By Taylor Bosley
Sports Editor Since 1926, February has been deemed “Black History Month.” It is the month where America looks back on the oppression but also the accomplishments of the African American race in America. It is viewed as time to mourn the wrong doings but also celebrate the people who worked to bring equality into America. Martin Luther King Jr. is a household name in America. Gregg Thibault, senior, thinks that there are too many people who only know of him when talking about black history. He believes there are many other influential figures who are looked over, ones like Thurgood Marshall, Dred Scott, Marcus Garvey and many more. Thurgood Marshall was the first African American justice in the Supreme Court System while also taking part in the famous Brown vs. Board Of Education. Dred Scott was an African American, who although lost, still fought for his freedom by attempting to sue for it. Marcus Garvey was involved in the Pan-Africanism and Black Nationalism movement and also founded the Black Star Line. “They [students ] should pay more attention to them because most, if not all of them, paved the way for MLK and other black leaders that came after them,” Thibault said. Thibault also thinks that the countless men and women in African American history should be taught in the same light as other figures that are taught in school. While Thibault thinks the month is necessary to share the history since he says it is “overlooked”, he also sees a negative. “At the same time it’s a shame that a month has to be dedicated for people to acknowledge it,” Thibault said. Thibault also views the current racial unrest in the country as what should be a focal point of conversation right now. “Right now is a time of a lot of social unrest and there’s plenty of protests taking that are worth talking about that aren’t,” Thibault said.
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By Bella McCarey
Co-Editor-in-Chief For the last 12 months, the Red Lion community has been surrounding the efforts of Habitat for Humanity to build a home for Ashley Moffitt and her daughter Shaelynn. Superintendent Dr. Scott Deisley and Assistant Principal Mr. Grant Gouker teamed up to bring the dream of participating in Habitat for Humanity to the school district. The house is in the final stretch, with the ending date rapidly approaching. March 23, 2015 is the date that Mr. Gouker has in mind and would like to continue working to meet the deadline. “The interior is about 98% finished. There is still a little bit of painting to do, electrical fixtures to install, and window treatments to do, “ Mr. Gouker said. “There are also some exterior things to do all of which will have to be completed when the weather gets warm.” As of now, the itinerary or location of the closing ceremony isn’t absolute. The one thing that Mr. Gouker is aware of is creating a “special project” to create for the homeowner, which will be a gift highlighting the building process. The house was made possible mainly based on fundraising efforts by the community itself as well as the school districts, including staff, administration and students, participating in the building process. The fundraising goal for the project was met, a $90,000 figure necessary for finishing the home. By Ian Adler Multimedia Editor This year marked the sixth annual “Polar Bear Plunge” to help benefit Special Olympics of York County. The event’s main goal is to fundraise to help pay for programs SOYC runs for its athletes. Participants raise money, show up to the John Wright restaurant in Wrightsville and take a dip in the frozen Susquehanna River. However, there is much more to it than just hopping into ice cold water. Many plungers dress up in creative costumes, as the event features a “costume contest” with categories such as “most outrageous” or “most creative.” There are also fun activities, with 96.1 WSOX broadcasting music for everyone to dance to throughout the day (the event goes from around 10 AM to 1 PM). “The energy was a lot higher this year than last year,” Mrs. Carrie Smeltzer, Health teacher and event organizer said. “I think the weather had a lot to do with it and we had a lot of the athletes participate in the dances and things, so I think that made the energy a lot better.” Red Lion’s team, “RL Hardcore” brought plenty of first time plungers to the stage. “I think it’s a great event,” English teacher Mr. James Marsala said after taking the plunge. “It’s my first time here, and it’s awesome. It’s a great cause and a really fun time.” “It was a shock at first, but after coming out of the water, it wasn’t that bad,” Mr. Ryan Small of the English department said. “My sister is actually in the special education program up at Bloomsburg, and she loved doing this last year, so I figured I’d come out and help a good cause and help Mrs. Smeltzer out too.” “From Red Lion, I would like to see more of our administrators and teachers, colleagues, joining the team,” said Smeltzer. “I know that the students have a lot more fun when they have those individuals joining with them.” With over 1,000 participants this year, about 350 showed up on the day of the plunge to sign up, marking a record attendance for the event. The planning committee will meet in May to determine a date for next year’s plunge. Participants can start signing up around the 2015 holiday season. “I want to put it out to the Rowdies to come next year.” Small said. Polar Bear Plungers ‘Freezin for a reason’, raised over $115,000 By Claire Krackow Marketing Editor To have such a strong passion for something at a young age is rare. Junior student of the month Maddie Smith enjoys singing for the concert choir, mixed choir, and show choir. “I’ve been singing ever since I was 3 years old. I was never taught how to sing, it just came natural to me,” Maddie said. “It’s for sure a God given talent and I’m so grateful.” Outside of school, Maddie is a part of the York County Senior Honors Choir. She is involved in many activities inside and outside of school. Her in-school activities include the school musical. This year, the musical will be performing Tarzan and in the musical she is a dancing and singing ape, and she is also the dance captain. She is involved in musical theatre, decorative committee at church, and youth leadership. Dancing is another thing that she absolutely loves to do. After she graduates she is hoping to attend Mansfield University to double major in music education and music performance. “The thing that strives me to my goals the most is when people tell me I can’t do it or that it’s not worth it.” Maddie said. “I strive to pull out on top to prove them I can do it and it’s worth everything.” The passion that Maddie has for singing is what really keeps her motivated. “Music is my life. (It’s) what keeps me going, my safe haven,” she said. By Claire Krackow
Marketing Editor Junior Neil Nicholson is involved in many activities inside and outside of school. “I’m involved in cross country, indoor track, and track and field in the spring,” Neil said, adding that, “I’m also involved in student council and I do a lot of volunteering with Habitat, and of course I have to volunteer for student council. I am also on National Honors Society.” Neil also enjoys the study of piano and the violin privately. He has had many leadersup opportunities and he takes those roles very seriously as he was the school’s blood drive coordinator in 9th grade and he also coordinated the decoration of veterans’ graves with the VFW as a volunteer opportunity for student council. “I hope to attend college in order to major in Animal Science,” Neil said. “My top choices are University of Delaware, University of Finlay, SUNY Geneseo, and the US Naval Academy.” Afterward, his goal is to attend a Veterinary Medical College in either the U.S. or abroad in order to become a large animal/vet. “I hope to continue giving back to the community through volunteering,” Neil said. In his free time he likes taking care of his pets and raising chickens/ducks, volunteering, and socializing. His biggest peeves include noisy eaters and when people take too many napkins at a restaurant. By Claire Krackow
Staff Writer Student of the Month and Rotary Club members at Red Lion Senior High School for the month of November are Juniors Hannah Kirsch and William (Billy) Jackson. “I just like to be productive, do as much as I possibly can” said Student of the Month Billy Jackson. “I’m in a bunch of school activities, I do the announcements, I do football commentary during the season, I’m in all sorts of AP classes as well” said Billy. In his free time he is also a member of the Brain Busters team at Red Lion and he is also involved in MiniTHON. “As far as what I want to do for my the future, first off my goal is to go to college and get a degree in Secondary Education,” said Jackson, “I want to also pursue a career in the science field and one of my main dreams is to try and find a cure for cancer which can seem unrealistic, but I would like to at least be a part of trying.” Billy also plans to pursue a lot of Bio-Medical courses during his Senior year and hopefully further that education in the future. “I’m in Concert Choir, mixed chorus, madrigal choir, and my church choir,” said other Student of the Month, Hannah Kirsch. “I babysit my niece, teach vacation bible school, I teach fourth grade days and I help with very many volunteer opportunities at my church”. Hannah has also visited many different countries including China, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. “I love doing artsy projects, being outside, and traveling,” said Kirsch “In the future, I would like to be a special needs teacher and be able to help people”. Hannah is also going to be in the school musical “Tarzan” this school year and she is in National Honors Society. By Claire Krackow Staff Writer Every month, juniors at Red Lion get to participate in the Rotary Student of the Month program. Only two students chosen every month will earn the title. “Every month, a different guidance counselor gets to choose one of their students that they think is worthy of being student of the month. This involves school, community, and academic requirements,” said Red Lion High School guidance counselor Kathy Moser, who got to choose the Student of the Month in October. “These students that are chosen represent the Red Lion Rotary Club. They stand up and tell something about themselves and they get a Rotary Award and also get their picture taken,” said Moser. “This picture will go in the local newspaper. They also get to go to The Great American Saloon for a luncheon.” Red Lion’s Students of the Month for October were Hayley Althoff and Ian Adler. The Students of the Month for September were Alex Keough and Megan McGuire. These students will have the opportunity to participate in a Summer Leadership Preparation Camp with a free application. “Years back, we used to give this title to seniors but since they will sometimes be unable to participate in the summer camp because of college acceptances ectera then we decided to give it to juniors,” Mrs. Moser said. “That way, they will be able to attend the summer camp and prepare for their senior year.” Rotary International is a service organization whose purpose is to provide volunteer services and help bring good will and peace in the world 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! By Chanel Boyce Staff Writer Homerooms have raised $550 to Sponsor A Square Foot, a fundraiser to benefit Habit for Humanity. Several years ago, a home at 101 Schoolhouse Lane in Windsor was engulfed in the flames of a house fire, leaving behind the charred remains of what was a former home. Left abandoned and uninhabited for a number of years, the foundation truly was left in the dust. Meanwhile, there are numerous families in need of a forever shelter to call their own, but are unable to afford the costs and upkeep of a house. That is where York’s own Habitat For Humanity comes to the rescue with the help of the Red Lion Area school district. For the first time ever, York Habitat For Humanity has made the decision to partner with a single school district. Although the family has yet to be announced, the combined efforts of Red Lion and York Habitat are for a good cause with what will hopefully result in a great home. Signed on April 15, 2013, The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has bound York Habitat and Red Lion Area School District, allowing the two to work together on the project. The plan is to use the existing structure as a basement and build the new foundation on top of that. The upcoming home is planned to contain three bedrooms and one bathroom, and the construction is expected to start in June of 2014. York Habitat and Red Lion have set a goal to reach $90,000 to go towards the building of the new home. $26,534 of that amount has already been raised since the signing of the MOU in April of 2013. To put the minds of all taxpayers at ease, none of the money that is raised for the construction of the home will be collected from taxes. In fact, all of money will be raised from fundraising events or donations. There are a number of events planned for later this year, but only a few that are currently happening. One of the events for the last month is “Sponsor a Square Foot.” The purpose of this fundraiser was to raise money in order to buy some of the necessary supplies for the new house. The money for this event was collected in a small brown box located in every classroom in the school, along with a 12 x 12 grid to track the progress. Any time a student or faculty member dropped a quarter into one of the brown boxes, a check mark will be placed in one of the 144 squares on the grid. This allows those who wish to help with the project take part in doing so and every little bit helps. Every chart is worth $36 which can buy a variety of items such as bathroom fixtures, four tubes of caulking, 12 feet of wall, two gallons of paint, 30 pounds of nails, one bundle of shingles, and one roll of insulation. When it comes to helping out for a cause, 25 cents can make a world of a difference The overall goal for York Habitat and Red Lion is to have the project completed by June of 2015. The more help they receive, the more effective the building progress will be. Learn more about the district's project here. |
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