Halloween is a frightening and creepy holiday to some, but others enjoy Halloween as another fall season holiday.
The GS Mini-THON hosted their annual Trunk-or-Treat event on October 30th. This event was started a few years ago and has been continuously successful for both children and adults. Mini-THON leaders had many preparations for this event. They gathered volunteers to work and decorate trunks for the night itself.
The winning trunk theme. Pictured from left to right: Anna Sybesma, Grace Sybesma, Taylor Dale and Reese Pittler.
Photo courtesy of: GS Mini-THON
The overall administrator, senior leader Nick Heinnickel, oversees planning the events. He wanted to make sure that this event was continued at the school for students who wanted to get involved.
“The night consisted of a lot of fun activities,” Heinnickel said. “Activities like pumpkin chucking, some fun carnival style games, candy guessing and of course the trunk-or-treat itself. There was a 50/50 raffle for the parents.”
There were many improvements and changes from last year to this year’s event. Although this event is for children, there were activities for all ages.
“We expanded on the trunk-or-treat from last year,” he said. “Again, we kept some of the items that worked well, but we also added items we believe could be a fun new addition to help draw in more people.”
Not only is this a fun event, but this is a good chance to raise money for the GS Mini-THON. The night did come up with some problems including weather and missing members due to personal issues, but they were able to come together to make this a successful event.
“I was just so excited to see the community come together for this event,” he said. “There were over 100 trick or treaters, and the night was full of fun and good times. Mini-THON holds a special place in GS, and it is always a great time when we can get together and celebrate such a good cause.”
Trunk-or-Treat has become a Halloween event for the GS Mini-THON. For all, Halloween is a day of candy, fright and fun.
Students and teachers enjoy getting involved during the Halloween season. English teacher Mrs. Mary Logan has Halloween decorations inside and outside of her room. This time of the year is a favorite for Mrs. Logan.
“Ever since I was little, dressing up as another character and being that character and changing out of who I was, has always been the most fun,” Mrs. Logan said. “I think that started my love of just being other characters. So, as a result, because Halloween is the one sanctioned holiday where everybody is encouraged to be another character, I feel like my love of characters and different costumes, everybody can enjoy that on the same day. So, I feel like I’m one with everyone.”
At GS, many clubs and groups offer Halloween events. As the coach of the Speech and Debate club, Logan gets to enjoy Halloween with her students involved in the club.
“Our speech and debate festival that occurs the Wednesday before Halloween is where we have a party,” Logan said. “We do extra, and we have a party, so I get to feel like I’m having another Halloween party, but with students and everybody. We have a costume contest and everything.”
Logan doesn’t do as much as she did with Halloween a few years ago, but is still able to enjoy this holiday.
“My husband and I used to have huge blowout Halloween parties with our friends back when we were younger,” she said. “They were the biggest events. Everybody would dress up and I would turn my house into a spooky-scary dungeon with skull faces on all the pictures. We played rock music and did all kinds of stuff. It was a lot of fun. But now in my older age, I’m really getting into trick-or-treating.”
Halloween in the school only lasts about a month, and Mrs. Logan would like it to stay that way.
“It loses its specialness if it’s up all year round,” she said. “I mean, the sun rises every single day, but we rarely pay attention to it because it just happens every day. Christmas season is really exciting because it happens for like a couple months a year. So, if I had my Halloween decorations up all year round, it would diminish the special joy of the fall season with that.”
At this time of year, Halloween and fall are important to Mrs. Logan. She gets to watch her advisory students become closer and enjoy the fall festivities.
“Decorating my classroom is something that my advisory does as a collective group project,” Logan said. “It also is a bonding experience and it’s fun. My room changes each year because the advisory kids change each year. They grab different things and hang different things, so it’s especially near the beginning of the school year, it’s a good bonding experience.”
Lately, the media has been obsessed with Pop Star Taylor Swift. With a new relationship, the release of The Era’s Tour movie and the re-release of one of her albums, Swift’s name has become a common headline.
Some people see nothing wrong with her new relationship with Kansas City’s starting tight end Travis Kelce.
The Eras Tour Movie posters that were given out in movie theaters around the world.
Photo by Rubee Stillwagon
“I’m a huge fan of them and support it one hundred percent,” junior Peyton Chismar said.
Others believe that it is a disturbance to sports media and is taking attention away from the sport and its players.
“I am a Taylor Swift fan, so this is not anti-Taylor Swift,” Physical Education Teacher Mr. Nathan Snider said. “My personal opinion is that their relationship has nothing to do with football.”
Swift has been seen on screens showing NFL games in households all around the world. This has caused issues because some people think this is not a place to be showing her.
“I am loving it,” Substitute Teacher Mrs. Gloria Rehak said. “I don’t even know these people and I’m invested.”
This is a controversial topic in the media right now, but Swifties are doing their best to spread positivity about this relationship.
“I feel it has definitely impacted both of them positively and will continue to impact them in a positive way,” Chismar said.
Although people try to keep a positive light on this, NFL fans are still trying to separate Swift from sports.
“If I turn on ESPN and I’m watching Sports Center, I shouldn’t have to watch Taylor Swift doing whatever,” Mr. Snider said. “I don’t like it when I’m watching a highlight and it’s about her and not the actual game being played.”
The Era’s Tour movie premiered on October 11th and is bringing traffic to theatres around the world. The movie is a way for fans who didn’t get to attend one of her shows to get a feel for what it’s like. Theatres allow fans to dance, sing and interact with other fans the same way they would at the concert, as long as they aren’t a disturbance to others who are trying to watch.
“I loved the Era’s Tour Movie,” freshman Patty Redinger said. “My theatre was full, and everyone was in era outfits standing up, singing and dancing.”
Although the movie captures a large part of what the Era’s Tour is, it also takes away from certain factors that make the performance what it is.
“I think it’s really hard to capture something so amazing and such a wonderful experience and put it into a movie,” sophomore Lorelai Leatherman said. “A huge part of the show is the crowd. Meeting people who you have something in common with and being able to sing, dance and cheer with them is just the best feeling and that’s something that is limited in the movie.”
Fans at the Eras Tour can be seen trading bracelets, dancing with other fans and dressing up in outfits that represent Swift throughout her life. But in the movie, that part is not really captured.
“I know some songs had to be cut from the movie, but I think it was a great alternative for people who weren’t able to see the show live,” Leatherman said.
On October 27th, Swift’s fifth studio album, “1989,” was re-released as (Taylor’s Version). The goal for re-releasing her first six studio albums is so she can own her music. While she doesn’t own the rights to the original master recordings, she does own the lyrics to the songs. This gives her the ability to re-record them and release them as new songs.
“I am so excited about the release,” Redinger said. “When I was younger my favorite album was ‘1989’ and I would mainly listen to that album on repeat.”
“1989” is one of Swift’s most popular albums. Some will even argue that it is her best. “1989” spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200 charts and was certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. This was supported by three US number-one-singles, “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood.”
“I love Taylor’s Version releases, and I also love that she is doing it so she can own her music,” Leatherman said. “She works so hard and deserves it. I actually like Taylor’s Version releases more than the original because she sounds much more mature, and I like to see how much she’s grown as an artist.”
The Taylor’s Version recordings show how Swift’s voice has matured and developed. When she re-records her albums, she also adds multiple tracks that she calls “From the Vault” tracks. These songs were written to originally go on the album but never made it, so she records them and puts them on the album the second time around. This factor is very popular with her fans.
“I think the difference in her vocals from 2014 to now is crazy,” Redinger said.
With many accomplishments this year, Swift has been the topic of positive and negative publicity. No matter what people’s views on the artist are, it’s hard to deny that she has achieved many things throughout this year.
“I think Taylor is very successful no matter what social media says,” Leatherman said.
Photo of Taylor Swift’s stage before the concert in Pittsburgh night one.
The Salem Psychos are supposed to add a positive aspect to games, but lately the Psychos have seemed to add more negativity to the events.
For years GS has had a group of students known as the Salem Psychos who are responsible for the student section at school sports and events. They oversee and decide the themes and chants at school games such as football, volleyball, hockey and basketball.
The GS student section at the USA themed football game against the Derry Area Trojans.
Photo by: Ava Hardaway
“It’s like being a regular student in the section, the only difference is you might have to get out of your comfort zone and maybe start a chant or create some energy,” senior Chase Kushner said.
Some games tend to have a higher turnout of students than others. Kushner believes that part of the reason for turnout could be the “scheduling and timing of the sport.” Such as football always being on a Friday vs. soccer which takes place during the school week.
“I think there’s higher turnout at certain sports for two reasons,” Kushner said. “One being the record of the team playing and the other is the day the sport falls on.”
Coaches such as GS varsity volleyball coach Mrs. Rachel Brannigan believe that turnout may be higher for those sports because of the implemented themes. Students such as junior Sabrina Kasic feel more encouraged to come when they can play along with the themes.
“I love themes,” Kasic said. “I always try to show up when there’s a fun theme.”
The themes for these sports are something the coaches and players can decide as well. For certain games there are specific themes such as Pink Out for breast cancer awareness or White Out for Homecoming.
“I’m a big fan of the themes and seeing the students come together to cheer each other on,” Mrs. Brannigan said. “We had shirts made for the student section all year long even when we didn’t have themes planned.”
While the themes are meant to add to the game, players have said themes, and the student section overall, can be a distraction during a game. Junior Anna Shevchik, who is a member of the varsity volleyball team, claims the student section can be “obnoxious” from time to time.
“It’s nice when they actually cheer,” Shevchik said. “But most of the time they are just nagging at the opposing team.”
While the student section is supposed to be a group of students who help create a positive environment at games, teachers and athletes have said at times the students have added a negative aspect to the game.
“The big thing is cheering for your team,” special education teacher Mr. Steven Saunders said. “Students shouldn’t necessarily be cheering against the other team; you’re not allowed to single out an induvial player or chant against the other team.”
Students are encouraged to cheer and root for their teams; however, students shouldn’t be cheering negatively against the opposing team. Before every game the Sportsmanship Announcement is read to everyone in attendance, and it clearly states what is considered appropriate behavior for the game that is about to begin.
The P.I.A.A sportsmanship announcement states, “We ask that all fans show respect for yourself, those around you, and the participants by cheering for your team and not against your opponent.”
Students and parents are made aware of the “rules” for the game and are instructed to follow them throughout the entirety of the game. Teachers such as Mr. Saunders have claimed that for the most part he feels that the students add a positive aspect to the game, parents of players have expressed these same thoughts and said they even quite enjoy the student section at times.
“I have not heard any complaints about the students,” volleyball booster president Mrs. Amy Townsend said. “In fact, I feel the student section brings energy and excitement to the games, especially when the score is close.”
The student section is intended to be a positive thing at GS and for the most part people have said they believe it is. Teachers such as Saunders have just expressed that he hopes things will “remain positive” in the future.
“I’ve been a coach, I’ve been an official and I’ve been an athlete,” Saunders said. “I know that the best games I’ve been at were ones with a great student section.”
In the month of October, people wear pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness month. At GS, sports teams like football, volleyball and hockey wear pink and host a Pink Out game each year.
Students at GS join in with the fight against Breast Cancer Awareness in many ways. Teams and students show their support through games, fundraisers and campaigns.
Junior Cooper Dann started Cooper’s Campaign in 4th grade. At a young age, Dann wanted to raise awareness for breast cancer; specifically, he wanted to dye his hair pink in the month of October.
Cooper Dann shows off his new hair for the month of October.
Photo courtesy of: Cooper Dann
“We called the school to ask, and they denied me because it would be a distraction,” he said. “I was upset and still wanted to do it, so I needed a good reason to dye it to defy the Principal. I started with just wanting to raise awareness, but that wasn’t good enough.”
Ever since 4th grade, Dann has felt the need to continue this tradition of his own each year. He dyes his hair pink every October to raise money for affected families.
“It’s hard to really do things in school with all the busy schedules,” he said. “Being able to bring awareness to the school would be something I’d be open to. I would help the school because many aren’t well educated on why my hair was pink every year. I mean, even Mr. Zilli asked me why my hair was pink.”
When passing Dann in the halls, students get to see his pink hair, but he wishes that the entire school had a better understanding of his cause and why he does what he does.
“My favorite thing about my campaign is the smiles,” he said. “Not only putting a smile on their faces, but I stay in touch with most of the families that I help. It really is a powerful thing seeing some of the people I’ve helped be able to overcome these events and know that, although I wasn’t a big part, they still thank me for everything I’ve done. Seeing that smile on the kids’ face after a gift is one of the best feelings I can ever have.”
Dann plays football during the month of October and makes the effort to wear pink, along with his teammates. On Friday, October 27th, the GS Football team will have their annual Pink-Out game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Other sports at GS have hosted a Pink Out game near the end of the fall sports season. Volleyball hosted their annual Dig Pink game on October 10th. This game is always a special game for players, coaches and fans. In preparation for the game, the team sold Pink-Out shirts and bracelets. During pregame, each member of the team named someone they play for in the fight against breast cancer. Although the team was unable to pull out a win, the team was able to donate all the money raised from the Dig-Pink game to Westmoreland Walks, Inc.
The GS Hockey team wanted to join in on the Pink-Out theme night as well. Starting this year, the team is also hosting a Pink-Out night, selling shirts for the night of the game.
The shirts that the Hockey and Volleyball teams sold for their Pink-Out games.
Photo by: Ava Hardaway
Senior Carter Cherok, assistant captain of the Hockey team, has started to get prepared for the first Pink-Out game.
“Parents and players thought that it would be a good game for a good cause,” Cherok said. “My mom and other members on the board for the Hockey team decided that this was a good way to raise money and awareness for cancer in the month of October.”
As preparations begin for the upcoming Pink-Out night, many people involved are getting excited for the game, especially the team.
“I am looking forward to this game,” he said. “I am anticipating beating Indiana and I hope it is a good turnout and we raise lots of funds for cancer research.”
The GS Hockey team is set to face Indiana for the Pink-Out game, which will be played on Thursday, October 26th.
Breast Cancer affects many women every day. All ages of women can be afflicted with this disease including GS math teacher Mrs. Beth Horchak, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her family members, colleagues and students were in full support in her fight.
After the COVID-19 shut down, Mrs. Horchak continued her teaching online. She joined her classes through an online meeting. She continued this form of teaching until she felt her health was strong enough to go in to teach.
“I actually taught while I was going through my chemo treatments,” Horchak said. “I scheduled them for Thursdays; this gave me Saturday and Sunday to recover from the treatment. I started my chemo in November and my last treatment was in April. I feel I missed getting to know my students that year. The district was very understanding and accommodated me to be at home while Mrs. Zahorchak was in the actual classroom.”
During the times of fighting a disease, sickness or anything else that can cause stress in a person’s life, finding a reliever can help ease the stress. Horchak used teaching students as a way to cope with her stress.
“Teaching was what helped me through the entire process,” she said. “I needed normalcy because nothing in my life was at that time. School was the only normal part left at that time. It helped me not to dwell on all the negative things going on, it helped me keep my mind busy and think of something else.”
Students, teachers and other district workers were in full support of Mrs. Horchak at this time.
“The love and support that I received was more than I could have imagined,” she said. “I wanted to be open and honest with my students, being that I was going to be working through my chemo treatments. I remember the day that my hair started to fall out, the next day I came in with a cap and had to face my students. It was heartwarming and overwhelming how they all responded, some even offered to shave their own heads.”
Clubs and sports teams at GS raise money and awareness for the fight against the disease. The school will continue these events in the coming years and months of October.
“I totally appreciate what the school does for breast cancer awareness,” Horchak said. “It is obviously a cause near and dear to my heart. I just bought my pink ribbon from FCCLA. I was not able to make the pink out game for Volleyball, but it is always impressive what they do to help support breast cancer. The jeans day for the staff, I love seeing the pink that everyone wears that day. People may not realize, but it really means a lot, more than they will ever know.”
The GS SADD club is having its annual Red Ribbon Week on October 23-27. The club is anticipating a successful week through activities that involve student engagement.
“SADD club is Students Against Destructive Decisions and basically, what we do is try to promote healthy lifestyle decisions,” SADD club advisor Mrs. Alyssa Lukatch said.
SADD is a club that was put together to encourage students to make the right decisions. Whether it is drugs, alcohol, mental health or reckless driving, members of the club work to protect students from these things and from going in the wrong direction.
“We just want to promote a drug-free lifestyle for all students and want them to see there are fun things to do without using drugs or alcohol,” Mrs. Lukatch said.
Red Ribbon Week is a time when SADD uses fun activities to motivate students to live a sober life. Students can participate by dressing up for the daily themes and participating in the activities.
“There are themes every day,” Lukatch said. “Monday there will be wristbands along with a video. Wednesday we are playing a school-wide Kahoot and the winner gets a prize. Thursday we are doing a banner signing during all lunches and then you can also put names on memorial hearts.”
A poster of the themes for Red Ribbon week.
Poster made by: Emma Helmick and Lola Slavnik.
This week can be beneficial to students who know someone who is struggling with substance abuse, mental health problems or any other life-changing problem or has even passed away from it.
“If you’re interested in joining SADD club it’s not too late to join,” freshman Mia Pellis said. “Meeting details are announced at the end of block two with the rest of the morning announcements.”
The club is always looking for supporters and new members. Those interested can join this club by messaging Mrs. Lukatch or showing up to a meeting. Meetings are usually held on Thursdays, but can be subject to change.
“I know how destructive decisions can affect people directly and indirectly, and I want to make sure others are informed about that to prevent harm done to themselves and the people around them,” Pellis said.
Members who commit to this club play a role in keeping GS students healthy in many aspects. They are a support system for students who may need help from someone like a peer.
“Last year, Brianna Campagna approached me about returning SADD to GS and I thought it was a great idea,” senior Ella Henry said.
Henry is also the current President of SADD, with Vice President Emma Helmick, Social Media Manager Anya Shilobod, Secretary Riley Campbell and Treasurer Juliana Stabile.
The SADD club officers from left to right: Emma Helmick, Riley Campbell, Anya Shilobod, Ella Henry and Juliana Stabile.
Photo courtesy of: @gs_sadd on Instagram
“We try to make it fun to learn about these things as well,” Henry said.
Each day for Red Ribbon Week will have a different theme along with a saying to match it. Monday will be BBQ Dad, Tuesday is Barbie, Wednesday is Wear Red, Thursday is Mix-Match Your Clothes and Friday is Western.
“We really want to spread awareness and teach others the life-changing effects of drugs and addiction,” she said.
Overall, Red Ribbon Week is planned to be fun and educational for all students. SADD club also hosts Mental Health Awareness Week and PROMotion to Be Drug-Free in the spring which are events for students to keep an eye out for.
“We hope we can give students the information to make responsible decisions for their mind, body and others,” Pellis said.
Many new staff members have been welcomed by the community for joining team GS to teach in the 2023-2024 school year.
There have been several new teachers added to the GS staff in almost every department including Spanish, history, business, English and math.
After many years of running the language department, Señor and Señora Lyons are no longer teaching at GS. Mr. Dylan Rinehart and Miss Miranda Filak have been hired in their places.
“My classes so far have been really good, I have no complaints there,” Miss Filak said. “I love getting to speak Spanish with my students every day as a part of my job. It’s very rewarding to communicate with them in that way.”
Miss Filak teaches her AP Spanish class.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
Though the Spanish department may have been a tough area to find replacements for, the two new teachers seem to be settling in just fine.
“I have two blocks of Spanish II and one block of Spanish III,” Mr. Rinehart said. “From day one, I’ve been extremely impressed by how well the students speak and their willingness to learn. It’s really a testament to the skills of Señor and Señora Lyons and Señora Aragon.”
The new teachers are not the only ones who have to adapt to this; the students also have to get used to the previous teacher’s departure.
“It is definitely different,” junior Abegail Spaugy said. “It’s hard going from someone who has been doing their job for so long and did such a good job at it to someone who is newer at teaching. The new teachers are trying to replicate as much as they can, like carrying over the ‘leones’ money system.”
This may be a difficult adjustment for some students, but the upper-class students, Señora Aragon and even the new teachers are continuing to carry on the old classroom traditions.
There have been two new history teachers added to fill in the empty spots. Mr. Nick DeMary is now filling the role of Ms. Iapalucci as an American history teacher as well as teaching freshmen seminar, and Miss Sierra Aires has replaced Mr. Diehl as the new U.S. Government and Politics teacher.
“Being in Ms. Iapalucci’s room is awesome,” Mr. DeMary said. “It is crazy to be teaching students in a classroom I was once a student in myself.”
DeMary is a GS graduate who taught as a substitute at the middle school before moving up to a full-time teaching position at the high school.
Mr. DeMary teaches his freshman seminar class.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
“I have faced one challenge since stepping into the Social Studies position and it was starting after the first three weeks of school had passed,” Miss Aires said. “It is hard to start late on anything, but it was a challenge to get adjusted and settled so quickly.”
The business wing has also welcomed some new faces into its department.
Mr. Alan Gray has been introduced to GS, as he teaches tech and engineering, the maker class and robotics.
“My classes are a work in progress, but they are going smoothly,” Mr. Gray said. “I am working on the fly to adapt and make things best for the students. The students work hard and I’m excited to see their projects come to life.”
Gray was not the only newcomer to the business department, as Mrs. Rachael Pozik has also been added to the roster. She took over teaching financial literacy, life in the digital age and will be teaching entrepreneurship and marketing in the Spring semester.
“I’m most excited about being in a smaller school district,” Mrs. Pozik said. “The students here seem to have grown up how I did and it’s nice to really relate to my students again.”
The last two teachers to have joined the GS faculty are in the English and math departments. Ms. Alyssa Bewszka, who has filled the shoes of Mr. Hoffer, is teaching 9th and 12th grade English and will be teaching creative writing in the Spring semester.
“The administration has been very helpful so far and my coworkers have been super nice and helpful as well,” Ms. Bewszka said. “Throughout the entire district, I have made many friends already and they definitely make the transition much easier. It can be very nerve wracking as a first-year teacher, but having a positive work environment really helps.”
While most of these teachers are new to the district, math teacher Mrs. Lindsey Swartz is familiar to the brown and gold. She teaches algebra A and B and geometry.
“I taught at the middle school for 11 years and now that I have returned, I have seen so many familiar faces,” Mrs. Swartz said.
The absence of the previous teachers may be sad, but the latest addition to the faculty has already earned their place with the Golden Lions.
“The best part has been how friendly and polite everyone is here at GS,” Miss Filak said. “It’s hard coming in as the ‘new kid’ or ‘new teacher’ and it’s been a really welcoming and supportive experience so far.”
For several years students at GS have run a preschool for younger children through a class called child development; for the first time, students are responsible for teaching without the help of a teacher.
This year child development teacher Dr. Tiffany Smietana-Lysell is out of her classroom due to maternity leave. Therefore, she is missing all of Cubs’ Den during the first semester’s time with the kids.
A painting above the door in the Cubs’ Den room. Photo by: Adison Poole
“As much as I love being home with my newborn,” Dr. Smietana-Lysell said. “I definitely miss being at GS with the high schoolers and preschoolers.”
Cubs’ Den is a preschool at GS that is almost entirely run by high school students. Mrs. Smietana-Lysell helps students prior to Cubs’ Den’s first day prepare lesson plans and teaches students ways to interact with their kid.
“I have 1000% confidence in all my students this semester,” Smietana-Lysell said. “The high schoolers enrolled in the course this year are awesome.”
With Smietana-Lysell being gone, GS graduate Sejah Franklin was offered an opportunity to come back and help students this year with preschoolers. She is there to be more of a supervisor rather than a teacher but is willing to help high school students with lessons and help if there are any situations involving the younger children.
“Mrs. Smietana-Lysell was worried things wouldn’t go as smoothly,” Franklin explained. “We discussed that if it fit in my schedule, I would come down and help out.”
In child development students are in charge of creating their own lessons and are responsible for preparing the preschoolers for kindergarten. The students are graded on lessons based on how well the lesson goes and if it reached the specific learning target the lesson was aimed toward.
“While I’m not there to witness them teaching and interacting with the little ones directly, it was a joy to watch them prepare for their lessons before my leave,” Smietana-Lysell said.
Students are given the choice to teach one main lesson that falls under math, health, English or science along with one special lesson such as art, music, library or gym. Smietana-Lysell has emphasized the lessons “shouldn’t be complicated” and instead encourages fun activities to get the preschoolers thinking a bit.
“I was one of the first groups to teach,” junior Rachel Kuhn said. “I think the kids had a lot of fun with our lesson.”
Mrs. Susan Houser is currently the permanent substitute for child development until Smietana-Lysell is back from her maternity leave. That being said, Mrs. Houser will be the only adult in the room for the entirety of the first semester’s Cubs’ Den experience.
“The thing I did in preschool was to work with kids going into kindergarten and get them ready for it,” Houser said. “I did that for three years.”
Houser herself has not taught child development before, but, because of her prior experience working with younger kids as well as the time she’s spent as a substitute, she feels that she’s doing a good job filling in for Smietana-Lysell for the time being.
“I was a little worried going into the first day of preschool,” Kuhn explained. “I’ve never taken this class before, so I didn’t know what to expect especially with Mrs. S being gone.”
The first official day of Cubs’ Den was October 3rd and students such as Kuhn have expressed that they think things are going very well with the kids. The kids will be in Cubs’ Den every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this semester from now until December 5th.
“I think Cubs’ Den is going very well so far,” Franklin said. “There is so much progress being made with the kids and the way the high schoolers are with the kids this year is amazing.”
All students in the class have prepped and prepared everything they needed to before time with the preschoolers actually started so the students should be able to get through all of Cubs’ Den without worrying about lesson plans or work.
Smietana-Lysell expressed her worries with the classes before she left for her leave but since the beginning of Cubs’ Den, she feels confident in all of her students to do great work in the class and teach the kids well.
“I have the best job,” Smietana-Lysell explained. “There is such a wonderful group of high schoolers and faculty this semester that makes me feel completely at ease not being present in Cubs’ Den.”
High school helpers Grace Shrum and Marissa Denezza teach the letter of the week.
With Fall sports in full swing, there is a lot that can be touched on. Student-athletes work hard to obtain good grades while also staying involved in their sport, and most of them keep a healthy balance.
Fall sports include girls’ soccer, girls’ cross-country, football, volleyball, golf, girls’ tennis, boys’ soccer and boys’ cross-country.
Girls’ Soccer
“Our team has been stuck in a tough section for the past year,” junior Lauryn Swierczynski said. “For our in-section games, the scores were the majority not in our favor and some game’s scores looked like 0-5. But for non-section games, we have had more success; we’re able to win most of those games.”
As Swierczynski said, the in-section games have been tough for the girls’ soccer team. They are in a section with bigger schools that have a larger student body to make up their teams. With the out-of-section games, it can be more fair due to the schools being the same size or even smaller. Although the girls have been working hard and things have been tough, they continue to show good team morale and build each other up.
“The Carr sisters, Olivia Smith, Kayla Ramer and Alice Wilkinson, they all communicate and work well together,” Swierczynski said. “They never give up when we are losing.”
Taylor Carr, Brianna Carr, Olivia Smith, Kayla Ramer and Alice Wilkinson are leaders on the field and guide the team to success. Sometimes all a team needs is people to bring up the team’s energy and make sure everyone is in good spirits. Just that can show improvement on the field.
“Our team has shown improvement even if our scores don’t show it,” Swierczynski said. Next year we have hope that we’re going to have more success.”
Girls’ Cross Country
Many of the girls on thecross-country team have set new personal records and have improved from their previous times.
“I think personal PRs motivate the team or if we need to pass a certain person to win,” senior Alaina Blend said.
On September 9th at an invitational at White Oak Park with about 50 other schools, members of the team had great results. The team placed 8th out of 25 and senior Ashlan Price placed 25th out of 181 individuals.
“People like Ashlan and Ella are motivators on the team and us seniors in general like to stay positive and keep [our] energy up,” Blend said.
Price and Henry show true leadership due to their constant effort to motivate their teammates. With a sport that is as physically and mentally demanding as cross-country, even the smallest things can get athletes back in the right mindset.
“Overall, XC can be very mentally and physically challenging, but it’s super rewarding and I’d recommend it to anyone,” Blend said. “Our team has made so much improvement throughout the years.”
Football
The GSfootball team along with Head Coach Mr. Tyler George, have been working to get the results they hope for.
Golden Lions’ getting ready to play the Ligonier Valley Rams.
Photo by: Ava Hardaway
“When our leaders are encouraging everyone to work harder and be excited to be at practice, that’s when we get the most work done,” junior Azreal Franklin said. “When we’re all excited and the energy is there, our chemistry is unmatched.”
This football season, Coach George decided that having 4 “team leaders” from each grade level would be beneficial to the team. These players come in to help with things coaches can’t see. Sometimes a player needs their teammate to talk to so they can get an answer from someone with a similar viewpoint. These select players show leadership skills, especially when it comes to boosting their teammates’ morale.
“I think we have trouble keeping each other motivated and staying positive when it matters most,” Franklin said.
The team is looking more confident and ready for the rest of the season. With their first win against Ligonier Valley, these players continue to show more improvement. Although scores from the game against Deer Lakes, East Alleghany and Mt. Pleasant games were not what the team wanted, they still showed immense skill.
“In my opinion, Julian, Keegan, Ayden, Adam, Brady and I are leaders who take specific roles that no one else does better,” Franklin said.
Not only do these players lead their team off the field, but they have also been recognized for having good skills on the field. Senior Julian Stevens was named player of the game for the Hempfield game, with 3 receptions, 66 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Junior Brady Smith was a player in the running for Pennsylvania’s High School Football Player of the Week after the Ligonier Valley game. Smith rushed for 164 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.
“The scores aren’t what we want them to be, but I think when we get some momentum and start playing how we are really capable, we’ll start to see some good results,” Franklin said.
Volleyball
The volleyball team has faced its fair share of challenges, but varsity player Julie Elias has no doubt in her mind that they will make a comeback.
“So far, our season hasn’t been the exact way I pictured it,” Elias said. “We all walked in confident and ready to go at the start, anticipating a great season. However, we have all had some setbacks. But I have no doubt we will come back better than ever.”
Although the scores haven’t been what they wanted, the team has been showing improvement on the court. The team’s blocks and hitters have been showing impressive skill. With spikes and blocks at the net, these individuals have gotten their team’s scores up on many occasions.
“Grace Hayden, Anna Shevchik, Katie Shea and I all try our best to be the leaders of our team,” she said. “Teammates and coaches having high and positive energy on the court is great motivation too.”
According to Elias, these players show leadership on and off the court, which can benefit a team more than anything else. Head Coach Mrs. Rachel Brannigan also incorporates team bonding exercises into their season to help the team grow closer and motivate each other.
“I plan on coming back ready and prepared for the second half of our in-section games and putting forth all my effort,” Elias said. “My teammates and I have nothing but the highest hopes and expectations for each other throughout the entire year, in and out of season.”
The varsity volleyball team faces the Latrobe Wildcats.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
Golf
The golf season has come to an end for the year, but not without the team showing improvement.
“Facing teams that could score much lower than us was sort of demoralizing,” sophomore Ian Smith said. “There was also the challenge of 5 out of 6 of the varsity guys playing hockey, so sometimes schedules conflicted.”
Although the team faced these challenges, they were still able to come out of the season with decent scores. One of the best scores of the season was 48, from Ian, which is 13 over par for the course the team was on.
“Team leaders included Mike Kingerski, Noah Outly, Hunter Webb and Grant Smith,” Ian said.
These senior leaders show skill on the golf course but also when trying to balance other sports and activities. Outly, Webb and Kingerski all play hockey and are in the middle of preseason games right now. With the golf and hockey schedules overlapping, these athletes put the hard work in to contribute to both teams.
“Overall, our team faces challenges and needs consistency, but we are doing our best,” Ian said.
Girls’ Tennis
Thegirls’ tennis team has had a strong season so far. Their results on the court truly show their hard work and determination.
“I think the entire team would agree that in terms of both what the score looks like, and the quality of play that was exhibited, our match against Armstrong was one of our best,” senior Aryana Galdo said. “I think at the end of it, everyone felt like it was a truly earned win.”
Although there are a lot of returning players, there is also a group of new faces who are working just as hard to improve and help their team. Seniors Jade Mazzoni and Juliana Stabile advanced to the quarterfinals of the section singles tournament. Stabile was the No. 6 seed and Mazzoni had a 10-3 upset win over the 8 seed in the 8-9 matchup.
“Technically, we don’t have any assigned team captains, but I think at different points everyone has a place whenever it comes to leadership,” Galdo said. “Whether that comes in the form of encouraging the team or assisting other players, or anything else.”
For a sport like tennis that is so individualized, at certain points, it’s important for the whole team to lead. Although there isn’t much they can do to help each other in the moment of being stuck on the court, they can step up and encourage and help each other at times like practice and before and after matches.
“We’re in a good spot to end our season, and I’m really hopeful for next year and how these girls form the team from this point forward,” she said.
Boys’ Soccer
The boys’ soccer team has been working hard to improve their scores and move their team in the right direction.
“Any team will always need improvement,” sophomore Tobyn Anderson said. “Some more so than others, but our biggest problems are selfish plays and communication. It messes up how we can truly play, but once we fix that, it will be better for all of us.”
Soccer is very much a team sport. Communicating and working together is the key to the best results. As this team continues to put in the hard work and improve, it’s important to keep these key fundamentals in mind.
“Some things we are good at are moving the ball up field for a chance to attack, set pieces, which include corner kicks, free kicks and goal kicks,” Anderson said.
Being able to get out of tough places and get the ball back to where they want is a skill that could help this team. This can truly help the team in situations where players are crowding their goal. Diverting everyone’s attention to the other side of the field can give the players and the goalie time to recover.
“As for scores, they could always be better,” he said. “We let in more than I think we should’ve, but the score doesn’t always reflect how we play.”
Boys’ Cross Country
Last, but not least, the boys’ cross-country team is showing improvement this season. Through impressive times and much more, this team continues to amaze.
“Our team is definitely good at pursuing a goal,” junior Nick Reinhart said. “If we go into a meet with the mindset that we are going to win, every runner will push to their hardest extent to accomplish what we are there to do.”
Setting a goal can often help people push themselves to do better. With a sport like cross country, a goal can be beneficial. These boys continue to show that they are pushing themselves to achieve these goals and their times support that.
“I personally think Owen Noel has taken a leadership position on the team and continues to strive hard in practice,” Reinhart said. “With the amount he has improved from last season, there is no doubt that he will continue to work hard to accomplish success.”
Noel has truly stuck out this season. His best time is 17:07 at the Red White and Blue Invitational at White Oak Park, where he got 18th out of 196 individuals. Overall, he continues to show great leadership and skill and is someone his team can look up to.
“We can see our team improving, especially the younger runners and it seems like we could possibly have some more success in the future,” Reinhart said.
Overall, the fall sports teams are looking great this season. Some scores may not show what teams want them to, but it will help prepare these student-athletes and help them improve.
“Overall, we have had a pretty good fall season,” GS Athletic Director Mr. Frank Sundry said. “Our student-athletes and coaches are working extremely hard to improve and compete.”
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and every day young children are faced with the challenge of cancer. At GS, Mini-THON is a way for high school and middle school students to experience a night full of games, music, dances and activities that build up the reveal of the total amount of money donated to the cause.
At GS, Mini-THON has been around since 2015. Mini-THON advisor, Mr. Matthew Boe, has been involved from the start. Each year, Mr. Boe approves different high school seniors to be chosen as leaders of the events involved, leading up to the day of the event.
Mini-THON leaders from left to right: Nick Heinnickel, Adam Dipasquale, Kason Tai and Grant Smith.Photo courtesy of: @gsminithon on Instagram
“I think that in many ways this project is more than a senior project,” Boe said. “The fact that there are individuals at GS that are willing to take on an undertaking of this magnitude, I have the most respect for. This is the first year where we have had all guys, so that is a little bit unique within itself. I’m excited for the opportunity to work with them. Super proud of them to take the torch and continue on with it.”
Students can get involved in Mini-THON in high school as early as freshman year, and even earlier in middle school. Students attend events, volunteer, buy White-Out shirts and donate to a donor drive all to collect money for the final reveal. Not only do students get involved, but the community also joins in with the GS Mini-THON and their fight against childhood cancer.
“I think my favorite part of Mini-THON is the by-products that I believe it creates,” he said. “I think it creates culture here at GS. And by that, I mean students attend the Mini-THON events. Whatever the case might be, students get involved with it in various capacities, but I also love the community feel. The amount of community members that get involved is special. It reiterates how special our community actually is.”
Many fundraisers and events take place prior to the main night itself to raise money and awareness. Mr. Boe became a father earlier last year. His emotions towards a Mini-THON event have forever changed because of his newly born son.
“I don’t know if there is just one event that I love more than another,” he said. “The Donuts with Santa last year was special to me because it was my first year being a dad. That was the first time my son met Santa. Any time I can bring my family to my GS family, that’s a win for me.”
Mini-THON leaders Grant Smith and Kason Tai have been very busy and involved with the events in place. They have taken over Mini-THON with other leaders Adam DiPasquale and Nick Heinnickel. These four are trusted with many responsibilities for overseeing such an important line of events.
“I chose to be a Mini-THON leader because I think no kid should have to fight alone,” Tai said. “Attending the full Mini-THON in March of 2023, made me really want to apply for a leadership spot because I got to see how being a part of this team was a once in a lifetime opportunity to help those in need.”
Around late March every year, Mini-THON is held. Leading up to the event itself, many other events and fundraisers are held to raise money and awareness.
“Our events have been extremely successful so far,” he said. “We started the summer at Twin Lakes by making lemonade for the Arts and Heritage Festival and we had tons of help from the student body of GS.”
As a whole school, Mini-THON has ways for everyone to join in and get involved. Spirit weeks, White-Out game, Mini-Thon t-shirts, out of school fundraisers or events all support the fight against childhood cancer. This is not only an in-school involvement, but also an out-of-school involvement.
Mini-THON takes a lot of time, understanding, fundraising and more importantly, awareness. Students and staff gain a better understanding of what Mini-THON truly is. The senior leaders’ goal is for underclassmen to want to be involved in this event and want to be a future leader.
“Mini-THON is important to me because it stands as a way to help those kids in hospitals receiving the treatment they need,” Smith said. “I decided to be a Mini-THON leader because I saw how hard last year’s group worked to raise that much money for a good cause and I wanted to do the same.”
Finalists from the Mini-THON’s cornhole tournament.
Last year GS staff members installed feminine product dispensers in each of the women’s restrooms throughout the high school. This year, the dispensers are filled and now in use for the first time.
While members of GS staff were responsible for installing the period product dispensers in each of the women’s restrooms, GS graduate Emily Campbell was who pushed for them to be installed in the first place.
A product dispenser found in the second floor’s women’s restroom. Photo by: Adison Poole
“I wanted to install the machines because I believe that it’s important we have hard conversations especially ones that people are afraid to have,” Campbell said. “So, my goal was to help people who don’t have access to period products.”
Campbell, who is now a student at PennWest Edinboro, was a girl scout for 13 years before she graduated high school. Being a Girl Scout is what gave her the idea to install the machines throughout the school. When a Girl Scout is either in high school, is a Girl Scout Senior Ambassador or has completed at least two Senior or Ambassador journeys, she is eligible to go for a Girl Scout Gold Award.
“It was my choice to go for my Gold Award and decided to because community service was a value that was instilled in me at a very young age,” she said. “I decided to do the period products specifically because I found it to be a problem that no one wanted to talk about.”
Gold Awards are presented to Girl Scouts who take on the challenge of finding a problem in their community and working to fix or change it to create a better environment and lasting effect for their community as a whole. For Campbell, this problem was the lack of feminine products in GS bathrooms, so she set out to change that.
Campbell couldn’t just get going right away, though, she first needed the school’s approval before she could start having the dispensers installed throughout the school. Projects such as hers often need to seek school board attention or receive school board approval as well as approval from the school’s superintendent and staff. However, Campbell never went through a formal board meeting to get approval for her Gold Award project, instead she got the okay from the school’s principal and superintendent almost immediately and was allowed to begin working on her project.
“She actually did do a presentation with the board, but it was more just to inform them of what’s going on,” Superintendent Dr. Ken Bissell explained. “It’s always good to present to the Board just so they’re aware of what’s going on.”
Campbell’s proposal to the school to install the machines went so well that she was also given permission to install the product dispensers throughout the middle school.
While this is the first-time products are available in the bathrooms, these products are not something new to GS. Products have always been available to students, just not directly in the bathrooms; instead students had to ask for products from either the Nurse or health teacher Mrs. Alyssa Lukatch. Now students have access to products throughout the day and students won’t have to ask for them from their teachers, instead they can use as needed.
“I think it will be good for the students because they’re available in every bathroom now,” Mrs. Lukatch explained. “Now that the school is providing them, I will probably do away with having my own in the locker room.”
The idea behind the dispensers is that students can feel more comfortable getting the products when they need them. Instead of going up to the Nurse or down to the locker room, students will have full access to the products at any time of the day.
“Well, some girls don’t want to go to the nurse for that,” High School Co-Principal Mr. Adam Jones said. “I have a daughter, so I understand.”
Campbell also installed the dispensers with the thought in mind that they could help students who don’t have access to period products anywhere else.
“With our school having the poverty rate it does, so many families have to decide between things like food and period products,” Campbell said. “I wanted to make sure no student would miss school over such a solvable problem.”
Having the dispensers has created new funding for products as well so teachers such as Mrs. Lukatch won’t have to feel the need to purchase products anymore. Instead, the school will be responsible for supplying and funding the products.
“In the long run it will save me some money,” Lukatch explained. “I was buying the products, so I just tried to buy what was cheapest.”
This doesn’t mean products won’t still be available in the locker rooms, though. Dispensers were installed in not only all of the women’s restrooms throughout the school but also the girls’ locker room bathroom as well. So instead of students asking for one they can take one from the dispenser.
“It’s convenient to still have products down there since Mrs. Lukatch was already providing them,” junior Theresa Schuetz said.
When getting the dispensers initially installed, Campbell worked on a grant to get the project off the ground. She raised the rest of the money to purchase products that would fill up the machines. Now that they’ve been installed, and the first set of products have been stocked, the school will now be responsible for funding to fill the dispensers.
“Emily’s part of the fundraising paid for most of the product,” Mr. Jones explained. “So going forward I’m sure the district will pick up that part of the budget.”
Since products will be available to both high school and middle school students, there will be both tampons and pads in the dispensers so students will have the choice to take whichever they may need. Campbell kept in mind that younger students may not be comfortable using certain products, so she made sure to supply both to offer students a choice.
“I like that they’re giving us an option,” Schuetz said. “I think girls will be more comfortable picking what they prefer.”
The dispensers are currently stocked with products and will continue to be stocked as long as the school has the funding for them and as long as there are no issues in the bathroom with the products.
“As long as the products are used responsibly,” Co-Principal Mr. David Zilli said. “And as long as we have product, yes it will be stocked.”
Campbell presented the idea of installing product dispensers with the hope that they would stay stocked and be available throughout the day. She also hoped it would be beneficial to students who may not have access to products anywhere else and create a long-lasting effect.
“One of the biggest pillars of the Gold Award is sustainability,” Campbell said. “I tried to fulfill this requirement with two different approaches, one being of course, that the machines are long lasting and that the school will continue filling them long after my graduation.”
The Lions' Den 