bear facts - mahanoy area school district · 2019-02-14 · ms. franks, ms. luchetta, mr. west, ms....

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BEAR FACTS Mahanoy Area High School AUTUMN, 2010 Dear Mahanoy Area, Welcome to our 2010-2011 school year. I want to give a warm welcome to our newest faces including our freshmen class, transfer students, Mrs. Yuengel, Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment and fulfillment working here among our Mahanoy Area family. My door is always open to assist you in any way that I am able. Administra- tively, I also want to welcome Mrs. Green, our new acting superintendent, Mrs. Scheeler, Middle School head teacher and Dr. Grazel who is substituting as elementary principal. This promises to be an exciting and rewarding year for all of us. Special congratulations are due to our senior class who as juniors achieved adequate yearly progress in the PSSA testing held in the spring. We, as a fac- ulty and staff, are very proud of you. I sincerely hope that your senior year is a memorable one. The biggest change this year is the addition of Blended Schools to our courses of study. While it is in the infant stage right now, our plan is to fully implement it for those students who need course recovery and acceleration. It can also be uti- lized for students who have time conflicts in scheduling, homebound instruction and summer school. I thank Mr. Holmes for his taking charge of this worthwhile program for our students. To all of our students, my door is open to help you in any way I can or just to say “Hello.” Mrs. Henninger CLUB MEETING SCHEDULE OCTOBER 12 art 13 business 14 envirothon 15 interact 18 literary society 19 NAC 20 SADD 21 sewing 22 student council 26 TAT 27 yearbook/newspaper 28 art 29 business NOVEMBER 1 envirothon 2 interact 3 literary society 4 NAC 5 SADD 8 sewing 9 student council 10 TAT 11 yearbook/newspaper 12 art 15 business 16 envirothon 17 interact 18 literary society 22 NAC 23 SADD 24 sewing What’s Happening at Mahanoy? OCTOBER 11: Teacher In Service Day no school for students 11: golf district XI Championship 12: volleyball @ Weatherly 13: cross-country @ Tamaqua 14: Blood Drive 14: volleyball @ Marian 15: football vs. Jim Thorpe 18: JV football @ Jim Thorpe 19: volleyball vs. Shenandoah 22: football vs. North Schuylkill 24-29: Red Ribbon Week 25: Act 80 day - no school students 25: JV football @ North Schuylkill 28: school board meeting @ 6:00 28: cross-country districts 29: football @ Schuylkill Haven NOVEMBER1 1: JV football vs. Schuylkill Haven 5: football vs. Shenandoah 6: cross-country states 10: mentoring 11: Veteran’s Day program 12-13 Fall musical @ 7:00 p.m. auditorium 18: county band auditions 19: Act 80 day - no school high school and middle school 22: school board meeting @ 6:00 p.m. 25: Thanksgiving - no school 26: no school 29: no school

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Page 1: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

BEAR FACTSMahanoy Area High School AUTUMN, 2010

Dear Mahanoy Area,

Welcome to our 2010-2011 school year. I want to give a warm welcome to our newest faces including our freshmen class, transfer students, Mrs. Yuengel, Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment and fulfillment working here among our Mahanoy Area family. My door is always open to assist you in any way that I am able. Administra-tively, I also want to welcome Mrs. Green, our new acting superintendent, Mrs. Scheeler, Middle School head teacher and Dr. Grazel who is substituting as elementary principal. This promises to be an exciting

and rewarding year for all of us. Special congratulations are due to our senior class who as juniors achieved adequate yearly progress in the PSSA testing held in the spring. We, as a fac-ulty and staff, are very proud of you. I sincerely hope that your senior year is a memorable one. The biggest change this year is the addition of Blended Schools to our courses of study. While it is in the infant stage right now, our plan is to fully implement it for those students who need course recovery and acceleration. It can also be uti-lized for students who have time conflicts in scheduling, homebound instruction and summer school. I thank Mr. Holmes for his taking charge of this worthwhile program for our students. To all of our students, my door is open to help you in any way I can or just to say “Hello.”

Mrs. Henninger

CLUB MEETING SCHEDULE

OCTOBER12 art

13 business14 envirothon

15 interact18 literary society

19 NAC20 SADD21 sewing

22 student council26 TAT

27 yearbook/newspaper28 art

29 business

NOVEMBER1 envirothon

2 interact3 literary society

4 NAC5 SADD8 sewing

9 student council10 TAT

11 yearbook/newspaper12 art

15 business16 envirothon

17 interact18 literary society

22 NAC23 SADD24 sewing

What’s Happening at Mahanoy?OCTOBER

11: Teacher In Service Day no school for students11: golf district XI Championship12: volleyball @ Weatherly13: cross-country @ Tamaqua14: Blood Drive14: volleyball @ Marian15: football vs. Jim Thorpe18: JV football @ Jim Thorpe19: volleyball vs. Shenandoah22: football vs. North Schuylkill24-29: Red Ribbon Week25: Act 80 day - no school students25: JV football @ North Schuylkill28: school board meeting @ 6:0028: cross-country districts29: football @ Schuylkill Haven

NOVEMBER11: JV football vs. Schuylkill Haven5: football vs. Shenandoah6: cross-country states10: mentoring11: Veteran’s Day program12-13 Fall musical @ 7:00 p.m. auditorium18: county band auditions19: Act 80 day - no school high school and middle school22: school board meeting @ 6:00 p.m.25: Thanksgiving - no school26: no school29: no school

Page 2: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

If you could change one thing about MAHS, what would it be?

By: Melanie Kopinetz

Jamie Bair- “That we could wear hoodies and flip flops.”Brittany Davies-“The backpacks.”Ashley Hoppes-“I want to be able to wear flip flops.”Mandee Styka-“Dress Code, just being allowed to wear hoodies.”Rebecca Williams-“Everything.”Jennifer Lawrence-“The dress code to allow hoodies and flip flops.”Brittany Filizani-“We should be allowed to wear hoodies.”Sara Madeira-“Hoodies and book bags.” Ariel Robertson-“The book bag rule.”Sammy Hallman-“Hoodies.”Rachael Rudloff- “The dress code and book bag policy.”Mikey Wall- “Clear book bags.”Haley Arbushites- “Hoodies and book bags.”Mallory White- “The time that we have to be in first period.”Sam Rudloff- “Less strict dress code.”Carole Solomon- “I would change the dress code, hoodies in general, or the time change.”Ana Granados- “By 7:40 you have to be in school and the dress code.”

Clash of the Titans

By: Melanie Kopinetz

Clash of the Titans is an action packed thriller directed by Louis Leterrier. It stars Sam Worthington, of Avatar, as Peruses, the mortal son of Zeus. Pe-ruses embarks on a hazardous jour-ney to stop Hades (Ralph Fiennes), god of the underworld, from becom-ing all powerful and overthrowing Zeus, god of the heavens, who plans to leash evil onto the world. In this ac-tion thriller, Peruses must reach the underworld in time to save the city of Argos from the clutches of the Krak-en, which was unleashed by Hades, to put fear into the people of the city for defying the gods. Clash of the Ti-tans was released on April 2, 2010 and is now out on DVD. Its run time is one hour and fifty-eight minutes. The graphics in the movie are fantas-tic. I would give Clash of the Titans a three and a half star rating because it’s full of action and adventure.

Dress Code or Uniforms?

By: Ariel Robertson

From your shirts to your pants, from your pants to your shoes even your shoes to your backpacks!!!! Much has changed over the years. Some ques-tions are circulating among students concerning our dress code and what the reasons are for some of the rules. One of the biggest questions is regarding backpacks. Why are clear but not mesh packs allowed? Mrs. Henninger explained, “The reason we are al-lowing clear backpacks is because you can see only the top book in mesh backpacks but you can see all books in the clear backpacks.” Another hot topic regarding the dress code is its enforcement. When asked what parts of the current dress code need stricter enforcement, Mrs. Kane, business teacher, replied, “The girl’s shirts.” Some staff and students think it would be easier on everyone if we just re-quired school uniforms. Sophomore Taryn Williams said, “Yes, I am in favor of school uniforms because I think that it would save everyone the trouble of knowing what is too low cut and what is too short. No one can make fun of what anyone else is wearing because everyone would be wearing the same thing and no one would be labeled.” But then there are those who disagree with the idea. When asked if she thinks we should require uniforms at Mahanoy, Rachel Witiszin replied, “No, be-cause we are a public school.” Even though we have a variety of opinions, there are advantages and dis-advantages to everything. So the question still stands on the uniform issue, but either way, whatever the school board decides is the policy by which we have to abide.

Wed. Oct 13: PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test) ad-ministered to approximately fifty-five sophomores and eight juniors (seats are still available) in the L.G.I. and classrooms of Ms. Luchetta and Mr. Cray. Tues. Nov 16: ASVAB - All junior students are scheduled to take this evaluation in the auditorium.Tues. Nov 23: All freshmen will attend a pre-tour presentation and survey re: STC (Schuylkill Technology Centers). Scheduled for 8 a.m., it should take approx. one hour.Thurs. Dec. 2: All freshmen to tour South STC and return in time for first lunch.

Mr. D’s Cornerguidance

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MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

What are you looking forward to the most and least this school year?

BY: Haley Arbushites

Morgan Drey- “The least is having to sit in school until 2:30.”Rebecca Williams- “Most is graduation. Least is research papers and finals.”Jennifer Lawrence- “Least is all the work. Most is graduation.”Sierra Treichler- “Most is that I have to deal with less drama. Least is home-work.”Brittany Fliziani- “Least is graduation and LCCC English. Most is football Fridays.”Rachel Witiszin- “The most is seeing everyone. Least is doing all the school work.”Brittany Davies- “The most is graduating high school. The least thing is leav-ing high school.”Ariel Robertson- “The thing I look forward to the most this year is graduat-ing. The thing I look forward to least are the tests.”Melanie Kopinetz- “The thing I am most looking forward to is graduation. The thing I am least looking forward to is all the tests and homework I have to do.”Brandon Rosas- “Most is passing all my classes and going to college. Least is learning.”Bryan Neifert- “Most is the end of the year. Least is the second half of the year.”Ana Granados- “Least is all the school work. Most is spending the last year with my friends.”Zack Moran- “The most is football season and finally graduating from Maha-noy Area.”Haley Arbushites- “Most is my graduation. Least is being back in school with all the drama!”

What will you miss most

about Mahanoy

Area after you graduate?

BY: Ariel Robertson

Brittany Rosas- “Ms. Loy.”Sam Rudloff – “My underclassmen friends.”Brandon Rosas- “Playing baseball and Mr. Bet.”Tyler Raisner –“Playing football.”Aaron Dombrowski- “All the nice women.”Courtney Perez-“Funny teacher Mr. Cray.” Joe Kane- “Playing football on Fri-day nights.”Shanna Messerschmidt- “The AMAZING people.”Sara Madeira – “I’ll miss nachos grande.”Mandee Styka- “Pork chopette.”Mallory White- “Chilling in the li-brary.”Alyssa Heintzelman- “Rib-a-que and Ms. Pollack.”Kassandra Troxell- “Seeing my amazing friends all the time.”Robert Filiziani- “Spending time with my friends.”Rachel Witiszin- “All my friends and the memories I’ve made.”Kim Rissmiller- “LUNCHES!!”Jasmine DeAvila- “Ms. Loy, Mr. Cray and grilled cheese.”Alexis Bernadyn- “Chicken nuggets.”Molly Joyce- “Shop club and Mr. Don.”

The next Mahanoy Area

Drug and Alcohol Coalition meeting will be

Tuesday, October 12 at 2:45 p.m.

Page 4: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

Dressing for the fall weather can sometimes be frustrating. One of the rea-sons for this is because the weather alters from day to day during this season. What most people don’t know is that this time of the year can be fun and easy if you have some knowledge of what you should be looking for when you shop. The fi rst thing to keep in mind while shopping is never rush, always make time for shopping. During the fall season you should try to wear darker colored bottoms. You want to do this because fall fashion is normally comfort-able, soft and warm, therefore, you don’t want to have anything too outspoken or complicated on. Layering tops is a must during the fall season. Some op-tions for fall layering are blazers, light jackets (not winter jackets) and cardi-gans, but keep in mind, neutral colors and pattern. When layering, you could add a colorful top under a jacket or cardigans to spice it up a little. Colorful blouses are highly appreciated under a coordinating blazer. Although, if you are going for a more casual look, you could color coordinate a graphic t-shirt or a designed tank top under a warmer layer of clothes. One of the last things to keep in mind when shopping for the fall season is how to accessorize. Scarves are one of the main accessories to consider during this time of year. There are so many different patterns and styles of them to choose from. You would be surprised what one scarf could do to make an entire outfi t ten times better. So instead of getting frustrated, just follow this simple advice and have fun putting your outfi ts together.

Semi Formal Sunday October 10

6:30 to 10 Mahanoy City Elk’s

Fall Fashion

Blood DriveOctober 14 from 9:00 - 2:00

October 7 - assembly for all students age 16 and older who are interested in donating blood. If we meet our goals for the year one of our senior students will be eligible to receive a $500 scholarship.

ENVIROTHON - Each year 10 students participate in the Schuylkill County Envirothon. The competition is held at the Schuylkill County Fair Grounds in May. This year students must participate in Envirothon study sessions in order to participate. The study sessions are held during the re-mediation period on the day the club is scheduled to meet. Members will also collect the recycla-bles once we receive notice that we are to begin collecting recyclables.Students fi rst met on September 10th. Students who missed our fi rst meeting may still participate. The next meeting is Sept. 28th. All stu-dents must be enrolled in the club by Sept. 30th.

SADD - Student’s Against Destruc-tive Decisions had a great turn out for the fi rst meeting. Five committees were formed. This year’s LOCK-IN was discussed as well as plans for Red Ribbon Week in October.New members may be added until Sept. 30th. Stop by and see Mrs. Stone for more info. The next meet-ing is Oct. 4th.

TAT - Teens Against Tobacco will meet on Sept. 22nd. A meeting with the Mahanoy City Borough Council will be discussed. The club has two signs about the Youth Tobacco Ordi-nance that we will present to borough council sometime in October or No-vember. If you dislike smoking and tobacco use, consider joining this club. “It is time to put the “T” back in ATOD” See Mrs. Stone by Sept. 30th for more info. TAT will also meet on Oct. 7th.

The STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM is here to help. If you or a friend have any diffi culties in school or at home, talk to a teacher or make an anonymous referral in the box by the nurse’s offi ce. Remember...help is here if you need it, it’s confi -dential and it’s the right thing to do.

Mrs. Stone’s Club Info

Page 5: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

The Percy Jackson Series by:

Rick RiordanMaximum Ride Series by:

James PatersonVladimir Tod Series by:

Heather BrewerTHe Alex RIder Series by:

Anthony HorowitzWintergirls by:

Laurie Halse AndersonAlong for the Ride by:

Sarah DessenDopeSick by:

Walter Dean MyersGoing Bovine by:

Libba BrayLocomotion by:

Jacqueline WoodsonFound by:

Margaret Peterson HaddixThe Boy Who Dared by:

Susan Campbell BartolettiWhite Cat by: Holly BlackShiver by:

Maggie SteifvaterNumbers by:Rachel Ward

FlyGirl by: Sherri Smith

New Arrivals to the Rhoades Library

Page 6: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

Mahanoy students who will be in grades 8-11 in the 2010-11 school year have the opportunity to ven-ture to Italy in March of 2012. The tour is being planned by Ms. Scic-chitano, high school art teacher, and educational tour company, EF Tours, the same company stu-dents traveled to France, Germany and Switzerland with in March, 2010, with high school language teacher, Mrs. Rohart.The eleven day “Bell’ Italia” tour begins in magical Venice, home of Marco Polo. Guided sightsee-ing tours of Venice and Florence are the first two highlights of the trip, where the Grand Canal, the Duomo, and Ponte Vecchio, one of the city’s only bridges to sur-vive WWII, will be visited. Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sis-tine Chapel, the Colusseum and more will be explored in Rome. In addition, as part of a walking tour of Rome, students will stop at the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, one of the best preserved ancient buildings in the city. Students will learn how wealthy Romans lived

ART STUDENTS PLAN TRIP TO ITALY2000 years ago on a full day excursion to Pom-peii, one of the richest ar-chaeological sites in the world. The tour winds down with a trip across the Bay of Naples to the captivating Isle of Capri, before returning to Rome for the flight home. A more detailed itinerary is available upon request.All of this sounds vey ex-pensive, but the price is much less than it would be for an individual traveling without a tour group. As soon as stu-dents enroll with the tour company, there will be

Students will visit the Roman Coliseum in 2012 while touring Italy. For more info, contact Ms. Scic in the high school or visit eftours.com and enter TOUR # 1001493

Any student or parent interested in taking advantage of this oppor-tunity should e-mail Ms. Scic at [email protected] or call the high school at 773-3443. You can also visit the the tour compa-ny website, eftours.com and enter TOUR # 1001493 for more informa-tion.

opportunities to fundraise to help with the cost or to at least raise spending money for the trip. “Bell’ Italia” tour may be a once in a life-time chance for many people. EF Tour Company offers a variety of payment plans, including a month-ly plan to make it easier to budget for this adventure.

Mahanoy Theatre Arts Club is pre-paring its fall production, “Babes in Toyland”. It will be performed on No-vember 12 and 13, at 7 p.m., in the auditorium. Mrs. Scheeler picked this play because she thought it best fit the current members. Currently there are approximately fifty students plus stage crew involved in the fall production. Of those fifty, a bakers dozen are seniors. Officers are Joe Kane, President; Joe Swartz, Vice-President; Katey Scheeler, Secretary; Mark Swokel, Treasurer; and Robert Filiziani, Pro-

Theater Arts NewsBY: Brittany Davies

gram Director. Other faculty mem-bers are always eager to help Mrs.

Scheeler with the Theater Arts pro-ductions. They include Mrs. Leshko, Mr. Zack, Mrs. Cavenas, Mrs. Honus, Mrs. Brylewski, Mrs. Kline, Mr. Wen-rich, Miss Scheeler, Miss Williams, Mrs. Bromell, Mr. Nester, and Mr. Dulsky. Mrs. Scheeler has been in-volved in this program for thirty years, twelve of which have she has worked as high school director. When asked how she likes her new position as head teacher of the Middle School, she replied, “I like it, but it certainly is time-consuming and challenging. It gives me the opportunity to continue the good work Mrs. Green started.”

Page 7: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment

MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

On Wednesday, October 6th, high school students proceeded to the gym at 7:45 after attendance to meet the homecoming candidates. Following that, hallway decorating for homecoming took place. The seniors decorated the gym/library hallway, juniors decorated the science/business hallway, sopho-mores the math hallway and freshmen, the English/history hallway. A men-toring schedule was followed and faculty monitored their mentoring groups as they decorated. Student Council purchased the supplies needed for the decorating for each class to share. Voting for homecoming will take place on Friday, October 8th.

Band Performs“A Tribute to Charlie

Brown”BY: Brittany Davies

The field show, “A Tribute to Charlie Brown”, is the newest performance of the Mahanoy Area band. The high school marching band has ten seniors. They are Katlin Wuttke, Joseph Swartz, Brittany Davies, Ian Mistishen, Matthew Flammer, Brittany Filiziani, Mark Swokel, Michael Wall, Rachel Witiszin, and Robert Filiziani. There is a total of forty-three members in the Mahanoy Area Marching Band, and forty-seven members in the concert band. The band officers are Joe Swartz, President; Mark Swokel, Vice-President; Michael Wall, Treasurer; Robert Filiziani, Secretary; Matt Flammer, Librarian; and Brittany Filiziani, Color Guard Captain. The grade representatives are Kat-

HOMECOMING CANDIDATES INTRODUCED

Clear Book Bags

Are they worth it?BY: Jenna Sponseller

Everyone agrees that as far as safety goes, clear book bags are a great idea, but as far as quality goes, clear book bags are the worst thing in the world. Stu-

$dents go to Wal Mart or Staples and buy a clear book bag, take it to school and think to themselves, “This might be better than I thought. It seems du-rable. It will last.” SEEM and ARE are completely different words. I had mine for exactly one month and it is completely useless. The straps are hanging on for dear life. If I put it on my back, it tears more. The most ri-diculous thing about these nuisances is the price. I bought mine for $9.00 at Wal Mart but I know people who have paid twice that amount. It is, in fact, bogus. Yes, we all want to be safe and protected from bombs and weapons, but these clearbook bags are a waste of money. Students need to gain trust back from the school board and Mrs. Henninger so we can use mesh book bags. Think about what we as students can do better, like listening to teachers, etc. As students, we need to show that we are deserving enough to be trusted with mesh book bags.

lin Wuttke, Senior; Cherise Yost, Junior; Anne Swokel, Sophomore; Jennifer Jackiowiak, Freshman; and Kimberly Loughlin, Middle School. Other directors in the band are Mrs. Allison Kline, Co-Director and Mrs. Janelle Blozousky and Mrs. Megan Tomko (Kurzinsky), Color Guard advisors. The band has approximately fifteen new songs. Those that are played at football games are Thriller by Micheal Jackson; 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago; Go, Fight, Win, Go Bears/Beat EM’ Up; and Thunder. When asked how he likes directing the band this year, Mr. Wenrich replied, “I love working with the stu-dents. They’re energetic and work hard. It’s fun and rewarding to take a field show on paper and watch the students bring it to life. Everyone associated with the band is great and has worked very hard and I’m proud of all of them.” After working in th elementary school for a few years, Mr. Wenrich was trans-ferred to the high school. His opinion on the difference is, “I like them both. We have a great faculty and great students, K-12. I do like being able to do more advanced music with the high school levels though.” The elementary school’s loss is the high school’s gain!

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BEAR FACTS AUTUMN, 2010

Meeting someone from a foreign country can be very interesting. Mahanoy Area students have a great opportunity to learn what the life of a teen in Spain is like. Pere Amer, age sixteen, traveled to the United States by plane for eight hours as a foreign exchange student. He is attending Mahanoy for the current school year until he departs for home on June 11, 2011, just five days after he cel-ebrates his seventeenth birthday. Pete, as he likes to be called be-cause it is easier to pronounce for Americans, lives in Delano with the Cunninghams. When asked what the biggest dif-ferences he has seen so far be-tween the U.S. and Spain are the houses, cars and streets. The

Meet Pere AmerForeign Exchange Student

BY: Paige Mahmod

name of Pete’s school in Spain is IES Pau Casesnoves. The “IES” is like our words “high school”. He thinks the school system is very different and his school in Spain is more difficult. The way teens dress in the U.S. is not very different than in Spain but there are many more sports offered here than in Spain. The food is very different. In Spain, Pete eats Mediterranean food. Another difference that teens would be concerned with is driv-ing. In Spain, teens can not drive until the age of 18. Pete came to the United States because he wanted to learn Eng-lish. He has visited Amish coun-try, a coal mine and many towns

Preserve your high school memories...ORDER YOUR 2011 YEARBOOK!

Just like the price of most things, the cost of a Mahanoy Area High School yearbook has to increase, but if you are smart, you can earn a free or discounted yearbook. The Mahanoy Area High School yearbook is a high quality, all color, hard cover book. The price of the 2011 yearbook is $76.00. That is a lot of cash so Ms. Scicchi-tano, advisor, will offer two fundrais-ers to students interested in earning a FREE OR DISCOUNTED BOOK. The first kicked off in late September. The second will be geared towards Valentine’s Day and will kick off in early January. Those who participate in one or both of these fundraisers,

in the area. Can you imagine being in a for-eign country for a year, living with strangers and attending an unfa-miliar school?

will earn $2.00 off of the $76.00 price for each item sold. In other words, students who sell at least 38 items earn a free yearbook! Those who choose not to participate in either fundraiser and simply pay for their yearbook, may bring their payment to Ms. Scic in the art room during remediation period. A non-refund-able deposit of at least $30.00 must be made to order a book. The balance must be paid by December 10, 2010.

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MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

As we all know, some of our well-known and most liked staff members, who had been here for years, like Mr. Bet, Mr. Vavra, and Mrs. Blue, left us for retirement last year. We now have to accept some new faces here at Mahanoy, while our retirees are off enjoying the “good life”. In the Math Department, new faces include Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, and Mrs. Yuengel, while Ms. Popalis replaced Mr. Vavra in the English Department. Mr. West joined the Social Studies staff and in Nurse Blue’s place is Mrs. Merchlinsky. Some of these teach-ers have had experience at other

Scicc’s Sports SpotWhen you attend a Mahanoy Area football game this fall, you may think your eyes are playing a trick on you. As you sit on the cold bleachers un-der the warm lights, you will see gold helmets running a triple option. You are not watching Joshua Nesbitt and Georgia Tech. It is not Ricky Dobbs and the Midshipmen on the field. It is indeed the Mahanoy Area Golden Bears and quarterback Michael Gaval running wild over the competition. Entering their October 1st game against Minersville, the Bears matched their win total from the en-tire 2009 season. With a record of 2-1, Coach Wally Hall’s offense has racked up nearly 1,000 yards of to-tal offense in their first three games. Averaging around 40 rush attempts per game, the Golden Bears pound the ball play after play and wear the opposing defenses down. The bruis-ing running of Senior Running Backs Nick Forte, Jordan Mroczka, and

Francis Senglar is complimented by the speed and finesse of Senior Na-than Fegley and Junior Quarterback Michael Gaval. In the rare case that the Bears pass the football, Gaval has a very reliable receiving core led by Senior Paul Kimmel. With this talented group of seniors, the Bears took to the field on Septem-ber 17, at Men of Marian Stadium in the most anticipated contest of the early season. For the past fifteen years, the Marian Colts embarrassed Mahanoy Area. With an inspiring pep rally speech from Mr. Killian, the Bears were out for blood. Led by their quar-terback’s 191 rush yards and five to-tal touchdowns, the Golden Bears put 473 yards of offense and 35 points on the board and held Marian to just 12 points. Upon returning to Mahanoy City, the team was greeted by the si-rens of every fire engine in town and a parade that will be remembered for the players’ entire lives.

The core of the 2010 team is a very reliable group of senior running backs, but credit needs to be given to the of-fensive line. Juniors Aaron Broomell and Gage Cara lead a group of mas-sive linemen that have been respon-sible for the Bears successful running game. The future looks bright for the Bears, not only for the remainder of this sea-son, but for those in the very near future. With talent that goes all the way from the core group of the varsity squad to the middle school, a team that has been laughed at and spit on for the last ten years is about to shock everybody. Bear Pride has indeed re-turned.

New Faces in Our PlaceBY: JENNA MICHAELS

schools, whereas others are having their first teaching experiences here at Mahanoy. Mr. West, who graduated from Bloomsburg University, is having a great first year experience here with the students. He explains, “You are constantly interacting with others and you learn something new every day. It’s great.” As for Ms. Franks, who graduated from Upper Perkiomen High School and Kutztown University, she plans to stay until she retires and loves that the students and staff here are so friendly. On the weekends you

can catch her shopping, lifeguarding and also watching the Phillies. Who could forget about the one who takes care of us when we are sick, Mrs. Merchlinsky? She has been work-ing in the nursing field for seventeen years, some of which were spent at the Hershey Medical Center. She is devoted to her job because she loves to be able to care for people and help them through illnesses. So as you can see there are many new faces here. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself, after all some or all may be the next Mahanoy teaching legends.

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MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

ID: MahanoyPassword: goldenbears

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MAHANOY AREA HIGH SCHOOL AUTUMN, 2010

Page 12: BEAR FACTS - Mahanoy Area School District · 2019-02-14 · Ms. Franks, Ms. Luchetta, Mr. West, Ms. Popalis, Mrs. Merchlinsky and Mr. Wenrich. It is my wish that you find enjoyment