Volume XXVIIOctober 5, 2021

Issue 1

A PUBLICATION OF HAMBURG AREA HIGH SCHOOL

HAHS celebrates 2021 HomecomingKaitlyn Barry - 12

It is homecoming season, and while Hamburg does not hold a dance like many other schools, we take our football game very seriously. This year’s homecoming happened on Friday, September 24 and we beat Tri-Valley 26-18. Despite the fact that we do not hold a dance, we still crowned a king and queen from the court . Pictured above are Cameron Harris, Kaitlyn Barry, Diohnny Ruiz, Liane Schrack, King Brody Baez, Queen Riley Stine, Tristan Baer, Breann Miller, Brandon Young, Kyra Reimert. Kyra Reimert is on this year’s court, and she noted that she feels “honor[ed]” to know that she was voted onto the court with the respect of her peers. She also explained that she is not only thankful for the other members of the court, but also the “opportunity to represent [herself] and everything [she has] accomplished through high school.” Brody Baez, another member of the court shared that being the homecoming king had been a dream of his for a while, and he is “excited to walk with the rest of the court at the game.” This year’s homecoming King and Queen were announced before the game on September 24. Congratulations to Brody Baez and Riley Stine for winning! Homecoming means a lot to the students of Hamburg, so if you did not participate in the spirit this year, get ready to go all out next year!

Mr. Buggy returns to the classroomMia Kalbach - 11

After two and a half years in the position of assistant principal, Mr. Damian Buggy revisits his teaching career. This will begin his 13th year in the profession here in Hamburg Area High School. With courses including US Military History and World Cultures, he states that he loves the de-partment he is working in and that he missed having daily interactions with the students. When asked about what he believes is important to integrate into a curriculum in or-der to maximize what students take away from the course, Mr. Buggy places an empha-sis on building skills outside of content memorization. He believes that developing the students’ decision making skills in particular is important because history is made up of the decisions that people make. Along the line of facilitating an enriching class environ-ment separate from the content itself, Julia Bucheit, a sophomore in Mr. Buggy’s Honors World Cultures class, says that she would like there to be more student involvement in class activities. The content itself still holds significance though, as he favors teaching US Military History due to the importance of understanding the struggles and sacrifices of those who fought, as well as the intriguing politics behind different military maneuvers. Despite the excitement of this new shift, Mr. Buggy says that one thing he will miss about being assistant principal is working with the adults behind the scenes; the secretaries, guidance counselors, facilities, cafeteria staff, and also Mr. Beissel. Finally, Mr. Buggy says that his main expectation for the school year is for himself to remain flexible due to the ever changing circumstances.

Adjusting to In-person learning from virtual learning Anna DeAngelo - 11

The Hamburg Virtual Academy is a learning opportunity that has been available every year, but more students took advantage of it during the 2020-2021 school year. One of those students being 11th grader Bryn Havens. . Bryn explained that the virtual learning environment was

“less effective” and “difficult at times'' due to the lack of a teacher being able to answer questions right away in addition to the lack of the social component. Bryn was a factor in talking about how she would “miss her friends” and “compare answers” with them, causing there to be less interaction and structure. Due to this lack of structure, she says, “Com-pared to in-person learning, Virtual is less effective.” Virtual school is similar to virtual teaching, but different in a lot of ways, and Mr. Hetrich has explained to me why. He elaborates on how virtual school is appealing to students at first, then they realized that “being in school for in person instruction is paramount to effective instruction and learning” due to there being no interactive learning in a virtual classroom. Mr. Hetrich believes that virtual learning is exciting for students because they get to “sleep in a little longer than normal and have the day end earlier than normal.” While this is true, proven by Bryn Havens, that excitement quickly turns to frustration due to the lack of a teacher there with the student to help answer questions and explain the material thoroughly. Hamburg Area High School is one of the only schools in fall 2020 in the district that pushed for fully in-person learning and teaching, and that is because the school realizes that “students tend to thrive with their peers,” Bryn Havens says. She is absolutely right; students and faculty will have a better understanding of their responsibilities if there is an interactive teaching experience helping them learn. In-person school is the most effective way to teach and learn and the past year and a half of virtual learning has taught that to everyone here at Hamburg Area School District.

HAHS changes grading policyOlivia Kocher - 9

At the beginning of the school year, August 26, 2021, it was announced that Hamburg Area High School changed the grading policy to 59% and lower is failing, while it used to be 69% and lower. Dr. Beissel, the principal, states that he, Dr. Mextorf the superinten-dent, and Mrs. Freiwald the chief learning officer, had a meeting about it after he did re-search on other schools' grading systems. Then he presented it to the school board who then approved it over the summer. Dr. Beissel stated this happened because the grading scale was not aligned to other school districts and it put students at a disadvantage. The change in grading made a better chance for high school success and post-high school success. Mrs. Trubilla said it helps level the playing field for students and that it has not changed her way of teaching but it might so she will keep an open mind. Miss Stauffer said that she really likes it and that it makes it fair for the students. She said it makes her sad to see students fail at 65% and that the only thing that changed was her current events extra credit. Mrs. Herman stated that it will take some getting used to on both sides and that her teaching has not changed but she does not want to make final decisions at the beginning of the year. The new change has not had any negative responses and based on what I gathered from my interviews the teachers will not have to adjust their way of teaching to the new grading policy. 9th grade student Dakota Koinski stated, “I think the new grading policy will help im-prove students’ mental health and make school more enjoyable for them as well, since it lets them be able to let go of some stress surrounding their grades.” Another 9th grade student Annabelle Ferrizzi said, “I like it a lot more now because it matches schools I’ve went to before.”

Marching band returns to field The marching band is a staple part of high school football games. The performanc-es provide entertainment for the audience while the football players are off the field. Due to covid last year, the marching band did not have the opportunity to perform during half-time on the field at football games and were confined to the bleachers. Now, directed by Mrs.Kline, they play well known songs such as Paint it Black by the Roll-ing Stones and September by Earth, Wind, and Fire during half-time. Their enthusiasm can always be heard clearly throughout the home and away games through the tunes they play. The marching band practices at least once a week with the help of Mr. Caning who is in charge of the marching band’s drills. The drills are the movements of the march-ing band during their per-formances on the field. Clayton Lash, one of the marching band’s many outgoing personalities, says, “It’s good that we get to play shows again, get out more and do stuff as a marching band and not just be condensed.”

HAWK HAPPENINGS October 5, 2021 PAGE 2

Fall? Yes. Football? Yes.Scottie Dunleavy - 9

It is finally football season! College and Pro-fessional Sports are now underway and people are stressing over their fantasy teams. Penn State has started their season well climbing their way up the national rankings already, and our Eagles opened up as well. (NCAA.com and NFL.com) Many new opportunities for sports fans or just most people in general open up and many new festivities as everyone whips out their heavier clothing. Fall brings high school games, get-togethers at houses for games every week, ect. The U.S. as a country buzzes a lot more when football rolls around. The trees start to lose their leaves with the colder weather. It is not 95 degrees out everyday now, and we all start wearing hoodies and sweatpants. This is the extra summer after summer just without the hot weather. A lot of us completely change gears once football comes around and it is the start of the end of the year. “I always look forward to college football. There are great traditions and rivalries. College football replaces my disappointment at the end of summer with excitement,” says 9th grader Brady Breininger. Football is not only in the fall and winter. It starts a lot earlier in the spring when the teams start practicing and everyone gets antsy because they know the start of the season is near. Lots of us enjoy football, social gath-erings, and lots of excitement so this is a more popular time of the year. Overall, whether our teams do well or not it will be fun from start to finish.

Clothing trends brought back to life in 2021 Lonasia Tolbert - 11

At the start of the late 2019 pandemic, there was a huge shift in fashion. Social media platforms were bombarded every week with new styles and wardrobes. Trends all the way from the ’70s are being worn all around our hallways here at Ham-burg Area High today. When talking about clothing trends right now, the term 90s nostalgic will often pop up in the conversion. For those not familiar with the term “Nostalgic” it means “Yearning for the return of a past circumstance.” According to Kaeli Crespo, her newest clothing buys have been inspired by “ Watching older movies like Mean Girls and Clueless. Watching 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s movies. Lastly, the music I listen to takes a big part in my wardrobe as well.” Which is not a shock, many 90’s and early 2000’s films like these are all over social media with their own clothing aesthetics. Some dramatic pieces of style that stick out to wide groups of people are the mom jean. Many magazines, TED talks, and fashion blogs are saying the skinny jean is dead. Something seen worn everywhere in the past years is now dead, which just says how fast our fashion this year is moving. Storefronts like American Eagle, Aeropostale, Hol-lister, and etc, have their mannequins dressed in straight-legged jeans right now! So many different eras of pants are being worn today, from cargos in the early ’90s to the straight-legged jean that was popular in the late ’70s. “I personally enjoy the 90’s style trends that recently returned. The baggy jean look, Converse, and baggy band T-shirts.” Are some looks that Kalie Crespo enjoys. Band T-shirts/vintage tees that are usually oversized are the go-to top of many teens today. Out of 60 students at HAHS, 52 out of the 60 have a baggy band/vintage T-shirt. Although they have been worn since the ’70s, the style is jumping up and back into ev-eryone's closet again. Masks are also so in style of course! That is not even a joke, so many people are going all out with their masks. Pearls, crystals, prints, tie-dyes, homemade styles we have all seen it on a mask somewhere, in our halls, on social media, and even on red carpet walks.

Mask up...or not

Isabella Forte - 9

Lately, students have been hearing all the talk about mask procedures and rec-ommendations. In late August, Dr. Mextorf has stated in a video message that students need a note from a parent or guardian, say-ing that a student is allowed to come to school without wearing a mask. If a note is not received, the student is required to come to school with a mask and wear it properly.

Freshman, Grace Cromyak said “I personally dislike the mask idea. Over-all, I have always hated wearing masks, and sometimes I find it hard to pay at-tention to those who are talking, or hear others who are wearing them.” Freshman, Olivia Kocher stated, “I do not mind wearing them. People should follow the rules and wear one if they did not hand in a form, for those who did hand one in, it is alright with me as long as they distance themselves, and stay home when sick.” Freshman, Ashley Moyer stated, “I can agree with Oliv-ia. I do not have a preferred opinion on them, but they do not bother me.” The Pennsylvania Department of Health recommends that a school entity must require and enforce that all teachers, students, staff, and visitors wear a face-covering indoors. Recent stud-ies have shown that mask-wearing in school has contributed to lower transmissions of Covid. I strongly encourage students to research and read about whether they should consider wearing face coverings. More information can be found at https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx.

New student compares high school experiences Sara Fitzgerald - 10

This is my first year at a Hamburg Area School and as the school year begins, I have noticed many differenc-es compared to my previous school,Union City Area High School/Middle School. The first difference is the amount of people in this high school. There was significantly less, the high school and middle school were in the same building. The second difference are the buses. At my other school, the seats were given by highest grade. For exam-ple, if a ninth grade student is all the way in the back, a tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade student can move them up and take their seat. But an eleventh grade student could not move a twelfth grade student. The next difference would be the dress code. The dress code at my other school was much stricter. There were no leggings, low cut tops, sweatpants, ripped jeans and for the longest time no hoodies. Another difference is the bell schedule at my old school there were six periods and four different lunch times but in the same cafeteria. There was no homeroom or flex time. The sports program has many differences, Union City offered include volleyball, foot-ball, basketball, football cheerleading,basketball cheerleading, wrestling cheerleading, golf, swimming, marching band, etc. Hamburg does not have volleyball or swimming, but they do also have field hockey and tennis. At Union City, football games were a very big events and were dressed up for through school spirit. We had many spirit weeks and homecoming was one of them. The game and the dance got everyone excited. Although there are many differences between the two schools, both have many good qualities, from the options for classes to the different types of people.

Highway Safety Commission, local police, students, and HASD administrators promote safe driving.

Sour by Olivia RodrigoGenevieve Arena - 9

On her recent rise to fame, former actress Oliv-ia Rodrigo has dropped her debut album Sour. It was announced on April 1 2021, and released about two months later on May 21. One of the album's top hits Deja Vu was released early and co-written by world re-nowned pop star Taylor Swift. Rodrigo began getting popular at a young for playing leading roles on Disney channel shows Bizaardvark, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and soon after wrote the song “Driver's License” which began to get popular on the TikTok app, but soon after hit the number one Billboard spot and stayed there for nearly two months. People could not get enough of the raw emotion. The unexpected support led Rodrigo to write more, releasing clips on TikTok, and Instagram. Soon after, Sour was released. After Drivers License blew up and stayed at number one on Spotify, Apple Music, and Billboard Radio for almost three weeks, Sour was not far behind. It was the most streamed album for nearly a month after the release. People were loving it. Many fans assume that Rodrigo wrote Drivers License about co-star and rumoured ex boyfriend Joshua Bassett, due to references like “You’re probably with that blonde girl” as Bassett is rumoured to be in a new relationship with another Disney Channel star, Sabrina Carpenter. However, none of these rumours were confirmed, so we are left wondering. The entire album is not just about heartbreak, and being in love with your ex though. Hits like Brutal and Jealousy, Jealousy explore becoming more confident in yourself, along with the hardships of growing up, and life changing. Hamburg students have stated Rodrigo’s Sour is “Relatable,” “Emotional” and “My go to album.” To conclude, Rodrigo has already astounded millions of people, and we are sure she is just getting started in her music career. For more information, go to https://www.billboard.com/

Adviser: Mrs. Terri McCarthy-Wright; Editor in Chief: Emily Smith; Issue Layout Editor: Emily Smith; Writers: Genevieve Arena, Kaitlyn Barry, Skylynn Binder, Carol Cegarra Baptista, Grace Cromyak, Anna DeAngelo, Scottie Dunleavy, Sara Fitzgerald, Isabella Forte, Mia Kalbach, Olivia Kocher, Hannah Kristiniak Jordan Monroe, Ashley Moyer, Cora Rodriguez, Emily Smith, Lonasia Tolbert, Deja Wagner-Wakefield, Wayne Wolfe; Hawk Happenings is a weekly publication created by the students in the Publications class at Hamburg Area High School. It is distributed free of charge throughout the Hamburg Area High School community. A PDF is available at https://www.hasdhawks.org/domain/181 and an online version at www.hawkhappenings.org. The opinions in this newspaper represent those of the student writers and do not represent the opinions of the faculty, staff, administration, or school board of the Hamburg Area School District. HH is a member of the Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA), the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), and Quill and Scroll. If you have any questions or comments regarding anything that appears in its pages, or if you would like to sponsor our paper with a donation, please contact Terri McCarthy, Hawk Happenings, Hamburg Area High School, Windsor Street, Hamburg, PA, 19526. Our email address is termcc@hasdhawks.org and our phone number is 610-562-3861, x2327.