If you ask me what I’m most excited for right now, my answer is going to be graduation, obvi-ously, but only because I’ve already exhausted most of the opportunities this school has to offer. I’ve joined clubs. I’ve gone on trips. I’ve gone to coffeehouses. I’ve been to prom and the winter dance. I’ve gone to Homecoming, three times. I’ve taken the courses I wanted to take, dressed up for Spirit, week, marveled at the hallways, done college summer programs. Also, I’ve had the opportunity to write for Pantherette and Epiphany. I’ve talked to new people and made new friends. I’ve formed relationships with teachers and student teachers. I’ve gone to foot-ball games. I’ve gone to school activities. I’ve reached for dreams and goals. So, please do not tell me that graduation is the only exciting thing this school can give you, and, whatever you do, don’t sit around waiting for your graduation to arrive, or you’ll miss eve-rything along the way. You’ll have your time to be excited to graduate, and it will be here soon; I promise. But right now, focus on taking every sin-gle chance you are given, so when you finally stand

in that stadium in your cap and gown, you can look back and say that you made the most of this.

Along with making the most of everything, don’t be afraid. Fear will only keep you from oppor-tunity. Try out for the mu-sical even if you have stage fright. Go to sports games. Dye your hair purple. Start training for a 5K, 10K, or even a marathon. Sing to people in the hallway. Bake cookies with your best friend at 9 p.m. simply be-cause you can. Wear black lipstick, and rock it. Join a sports team or a new club. Listen to a new style of music. Take bubble baths. Sit with someone new at lunch. Buy your mom flow-ers to show you appreciate her. Better even, clean the house or make dinner for

her. Go to every school dance. Pick a day and go on a road trip with your best friends. Try a new style. Dress up for school for no reason. Learn a new instru-

ment. Try to cook a new dish. Buy those shoes you’ve been wanting. Keep a jour-nal. Hold steadfast to every dream you’ve ever had. Eat twelve cupcakes in one sit-ting. Join a band. Write a story and share it at a coffee-house, or even submit it to the magazine. Visit places. See things. Tell everyone you care about that you love them. Laugh loudly. Live freely. Love passionately. Do anything and every-

thing that you’ve wanted to do but have been afraid of (within reason, of course). This is your only time in high school. Do so many things that when senior year rolls around, you won’t even realize that much time passed. And to my fellow seniors, this is our year; let’s make the most of it!

To You, From A Senior

P a n t h e r e t t e Volume 57, Issue II 16 Oct 2017

Inside this issue:

Homecoming Court 4

Our Spirit Kings, who are they?

7

Meet Miss Harle! 8

The Stadium Pro-ject

9

Freshmen Advice 10

Jake n’ Ally’s Ad-vice

19

Vegetarian: It’s Not As Hard As You Think

27

Editor-in-Chief, Ellen Robinson

Welcome back!

Spirit Week Monday- College Day

Tuesday- Twin Day Wednesday- Pink Out

Thursday- Hawaiian Day Friday- Red and Black

Day

Get to know our new super-intendent on page 3!

Advisor: Heather Barrett Secretary: Starr Neidlinger

Editor-in-Chief: Ellen Robinson Treasurer: Elizabeth Clement

Administrative Assistant: Donald Ballou Sports Editor: Brenden Livinghouse

Technical Editor: Layomi Adeojo Sports/Technical Editor: Skylar Renninger

Junior Editors-in-Chief: Charanya Birabaharan and Lily Whitmoyer

Sophomore Editor: Reiley Bagenstose

Contributing Pantherette staff: Mary Brooks, Hallie Jacobs, Cecily Ramirez, Hannah Seltzer, Michael Shott,

Josh Calancea, Jessica Shomo, William Stevenson, Jasmine Stoudt, Jakob Strausser, Molly Wenzel, Vito Zazo,

Molly Ballou, Tessa Bewley, Mackenzie Bossler, Alana Boyle, Tatum Brown, Stephanie Brumbach, Julia Craft,

Brock Dalton, Allison Henwood, Emily Hoffert, Lilyanna Isenberg, Emily Kale, Kaydence Muller, Chloe Peters,

Danielle Readinger, Gabby Rider, Hope Rozycki, Skylar Weddle, Lily Wiley, Addison Angstadt, Mandi Brush, Kara

Faulk, Sandra Goho, Vanessa Jones, Abigail Kunkle, Bryce Romberger, Samantha Stewart, Emily Zaharia

The Pantherette is published by students of Schuylkill Valley High School, Leesport, Pennsylvania, 19533

Pantherette is now available on the SV website in color!

Marching Band Emily Hoffert ‘20

If you’re looking for a way to show off

some school spirit and musical talent, then

why not join marching band? Many think the

stereotypical marching band member is a geek,

but it's more than that. In a way, marching

band is like a sport. We work hard and sweat a

lot, but instead of tackling someone or kicking

a ball, we create wonderful music. A day in the

life of marching band is a lot of work. At the

beginning of the year, we work on basics like

roll steps, backwards marching, and transi-

tioning to our positions on the field. We then

have to memorize our music for the field show

to perform at halftime. After that, we have to

practice pep tunes to play at the football games

to get the crowd pumped up. In my opinion,

music is a beautiful thing and can express peo-

ple's emotions and sometimes bring people

together. We as a group have definitely grown

over the past few months and formed great

friendships. We all love music; it brings us to-

gether in one big happy dys-

functional family. The seniors

this year are Sarah Edris,

Olivia Jenkins, Bryce Burnett,

Mary Brooks, Emily Gunkel,

and Rebecca Zeiner. To the

seniors: we will miss you

dearly next year!

Our New Superintendent, Eager and Ready to Work

Charanya Birabaharan ‘19

I open the door to a find a chain of offices, file cabinets, and administra-tors working intently at their desks. Anxiously, I knock on the door, and the secretary tells me to wait outside. She will invite me in soon. Three minutes later, the new superinten-dent welcomes me into her office. Five minutes passed, and then ten. After speaking with Dr. Mierzejewski for almost forty minutes, my apprehension dissolved. I arrived for my interview ex-pecting to interview an ad-ministrator, and soon real-ized I was interviewing the most kind-hearted, authen-tic, and optimistic individ-ual. Dr. Mierzejewski started as a chemistry teacher and later became the assistant principal of Fleetwood. She then worked at Tulpe-hocken, Wilson, and now, we are grateful to have such an experienced individual here at SV.

Dr. Mierzejewski selected Schuylkill Valley because of our en-vironment, staff members, reputa-tion. Most importantly, she was at-tracted to our passion and determi-nation to help students and provide them with the best opportunities possible. According to Dr. Mierze-jewski, she has received a warm wel-come, which has helped her adjust to SV. She is eager to learn about the school, set goals, and ensure all initiatives are carried out.

Dr. Mierzejewski’s philoso-phy on learning is truly an inspira-tion; she believes everyone finds

their own way of learning, and the school has the responsibility to help students identify student interests and effective learning methods. Also, she believes stu-dents who make an impact on others through clubs, sports, and activities are successful. Further-more, her previous position has given her the insight to know fail-ure should be expected, and the importance of failure is learning from our mistakes and trying again. These mistakes and experi-ences help us evolve, which leads to her next piece of advice, “be yourself.” A leader calls for an

authentic self, and Dr. Mierzejewski intends to approach problems and issues with the same morals and val-ues for each. Dr. Mierzejewski g r a d u a t e d f r o m Schuylkill Valley High School and later at-tended Alvernia Uni-versity to earn her Master's degree. Mar-ried with a grown son and daughter, she also has two wonderful grandchildren; like every grandmother, she spoils her grand-children with trips to the beach and gifts. Aside from spending time with her grand-children, she travels with her husband and reads during free time. Truly, her insight and intentions are solely to benefit SV. Dr. Mierzejewski is more

than a leader but a considerate, generous person whose heart lies in the students’ best interests. I opened the door expecting to in-terview a professional, business-like superintendent; I left knowing Dr. Mierezejewki is both of these. However, I also learned our school has secured a capable and person-able leader who hopes to better SV’s environment and grant stu-dents opportunities to fulfil their potential. In fact, she even offered to help me with my chemistry homework.

Meet the 2017 Homecoming Court! Page 4

Chloe Dracha lives with her parents, Kirk and Daphne Dracha, her twin brother Max, her

younger sister Tessa, and Goldie the Goldfish in Dauberville. Throughout her four years in

high school, she has participated in Chorus, LEO Club, PYEA, Special Olympics, Student

Ambassador program, Varsity volleyball, the Ophelia Project, Future Medical Leaders of

America, and Student Council as an Officer and President. She loves to volunteer at soup

kitchens, as an 8th grade camp counselor, and in Mrs. Reimert’s second grade classroom.

Her favorite memory at SV is when Mr. Kissinger trucked Mrs. Musket in the Faculty Mad-

ness basketball game. When she has a free moment, Chloe enjoys hanging out with friends,

playing volleyball, and sitting on the beach taking in the golden rays. She prides herself on

being honest and upfront with people and making use of her excellent communication skills.

Chloe believes her extreme school spirit and heavy involvement within the school district

makes her the perfect Homecoming Queen. Her biggest role model is her Mimi who is the

most open-minded person she knows. Her Mimi makes her realize that there is so much in

life to experience and to never take a day for granted. Chloe plans to attend a 4 year univer-

sity to obtain a Bachelor’s in nursing and eventually continue her education to become a

Physician's assistant.

Morgan Fox resides with her parents, Shelly and Chip Fox. When asked if she had any

siblings, she replied, “Do my three cats count?” She loves Shakespeare (I and II) because

“something about Mr.Mogford reading Shakespeare to me for 42 minutes every other day

is just good for the soul.” Throughout her time at SV, she has been involved with Chorus,

varsity volleyball, PYEA, LEO club, and Zen club. Morgan enjoys volunteering with her

mom through Meals on Wheels where they grocery shop for people who are either sick or

unable to do it themselves. Her favorite SV memory was winning the first round of districts

her sophomore year and then losing her voice from screaming every song they played on

the bus the whole way home. She “plays volleyball basically all year round so any spare

time she does get is spent eating, sleeping, and trying to still have friends.” Morgan wants

to be homecoming queen because she thinks she represents what SV is all about: “working

hard, having fun, and looking good while doing it.” She think what sets her apart from the

other candidates is being “3 feet shorter than most of them.” Her biggest accomplishment is

being named an all-district player for volleyball. She plans to major in Education and mi-

nor in English. Morgan also hopes to continue playing volleyball through college.

Kasey Bubel lives in the outskirts of Leesport with her parents, Tricia and Jim Bubel, along with her

older brother, Zach. She loves to participate in NHS, LEO Club, PYEA, Panther Elite Club, Zen Club,

Field Hockey, Track and Field, SV Ambassador program, Student Senate, Basketball, and as an 8th

grade camp counselor. Kasey had the honor of being named All County Pole Vault in 2016, All Divi-

sion Pole Vault, also in 2016, and All Division Field Hockey in 2016. She does the Autism Awareness

Walk every year and walks for Team Jett, her cousin. She has also helped her mom in the Real Estate

business since she was very young so, “if you’re looking to buy/sell your house, call Trish Bubel.” One

of the best memories Kasey had at SV was “when I was in 8th grade and our football team beat Berks

Catholic at their home field and we all stormed onto the field. I did have PANTHERS written across my

forehead for those of you who were wondering. Most of my best memories come from standing in the

SV Black Pack student section with Hannah Seltzer screaming in my ear.” In her spare time, you can

find her with her “squad eating on Penn Avenue or at the newest local ice cream shop, Plum Creek

Creamery.” Other than that, she is usually in her bed or at the gym enjoying what little free time she

has. She would like to be Homecoming Queen because she wants to show everyone you can wear

sweatpants 99% of your life and still be a Queen. Her biggest accomplishment was winning the SV

Field Hockey’s 4th Annual ABC Scavenger Hunt for 2 years in a row. Her second biggest accomplish-

ment would be winning the County Championship in Pole Vault as a Sophomore. Her future plans are

to go to college and play field hockey.

Hallie Jacobs, ‘18

Haley George lives with her parents, Jeremy and Kristin George, and her siblings, Autumn,

Dominic, Gracie, Lincoln, and Carson, in Leesport. She participates in girls’ soccer, lacrosse,

Panthers-On-Parade, Fall Play, LEO Club, PYEA, Future Medical Leaders of America, and

Zen Club. She mostly volunteers through school clubs, though she also volunteers as an eighth

grade camp counselor. Through Leo Club, she helps make sandwiches at the Lions Club, run

events at relay for life, and help with the color run. Through PYEA, she runs the holiday shop,

babysits during PTO meetings, and helps make posters for other charities. This year in FMLA,

she is working with Mrs. Musket to start her own donation drive for mothers in need. Her fa-

vorite SV memory is Mary trying to figure out how to “melt” through the hole in the platform

in the Wizard of Oz musical. In her free time, Haley enjoys “tackling on art projects, playing

the violin, singing, modeling, babysitting her siblings, sleeping, and eating… a lot. All when I

actually have a few minutes to spare.” Haley would like to be Homecoming Queen because

“attending SV has helped me grow through acting, athletics, and education. I feel that I have

given back to the school community through my one million activities I am apart of.” Haley

believes her biggest accomplishment has “been having the ability to push myself through eve-

rything I tackle, even if I am not the best at it, managing to deal with my crazy teammates, and

somehow keeping all my friends.” She hopes to attend college for a Neonatal Nursing or Doc-

toral degree and hopefully have a big, crazy family, like hers, someday.

Alyssa Lash has an older sister, Alli Lash, and resides with her parents, Mark and Tara

Lash. She actively volunteers in LEO Club, PYEA, WAG, HOSA, and as an 8th grade camp

counselor. Her favorite class is anatomy because she enjoys learning about the human anat-

omy. She is a hardworking starter on the girls’ soccer team and proudly attends BCTC for

Dental Occupations to get ahead in her career. Alyssa is overjoyed to be Captain for the soc-

cer team and the HOSA Treasurer. She loves looking back on the time Coach Bagenstose

did a somersault on the sidelines when girls’ soccer tied the district game last year. She en-

joys hanging out with her many cats and friends, and playing soccer. Alyssa would love to

be homecoming queen because she knows exactly how to get more people involved in the

school activities. Her biggest role model is her sister Alli Lash who continues to inspire

Alyssa with her determination and work ethic. After graduation, Alyssa plans to attend a 2

year college for dental hygiene.

Mackenzie Homan has an older brother, Zachary, and lives with her parents, Allen and Margaret Homan. To her, there’s only one place where it’s always warm and full of fresh air: The SVHS Greenhouse. Intro to Horticulture is her favorite class because she gets to demonstrate her own ideas and creativity on how to grow veggies, flowers, and more. She has used her time at SV to participate in Literary Magazine as Art Editor, Zen Club as Co-President, Student Council, PYEA, prom com-mittee, and LEO Club. She has also been a SV Ambassador, spanish and math tutor, an eager Talent Show Participant, and an Academic Challenge Team Member. She also takes piano lessons and dances. She has volunteered at a variety of events for school activities and clubs (like Operation An-gel Tree or helping with the Elementary school to name two) , but outside of school, she volunteers at her local dance studio to teach “itty bitty dancers the basics: like ballet barre, combos, and tech-nique.” Mackenzie’s best memory involves cartwheeling. In the beginning of freshman year, she decided to cartwheel through every hallway at SVHS. She finished all the simple hallways mid-junior year, but she had always counted the greenhouse as a separate entity to cartwheel in; she fi-nally cartwheeled in the greenhouse this year! (P.S. she has never gotten caught cartwheeling.) Mackenzie realizes Homecoming Queen is another wonderful opportunity to fundraise and support our school spirit, but beyond that, and she feels very passionate about this question. “I would like to be Homecoming Queen for something I call the ‘High School Musical Feeling’. I worked hard throughout high school and spent some days wondering if high school really was all it seems to be in the movies, but it is the opportunities like Homecoming Queen that make these past four years seem like so much more than graded papers. I finally feel like I am in a heart-touching movie.” It seems that Mackenzie has her entire life planned out as she had this to say about her future, “ I have this thing for wine. I plan to major in Agribuiness at Penn State Main or follow a similar path in Viticul-ture/Enology (study of wine and grapes) at Cornell University. My absolute shiny, glimmering dream is to own my own vineyard and winery.”

Seniors Olivia Jenkins (left) and Laura Henne

(right) working hard to wow everyone with their

hallway.

Juniors (from left to right) Eliza Tripp, Elysia

Davila, and Molly Wenzel painting away to pre-

pare their hallway.

Autumn Schell, daughter of Stacy Yard and Jeffrey Schell, resides with her mother, stepfather,

Brent Yard, and her big furball of a cat, Oreo. Her biggest role model is her mom because “Even

though it’s cliché, she has been through so much and still does her best to make me the happiest

and safest only child she has ever had.” I want to grow up and give back all she has given and

worked so hard for all of these years. She loves to participate in cheerleading, WAG, PYEA, LEO

Club, National Honors Society, and Future Caretakers of America. She frequently volunteers at

Berks Heim Nursing Home, the Animal Rescue league with WAG, wrestling tournaments, and

cheerleading competitions, including youth cheerleading since freshman year. Autumn is im-

mensely proud of winning All-American at cheer camp because she has been wishing for the

award since 7th grade. Her favorite memories at SV are with the cheerleaders at football games

and practices. It only makes sense since her hobby is tumbling. Autumn loves that her name is a

season, but she is disappointed that she can never find keychains with her name on them. She

knows how to plan energetic and fun events for the student body, which is why she believes that

she should be Homecoming Queen. After graduating, Autumn will attend RACC for two years,

then move on to a university where she will major in nursing to become a Registered Nurse.

Carissa Trievel resides in Mohrsville with her parents, Scott and Laurie Trievel. She

has an older brother, Alec Trievel. She has been involved in Yearbook, Valley Voices, Cho-

rus, PYEA, LEO club, NHS, Student Ambassador program, Football managing, Track and

field, Volleyball, Basketball, Panthers-On-Parade, and dance for 15 years. Last year, she re-

ceived the Good Citizenship Award and Student of the Month. Carissa’s passion for animals

persuaded her to volunteer at the Animal Rescue League over the summer. Her funniest SV

memory was when “Mr. Chillot asked me to retrieve his sunglasses from his room. When he

gave me the keys, I looked at him with confusion and pointed out that they were on top of his

head.” In her spare time, she finds herself dancing in front of a mirror, acting like she’s in the

music video, especially when Britney Spears’ first album plays. She also tries to surround

herself with friends and family. She like to scrapbook and decorate anything in her posses-

sion. I guess you could say she has an “artsy” thumb. She feels she would be the perfect for

for Homecoming Queen because she feels like she would best represent Schuylkill Valley.

Homecoming is all about school spirit, and she tries to support all the school activities that

take place. As an example, during sporting events, she loves to get the people around her

pumped. Usually, you can find her doing her “Trievel dance” on the football field or cheering

as loud as she can until she loses her voice at basketball games. Carissa’s future plans are to

attend a four year college to major in Biomedical Engineering or Human Resources.

Spirit Kings

It’s that time of year again! Homecoming is quickly approaching, and I’m here to report on this year’s Spirit King candidates. They will be competing in our annual Penny Wars to determine the victor. Here are a few questions to help you learn more about our six candidates - Donald Ballou, David Goad, Logan Grauer, Jacob Jerdan, Colby Stichter, and Luke Williams - and help you decide who you want to be Schuylkill Val-ley’s 2017 Spirit King. What is your charity, and why did you choose it? Donald: Red Cross to be able to help funds with Hurricane Harvey and Irma.

David: Smile Train because it benefits children born with cleft lips and palettes which I was born with. Logan: The Wounded Warrior Pro-ject because I feel it’s necessary to give the support to the people who sacrifice everything for our freedom Jacob: Autism Society of Berks County because I happen to be per-sonally affected by the Autism spec-trum. Colby: ASPCA (American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Ani-mals) because of my love for dogs; every animal deserves a caring home. Luke: Robin Hood Foundation to help the poor

What activities are you in-volved in? Donald: NHS, PYEA, P-O-P, Fall Play, Lit Mag, Pantherette, GSA, Future Medical Leaders, Student Senate, Student Council David: Around the Valley, Presi-dent of Band, Jazz Band, Mog-ford and Sons (school band), Fall Play, Soccer, Track and Field Logan: Football, Track and Field, LEO, PYEA, Panthers Elite Jacob: Chorus, Band, Rock Climbing Club Colby: Soccer, Track and Field, FBLA, NHS, Student Senate, SV Ambassadors, Ski and Snow-board Club, Class Officer Luke: Football, Track + Field

Skylar Renninger ‘20

Page 7

Donald Ballou David Goad Logan Grauer

Jacob Jerdan Colby Stitcher Luke Williams

What is your favorite part about attending SV? Donald: The student body is super warm and welcoming! David: The school colors really compliment my wardrobe and vaguely goth demeanor. Logan: May favorite part about at-tending SV is socializing with all the wonderful and intelligent people. Jacob: creating art Colby: My favorite part about SV would be the small community. I love the fact that I can walk through the halls and know almost every-body. Luke: It is a close community, eve-ryone can put a face on a name. In what ways do you show school spirit? Donald: I participate in numerous school clubs and functions, spirit

week, and create and work on ac-tivities that benefit the school and increase participation and unity. David: I donated one of my kid-neys to Schuylkillius Vallenius, the patron Saint of Schuylkill Valley. Logan: I show school spirit by supporting my fellow classmates by going to sporting events through-out the year and participating in Football and Track. Jacob: I am enthusiastic about SV in general! Colby: I try to attend as many sporting events as I can. I also try to show as much school spirit as I can through athletics and repre-senting my school. Luke: Going to sporting events, always reppin’ black and red #SV #Panthers

Anything else you’d like to say to the student body? Donald: I don’t like the idea that my school colors won’t be red and black soon… Every other color combination just doesn’t seem as cool. David: I tried so hard to get so far, but in the end it didn’t even matter. Logan: Stay classy SV and when there is nothing going right, go left. Jacob: Thanks for considering me for this year’s Spirit King. Colby: Be a part of the SV commu-nity. Don’t waste your high school years. Luke: Watch out for the bears!!!

We had the pleasure of inter-viewing the one and only Miss Harle, the new art teacher. As most of us know, Mrs. Braun has retired, leav-ing big shoes to fill, but Ms. Harle is ready to step up. We sat down with Ms. Harle to ask her some questions. Why do you want to be a art teacher? I went to SV, and Mrs. Braun became a mentor to me. She told me it was hard to sell your artwork, so I decided to go for art education. What is your favorite color? Purple

What were your previous occu-pations? I received a teaching job right out of college. I taught for a few years and then left teaching. I was an artist who worked out of a ceramic studio before getting this job. What did you want to be grow-ing up?

I wanted to be a nurse. What kind(s) of music do you listen to? Almost anything If you had three wishes what would they be?

1. My kids to grow up and be healthy 2. Continue to be able to travel and pursue philan-thropic endeavors (trips to Haiti, Apparent Project, One Million Bones Project, Laney's Legacy of Hope) 3. To be able to live where I am currently living as long as possible

Favorite high school memory? The whole week of home-

coming

Favorite sport? Field hockey If you could travel anywhere where would you go? Greece, I have traveled a lot, but never there Do you enjoy working here? Yes. After teaching in an inner city school, this is a breathe of fresh air. Students are courteous, kind, and attentive. If you were not teaching, what would you be doing right now? I would be working in my studio at home. How do you spend your free time? I spend time with family, traveling, hunting, kayaking, hiking, and jogging. When did you open your stu-dio? 2005 What do you hope to accom-plish this school year? I hope to rewrite curriculum for all 10 classes and produce a ce-ramics curriculum within the next few years.

Meet Miss Harle Gabrielle Rider ‘20

New and Improved S V All weather track

Artificial turf field

Fencing around field

and exterior

Scoreboard

Ticket booth

Visitors’ bleachers

Jumping areas

Utility setup for future

field house

Throwing areas

LED lighting (first in

county)

Construction company: The General Contractors of Grace Industries

Fundraising

2014 Yeshulas Color Run - $3,360

Yearly golf outings

Run4Sam - donation $5,000

Caitlin Bendigo cupcake sales - $1,500

SV Youth Football & Cheer - $1,000

SV Boosters - $1,000

SV Youth Soccer - $1,000

Brick Pavers $25-30,000

PPSC t-shirts

The Panther Pride Stadium Committee

(PPSC) is an independent, non-profit organi-

zation created and administered by a board

of community volunteers.

Cost: Over $2 million

When is the stadium expected to be finished?

Problems or delays in construction? September 30th was the original date, but due to rain

and thunderstorms, there was a 2 week delay as well

as a drainage issue.

Were there any difficulties or interferences with

the approval and start of construction? There was the decision to start before or after

graduation which concluded to waiting until after.

Because of Lake Ontelaunee, more permitting for

construction was necessary.

How old was the cinder track? 57 years - built in 1960

How long was the idea of a stadium renovation

around, and when did the fundraising start? 1999 - redid grass and cinder track

3 years ago the Stadium Committee formed and more

advocacy began.

Do you believe the stadium will have an impact on

the teams and spectators? “I hope it brings more excitement and pride. The sta-

dium is used for community fitness, games, practices,

and events.” Interview with our Athletic Director,

Ms. Deibler

Hey freshmen! Welcome to the high school. Here are some tips to help you assimilate into your new school. Have a great year!

1. Stay on the right side of the hallway. Don’t walk with 5 people all side to side. Take one for the team, and walk behind your friends; it's just easier for everyone. 2. Try your hardest. Do your homework and study for tests; it really makes a differ-ence. 3. Don't be afraid of the upperclassmen. They’re people just like you… but more tired. 4. Don’t over-stress. One bad test grade won’t ruin your life, nor will a bad quarterly grade. It’ll all turn out fine at the end of the year, providing that you follow step #2. 5. Don’t be a gym class die-hard. I'm not saying to stand in the back and twiddle your thumbs, but, seriously, if your team loses a round of kickball, it's not the end of the world. 6. No one cares what you wear. If you wear the same jeans two days in a row or sweatpants for a week straight, no one cares, so don’t stress over clothing. 7. Don’t get caught up in drama. If you see drama brewing within your group of friends, I highly suggest you stay far, far away and avoid it at all costs until it blows over. 8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Teachers are there to help you; that's literally their job, so make the most of having them there for you. 9. Don’t do drugs. You will get caught, and it will be put on your permanent record.

Plus, it’s just really unneces-sary. 10. Join clubs. It will open you up to a bunch of opportu-nities that you wouldn’t nor-mally have. It also gives you a chance to make new friends. 11. Do extra credit. If you are given the opportunity, don’t take it for granted; you'll be glad you did it later. 12. Don’t be afraid to try new things. It could just pos-sibly lead you in a whole new direction. 13. Don’t procrastinate- Just don’t. It makes your life 1000000x harder. 14. Remember to breathe. Freshman year is hard, so just remember to breathe; you’ll get through it. 15. Talk to your teachers. They are there for you. If you are having a problem with someone or something, find a teacher you’re close with and talk to them about it. 16. Be prepared for change. High school is ex-tremely different from middle school, so don’t be afraid of change. 17. Don’t be afraid to have fun. Dress up for spirit week and cheer loudly at football games. Enjoy yourself. 18. Read the handbook. I know it sounds stupid and nerdy, but make sure you know all the rules because “well, I didn’t know that was a rule” won’t really work any-more. 19. Be prepared. Everybody hates that person who comes into class everyday and asks for a pencil. Don’t be that per-son. 20. Relationships. Breakups are not the end of the world.

Some work out. Some don’t. Don’t stress over them, and definitely don’t drop friends for them. 21. Rumors spread fast. Let's be real here: we go to a fairly small school where ru-mors and gossip spread like the flu, so don’t start em’ and don’t spread em’. 22. Get a tutor. Honestly, it's a lot more embarrassing to be failing a class than get-ting a tutor and admitting you need some help. 23. Don’t waste your study halls. If you are one of the lucky people to be blessed with multiple study halls per cycle, don’t waste them. Use them to study and do home-work, so you have less to do at home, and with that said… 24. Don’t wait to do your homework or a project the period before that class. You’re never going to get it done in enough time to get a good grade. Just man up, and do your homework at home. 25. Avoid the “everything”

30 Tips for Upcoming Freshies Reiley Bagenstose ‘20 Page 10

SV Fall Drama Presents

The 39 Steps Saturday, November 18th,

2017 at 7p.m.

Tickets are $10

Open dress:

Friday, No-

vember 17th

(Donations

welcome)

folder at all costs. You know that folder: the one that gets all the papers you don’t care about shoved in it. Yeah… don’t have one of those, but while we’re on the topic… 26. Stay organized at all costs. Take time once a week to organize your binders, and put all the papers in the rings instead of the pockets. As nerdy as it sounds, try your absolute hardest to date all of your papers. You’ll thank me when quarter exams come around. 27. Make good choices. Before you do something, think about how you would feel about that decision in two weeks, then two months, then two years. If you feel bad thinking about any of them, then I suggest not doing whatever that thing is. 28. Be nice to new people. Put yourself in their shoes. Help them navigate around the school, and make some new friends of their own; It will probably really make a difference for that person. 29. Don’t yell or be ob-noxious in the hallways. All that will do is get you in trouble. 30. It will be over before you know it. The most im-portant lesson I learned in my freshman year was “Carpe Diem.” It means “seize the day,” and I highly suggest you do just that. Don’t take your days as a freshman for granted because it will be gone before you know it. After that, you’ve only got three more years, so live it up while you can!

Susquehanna Summer

Writer’s Workshop Ellen Robinson ‘18

This July, I had the oppor-tunity to attend Susquehanna Uni-versity’s Summer Writer’s Work-shop. The week-long program was one of the best and most memora-ble experiences of my life. In just a week, I wrote 12 poems, made a small book of them, befriended a French teenager, made 3 good friends, gained a circle of fellow writers, heard amazing poetry and fiction, formed a relationship with college professors, wore a trash poncho, had two pizza parties, and read my poetry in front of a small audience. If it sounds like a wild week, that's because it completely was. The camp ran from Sunday, July 9 to Saturday, July 15. On Sun-day, all the members were checked in and welcomed to campus. I stayed in a suite with three other girls. We were all the opposite of each other, but quickly became friends. Monday through Friday, I had seven hours of class each day, some hours spent by the river writ-ing and others spent doing work-shops. I then had free time before dinner and a reading. All of the writing professors and student as-sistants read some of their work. The last two nights, there were readings in basement of my dorm

hall. We shared pizza and read pieces we had been working on for Saturday. On Saturday, family was invited for a brunch and a reading. Everyone was broken into small groups to read. We read five min-utes of material, and afterwards, everyone rejoined in the lobby to say goodbye. My hardest goodbye was to the workshop director. So, where do the trash pon-chos and French people fit in? Well, one night, it was pouring, so my friends and I got trash bags from the cafeteria workers to walk across campus without getting soaked. It worked very well. An-other day, the workshop director asked me if I would invite the French student living with her to sit at lunch with us. She wanted him to make friends that spoke English (and were his age). It was a crazy week, but I learned a lot about poetry and writing and made a lot of memo-ries (and you would too). I also got a pretty cool “free” t-shirt. An an-thology of works from the work-shop is being published in Octo-ber. Now, this did cost money, but I emailed the director of the workshop and was able to receive financial help to go. I was also able to set up a payment plan. Never underestimate the power of an email. If you're considering going, I full-heartedly say “please go; you will not regret it.” I only have one complaint: it was far too short. More information is avail-able on Susquehanna University’s website. Susquehanna also offers summer programs in math and science. Penn State offers a pro-gram in Journalism. Search online at college websites for other great opportunities that might be hiding right under your nose.

Page 10

Serving Up For

Tennis Samuel Eddinger and Sadie Goad ‘20

The 2017 tennis team aims

to improve individually and as a

team. Even with a small roster, the

tennis squad still gives their all.

They hope to put up a big fight

against their close competitors,

Tulpehocken and Pottstville. The

team is led by only two seniors,

Marisa Rex and Emily Gunkel,

who have been playing throughout

high school. The team’s coaches,

Steve Davis and Brian Miller, are

big role models to all the players.

The coaches encourage other play-

ers to work hard and be role mod-

els as well. “My teammates inspire

me, especially Bridgette and Emily

for working their behinds off over

the summer,” said Emily Gunkel.

The team is looking forward

to cherishing the last season with

Emily and Marisa. The seniors are

not only going to miss tennis itself,

but the teammates who they have

made great bonds with. When

asked what she likes most about

tennis, Marisa Rex replied, “There's

not one particular as-

pect; it's the overall

experience: having fun

with teammates, play-

ing the game, the wins,

and even the losses.” A

piece of advice Emily

Gunkel would like to

leave her fellow under-

classmen is to “give the

sport and coaches all

you’ve got - no less.”

Friday Night

Lights

Tessa Bewley and Emily Hoffert ‘20

This year’s football team,

coached by Mr. Chillot, started

its season with a 34-6 win

against Pequea Valley. The sen-

iors are Jack Bennett (8), Jack-

son Brown (22), Logan Grauer

(24), Jake Hammond (51), Pat-

rick Henshaw (88), Joseph Jar-

dine (5), Mason Riegel (13),

Luke Williams (28), and Tyler

Worrell (1).

Wide Receiver Logan

Grauer said his expectation for

the team is “to make playoffs

and win half of their games.”

When asked who their biggest

rivals are, both Jackson Brown

and Logan Grauer responded

with “Hamburg.” When asked

how he feels the season will go,

Logan Grauer answered, “I feel

we will show people the talent

that we have as a team and get a

lot more than our one win last

season.” This goal was already

accomplished, as the team had

their second 42-20 win at Fleet-

wood, marking the beginning of

a great season for the team.

Bring It On:

Panthers On

the Prowl Noah Grassley and Joseph Jardine ‘20

Without cheering and sup-

port, a sporting event would just be

a dull waste of a couple of hours. At

times, the crowd does not offer

positive or organized pride. This is

why the Panthers’ cheer squad, led

by coach Angela Hohenadel, is the

backbone to SV Athletics. With two

returning seniors, Kailey Rajnath

and Christian Flammer, the cheer-

leading team hopes to keep climb-

ing the mountain of success. Kailey

sees their team returning to states

this year with vengeance. ““Our

stunting has greatly improved since

last year and were working on our

difficulty, which will help us meet

New Oxford and Red Lions diffi-

culty,” Miss Rajnath told reporters.

All there is left to say is good luck

to the cheer squad and bring it on!

Athlete Profile

James Wiley ‘19

Description of typical: “Coach

doesn’t make it

easy on us. We

do as much

conditioning as

any other sport

out there. We

have to have

the stamina to

c o n s t a n t l y

cheer for 2-3 hours a night and

throwing people up in the air is

more of a workout than most

think, but the work has paid off so

far.”

Favorite food: Chicken Shawarma

One change he would make about

Cheer: “I guess I would want the

stigma gone. Cheer is a legitimate

and taxing sport, and I think it

deserves more respect to be hon-

est.”

Kickin’ It: Girls’ Soccer

Preview David Goad and Logan Borkey ‘20

Routinely one of the best

teams in Schuylkill Valley, the girls’

soccer team, coached by Jason

Bagenstose, is looking to better

themselves this year. Led by seniors

Halee Peters, Hannah Seltzer, Kaelan

Cronan, Fiona Murphy, Alyssa Lash,

Haley George, Colette Williams, and

Hallie Jacobs, they hope to build on

their playoff run from last year,

where they suffered a heartbreaking

loss in the district semifinals.

When asked, everyone agreed

that their game against Fleetwood is

the most important game of the sea-

son. The team is hoping to win the

division as well as make it to states.

“I really want to win the division title

and see this year on the banner in the

gym under Girls’ Soccer,” said

Hannah Seltzer. Colette Williams

and Seltzer both agreed that their

biggest positive as a team is their

ability to work together and remain

close on and off the field. They also

agreed that keeping a positive atti-

tude in tough games is a major key

to a successful season. Areas that

could use some improvement, ac-

cording to the girls, include their

mental toughness, finishing their

shots, and communicating on the

field. With their strong senior

leadership, the girls should be a

hard team to beat. Good luck to

the team as they look to make an-

other deep run in the playoffs.

Cross Country Jordan Francis and Luke Ammarell

The cross country team,

coached by Allyson McKechnie,

hopes to have a season to remem-

ber this year. The team, led by sen-

iors Delanie Heck-Hoppes, Benja-

min Reisenweaver, Kyle Living-

house, Noah Romig, and Roman

Searle, are looking to build on last

years 5-2 record. The girls’ team is

looking to establish momentum

that can take them to the season’s

finish line, led by senior Sarah Ma-

ciejewski. The girls’ team is going

to try to build on last season with

five upperclassmen. When asked

about his goals and his team’s

goals, senior Evan Camlin re-

sponded, “I plan on trying to run

to the best of my ability to push

my teammates. As a team, we want

to make it to Districts, and to pack

more in our races.” When asked

why he runs, Evan said, “I run for

the atmosphere of the team. You

bond so much as runners because

you talk to get your mind off of run-

ning. The team is family.” The cross

country boys and girls are looking

to have an explosive season and

cross the finish as fast

as the wind.

Graham Haupt

Why do you play your

sport? I do this because

running is a hobby of

mine and running com-

petitively is something

I am good at.

Favorite memories: My

favorite memory is run-

ning to a pumpkin farm and carry-

ing it back to the school and deco-

rating it and taking it to Counties.

Areas for improvement: Running

faster on hills.

Favorite food: Beef jerky

Favorite song: Californiacation -

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Future hopes in sport: To make it

to states

Boy’s Soccer

Family Sydney Campbell and Kellyn McGinely

The boys’ soccer team,

coached by AJ Cronrath, is looking

to improve their record from last

season. Leading the team to a

hopefully better season are sen-

iors: Colby Stichter, David Goad,

Conner Becker, Nick Sager, Zach

Bruchez,

and Alex

Mercado.

The boys

are in a

t o u g h

d iv is io n

with de-

f e n d i n g

B e r k s

County Champions, Oley Valley,

along with Fleetwood and Ham-

burg both of which also had good

seasons last year.

When asked how their sea-

son will compare to last season,

senior David Goad responded, “We

have the potential to get better and

hopefully improve our record from

last season.” Next, when asked

what the team is doing to make this

season better than last, David’s re-

sponse was “to get rid of our old

techniques that didn’t work and we

changed what we do at practice to

make it fit our game play.” Colby

Stichter also had positive things to

say about the team: “Our team has

a great sense of camaraderie. We

are constantly together and having

a good time. I feel like getting along

on and off the field will not be a

problem.” With the many new

freshmen and new faces in the

line-up, this team should only get

better as the season rolls along.

Good luck to all the boys this sea-

son.

Athletic Profile

Brian Porter ‘20

Why do you play soccer?- It’s fun

with fun teammates

Favorite memories- Shady Maple

A r e a s f o r i m p r o v e m e n t

(individual)- First touch

Favorite food- Mozzarella sticks

Favorite song- No Option, Post

Malone

Future hopes in

sport- Either play

soccer in college

or run track

The Golf

Squad Kadin Hohenadel ‘18,

Jackson Brown ’18 & Max Dracha ‘18

Last year, the golf team, coached by Bruce Roth, was a successful team having an 11-4 record. This year still coached by Roth, the golf team had another great season. The three seniors, Carson Himmelberger, Kadin Hohenadel, and Zachary Bevans, plus the 6 underclassmen Jack Ly-nam, Clayton Spencer, Joseph Quigley, Dalton Gieger, Thomas Becker and Luke Joswiak took the team to a 9-5-1 record and a berth into team counties which will be played on Wednesday, September 27 at Blackwood Golf Course.

The team put up a fight at Blackwood but wasn’t able to beat Brandywine to qualify for districts. For the individual tournament Jack (82) and Kadin (93) both qualified for the second round of counties. For the second round everyone that qualified played an-other nine holes. Jack shot a 40 on the nine for a total of 122 and

Kadin shot a 47 for a 140. For the rest of the team who didn’t qualify, Clayton Spencer and Carson Himmelberger both shot a 98, Dal-ton Geiger shot a 102, Joe Quigley and Zach Beavens both shot a 109, and Thomas Becker shot a 115. Al-though the whole team won’t be going to districts Jack will continue his season as he qualified for the district individual tournament at Briarwood Golf Club.

The team worked so hard to try to repeat what they did last year and they achieved it. “I think every-one had a lot of fun last year at team counties, we wanted to do it again. It was-n’t easy but we made it and we achieved our goal and we had another fun and amazing time to-gether at counties. I couldn’t of asked for a better season, a better team and a better coach,” said Kadin on his opinion of the season.

Field Hockey Clayton Spencer and James Wiley

Coming from a strong season

last year, the field hockey team,

coached by Jess Dowd, looks to build

on their previous success. This year’s

seniors are Kasey Bubel and Ann

Civil. When asked about her expecta-

tions for the season, Kasey Bubel re-

sponded, “To be division champs this

year despite having a smaller team.”

Last year, the team finished 10-0 in

their league games and 17-4 overall.

With every new season comes

new things to improve on. When

questioned about areas of improve-

ment, Kasey Bubel stated, “Defense

and just improving overall effort.”

Some key games for the girls this year

include Berks Catholic and Hamburg

which is also Senior Night. The future

is bright for the SV Field Hockey team.

Best of luck girls!

Serve’s Up Andre Rivera and Javier Hernandez

Coach Carl Lash

This year’s Schuylkill Val-

ley Girls Volleyball team, led by

seniors Courtney Blimline, Mor-

gan Fox, Chloe Dracha, and Carly

Mundell, is set to have yet another

successful season. They face some

tough competition in Berks Catho-

lic, Brandywine, and Fleetwood.

Courtney and Carly men-

tioned rival-

ries with

F leet w o od

and Berks

C a t h o l i c .

Also, they

mentioned some

keys to beat these

teams and have a

successful season:

mental toughness,

communication,

and team play. A

successful season

would mean hav-

ing fun and defeat-

ing rivals. Addi-

tionally, the girls

are striving to

make it into the county playoffs and

possibly districts, as stated by

Courtney and Carly. Finally, some

weaknesses this year’s volleyball

team looks to improve on are not

giving in when the other team has

the upper hand, serve, receive, and

better communication. Best of

luck to this team and we hope they

surpass all their goals, improve

their weaknesses, and continue

their winning tradition.

On A Mission

Summer means lazy, hazy

days for many of Schuylkill Valley’s

students. It’s a time to eat pop-

sicles, binge on Netflix, and per-

haps sleep until noon, right? Not

for Junior Molly Wenzel. She com-

pleted her fifth missionary trip this

summer!

On July 11th, Molly and 13

others from Glad Tidings Assem-

bly of God Church in West Lawn

traveled to the Dominican Republic

with the youth ministry. Nine of

the travelers were students, and

they were accompanied by four

church leaders, including Scott

Nagle, who is the youth pastor. It

was an eight day trip.

A ccording to Molly, the ob-

jective of the mission was to share

their love of God and assist the

people of La Vega. Their many ac-

tivities included painting, doing

helpful jobs, and providing reli-

gious services for the citizens.

Molly believes that we

should help others because we

would want the same help our-

selves. She also stated that it makes

the world a better place while giving

you a new perspective when you ex-

perience and witness the poverty of

others. She pointed out that “As

American students, we live in abun-

dance, and witnessing nine people

sharing minimal resources is eye-

opening and enlightening.”

When asked what it felt like

to return from a mission trip to the

Dominican Republic, Molly ex-

plained that when she returns to the

United States from a mission trip,

she gets annoyed by the “first world

problems” people think they have.

She explained that seeing real

third world problems, which are

much worse, puts everything in

perspective.

Serving and assisting oth-

ers in need has become a priority

for Molly. Her mission trips have

also included working with chil-

dren who have special needs at a

camp called Spruce Lake, in the

Poconos. Furthermore, her career

objective is to become a teacher,

perhaps majoring in Special Educa-

tion. Molly is also very interested in

pursuing fluency in Spanish.

In addition to her active

membership with her church and

maintaining good grades, Molly is

in her 11th year of dance. She cur-

rently dances with Horizons Dance

Conservatory in Leesport. She has

also participated in POP, and has

joined Pantherette. She can also be

found serving up sweets at Candy’s

in Shoemakersville, where she

works.

Got a sweet tooth? Pantherette has the solution! From Monday

October 23rd to Friday October 28th, Tricky Treats will

be on sale in all three lunches! For just $1, send you and

your friends a bag of yummy chocolate and gummy candy!

Brock Dalton Recently we sat down with

fellow Pantherette member, Brock

Dalton, and learned that he had a

very interesting trip this summer!

Quite the traveler, Brock has vis-

ited every state of the Eastern Sea-

board; moreover, he has visited 26

of our 50 United States and plans

to visit them all.

Brock’s journey started

when he flew to San Francisco in

early June with his grandmother,

where they stayed two days. Their

itinerary included a visit to Alca-

traz, Chinatown, the Cable Car

Museum of Knob Hill, and they

even rode the renowned cable

cars. When we asked Brock how

he liked San Francisco, he noted

that his reaction was mixed. The

city had much to offer, but he ex-

plained San Francisco’s allure and

glamour clashed starkly with the

reality and severity of the home-

less situation.

Next, Brock boarded the

train Emeryville; it is called a Cali-

fornia Zephyr run by Amtrak

Train. This would be the beginning

of his five day transcontinental

journey back to Pennsylvania. He

went on to explain that they got to

stay in a superliner car which was

more spacious than a normal

sleeper car. Brock also explained

that he felt fortunate because they

passed through the most interest-

ing parts of the journey while he

was awake, and the least interesting

parts during the night.

The first leg of Brock’s journey was

from Emeryville to Chicago, the

second was Chicago to Pittsburgh,

and the final leg was from Pitts-

burgh to New York. They stopped

only to get fresh air or change

trains.

Some of the highlights from

the journey included meeting the

former president of the Colorado

School of Mines. This is one of the

most elite engineering schools in

the country. Better yet, he offered

Brock a tour! His wife was interest-

ing also, as she has a lineage that

has been traced back to the year

1000 A.D.!

While Brock admits that at

times the train ride could be mo-

notonous, he said the landscape

changes were impressive to wit-

ness, especially crossing the Sierra

Nevadas, which he cal led

“stunning.” He also said that the

train ride gave him a unique win-

dow to the world, and another

highlight was crossing the Missis-

sippi river from Illinois to Indiana.

At the end of his journey,

Brock met his mom and sister in

New York and then proceeded

home to PA where he spent the

rest of the summer in the water.

No really, he competes for the

Kutztown Dolphin Summer Swim

team and he teaches swimming

lessons. An SV honors student,

Brock Dalton is currently a sopho-

more. When Pantherette asked

him if he would have done any-

thing differently if he were to take

this impressive trip again, he re-

plied that he would have spent a

bit more time exploring San Fran-

cisco.

Whitney Tomes ‘20 What’s it like to have cancer? What’s it like to wake up every morn-ing knowing that a deadly disease lives inside of you? I wouldn’t know what it feels like because I don’t have cancer, but I do know somebody who does. His name is Antonio. He is a 10th grader here at Schuylkill Valley High School. To be a little bit more straight forward, he has leukemia. He found out in 7th grade.

Antonio said he began to find bruises all over his body, so he went to the doctor. He didn’t think too much about it, but his parents re-ceived a phone call from the doctors saying Antonio had leukemia and needed to go to the hospital. Antonio didn’t understand why he needed to go to the hospital because his parents didn’t tell him the news until they were already on their way to the hos-pital. When Antonio found out that

he had leukemia, he admits that he started to fall apart. He thought to himself. “Why? Why me?” He thought that he was going to die. An-tonio wondered if he would be able to beat this , but he has so far, and he shows the rest of us what determina-tion looks like.

The doctors have been giving him different treatments and medi-cines to help. Right now, he is getting chemotherapy. The doctors also told Antonio that he had a high chance of survival. Both Antonio and his family are optimistic that they will over-come this.

Antonio’s future plans are to be an entertainer because he loves to make people laugh and smile. His teachers say that he is a joy to have in class.

Some of you may not know Antonio, but he has a fantastic sense of humor. He has gone through so much, but he still has goals and dreams like anyone else. He has sac-

rificed too. He has sacrificed family and friend time, school time, time to be a kid, and time to grow up. I am so happy that I can call Antonio my friend. He brings happiness with him, and it's contagious. So next time you see Antonio, say hello, and ask him how things are going; he is one of us, and we need to support this brave and courageous sophomore.

Antonio Kucera

Recently, Pantherette mem-ber Sandra Goho sat down with SV freshman, Dawson Dissinger, to talk about a serious and sensitive matter.

Dawson is dealing with a potentially life-threatening brain tumor, but he is handling it bravely and courageously. He agreed to an interview and is very willing to talk about his health condi-tion. What is the name of your disease ( tumor)? Poly Cystic Astrocytoma How big is the tumor? 7mm by 7mm (that's the size of a grape) Are there any treatments? Chemo. However, it is still early, so I am not taking it. The chemo could pos-sibly kill the tumor though. Surgery is impossible because of where the tumor is located. How does the tumor affect you physically? Well, it is only going to get worse. I am going to lose my ability to move my arms and legs if it is not taken care of. Plus, I get never ending headaches.

Does the tumor change how you think about life? It makes me think more about my choices and the next steps in my life. What does the rest of your life look like concerning your tumor? I’ll live for a while, but at some point, I could be paralyzed and in a lot of pain. What are your hobbies? I like bmxing and pretty much all bik-ing. I also like running/jogging and stuff like that. What do you want to do when you are older? I was thinking military. No other ca-reer would fit me. I would be an Infan-try soldier. Plus, people can get bene-fits from the army: they will pay for college, etc. What is your favorite subject in school? I actually like everything this year, but I gotta say I like science with Mr. Heff-ner.

Dawson Dissinger

Page 18 Who Walks Amongst Us?

Every day students at SV walk through the doors taking a lot for granted. So many of the students who walk among us

definitely take their health for granted. We assume that we should and will feel well. And why not? We are young; we are

strong; we don’t have to think about sickness. We bring our books and gym bags to school ready to complain about the

endless demands being placed upon us. But two students, Dawson Dissinger and Antonio Kucera, cannot take their

health for granted. Pantherette wanted to highlight these courageous spirits and their impacting stories.

Hello, everybody! We’re Jake n’ Ally, and from now on, we’ll be writing our very own advice column in the Pan-therette. For starters, here are some guidelines to follow when submitting questions:

Questions should be appro-priate in length (save those giant paragraphs for your English es-says).

All questions should be anonymous. Any questions with names will be discarded. Also, if you are asking for advice on a particular person, please do not mention their real name. If you must say a name, use a fake name.

Questions may be dropped off to Mrs. Barrett (Room F209) per-sonally at any time. They may also be placed in the envelope outside of her room.

All submitters will be kept anonymous. Mrs. Barrett will be the only one who knows the iden-tity of the submitter, if you give it to her personally, of course. Even we are not told.

Questions should not be of an inappropriate nature (i.e. no swearing, inappropriate content, etc.)

We will do our best to answer all questions we receive. How-ever, there is no guarantee that all will be able to be answered.

Submissions will be more fun if you sign it with a creative name! (i.e. Confused Carl, Debby Downer, etc.)

Oh, and our true identities will be kept secret, too. It makes it more fun that way. Other than that, everything is fair game! Feel free to ask us questions about anything regarding school, friends, teachers, family, and any-thing else you’d want advice on! Enjoy, and we hope to hear from you soon!

QUESTION 1: Dear Jake n’ Ally, I need advice on how to get a bet-ter grade in gym. I know it’s only September, but I already have a C+ in that class. It’s not even my fault! I bring my uniform every gym day and in the locker room, I make sure to throw away my gum, put my hair up in a ponytail, and tie my shoelaces. I actually do the warm ups, compared to other peo-ple in my class. I also try to par-ticipate in gym as much as I can: I run; I catch and pass the ball, -and I also help carry supplies back to the gym if we play outside. I am trying so hard to please my gym teacher, but I still get bad grades. What should I do?

- Stressed Out Sophie Dear Stressed Out Sophie, Wow, you’ve got quite the situation. Fortunately for you, it is not uncommon. High school gym teachers are a little harder on stu-dents than the middle school gym teachers (if you haven’t noticed). The reason for that is because they want to prepare you by pushing you to create habits that benefit a healthy body (Ex. running the mile and push ups; basically anything that you dread in gym class). They’re not doing it for themselves. They do it for you, and I know that sometimes the gym teacher isn’t looking your way when you score a goal, but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. As the year pro-gresses, I’m sure that your gym teacher, whoever that may be, will begin to notice your efforts in gym class. If they don’t, try communi-cating with your gym teacher: ask he/she why you are still being de-ducted points, so that you know what he/she expects from you for next class. In other words, work with, not against, him/her. I hope this helps!

- Ally Dear Stressed Out Sophie,

I agree with Ally on this

one, which is a first. Nothing can be fixed if you don’t com-municate. Try talking with your gym teacher about the situation and why it bothers you. I’m sure it’s not because the gym teacher doesn’t like you. While it is hard to compete with all the other athletic students in your class, be in mind that maybe you are missing the big picture. Maybe you are completing the warm ups, but maybe you are doing them incorrectly. Instead of worrying about your grade so much, worry about playing the game right so you can finally impress your teacher. Keep put-ting effort into all that you do in gym, and I promise you that it will go a long way. Remember, it’s okay to get a bad grade once in awhile. Getting the grades you don’t hope for will push you to try harder and will help you to learn from your mistakes. Give it some time, and I prom-ise you’ll do fine.

- Jake

Jake n’ Ally

What are freshmen most excited for throughout their

high school career? Stephanie Brumbach ‘20

Anthony Ferretti- Graduation

Zach Heffner- Graduation

Cole Harris- Graduation

Ruchama Catul- “Picking our

own extracurriculars and

prom.”

Cloey Flemming- Graduation

Kaitlynn Fell- “New teachers

and new experiences.”

Addison Angstadt: the clubs

Ryan Szymczyk: the sports

Isabella Romig: more sophis-

ticated courses and becoming

a camp counselor

Lily Dang: a lot of activities

with art and drawing

The one and only Kesha re-leased a brand new album on Au-gust 11, her first album in five years. Why so long of a wait? Kesha and her mother have been in a dramatic case against her producer, Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, or Dr. Luke, since 2014. Dr. Luke is a very successful music producer under Sony Re-cords. He is CEO of his own branch under Sony, called Kemosabe Re-cords. He heard Kesha’s demos she made with her mother, Pebe Sebert, and convinced Kesha to move from Nashville to Los Angeles in Septem-ber, 2005. A month later, Kesha and Dr. Luke attended a birthday party together. During that party, Kesha accuses Dr. Luke of drugging her with GHD, a date-rape drug, and taking her back to his apart-ment where he sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. Keeping quiet and only tell-ing her mother of the incident, Ke-sha continued to work with Dr. Luke. She attempted to find an-other company to produce with and started working with David Sonen-berg of DAS Communications. David Sonenberg is allegedly the only other person besides her mother who Kesha told about Dr. Luke’s actions at the birthday party. Once Dr. Luke found out Kesha was working with another manager, he contacted Sonenberg and ended

Sebert V. Gottwald about her treatment under Kemosabe Records. The hashtag #freeKesha started trending on several different social media web-sites. In 2014, Kesha checked her-self into a rehab facility in Chicago in an attempt to end her eating disorder. Once she was released, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke. On October 14, 2014, Ke-sha filed a lawsuit claiming Dr. Luke raped her, threatened her safety, psychologically and emo-tionally abused her, and caused Kesha to have “severe depression, post-traumatic stress, social isola-tion, and panic attacks.” Instead of filing for criminal charges, Kesha asked for her contract with Dr. Luke to be terminated, stating his mistreatment of her was a breach of contract anyway. The same day Kesha filed her case, Dr. Luke filed a counter-suit, denying all allegations against him and accusing Kesha, her mother, and her lawyer of de-stroying his reputation. He claimed that Kesha’s lawsuit was a ploy to hurt him and break away from her contract earlier than al-lowed. Dr. Luke separately sued Sebert for defamation, so she can-not argue that he has no power over her in Tennessee. Sebert countersued him for giving her PTSD from dealing with the stress of what he’s done to her daughter. Kesha added Sony music to her lawsuit with Dr. Luke. The judge presiding over the case in Califor-nia ordered it to be frozen and moved to New York, since the con-tract between Kesha and Dr. Luke states all legal matters should be settled in the city. Once in New York, Kesha asked the judge to give her imme-diate freedom to make and release music without Dr. Luke or Sony being in charge of her. The judge denied Kesha’s plea, stating that her career is in no immediate dan-ger if she has to release music un-der Dr. Luke and Sony. Sony of-

communications between him and Kesha. Dr. Luke supposedly told Kesha he owned her, per the con-tract that she signed with him and his company that stated she had to release six albums before the con-tract could end. He told her she had 24 hours to fire her lawyer and manager and to come back to him, and Kesha fearfully obeyed. Both her first two albums were produced with Dr. Luke, who helped to establish her “party girl” image. When they started working on her second album, Warrior, Kesha wanted to explore other music avenues. Dr. Luke de-manded she stick to the image he made for her and verbally chas-tised and even threatened her physical safety throughout the making of the album. Kesha and her mother claim that Dr. Luke has always been verbally abusive to her, especially about her body. Instances have been accounted where Dr. Luke has referred to Ke-sha as a “refrigerator,” and told her she wasn’t fit enough to be a pop star. Kesha, who has previ-ously admitted to being bulimic, said that Dr. Luke’s constant com-ments of her physical appearance almost drove her to suicide. In 2012, during the making of War-rior, Dr. Luke allegedly backed Kesha into a corner and screamed at her for refusing to sing lyrics

that were slander-ing to people with certain body types. Kesha was so frightened that she ran down a high-way barefoot and went into hiding until her manager came to get her. With the release of Warrior, many Kesha fans began to speak out

Donald Ballou ‘18

fered to let Kesha produce music without Dr. Luke’s direct involvement, but Ke-sha and her team called it an “illusory promise.” On February 22nd, 2016, Dr. Luke finally went public with his opinion on the case. He tweeted Kesha and her mother are moti-vated by money, and that he treated Kesha like a little sister. Sony felt pressured to release Kesha, but unfortu-nately, a representative of the company admitted that it cannot legally help terminate the contract and release Kesha. During April 2016, most of Kesha’s claims of abuse are thrown out, mostly because Kesha and her mother testified in 2010 that Dr. Luke hadn’t, in fact, sexually as-saulted her. They were asked to testify in a case that severed ties between Kesha and David Sonen-berg of DAS Communications. Ke-sha claims that Dr. Luke threat-ened her career and her and her family’s safety if she didn’t lie on the stand. From January to June of 2017, Kesha and Dr. Luke’s many lawsuits against each other were either dismissed or dropped, ex-cept for Kesha’s case in New York to be released from her contract. On July 6, Kesha dropped her first solo song since 2012, titled “Praying.” This song seems to di-rectly nod to Kesha’s ongoing situation, and opens the door into how she feels about where she is in life. On August 11, Kesha dropped her newest album, Rainbow. This album had no direct influence from Dr. Luke and it is very no-ticeably different from her past two albums. Though Kesha’s new music isn’t scrutinized by Dr. Luke, there has been speculation that Dr. Luke has made profit from her album’s sales. Various celebrities have voiced their support for Kesha, including Lorde, Kelly Clarkson,

Marina and the Diamonds, Taylor Swift, and most nota-bly, Lady Gaga, who directly met and talked with Kesha and who may appear in Dr. Luke’s defamation case against Kesha due to text messages ex-changed back and forth be-tween the two female pop stars. There have been opin-ions voiced on Dr. Luke, as well. Interestingly enough, al-most all opinions of the pro-ducer have been negative, coming from people who have had professional interaction with him. Seemingly only in personal relationships, not in-volving his music production, has anyone come out in sup-port of Dr. Luke. Many people see Ke-sha’s struggles as a break-through for misogyny and sex-ual harassment of women in the music industry. Others look at the case as simply a dy-ing artist’s last cry for fame and a possible resurrection of her career. Either way, Kesha and Dr. Luke’s legal struggles are far from over. With Kesha’s new album debuting on ITunes at #1 in less than one week, though, it seems evident that people are connecting with Ke-sha’s new sound far more than they have with Dr. Luke’s cre-ated image.

Congratulations to Alexis Szymczk and Jay Poland!

Alexis’s essays, “My Heart Beats Along” and “Music Speaks,” won runner up in the New York Time’s Summer Reading Contest. Jay won runner up for his essay “A Transgender

Learning Gap in the Emergency Room” and honorable mention for

“Trump Forbids Military Service by Transgender People” in the NYT con-

test as well.

Also, congratulations to Pantherette’s own

Layomi Adeojo and Reiley Bagenstose for writing in Reading Eagle’s Voices. Look for their writing on

Tuesdays.

Mike Shott ‘18

Have you ever seen an old Bruce Lee movie and thought, “Man, I wish I could learn some moves like that.” If so, I’ve got good news for you: You can!

The martial art that Bruce Lee was formally trained in, Wing Chun, is a centuries-old fighting style originat-ing in Southern China. He studied in Hong Kong under the tutelage of Yip Man, often credited as the first person to teach Wing Chun to members of the public. Since then, thanks to the efforts of Lee and other practitioners, the art has flourished worldwide. It’s even made its way to Berks County.

The West Reading Kung Fu Club, run by Sifu David Statler, offers instruction in Wing Chun as well as T’ai Chi Ch’uan. Sifu

David still trains under Sifu Randy Koller of Eastern Arts & Holistic Health Academy and is currently a Level 6 Black Sash. If you attend lessons, ex-pect to see a variety of people: young & old, new & experienced, large & small. Sifu David, along with Sifu Ron Elliot, tailor the classes to be understandable and accessible by all who attend.

I’ve been part of the club since the spring, and I can say that the bene-fits of practicing Kung Fu go far beyond fighting. T’ai Chi is widely regarded as one of the best health practices in the world, and the discipline and dedica-tion cultivated by training can help you in almost every aspect of your life. Grace of movement and peace of mind are only two of many possible benefits that you can reap through practice.

Classes are held at Dragonfly Studios in West Reading on Tuesday, Thursday, and every first Friday night at 8pm. The West Reading Kung Fu Club always welcomes new members: in fact, we encourage them. Hope to see you out there!

West Reading Kung Fu Club

Brenden Livinghouse ‘19

After teaming up with Nike back in May, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, one of the world’s best marathon run-ners, took another attempt at breaking the seemingly impossible 2 hour marathon barrier at the Berlin Mara-thon. The Breaking2 initiative started in May of 2016 when Nike teamed up with the world’s best run-ners to answer one question: Can a human being run a marathon in under 2 hours? In order to do this, Eliud would have to run each mile in 4:34. After a year of training, three runners, Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, Lelisa De-sisa of Ethiopia, and Kipchoge, made their attempts to break 2. Monza, Italy was chosen as their racing location because of its cool temperature, low winds, and closeness to sea level. They had to wait for the perfect day at the right time of year. On Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 5:45 a.m., the marathon be-gan. The runners were guided through their marathon with the help of a pace car sporting a laser that displayed the projected pace and time. After just over 2 hours, the marathon ended and the results were in. Kipchoge finished with a time of 2:00:25. He ran 2:32 faster than the current world record (this could not count toward an offi-cial world record because it was not run on an official marathon course). He also ran 2:40 better than his own personal best of 2:03:05 (Nike.com). After the run, Kipchoge was happy with the result of the race and was looking forward to the Berlin Mara-thon.

In Berlin on September 24, 2017, Eliud Kipchoge showed up not just to run, but to make another at-tempt at breaking 2 hours. Kipchoge ran and won the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:03:32. Even though he has not broken 2 hours yet, Eliud Kip-choge will likely be the one to break 2.

Eliud Kipchoge: The Quest

to Break 2 Julia Craft ‘20

“Love is a cement, and Hate is a glue.” - Anony-mous SV Student 2017-18 This quote has a lot of relevance, especially with the hurricanes that struck Florida, Texas, and Puerto Rico, the mass shooting in Las Vegas, and even in the comparably un-eventful lives of everyday people. This quote can maintain some form of meaning in any walk of life. Love will be the cement that holds this country to-gether: it will support the hurricane survivors and shelter our hearts and minds from fear that is try-ing to slither its way in. Love will be the shield of the helpless and the bond that never leaves you. It will hold the world to-gether so it doesn’t fall apart at the seams. Hate will be the enemy that is hidden at the forefront of the mind and allows fear to slither in. It will be the bond that can hold for hours on end, but eventu-ally be reheated and stuck in another place at a differ-ent time. Love and Hate will be constant opposites that appear in any walk of life. This is in honor of all our past ancestors, our present selves, and our future lives and children's lives.

Love and Hate

Hi, I’m Emily Zaharia and from now on, I’ll be writing an article every edition titled Something to Pon-der. These articles will consist of my thoughts, as well as other students’ thoughts on subjects that are not of-ten discussed. (I will include a “reader’s question” that will be lo-cated toward the bottom of the issue and will be italicized. I will also in-clude questions for students that I interview; These questions will be un-derlined). This edition’s topic ques-tion is: Are High School Movies De-termining Our Perception of High School? If you have any rarely dis-cussed topics for Something to Pon-der, feel free to share them with me or Mrs. Barrett (F109). Enjoy!

It is very stressful being a freshman. I should know… I am one. Freshmen must learn how to transi-tion to an unfamiliar building. If you’re like me, you’ll probably follow your best friend to all of his/her classes even though he/she is taking General Art, and you know that you can’t draw to save your life. Secondly, remember that freshmen don’t usually know anyone, except the students in their grade (but, let’s be honest, we only really talk to about half of our grade). As a result, freshmen are given the dreadful “mission” of searching for someone that will be able to stand that cheesy one-liner you’ve been dy-ing to share. If you are a freshman who’s thinking it’s “not that bad”, or, “she’s exaggerating too much”, well, consider yourself lucky; somehow during your pleasant experiences in middle school, you developed the im-munity to not stress about the “joys” that make up high school as we know it.

The reason that many fresh-men are afraid of moving to the high school is because they watch TV. They’re not just watching the nuclear bomb tests in North Korea on the news, or the cooking shows that your mom watches regularly; They’re watching TV shows directed specifi-cally towards teenagers, like the clas-sic high school movie.

Raise your hand if you have ever watched a movie where two up-perclassmen come up behind their victim (who is most likely a nerd). I’m

talking giant round glasses, millions of freckles, a forest of wires in his smile, and a shirt tucked in his belt that hangs higher than his waist. I know, stereo-t y p i c a l much? Well, that’s all this really is… a bunch of stereotypes. I’ll get back

to that later. Anyway, one of the seniors will grab his lunch money and the other will pick up the 80 pound freshman and, you guessed it, take him to the nearest boy’s bathroom and give him a generous amount of whirlies. This scene makes up every stereotypical high school movie to ever exist.

Although this little ordeal is extremely humorous and entertaining when shown on television, have any of you freshmen reading this ever thought, even for a second, that this typical high school scene would occur to you? Maybe some of you have, maybe some haven’t. If you’re like me, you’ve thought about the “worst” things that could happen to you in high school (heck, I’ve thought of these things since I was 8) like whirlies, where to sit at lunch so your social status does not plummet, and of course, a high school “mean girl” that is so re-bellious, even the teachers are afraid of her. It doesn't matter one bit if these events are unrealistic. What matters is that they are real to you because the producers of all the high school movies that you’ve watched in your life know how to create and repeat typical stereo-types that impact your opinions. As a result, they end up exaggerating the events of high school so much that it leads you to believe that high school will be an eternity of torture and pain! In the outcome, it could possibly warp your general idea of high school and maybe even determine how negatively or posi-tively students perceive high school to be. Seriously, if you really think about it, no one would approve of these movies.

I don’t. I mean, after being here

for a couple weeks, I thought it was going to be unpleasant experience… but it’s not that bad. All my teachers are extremely kind. My classes are enjoyable most of the time and not too far away (besides, I need the walk). My friends are there to keep me “alive.” Like I’ve said, it’s not that bad.

So what’s your opinion? Do you think that high school movies create a developing fear in young teenagers? Do you think that these types of movies lead teens to believe that high school is a prison filled with the negativity like they demon-strate on TV? I’ve interviewed some freshmen on their opinions. Here are their an-swers… Do you think that high school movies portray unrealistic scenes? What happens in movies directed toward teenagers that never occurs in high school in real life? Sandra Goho: I think that in the high school movies the students have and show more freedom than what we actually have. For example, you see them standing around in hall-ways, talking, when we have to get to our classes in about four minutes. Olyvia Bainbridge: Yes, high school movies are fake because in musical movies, such as Teen Beach Movie and High School Musical, the students break out into song for no apparent reason. With that, they gather the rest of the school and dance. I still don’t understand how all the students know the moves to the dance. Kimberlee Lopez: Yes, I do think that high school movies have scenes that are unrealistic. For example, in high school movies, the upperclass-men always find a way to bully the underclassmen, whether that in-cludes deliberately putting their foot out in attempt to trip them in the lunch line or even dropping the un-derclassmen in a trashcan.

Something to Ponder: Are High School Movies Determining Our Perception of High School?

Page 24

Last April, the senate education committee passed a bill that gives public schools in PA the ability to create the option of having teachers carry firearms on campus. Senator Don White says his bill clarifies that the use of firearms would only be per-mitted for employees who have been trained to properly carry it. The bill drew strong opposition from the Pennsyl-vania State of Education As-sociation. Some teachers agree with the bill and believe they should be able to defend their class if need be, but oth-ers disagree, thinking it would cause disruption and put the kids in more danger. Our stu-dents and staff have some opinions on the subject, so we asked them some questions. Sam Shreffler (19’) says, “Yes. The fact of the matter is, we need immediate response time here. Seconds save lives, and minutes count bodies. Teachers should defi-nitely be carrying concealed weapons throughout the day, but both the students and parents should be aware there are firearms in the building that are in good hands. There should be special training courses for how to carry prop-erly, and something to make sure their physical and mental health are in check.” Dalton Geiger (19’) says, “No! Guns should defi-

nitely not be on a high school campus. It would be a tre-mendous danger to both our students and staff. If an un-stable student or teacher were to get a hold of that gun and start shooting… let’s just say it would not be good. It would be so much more accessible to someone if the guns were kept inside the school. Even if someone hadn’t been armed but still managed to get into the school and found the gun it would be an even worse situation. So no, guns should never be kept in a high school.” Mr.Evans says, “Yes. My first choice, believe it or not, would be not for the teachers to carry guns, but rather have armed police or guards in every building, pa-trolling the grounds. How-ever, I understand the con-striaints with cost that we wouldn’t be able to make that option viable. So, I think that certain teachers should be re-quired to take a course spe-cifically on how to be safe with a gun around such a large amount of kids. I realize the police are right there, but I still believe our first line of defense should come right from the source i.e, the school. It doesn’t take long for things to go wrong, and we should be able to defend our-selves in the best ways possi-ble. I do think it’s sad that we have to resort to these meth-

ods to keep what should be the safest place for kids safe, but ultimately, it’s all about protection and keeping eve-ryone as safe as possible. We just need to be prepared.” Mrs. Chillot says, “No, I am not in favor of guns on campus. As a science teacher, and having a labo-ratory classroom, I am very aware of how quickly things can go bad, and in ways one would never expect. Keeping up on laboratory safety training and maintaining a safe environment for stu-dents is a continual process. I cannot even begin to imag-ine the training and consid-erations that would need to be in place. Firearms should only be one of many possible options that should be con-sidered. Should we be screening teachers and stu-dents as they enter the building? What about after school? There are so many other things we can do to maintain a safe environment without having to bring guns into the mix.”

Guns On Campus Reiley Bagenstose ‘20

Lovely fall artwork by Sarah Zockoll ‘18

Soccer Seniors in Spanish IV pose for

“un foto”

Faces in SV

Tatum Brown ‘20 captures a happy Aly

Yeakle and Jillian Phillips.

Seniors from the football team pose in front of a

green car. The members are (from left to right):

Logan Grauer, Tyler Worrell, Mason Riegel, Jack

Bennett, Patrick Henshaw, manager Carissa Trievel,

Joseph Jardine, Jackson Brown, Hunter Williams,

and Jake Hammond.

Photo courtesy of Purdon Photography

North Korea Launches Missiles

Mandi Brush ‘21

In the beginning of 2017, Kim Jong-Un was reportedly in the final stages of developing long-range guided missiles that could carry nuclear war-heads. On September 3, another missile was launched and described as an inter-mediate-range ballistic missile. It flew over Japan, landing in the northern Pa-cific Ocean. The missile traveled 2,300 miles with a maximum height of 478 miles. It is believed to be the longest-range ballistic missile test. The New York Times reported the Trump admini-stration saw the missile being launched, but they decided not to take out the mis-sile on the launching pad. Air Force General John Hyten, head of the U.S. military’s Strategic Command, assumes the missile launched on the third was a hydrogen bomb, based on the size of the blast. A hydrogen bomb uses both a primary atomic bomb and a secondary explo-sion, which is said to be larger than the primary. Pyongyang claims they suc-cessfully tested a hydrogen bomb, yet the United States declined to character-ize the missile. North Korea has tested at least six bombs in these past few months, and recent ones are more pow-erful than previous bombs. Sources:

bbc.com

telegraph.co.uk

reuters.com

For $3, enjoy poetry, sto-

ries, and treats at Literary

Magazine’s annual Hallow-

een coffeehouse in the LGI

from 2:45-5pm! It will be a

frightfully fun time.

C h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s came to the Americas on October 12, 1492. His in-tent was to find a faster trade route to

India and China. Fast forward 525 years later, Americans ob-serve Columbus day to celebrate the man who “found” America. Italian leader Generoso Pope, the US congress, and the Presi-dent of the United States, Frank-lin Delano Roosevelt, pro-claimed Columbus day as a na-tional holiday in 1937. Twenty-one states no longer celebrate Columbus Day, and 29 states still do, Pennsylvania included.

Columbus Day is a very controversial topic because Co-lumbus did not technically dis-cover the Americas; rather, the Vikings did. Moreover, this dis-qualifies the idea that there were indigenous people already popu-lating the territories where Co-lumbus landed. He “found” His-panola for the King and Queen of Spain, but there were already people on the islands. Columbus was just the one who shared his findings with the eastern world. Many Native Americans and in-digenous people tend to reject the holiday since European set-tlers killed many of their late an-cestors by infectious diseases, warfare, and slavery. Columbus used something called the asiento system: he bought slaves from Africa and brought them to the Americas to perform hard labor.

Currently, there remains controversy over whether Ameri-cans should celebrate Columbus

day, because during this time period, Columbus and his men enslaved and killed many na-tives. People have the percep-tion that if they celebrate this holiday, they are condoning what he did to the Native peo-ple.

In my opinion, we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus day because there’s no reason to. He didn’t even discover the Americas in the first place so what’s all the hype about? All he did was capture and kill natives, and that’s not something we Americans should be celebrat-ing.

Should We Celebrate Columbus Day? Kara Faulk ‘21

The Berks County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a program for men and women between 14 and 20 who wish to work in law enforcement. Meetings will be once a month, lasting two to three hours. The first meet-ing is Thursday, December 14, 2017. The programs in-cludes educational training programs , career orienta-tion experiences, and com-munity service activities. More information, along with the application which is due by December 1, 2017, is avail-able on co.berks.pa.us./Dept/Sheriff.

The best way to clear out a

room is to say you're a vegetarian.

Bonus points if you're vegan. But I,

Elizabeth Clement, am about to dis-

prove the idea that being vegetarian

is difficult. In fact, it's really rather

easy. Here are some ques-

tions/comments that I commonly

receive when mentioning my her-

bivorous methods.

“What do you even eat?” Have

you heard of pasta? Next question.

“Man I would do that, but I

love meat way too much.”

Wow, if you want to annoy a vege-

tarian, say this. Believe it or not, I

used to be the #1 steak and pota-

toes girl in my family. Hamburgers

were my favorite food, next to spa-

ghetti. Now I eat veggie burgers

(which are delicious, mind you) and

the ever amazing potatoes.

“Why did you become a vege-

tarian?” Well, I’ll start this off

with the fact that I am NOT a vege-

tarian, I’m a Pescatarian (a.k.a. I

continue to eat seafood). Now the

reason for this, to put it simply, is I

watched documentaries. The an-

swer varies from person to person,

but it usually has to do with animal

cruelty, environmental impact, and

nutrition. There will be some of my

recommendations for documenta-

ries below, and they are great to

watch, whether or not you love

meat.

“How do you eat at restau-

rants?” Nowadays, that is REALLY

easy. I mean I can go to Smokey

Bones and find more than one thing

to eat, and no, it is not salads. Put-

ting my argument for salad justice

aside, often there are plenty of op-

tions in the pasta and sandwich

range if you're talking classic Ameri-

can fare. And of course, you can go

to an all vegetarian, even vegan

*gasp* restaurant. Trust me, you will

not be fed straight up tofu with vege-

tables (I'm also trying to keep myself

from ranting about tofu, a most ver-

satile food, for a few paragraphs).

Restaurant recommendations below.

“How do you get your protein?”

Just kidding, if you want to anger a

vegetarian, THIS is the #1 question

to ask. I’ll make this short and list all

of my protein sources. Beans (black,

garbanzo, you pick), tofu, vegeta-

bles, and nuts (like how I feel after

answering this question for the 100+

time.)

Recommendations

Documentaries: What the Health,

Forks Over Knifes, Cowspiracy,

Vegucated, and Earthlings.

Restaurants: FIREFLY

(American) - Boyertown, iCreate

Cafe (Mediterranean) - Pottstown,

Chen (Asian) - West Reading,

Vegan Mexican Casserole: 1 sweet potato 1 large onion 1 green bell pepper 1 pack of taco seasoning 1 can black beans 1 can corn 1 ½ cups Ortega taco sauce (or any liquid taco sauce/salsa) 1 can vegetarian refried beans 1 pack flour tortillas Shredded vegan cheese (Daiya and GoVeggie melt well!)

1. Preheat oven 350. 2. Stab sweet potato multiple times with fork, then micro-wave for 2:30 minutes one side, then 2:30 on the other. 3. Cut the sweet potato in large chunks, dice the onion, and cut the green pepper into strips. Place into a baking pan. Drizzle oil over the vegetables and cover with taco seasoning. Blend together well. Roast vegetables for 7-10 minutes. Keep the oven at 350. 4. Combine roasted vegetables, black beans, corn, and 1 cup taco sauce in a medium bowl. Blend together well. 5. Spread taco sauce along bot-tom of 13x9 baking dish (leave some sauce remaining). Layer on top 2 tortillas, then half of vegetable mixture. Repeat sauce and tortillas. Layer the whole can of refried beans. Repeat sauce and tortillas. Layer the remaining vegetable mixture. Repeat sauce and tor-tillas. Generously spread vegan cheese across the top. 6. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350. 7. Enjoy!

Vegetarian: It’s Not As Hard As You Think Elizabeth Clement ‘18

Page 27

Oct. 1st- FAFSA opens

Oct. 4th- Cinnamon Roll Day

Oct. 5th- World Teachers Day

Oct. 7th- SAT I and II

Oct. 18th- Chocolate Cupcake Day

Oct. 20th- Homecoming Game

Oct. 31st- Halloween

Nov. 2nd- End of Quarter

Nov. 3rd- Sandwich Day

Nov. 6th- Nacho Day

Nov. 11th- Veteran’s Day

Nov. 13th- World Kindness Day

Nov. 23rd- Thanksgiving

Nov. 24th- Black Friday

Calendar Spider cupcakes Reiley Bagenstose ‘20

To make ONE Spider:

12 small Pretzel Sticks – connected into a V with chocolate

(and let the chocolate harden)

1 Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin

2 Candy Eyeballs

Melted chocolate in a piping bag or sandwich baggie with the

tip cut off

1. Stick 3 spider legs, into the

Reese’s pumpkin. Top with melted

chocolate to cover where they enter

and to help hold the legs in.

2. Stick the second set of spider legs

into the other side and finish cover-

ing with chocolate. If you look

closely, you will see that the Reese’s

pumpkin cracked a little — don’t

worry, that will happen. Once you

cover it with chocolate, no one can

tell and the chocolate on top will

hold it all together!

3. Place the eyeball candy onto the

melted chocolate. Then, pop this guy in the fridge to harden the

chocolate and bam! Done!

4. Place on top of a cake or cupcake for decoration, or eat as is!

By: SVSD

Who: Parents

When: Nov. 16, 2017

Where: High School Auditorium

Time: 6:30 P.M.

Book Recommendations for the Hidden Bookworm Lily Whitmoyer ‘19

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

3. Everything, Everything by Nicola

Yoon

4. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

5. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

6. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by

John Boyne

7. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

8. All the Bright Places by Jennifer

Niven

9. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

10.Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone