paw print mahanoy area middle school spring 2017 … · experience as a long term substitute...

PAW PRINT Mahanoy Area Middle School Spring 2017

pawPR INT

Mahanoy Area Middle School

SPRING 2017


Congratulations to Manogna Pulusu

for her participation in the Schuylkill County Spelling Bee

Nobody should feel like they have to deal with digital harassment and online drama alone. Don’t just be a by-stander, waiting on the sidelines. Here are tips on how to be an upstander:

•Be a wingman. If your friend’s dealing with harass-ment from classmates, strangers, or a crush, show your friend that you’re someone to depend on. Listen without making judgments — especially because your friend may feel powerless and unable to get away from the harassment.•Play nice/Think twice. Let’s face it. You’re going to be mad at people who harass your friends. But feeding into the drama will only make things worse. Find ways to help your friend take action without taking revenge. •Show concern. If you’re worried that your friend is in an abusive romantic relationship, say so. Remember that your friend might not feel manipulated, even if you think it’s obvious. Offer to help your friend end the re-lationship safely. Click here to learn more.•Recruit backup. Help your friend identify other people who will be supportive. Remember that different people might be able to help in different ways.

Be an upstander! Contest WinnersEach year our students participate in a series of con-tests sponsored by our local Elks. This year’s Ameri-canism theme focused on the aspect of voting just in time for a presidential election. Mr. Heater would like to thank our staff for guiding our students through the

Raquel Roberts

writing process and assisting with sub-mission. He would also like to thank the Elks for sponsoring these programs and continuously serving as a strong partner in education. Winners in division 1 were Bree Dobeck, Lucas Karnish, and Arushi Palta. Division 2 winners are John Babinsky, Amelia Fetco, and Danny Reed. Congratulations to all of these students and their families. Each student will be invited to our local Elks facility so they can be recognized and share their entry.

The second annual mixed up day will took place on February 17th. Students were placed in mixed up sec-

Mix It Up at Mahanoy

tions and groups throughout the day. In addition, students participated in a series of discussions during each class. During our next class meetings, students will have the chance to reflect on their experience. Hopefully, our students gain a new perspective on working with others as we continue to promote positive social interaction at MAMS.


During the January school board meeting, Miss Vanes-sa Linkchorst was approved as our new fifth grade sci-ence teacher. Miss Linkchorst brings multiple years of experience as a long term substitute teacher here at Ma-hanoy. She served the district with assignments ranging from elementary through high school. “I am confident that she will be a strong asset to our educational com-munity for many years, “stated Principal Mr. Heater. Welcome Ms. Linkchorst

Welcome Ms. Linkchorst

Honor roll announcedPrincipal Mr. Heater is pleased to announce the sec-ond marking period honor roll. Students’ names can be found in a future edition of the local newspaper. The totals are: 5th grade Honors 17, Distinguished Honors 236th grade Honors 18, Distinguished Honors 147th grade Honors 18, Distinguished Honors 98th Grade Honors 9, Distinguished Honors 15Congratulations to all of these students and their fami-lies!

Alexis Bradbury

What is special about Easter?

What do you like about Easter? Ms. Marshall likes Eas-ter because she gets to spend time with her family. “Eas-ter usually comes around the time when the seasons are changing so I enjoy seeing the sights of springtime such as the flowers, she said. Usually, on Easter Ms. Mar-shall goes to church with her family, then celebrates with a family meal afterwards. “For fun we dye Easter eggs with my nieces and nephews and we also have an Easter egg hunt,” Ms. Marshall explained. She and her family bake a lot for the dinner together. Members of her family that she celebrates this holiday with vary from year to year. Sometimes they gather with family that lives locally; other years they travel to her brother’s house in Virginia for the holiday. What do you like about Easter? “I enjoy the time I get to spend with family,” Mr. Mroczka stated. Typically, he and his family have a large breakfast and a big meal later in the day. He spends time with his close family. Although, he would love to see other family members!

Important Dates

March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day Dance March 23 – 5th Grade Reptile

Program March 31 – Deadline for class dues

by Mariah Hernandez


Elementary School CornerMRS. SUSAN C. SCHEELER, PRINCIPAL

Guidance Counselor Heather Yarnitsky reports that the school-wide positive behavior program (BEAR PRIDE PROGRAM) has seen much success. BEAR stands for Behavior, Effort, Attitude, and Responsibility. Stu-dents have earned BEAR PRIDE tickets for good be-haviors based on classroom and school-wide expecta-tions. These tickets have been redeemed for prizes from the BEAR PRIDE INCENTIVE MENU (i.e. kids’ meal certificates, homework passes, etc.).Classroom BEAR PRIDE stickers have also been earned and BEAR PAWS added to the PATH OF PRIDE lo-cated near the office. Elementary students participate in a Valentine’s Dance on February 16th for having earned forty-five (45) BEAR PAWS. PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCESKindergarten hosted parent/ teacher conferences on Feb. 14-16th to discuss student’s progress in our cur-riculum. Parents were shown student work samples and assessments. This is always a great opportunity to com-municate with parents about the positives we see in the classroom as well as the weaknesses we note. Thank you to Mrs. Scheeler and Dr. Green for this beneficial opportunity. We always receive positive feedback from parents. ORAL HYGIENE PRESENTATIONDr. John Sadowski, an orthodontist in Pottsville, spon-sored a program as a way to say, “Thank you,” to his many patients that attend our school. The third grade oral hygiene presentation reminded and instructed the students on proper tooth and mouth care in a fun and educational way! The presentations coincided with February’s National Children’s Dental Health month. The children enjoyed the presentation and quiz game! Students that answered questions correctly received a ball. All students received a pencil, eraser, and rubber bracelet. MONEY, MONEY, MONEYWe have received $619.40 to date from General Mills for the boxtops that our families sent in. This is a very easy way for our school to raise money. The next box-tops will be sent out on March 1st. Please look around, ask relatives, friends, and neighbors and send them in. Special thanks to Mrs. Maryellen Boyle for coordinat-

ing this project. We have also earned $410.83 so far through the Red-ner’s Warehouse receipt reimbursement program. Spe-cial thanks to Mrs. Gloria Dudash for her efforts in sub-mitting these for payment.JUMP ROPE FOR HEARTDuring the month of January, elementary students raised $5,437.96 for the American Heart Association during their Jump Rope for Heart event. Allison Pan-gonis, a second grader in Mrs. Prices’ class, raised the most money with $1,085.00! Congratulations to all of our students that participated in this worthy event and to Ms. Kelly Wolfe for coordinating it during physical education class.NEWS FROM THE LIBRARYCongratulations are in order for our Librarian, Mrs. Michelle Wells! She has been selected to participate in the first Regional Leaders Academy for Pennsyl-vania School Librarians by the Steering Group of the Leadership for Pennsylvania School Librarians grant from a very robust and highly qualified applicant pool. This federally funded project is an innovative, immer-sive professional development experience designed to strengthen and support school librarians in PA schools and in PSLA, to assure that Pennsylvania students will have strong and effective school library programs led by librarians who are leaders in their schools, their re-gions, and their professional associations in the coming decades.100th DAYMahanoy Elementary celebrated the 100th Day of school on Friday, February 10th. Forty-three students with perfect attendance from grades K-4 joined Mrs. Susan Scheeler, Mrs. Melissa Honus, and Mrs. Heather Yarnitsky for lunch at McDonald’s. MTSS UPDATEMrs. Trinna Delia, Mrs. Melissa Honus, and Mrs. Robyn Sincavage were presenters at the newest MTSS cohort at IU29. They discussed our elementary school’s jour-ney and results thus far through the MTSS process and then answered questions from participating schools. Facilitators from the IU were very pleased with their presentation.


Students in grades 5-8 that would like to work on the next issue of Paw Print may see Ms. Scicc in the hs art room any day during

remediation.

Bear Pride

Rebecca Wiekrykas

Congratulations to fifth and sixth grade boys basketball for placing in three tournaments and third and

fourth grade Biddy Basketball teams for placing third in a

recent tournament.

On September 10, 2016, TEDxLancaster hosted a sold-out, professionally produced event at the Ware Center. Many adults passionately shared “ideas worth spread-ing,” and younger speakers also took center stage to share their passion. Building on the success of TEDx-Lancaster and in order to support student creativity, in-tellect and 21st century skill development, an Inaugural TEDxYouth@Lancaster is now scheduled for Saturday, June 17, 2017 at Millersville University. To clarify, a TEDxYouth event is a TEDx event created for youth and by youth with the help of adult mentors. Do you have an Idea Worth Spreading? The speaker curation process is now underway for students, grades 6-12. Please tell those in your world who you feel could make a positive contribution as a speaker about this event. We are looking for a variety of backgrounds, passions and experience! There is only one chance to be part of the Inaugural TEDxYouth@Lancaster event, so consider applying to speak if you have an Idea Worth Spreading! For more information, see Mrs. wells in the library.


Easter also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Je-sus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The week before Easter is called Holy Week, and it contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion Christianity, Eastertide, the Easter Sea-son, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday.

by Mariah Hernandez

Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve pub-lic parades and festi-vals and the wearing of green attire or sham-rocks. Christians also attend church services are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the hol-iday’s tradition of alco-hol consumption. Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Territory of Mont-serrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zea-land. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more coun-tries than any other national festival. Modern celebra-tions have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. In recent years, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations for having become too commercialized and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish

St. Patrick’s Dayby Mariah Hernandez

Congratulations to the Eighth Grade

Students of the Month for December: Anna Hanley and

Michael LucasJanuary: Kaitlyn Van Horn and

Ean Chelak

April Fools’ Day (sometimes called All Fools’ Day) is celebrated every year on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. People playing April Fool jokes expose their prank by shouting April Fool. Some news-papers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters. Although popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country.


We interviewed teachers and asked them what they do for spring and Easter, if family comes over, what do they eat, and their traditions. Read their answers to find out what they do for Easter. We asked Miss Kesselring what her traditions are for Easter. She said she gets together with her family and they have a big dinner. The next question we asked her was if she decorated outside or inside her house for Easter. She then responded that she does not decorate outside. However, she does decorate inside with flow-ers, bunnies, and anything else spring- like .The final question we asked her was what she ate at her feast. She said that she eats ham, mashed potatoes, and fruit salad. She said that her family makes more desserts than any-one could eat. She then said that she picks one dessert and they have leftovers for days. For Mrs. Cavenas, we asked her if she had any tradi-tions for Easter. She said that she always has a big Eas-ter egg hunt in her yard with her family. The next ques-tion was what she did with her family when they came over. She said that she doesn’t have family that come over. She just usually gets together with family at one of her siblings houses. Then, we asked Mrs. Cavenas if she decorates for spring or Easter . She responded that her husband does all of the decorating. He does both the inside and the outside of the house. The last question we asked Mrs. Cavenas was about her feast. She said she eats ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, and different vegetables. We asked Mr. Zack if he has any traditions for Eas-ter. He said he goes to church and eats dinner with his family. Next we asked him what he does with his fam-

ily when they come over. He replied that he likes to relax and enjoy each others company. He also replied that he and his family play cards or board games with each other. The last question we asked Mr. Zack was what he eats for Easter dinner. He said that he eats ham, chicken, potatoes, and lots of vegetables. The first question we asked Ms. Scic, was if she has any traditions for Easter. She said that she decorates Easter eggs. When her sons were younger the Easter Bunny would hide eggs for them to hunt on Easter morning. She also attends church and has dinner with her family on Sunday afternoon. The next question we asked her was if she decorates for Easter. She replied that she likes to hang lights on the fireplace mantle. She does this for every holiday. The last question we asked Ms. Scic was what she ate for dinner on Easter. She replied that she eats Italian Easter pies and wed-ding soup on Saturday. Then she eats ham, kielbasa, and green beans on Sunday The first question we asked Mr. Lawrence was what Easter traditions he has. He replied that he used to color eggs, but now that his boys are older they just do Eas-ter baskets. He fills them with little things like a book or movie. Next, we asked Mr. Lawrence if his family comes over for Easter. He said he usally does the visit-ing if someone other than his wife is cooking. If dinner is at his house, others go to his house. Then, we asked him if he decorates for Easter. He replied his wife does all of the decorating in and out of the house. It is one of their favorite things to do. The last question we asked him was what he eats for Easter dinner. He said he eats all of the traditional foods like ham or potatoes.

Traditionsby Mia Hernandez, Alivia Kukowski, Alexis Gutekunst, Shaniece Kuilan


“FOR LASTING MEMORIES”

Daniel’s

PHOTOGRAPHY110 West Centre Street

Mahanoy City, PA 17948

570-773-2972

paw print mahanoy area middle school spring 2017 … · experience as a long term substitute...

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