United States however, it has been making its way to the United Kingdom where 200,ooo people have an account.

So what makes Pinterest so appealing? For starters, it’s simple and easy for anyone to use. It’s a new and fast way to share ideas on a variety of topics, from food and fashion to sports and cars. It allows users to organize and share anything they want.

“There are several keys to Pinterest’s success,” according to an article written by The New York Times, “but one of them is the simplicity and pleasure of adding a photo to one of your boards. As you surf the Web each day, whenever you see something that looks interesting or inspiring or funny, you click the Pin It button on your bookmarks bar.”

The most popular “pins” for users in the U.S. are on crafts, gift ideas, hobbies, interior design, fashion and blogging. Compared to the United Kingdom where they’re more interested in Venture Capital, blogging, public relations and marketing. The US is using it more as a leisure and a way to share and find new ideas on any topic, whereas the UK is using it for business and marketing purposes.

Pinterest is the number one paid for app in the social networking category according to TopAppCharts.com. The app makes everything available whenever you need it. So why aren’t teens using it the most? And for the small percent who are, what are they using it for?

Quotes, pictures, craft and fashion ideas seem to be a big hit with teenage girls, explained Ashley Gochenaur.

“I don’t have one yet, said Gochenaur, “but I can’t wait to make a Pinterest account because some of my friends with iPhones have them and always show me the great ideas.”

Because there are very little limitations as to what you can post or search and this is a major reason as to why Pinterest is starting to attract more teens.

“Pictures and comments are not filtered, so inappropriate material and language can potentially be shared,” said Renata Rowe who writes for icybersafe.com.

There is also only one privacy setting on Pinterest. So not only is Pinterest a way for teens to share ideas with each other and plagiarize photos or quotes, there are  little to no limitations as to what they can post and what they are able to view.  It opens up a whole new world to them.

“This is a teen’s dream! Imagine the sheer freedom of being able to pin up anything that interests them for everyone to see. The catch for young players is that their definition of ‘interesting’ may not always be ours,” said Rowe.

Pinterest may not be networking like Facebook or Twitter where you can see exactly where people are, what they’re doing or even chat with them, but Pinterest is beginning to challenge top social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The word is: Teens are leaving Facebook for Pinterest,” said Rowe.

As of now it looks like the roles have reversed as middle aged women have taken the newest social networking site to the top. Will teens take back the crown as masters of the internet and all social media/networking site? Only time will tell, but for now, parents pin.