Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine - Issue 1, Volume 3

Tamaqua blue and white magazine Issue 1 , Volume 3

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

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Table of Contents

photography & design by: Kyle Weaver

Page 3 - Great American Bandstand Page 4 - 5 - Color Run for Education Page 6 - 7 - Halloween Attractions!

Page 8 - Fall Sports: Cross Country Page 9 - Fall Sports: Soccer Page 10 - Fall Sports: Tennis Page 11 - Resturant Wars: Dimaggio’s VS Luigi’s Page 12 - 13 - Hall Decorating Page 14 - Fall Scene Page 15 - Open House Page 16 - 17 - Homecoming Page 18 - Fire Prevention Page 19 - WP Students of the Month Book Review: If I should Die Before I wake By: Jacob Wenzel The book “If I Should Die Before I Wake” follows the story of Hillary, who is a neo- Nazi, lying in a coma in a Jewish hospital after a motorcycle crash. While in her coma, she slips into the life of Chana, a young Jewish girl caught up in the Holocaust in Poland. Hillary continues to slip in and out of her coma at the hospital as she relives the life of Chana in the ghetto and concentration camps. Only her fellow Neo-Nazis have something catastrophic planned and don’t care who gets hurt in the process.

I score the book 4.5 out of five. With its amazing story line, plot twist, and vivid characters you will enjoy this novel. You may however be asking a few questions at the end that will remain unanswered. The story was written

by Han Nolan and is only 293 pages but they will be the best 293 pages in a book you have ever read.

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Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

The lights shine down, glinting off my uniform and creating beautiful, tiny rainbows. We march in perfect unison, every note sounding more angelic than the last. At the end of the performance, the stands erupt as each person jumps up into a standing ovation, applauding us like the champions we are.

Or not. The reality is that the stadium lights hurt my eyes. I’m off beat sometimes, my shoe untied halfway through Johnny B. Goode, and my flute squeaked seven times before Phantom of the Opera was over. Some little kid has been pantomiming the drum majors the entire time. Most of the people applauding us are the band moms.

High School

Great American Bandstand By: Hannah Betz

This season, we attended two grueling-but-fun weeks of band camp, where we learned the entirety of our fifteen-minute performance, from the drill to the music to the marching. We have to wake up like we would for a regular school day to stand in the August heat, marching the same few parts over and over until we get it right, sometimes for a half hour.

It may not sound like it, but it can be fun. Really, it can.

The band has already performed at six football games. Though my previous reality is indeed true (it really can be hard to march through a whole show without any problematic spots), football games are also a ton of fun. We get to dance, hang out with our friends, and play our instruments for a whole night!

A big part of band is attending adjudications, or band competitions. This year, we attended two: our own Land of the Running Water and the Blue Mountain Adjudication. These are the most important shows of the entire year! We’re being scored on our marching, music, and drill. If there’s any show you want to ace, it’s adjudication.

Still, being in band is worth the trouble. We’re developing our musical skills, we’re getting exercise (marching counts as exercise, right?), and we’re making friends that we’ll have forever. It’s not too high a price to pay for all those perks!

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

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Colors for Education By: Damian Munoz & Rebecca Kanaskie

High School

On Saturday, November 28th, individuals of all ages united not only to raise money for a great cause, but to promote healthy choices and have a great time. Over two hundred participants arrived at the Colors for Education 5k Family Color Run/Walk ready to display their athleticism. The stark white “Colors for Education” shirts were distributed to all participants prior to the start of the race. However, once the event concluded, color stained every square inch of white fabric.

The school’s 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) cross country trail served as the course for the event. Despite encompassing a number of difficult terrains, participants persevered and conquered the winding trail.

Participant Caroline Kanaskie stated, “When I found out that the event would take place on the cross country course, I knew I was in for a challenge. The course includes a variety of hills and is rocky throughout--like advanced hiking. Only faster.” As the runners and walkers deftly maneuvered the course, volunteers stationed throughout doused them with a rainbow of colors. The colors were in the form of a chalk-like, powdery substance (non-toxic, of course). The top three female contestants were: Sarah Maue, Nicole Wasserleben, and Courtney Dukmen.

The top three male finishers were: Raymond Kinder, Isaac Miller, and Bradley Clemson.

Following the 5k, an intense exhibition of skill took place: the children’s run.

Taking high speed, sharp turns around the quadrilateral course, countless

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Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

amounts of youngster proved themselves. Similar to the full scale run, volunteers drenched the runners with the same powdery color substance.

The event concluded with a color release; all participants were given a cup filled to the brim with colored powder. With a synchronized toss, spectacular, vibrant colors filled the air. The colors conglomerated into massive cloud which settled down upon the athletes, covering them with additional powder.

All proceeds of the event went directly to the Blue Raider Foundation. The event raised over $2,500.

-How do you feel that this event benefited both the community and the Tamaqua Area School District?

Caroline Kanaskie (Tamaqua Graduate, Class of

2013): The race brought community members together to partake in a healthy and fun event. Participating may have exposed some walkers and runners to the sport and our challenging course. The registration fees provided the school district with some funds that can be used to further the educational experiences of every student, which can help them to use and spread their knowledge after high school. That’s a pretty big impact from just one race, I think.

Steven Moyer (Tamaqua Graduate, Class of 2012): I find community events are not only beneficial to the Tamaqua Area School District, but as well as the community that participates. Every year, events like this one will happen and draw the community together.

Ultimately, raising money for the school and the pride of Tamaqua.

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

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Haunted Attractions Gon Wild By: Brooke DeHart

High School

It’s that’s time of the spooky, spine-chilling, haunted year! As people trade in their shorts and t-shirts for uggs and sweaters, they are finally as to visit the long-awaited Halloween-styled attractions such as Dorney Park, the Waldorf Hotel, and the Bear Rock Junction Corn Maze.

Dorney Park: interviewed Sara Maldonado Q: Is there a certain theme?

A: Not really; there’s a lot of different themes.

Q: Who or what was the creepiest character walking around?

A: This tiki guy that was chasing me around. I lost my shoe!

Q: What was your favorite attraction?

A: The Asylum! It was so freaky!

Q: Do you go to Dorney every year?

A: I try to.

Q: If you could pick a Halloween theme for an amusement park, what would you choose?

A: Definitely not clowns! But probably zombies like the “Walking Dead.”

TAHS SCARE LEVEL:

TAHS SCARE LEVEL:

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Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

Waldorf Hotel: interviewed Rachael Jones Q: What is the “Waldorf Hotel?”

A: Hayride and haunted house.

Q: What’s one of the creepiest characters you saw?

A: There is a scary, possessed girl that was crawling. It was like a scene out of a movie.

Q: Did anything funny happen?

A: Ben and Stephen entered the room doing tumble sets and the actors were really confused.

Bear Rock Junction Corn Maze: interviewed Shayna Dietrich Q: Could you explain the objective of the corn maze?

A: At Bear Rock, the objective of the corn maze is to find all 12 checkpoints before exiting the corn maze.

Q: How many checkpoints did you get to?

A: We only got to 4 out of 12 checkpoints. We also got lost trying to take a “shortcut.”

Q: Why didn’t you finish?

A: Steve got hungry and we spent almost 2 hours looking for checkpoints.

Q: Would you recommend it?

A: Yeah! The corn maze is tons of fun and it’s a great activity in the fall to do, especially if you aren’t into spooky stuff. It’s even more fun if you break into pairs, groups, or boys versus girls and compete to finish the corn maze first.

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Fall Sports

By: Kyle Weaver and Abbigal Brickler

High School

Recently, I sat down with a few members of the cross country team to see how their 2013 season has been going. They competed in their last regular season dual meet, leaving just leagues and districts. This season, the boys had recorded six wins and eight losses, while the girls had ten wins under their belts and four losses.

They have been putting in a lot of hard work this year.

“We’ve been doing several practices after school. Before school even started, we’ve had two-a-day practices,” said Courtney Miller. She also shared how much fun the team has been having. “We did a mud run today,” stated Jacob Gursky, “and we’re covered in mud.” Besides all of the fun and games that come with the sport, I was curious as to the most rewarding aspect of running. “Feeling yourself get stronger everyday,” shared Jacob. Each mile they ran really does pay off in the end.

Despite having more of a younger team this year, it seems as if many runners have a positive outlook on the future of cross country. When asked their thoughts on upcoming seasons, Jacob Gursky stated that “we have great prospects in the future.” “I have a lot of faith in the kids we have this year,” added Zach Olivera. There is “a lot of upcoming talent.” The runners have great deal of confidence in their team. Zach reflected on the way that the boys’ team all worked together, “Some of our strengths were that for the most part we got along, that allowed us to go into meets and know that we were always going to have someone to push us further and help everyone get their times down.” He was also extremely grateful for having an exceptional, movtivating coach.

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The Cross Country teams did something new this year when it came to practicing. As opposed to practicing five days a week after school, they cut their schedule down to a Monday-Thursday practice schedule, with an optional practice on Friday. Oliveria says this was beneficial, “This was done so that we could go into the invitationals that we had on Saturdays where we weren’t looking so much to place well as a team but more so that each person could go into it and place well for him/her self.”

As for the girls’ team, they also were thankful for the family like bond that their team developed. Chelsea Frantz reflected, “Having such a close bond allowed us to push each other through our runs when we just wanted to give up.” According to the team, they ran an average of 3-6 miles per day. They were exceptionally thankful for each others motivating and driving force to finish. Melanie Kostecky added that their improvements and closer times really helped to congeal them as a team.

All and all, the boys’ and girls’ Cross Country teams had a great season. Their bonding and team work made them closer, and stronger as a team. Both the girls’ and boys’ teams had one major thing in common...Their appreciation for their coach! Victoria LaBar couldn’t have put it better by saying “We couldn’t have made it through the season without the coach we have either.

He’s a big inspiration.”

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

Eat, Sleep, Play Soccer!

As with any sports, accomplishments as a team, as well as personal accomplishments, are what make it all worth it. Sophomore Taylor Fritz commented that she feels the biggest accomplishment her team made was “having a variety of people score versus just one person.” On the other hand, Emily Wenzel felt that their team’s biggest accomplishment was the fact that they played their best games against the teams that they felt were a major opponent.

The boys’ team had a different approach to their accomplishments. Alex Verta was proud to say that the boys’ team had a better record this year than they did last. The boys’ JV team does, in fact, have every right to brag. According to the results from last year, the team upped their record with two more wins this season than previously. Overall, Josh Delp felt his team’s biggest accomplishment was the way that they fought hard until

the very end, no matter what the score of the scoreboard.

I asked the teams how their team grew this year, on more of a personal note, as opposed to numbers of players.

“We worked together versus being a team of individuals,” replied Taylor Fritz. Matthew Sweigert, junior, gave credit to where he felt credit was deserved, “We grew closer because of coach.”

High School

Both on the field and off, the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams had a great season this year! When asked about some of the challenges that the girls’ team faced this year, team Captain Mackenzie Heisler responded, “the challenges we faced were losing nine amazing seniors last year and having to basically start over not knowing what kind of teams we were going to face. We were such a young team.” The boys’ team was faced with a similar issue. Derek Keich reflected on the how his team had to work with so many new players this year that stepped up from middle school. All and all, he said that they stepped up and were an essential part of the team. Josh Delp said that the teamed needed to rebuild its chemistry with their new teammates, as well as their new coach.

Finally, I asked the players a more personal question, “How has soccer become a major part of what defines you.” Jazmine Goho replied, “When you play it, its not just something you do, you have to have it in your heart and want to play.” Likewise, Emma Rago is exceptionally grateful for the qualities of working hard and the determination not to give up.

The girls’ ended their season with a record of (6-11-0; 3-9-0), while the boys’ ended their season (3-14-0; 3-70). When asked about their overall thought of the teams this season, Morgan Boyle was very passionate about her team captains, as well as her team as a whole, “Our captains were awesome and I think we all grew close to each other this season. Our injuries were huge this year and I think we would have had a better season if they weren’t so frequent. I’m looking forward to next year. We’ll come back twice as strong and prove everyone wrong.” Emily Wenzel expressed the pride that she such a well-rounded, tight-knit team.

Great work to both team’s this season. All their hard work and dedication paid off.

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Tennis This years girls’ tennis team consisted of 14 dedicated girls, lead by their coach, Mrs. Jennel Yelito. The team welcomed one freshmen, Keyla Saez, onto their team this year. Apart from Keyla, the tennis team was made up of all sophomores, juniors, and seniors who played in previous years.

I got to sit down with two of the tennis players, Beth Kistler and Madison Davis, and talk to them about their season.

It turned out that the team lost seven seniors from last year’s team. This put doubt in their mind that they would be able to live up to last year’s expectations, said Maddison. However, Madison was humbled to say, “... but as it turns out we made it to districts and surprised everyone!”

When asked about other challenges they faced this year, both girls replied about doubles for points! Beth

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and her partner, Allison Pederson, made it into quarter finals, but then were defeated by Norte Dame Green Pine. Beth said, “They were really good, but we refused to give up!” Madison was exceptionally happy that her partner this year was also her best friend, Emma Osenbach. She felt that it made her partnered game in tennis a little less daunting.

When asked about the team as whole, Madison really emphasized the amount of family-like team work that came into play this year, “This year my team was not only my team but more like a family.” Beth complimented her statement by saying, “We really bonded this year. The team became one big happy family!”

Both girls agreed that motivation is a huge part of team work. Beth was more than happy to give credit to her doubles partner, Allison, for all the motivation that she provided her with this season! Maddison recalled always working hard because in the end she will become a stronger, better player.

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

High School

Restaurant Wars

By: Jacob Wenzel Hello, food fanatics! I hope you are as hungry as I am. Today’s Restaurant war is going to pit two of the best Italian restaurants in town against each other. I have reviewed the facts, tested both restaurant’s services against each other, and am ready to serve up the results in a three course review.

Before I begin, let me give you some background information on the restaurants. Luigi’s is run and owned by Rosario Longo from Brooklyn. In 1983, Rosario opened up his first restaurant in Brooklyn right across the street from the Pratt Institute, one of the nation’s oldest art schools. Rosario states that it became a landmark for the locals and the college students. Their recipes, he says, are “a mix of home cooking and New York/Brooklyn experience.” He started when he was just twenty five years old and has been in business for 30 years. Along with his place in Brooklyn, he also has a place in Bethlehem that opened in 1992 and the one here in Tamaqua that opened in 2007. The reason why he brought it to Tamaqua was simply to offer a variety of Italian food. Rosario says “With competition, the public will only benefit from it.”

We all know Alfie Picone, the owner of La Dolce Casa on 16 West Broad Street. Some of us may even know his nephews and nieces.

Fewer of you may even work there (I do!), but we can all probably say that we have eaten there or at least had it delivered to our house once.

Alfie opened La Dolce Casa when he was only 17 years old, and it has only grown since then. He has other restaurants in Nesquehoning, Minersville, besides the one in Tamaqua.

Now for the courses. In this war, each restaurant will be compared to the others in five courses. The first will be service. I will start with La Dolce Casa. La Dolce Casa greets you at the door and lets you pick where you sit, unless it’s packed that is. Once you sit down, you get a delicious plate of knots and garlic bread. Alfie will ask you from behind the counter how you have been doing, and it feels nice to know that he cares. Now for Luigi’s. They greet you at the door, and I have only gone there a few times myself but they already have my order memorized. Within a few minutes, Donna has my food ready and I dig in. On this front of the war both restaurants have tied. They both have

great and friendly service and treat you like family. I would also like to thank both Alfie and Rosario for taking the time to sit down with me and let me interview them.

The second course compares each restaurant’s food. I ordered the same thing from each restaurant: two slices of pizza and an order of garlic knots. Both restaurant’s price for this food was about eight to ten dollars, so it wasn’t expensive. I will start with the knots Alfie’s knots were delicious as always, and I could probably happily live off of them for the rest of my life. They were soft and warm, and I’m pretty sure they come free. Then right behind Alfie’s knots are Luigi’s they are covered in garlic and taste just as good as Alfie’s. However, Luigi’s bread is baked more, so the crust is harder then that of Dimaggio’s. Now for the Pizza both of them were great, but both were lacking in at least one aspect. Dimaggio’s pizza is soft and covered with cheese. That being said, Dimaggio’s pizza had a lot more grease on it then Luigi’s pizza did.

Now for Luigi’s pizza. Again it taste great, but it is kind of thin with the crust and, in my opinion, could be made thicker or add a little extra cheese. So, for this front in the war I have to say it’s a tie.

Now the third course. This one was probably the hardest to do because I had to find two stop watches to time the delivery services of the restaurant. I ordered food from Luigi’s first and it got there under ten minutes flat! Now this may be slightly unfair due to the fact that I did this at my gram’s house, which is literally right around the corner on Pine Street, but regardless, that was the time to beat. I ordered my food from DiMaggio’s, but it took them only twelve minutes to get there, but however, Luigi’s won this round. However, Luigi’s does not deliver to certain parts of West Penn, like by my house. So this one is a little unclear of winner since Luigi’s got there first, but then again, Dimaggio’s delivers much farther than they do.

Now a little while ago, a survey went out to the homeroom’s and you all voted on which one you liked better. Dimaggio’s outbeat Luigi’s with by 60% of the popular vote. Now that you’ve read both sides, it’s turn to decide: Who wins this battle of the resturants?

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Hall Decorating

By: Jazmin Mena, Allison Pederson, and Arie Serniak

High School

September eighteenth. A Monday. School may be out for the day, but that doesn’t mean everybody’s gone. In fact, all three floors are abuzz with activity. The lobby is flooded with seniors trying to make it seem threatening. Same with the second floor; both sophomores and juniors are working hard to make their hall foreboding. And on the third floor, well… the freshmen are trying their hardest.

So why all the fuss? It’s Homecoming week, of course. And this means, as it does every year, that the grades are duking it out to see whose hallway-decorating skills are the best. This year’s opposing team, the Annville-Cleona Dutchmen, have given the decorators some trouble; what really sounds right with Dutchmen? Everybody had trouble, but eventually, each grade persevered in its own unique way. The freshmen chose the theme Darken the Dutchmen, the sophomores Demolish the Dutchmen, and the juniors (in a brilliant stroke of originality) chose to

skip over the Dutchmen completely and use the theme Anchor Annville. And, of course, the seniors staked their claim on one of the best themes of the week, Drown the Dutchmen.

Each grade used an immense amount of creativity to formulate the perfect effect. Freshmen covered every light fixture, channeling a dark and spooky corridor. Sophomores took a different route, covering lockers in chalk and making tape outlines on the floor, evoking just the right feel for a creepy, abandoned demolition site. The juniors’ hallway was covered in “seaweed”, huge murals of fish, and netting, and the lobby was adorned with underwater details.

Though each space was excellent, only one grade could reign supreme in the decorating contest. The coveted award went to the seniors. We may all have wanted to win, but it was hard to deny that the seniors deserved it.

The Freshmen showed off their school spirit to “Darken the Dutchmen” by decorating third floor with garbage bags over the lights to dim the hallway. In addition, they hung red and white streamers and the team logos to get everyone excited for the game! Joshua Gordon, Rebecca Kanaskie, Matt Smarr, Abby Brickler, Isabella Ligenza, Alexa Hromyak, Daylon Barron, Hannah Betz, Emma Dillman, and Ryan Alicandri all participated in the hall decorating. Everyone was excited to see the finished hallway that they had all worked together to decorate:

“I really liked how our hall incorporated the ideas of both school spirit and uniting our class for a single cause. It was really neat to see everything come together. I think our hall stood out because we really tried to decorate both sides of it-one being very bright and the other quite dark.”

-Rebecca Kanaskie

This year’s homecoming theme for the Sophmore hall was “Demolish the Dutchmen”. As always striving to do their best, our dedicated sophomores wanted to create a hall that would get everyone in the Homecoming school spirit. They wanted to step it up from last year. Patrick McMullen, Ben Turrano, Lynn Kistler, and Taylor Fritz as class officers were in charge of the decorations. They gathered a big group of sophomores to help out and decide on what would be the best way to represent some friendly rivalry against the Dutchmen. They decided on doing the Haunted Work/Construction theme. The sophomores used caution tape to give it an alarming feel and used locker friendly markers to make it even scarier and more mysterious.

The outline of the person on the hall was used to represent the shadow of a Raider guarding their territory. The lights gave the hall an eery mood which made the theme really pop. We interviewed a couple of the sophomores who worked on the hall and they all agreed that it turned out better than they expected. Although they were a little worried on time restraint and weren’t sure how it was going to come together, the hall ended up looking great! The sophomores who dedicated their time on the hall included Patrick McMullen , Taylor Fritz, Lynn Kystler, Ben Turrano, Andrew Castagna, Cailee Bittner, Ashley Ziegler, Amber Linkhorst, Amy Bachert, Allison Amodea, Merranda Zehner, Zach Merenda, and Julianna Wagner.

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Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

This year the Juniors dressed up their hall to the theme “Anchor Annville”. The hard workers included Amber Gulick, Bailey Hartung, Brianna Wittig, Dylan Scott, Emily Pratka, Kyle Weaver, Rachel Keich, and Sara Maldonado. The Junior hall was creatively constructed with fish nets, anchors, and other under water materials. The Juniors even put up some white Christmas lights to complete the look!

“I think our hall turned out well!” commented Emily. “It wasn’t what we first envisioned but do to the lack of help, we still had a pretty nice hall.” Emily even put in nice words to her classmates! “Thank you to everyone who did help!

They’re all fantastic people!”

Rachel said, “I think it turned out better than expected. It’s always a surprise to see how it somehow comes together. Given more time we could have planned and carried out the theme by gathering more supplies and recruiting more people.” She too, was thankful to her classmates! “I would like to thank everyone who offered their talents, time, ideas, and supplies.”

“For all the time spent on it and all the help, I think it turned out pretty nice!” Said Sara.

Dylan admitted, “I guess it was pretty good. We should’ve had more of a dead set plan cause we changed our ideas like 10 times”

“I think it was great that the 7-8 people that showed up dedicated so much time and effort into showing our class pride. It was stressful at first, but we pulled it together and created something that we were proud of!” commented Kyle.

The Seniors’ chose the theme “Drown the Dutchmen” and filled the lobby with streamers of seaweed, anchors, and anything and everything found under the sea. Also, they included pictures of the homecoming candidates on Wanted posters. All the seniors had a great time with the decorating, and seemed very happy with their theme and prop choices: “I really enjoyed the wanted posters of all of the homecoming candidates, and the portholes on the fish tank. Our hall really stood out from all the others because there was actually color not black. I would have added more pirate themed items, but it was great the way it was!” -Lexi Boyer “I liked the whole underwater and ghost pirate like theme and the greenish dark glow we added to assist that. The significant amount of props donated and made from our classmates alongside the hard work we put in definitely helped stand out. We wanted to add more pirate flags and a giant helm (steering device for ships) on the front post. We also were planning on having a very nice large rug in the area but we ran out if time to find them.”

-Stephen Billet “I definitely liked how detailed it was. There was very little space left in the lobby that was not decorated” - Matt Stanek “I think my favorite part of the hall was the portholes on the aquarium. It stood out because we all made such an amazing effort to actually make it feel like you were in some sort of underwater ship. If we would have more time I think we would have expanded the theme further into the halls instead of just the lobby!” -Brianna Bittner “What I liked about my hall was probably the fact that I got to decorate it with some of the greatest classmates ever. And I think what set ours apart from all the others was the way we incorporated the fish tank in as part of our hall to give it an undersea or submarine type of feel!” -Jake Beers Jake Beers, Damien Munoz, Bryan Heyer, Derek Cinicola, Anthony Rago, Gabby Freed, Stephen Billet, Matt Stanek, Nichelle Pucklavage, Jared Sharp, Brianna Bittner, Miranda Amey, Lexi Boyer, Makayla Dillman and Johann Butkus all dedicated their time and effort to decorate, and their hard work definitely paid off. Congratulations, Seniors on winning the hall decorating contest!

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Fall Scene By: Haley Argust

Elementary 14

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

Elementary

Open House By: Riley MacMillan, Grace Kinder, Kaia Weller, and Alexis Squyres, Grade 3

Open House is when students, parents, teachers, principals, and grandparents all go to schools the kids learn in. At West Penn Elementary, Open House took place on Monday, September 23, 2013 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. At Open House, teachers show families what students do in school. The teacher talks to parents about what their children do every day. Open House is a great way to show families what a typical school day is like.

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

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Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

Homecoming 2013

Stefanie Gensure & Tyler Hope

Rachel Jones & Cody Houser

Talli Matkukonis & Jacob Beers

Samantha Postupack & Anthony Rago

Jessica Thomas & Stephen Billet

Since the second day of the school year, everybody has been waiting for the week of September 27th: Homecoming week. During the first week of school, the seniors were called to a class meeting where they had to pick a guy and a girl to be on the Homecoming Court. Soon after they tallied the votes, we had a Court. The girls that were chosen were Stefanie Gensure, Rachael Jones, Talli Matukonis, Sam Postupack, and Jessica Thomas.

The potential kings included Jake Beers, Stephen Billet, Tyler Hope, Cody Houser, and Anthony Rago. After the Homecoming candidates were announced, they needed to pair up and start preparing their dances. The couples were Stefanie Gensure and Tyler Hope, Rachael Jones and Cody Houser, Talli Matukonis and Jake Beers, Sam Postupack and Anthony Rago, and finally Jessica Thomas and Stephen Billet.

As a few weeks passed, it became the week of homecoming. We all know what that means! Spirit week and hall decorating. Spirit week consisted of decade day on Monday, Toga Tuesday, Super Hero Wednesday, Around the World on Thursday, and finally the traditional Blue and White day. There were many participants this year. The incentive to dress up was the opportunity to earn a Dimaggio’s gift card. This led people to participate.

On the day of Homecoming, we had a shortened schedule which allowed us to have a pep rally. The pep rally consisted of cheers, games, and the dances. The first dance was Sam and Anthony. They had the decade of the 1920’s. With the song selections: “Singing in the Rain” and many more, it really felt for that moment, we were in the decade.

The very energetic dance moves and a surprising ending with glitter coming out of the umbrella; it was a dance you couldn’t miss! The second dance was performed by Jacob and Talli who were stuck in the 50’s. This dance had almost everyone off their feet with excitement. Their costumes made it even more exciting. With the motions of the hand jive, a lot of foot action, and a shocking ending of the Bernie, they both “rocked around the clock”!

The third dance was done by Cody and Rachael.

Taking it back to the 1980’s, Rachael and Cody rocked with their guitars and flips! With all the fun song selections and awesome dance moves, it

was a sight to see! Following the 80’s dance was the 90’s dance done by Stefanie Gensure and Tyler Hope. With a lot of songs that we all know, it was hard not to enjoy it. All their flips and impressive choreography, they both did a wonderful job on their dance! Last but certainly not least, a 2000’s dance done by Stephen Billet and Jessica Thomas.

These two came out of their corners about to have a blast. Their dance had many songs that we all listened to when we were younger. The dance moves were also very together, and it definitely showed that they were all about having fun. After the pep rally, each grade was sent back to homeroom so we could vote for who we wanted to be crowned King and Queen. All the ballots were collected, school ended, and everybody was eagerly awaiting the football game.

A few hours later, it was halftime. The court made their way to the back of the field to soon be walking down the 50 yard line. Couple by couple, the candidates made their way to the front of the field. Last to walk were last year’s king and queen, Alex Wagner and Nolan Zeigler. When the tension finally built up, it was time to announce the new king and queen. First to be crowned was King. Whose name was going to be called? Nobody knew. Then, Anthony Rago was crowned Homecoming King. Who’s a King without a Queen? Each one of the candidates was wondering if it would be them, but Homecoming Queen this year, was Talli Matukonis! The smile on the king and queen’s face was priceless. Homecoming is by far one of the most spirited events that our school does.

Scan this QR code to watch the homecoming dances!

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

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Fire Prevention at West Penn Elementary By: Angel Shiner and Terra Steigerwalt, 5th Grade Students

Elementary On October 10, 2013, at West Penn Elementary, Fire Prevention Day is a big deal for all of the kids. Clint Schock, Chief of West Penn Fire Company, talked with all of the students in an assembly. He was joined by 10 other volunteers from the fire department and fire police.

The Chief shared information with the students that is very important in a fire situation. He told us that if our clothes are ever on fire, we should STOP, DROP, and ROLL. If your house is on fire, call 911. If your house is on fire, you should crawl on the floor because the smoke travels up. If you are stuck in your house during a fire, you should stay where you are and yell for a firefighter to find you. They may sound scary, but they are just trying to help you.

One volunteer even put all of the equipment on to let us see what they look like in a fire. It sounded like Darth Vador from Star Wars because of the way they need to get oxygen through their mask. They don’t want us to be scared of that sound, they want us to know that it is a sound of help.

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West Penn Fire Company has many different kinds of fire trucks. A tanker is a fire truck that hauls water to a fire. West Penn Fire Company has a tanker that hauls 2,000 gallons of water! If they run out of water in the fire truck, they will take water from ponds, lakes, streams, and even swimming pools. There are three different water pressures. If you turn it to high, the firefighter would get pulled back by the hose. The firefighters know how to use the hoses. They are there to save you and will do anything to do that. Another type of truck is the engine. They are all kept at the West Penn Fire Company.

The students and faculty of West Penn Elementary are so thankful for the West Penn Fire Company and Fire Police and for their wonderful program. So remember that they will bring any truck they need if it means saving a life. Also remember that 911 is the emergency phone number.

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Issue

Respect and Students of the Months There is something new at West Penn Elementary. We are doing a program for September: Respect month. Respect month is about acknowledging students that are being very respectful of their classmates. We are also doing a Student of the Month program to honor students who show great character and who go above and beyond.

The Students of the Month are chosen by the teachers. These students have shown that they have great character, help others, and are good role models. We walked around classroom to classroom to talk with the students asking what they think about respect. Phoenix R., Riley M., Grace K., Hunter R., Ethan B., and Jathan K.

think it is all about helping each other. Lacey B. thinks it is about sharing and kindness. We also asked the teachers why they chose them. Olivia K. thinks it’s about sharing with others.

Phoenix’s teacher says he displays great manners, he is also respectful to his classmates. He is a great example of respect. Riley M., and Grace K.’s teacher said they treat each other kindly and their teachers. Lacey B. shared her pencil, Hunter R. lent his eraser, Ethan B shared eraser, Jathan helps the teacher. Madelyn S. and Olivia K. on the first day of school followed directions and was being good. Students of the month are Marissa M., John G., and Kubilay A.

Tamaqua Blue and White Magazine | Issue 1, Volume 3 | Fall Edition

Elementary

By: Letisha Snyder, Luke Verta, and Kiara Moser

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eT h T

a Drama Club u q a Pr am

Wednesday, November 13th & Thursday, November 14th at 7:00 pm in the district auditorium!

es e n t s: