News

Students compete in school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition

Story by Macey Tilden ▪ January 10, 2025

On January 8th, senior Ashlee Magaro won the school-wide Poetry Out Loud competition by reciting the poem “The Ragged and the Beautiful” by Safiya Sinclair.

The competition was held after school in the library and twelve students from all grade levels participated.

Senior Olivia White placed second and senior Foster Lemley earned third. Due to prior obligations, Magaro will not be moving on to the regional competition, but White is excited to move on to the next level of competition instead. She will need to learn two more poems in addition to the one she used to compete in the school competition.

Poetry Out Loud is a national competition that brings students together to speak the powerful words of poetry. The first level of competition took place on December 18th, where students competed in their classes. Although only some teachers chose to participate, any student from any class was able to sign up to participate.

Students picked a poem from the Poetry Out Loud website that resonated with them. Thousands of poems are on the site. One of the judges, English teacher Echo Snedden says, “There is a poem out there for everyone.”

The challenge is not only memorization but also being able to convey emotions through speech.

This process not only allows students to improve their memorization skills but also builds confidence. It also offers students the opportunity to connect with English and challenge their brains.

Senior Olivia Crozier, one of the contestants, enjoyed hearing everyone else's poems during the different levels of competition. Crozier says, “It's fascinating to see what others find interesting and to share those moments together.”

Crozier initially thought the process was tough, especially with the tricky “the’s” in her poem that kept tripping her up. But after some time and effort, things really started to click, and she found her rhythm.

The regional competition will be held on February 5th in the CAIU Enola office. This is the sixth year that East Pennsboro has organized a school competition and will be sending a student to the regional competition. The winner of the regional competition will advance to the state level of competition in March.

English teacher Sarah Clouser hopes more students will consider participating in the event next year. They could even start memorizing poems now. Here is a link to find out more about the competition and the poems students must choose from: https://www.poetryoutloud.org/

photos by K. Manderbach

Pictured above are some of the contestants from the January 8th competition that was held after school in the library.

East Pennsboro students visit the recently opened Wawa

Story by Kaitlyn Manderbach ▪ January 10, 2025

The Enola Wawa opened on December 12 and East Pennsboro is very excited! Besides this location, the closest one to our school is about 30 minutes away in Middletown.

Our school's bocce ball team headed there bright and early that morning to check it out. They were able to see the ribbon-cutting ceremony and enjoy the sub-making contest with the Enola township police and firefighters. Unfortunately, it was a very chilly morning and very windy up on the hill.

Many students stopped by after school on the day of the opening. Ninth-grade student, Julius Brannock said it was crowded all day. He ordered mac n cheese with Old Bay. He highly recommends it, and when asked if he would return, he responded with, ”Of course! It is convenient and good!”

Wawa was also very popular with our senior class. Adalie Kelble observed, ”Like half of the school was there. It was like a high school reunion.” Some of the other seniors like Jackson Cote, and Milind Singh both said it was very busy when they attended.

Singh went before school in the morning and said he saw many teachers and administrators getting their free coffee as well. ”The coffee tasted 8.5/10, but we were waiting for like 30 minutes for my food.”

Some more of our students like, ninth grader Julie Capers, and senior Rylee Maggio also visited Wawa on the opening day, Rylee purchased a Strawberry Smoothie, and Julie a ”Sizzly.” Capers went on to explain that, ¨ It's basically just an egg sandwich, and I also got a lemonade. It was the best thing I've ever had.”

photo by J. Holt

Members of the Bocce team attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at the grand opening of Wawa on December 12, 2024.

Senior Anchor Daimme Kargo and Assistant Principal John Johoda select the week's Panther Power winners on live EP Media on December 19th. Each week several students and one teacher are selected.

Panther POWER creates a positive environment

Story by Vivian Bordner ▪ January 10, 2025

East Pennsboro Area High School’s new PBIS program: Panther Power helps to establish expectations through positive reinforcement. The acronym “POWER” stands for Preparedness, Ownership, Welcoming, Excellence, and Reliability. The Panther Power program is a nice driver to help people see the positives and continue to grow on them.

As Assistant Principal John Jahoda explains, “I’m a really big believer in it because it just promotes so much more positive conversations. Then it becomes more natural, and the teacher and the student will have a better relationship.”

This approach contrasts with the common tendency of adults pointing out negative behaviors, which can lower students' self-esteem and create a tense atmosphere.

Panther Power encourages good behavior by offering praise, which helps foster better student-teacher relationships. When teachers notice students demonstrating one of the traits, they fill out an orange ticket to recognize those students. Students then need to get the tickets signed by an administrator to be acknowledged.

Freshman Macey Tilden says, “It makes me feel good about myself when I receive a ticket.”

Panther Power is the first Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program at our high school in a long time. Currently, there is a PBIS program in every building in the East Pennsboro Area School District including Panther Power, Panther Pride, and CANDO Kids.

The PBIS team at the high school also introduced purple Panther Power tickets, allowing students to recognize and appreciate teachers and staff for demonstrating POWER.

“I really enjoy it every time I get a purple panther ticket. It helps me to let me know that my efforts are acknowledged and seen by my students,” says social studies teacher Carson Glusco.

Data shows that Panther Power is successfully improving student behavior. According to Jahoda, “I’m happy to report that compared to the last five years, our number of write-ups that have come in are less than they have ever been.”

There has been a reduction in write-ups, and fewer student conflicts have been reported. Teachers are actively participating, with an average of 150 tickets being given out each week.

To further motivate students, Panther Power includes weekly incentives. Every Thursday, a ticket drawing is held on EP media where students can win “EP Swag,” which includes EP clothing in different sizes and slogans.

“I think it creates more positive communication with everybody in the building,” adds Jahoda. Panther power makes the East Pennsboro Area School District a healthier community.

Environmental Club organizes exciting activities for the Winter and Spring

Story by Julie Capers ▪ January 10, 2025

The East Pennsboro Environmental Club has a jam-packed schedule full of fun activities coming within the next few months.

On December 11, they wrote letters to local businesses to gather donations and supplies for their greenhouse. In the future, the club hopes to grow plants and be self-sufficient with their money and resources.

More recently, however, they held a Winter Solstice Party, on December 19. The party had snacks, hot chocolate, and members made gingerbread houses.

Senior Danica Martin commented, “I thought it was a really fun and creative way to bring everyone together and celebrate the holiday.”

In January, they will be heading to the Pennsylvania Farm Show to have fun and celebrate agriculture. They will also be planning trips to local greenhouses.

On April 2, 2025, spring clean up will be held, where members will pick up trash on school grounds and keep our campus clean.

On April 30, 2025, Envirothon will take place, which is an event with multiple schools, where their environmental knowledge will be put to the test during a series of activities.

The club encourages people to join and have fun with them for the school year.

photo by Julie Capers

Students build gingerbread houses at the Environmental Club's Winter Solstice Party, spreading holiday cheer.

Student prepare to select classes for next year

Story by Aeden La Rosa Angelo ▪ January 10, 2025

In January, students will be selecting their courses for the 2025-2026 school year. There are many things to consider before students make their decisions.

What should students consider when selecting courses?

Students should first be considering their career fields or college majors in mind. Speaking to a teacher or guardians is recommended.

What are the most common problems students encounter with course selection?

One common problem students often face is selecting more or less than 7.0 credits. Students also will need to have 3 alternate course requests and teacher signatures for core courses.

According to counselor Christina Zeller, “These are some of the most common issues we encounter when reviewing student course selection sheets.”

What should students be aware of as changes for this year?

In addition to the PDF version of the Program of Studies, there will be a new digital Interactive Program of Studies website.

Overall, students should be very diligent and thoughtful in making their course requests as this is how the master schedule is created. Students are not permitted to change selected courses during the summer schedule window if the courses were initially requested.

What is your favorite elective you have taken so far?