Volume 85, Issue 14

May 21, 2008 131 High School Road Latrobe, PA Volume 85 Issue 14

Personal tragedyenlightens students

Natalie Schade Staff Writer

Kristina WigginsStaff Writer

Student Council leadersprepare for school year

Grim Reaper assembly impacts student body

Outstanding students recognizedduring awards ceremony

Being a student in the GreaterLatrobe Senior High School allows manyprivileges and opportunities that are rarethroughout the country, such as 6th gradecamp, student issued laptops, and a studentbought art collection. The E.L..I program is aleadership initiative geared towards GLSDstaff and administration in order to placeeveryone as equals. Dr. William Stavisky willbe retiring in June after 38 years of working inthe education field. In his tenure at Latrobe hemade every effort to ensure all studentsreceive the best education possible. His dedi-cation to the school was an asset to the schooldistrict. He was awarded the 2006Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year andguided the school to a ranking in the U.S.News and World Report.

Stavisky stresses that it is not onlyhe who is making a difference to so many stu-dents but instead gives credit to every memberof the staff, “It’s really a team effort. It’s notme, it’s what I am part of that makes it won-derful.”

One of the programs unique toLatrobe is the newly enacted E.L.I initiativeDr. Stavisky is an advocate of the programwhich focuses on providing equality amongdifferent levels of staff and teachers. “There isno reason why I should be more powerful thanthe teachers.” At discussion meetings for theprogram, all staff and administrators try to fig-ure out what is best for the students of theschool. E.L.I also emphasizes opportunitieswhich enhance problem solving and relation-ship skills among faculty that pervades

through the student body.Involvement in student activities is

very important to Stavisky who tries to attendas many events as he can, emphasizing hispersonal interest in sports. Sports played amajor part in his adolescence and Staviskygives credit to his mentor Mr. Kovac, who washis physical education teacher, baseball coach,and basketball coach, for helping him becomewho he is today. He realizes the impact that anadult can have on students. Stavisky is happyabout the pride that the students show for theirsports teams therefore he tries to be an activeparticipant in school games. Sixth grade is asocial camp for students that Stavisky tries toexperience with the students. Sixth gradecamp is a three day event for all students in

grade six. Stavisky’s favorite parts of thecamp are the ropes course and the shootingcourse which he says is a fun activity which isconducted in a safe and healthy environment.

During Stavisky’s run as superinten-dent many goals were achieved. “The evolu-tion of technology was important,” saidStavisky. As the innovator of the one-to-onecomputer program he started with Netschools,Stavisky enabled laptops to be issued first tostudents in the junior high and then to seniorhigh students. Stavisky went to Harrisburgwhere he represented Greater Latrobe HighSchool as one of only four schools that haveone-to-one laptops. Greater Latrobe SeniorHigh School underwent $36 million worth ofrenovations that were completed in 2004.These renovations were made possible by thededication and teamwork of the staff andadministration. Because of the renovations,the school now has a state-of-the-art Centerfor Student Creativity which houses a varietyof events throughout the school year. Also,Stavisky acted as a liaison with IrisTechnologies prompting them to donateequipment for a news studio that is the set forW-CAT TV, the senior high’s student run newsproduction.

After his retirement this year,Stavisky plans to spend more time with fami-ly including his grandson John. Along withspending time with family, Stavisky plans totravel, specifically to the Grand Canyon andAustralia with his wife, Sheila. Stavisky cred-its the whole Greater Latrobe School Districtexperience as an phenomenal experience andfeels as though it was an honor to be apart ofit.

Photo by: Angela Repko, Photo Editor

Anna SylvesterStaff Writer

The Student Council Officers for the class of 2009 have beenselected with Michael Fedele as president, Dylan Nowe as vice president,Dosalyn Thompson as secretary, and Matt Shrum as treasurer. All stu-dents ran unopposed making ballots unnecessary. On Tuesday, May 6,2008 the representatives introduced themselves to the student bodythrough speeches aired by Wildcat TV during morning announcements.

President Mike Fedele has been in student council since seventhgrade. He says, “[I ran] for the glory, I enjoy being a man of power.” Hisgoals for the upcoming year include improving student administrationrelations, and increasing sales in the student store.” Fedele says he is, “Anatural born leader, with a friendly people person personality.”

Vice President Dylan Nowe said, “I want to help the students byimproving student teacher relationships so together they can accomplishgoals.” Nowe hopes for an exciting 2009 and, to improve the productivi-ty of student council.

Dosalyn Thompson elected secretary has been on StudentCouncil for two years. Thompson said she ran for this position because,“I figured if I was an officer I’d be more involved, have more say andmake more decisions.” As secretary, Thompson hopes to inspire studentcouncil members to take their position more seriously by encouragingattendance and communication with the administration. Thompson hasset many goals for this upcoming year including, having a suggestion boxto increase student input, and to make Homecoming and a possible win-ter dance more enjoyable.

Matt Shrum appointed treasurer will be involved in studentcouncil for his first year. “I want to advise and make sure the money spentis necessary,” said Shrum. He also wants to inspire students to be moreactive participating in more after school activities.”

School Board Representatives have also been chosen for the2009 school year with Marla Sacks as senior representative and MeghinKerila as junior representative. The process of election included an appli-cation and interview with current Student Council Officers and SeniorSchool Board representative Olivia Cimba who together decided on theselections.

Sacks said, “The experience I gained as last year’s junior repre-sentative has helped me a lot. Representatives work to inform the schoolboard of what’s going on in the school, this next year I hope to work withMeghin to develop more of a student and administration to board mem-ber relationship by improving communication.”

Kerila said, “I decided to run because through my experience asa replacement to attend the state conference in Hershey, I had a great timeand learned what to do as a representative. I am qualified because I’minvolved in many activities and clubs, therefore I hear the students’ opin-ions, as well as the faculty’s. I know how students react to changes, andwhat’s going on in sports, so I can inform the school board with the stu-dents’ perspectives. I just hope to become a great representative for theschool board, making change happen by giving 100%.”

One teen every 60 min-utes is killed because of teendrunk driving. On May 8 studentscasually walked down the hallsas if it were a normal day. Butone thing changed the everydaystereotype for the GreaterLatrobe High Schools halls. Atevery glance one or two whitefaced “ghost” lingered out thecorner of everyone’s eyes. Thissignified that alcohol or drugabuse had taken their lives afterprom.

The Grim Reaperroamed throughout classroomstaking the lives of 13 selectedstudents throughout the day. Theselected students were then notpermitted to talk all day andremain unheard as if they weredead, symbolizing the socialaspect that takes place whenloosing a friend.

The Leaders ofTomorrow club puts this eventtogether every year to make stu-dent realize what drugs and alco-hol could do to you, a fellowclassmate, or your best friend. Atthe end of the day these 13 stu-

dents were lined up on stageand a story was read abouttheir life along with theirdeath. The impact that itplays on students is up tothem. Some will say thatthe day of events reallymakes them contemplatetheir actions. Some will saythat the event will linger inthe back of their minds afterprom. For many, they willadmit that this assembly hasno impact on them and thatis the kind of students thatthis day is dedicated to.Changing their minds iswhy this assembly happens.“We hope it has an impacton everyone,” said CadyWalter.

During the twoperiod long assembly, as it was inrecent year only one, theWestmorland County corner,Kenneth Bacha, talked aboutcases and examples he has seenwith student in driving under theinfluence accident or drug relateddeaths. Mrs. Acacia Houck talkedabout her brother State TrooperKenton E. Iwaniec who was hitby a drunk driver four times over

the legal limit and under theinfluence of oxycodone. He wasonly 24 when he died. She will bespreading the word on how drunkdrivers effect people. “When yousee someone that you think maybe driving drunk, call the policecause it can affect so many peo-ple,” said Mrs. Houck.The day was made bigger thisyear to hopefully make a biggerimpact on the students. “Our goal

this year to create realistic situa-tions that will hopefully makestudents think twice before doingthings that seem, at the time, tobe completely harmless,” saidCady Walter. Hopefully studentswill come to the realization of theimpact that drugs and alcohol canhave on your life and ultimatelyyour death.


Greater Latrobe SeniorHigh Schools held its annualawards ceremony in the audito-rium for all high school studentson May 5, 2008. This ceremo-ny is a way to give recognitionto students who have mademany accomplishments.

This awards ceremonyis focused on community mem-bers and groups, differing fromthe ceremony held later in May,which will focus on sports andacademics.

“It is a wonderfulopportunity to recognize stu-dents who have succeeded in

various activities,” said princi-pal Dr. Teppert.

The awards ceremonyhas been happening in GreaterLatrobe Senior High School formany years and is evolving eachyear. Dr. Teppert continues tobe approached by more commu-nity members to add moreawards to the ceremony.

The criteria for eachaward is mainly set by the indi-vidual group or communitymember who is giving thataward. Different people are eli-gible for different honors.Sixty-eight awards were givento forty-seven different people.

Groups throughout the

community offered diverseawards for eligible students.Other awards are named inhonor of previously graduatedstudents. Members of the army,navy and marines were presentto give awards and recognitionand give credit to those studentswho will be entering the forcesafter high school. Area juniorfirefighters were also acknowl-edged for their hard work anddedication.

All high school stu-dents and parents of studentsreceiving awards were welcometo attend the ceremony. This isunique for a high school,because many awards cere-

monies are held just for thosestudents and their families at anight-time ceremonial. “It’sjust special to our school com-munity, because all students seeit, and it’s not a ceremony atnight for just people gettingawards, and I hope it can moti-vate others to try hard and suc-ceed,” said Teppert.

Students who workhard not only in school but alsoperform community service andparticipate in after school activ-ities were given a chance ofrecognition at the awards cere-mony, also allowing them tomotivate others to work harder.


“I believe that we aresolely responsible for our choices,and we have to accept the conse-quences of every deed, word andthought throughout our lifetime,”said Mrs. Houck quoting ElizabethKubler-Ross at the beginning ofher speech. The presentation by awell-known teacher brought pure,solitary silence throughout theauditorium as students listened toher tell her own personal story. Herbrother, Trooper Kenton Iwaniec,was fatally struck by a drunk driv-er on Route 41 on March 27, 2008.

Following a harsh, butrealistic lesson from theWestmorland County deputy coro-ner, Mrs. Acacia Houck’s speechset a new and different mood. Thepersonal message was felt in theheart of GLSH high school stu-dents. Faces of shock, awe andgrief were throughout the audi-ence. The point she was trying toget across was quite clear. It wasn’tsimply just don’t drink and drive,but to take the actions necessary toprevent the reality of her brother’saccident. Students witnessed theimpact a death can have on family,friends, classmates, teachers, coworkers and even total strangers.She taught us that we should allreport suspicious activities andtold statistics that nobody wouldhave guess were true. We need tomake wise choices.

As Bruce Springsteen’s“Into the Fire” played, highlightsof her brother’s life were shown ina video side show. Iwaniec as achild, playing baseball and with hisfirst deer. Him as a teen, graduat-ing and with his many siblings onfamily vacations. And him as an

adult ready to pursue the nextchapter of his life and start a fami-ly of his own. He was fresh out ofSt. Vincent College class of 2007,just sworn into the PennsylvaniaState Police force and ready to pro-pose in a month to his girlfriend.And the funeral, hundreds ofpolice stood standing with sorrow-ful expressions and tears as theypaid tribute. All of these events wecould identify with and relate to. His dreams were shattered by onesplit second of someone drivingwith a .34 blood alcohol level andunder the influence of oxycodone.To make it any worse, the womanhad her four year old son in theback seat. They came out of theaccident with minor scraps andKenton Iwaniec was killed.

Mrs. Houck’s courage totell her story took bravery.Through her quivering and emo-tional speech students understoodthe magnitude of this situation,with the standing ovation shereceived in the final words of herspeech. “Make the effort to preventthese types of accidents. Pleaseremember to make smart choices.Your decisions have an impact fora lifetime,” said Mrs. Houck. Although her brother is not hereanymore, Houck brings out some-thing positive even in the tragicloss. She will keep Kenton’s lega-cy living on by presenting speech-es along with other family mem-bers to try to lower the rate of DUI.“I believe that we are solelyresponsible for our choices, and wehave to accept the consequences ofevery deed, word and thoughtthroughout our lifetime.”

Junior Abby Hewitt and Sophomores Nathan Helfferich and LeslieSchade spend Grim Reaper day pretending to be dead due to poor choices made during prom weekend.

Natalie SchadeStaff Writer

A Night toTreasure6

Dr. Stavisky celebratesstudent success at GLSD

22 May 21, 2008May 21, 2008

NewsNewsU

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News

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Compiled by: Brianna Saddler, Staff Writer

European History and Literatureclasses prepare for final project

New classesoffered for 2009

school yearMary Maatta

Staff Writer


Photo submitted by: Keira Conley

Each year Greater Latrobe School District looks to add a vari-ety of new and interesting classes to the potential schedule to providethe students with more options and further their education. New class-es for the 2008-2009 school year have been added to almost everydepartment. Some changes were to go along with the new A/B sched-ule that was introduced this year. Guidance counselor Mrs. Hager-Sigler said, “All the changes are verypositive. We’ve added more options for every other day classes that stu-dents can take when they do not have their lab sciences.”

In the English department a new multimedia journalism classis introduced. This class will teach students about the different forms ofmass communication. This class is a prerequisite for students planningon joining one of the schools publications such as the High Post,Serendipity, broadcast and video production or multimedia 201. Inaddition to multimedia journalism other classes added were multimediajournalism 201 which is just a continuation of multimedia journalism.Another new class is the speech and forensics class. This class will takeplace after the normally scheduled classes end and the students will takeit at the junior high.

In the math department AP Statistics was added to providemore choices for precalculus students rather than just calculus. Manyjuniors and seniors have already signed up to take this course to get apreview of what to expect in a similar college level math course. JuniorLou Downey said, “I have always wanted to improve my statisticalskills and this new class sounded interesting and challenging to try.”Another interesting class new to the schedule this year is a new worldlanguage class Chinese. Junior Kate Jakubovic said, “I decided to takeChinese because I like their culture and I know it would look good onmy transcripts. It’s becoming a very popular language and I know I’llneed it when I’m older. Plus I’m hoping we’ll get the opportunity to eatsome Chinese food!”

A new course has been added to the Business and InformationTechnology department. It is Enhanced Technology Applications,which focuses on the advanced elements of Microsoft Word, Excel, andPowerPoint. Students will have the opportunity to obtain theirMicrosoft Office Specialist, or MOS certification at the completion ofthis course. Mrs. Kalp who will be teaching the class has high expecta-tions. “This class will be beneficial because you have the opportunity toput a certification onto a resume which will make you look better,” saidMrs. Kalp.

Next year in the Health and Physical Education department,Sports I and Sports II will be added. These two classes will provide stu-dents with a higher level of personal physical fitness and test whatthey’ve learned on outside field trips. Mr. Gorinski said, “Sports II willbe more involved concentration on sporting activities. We don’t want tooffer the same gym classes over and over.” Another new class in thethird level of Personal Fitness. By taking this class, students willreceive a certification through the Nation Council for Certified PersonalTrainers. A Robotics Engineering class has been added to the technology educa-tion department. This advanced class focuses on the world of robotics.Mr. Repko said, “Students will get the chance to learn the robot c lan-guage and build robots. Hopefully in the future we will participate inrobotics competitions.”

These varieties of classes in all the different departments willoffer students the chance to further their education in many differentfields. With more choices of classes students will be able to choosemore classes that they enjoy and specific classes that will influencetheir futures.

The European Historyand Literature class will per-form their Spring Project in theCenter for Student Creativity onThursday, May 15. The partici-pants of “Games and Roses”will act as if they have goneback into the time of theHundred Years War. Thesequence of humorous yet stilleducational skits will be per-formed in front of parents. OnFriday, May 16, the project willbe performed during school forthe rest of the student body. Although Mr. Ferraro and Mrs.Penzera grade this Final Projectand this work is basically thefourth quarter grade for the

Euro students, the opportunityintrigued the students. “I think[the experience] is worth wileand a fun way to wrap up oursenior year,” said senior KellyUrch. Senior Abby Binkey dedicatedher time and talents to this proj-ect. She said, “It’s a nice oppor-tunity for students to expresstheir individual talents.”Mr. Ferraro said that “The goalwas for the students to experi-ence applying a previouslylearned unit into an observableevent through a written scriptand performance. [The project]is a brand new topic each year. Ithink it’s falling together nicely.It’s history coming alive!” The students have been working

on and preparing for this per-formance throughout the secondsemester of the school year andheavily during the fourth andfinal quarter. Mrs. Penzera explained, “everyyear is a little bit differentbecause the makeup of the stu-dents is different. We havefewer theatre people [this year]but we have a lot of really goodscript writers. I think we try andset up the project according tothe talent and students we havein the class. We’ve had a realdiverse group this year.”The performance starts with ajourney back in time throughthe eyes of Henry VIII and SirThomas More. The skits arethen played out one by one with

transition of Henry and Thomasin between each. The perform-ance is closed out with Henryand Thomas again with thereconstant fiasco. Mr. Ferraro said, “The projecthas helped the students gainappreciation for the level ofdedication it takes to coordinatemultiple skits with one topic.”The experience the EuropeanHistory and Literature studentshave acquired is the main goalof “Games and Roses” as wellas educational entertainment forparents and the rest of the stu-dent body.

NOTE: See next Issue to see thesuccess of the classes’ finalprojects.

Ben BattagliaStaff Writer

Mr. Raymond Hamill hosted a spring concert Friday May 2, 2008 at 7:30 pm. The concert also featured Mr. Joshua Jordan’s9th grade band and was held in the Greater Latrobe Senior High Auditorium. For the seniors this was their last concert as member asthe high school band in total there are nineteen graduating seniors. Seniors generally take leadership roles and include, first chairsTuba Chris Anna, Mellissa Balliett, Katie Barchesky, Jamey Butala, Caitlin Clingerman, Blaine Chismar, Sarah Decker, JasmineDugger, Katie Gerstnecker, Jen Harrold, first chair euphonium Tim Lewis, first chair clarinet Allison Kinney, first chair trombone MattKuhar, Emily Polier, Danielle Sackandy, first chair saxophone Angie Saffer, first chair French horn Jake Sass, Justin Shirey, andJessica Smeltz. The concert was an overall success and included the songs Fanfare and Hymn for All Nations by James Curnow, ShakerVariants by Elliot Del Borgo, Cavata by W. Francis McBeth, John Williams in Concert arranged by Paul Lavender, A DisneySpectacular by Alan Menken and arranged by John Moss, and finally His Honor (March) by Henry Fillmore and edited by FrederickFennell. Finally the 9th grade band joined the high school band on stage to perform America the Beautiful by Samuel A. Ward andarranged by Elliot Del Borgo.

Compiled by Kaitlin Zurawsky, Staff Writer

French National Honor Society on April 30, 2008 inducted nineteen new members were. The event was held at 3:00 pm in theStudent Center for Creativity and was led by senior officers including President Angela Repko, Vice-President Lora Davis, Secretary LisaArtuso, and Treasurer Kelly Burkley. The traditional procedure for all foreign language inductions is similar to that of National HonorSociety. The officers lead the induction entirely in the foreign language and parents receive a translated version of the speeches. Candlesare lit as inductees repeat after the secretary, pledging to continue in their study of the language. A Spanish National Honor Society induc-tion on May 1 had thirty eight newly inducted students and was led by President Lindsay Kramer, Vice-President Kristen Schwartzel,Secretary Bryan Joseph, and Treasurer Breann Larkin who was unable to attend and instead Edward Klosky stood in for her. Latin heldtheir ceremony on May 19. Latin National Honor Society is part of an even larger organization, The National Junior Classical League.Officers are President Emily Farah, Vice President Nikolai Wojciechowski, Secretary Andrew Armor, and Treasurer Rachel DeFelice.National German Honor Society held their inductions on May 8 at 3:00 pm in the CSC. The ceremony was led by Carly Pelchen, KatherineBowser, Rachael Revitsky, and Emily Schimizzi.

Compiled by Carmella Stanko, Staff Writer

Dr. Stavisky AssemblyOn Wednesday, May

21, 2008 an assembly will beheld in the auditorium to cele-brate the retirement of Dr.Stavisky. Dr. Stavisky willtravel to all the elementaryschools and junior high to par-ticapate in similar assemblies.

Band BanquetOn Friday, May 16,

2008 the annual Band Awardsbanquet was held. The night start-ed out with a dinner held in thecafeteria and then was transferredto the auditorium for the awardsand patches ceremony. Followingthe awards was the video year-book, and then a dance was held inthe cafeteria.

Dance Try OutsDance Tryouts for next

years dance team are on May 22,2008 for the senior high starting at3:30. On May 19, 2008 the girlswill learn the routine starting at4:30 and the girls will have tworehearsals to practice on May 20-21, 2008 at 4:30. All of theserehearsals and tryouts are held inthe senior high auxiliary gym.

Colorguard TryoutsPractice for

Colorguard tryouts areMonday, May 5, 2008 andMonday, May 12, 2008 from3:30-5:30 Tryouts are Monday,May 19, 2008 beginning at3:30. Meet in the Senior HighBand Room for practices andtryouts. Wear comfortableclothes and tennis shoes (noth-

ing with a zipper and no flipflops) Dance experience ishelpful but is not required.

5/2110:30am-12:30 pm: Idlewild Ticket Sales @ cafe8:15 am: Assembly in Aud. to honor Dr. StaviskyA Celebration of Excellence: To honor Dr.Stavisky’s Service as Superintendent of Schools@ CSC5/226:00pm: EWCTC Certification CeremonyA Celebration of Excellence: To honor Dr.Stavisky’s Service as Superintendent of Schools@ CSCLast full day for seniors5/23Extended Homeroom: Moving Up Day for jun-iorsLocker Clean-out: S-Building, 7:40-8:05am; H-Building, 8:10-8:30am; C-Building, 8:30-8:50am8:55-9:40am: Key Exchange and Raising ofJunior & Senior Class FlagsCap& Gown Distribution5/26Memorial Day-No School5/277:44 am: Commencement Rehearsal in Aud.5/287:44 am: Commencement Rehearsal in Aud.5/29Last day of School7:30pm: Commencement Ceremony @ Aud.

Compiled by: Samantha Service, News Editor

Cheerleading tryouts for the 2008-2009squad were held throughout the week of April21. The tryouts consisted of a week long auditionprocess beginning Monday April 21 with the try-outs on Friday the 25. A total of twenty eightgirls auditioned in groups of two or three.

The tryouts required each girl to indi-vidually perform a toe touch, a jump of choice,any tumbling without spots, and the cheer, andthen as a group they performed two of the threechants and the dance routine. The judges ratingthe girls were certified Universal CheerleadingAssociation judges. Categories consideredincluded voice projection, cheer motions, dancetechnique, jumps and gymnastics worth any-where from 1-10 points

Kate Jakebovic said, “The most chal-lenging part of trying out was having to learn alot in the short amount of time.”

Megan Puloe said, “The hardest partwas learning the dance, but I did feel preparedfor tryouts.”

Kelly Cooper said, “Tryouts were nerveracking there was a lot of good girls.” In the end15 girls made the Varsity squad and 9 girls madethe Junior Varsity squad. Making the Varsity

squad are upcoming seniors Kelly Cooper,Katelyn Jakubovic, Megan Stouffer, MorganStouffer, Carmella Stanko, and Kollin Zitelli,juniors Karlie Hudock, Meghin Kerila, MeganTaylor and Marissa Singley, sophomores KelseyDominick, Michelle Emanuele, Liz Kromel,Danielle Scalise, and Alyssa Stewart. JuniorVarsity includes upcoming juniors Sarah Brant,Brittany Hatten, Kayla Keefe, Maria Pastor &Megan Puleo along with upcoming sophomoresErica Hajas, Jami Hajas, Kylie Lamberski &Brittney Sarnese.

Coach Cooper said, “We have anincredible amount of talent this year which isawesome. By having two squads, we are able togive more girls the opportunity to be a cheer-leader. It works out well because we usually endup splitting the squad to accommodate all of theevents in the winter months. It was a decisionthat was pushed for by the coaches at tryouts andthe administration kindly agreed that it was agreat idea. We are now able to have 24 cheer-leaders all together instead of just 15.”

The Varsity squad will cheer at theaway football games on Friday nights and the JVsquad will cheer at the home JV games onSaturday mornings. This set up prevents girlsfrom having to cheer at both. This summer, all 24

girls will be considered one big squadand compete together this summer atUCA Cheerleading camp at theUniversity of Pittsburgh, Greensburgcampus.

Baldwin High School held its annualtrack and field invitational on Friday, May 2. TheBaldwin event is one of the biggest track meets onthe east side of the country, hosting over 100schools. The meet starts at noon and lasts untileleven that night. Each school sends their top twoperformers in each event to compete. SeveralGreater Latrobe athletes that participated in thisprestigious event excelled.

Senior Matt Molitor and junior NatalieBower, both distance runners, made their marksfor Latrobe’s team.

Bower won female MVP of the Baldwininvitational, placing first in each of her races. Hermile and two mile times of 4:56.76 and 10:55.22respectively were new records for the MVP.Bower’s relay team also finished first with a timeof 9:31.07.

Receiving the MVP award was quite anaccomplishment even for Bower. “I was reallyexcited because I worked really hard to get [theaward] ever since junior high and I finally got it,”

she said. Molitor again broke the school record

for the 1600 meter race running a 4:18.99. Thetime was good for fourth place out of an astonishing 79 boy’s teams. “It was good tobreak [the record] again and take it down evenlower. I would have liked to have won but I’ll take[fourth]. I kinda ran a little sloppy,” said Molitor.Molitor also placed seventh in the 800 meter racewith a 1:59.60, but felt his relay team didn’t runto their potential. “We haven’t been able to runwell at the same time,” he said.

The competition was fierce due to thelarge quantity of schools, making it harder forsome of the other athletes to get noticed.

“Overall the jumping this year was thebest I’ve ever seen. The competition was tough. Ididn’t make finals but it was fun to compete andI’m looking forward to WPIAL qualifiers,” saidsenior jumper Alex Halferty.

Overall the Baldwin Invitational hasbeen a great experience for the Greater LatrobeWildcats and helped them to show off their spe-cial talent.

The Latrobe Wildcats baseball team is inthird place, after losing a tough section title gameagainst Hempfield. The team is built on theirdefense with their ability to manufacture runs.The Cats are averaging eight runs a game, whilegiving up only five runs per game.

The team has a mix of young and veter-an players. The veterans help set the tone for theteam with their leadership abilities. One of thebiggest reasons for the teams success is uniqueteam chemistry. “We gel together real well ithelps everyone relax when we need to,” said sen-ior Brian Hantz. The players are willing to helpout a fellow teammate whether it be with adviceor just a few words of encouragement. The teamhas a knack for stringing big innings back to back,which allows them to put teams down and not letthem comeback.

The first time the baseball team hasbeen in the hunt for a section title since in 2003.

Which has many surprised around the WPIAL,the team has most recently beat the second bestranked team in the WPIAL in Pittsburgh CentralCatholic by the score of 5-2. Other teams are tak-ing this Wildcats baseball team very seriously.

The team has drastically changed from ayear ago they have a vibe of confidence of a win-ning team. With a never give up attitude. Evenwhen the were down five nothing to FranklinRegional going into the bottom of the seventh.The Cats would load the bases to put pressure onFranklin. The come back fell short, yet it gave theteam confidence that they can beat some of thebest teams in their section. “Even though we weredown we still battled back in the last inning whichgoes to show that they are beatable,” Hantz said.

With the end of the season looming theCats solidified a playoff spot. With an even bal-ance of defense and offense this team should bedangerous to meet up with, in a single eliminationplayoff system.

Boys LacrosseThe youngest team for

Latrobe Senior High School ismaking a big splash in thelacrosse world by sitting 6-1and in second place in theirdivision after only existing forfour years. The Lacrosse teamwon the first two games anddropped their third. The Catsare currently riding a four gamewin streak. With an exhilaratingcome from behind win overVincentian Academy, they wontheir place in the championshipgame against the team who isresponsible for their only lossall season, Taylor Allderdice.The lacrosse team is lookingforward for their shot at pay-back.

Girls LacrosseThe Girls Lacrosse

team is experiencing their bestseason in team history. They arenow 5-2 in the section after ahuge win over North Allegheny,a school that always has beenknown for their lacrosse pro-grams. The girls will have tobeat Franklin Regional to makethe playoffs for the first timeever. A close loss to Franklinearlier this year left the girlswith a great hunger to beat themwith the playoffs at stake.

TrackWith the end of the

track season creeping aroundthe corner the boys and girlsstart to straighten up their actand get focused for the post sea-son. The girls team stands tallwith a solid 6-2 record and theboys break even at 4-4. At theWCCA Championships theboys team finished in fourthplace while the girls finished inthird. The boy’s team did notqualify for the post season butthe girls will be looking for astrong finish of their 2008 sea-son.

VolleyballThe Boys volleyball

team is one of the most domi-nant spring sports at GreaterLatrobe High School. Last yearthey suffered a disappointingloss in the state tournament.However, this year the Cat’swill travel far in the playoffsand will hopefully be able tofinish the job they left uncom-pleted. They have been destroy-ing the competition all year likesoftball.

The Latrobe Lady Wildcats softball team captured theWPIAL AAAA Section 1 title and still had 4 section games remain-ing in the season. After sharing the section championship last yearwith Hempfield, the Cats have it all to their own this year.“Winning the section was a really good feeling because we accom-plished the first of our many goals this season. It also was kind ofa relief to win it with other section games still left to play,” said sen-ior shortstop Emily Fenton.

A big reason why Latrobe has been able to clinch the sec-tion so quickly is the dominance of softball pitcher Alexa Bryson.“Alexa Bryson is a big deal why we have won the sections, we’d belost without her,” Fenton commented. In the regular season,Bryson was 14-2 with 222 strikeouts. However, softball is a teamgame, and the Robert Morris recruit has not been doing all thework. Many people have been contributing to the team’s success.The big sluggers batting in the majority of the team’s runs through-out the season have been junior second baseman Molly Kovalcin

and Fenton. What really makes the Cats section title run a beauti-ful thing was that different players step up every game.

The 16-2 Lady Wildcats are ranked number one in theWPIAL and hope to keep that position for the playoffs. Eventhough Latrobe is nearly perfect, there are still parts of their gamethat they believe need fine tuning in order to get back to the statefinal game. “Our defense is incredibly solid, but we need to focusmore on producing runs and not leaving people in scoring posi-tion,” said Coach Mitchell on what the team needs to improve on.

If Latrobe can just produce more hits and put runs on theboard, their phenomenal pitching and defense will help themadvance deep into the playoffs. They came so close last year to astate championship, but the Cats would like to accomplish anothergoal of this season and get back to the state final. However,Latrobe’s goal is to be victorious in the finals this year.

Latrobe received the number one seed in the WPIAL play-offs and a first-round bye. Their first playoff game will be againstthe winner of Connellsville and North Allegheny game.

Sports Sports 33May 21, 2008May 21, 2008

Ryan LaDuke and Tyler BalohColumnists

NFL Draft predictions

Which NFL Team had thebest draft?

LaDuke: ESPN NFL Draft ana-lyst Mel Kiper Jr. says that theNFL draft is so crucial that ateam can go from a below .500team to a Super Bowl contenderin the matter of two days. In mymind, the Kansas City Chiefshad the best draft of any otherNFL team and will experiencethe biggest change next season.The Chiefs acquired 12 qualityplayers in the two days of thedraft that will make significantimpacts for next season. HeadCoach Herm Edwards said thattheir biggest need going to thedraft was assessing their offen-sive and defensive lines.Kansas City addressed theirneeds early by drafting mon-strous defensive tackle GlennDorsey out of LSU with thefifth overall pick and Virginiaoffensive guard Branden Albert.Dorsey will be the enforcer ontheir defensive line after stardefensive end Jared Allen wastraded to Minnesota. I reallylike the addition of VirginiaTech cornerback BrandonFlowers in the third round, as Ibelieve he has great skill andwas underrated due to his lackof height.

Which NFL Team had theworst draft?

The team receiving the worstdraft grade is the TennesseeTitans. Two years ago, theTitans drafted dual-threat quar-terback Vince Young with thethird overall pick. He was ableto win a Rookie of the Year onhis own, but if the Titans wantto become a Super Bowl con-tender they had to draft someplaymakers for Young, especial-ly receivers. And what do theydo? They draft a below-averagerunning back in East Carolina’sChris Johnson way too early.Johnson is super fast (4.24 40yard dash time at NFLCombine), but the Titans had achance to get any wide receiverthey wanted with the 24th over-all pick. Tennessee didn’t updrafting a wide receiver untilthe fourth round, when they gotCalifornia’s Lavelle Hawkins,who surely is not the numberone receiver Young needs. TheTitans also did not address theircornerback needs after losingPac-Man Jones.

Ben BattagliaStaff Writer

Distance runners excel at Baldwin

Ryan LaDukeStaff Writer

Back to back Section Champs

Pat LynchStaff Writer

Spring teams inplayoffs


A new face of spirit

VolleyballLatrobe (11-1, 8-0) continued its dominance of Section 3-AA

with a 3-0 victory by scores of 25-4, 25-9 and 25-13. Senior AlexSmith and Junior Adam Peffer led the Wildcats, each recording sixkills. Setter Mark DeDiana dished out 24 assists while running theWildcats' offense. Jonathan Hue set the mark on defense with eightdigs.Softball

After beginning the season undefeated with a 14-0 overallrecord, the Girls’ Softball team has since dropped 2 of their last 3games. Their most recent loss came at the hands of the rival HempfieldSpartans by a final score of 2-0. In fact, the Cats only losses haveappeared in the only two games in which the team failed to score a run.The Cats have outscored their opponents 73-5 this season yet; there aretwo blemishes on their record.

Wildcat SportswireJustin Downs

Staff writer

Baseball team loses heartbreaker

Pat LynchStaff Writer

Man, it’s 7:30 am andI’m just passing Walmart. Nobig deal, I’ll only be a minutelate…right? Wrong. I’ll try tosneak into homeroom before mytardiness is noticed but I won’tmake it. A teacher will be lurk-ing somewhere—just waiting todirect me to the office to pick upa brand new yellow slip. I’llhave a pass to the office on mydesk the next morning. Andthen I’ll spend the next day inP205 undergoing brain-deadhours of starring at a wall cov-ered in the same rule sheets and3R posters.

After six unexcusedlate arrivals to school, studentsat GLSHS are punished with aday of in school suspension.According to in-school teacherMr. Mikeska, there are five orsix students in in school suspen-sion daily and most of them are

there for tardies. Any suspension from

class, whether it is in school orout is a backward way to punishstudents for being tardy. Underthis policy, if another unexcusedtardy will cost him a day of in-school, a student is better off toturn around and drive or walkhome. He has two options.Either he goes to school late andsubsequently goes through theprocess described above whichinvolves missing a school day.Or he goes home, misses thatday instead and doesn’t get introuble for being late.

This discipline tactic israrely more than an addition tothe problem with many stu-dents. Most of the time, it is nota discipline that follows suit forthe harm done and in somecases is the opposite tactic tosolving the problem. It is a planthat is poorly thought-out that is

comparable to other decisionsmade to amend written andunwritten disciplining blue-prints.

Where is the attempt tomake a bad situation better?Instead of instituting a solutionto a student who has a problemwith remaining disciplined inclass, he is posted in silenceagainst a wall all day. That stu-dent cannot learn about subordi-nation if he is unable to interact.

According to Mr.Basciano, “The second mostoffense [yielding in-school]would probably be class cuts orskipping.” These students arethrown into the silent confine-ment as opposed to being sent toclass—the place they are obvi-ously trying to dodge. A studentwho skips or cuts does not wantto be in class. By taking himout, he is only missing moretime that is granted so much

esteem from all of these rules.Overzealous attempts

by school administrations haveled to destruction of learning inother cases and in other schoolssimilar to the in-school suspen-sion policy at GLSHS. TheZero Tolerance Policy wasintended to discourage seriousviolations related to drugs andweapons. But the resultingmandatory suspension or expul-sion for any supposed infractionthat might connect the studentto drugs or weapons seems toabuse or violate his right to anuninterrupted education. So astudent who arrives to schoolthree, four or 120 minutes latelike a student caught with toe-nail clippers or aspirin in schoolis being punished by suspensionin one way or another.

1993. 1993 was lasttime the Pittsburgh Pirates had awinning season. Over the pastfifteen seasons, the Pirates havestruggled to even get theirrecord close to five hundred.The team has gone throughmany changes throughout theyears, coaches, players, man-agement, and owners.

The city of Pittsburghseen a Stanley Cup and a SuperBowl victory in fifteen years.The Pirates have not even madethe playoffs. One could blamethe lack of success because theeconomic structure of MajorLeague Baseball. Baseball doesnot have a salary cap like foot-ball, basketball, and hockey.The salary cap helps all teamsbe competitive because everyteam has a limit of what a teamcan spend.

With baseball a teamhas as much money to spenddepending how much revenue ateam makes. This puts smallmarket teams at a disadvantage,

for they do not have the funds tosign good free agents or evenresign the good players theyhave.

Baseball has come upwith a solution to this and that isrevenue sharing. The big marketteams have to give money to thesmall market teams. The Piratestotal payroll for their entireorganization in sixty eight mil-lion dollars. The New YorkYankees have a 250 million dol-lar payroll. The difference inbetween payrolls shows in therecords, the Yankees have notmissed the playoffs since 1992and the Pirates have not madethe playoffs since 1993.

In 1996 KevinMcClatchey took over as theprimary owner of the Pirates. In1997 the Pirates were close tomaking the playoffs. Since thenthe team has not even beenwithin fifteen games of fivehundred at the end of the sea-son, includes a season whenthey lost one hundred games.Many people tend to believe

that Mr. McClatchey doesn’twant to spend the money to getbetter talent.

There has been numer-ous changes including playersand managers. Brian Giles wasconsidered one of the bestPirates of the new millennium,he was traded to the Padres, inreturn the Pirates received fiveplayers since that trade only oneis still with the team Jason Bay.The pirates can’t sign good freeagents and hire good managersbecause the team has been sounsuccessful of late.

The Pirates farm sys-tem is overrated. If one wouldlook back at the last five drafts,the Pirates have drafted in thetop five. They have not selectedthe best player on the board,they have selected the playerthat would take less moneybecause they are not willing togive out a lot of money toprospects. Even thoughprospects are not making awhole lot of money the Piratesstill refuse to pay a little more

for better talent. This has a rip-ple effect for years to come. If afranchise drafts average playersyour team will be average.

Many would agreesomething needs to change, butthe according to SportsIllustrated in 2005 the Pirateswere the 8th most profitableteam in the major leagues. Howcan the 8th most profitable teambe so bad? The money they aremaking is not going back intothe team the money is going inthe owners pockets the teamwould have a higher payroll ifthe owners were not puttingmore money back into the team.George Steinbrenner the ownerof the Yankees is notorious forthis thus his team has the high-est payrolls in the league. Untilthe seats are not being filled andthe money is not coming in thatmight give the owners reason tostart putting out a winning team.A franchise with so much richhistory is now the laughingstock of the MLB.

When the final bell sounds on May 29, 2008 every stu-dent should have completed 180 school days, including 1,260hours, and 75,600 minutes; 180 days of school should mean1620 class periods. But we all know that is not quite true.Mandatory assemblies, vacations, sports games, field trips, evenstandardized tests, and of course absentees and early dismissals,all to take away class time. Cramming a subject into a year ishard enough for some teachers, but having students miss somany classes [some on their part, some not] makes it nearlyimpossible.

In the beginning of the school year, students are takenout of their classes for assemblies. Before teachers can even getto know their students, they are unable to, the students arealready missing class. In these situations missing classes isunavoidable, but some teachers grow aggravated. However, mostassemblies are necessary. Students need to learn appropriatebehavior for the Rockdown; the Grim Reaper Assembly helpssteer kids away from high risk behaviors; The Play previewattracts students to the plays. Each assembly has a particularpurpose, so how would someone decide which to eliminate?

Out of the multiple assemblies that occurred this year,periods one and two are missed for early assemblies and periods10 and 11 for afternoon. There are rarely any in the middle ofthe day due to the three lunches, A, B and C. It would be toohard to re-schedule lunches, so the assemblies are never duringthose periods. The teachers who are unable to teach their classesdue to assemblies grow aggravated and some classes fall behind.

Another main reason that students miss class is to leavethe classroom, and learn out of the book. Vacations and fieldtrips both are responsible for students missing entire days ofschool. To teachers vacations may seem like an avoidable orunnecessary absence. However, whenever families decide tobook a vacation in most cases the dates are concrete. In additionvacations allow teachings about other cultures and places. Anopportunity to go on a business vacation with their parents,somewhere across the world that could be a once in a lifetimeopportunity for example, students should take advantage of. Thisis an something that is unable to be just taught in a classroom.Then there are teachers who don’t understand the situation andask why go on vacation during the school year instead of duringthe summer like everyone else. The opportunity has given me nochoice but to go on vacation during the school year. I’m surethat others may share similar situations where they must go onvacations during the school year. Field trips allow students toactually see the places, but once again cause students to fallbehind in classes. For this reason many teachers have pushed tolimit the number of field trips a student can take. Still there havebeen over 142 field trips. Another option is to have field trips atnights or on weekends.

Schools have athletic teams and GLSHS with its twen-ty teams is no different. Games are scheduled all across thestate, some even as far as West Virginia. The athletes need toleave early to make it to the games on time. But with a sport likebaseball, students can have two, three, or even four games in aweek. This translates to athletes missing the last few periodstwo, three, or even four times in a week. The teachers have tohand out papers, but ultimately the athlete is the one whosegrades suffer from missed classes. How can this be changed?Schedules could be altered and students could have study hallsduring the end of the day instead of core classes.

Yearly, students must take necessary tests to graduate.The PSSA’s for juniors took up 20 class periods of academicstudies. For example in one week, due to Science PSSA’s and aprevention assembly, the females were only in their first periodclass once. The assemblies/tests are all scheduled for the sameperiods usually being one and two or 10 and 11 due to studentshaving different lunches, so the classes in the middle of the daywould not be missed.

The reasons for students missing class are endless.Students miss class daily for doctors, dentists, orthodontist’s etcappointments or students getting sick. However, those situationsare unavoidable so missing school is unable to be avoided.

Are some students going on too many field trips orvacations? If the situations are approved, why would the stu-dents not go? The teachers have no reason to blame the studentsfor wanting to take advantage of the opportunities they have. Yetclasses are missed, students have a harder time learning thematerial.Missing class puts a student behind, and when report card timecomes, they blame the teachers. Pointing fault at the student formissing class and the teacher for not helping them get their workcompleted is wrong.

Mandatory assemblies, vacations, sports games, fieldtrips, even standardized tests, and of course absentees and earlydismissals, are all responsible for students missing academictime. Students will not succeed without education they may havenatural smarts, but they need teachers to help them succeed.Benjamin Franklin once said, “Genius without education is likesilver in the mine.”

Opinion Opinion 44 May 21, 2008May 21, 2008

In-school suspensions Andy Smithammer

Staff Writer

Academic schedule

interruptedCourtney Briggs

Staff Writer

Pittsburgh Pirates baseballfranchise faces hardships

Ian KishDistribution Manager

By Brianna Saddler, Staff Writer

The staff of The High Post is committed to serving the student body ofGreater Latrobe Senior High School. The opinions page contains the ideas andviews of individuals and does not represent the views of the staff, advisor, oradministration in its entirety.

The High Post is a public forum for student expression, therefore any stu-dent who wishes to create dialogue concerning an issue may do so by submittingarticles or Letters to the Editor in room C-109. In order to uphold the integrity ofthe publication, The High Post reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar,style and available space. Submissions should not exceed 300 words.

Section EditorsNews Editor - Samantha Service

Features Editor - Courtney Furwa Sports Editor - Matt Zitt

Opinions Editor - Stephanie SiorPhoto Editor - Angela Repko

Distribution Manager - Ian KishProduction & Advertising Mgr. - Nick Baugh

Business Manager - Chris James

Editorial PolicyThe High Post 2007-2008

Editors-in-ChiefMike DeFabo and Amber Biddle

StaffTyler Baloh, Ben Battaglia, Courtney

Briggs, Joe Ferlin, Justin Downs, RyanLaDuke, Pat Lynch, Mary Maatta, Brian

Noel, Angela Repko, Brianna Saddler,Natalie Schade, Andy Smithhammer

Carmella Stanko, Anna Sylvester,Kristina Wiggins, Kailtin Zurawsky

Advisor: Mrs. Renee Stallings • Administration: Dr. Georgia Teppert, Mr. Steven LoCascio and Mr. Chad Krehlik • Printed by the Latrobe Bulletin

Deterrent or detriment to education

Issue Giveaway:Issue Giveaway:CongratulationsCongratulationsto to TTim Lewis.im Lewis.Come to roomCome to roomC109 to claimC109 to claim

your prize!your prize!

I’m missing class forblah blah blah...

...I need my work....Am I getting an A?

Members from Outdoor Odysseysearch for students who are brave and wantto share their qualities, with a younger childwho may lack some, they came into GLSHSlooking for mentors. The selected studentsare called mentors, each sharing differentabilities which all complement each other.The mentors form a team through tons ofwork and dedication to help young childrennot only during the week at camp, butthroughout the year.

The selected children are little kidswho are in grades 3-4 who are in need ofsomeone to help guide them. The coun-selors have set goals provided for each childthat the mentor will work on throughout theweek. For example, a child who may have alow self esteem problem, the mentor willwork to make them feel better about them-selves.

At amp, the mentors will be intro-duced to their children and spend the weekwith them getting to know every little detailabout their lives. Sharing everything fromperson to person, the experience is wonder-ful, the children look up to their mentors,and the mentors learn from their children.By the end of the week, it feels like youknew each other forever.

At camp, the teams go canoeing ata nearby lake, rock climbing in the tower,

swim in the lake, and go on a hike calledBig Nasty. The hike is 7 miles long andextremely tough. The mentors teach theirchildren about theories but there is no class-work involved since it is supposed to befun. Together the teams write somethingcalled “Smeak” which is an essay on whatthey will do to become closer throughoutthe year.

Throughout the year “refreshers”occur allowing the teams go back up tocamp to spend extra time together. This is sothat the mentors can keep in touch with their

children helpingthem with anyother difficultiesthey may have.Throughout theyear the mentorand child will con-tinue their friend-ship bond by hang-ing out, talking onthe phone or justdoing sometimefun together. Junior MichelleDudzenski is amentor and says, “Idecided to joinOutdoor Odyessybecause I like chil-dren and I want to

be a teacher when I get older. Theres somany children you learn how there aremany different kinds and learn how to workwith them. It’s a great experience.”

Outdoor Odyssey is a great experi-ence for all the students at GLSHS. Helpingout a little kid is not only a good deed butalso a bunch of fun. Looking into OutdoorOdyseey is a good option, what is there tolose?

At most awards cere-monies, interest is lost becauseit seems that the same peopleare chosen over and over again.Dr. Tim Schwarz has been giv-ing an award for the past fiveyears at the GLSHS awards cer-emony that strays from thatnorm.

The We Try Award isgiven in honor of Schwarz’sparents. His father, Philip, wasa teacher of industrial arts atGreater Latrobe from 1946 to1975. Philip had a great appre-ciation and passion for teaching,education, and Latrobe HighSchool. The family had movedto Latrobe from Pittsburghwhen there was a shortage ofteachers after World War II.The family struggled throughmany hurtles but nonethelesshad an exciting experience.

When his parentspassed, Schwarz decided that itwould be valuable to do some-thing that was in their honor andlong missing to GLSHS. Hedesired to give something to thestudents who do not excel insports or academics. They pos-sibly also have disadvantages,but despite these problems, theyhave tried hard and turned their

lived around. The award isgiven to these students becausetheir problems are oftenunknown but they have devel-oped characters that are relativeto the kinds of success theycould have. Some of these stu-dents may be home-schooled,

attend EWCTC, or are spendingtime in a hospital because of anillness, but given any disadvan-tages, they are succeeding.

The We Try Award isdifferent from other awards forthree main reasons. The rewardis given to juniors to motivateunderclassmen to start workinghard before their senior yeararrives. This gives others achance to recognize and identify

their peers who they might nothave met under other circum-stances. The recipients are onthe selection committee with

Dr. Teppert, another teacher,and two members of the com-munity for the next year’s recip-ients. This gives them powerand some influence. The lastreason is that they not onlyreceive recognition, a plaque,and a certificate, but also moneyto be spent toward anythingtheir guardians think can helpthem in after graduation. Thisyear’s winners were juniorsAbby LaRosa and Chuck Volpe,chosen in part by last year’swinners, Cara Carns and ScottDixon.

Schwarz continues tocome back from Rhode Islandeach year because he feels aneed to give back for the oppor-tunities he had that others don’t.He feels that he should haveopened himself up more to oth-ers in his class who had disad-vantages, and this is his chanceto reattach with the place hegrew up in.

Schwarz’s hope is thatothers will follow his lead in thefuture to make sure not only thejocks and the superstars in theclassroom get recognition. SaidSchwarz, “If we can motivatetwo more sophomores to workharder, it’s all worth it.”

Many students only think about the technology departmentwhen they are in need of a repair on their laptops. Mr. Matt Snyder,when not helping to make all of our lives much easier as an“Instructional Technology Specialist,” is an amazing person who isusing two of his loves, education and technology, in his life everyday but also expands his other loves outside of the school.

Church and his religious life are very important to Snyder.He develops his devotion by playing in a recently formed band thatperforms Christian music named Bon Servant. This band plays athis church, church events, and coffee houses.

Snyder is also extremely passionate about music. In addi-tion to Bon Servant, he also plays in a cover band. This band doesnot have a name at the moment. It is under dispute because whilethe members wanted to call it “Old Dogs, New Tricks,” it was feltthat this did not completely encompass the type of band that theyare. Snyder is not worried about the name, though; he cares moreabout getting his music out there and being productive together.This band is also recent and is in the process of producing a demoCD. As a cover band, the group covers everything from Van Halensongs to Finger 11’s “Paralyzer.” Snyder’s part in his bands is play-ing keyboard and singing, although he can play some guitar also.

Music has been a major part in Snyder’s life since he wasyoung. He has been playing keyboard for 35 years, beginning at theage of five. He is now passing that torch on to his six year old son,Lucas, who is also learning to play the piano. Snyder’s family istremendously imperative to him as well. “My family is my drivingmotivation,” he said. Along with playing the piano like his father,Lucas does well in school and participates in many sports. Snyder

enjoys watching him perform in his many activities and practicingwith him anytime he gets the chance. His daughter, Calle, is three.Snyder also enjoys spending time with her, even though she doesnot always understand why she is too young to participate in every-thing with her dad and big brother.

Besides his passions of music, church, and family, Snyderenjoys sports, and he studies Tai Kwon Do. He is a great personwho spends his days making sure everyone in the school under-stands technology, and his passions in his life are tremendouslyunique.

FeatureFeature 55May 21, 2008May 21, 2008

Not So Shady:Molly Sias

Natalie SchadeStaff Writer

Junior Molly Sias is a student who is not just involved inschool activities but also ones outside of school. She participates inGLSH’ s field hockey team. She is part of many clubs and also sheis part her church’s youth group.

Sias started playing field hockey two years ago. She hadplayed lacrosse and realized that the same coach did field hockeyso she decided to opt out of lacrosse for a year and try a new sport,field hockey. She made a good choice. She likes everything aboutit. “I like the girls I play with, my coach and his weird sayings, andI love going to practice and acting crazy with my friends,” saidSias. She also commented saying that even though the people sheplays with, above all she loves the game.

Outside of school, Molly is very involved with her youthgroup. She is an active member at First Lutheran Church inGreensburg. The youth group plans a small activity every monthbut what molly looks forward to is the big trips they take each year.This summer they have two planned. At the end of May, the groupwill participate in a retreat at Camp Allegheny. In June, they plan togo to Williamsburg and Kings Dominion Amusement Park. Sias hasmade many friends with in her youth group and most are from dif-ferent schools which she enjoys because it enable her to makefriends form outside of school.

Molly also enjoys taking part in Spanish Club and KeyClub. In her free time she enjoys reading and watching movies. Herfavorite book is not just one but a whole series of books, The PrettyLittle Liars Series. Now and Then is her favorite movie. In the sum-mer she works at the Fruit Daiquiri Booth at the local festivals. Shealso baby-sits which plays into what she wants to do in her future.She plans on attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania whereshe will get a degree in elementary education to become a kinder-garten teacher.

Molly Sias is involved in and out of school activities. Sheis looking forward to this summer where she will be with her youthgroup on a retreat and trips. She is also active on the field hockeyteam where she enjoys the people.

Photo Submitted ByMolly Sias

Schwarz once again recognizes two deserving students with the ‘We Try’ award


Snyder continues his passion for music bybeing a member of a local cover band


Full name: Matt BryanNicknames: GanushHobbies: Golf, baseball, pokerJob: Caddy at Latrobe CountryClubHardest and favorite class: APPhysicsFavorite TV show: Chuck andSports CenterFavorite movie: RudyFavorite Teacher: Mrs. Butler Plans after High school:Attending St Vincent forAccountingCurrent car: 1997 PontiacBonnevilleSports play(ed): Golf sopho-more through senior year andBaseball sophomore yearProudest moment: “Getting ahole in one during golf tryouts.”Pet Peeves: “I hate when peo-ple tap fake nails.”Describes self as: “Studious,hardworking and outgoing.”Dream vacation: “Augusta tosee The Masters.”

Favorite quote: “I say try, ifyou never try you shall neversucceed.” by Abe LincolnRole model/ hero: TheWolverineIf you could live your life assomeone else who would it be:“Tiger Woods for his golf talentand wife.”When I was ten I wanted tobe: “A pro baseball player forthe Giants.”People would be surprised toknow: “I have two differentcolored eyes.”Life would be better without:AP US HistoryWhat would make you nerv-ous: A presentation in front ofan audience If you’re friends are annoyingyou: Let them knowIn a group of strangers youare more likely to: Wait to beapproached

Mentors inspire children at Outdoor Odyssey during the summer

Courtney BriggsStaff Writer

Senior Spotlight:Matt Bryan


Photo By: Angela Repko, Photo EditorLast years winners of the ‘We Try’ award Cara Carns and Scott Dixonshake hands with Scharz after handing out this years award at the aca-demic awards ceremony.

Photo By: Angela Repko, Photo EditorIn Mr. Snyder’s free time, he practices playing the keyboard for his band.

Photo Submitted By Matt Bryan

Photo Submitted ByMary MaattaLast year’s Outdoor Odyssey girlcounselors flex their muscles after winningan Ultimate Frisbee game against the boy counselors.

A Night toTreasureMay 99,, 22000088

Getting Ready Getting ready for prom is half the fun of going,and usually takes all day long. Seniors EmilyWood and Alicia Brasile wait patiently as they gettheir hair styled.

Dinner BeforeWith the new changes to Prom this year, groups ofcouples went out for dinner before the GrandMarch began. This group went to Robkyo for extraentertainiment during their dinner.

Pictures before PromJuniors Paige Blawas and AdamSarnosky pose for a photo before theirgroup left for the Grand March.

Grand MarchSenior Chelsea Walker escorted by MattZitterbart walk through the GrandMarch underneath all of the Piratethemed decorations.

Food BarsOne of the new changes this year consist-ed of having different food bars in theauxilliary gym. The stations includedAmerican, Asian, and Italian food selec-tions with a variety of food at each.

DancingThroughout the entire evening, partic-pants were seen dancing with their datesand friends. The DJ played everythingfrom 90s music to rap and country.

Leaving PromAfter a long night of dancing, seniorsAbigail Diamond, Josh Martin, RachelHorne and Kreighton Long get ready toleave the school early Saturday morning.The boys gave their dates their jackets sothey could stay warm going out into therain.

After Prom ActivitiesThe day after Prom can be just as antici-pated as the dance itself. Popular spotsfor after Prom activities are cookouts,Kennywood, picnics, or the Pirate game.

King and QueenOnce again the prom king and queen wererandonly selected at midnight. The luckycouple this year was Steve Lawrence andjunior Maureen Dudas.

Photo By: Mary Maatta, Staff Writer

Photo By: Angela Repko, Photo managerPhoto By: Kristina Wiggins, Staff Writer

Photo By: Mary Maatta, Staff Writer

Photo By: Natalie Schade, Staff Writer Photo By:Kristina Wiggins, Staff Writer

Photo Submitted By: Bree Larkin

Photo By: Courtney Furwa, Features EditorPhoto By: Courtney Furwa, Features EditorThe day of Prom is always chaotic, espe-

cially with the new activities and changesmade this year. Here is a treasure map tohelp guide you throughout the 2008 Promactivities. It begins with getting ready, con-tinues on throughout the night and endswith the after prom activities. Try to make itto the end where you can leave Prom andseniors will go onto graduate and juniorscan look forward to another year.

Graphics by Nick Baugh

Documents

Volume 85, Issue 14