Author: gshslionsdenadmin

The Cure | “Staring at the Sea”

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw 

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

Formed in 1978, The Cure, originally called Easy Cure, is a British rock band known for their varying styles in music and the frontman’s unique look.  

Through several lineup changes, the band has remained active, having released 13 studio albums and soon releasing their 14th. Robert Smith (vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter) has remained the only constant member of The Cure, having originally formed it with Lol Tolhurst (drummer and keyboardist) and Michael Dempsey (bass guitarist). 

The 80s proved critical for the band’s success, primarily in the U.S., finding their way into rock radio channels, as well as onto the Billboard Top 100 in 1985 with songs “In Between Days” and “Close to Me,” both from their sixth album, “The Head on the Door” (1985).  

Their second album, “Seventeen Seconds” (1980), established their melancholic sound, especially apparent in “A Forest,” the seventh track. The darker style, different from the ‘70s punk feel of “Three Imaginary Boys” (1979), continued to be explored with many of their albums to come.  

Along with bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division and Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Cure helped to define gothic rock with their haunting instrumentals and sophisticated lyrics. “Disintegration” (1989), their best-selling album, is considered the greatest goth album of all time. 

Shifting between Gothic and New Wave, albums like “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” (1987) and “Wish” (1992) have more upbeat tones with love-filled themes. The difference between a song such as “Lullaby,” with its long breaks of eerie guitar and synth sounds, compared to the strong and playful horns of “Why Can’t I Be You?” may make the two sound like completely different bands to those who are not familiar with them. Both albums lean more towards the Pop side of ‘80s and ‘90s music. 

When picking CDs for a long car ride or a record to play as loud as possible, “Staring at the Sea” is a go-to. Made up of all their singles released up until 1986, this compilation perfectly encapsulates their changes in sound, filled with hits such as “Boys Don’t Cry” and “The Lovecats.” 

In my opinion, The Cure has released some of the most emotion-inducing music; having equal portions of their darker goth rock music and their cheerful, keyboard led pop-like music, this collection is perfect for jumping around and flipping your hair to, as well as for sitting in a corner and moping.  

I see it as the best place to start for those interested in listening to The Cure as it appeals to different tastes as well as essential for fans of their popular songs to find lesser-known hits like “The Caterpillar.”  

High School Happenings

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw 

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

Papers are posted all over the high school walls promoting what is happening now and coming soon, some serving as call-to-actions and others being informational. 

Dodge For a Cause 

Flyers around the school were promoting sign-ups for this year’s Mini-THON. Push Week Incentives were recently shared on the GS Mini-THON Instagram, @gsminithon, motivating students to donate towards the fight against childhood cancer. 

“The constant is to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer,” Faculty advisor Mr. Matthew Boe said. “We try to go about that in different ways, learning from previous years, keeping in mind what went well and what didn’t. We try to continue to add something new, different twists to keep it exciting.” 

The incentives start with pieing Mr. Demary in the face at $5,000 raised, ending with the leadership team going skydiving at $50,000. 

Blessing Bags 

“Blessing Bags” are being promoted as well; a movement to put together as many bags as possible, filled with necessities such as toiletries, food, clothes and other small things anyone could find useful. The goal is to have bags available at GS Threads, as well as giving them to people within the school for handing out. 

“We still need more items before we can build viable bags,” NHS faculty advisor Mrs. Cheryl Harper said. “We are getting there, but it has slowed down a lot. … We are still taking donations.” 

Bio-Club 

GSHS’ Bio club took donations for their Humane Society Donation Drive, all of which went to Westmoreland’s Humane Society. Cleaning products, animal care products and other supplies were taken during first block classes from January 29th until February 9th.  

Golden Lion Shoppe 

Located across from the cafeteria, The Golden Lion Shoppe is now open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during advisory. 

 “We wanted to give students the opportunity to practice job and social skills,” Faculty advisor Mrs. Leisa Ecklund said. “We’re selling snacks, like chips, drinks, cookies, as well as some school supplies.” 

Prom 

Tickets for this year’s Prom will soon be available, starting March 25th. A special presale will begin on March 18th and end on the 22nd. Forms will be located outside of room 352 and are due to Mr. Gazze by 3:00 pm on April 5th. 

Folio 

Folio is now taking submissions for its 40th issue, asking students to consider sharing any artworks or writings for this year’s release. The magazine will be printed in full color once again. Submissions are due by April 2nd. 

“It’s a great way of bringing attention to how much talent we have at Greensburg Salem,” Folio editor Ariana Case said. “I think it also inspires others to create.” 

Snow Days VS.  FIDs Days  

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Samarah Guy  

Photo Courtesy: Alyssa Martinez

Many schools don’t have snow days anymore because Covid-19 opened a new world of virtual learning.  

GS has flexible instruction days, so students can do work from the comfort of their own home when the weather gets bad.  There are many advantages to FIDS days, but there are also many disadvantages.  

“I wouldn’t be comfortable doing online because I don’t get the hands on learning I need,” sophomore Nevaeh Hirst said.  

Many students need a teacher to physically show or help them when it comes to learning, and a computer screen doesn’t allow that to happen.  

Some teachers will make videos or step-by-step directions for the students, and many benefit from this because they can look back and make sure they are doing what is being asked.  

“If I were to virtually learn, I would slack off because there are more distractions for me at home,” Hirst commented.  

Distractions are more limited in school, and the teacher can bring the student’s attention back to the subject at hand. When the child is at home, anything around them can take their attention away from school because they are in their comfortable place.  

Students can also cheat on assignments using the technology around them. Not only is this not helping their brain work, but it’s also giving kids the opportunity to become dependent on technology.  

When GS has a FIDS day, many students may fall behind on their work or their grades may even lower.  

“When we do online my teachers usually don’t give work, but when they do, I don’t do it because I’m used to not having to,” junior Savannah Herring said.  

Some students may not be able to attend their virtual classes because they don’t have access to the items they need. Not being able to do work or log onto the live class, the students not only are falling behind on work, but they also will be marked absent.  

“I think if you have access to a computer or WIFI at home, you can benefit, but if you don’t have access, school shouldn’t hold you accountable for it,” U.S. government and politics teacher Ms. Sierra Aires said.  

Teacher and Staff Games

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Christina Burkhart

Tables have turned with teachers now running the halls playing games of their own. 

Started by associate principal Frank Sundry, High School staff members have been taking part in a faculty-wide camaraderie building game, separated into five teams with each competing against the others in different activities. 

Mr. Sundry formed this game for the staff as a team-building exercise to help form stronger relationships between them all.  

“For a school to be successful, you have to hold a positive culture,” Sundry said. “People have to enjoy coming to work; enjoying your work and your time spent with peers and coworkers has a positive effect on the classrooms, as well as teachers and students.” 

So far, they have proven to be a success amongst the staff. Starting with only about sixteen participants, just the first activity doubled that number. 

“I think once everybody realized what it was, we were all enthusiastic,” Librarian Mrs. Carrie Vottero said. “It has made us all have fun with each other, which we don’t really get to do. … It has made everybody feel like we are on a team together. … It’s just a great idea.” 

Fitting Sundry’s goal, participants find the game to be beneficial for their everyday lives. An important result is the communication it has brought between those who don’t normally get to speak, commonly from separation between floors. 

“It’s definitely good,” Physics teacher Mr. Christopher Gazze said. “I’ve interacted with more people, people that I usually wouldn’t; whether it’s in person or over chat. It’s really nice.” 

Regarding the games themselves, there is an almost consecutive favorite out of them all so far – that being the original. Somewhat of a scavenger hunt, each team hid GS logos throughout the school and searched for the others, the end goal being to find other team logos and keep your own hidden. 

As of right now, whether the game will be long-term or not is uncertain, as there are still factors that need to be ironed out. 

“The toughest task right now is the frequency,” Sundry said. “You don’t want to do it too much and over saturate, but you also don’t want to do it so little that people lose interest.”  

After everything regarding staff is set in stone, like the times for each activity, he said the plan is to eventually include students in the games. However, he is unsure when that could end up happening. 

As of now, the game has absolutely proven to be a hit with the teachers and will only keep growing in participation. Hopefully as years go by it will serve as a tradition among the staff. 

“We all say that it does,” Mrs. Vottero said when asked if the game has a future. “It’s just like a lesson: the first time you do it it’s only like a run through, but you know you’re going to do it better the next time. I absolutely think everybody would like to see this be something that sticks.” 

GSHS Footloose Musical

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

The cast and crew of Footloose are nearly prepared to hit the stage, break the rules and dance ‘till they can’t no more. 

The students involved are incredibly excited to present it in front of audiences. Junior Wesley Heverly, who last year played SpongeBob in GS’ The SpongeBob Musical, will be playing the lead role of Ren. 

“… we have the entire show blocked and choreographed,” Heverly said. “All we have to do now is put it all together and run through the whole thing a bunch of times and we’ll be set.” 

Blocking allows the Director to choreograph the show and take advantage of the space they have, mapping out each movement the actors make. 

This point in the musical making process is where a lot of the work goes in, from both the students and the staff.  

“… We have to add costumes, props, more set pieces, lighting, microphones and special effects,” Director and Producer Mrs. Sue Glowa said. “We’re finishing up adding all these components and bringing alive the magic of the show.” 

It will be accompanied by an orchestra of local professional musicians playing live each night. Mrs. Glowa said that the performances will be “amazing.” 

The cast and live music will bring a great deal to the show, but behind the scenes there is also the stage crew helping bring each scene to life. 

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

“What I do on stage crew is help move the big set pieces to where they need to be for each scene,” junior Logan Lewis said. “Once we get everything taped where they’re needed to be, I get to do flies; the pieces that are controlled from the air. I’m excited to do those and just to see the finished project for this amazing show.” 

The students must work hard to act out each scene together, keeping in mind who is going to be where and what is about to happen.  

“It’s a super fun show to be working on with how super dance heavy it is,” Heverly said. “… SpongeBob was such an energetic character last year. With Ren, he is also really energetic from his love for dancing. It’s great, the characters fun to be.” 

Tickets are on sale now for Footloose, coming to the stage on March 1st and 2nd at 7 pm, as well as March 3rd at 2:30 pm. Tickets will also be available at the box office an hour and a half prior to each showtime. 

Stress Management

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Samarah Guy

Resources are available in the Guidance Office to help alleviate stressful situations and to promote healthy solutions to issues students may be having.

Stress happens when the mind goes through a state of worry or tension.

Things like big changes, too many responsibilities, lack of control, trying to reach expectations, hate or abuse can be some of the leading causes of stress.

“There’s going to be stressors, things that stress us out in life, but being able to deal with them in healthy ways is important,” Guidance Counselor Mr. John Manley said.

Deep breathing, counting back from a number or simply just finding something that can ease the mind are great ways of releasing stress.

“I try to remove myself from the stressful environment that I’m in,” Manley added.

When people are stressed, they tend to fidget around or become emotional as well. This is because stress can be too much emotion for one’s body to handle and needs to be released in some manner.

“When I’m stressed, I tend to get angry or frustrated,” sophomore Cora Gray said.

Trying to understand what is causing the stress is the first step to take. From there one can start talking about it and find ways to help ease the stress.

“I like to find three things to focus on because then I’m not thinking about what is stressing me,” Gray added.

Stress can also cause stiffness to parts of the body, so exercising or stretching when stressed can be an effective way to deal with it as well.

“Make sure that you have time to balance some sort of healthy distraction, so that you’re not constantly in a stressful situation,” health teacher Mr. Patrick Hutchinson said.

Stress happens to everyone, and preventing it isn’t necessarily possible. Staying organized, having a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, exercising and taking care of one’s mental and physical health are great ways to help minimize how much stress a person has.

Stress may also lead many teens to addiction because they don’t understand how to cope properly. To prevent stress-caused addiction, find the triggers and find a solution when triggered.

“Try to find yourself a distraction to help yourself, not drugs, not alcohol, not compulsively eating but something healthy like exercise, music or whatever it may be,” Mr. Hutchinson added.

Positive self-talk about stress management is a healthy form of coping with day-to-day stressors.

Future District-Wide Construction Plans

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by Kerrick Shaw

Photo courtesy: Mrs. Kayla Tamer

On Wednesday, January 17th, GS Superintendent Dr. Ken Bissell held a presentation revealing the district’s “laundry list” of potential construction projects.

The listed projects consisted of refreshing the interiors of the district’s buildings, plumbing and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) repairs, landscaping and better accessibility for people with disabilities.

GS is forming a steering committee to decide what upgrades should be prioritized across the board, based on urgency and specific school buildings.

“My first priority is to look at the current state of all of the buildings,” Dr. Bissell said. “Number one is looking at what’s going to be here in the long term and what we need to do to bring them up to speed. There are three big topics we’re looking at: Safety and security … ADA, accessibility for everybody … and the last one is community engagement.”

Bissell said the district will take the concerns and recommendations from students and staff into consideration once the steering committee is formed.

Teachers are anticipating the completion of the district’s future plans, but have expressed worries of their own.

“There are things that have been left going for long periods of time, which is causing all of these issues to come together at once,” Social Studies teacher and Track and Field Coach Mr. Robert Lehman said. “Had the problems been addressed, it may not have gotten to this point.”

A number of teachers at the high school have experience teaching in the middle school as well, giving them a broader view of what the district might need.

“I believe the middle school needs the most updating,” Math teacher Mr. Al Toret said. “It has the most glaring needs. … My opinion is that the classrooms are too small; they were very tight. It was tough to do anything different because of the little amount of space.”

Mr. Toret and Mr. Lehman both agree that the biggest factor regarding the problems with the district’s middle school is age. Lehman considers problems harder to solve when caused by age. The High School, while still having issues of its own, could require less of an overhaul.

On top of the school buildings themselves, other areas on school grounds require acknowledgment for repairs, such as the High School’s tennis courts, fields and the athletic facilities.

“As a coach, I of course would want them to focus on the athletic facilities,” Lehman said. “One of the biggest problems is the locker rooms. That’s what I see the most as being in disrepair. You have lockers with no doors and some that can’t lock because the doors they have are bent so badly. The way the locker rooms are set up creates a lot of blind spots where you can’t see what is happening. It was a relatively poor setup to begin with.”

There is a lot to be done, but teachers have no doubt about Bissell’s ability to accomplish it all. Lehman said, having been friends with him throughout his career at the High School, that he “understands” what any problems are and trusts that he has the right plans to solve them.

Money is also a factor that needs to be greatly considered during the planning, which is why the steering committee being formed for determining what the top priorities are is essential.

“I believe when we got new roofs that was in the millions of dollars,” Toret said. “When you’re considering structural changes, there are architects that need paid, engineers that need paid, there’s construction costs – materials aren’t cheap, labor costs aren’t cheap. There’s a lot that goes into those numbers and it adds up quickly. It is a big deal.”

Students have also expressed opinions of their own. Their experiences in each building are much broader than the majority of the staffs’, as many students had, and have, classes on all floors every day.

“I think the high school needs a lot,” senior Lucy McChesney said. “Air conditioning and heating need worked on; there’s often problems with those. It definitely needs renovations, like in the bathrooms. … Comfortability is the most important thing.”

Bissell also believes comfort is necessary for the students. He spoke on upcoming HVAC repairs set to begin this April, funded by ESSER, which is a program, started in 2020, that focuses on supplying educational learning aids for classrooms and improvements within the schools.

He’s confident in the district’s capability of completing each project, but acknowledged that they will not be done in a day. There’s currently no way of determining an exact timeline. “If we as a district think it’s important to invest into the education of the youth in our community, it isn’t necessarily just a teacher standing in front of the room,” Toret said. “The environment we have our students in is almost just as important.”

Matchomatics

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Emma Helmick 

It is that time of year. Matchomatics forms have been sent for students to fill out. 

The forms will be open to students from December 4th to January 5th.  

Matchomatics is a fundraiser through NHS. Students fill out the form of questions and then it is submitted. They calculate the answers by how similar people did them.  

This is the first year for forms to be online instead of being on paper that advisory teachers handed out. 

Last years Matchomatics example form.

Photo by: Emma Helmick

Students will be able to purchase their results February 5th-9th for the price of $2.  

“Going online was a big decision to us,” NHS advisor Mrs. Cheryl Harper said. “It’s easier to get students to fill out forms when you’re physically putting it in front of them, but it does save so much paper. So we are really hoping that it works out for us.” 

Since it is online, there is no way to make sure every student submits their answers. There have been posters put up in the hallway with the QR code to the form. 

“Last year they sold so little and the shipping to bring the forms here and then get them back was a lot,” senior Paige Gaughan said. 

Out of everyone who filled out the questions last year, there was only a total of 161 copies sold last year.  

“It ate up all our profits,” Mrs. Harper said. “So we will print them out as people want them. We are actually going to go around and take orders from people and pass them out.” 

The papers will show students who are most compatible and then birthday trivia on the back. Results will still be available to buy until February 15th.  

“It’s always interesting to see who I match up with and see if I closely matched with any of my friends,” junior Cecilia Ecklund said. “It made it a lot easier to complete compared to previous years because it is online.” 

Matchomatics has been a tradition at GS for over 20 years. 

“It’s just supposed to be fun,” Harper said. “I think sometimes people think that it’s silly, but that’s exactly what it’s supposed to be.” 

Feminine Hygiene Dispensers Update

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Rubee Stillwagon 

The feminine hygiene products were removed from the bathroom dispensers. 

“I wish they wouldn’t have taken the products out of the bathrooms, but I can understand the problems with it,” sophomore Izabella Caruso said. 

The removal all comes down to one factor. 

High School Principal Mr. Adam Jones said that they were removed for “misuse and vandalism.” 

Due to students overflowing toilets with the products, throwing them at the mirrors and ceilings and sticking them to walls, all products were moved to the Nurse’s Office.  

A now empty feminine hygiene dispenser.

Photo by: Rubee Stillwagon

“I completely understand why they put them in the Nurse’s Office, but it can be hard for girls to go in and ask for that stuff,” Caruso said. 

It can be difficult and sometimes embarrassing for students to go in and ask for these products. These items being wasted, and bathrooms being vandalized, is something that the school district is trying to prevent. 

Mr. Jones explained how unfortunate it is that a student’s senior project, that they worked hard for, isn’t being respected. 

GS graduate Emily Campbell had feminine hygiene products installed into the bathrooms for her senior project. These dispensers were filled early in the semester and have already been taken out.  

“I don’t understand why students can’t just respect products that were there to help them,” sophomore Delilah Bevan said. “It’s sad that people don’t think about the consequences of their actions.” 

Due to a select group of students, helpful products are now harder to get for those who find them useful. 

“I just think it’s sad because some students don’t have these things at home,” Bevan said. 

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have these products provided to them. This was an opportunity to help those people. These products are still available, but the goal was for students to respect them. 

“Our hope is that students report incidents that impact their educational experience,” Jones said. “This includes resources provided to all students by the School District. We are a family at GSHS and when that family is negatively impacted, we must all work to fix it.” 

College Football Playoffs

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Ava Hardaway 

As the college football season comes to an end, playoffs have begun, and the bowl games have been set. From the Potato Bowl to the Citrus Bowl, 84 teams will continue their seasons and play one more game.  

There are 42 total bowl games set for the end of the 2023 season, including the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, which are the College Football Playoff Semifinal games. Four teams will face off to determine the College Football Playoff National Champion.  

On December 3rd, the college football committee came together to decide on the four teams that will face off in the playoffs. Alabama, Michigan, Texas and Washington were selected as the semifinalists for the playoffs. There was much debate that these four teams should have been the teams in the playoffs.  

Results of an Instagram poll.

30 people voted.

Photo courtesy: gslionsden on Instagram (give it a follow)

With undefeated Florida State not being selected in the playoff bracket, many fans, players and coaches were upset with the decision of the committee. High school gym teacher Mr. Nathan Snider and senior Mikey Kingerski have watched much of the college football games leading up to the playoffs and have an opinion on the teams.  

“I don’t agree with the teams that are in the playoffs,” Mr. Snider said. “I believe Florida State should be in, even though I don’t believe they are one of the top four teams in the country. I feel like if you are in a big five conference and you go undefeated you should be in, especially when there are teams in who lost one game and FSU didn’t.” 

Although the Florida State Seminoles did not make the playoffs while having an unbeaten record, they will get the chance to play the Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl on December 30th. Georgia was another team that had a strong record but wasn’t good enough to be in the postseason. 

Many people have chosen their team to root for in the college football playoffs. As Michigan seems to be the top-runner for the playoff championship winner, other teams have received love, or hate, for their placement in the championship games. 

“My favorite team in the playoffs is Washington,” Kingerski said. “I would have liked to see an ACC team in the playoffs over Alabama, as it is my favorite conference. But it should be a very interesting and cool group of playoff matchups.” 

Other top college teams like Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon and Penn State didn’t make the playoffs, but did receive a bowl game. 

“Besides the playoff matchups, I plan on watching Florida State vs Georgia and Ole Miss vs Penn State,” Kingerski said. “I would like to see Florida State win to prove the committee wrong. I want to watch the second game because I like Penn State.” 

While others prefer watching the bowl games, some do not. When not placing in the top four spots, teams are not given a chance to play in the playoffs. For the next college football season, the committee has decided to expand the playoffs to a 12-team playoff bracket.  

“I enjoy and will watch the college football playoffs,” Snider said. “I don’t care for the bowl games at all, but I’m really looking forward to next year when they have 12 teams in the playoffs.” 

As the college football season is slowly ending, the NFL season still has a few more weeks left. Fans of football -college or professional- have their preferences regarding what they would rather watch. The NFL gets more love than college football from many fans, but others enjoy watching college students play than professionals. 

“I enjoy both the NFL and College football,” Snider said. “I would say I enjoy the NFL more, mostly because of fantasy football and the Steelers.  It keeps me more invested in every game.  College, I enjoy watching the big rivalry games and conference championship games, but I don’t watch every game like I do the NFL.”