By Ian Adler Editor-in-Chief “We have to continue, in all of our communities, to shatter the stigma associated with mental illness, and let people know that it’s an illness, so let’s get help.” Answering the call to help, as the Aevidum spirit represents, around 300 participants showed up to run the Aevidum “Color Blast 5k” on Sunday, October 4. The race began at Manor Middle School and followed the school’s 3.1 mile cross-country course. A color blast is a “friendly” run, in which various colors of powder are thrown on the runners by volunteers throughout the course. The event featured DJ services, post-run snacks, and a finale “color bomb”, where a powder tossing free-for-all coated the runners with all the remaining rainbow dust. The second annual color blast is just one of many events that Aevidum hosts, ranging from community talk events, talent shows, music or poetry nights and anything that schools that host the organization decide to hold. “The whole goal is to promote positive mental health,” said Executive Director of Aevidum Joe Vulopas. “Places where people are accepted, appreciated, acknowledged and cared for.” The color blast was described as “more of a community event” by Vulopas, due to the partnership with Teen Hope, a branch of the Samaritan Counseling Center, that helps middle and high schools to screen teenagers for mental illnesses. The money raised from the event was split in donation to both Teen Hope and the Aevidum organization. “It was a great experience,” said senior and Red Lion Aevidum club member Hayley Althoff. “The atmosphere was amazing, I loved being a part of it. I actually thought that there was going to be 50 people there, but there were like 300 and most of them were teens.” Both the community atmosphere and the warmth and welcoming nature of the both participants and volunteers definitively showed that the Aevidum spirit was alive and well. “I feel like depression and things of that sort are becoming more prevalent,” said Althoff. “I think that it needs to be made aware of, especially when you have kids in your own school committing suicide and you don’t even know that they’re depressed until something like that happens.” Red Lion not only brought student participants, but also adult volunteers, including both club advisors Mrs. Rohrbaugh and Mrs. Persing. “Overall, I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Rohrbaugh, who spent the duration of the event handing water to the runners. “I think the kids enjoyed it, we raised a lot of money and it was a success from an overall standpoint.” “Between our 20 participants, ranging from elementary to high school, we raised $500, which is pretty impressive,” said Rohrbaugh. Overall, the event raised about. “Whenever I speak, I always say that we all have a role in making sure that our children are healthy. What is that role that we have?” said Vulopas. “Today, at this event, there were people from everywhere here, which again just surrounds these kids so they know that they can do the right thing, that we care for them.”
0 Comments
By Brianna Lehr
Staff Writer Pride, an acronym that seems to appear everywhere around Red Lion, stands for personable, respectful, integrity, dependable, and engaged. Red Lion is expanding the plan to let Pride be a more student based program in the 2015-2016 school year. Pride is a program in school to educate, encourage, and reward positive, above and beyond behavior involving school expectations. The program started in 2011, but was not prevalent until 2012, which was when one of Red Lion’s well-known teachers, Andrea Rohrbaugh, took over the program. “I like the message,” Rohrbaugh said. “I want to recognize the good in school.” In the 2015-2016 school year, Pride plans to have multiple speakers coming in, such as former NFL Pittsburgh Steeler, Tim Lester, who came in September, and Mrs. Castle. The card making in the winter is to spread joy during the holiday season to the Red Lion Senior Center, the Pediatric Ward, and Manor Care. The pep rallies will be presented to recognize sports in the winter and spring. A lip dub will be created by a certain list of students and teachers. Lastly, a student and staff basketball game is planned for the spring. Pride plans on expanding their student leadership group and getting more students involved in that, and to throw out more ideas to help continue Pride’s success in the high school. “We want to instill a pride in Red Lion, be proud of Red Lion,” Rohrbaugh said. By Natasha McLane
Staff Writer Aevidum’s Color Blast 5k on October 4 was, as the name suggests, an absolute blast. The 5k isn’t the only event students have to look forward to, as there is plenty more to come. For those who don’t know, “Aevidum is a student-based support group that brings awareness of and support for mental health awareness and suicide prevention,” said Mrs. Andrea Rohrbaugh, co-adviser of the Red Lion Aevidum club. According to Teenmentalhealth.org, 1 in 5 teenagers have a mental illness. This ranges from depression and anxiety, to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and even anorexia. Sadly, suicide is the third 3rd leading cause of death in ages 14-24 years old. The impact of a mental illness is devastating. In 2004, a teenager in Lititz, Pennsylvania and student at Cocalico High School committed suicide. In this tragic event, Aevidum was formed by high schoolers at Cocalico and teacher/Executive Director Joe Vulopas and is now taking storm across the nation. “Even when we’re faced with the deepest and darkest tragedies, there is always learning, there is always something good that can come of it,” said Dr. Brenda Becker, Superintendent of LItitz Area Schools. In 2014, Red Lion launched the start of Aevidum. Starting this year Aevidum plans to have lessons during Academic Prep period. Aevidum will also make the school more aware of depression and prevention of suicide along with always keeping the door open for those who need a hand. Hence the term, “I’ve Got Your Back.” This year alone, numerous students have already reached out to Aevidum. One who struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts should not be ashamed. “Our society tends to shame or ignore those with mental illnesses, and I want to change that,” said singer-songwriter, and activist Demi Lovato. This is exactly what Aevidum does, brings support and awareness. Those that struggle on a day-to-day basis should know they are not alone, and that it is “Okay to talk about,” said Andrea Rohrbaugh. By Shawn Gunarich Staff Writer Ten years of dancing for the students of Red Lion high school, from 2007 till present: Red Lion has been holding an event to help in ending childhood cancer. In the beginning of 2007, a young high school student named Savannah Smith went around, room to room, asking for help in starting an event called “Mini-THON”, a 12-hour long dance-a-thon, birthed from the yearly THON held at Penn State University. Savannah approached physical education teacher Miss Ashleigh Reinert. Miss Reinert willingly helped to the best of her ability, as her time was limited as a coach of multiple sports. One of the events leading to the first mini-THON was to go to Hershey Medical Center to visit the very children they were helping to save. “After I saw the first hand of the first child I knew how important it was,” Miss Reinert said. “In that moment, I knew what we were doing meant something.” It has been ten years since the first mini-THON, and Red Lion’s attendance and money raised only continue to rise, with over 300 students attending and over $53,000 raised during the 2014-2015 school year. The 2015-2016 mini-THON fundraising campaign has already started, and the first big fundraisers are already here. On September 11, mini-THON will be holding a chicken barbeque outside the pool area before the football game. November 5 is also a date to save as Red Lion high school will the host the Harlem Wizards basketball team in a staff vs. Wizards game. All proceeds will go toward Red Lion mini-THON. Red Lion mini-THON has also lost a valued adviser, science teacher Mrs. Misty Wilson, after she took a principal position at Dallastown High School. She has been succeeded by English teacher and mini-THON adviser Mr. Ryan Small, who has been given the title of head adviser. “We are a team and want to give credit where it’s due,” Small said. “While I’m labeled as head adviser, all other advisers put in the same amount as work as I do, this includes Ms. White, Mrs. Capiotis and Mrs. Beland.” Putting on mini-THON is very much a team effort, and requires the cooperation and effort of many students and staff, but the most important thing to remember is FTK. “FTK means hope for those diagnosed.”
-Ryan Small In the past, clubs signups began a few weeks into the school year, and clubs themselves began in late October. Recently, a committee of Red Lion teachers have come together with an idea of change.
Club periods are an enjoyed break from the everyday lives of Red Lion students. Since the high school first introduced the flex bell schedule, club periods have fallen on the last day of a seven-day rotation. In the upcoming school year, they are set to most likely continue this trend. The difference will be the date that clubs kick off. The school will make club signups available at the end of the current school year instead of waiting until the beginning of the next. This will enable clubs to begin in early September instead of late October. Mrs. Wilson, Red Lion science teacher, is one of the teachers on the committee that came up with this idea. She hopes that this will raise club participation from its current 65% to 80%. “I am impressed how much club participation has grown,” said Wilson, “but I know that we can do even better.” When asked, senior Bailey Tomes thought the early club date is an excellent idea. “This will be especially beneficial for clubs like Mini-THON,” said Bailey. “They won’t have to waste time at the beginning of the school year, and they can get right down to business.” Junior Mickayla Smith, however, had some reservations about the changes to clubs. “I think that it could benefit certain clubs, but what about the incoming freshman?” asked Mickayla. “I hope they can explain it well enough to them, and that they already have their student council members chosen.” Club signups began on May 12 and will run until the end of the school year. Students may go to Edline for the provided link to sign up for a club. Future clubs to look out for include Yoga, Slapstick Hockey, Faith (Religion), iPhone Photography, and Scrapbooking. To sign up, visit http://tinyurl.com/rlclubs1516 By Ian Adler Multimedia Editor “Cancer sucks, Mini-THON rocks,” Four Diamonds parent and English teacher Tina Funke said at the Mini-THON kick off assembly in January. For those who don’t know, Mini-THON is a scaled down version of Penn State’s “THON”, in which students, called dancers, raise money for the Four Diamonds Fund and come out for an evening of fun, games, dancing and of course, support. This upcoming year will mark Red Lion’s eighth annual Mini-THON, with the event only expanding and increasing funds since the first one in 2008. “You may have seen me this morning on the weather for the morning announcements,” Junior Billy Jackson said at the kick-off assembly. “But it was January 2, 2001 that I received the gravest forecast of all. A 100 percent chance of ALL leukemia.” ALL Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that affected Billy’s life 13 years ago, and still affects him today. Billy attended THON at Penn State in late February. “The atmosphere is great,” Jackson said. “I like to help the little children. It’s like a giant party. It’s a really fun atmosphere.” Billy will also be attending Red Lion’s Mini-THON. “It’s fun, exciting and it shows support for people who don’t have it so well. It’s a good way of showing that you care,” Jackson said. “I’m heading up to THON with some other families to support my sister,” Sophomore Carter Beyer said in a recent phone interview. Carter’s sister Cora has recently switched medication for her cancer treatment, and she is doing better now. “She’s pretty much in the clear. We just worry about the after-effects.” Beyer said. With so many touching stories told at the assembly, staff and students can really see the difference their support for Red Lion mini-THON and the Four Diamonds Fund makes. New events at Mini-THON plan to bring new dancers to the floorBy Shaw Gunarich
Staff Writer In addition to non-stop dancing, free food and the opportunity to help out childhood cancer victims, Mini-THON also offers a wide array of activities for dancers to engage in during Red Lion’s 12-hour Mini-THON. “Mini-THON is an overall good experience for people to raise money for childhood cancer,” Kyle Palmieri, co-chair of the day of committee said. Mini-THON is brought to Red Lion students by the hard working staff and students of the Mini-THON committee who work from the previous year of Mini-THON until the next Mini-THON to bring every participant fun, games and of course, dancing. “2015 Mini-THON will encompass a day that will bring more attendance than ever,” Mr. Ryan Small, a committee teacher for the day of Mini-THON said. “The variety of things to do are a guaranteed good time, so come support our cause.” Dancers at Mini-THON can look forward to ultimate frisbee games up on Horn Field. Also, a new event this year includes the “World cup”, which is a game based off of the FIFA World Cup. It is a game of soccer which has rounds of elimination until one team is left standing, so break out those cleats and choose your partner. Another very popular event at Mini-THON is the revered “Can Jam” in which Mr. Small and mathematician Ms. Arvanites will defend their title against any who are bold enough to challenge. Some other events to look for are dodgeball, junk-in-the-trunk, relay races, the oreo roll and basketball. There is a large poster in the Commons area for students discretion displaying the events at Mini-THON. In addition to athletic activities and games, the local band TAMMA will be making their second Mini-THON appearance in the commons at midnight. “We’ll be opening with some Seven Nation Army, then playing Santeria by Sublime, Voodoo Child by Stevie Ray Vaughn and several others,” Ian Adler, Red Lion junior, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist said. Mini-THON is closer than it may seem; starting on Friday March 27 and trailing into the following morning. If a student has not signed up already, see any of the following teacher advisors: Mr. Small, Miss Capiotis, Miss White, Mrs. Wilson or Mrs. Beland. Seventy-five dollars will need to be raised in order to attend and it will be collected the day of Mini-THON during student sign in’s before the event begins. See any club member or chair or advisor with any question, as always, FOR THE KIDS (FTK). By Helen Zeidman Special Correspondent One fifth of teenagers have a mental health disorder, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty. Aevidum, a new club at Red Lion, is hoping to prevent this statistic from becoming a reality in our community. The word “aevidum” was made by the student at Cocalico High School when one of their fellow students committed suicide. The word means “I’ve got your back.” A group of students decided to make a positive outcome from the tragedy. So, they formed Aevidum. This group of students, including sophomore Mickayla Smith, Juniors Ian Adler and Hayley Athoff, and Senior Katelyn Willey, are determined to bring the program to the high school. “The club is completely run by students,” sa Ms. Rohrbaugh, teacher advisor for Aevidum. The school psychologist, Mrs. Persing, is also advising the club. In October, Mrs. Rohrbaugh, invited this group of students to attend the Let’s Talk PA! press conference in Lancaster. “You could feel the energy bouncing off everywhere,” said Willey. Over 30 schools attended the conference to start off another year of spreading awareness about mental health issues. “There were a bunch of people from different schools. Those who were already a part of the club were connecting us as one,” said Smith. The energetic conference inspired the group of students to bring the excitement back to their school. “When Mrs. Rohrbaugh told us about the conference, it was really vague,” said Adler. “But when we got there I thought, ‘This is awesome.’” On Friday, November 12, the kick-off assembly was held in the auditorium. Willey and her fellow leaders of Aevidum at Red Lion organized the assembly on Friday and will continue to plan most of the club’s events. The presentation started with Smith and Adler wearing banana suits.. The club’s purpose and future plans were finally revealed. Aevidum at Red Lion will focus on increasing acceptance, appreciation, acknowledgement, and care in the high school. The club already has several ideas to accomplish that goal. According to Willey, the club has their first activity in the works. They plan on hosting Red Lion’s first paint battles. As a fundraiser, white shirts will be sold by the club members. All of the money will go to kick starting the club and extra will go to charities that deal with mental health awareness. Then, they will organize paint stations and students will paint handprints on each other’s shirts to show that they have each other’s backs. “We would have paint everywhere,” said Willey. The club is also planning on creating an Aevidum lounge as a place where students can have a comfortable place to relax and to get help. These plans are in the works, but the club needs the students’ help. More members are needed to organize events and activities. Anyone who is interested should contact Mrs. Rohrbaugh or Mrs. Persing, the school’s psychologist and co-advisor for Aevidum. “Everyone is welcome. That’s what makes Aevidum different,” said Athoff. Follow @aevidum on twitter for updates and different ways to get involved
By Zachary Rhine Staff Writer Students jump at the chance for a field trip, so why not spend a day off in the nature teaching a younger generation? Fourth Grade Environmental Days is a club and community service activity offered by Red Lion Area High School that gives students the opportunity to become educators for a day. It is one of Red Lion’s oldest running field trips, beginning roughly around 1987. The first three days of Fourth Grade Days commenced earlier this fall, and according to elementary school teachers, it was “one of the best, if not the best, trips.” “I thought it went extremely well,” said Ms. Heather Fogell, one of Red Lion High School’s biology teachers and the coordinator of the field trip. She went on to explain that “the students who had already been trained did an excellent job of training the new high school students so that they could do the best job possible.” Ms. Fogell herself participated in the field trip when she was a high school student, and she became the lead organizer of the event in 1997. Other teachers who assisted in the most recent Fourth Grade Days were Mrs. Kilgore, Mrs. Stuth, Mrs. Funke and Mrs. Hoffman. Mrs. Saunders, the school dental hygienist, was also there taking pictures. “(Fourth Grade Days) is a great program that shows Red Lion students demonstrating their knowledge of the environment, through hands on activities with younger Red Lion students,” said Fogell, informing all who are on the fence about getting involved with the program. The next three Forth Grade Days will occur in the spring, most likely in March. Fourth Grade Environmental Days is also a club offered at the high school to further prepare students interested in becoming part of the actual field trip and expanding on leadership skills. By Bella McCarey
CO-Editor-in-Chief Prior to the football game against New Oxford on October 11, Red Lion is hosting a street festival on Horace Mann Avenue from 10 AM to 5 PM. “We are looking at having a community celebration or a sort of street fair atmosphere,” said Mr. Don Dimoff, the head organizer of the festival. “We are hosting and we would like for booster clubs, and organizations to come out and promote the activity and their own organization,” said Dimoff. “It is a great way for clubs and organizations to raise money for themselves.” The festival will have 35 different vendors and sponsors will be there, such as Tastefully Simple, 31, and Tupperware. Food, games, and tournaments including Ultimate Frisbee and grass volleyball will all be available. The day long tailgate will bring out community members, students and staff before the football game at 7 PM. Bring friends, family and school spirit! |
Archives
September 2018
Tags
All
|