This article is a continuation featuring more of MASH’s newest addition of teachers and staff for the 2023-2024 school year. 

Mrs. Erikson teaches Digital Marketing in the fall, Advanced Business in the spring, and Intro to Business for both semesters. Though she has had to adjust to the construction noises and hallway traffic with her classroom being on the second floor of the new wing, she has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all her students. She further adds on about her experience working at MASH saying, “So far it has been an adventure! …MASH is filled with talented students, and it is fantastic to watch so many of them learn new business-related skills in my classes. It has been a privilege to work with the administration…as they truly want the best for the students and staff.  The other MASH teachers have been extremely helpful as I navigate my way through this school year. Teaching at MASH is nothing like I expected it to be; it is so much more.” When asked about some things she would like students to know, she wishes her students to be able to preserve through the course even if they might have no prior knowledge of business and come out of her classes having learned something new. As she says, “Everyone can benefit from basic business skills… Hard work pays off and even beats talent when talent doesn’t work.  Put in the effort to learn and you might amaze yourself!” She emphasizes how there are so many post-high school opportunities for business careers that getting a head start is never bad. In her free time, Mrs. Erikson enjoys being with her family and two dogs, visiting her cabin in Connecticut, as well as spending her weekends working at her small business. Stop by Room 410 when you’re free to check out some of the business projects made by your fellow MASH students! As Mrs. Erikson says it…"Business makes the world go round!" 

Ms. Barclay has Algebra II Level 1 and 2 classes this semester and Algebra II Level 2 and Algebra II Level 1 again in the spring. When talking about her experience here at MASH thus far, she comments, “Teaching at MASH has been great! The staff has been very supportive and the students are kind.” For her students she reveals, “Math isn’t necessarily about learning math; it’s about learning how to recognize patterns and apply tools you learn to those patterns.” When not at school, Ms. Barclay enjoys a variety of activities, such as reading, learning new things, in addition to programming, as her background is actually in Linguistics and Computer Science! Surprised? 

Ms. Leonard teaches Spanish I and Exploring Spanish classes; additionally, she’ll also work with MMS students learning Spanish in the spring. She describes her experience, stating,    "So far, it has been apparent that tradition, pride, and excellence is abundantly important to MASH. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s equally been very rewarding.” Additionally, she talks about how in both students and staff, excellence is very evident through academic challenges, but also high expectations. She would like her students to know, “Learning a language is a lot of work; it doesn’t happen overnight and takes persistence… but learning a language is a very eye opening experience.” She hopes her students will be patient with themselves both in language learning and throughout their highschool experiences. In her free time, Ms. Leonard enjoys going on walks with her family, baking, and doing anything outdoors. Her family also makes maple syrup! 

Mrs. Maurer is a school social worker who helps all students and their families, as well as collaborates with the school faculty and administration. By doing so, students are able to get the resources they need to succeed, which may include mental health support, physical/financial resources, brainstorming solutions for issues and problems, and other more specialized interventions. When asked about how she feels working at MASH so far, she expresses, “... it has been exciting, challenging, and fulfilling.  I’m inspired daily by both students, staff, faculty and admin…” Mrs. Maurer would like students to know that every single student matters and that they are all capable of many things. There will always be support available for students to help them work towards and reach their goals. She would also like to remind students, “...it’s brave to ask for help, and that taking on challenges one step at a time is a great strategy.” When she is not at school, Mrs. Maurer enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, drinking coffee, and shopping at Target. Some other fun facts about Mrs. Maurer include her having lived and worked in Central PA her whole life, dedicating 14 years in community mental health programming and then 5 years as the school social worker in a technical school before joining the team at MASH. Mrs. Maurer is located in Room 302, so drop by and say hi sometime! 

The Torch staff extends the warmest welcome to all the new teachers and staff joining the MASH community this year!

While the fall sports season has officially ended, some teams here at MASH have made it into post-season competition and are gearing up for more competition. 

Field Hockey: The Field Hockey team completed their season with a 9-9 record. The girls qualified for Districts, facing off against #5 Manheim Central in the first round. The team fell short, losing 2-1. Last year, the team won States, so this loss was a big upset. Sr. Alana Shimp was awarded a First Team award, with Jr. Kate Engle, Fr. Mary Olivetti, and Fr. Liberty Olivetti all earning Second Team awards, and Sr. Joy Lippert getting an Honorable Mention. 

Boys Soccer: The Boys Soccer team finished the season with a record of 8-9-1. The team qualified for both District Playoffs and States. In Districts, the team was ranked #11 and faced off against #6 Dallastown in the first round. The Wildcats on the first round 4-1, moving on to the second round to play #3 Northeastern. The team won 2-1 against Northeastern and  moved on to semifinals, where they fell short to #2 Cumberland Valley, 3-2. As for Mid Penn All-Star awards, Sr. Owen Gorinksi made the First Team, Sr. Travis Miller and Sr. Thad Wiggins made the Second Team, and Sr. Silas Miller earned an Honorable Mention. 

Girls Soccer: The Girls Soccer team ended the season with a 15-2-1 record, qualifying for Districts and States. The #5 ranked Wildcats started Districts by winning 2-0 over #12 Dallastown in the first round. In semifinals, the Wildcats continued, winning 3-2 over #4 Cumberland Valley. The Wildcats unfortunately lost to the overall champions #1 Central Dauphin in semifinals 2-1. Sr. Gabrielle Eckroth earned both the Player of the Year award and made the First Team. Joining Eckroth on the First Team is Sr. Alayna Williams and Jr. Alex Black. On the Second Team is So. Lena Rudy, So. Jocelyn Smith, and So. Lauren Lebo. So. Isabelle Putt, So. Maycee Yanoksi, and Fr. Isabella Cousin all earned an Honorable Mention. Their coach, Mike O’Brien was also named Coach of the Year. 

Girls Volleyball: The Girls Volleyball team ended their regular season with a 12-4 record. The team earned thetitle of  Mid Penn Keystone Division Champions. The girls also qualified for District III playoffs, and for the second season in a row, played against Elizabethtown in the first round. Unfortunately, the team fell 2-3 to Elizabethtown, but had an overall successful season. The varsity head coach, Kat Marquiss, was named Coach of the Year after leading her team to another winning season. Sr. Courtney Foose was also honored with being named Player of the Year, as well as making the First Team for the Mid Penn All-Stars team. Joining Foose on the First Team is Sr. Emma Rizzuto. Making the Second Team is Sr. Sarah Myers, So. Katie Waterman, and So. Eliana Inch. Earning an Honorable Mention is Sr. Teagen Valente, Jr. Paige Harshbarger, and So. Kassidy Mitchell. 

While the Football team did not qualify for any post-season play, many players did earn Mid Penn All-Team awards. On the First Team is Sr. Davon Hutchinson and Jr. Josh Smith. On the Second Team is Jr. Justin Bardo. Lastly, earning Honorable Mentions are Sr. Henry Notarfrancesco, Jr. Issac Dollman, Jr. Eli Rider, Jr. Willie Travis, So. Jack Deluca, So. Jimmy Dewire,  and So. Colin Stare. 

Congratulations to all of the MASH fall teams that qualified for post-season action, and to all of the players and coaches that earned awards! 

Hey Y’all, Kat Here! Welcome back to Kat’s Guide, where a freshman with an insane video game addiction teaches you about video games.

For our next game, It’s called ULTRAKILL. 

Released on September 3, 2020, Ultrakill is a FPS that’s been out for three years. Made by New Blood Studios, more specifically Arsi “Hakita” Patala, this game has you play as V1, a war machine who’s fast, ruthless, and runs on blood.

Let me repeat that: runs. on. Blood.

V1 has a lot of movement. He can dash, wall-jump, slide, slam, and later on gets a grappling hook. The stuff V1 can do with all this takes the movement from basic movement shooter to “What in the actual world am I looking at?” He goes from being simple and fast to going at speeds that make Sonic look like a sloth in comparison to V1. 

Let’s start by talking about the stuff that adds the “S” to “FPS.”

By design, V1 and his weapons were designed to be used in ways that most game developers would’ve never meant to happen. V1 currently only has 5 weapons, which sounds little in the eyes of other shooters ULTRAKILL is inspired by like DOOM and Quake. However, each weapon has 2 to 3 variations that make it unique. The first weapon has a simple charge shot as its first variation but for its second, V1 takes a coin from his invisible and seemingly limitless wallet and throws it into the air, letting you shoot it and ricochet the shot to a target’s weak spot(s). For its third variation, V1 spins the revolver like a cowboy before shooting it. This lets it ricochet once it hits a surface. For what is currently only 5 weapons, it feels like you have an entire military arsenal you carry around casually. All of these weapons also do stuff that most game designers do not think of. Ever see a rocket launcher shoot a cannon ball? Ever see a game where you can punch your own bullets? Have you EVER seen a game where you can combine the powers of two weapons to blow up everything including yourself?

If you have, Cool!

The game’s enemy design is also amazing, as every enemy not only has their strengths and weaknesses, but they all also have their ways of being cool. You have enemies like the Filth and Streetcleaners who charge you down, enemies like the Stray and Sentry who attack from afar, and enemies like the Mindflayer, Swordsmachine, and Sisyphean Insurrectionists who act as minibosses that are meant to “challenge” you. What is also so amazing about all of the characters and enemy design in the game is that the game has a cohesive style and also makes its own form of comedy. It’s hard to not find this game even slightly funny when you have Mindflayers, the Primes, and just… the entirety of Gabriel.

All of these enemies have one thing in common. They all have blood and all of their blood is a lot better used refueling your systems than it is as red paint. V1’s only ways of healing are from blood and parrying and both are risky. Blood spills out of ALL enemies when they take damage or die (Even when it does not make sense. For example, Demons, which are Stone Creatures, and Virtues, which are angels that are transparent and don’t seem to have blood, spill blood.) However, to get this blood, you have to get up close and personal. This makes you a lot more vulnerable as most enemies can deal a lot of damage to you when you’re close to them but it also heals quickly and is a fun way of healing in a game like this. On the other hand, you can parry. This instantly heals you to full and works pretty well. However, doing this way means not only do you have to learn parry timings but you can only heal against certain enemies, as not all enemies have parryable attacks. You may be able to hit away your bullets but I don’t think you can punch literal FIRE away.

All the levels work well! I think my favorite ones are 6-1, 5-2, 2-2, and 1-3. They all combine rooms with a lot of space to move around with rooms that force you to take it more slowly but still stylishly.

And once again, we have a bit of an unconventional ranking system.

There’s D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and ULTRAKILL for the Style Meter, and D, C, B, A, S, and… P for the endgame rank.

For the Endgame rank, you are ranked in 3 categories.

Time: How long it took you to reach the end.

Kills: The number of kills you got.

Style: How stylish you were while going through the level.

These make the first few ranks (D-A) pretty simple to understand. S is just getting to the S threshold for each one of the categories. Meaning…

• You beat the level in time (This is the only category that STARTS at S-rank and Counts DOWN.)

• You killed enough enemies (Most S-Ranks require you to kill every single enemy.

• You were stylish enough. (This is a bit strict and styling in it of itself is difficult.)

Luckily, Unlike Pizza Tower, P-Rank is easy to understand. It’s just doing S-Rank without dying.

Like Pizza Tower and other games I will talk about in the future, ULTRAKILL nails its bosses. I think the simplest one I can talk about is 0-5’s boss, as it’s one that I don’t think I need to hide.

0-5’s boss is ULTRAKILL’s take on the Cerberus. Hearing that, you most likely expect something similar to how Cerberus is described in mythology. Y’know, 3-headed dogs. Well, ULTRAKILL turns them into statues that blend in with the normal statues around the map. When a Cerberus spawns, the statue it masquerades as starts to move and get up before starting to move slowly toward your direction. They also tend to come in groups. Cerberi (that’s the plural I’ll use for Multiple Cerberus) throw orbs at you that not only are fast enough to be invisible but also explode on contact with a surface. They can also do a tackle and a stomp that summons a damaging shockwave. They are, however, slow, and can easily be whaled on. Don’t expect a group of Cerberi to be easy targets. When one Cerberus dies, EVERY CURRENTLY ACTIVE ONE gets enraged. They become more aggressive and, due to this, can easily melt you in groups if you have no clue what you are doing. This does come with a loss of their immunity to falling off ledges and they get no defenses when this happens. 

Cerberi are also the perfect excuse to talk about weapon weaknesses. Cerberi are, for whatever reason, weak to a pirate’s best friend, a cannonball. Their size also makes them prime targets for piercing weapons and nail traps. They are also the start of a trend in ULTRAKILL. The trend is that when you first fight a boss like Cerberi or Swordsmachines, they seem like unstoppable powerhouses. When you fight them as a normal enemy, they fall quicker than an electric scooter with a flat tire and yes, that is specific for a reason that you could most likely guess.

Let’s not forget the most important part of ULTRAKILL. The Style Meter. The style meter is a really important mechanic, as it acts as an in-game guide as to how well you’re doing at the game at a glance. There are multiple ranks you can get in both the Style Meter and the ending rank, similar to Pizza Tower.

There are a few parts to the Style meter.

1. The style bonuses. These are things like +RICOSHOT or +DISRESPECT. They act as how you boost your style meter.

2. The style rank. It goes from D to ULTRAKILL. It’s a summary of your styling skills. It rises with how stylish you are and it drops when either you’re not being stylish or you get hit. It’s important due to its effect on Hard Damage.

3. Hard Damage. While not a part of the STYLE METER, it is something that helps incentivize the use of Style. Hard Damage is HP you cannot heal past just by refueling with blood. To get rid of it efficiently, you have to be stylish and get high style ranks (A-U) to make it go away quickly.

4. The Freshness Meter. This is to incentivize using your entire arsenal and not just what works. At default, it is at Fresh, making your weapons have a 1.5x style multiplier. This goes down to 1x for Used, 0.5x for Dull, and 0x for Stale.

All of this leads to a game that wants you to play stylishly rather than efficiently.

ULTRAKILL has a lot of amazing parts to it, like how it rewards people for getting all P-Ranks in an act by giving them a boss fight meant to test what they’ve learned, and how it finds comedy in a game about a robot killing demons for fuel.

However, it’s not perfect. There are levels that are Pizza Tower’s bad levels, where they stick out as bad levels. In my opinion, 1-2, 2-1, 0-4, and 4-1 are levels I often forget about and don’t really like that much, especially since they don’t necessarily have the same feeling other levels have. Also, going for things like P-Ranks turns ULTRAKILL into a rage game, especially with the later levels (I probably should’ve mentioned this with Pizza Tower but I think the whole ‘difficulty’ section summed it up pretty well.)

I also forgot to mention this next point in the Pizza Tower Review.

This game is not family-friendly.
Ok, being genuine for a moment, If you ever thought a game about a robot that has killed half of hell and uses literal blood as fuel was going to be family-friendly, I applaud how ridiculous that is. 

Yeah, this game is far from any sort of family-friendly label you could put on it. Multiple characters swear (including one time you legitimately can not miss) and the game is based in hell so you can expect some occasionally questionable stuff.

Anyway, I’ll rate ULTRAKILL an 8.5/10. It’s a really good game but it definitely has some occasional cracks that are too noticeable to ignore.

ULTRAKILL is also 20 bucks on Steam and really fits the FPS genre. If you love shooters (or moving around very, VERY fast because this game can have a lot of that), then you should definitely buy this game.

Have a good day, and I hope to see you later on Kat’s Guide!

There’s no doubt that we all have been asked this question. Whether it is for an “end of the year class survey,” advisory, or anything outside of school, we have all been asked if we had any ideas to make

something better. Most people/students may groan at this question because it’s so broad, and most times, it doesn’t lead to any changes. However, I have taken the task upon myself to use this article as a student and teacher suggestion dropbox.

When posed with the question, “What suggestions do you have to make MASH a better place?” Jr. Levi Wilburn replies with an idea of “A suggestion box in the office for requests and suggestions about the school board,” in order to, “let students have a voice and a say in what could help with whatever problems or solutions they need for the school.” Another student from MASH offers their insight to what we can do. Jr. Ava Shingle suggests we could make MASH a better place by, “including a more functional and exciting courtyard space.” She proceeds to explain how, “when visitors from other schools come to Mechanicsburg, one of the first things you see passing through the hallway is our courtyard.” Ava concludes with an action step that we can use by proposing we include, “modern seating areas for students to enjoy some fresh air, a wide variety of plants that survive year round… and weather resistant student artwork to reflect our student body’s creativity.”

While writing through this article, I decided that it would be important to get input from a teacher at MASH. When posed with this general question, English teacher, Mrs. Chow recommended an idea that she had previously seen at another high school. She answers, “Outside their nurse’s office was a large plastic container that contained a collection of personal hygiene items… that students were encouraged to, ‘take what they needed.’”  She continues to say, “I would hope that our students would be mature and respectful enough to reserve items for those who are truly in need.” She finished this recommendation by adding, “I think this would be a great way for us to help provide some of these items for students who might not have access to them at home, and save them from the undue embarrassment of needing to ask someone for them. In doing so, I hope these students would feel the care and compassion of their classmates and the teachers and other adults in the building.” 

Overall, I hope that by reading these suggestions, you would be able to reflect about what you can do to make MASH a better place! 

Mechanicsburg Area School District has gone through a lot of changes, as the current building is now under construction and also has three brand new assistant principals. Amidst all of these various changes, the school dress code has changed as well, but to the dismay of many students.  New principals are enforcing stricter dress code to fit the new image of the school by writing up girls showing midriff.

Parents of these children were not told about the new dress code prior to the beginning of the school year. So on the first day of school, during assemblies held for every grade level, the assistant principals explained the new dress code.

In regards to the new changes, So. Reianna Gregory said, “ This semester is way more harsh on students, and they should've told us before we spent hundreds of dollars on brand new school clothes.”  

Furthermore, the new assistant principal Mrs. Roberts meant business and wanted students to present themselves more presentably, as well as to prepare students for the workforce. Though this did not go over  well with the student population. Then on the second day, MASH administrations stood outside of doors waiting for students to break the code and forced them to change; this was before students even stepped into the school building. Many students found these actions to be unjust because of some students with fitter body types getting more leniency with the dress code.  

Gregory was one of many female students who were stopped before entering the school and was forced to change outside the school before going in. Some perceived the method used by administrators to be “ embarrassing” and “ selective’ of whom they dress-coded, believing girls with curvier body types were persecuted way more than thinner girls.

“School is supposed to be a safe environment about education; what I am wearing is irrelevant [and], it is nothing these boys don’t see anyways,” explained Gregory.

According to the Mechanicsburg Area School District handbook, there has always been this approach to absolutely no midriffs. However, as times have changed, the attitude toward the upholding of the school dress code was just simply not a priority as there were other issues and controversies the school was facing. 

In the long run, the dress code should account for individual and personal style choices, but also demand for personal respect. 

Going from middle school to high school is a significant transition and one of the big changes is block scheduling. The differences between middle school and high school scheduling is that in the middle school schedules, we have all majors throughout the day and classes are only about 45 minutes long. In highschool our 6 majors are split within the semesters, meaning we have 3 majors in the first semester and the other 3 majors, the second semester. Classes in high school are also about an hour and 20 minutes long which is definitely a big difference between the length of middle school classes. Considering all these changes, here are opinions of freshman on the adjustment to block scheduling:

When asked her opinion on block scheduling, Fr. Leanna Holbrook commented, “I really like block scheduling, I feel like it is so much less stressful and it gives us more time to get work done.” Having just 3 major classes to focus on during one semester definitely gives the students less things to worry about and allows them to give each of the subjects more attention. Since the periods are longer, teachers are able to teach more material and give students some more time to get work done. Study halls are also longer, allowing students to have less homework and more free time after school. 

Fr. Mya Evans expressed her thoughts on the new schedule and said, “I think it is a very effective strategy and helps us focus better in class, but it also starts to get boring when the teacher talks the whole time and teachers are giving us homework even though we have an hour and a half of class time. Overall it is effective and helps us stay engaged in that subject for longer so it locks the information in our brain better.” The longer length of class can sometimes be hard for students to pay full attention to, especially if the teacher is talking for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the extended period can help students better understand and remember the material being taught. 

Lastly, Fr. Ayten Eldib answered, “Block scheduling is annoying sometimes because of the amount of work you get from each of your classes, but it makes the day feel a lot shorter. It’s hard to focus in classes for an hour and 20 minutes but it passes by really fast even though it seems like a lot of time.” Since classes are longer, teachers are able to assign more work which may get overwhelming for students and this is one of the negative effects of block scheduling. 

In conclusion, block scheduling has its positives and negatives. Students are able to have less subjects to worry about and more class time to go deeper into material, but it can be harder to pay attention for such a lengthy period of time and can get overwhelming at times. Overall, I think block scheduling can seem intimidating, but it just takes time to adjust to. As the school year goes on, I hope the freshmen are able to adjust to the schedules and make the best out of them!

On October 24th, the 2023 seasonal Special Olympics was held at Dickinson College. The athletes competed in events with family, friends, and buddies cheering them on. This opportunity gave the athletes wonderful opportunities and memories that they cherish. Athletes of all ages came together from different districts in the region to compete on the track and field events. Athletes pushed themselves outside of their comfort zone in competing through different events at the special olympics. 

In preparation for this event, all athletes were paired up with a buddy who would be responsible for the athlete all day during Special Olympics. The role of the buddies was to keep track of the athletes events and make sure that they got to all of the events assigned to them. In addition to buddies, there were other volunteers working in the Olympic Village. In between events, athletes, buddies, and friends went to the Olympic Village to play different games and do fun activities. Face paint, coloring, etc were all enjoyed in the Village. Even players from Mechanicsburg’s Varsity football team were present cheering on the athletes as they ran through a fun course with different obstacles and objects in the village.

The central principle of the Special Olympics is the inclusion and acceptance among all students. When the students walk onto the field and become an athlete, they discover new abilities and confidence. In addition, athletes find joy and the quality of proud as they run, throw or jump throughout the day. The school participates in the fall and spring special olympics.

The Life Skills teacher, here at the high school, Mrs. Diegel, shared her thoughts about this event and the fun it exhibits, expressing, “Special Olympics is a time where our students get to show off their athletic abilities, connecting with old and new friends, and just being themselves. Watching them enjoy the day and have smiles all day long is what I look forward to at Special Olympics.” 

All throughout the day athletes show their pride competing in all sorts of fun events. The students have a blast as they meet new and old friends, and participate in different games and activities. The 2023 Fall Special Olympics was a success among the students, volunteers, and community!

Holidays are the one thing we can all agree on being excited about. Whether you love opening presents on Christmas or blowing out the candles on your birthday cake, we all know the feeling of bubbling exhilaration you get when you’re greeted by the day or days you’ve been looking forward to for weeks. 

But what about that dreaded, soul sucking, eyeball crushing holiday that you absolutely dread? 

Is it Halloween? Are you annoyed by random people you’ve never talked to before coming up to your house to take free candy in costumes that barely make sense? Do you detest the idea of Valentine's day because you are alone or simply don’t enjoy lovey dovey gestures? Are you the kind of person who doesn’t believe in little red headed men coming into your house and making green and gold messes everywhere? 

That’s alright. I’m sure there are many people who share your same perspective. Perhaps, some of those people are your teachers! 

“My family celebrates Christmas and I love when my family gets together.” Commented Mrs. Crisci, a World Cultures teacher at the high school when asked about her favorite holiday. “We are able to celebrate with one another and exchange gifts; always a good time with my family.” 

“My most favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because this is the time of the year when I get to see my sons and my grandson as well now.” added Madame Charrier. “Why Thanksgiving? The food of course! I love to cook mashed potatoes, green beans, and turkey. I make my own cranberry sauce and it’s very special and very American. We don’t have this holiday in France.” 

“I think Christmas would be my favorite holiday because it’s one of those holidays that we celebrate more than just a day; it’s a season.” said Mr. Williams, one of the Art teachers at our school. “I love everything about decorating the house. And with two young boys, eight and five, it’s even more fun because you have Santa Claus, and we decorate our house with horrible colored lights because they love it.” 

It seems we’ve come to an agreement; we love holidays after the summer months, especially ones with long breaks. But what holidays would our teachers want to extend and make longer? 

“I wouldn’t mind Christmas, although if we’re thinking celebration wise I can only do a few days of it,” explained Mrs. Crisci. “But if we’re talking school year wise, like for a vacation from school, I would like an extended fall break. I think we all deserve a break in the fall or the spring.” 

“Every holiday, of course,” exclaimed Madame. “Don’t forget I come from France and over there when they have a vacation, it’s at least two weeks.” 

Two weeks! How would you feel having all that time off? Would we get bored of ourselves and somehow wish we were back in school? Or would you want to join the French, vacationing at your favorite spots while thinking about all the homework we should be doing but are avoiding? Don’t we all wish we lived in France now? 

“I think I would like to extend Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving gets a raw deal,” described Mr. Williams. “It gets skipped over because we’re all hyped up about Halloween and then as soon as Halloween is over, we go right to Christmas and we miss Thanksgiving.” 

I think we can all agree again; more holidays means more vacation time, something we all want to take part in. We love celebrating with our families and eating great food. We love to receive and give presents and sit around a fire and watch cheesy Christmas movies. 

Then those fun times and warm fires are smashed by what comes next: miserable, horrid, and annoying holidays that we wish never existed. The ones where you would rather hide inside your closet in the dark underneath your clothes until it passes, hoping to enjoy your year until it comes back around to haunt you. 

“Halloween,” said Mrs. Crisci without any hesitation. “I hated dressing up; I hate having to spend the money dressing up, not a big candy person. I don’t think it’s a necessary holiday to celebrate, but that’s just me, I’ve never liked Halloween.” 

“I do not want to get rid of any holidays, on the contrary I want to add more!” Madame mentioned with a smile on her face. “In the months of May, we have to work so hard with hardly any break except for memorial day at the end. The French on the other hand have so many holidays. May 1st, May 8th, essentially three holidays during the months of May. Let’s add more holidays to our calendar!” 

Anyone else want to jump on the bandwagon? I sure do. More holidays means less stress from school and more time to travel and meet family! We can spend quality time with our friends and gain out of school experiences to add to our memories!

Finally, when asked about the holiday he would like to get rid of, Mr. Williams said, “National Hot Dog Day.” 

Is that a thing? Of course it is! 

“Only because I need to get rid of a holiday. So National Hot Dog Day would be a day I could live without. We do have the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, and that’s awesome, but it doesn’t even fall on National Hot Dog Eating Day!” 

No matter what holidays you love and what ones you detest, I think we can all agree on one thing: Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest should fall on National Hot Dog Day; it’s unanimous! 

Our staff has gone above and beyond in these past few months to help begin our school year on the right foot. It is only fitting to recognize and thank those who have made it their priority to make MASH a great place to learn.

Mrs. Roberts grew up in the shining jewel of America, New York City, in the borough of Queens. She enjoyed tutoring kids in her neighborhood, which fostered her love of teaching. Throughout her life, she continued to build on that love of teaching and science by going to Stony Brook University where she majored in Biology. As a life-long learner, she is continuing to further her knowledge and skills in educational leadership. “Currently, I am finishing up my Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility at Shippensburg University,” said  Mrs. Roberts.

She has previously worked in her hometown as a Biology teacher and then as a houseparent at the Milton Hershey School, which brought her and her family to Pennsylvania. She eventually moved through the ranks in the Harrisburg School District and later moved into the position of assistant principal. She transferred to our school district over the summer, and we are happy to have her. 

When she is not working, she enjoys a variety of activities, such as spending time with her family, kayaking, playing pickleball, reading, and crocheting. “I love small projects and doing things that bring me closer to nature. I think there is a connectedness that I feel when I can take a calming hike and can just recharge.” 

At MASH she is excited to build positive relationships with students and enjoys meeting them at the door and off the bus. “I think that welcoming students with a smile and a ‘good morning’  is a great way to start the day…you never know what is on a student’s mind or what they have been going through,” Mrs. Roberts said. She has attended several school events and has even visited some of our clubs here at MASH. “I enjoy seeing what students are doing … and look forward to stopping by even more [school-sponsored clubs]! The fiber club has reignited my passion for crocheting, and I’ve started a small project because of them!”

Mrs. Roberts studied Spanish in college and regrets not taking a semester to study abroad. She said, “If I had to advise students today, it would be to get involved and try various activities…you never know what you will like to do or all the connections you will make as a result. Build on new experiences, take risks because you will fine-tune your gifts and passions!”

We are so happy to welcome Mrs. Roberts to our MASH family and are excited to see what she accomplishes this year and beyond.