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Bear FactsMahanoy Area High Schoo November 2, 2009

Along with the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year came many changes for which students share varying opinions. The most promi-nent of these is the newly instilled Dress Code Policy. With the new policy in effect, students are pro-hibited from wearing any hooded sweatshirts or flip-flops between 7:55 and 2:30, a change many stu-dents are having trouble accept-ing. Other restricted items include v-neck shirts, shorts above the knee, and backless shoes. Senior Crista DiCasimirro feels that the dress code is more unfair to girls than it is to boys. She goes further to say, “The new rules are

“Dressing to Impress”directed more toward girls. Boys don’t usually wear v-necks and skirts, so they obviously won’t have as much trouble dressing to obey the code.” Senior Bobby Roncek agrees and goes on to tell how the dress code has affected him. “It really hasn’t directly af-fected me, because I wear a t-shirt and shorts to school almost every day.” Roncek adds, “I think the no-hoodie rule will pose a problem in the winter months, because sweat-shirts without hoods are impos-sible to find these days.” Roncek and Jasmine DeAvila agree that if they could change only one thing about the new dress code, they

would choose to be allowed to wear hooded sweatshirts. The idea of a khaki-pants and polo-shirt centered code has been considered by both teachers and students. Jasmine DeAvila favors the idea saying, “Polos and khakis would make shopping for a suit-able school wardrobe easier and students wouldn’t have to ques-tion if their normal clothes would be acceptable.” This kind of dress code is a realistic possibility for Mahanoy students of the future. Perhaps, students will accept that type of code more warmly than they have accepted the policy in-stilled this year.

Thoughts on the New Dress CodeBy: Katie McCarthy

The Mahanoy Area Drug and Al-cohol Prevention Coalition met on Monday Oct. 12th and discussed several issues including drug tip-line stickers which are being ordered and will be distributed among Mahanoy Area students. The Coalition also discussed drug and alcohol testing and began ear-ly planning for drug and alcohol free prom and graduation events. The Coalitions next meeting will be Monday November 16th, 2009 at 6:15 in the Mahanoy Area High School, the public is invited.

What is MADAPC?

GO BEARS!

Contributing to this issue of Bear Facts:Katie McCarthy, Gary Perna, Frank Scicchitano, Candace Fegley, Tanya Styka

Mahanoy Area High School November 2, 2009

For Sale

2010 yearbooks See Ms. Scic in the

art room Price of the book is

$60.00 Payment must be made

in full.

Books from the following years are

also available2009 - $35.002008 - $25.002006 - $15.002004 - $10.002003 - $10.002002 -$10.001993 - $10.001992 - $10.00

1989 - $10

Attention Seniors:

Your senior photo for the yearbook

was due to Ms. Scic by October 13. See

her asap if you did not meet this

deadline.

Are you or a friend...

... Having problems keeping your grades up?

...No longer feel like hanging out with friends or family?

...Not enjoying your favorite activities like you used to?

...Being bullied or harrassed?...Feeling like you just can’t seem to get

it together?...Experimenting with or using alcohol or

other drugs?...Adjusting to a new school?

...Close to someone or have a family member serving in the military?

...Having thought of hurting yourself or someone else?

...Feeling emotionally overwhelmed?...Always worrying?

...Thinking about suicide?...Dealing with the breakup of a relation-

ship?...Being hurt physically or emotionally by

someone?...Dealing with major changes in your

family like your parents’ divorce?...Dealing with the illness or death of

someone close to you?

The Student Assistance Team is a group of school and community staff that is here to help you deal with problems that are stopping you from doing well in school or stressing you out. The staff will respect you and your parent’s/guardian’s privacy at all times. Members include Mrs. Blue, Mrs. Stone, Ms. Pollack, Ms. Scic, Mr. Vavra, Mrs. Bet, Ms. Wetzel, Mr. DiCasimirro, Mrs. Caufield, Mrs. Hen-ninger, Mr. Wetzel, Mr. Cray, Mrs. Delia and Mrs. Orsulak.

The High School Theater Arts Club will present “White Christmas” on Friday 11/20 and Saturday 11/21 at 7:00. Tickets go on sale 11/1 begin-ning at 12:00. Cost is $5.00 in ad-vance and $7.00 at the door. See Mrs. Scheeler if interested.

Attention cast and crew members - patrons are past due. Please re-turn to Mrs. Scheeler immediately!

PREVENT the

FLUThis is a cute, easy to understand resource site about flu and flu prevention that is family and kid friendly - lots of learning activities and ideas to help promote what we’ve already been telling our stu-dents, staff, and families.

http://www.sayboototheflu.com/

There will be a mandatory interact

meeting on Tuesday, November 10th

in Mrs. Fegley’s room.


First Name _Middle Last _______

Address

City State Zip

Phone ( ) E-mail ________________________________

School Name _____________________________ Grade ______ Age

The poster is an original completed by the student.

The student received assistance from another person or materials/ideas

from another source. If so, please explain on another piece of paper.

Teacher _________________________________________

Public School __________ Private School __________ Home School __________

Address Phone ( )

City State Zip

E-mail address

Parent or guardian name (printed) _______ Signature of parent or guardian allowing NACD/District to utilize the poster for educational or promotional purposes:

Date

Name

Contact Title

Address Phone ( )

City State Zip

E-mail Address

When sending state winning entries to national contest please include: State poster contest sponsor,contact name, address, phone and e-mail.

The following information MUST be on the back of

each submission

Submissions are due: November 20, 2009

Submit Entries to: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Bureau of Alcohol Education Northwest Office Building, Room 602 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17124-0001

1 (800) 453-PLCB or [email protected] www.lcb.state.pa.us/edu

2009 / 2010 PLCB Annual Alcohol Awareness Poster Contest

Current Calendar Year: __________

Student’s Grade: _______

Student’s First Name: _________________________________

Student’s Last Name: _________________________________

Student’s Home Address (including city and zip):

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Student’s Home Phone Number: (_____)__________________

School Name: _______________________________________

School Phone Number: (_____)_________________________

School District Name: ________________________________

County: ____________________________________________

All poster contest submissions become property of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and will not be returned.

Big Brothers NeededSophomore or Junior boys are needed for our Big Brother Big

Sisters program. Please see Mrs. Brylewski if you are interested.

Big Brothers NeededSophomore or Junior boys are needed for our Big Brother Big

Sisters program. Please see Mrs. Brylewski if you are interested.

Top iTunes downloadsTop 10 albums on iTunes Music Store for Oct. 28:1. “Full Circle,” Creed2. “Fearless” (Platinum Edition), Taylor Swift 3. “Michael Jackson’s This Is It (The Music that Inspired the Mov-ie),” Michael Jackson 4. “En Concert” (Bonus Track Ver-sion) (Live), Jack Johnson 5. “Save Me, San Francisco” (Bo-nus Track Version), Train6. “Battle Studies” (Deluxe Ver-sion), John Mayer 7. “Sainthood” (Bonus Track Ver-sion), Tegan and Sara8. “Congregation of the Damned,” Atreyu9. “Ocean Eyes,” Owl City10. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (Deluxe Version) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Various Art-ists———For more information, please visit the iTunes Web site at www.apple.com/itunes/.———Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.


Reality Tour© –Dramatic journey with a teen ‘heroin addict’ from arrest

to overdose and funeral!

.

The Tamaqua Area Drug Prevention Program, in partnership with Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol, will present the Reality Tour© on November 18, 2009. Dates for 2010 will be determined upon room availability at Lehigh Carbon Community College. The tour will be held at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua.The Reality Tour© Drug Prevention program was created by Norma Norris of Butler, PA in 2003, and is now promoted through the nonprofit organization CANDLE, Inc.Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol in Pottsville, PA has purchased the Reality Tour© Program for use in Schuylkill County. The tour is recommended for children age 10 and up when accompanied by a parent. Advance reservation is required as space is limited and parental consent is required. Participants will follow the fate of a fictitious teen addicted to heroin. The tour uses Protection Motivation Theory, which includes an Arrest and Prison Experience as well as dramatic Emergency Room Overdose Scene and Funeral Home scene. A narrative by the ‘addict’ precedes each scene and includes the constant reminder to the audience that, “I’m just like you.” Each attendee will be given a drug abuse profile to adopt during the program, so that participants can

become familiar with different addictive drugs as well as gateway drugs. At times attendees share their ‘story’ of addiction in small group The Reality Tour© was developed as a response to the rising drug use among teens who mistakenly think THEY won’t become addicted. The original Reality Tour© was so widely accepted that at times the Butler Reality Tour© has experienced a two month waiting list for reservations. (Newspaper articles at www.candleinc.org The Reality Tour© will also touch on methamphetamines, fast becoming the new illegal drug of choice. It is a much harder habit to overcome than heroin and associated with violent tendencies. (Law enforcement currently encountering meth users state, “You will wish your child was on heroin!”)Registration forms are available at all county schools, Schuylkill County Drug and Alcohol, or by contacting Diana Sweigert at 570-778-2316 Sewing and Fashion

meeting will be Friday, November 6th from 2:30 – 3:00.

The yearbook picture will be taken so please be present.

Netflix top 10The Netflix top 10 national rentals for the week ending Oct. 24 are:

1. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

2. “The Proposal”3. “Land of the Lost”

4. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”5. “”State of Play”

6. “Drag Me to Hell”7. “Year One”8. “Duplicity”

9. “Monsters vs. Aliens”10. “The Soloist”

Source: Netflix

Club


High school picture retake day is set for November 5th. If you need a picture form please come to the office. Atten-tion vo-tech students currently at vo-tech please have your picture taken before you get on the bus in the morning. This is the last opportunity to have your picture taken.

Mark your calendars for an as-sembly on December 11, 2009. It is called “Mind over Magic” and should prove interesting.

Winter Sports Physicals will be administered on Saturday November 7th at 8:00 am in Nurse Blue’s office. Please see

the bulletin board by the of-fice for more information.

Hypnotist to Visit Mahanoy

“White Christmas” to be Performed @ Mahanoy

BY: Gary Perna“It is one of my favorite shows and it has the necessary number of roles for the seniors,” stated Theatre Arts Director Mrs. Scheeler, when asked why she chose this particular show. It features six main characters, including Bob Wallace, played by Eric Moucheron, Phil Davis, played by Mike Wawrzynek, Betty Haynes, played by Katie McCarthy, Judy Haynes, played by Allison Amershek, Martha Watson, played by Jackie Roberts and General Henry Waverly, played by Bryan Wagner.The play is about a retired general who owns an inn in Vermont. It hasn’t snowed and he is about to lose his business, when his troops arrive to save the day.About eighty people are involved in the production of “White Christ-mas”, including forty-five cast members, twenty-seven crew and ten adults. There are some very cool costumes in the show, dating from the 1940’s and 50’s.The show will be performed on Friday, November 20 and Saturday, No-vember 21 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 in advance and $7.00 at the door. Hope to see you there!

A representative from the AVTS (Area Vocational Technical School) is scheduled to present info to all members of the freshman class in the auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 19, following the morning an-nouncements.

Freshmen VT Presentation


MAHANOY AREA ANONYMOUS DRUG ACTIVITY TIP LINE

.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!Do you know someone who needs help with a drug problem?

Did you witness legal drug activities?Do you know of drug dealings taking place anywhere in the area?

Do you suspect of drug storage or processing in your neighborhood?Help us combat drug activity by letting us know it.

Working in partnership, we can make a difference!The Mahanoy City Police Department ANONYMOUS DRUG ACTIVITY TIP LINE

is for the confidential and anonymous reporting of information and non-emergency incidents to the Mahanoy City Police Department. The line has been set up so that members of the community and students of the Mahanoy Area School District can report information that they may otherwise be reluctant to report. The Tip Line is a voice mailbox with a recorded message. A caller can leave a message containing

the information that he or she wishes to share with the police department. There is no way to identify the caller or the line the caller is calling from. A caller is welcome

to identify themselves and leave contact information if they wish and are encour-aged to do so if the situation reguires follow-up contact. The information left on the Tip Line will be checked frequently, and investigated as necessary. The Tip Line is a non-emergency line. If an incident is an emergency or requires an immediate re-

sponse, call 911.

Help us take back our community by reporting illegal drug activity on the Tip Line!


Worried About a Friend?There is an anonymous referral box in the hallway near Mrs. Blue’s office where stu-dents can refer a friend (or themselves) to the Student Assistance Program. Bro-chures are located by the box and students can use those to make their referral.

Scicc’s

Sports Spot Banned

Book Week @ MA

BY: Tonya Styka

Some schools ban specific books from their libraries due to content, question-able language, love scenes, gay and les-bian themes, drugs, alcohol, abortion, the death penalty and more. To call atten-tion to this, the Maha-noy library pretended to ban books. Popu-lar books that other schools have banned are Harry Potter, Of Mice and Men, I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings and The Adven-tures of Huckleberry Finn. Presently, none of these books are banned from the Ma-hanoy High School library.

Facts Phillies Yankees2009 Record 93-69 103-59World Series

Championships2 26

Notable Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton,

Harry Kalas

Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Reggie

JacksonStadium Citizen’s Bank Park Yankee Stadium

Career Home Run Leader Mike Schmidt (548) Babe Ruth (714)2009 Home Run Leader Ryan Howard (45) Mark Texiera (39)25+ Home Runs Hitters 4 5

The 2009 World Series features two of the most

decorated teams in MLB history. Countless storylines surround both teams as

the Philadelphia Phillies search for the first World Series repeat in a decade and the first in the National League since the

Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976. The Phillies are very certainly capable of accomplishing this feat. Controversy has bounded the New York Yankees all season. With an average salary of more than $14 million per starter, the Yankees have been expected to “buy their championships” every year. But after missing the playoffs last year, and winning their first AL East title since 2006, the Bronx Bombers have something to prove this year; Money can buy championships. There is a bit of irony in this year’s World Series matchup between the Phils and the Yanks. As I said, the Phillies are looking to become the first team to repeat as World Champions since their opponents, the Yankees, dominated the MLB winning the big one in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The Yankees return to the World Series for the first time since 2003, when they suffered a heartbreaking game seven loss to the Florida Marlins. New York is also returning to the World Series for the first time without Joe Torre in nearly fifteen years. In his second year, Joe Girardi is making his World Series debut as a manager. As for the Phillies’ skipper, Charlie Manuel, this World Series will be capping off his third straight postseason in five years with Philadelphia and his second consecutive World Series.Both the Phillies and the Yankees are storied franchises. Here are a few facts comparing both teams.


Social networking tools — such as Facebook, blogging and Twitter — are fast becoming an integral part of college admissions around the country as students communicate with schools in the way that has become second nature to them.More than 60 percent of schools are now using so-called social me-dia to recruit and contact students — a huge jump in just a few years, according to a survey done for the National Association of College Admissions Counseling.And just about every college and university in New Jersey has re-cently started or is planning to launch some sort of social media campaign, from “live chats” online to Twitter updates and video cam-pus tours.Applicants to Monmouth University can now use videos submitted via Facebook — in lieu of essays — to tell the school why they should be accepted.Online groups set up by Drew and Seton Hall universities lets those admitted get to know each other before they ever set foot on cam-pus, and Rutgers University fresh-men are blogging for prospective students on school-sponsored sites.“It’s the new and best thing, and you have to do it unless you want to look antiquated,” said Peter Nacy, vice president of undergrad-uate admissions at Seton Hall.Seton Hall’s admissions office last year put up a Facebook page for freshmen enrolling in the class of 2013, offering notices, news and a chance to interact with other stu-dents. The site grew quickly and now has nearly 850 members, out of a class of 1,140.

Admissions offices reach out via social networking

“It doesn’t take long at all when you put yourself out there,” Nacy said.A VIRTUAL FEELStorm Wycke used such connec-tions in making her decision about where to enroll. She corresponded with current and prospective stu-dents and got a virtual feel for the half dozen schools to which she’d been accepted.“It actually helped me figure out I wanted to come to Drew,” said Wycke, now a student on the cam-pus in Madison.Schools, and different groups and departments within those schools, have set up myriad Facebook groups over the last few years — everything from pages for math majors to alumni.Now, despite some hesitation, ad-missions offices are getting into the act.Within the past couple of months, Montclair State University’s admis-sions office has launched a Face-book page and opened a Twitter account, said admissions director Jason Langdon.“Students are so used to commu-nicating this way,” he said. “It’s their channel. We want to interact with them.”Maintaining the networks is labor intensive — it often requires addi-tional staff charged with monitor-ing the sites daily and responding to inquiries and posts. And some admissions staffers have said they feel uncomfortable with the casual nature of conversation the medium engenders.But for the most part, it looks like online social networks are taking their place as a tool in recruiting and admissions.

PROFESSIONAL HELPCompanies have sprung up on the Web that help students create online profiles suitable for admis-sions and help colleges reach out to students via social networking sites, some designed specifically for the purpose.“By next year, college admissions officers won’t be able to ignore this anymore,” said Kristen Campbell, a director for Kaplan Test Prep.She said there has been a major shift among students as well. In the past, some were upset that ad-missions officers might see their personal Facebook pages — often a place for party pictures and off-color banter.Now, more students are reaching out to schools via Facebook.“They’ve gone from being leery to thinking about it in a more savvy way,” Campbell said. “They think ‘Why not use Facebook to help me sell myself?’”Kaplan found that 71 percent of admissions officers surveyed re-ported that they had been “friend-ed” by prospective students.Once someone accepts your friend request, they generally have access to your online profile. Prudence remains a good rule of thumb, experts say.“It would be important for students to keep in mind that we do have access to their accounts once they’ve friended us,” said Lauren Vento Cifelli, admissions director at Monmouth. “They should pres-ent themselves in a positive way on these pages.”Some local admissions staffers said they likely wouldn’t look at an applicant’s Facebook page, but the prohibition is by no means uni-

Game Informer Top 10: Top

sports games

The editors of Game Informer rank the top 10 sports games for Octo-ber:

1. “NHL 10,” PS3, Xbox 3602. “Madden NFL 10,” PS3, Xbox 3603. “FIFA 10,” PS3, Xbox 3604. “Dirt 2,” PS3, Xbox 3605. “Forza Motorsport 3,” Xbox 3606. “NCAA Football 10,” PS3, Xbox 3607. “NBA 2K10,” PS3, Xbox 3608. “Fight Night Round 4,” PS3, Xbox 3609. “Punch-Out!!!,” Wii10. “Need For Speed: Shift,” PS3, Xbox 360

For more video game news and reviews, check out the latest is-sue of Game Informer or visit the magazine’s Web site at www.ga-meinformer.com.(c) 2009, Game Informer Mag-azine, published monthlyDistributed by McClatchy-Tri-bune Information Services.

versal. Nationally, about a quarter of admissions offi cers reported using search engines and social networking sites to check out can-didates for scholarships or entry into selective programs, the col-lege counseling group found.Only about 13 percent of schools have actual policies on the issue, Campbell said.“A vast majority of schools are still trying to fi gure it out,” she said. “In many ways social networking is the frontier, the Wild West.”SOME HOLDOUTSThough Facebook has become the predominant social networking site, some admissions offi ces are holding off for now. “We haven’t found a huge desire for students to communicate with admissions through Facebook, it’s more that they’re connecting with other stu-dents,” said Jon Wexler, admis-sions director at Fairleigh Dickin-son University.But Wexler and admissions offi -cers at Ramapo College and Wil-liam Paterson University said they are all exploring the use of sites such as Facebook.At Rutgers, there are several Face-book pages for the university but none specifi cally for admissions.We are unconvinced that this is the main way our population does college searches,” said Lee Ann Dmochowski, senior admissions offi cer. “We’re going to go for quality contacts versus that brain candy that is Facebook.”The offi ce has opted for other so-cial media, however. Rutgers stu-dent bloggers went live last month as members of the class of 2013

Admissions offices...cont’dtalk online with the prospective students in the class of 2014. The blogs now get more than 100 hits a day, Dmochowski said.BIG ONLINE PRESENCEMonmouth admissions has em-braced social media in a big way, and in late 2008 began a presence on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and Ning, another social networking site. The channels are used to communicate with pro-spective students promoting, for instance, the school’s open house this past Sunday.The school recently announced it would allow students to make the optional video submission via Facebook, although none has yet been received, said Cifelli, the ad-missions director.“Monmouth wanted to bring part of the application to them using a medium they are comfortable with. We’re excited to see how a student presents themselves, sells them-selves,” she said. “But grades in high school remain the most im-portant factor.”Indeed, the experts say the medi-um would never supplant the sta-ples of selection: grades and test scores. Said Campbell: “At the end of the day, being a Facebook friend with a college admissions offi cer is not going to make up for weak academics.”———

(c) 2009, North Jersey Media Group Inc.Visit The Record Online at http://www.northjersey.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.


SADD FACTYour driving privileges can be suspended if you: -Lie about your age to obtain alcohol-Purchase, consume, possess, attempt to purchase, or transport alco-hol-Carry a false ID

NEXT BEAR FACTS

DEADINE:

Monday, November 16


“FOR LASTING MEMORIES”

Daniel’s

PHOTOGRAPHY110 West Centre Street

Mahanoy City, PA 17948570-773-2972

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