A note from Superintendent Dr. Scott Deisley: It is nearly impossible to encapsulate a life in a few words. It is even more difficult to capture the impact and contributions of Jeff Fix to the Red Lion Area School District. A few days after the senior high prom, Mr. Fix wrote an open letter to the students of the senior high. I think his words best sum up his love for this district and our students.
Dear RLASH Students: I am often asked why I would want to serve on our school board. There are many long meetings, complex issues that must be resolved, balancing our budget with limited tax dollars…and we don’t get paid to do it! But I think I can speak on behalf of the entire board, both past and present, that the opportunity to serve YOU, our students, and assure that you get the best education possible is well worth the effort. We are constantly reminded of the outstanding things you do. Whether it’s your academic accomplishments, the excellence you achieve in music, athletics, and other extracurriculars or the many ways you give back to our community. Mini-THON and the Habitat House are two great examples of how you go way above and beyond what is expected. In my nearly eight years on school board, there have been countless occasions when I have been overwhelmed with pride in your accomplishments, but perhaps never more so than on the evening of April 25th. Each year, you select a Prom Queen and King who always represent the very best of who we are at Red Lion. And this year, you did so again by selecting Lauren Bankard and Cody Woods. Both are great kids and very special people. In addition to being special in the general sense, Cody is uniquely so, and it is not his needs that make him special nor define who he is. What makes him special is the joy, the enthusiasm, and the positive spirit that he brings to school each and every day. Thank you for bestowing both Cody and Lauren with this honor. On behalf of the entire school board, we are enormously proud of your gesture. I believe that we as a school district are perhaps best defined by how well we include our special kids in our lives. In that regard, you have set a very high standard. You are truly the best! Sincerely yours, Jeffrey E. Fix President Red Lion Area Board of School Directors Jeff understood the need to run a fiscally sound district. Although he worked to not raise taxes, he never wanted to give our students less--only more. He valued academics yet recognized the importance of extracurricular activities. He was proud of our facilities from our stage to Horn Field to the Fitzkee Center. He loved to brag about the opportunities that our students have. His 32 years as an unpaid tennis coach speaks to his commitment to our students. In addition to providing our students with a world-class education, Jeff was deeply concerned about uniting the entire Red Lion Area School District. Although Jeff was elected to represented Red Lion Borough, he worked to actively include the other two regions when making decisions. He dreamed of a united district where all students were able to participate equally. He did not like to hear that some students were unable to participate in activities because of a lack of transportation or funds. To that end, he gave freely of his time and energy. Certainly, Jeff loved this school district. He loved serving our students especially as the President of the Board. Truly Jeff represents the best of our school district. The blood that coursed through his veins undoubtedly was Gold and Black. Our district is a better place because of him.
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By Claire Krackow
Marketing Editor Senior prom is definitely a night to remember and cherish for the rest of your life. The seniors at Red Lion Senior High School did just that and then some. On the night of prom at 8 p.m., prom court was announced to walk with an escort of their choice. Lauren Bankard won prom queen. Senior Cody Woods, a classmate with Down Syndrome, was then crowned prom king. Cody was very excited when he was crowned that night. The song that Cody chose to walk to with his escort (Brittany Mancha) was “Greased Lightning. “I chose that song because it’s from my favorite movie,” Woods said. His favorite character is Danny Zucco from the movie “Grease,” which is another reason why he chose the song. Fox 43 showed up at prom to interview Cody and other classmates about his being crowned king. Woods said that he was very “excited” and “nervous” about being interviewed but all around it was a great experience for him. “I danced and took a lot of pictures,” Woods said. “We were first asked if it was okay that Cody would be on court by the lady that runs the prom (Mrs. Jennifer Wireman) and everything,” Cody’s teacher, Mrs. Denise Wagner said. “And we said that we felt that he would handle it very well.” “And then when he was on prom court, we talked to him about the possibilities of winning but also the possibilities that he might not, but that we loved him regardless and he was our king, regardless,” Wagner said with a smile. Senior Brittany Mancha, who works with Cody on the morning announcements show, was chosen to escort him down the prom court that night. “He’s such a sweetheart. We talk every morning when he comes to the TV studio and he always has a smile on his face,” Mancha said. “It was so funny, Mrs. Kuhn actually called me out of calculus and said, ‘So, Cody was planning on asking you, but he wanted to make sure it wouldn’t interfere with your date.’ I said it was perfectly fine and the next morning, Cody walked up to me in the TV studio with Mrs. Kuhn. He was so giddy, but nervous, and asked me if I would escort him. Of course, I said yes,” Mancha said. “He immediately held his arms out for a hug.” “Everyone on court was so kind to him and he couldn’t stop grinning the entire time. When the song “Greased Lightning” started playing, he walked down the ballroom and he high-fived every single person the entire walk down,” Mancha said. “I felt absolutely honored to escort such a sweet guy.” “We chose the right kind of person to walk with him that evening, so that he had the right type of person to handle his abilities and to just be sure that he was doing okay,” Mrs. Wagner said. Woods said that even when he was announced prom king, he already felt like a king beforehand. “It doesn’t matter what day it is, if it’s sunny, if it’s bright or even if it’s not, he high fives everybody in the halls,” Wagner said. “He makes sure that he goes out of his way to say hello to people, good morning, he greets teachers, and he doesn’t let anybody stop him. So if he gets discouraged with somebody, he will still say hello to them again the next day.” Wagner said. “It does not matter who they are, he wants to be friends with everybody.” By Helen Zeidman Staff Writer “This is it, the big day. All your hard work will pay off.” Mrs. Mina Hoffman said to the high school art students as they walked into Windsor Manor elementary school on May 1. Hoffman has been working with the students for months to complete a collaboration project with the kindergarten art students at Windsor Manor. The kindergarteners drew pictures of monsters and the high school students sculpted them into three dimensional clay figures. The assembly was the big reveal where the kindergarteners were given their monsters. Mrs. McBrien, an art teacher at the high school, and Mrs. Filiziani, an art teacher at Windsor Manor, planned this project together. Filiziani, who used to be McBrien’s student teacher, knew that art could bridge the gap between the elementary and high school students. “I think it connects students,” Filiziani said. “It is nice for the kids to see how they can do art at the high school.” The high school students on the trip, 28 in total, were anxious to finally present the younger students with their masterpieces. The high school students were waiting to give their gifts to the kindergarteners, when they were surprised with their own. McBrien, who has been on leave from school since the end of April due to surgery, showed up at the event, surprising all of her art students. She walked in with watery eyes and a brace around her neck, but she still kept a huge smile on her face the whole time. She went hugging and fist bumping every one of her students. “I’m going to be pooped this afternoon, but it’s worth it.” McBrien said. After the reunion was over, the kindergarteners eagerly filed into the gym. They impatiently sat cross-legged in five lines that stretched across Windsor Manor’s gym. Meghan Rutzebeck, a senior who was crucial to the project, gave a short speech to the kindergarteners before they received their monsters. “See, at the high school we have art class like you do,” Rutzebeck said. “You gave us a monster and we made them into 3D figures. You can take them home and keep them forever. Isn’t that cool?” A chorus of excited “yeahs” erupted from the kindergarteners. Then, the students were given their precious monsters. The kindergarteners marvelled at the creations and the magic that brought them from a drawing into real sculptures. At the end of the trip, kindergarteners were hugging the high school students who made their sculpture, taking pictures, and playing with their creations. The sound of the kindergarteners’ thank-you’s was loud enough to be heard all of the way at the high school. 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 Allie Thomas Staff Writer Sometimes some things are too good to be true. Especially, recently in Red Lion Senior High School. Already this year, there have been 10 reported cases of theft in school locker rooms, according to Officer Mark Greenly. But those are only the cases have been reported, many others have gone without any further investigation. Most of the objects that have been stolen in the locker rooms are money and cell phones. Officer Greenly summed up the problem recently, “The gym classes do not line up together, so there are a minutes where some kids are in the room all alone and they’re near everyone’s stuff, so it just makes it even easier to steal something without getting caught,” he said. Another problem with theft is sometimes the kids don’t have their - stolen but they lose it, so they report it stolen so that way they don’t get in trouble with their parents, so it becomes a case that has no thief, he said. Greenly reports that he has caught a lot of kids in the act of stealing before. One particular time he remembers specifically was on February 26, he had heard about some kid skipping study hall and going into the boys swimming locker and stealing money. So Greenly set up a chair in the boys locker room after they all had left and waited for this thief to try to make another attempt. Little did he know that Officer Greenly was in there waiting for him, and when he tried to go in there and steal something, Greenly caught him in the act and was able to save someone from getting money stolen. “It’s hard to get students to confess, and that just makes the challenge even harder,” said Greenly. Greenly recommends that students lock up valuables so that way they are not reachable. Then, the criminals have no motive for their madness. By Allie Thomas
Staff Writer It’s very easy to get trapped into a trend when everyone else around is doing it. It’s one thing when it’s all fun like ‘The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’ or ‘Flappy Bird’, but this is a different type of trend that has started, Vaping. According to Google, Vaping is described as to “Inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.” In the past month, administration apprehended three vape pens in the high school. School nurses Kathy Miller and Sherri Taylor explained vaping’s health concerns in a recent interview. Originally designed to help smokers quit cigarettes, vaping is considered dangerous because of the lack of knowledge medical professionals have on vaping. They pointed to the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that it has been linked to cancer, it is not regulated by the FDA, and it contains formaldehyde and other animal carcinogens. Officer Greenly explained that what makes vaping seem so “cool” is how society advertises it. By marketing it and making the “hipsters” make it seem like it’s fun. In addition to vaping some students have been caught for marijuana, and spice, a kind of synthetic kind of marijuana. Just like smoking was once extremely popular then it became less “cool”, Greenly believes vaping will too. “Prevention is tough because kids will be kids,” Greenly said. “Maybe we as a district could make their punishment more strict, and start educating our student population about the risks of it. From his research on this topic, Greenly said, “Just like smoking, it can’t be good for you.” By Adrianna Clinton Co-Editor-in-Chief In her first visit to America a year ago, senior Lena Hoschen found a love for Roburrito’s and Chipotle restaurants. Now that’s she back for the entire school year, she has also tried American popcorn, which is different from what her homeland Germany offers. She doesn’t care for the salty popcorn here, but prefers lots of butter. The 17 year old native of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany is back for her second time to the US, staying with the same family as last year. After her three-week stay as a part of the York Twinning Association Program, she wanted to come back for a longer period of time. “Everybody is nicer here. The school system is completely different, even the grocery stores are different,” Lena said. “The biggest [in Germany] is one-third of Giant.” Lena, a member of the cross-country team, really likes the school spirit here at Red Lion. “In Germany, there are no sports teams. There’s nothing I really don’t like here...I love it. I like that you have different classes, not always with the same people in the same room,” she said. In most German schools, students stay in the same classroom with the same students all day long, with teachers changing rooms when classes change. As she has been learning English since kindergarten, she doesn’t find speaking with Americans difficult. In Germany, learning English from a young age is mandatory, and eventually they must learn a second language, so Lena has also been speaking French for five years. While she’s here, she hopes to go to Ohio, where the rest of her host family lives, and she knows she will go to New York City at some point. 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. 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 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). |
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