features

Homecoming Recap 

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Rubee Stillwagon 

Homecoming is much more than just a dance at GS. There were so many more activities that came along with it, such as Homecoming Court, the Homecoming Bonfire, the pep rally, the white out football game, the daily themes and lastly the dance. 

The first big thing that happened was naming the 2024 Homecoming Court. This is where the senior class voted for seven senior girls who they thought would be the best fit for the Court. Then sophomores, juniors and seniors voted on who they thought should be Queen. This year’s Homecoming Queen is senior Lauryn Swierczynski. 

The homecoming court and their escorts during halftime.

Photo By: Rubee Stillwagon

“I’m really pumped that I won and thankful I get to celebrate with my friends and family,” Swierczynski said. 

The girls on this year’s Homecoming Court, other than Swierczynski, were Greta Hagofsky, Sloane Potter, Katie Shea, Anna Shevchik, Anna Spigarelli and Grace Sybesma. 

“I would say my involvement throughout the school, like being part of sports teams, SCA, the Salem Psychos and just talking with lots of different people around the school helped with my votes,” Swierczynski said. 

Homecoming Queen is a title given to a senior girl who is a respected and liked representative of their school and community. Swierczynski is a two-year Varsity Soccer Captain, has done Flag Football for two years, Senior Class Vice President, SCA’s Secretary for last school year, leader of the Salem Psychos and plans to attend a four-year college. 

“It’s super exciting to know that so many people voted for me,” Swierczynski said. “I’m very blessed to have that kind of support.” 

This year the annual Homecoming Bonfire was on Wednesday, September 18 at the high school.  

This was an opportunity for students and their families to visit different clubs’ booths, participate in activities and see who was on the Homecoming Court. 

“The bonfire has been around for years,” SCA Advisor Mr. Christopher Gazze said. “It used to be a Senior Night Bonfire many years ago and it was huge; there would be hundreds of people there. It then switched to a Pink Out Bonfire for a few years. And then Mini-THON had it for a year or two before we got it back and decided to make a full homecoming week.” 

The bonfire gives clubs the opportunity to get more attention from students and the community. Most clubs set up booths with fun activities to add more fun to the bonfire. But the Homecoming Court announcement is what draws in most people.  

“When we got the bonfire back, we decided to make a full Homecoming week,” Gazze said. “With the change of the pep rally format, bringing in the club festival, and having it more community based really makes it a full week of events.” 

The Homecoming Pep Rally is a popular activity among the students. It is an opportunity for friendly school rivalry. 

“I’ve been a part of the team for two years along with eight other juniors,” junior Maxim Topper said. “Being back-to-back winners for the pep rally is huge and it’s awesome to be a part of that school history.” 

This year’s pep rally winners were the juniors, making this their second win in a row. To win, the class teams competed in a series of activities, but they aren’t the only ones that are put up to a challenge. 

One of the competitions doesn’t require teams, but their entire class section. The competition is to see which section can be the loudest. This is a way to involve the students who aren’t on the team and keep the crowd interested. 

“I think the best part was the spirit event at the end with the student sections,” Topper said. “It’s awesome to see my entire class join in and yell and chant altogether.” 

The pep rally brings together students and is a way to show some school spirit and get everyone ready for the whiteout Homecoming football game. 

The Junior class celebrates their win.

Photo courtesy: gslionssca on Instagram

Every year, Homecoming is represented at the Friday night football by a white out. To support this, Mini-THON sells annual White Out shirts. Mini-THON is a senior project that helps raise money for pediatric cancer and this is one of their many fundraising opportunities. 

“I came up with a couple of designs for the shirts and then we discussed what was going to be the most popular among the students,” senior leader Grace Sybesma said.  

The shirts are not only sold to high school students, but also the elementary school and middle school students.  

“The shirts have always been a good way for Mini-THON to make money for the kids, but it also gives students something to wear for the white out game,” Sybesma said. “It’s great seeing everyone wear them during the game especially since it helps support Mini-THON’s mission.” 

Another thing that students could participate in for Homecoming week were the themes.  

“We had about eight themes presented,” Gazze said. “A couple of them overlapped and then we did a blind vote. There was actually a discussion on two and then they decided that one was better suited for prom, and one was better for Homecoming.” 

These themes allowed students to wear something fun for the day and branch out from their normal attire. Monday’s theme was Wear Blue, Tuesday was Twin Day, Wednesday was Anything but a Backpack, Thursday was Surfers vs. Bikers and Friday was Class Colors. 

“I enjoy doing the themes even if people look at me weird when I go all out,” Topper said. “It gives me the opportunity to add some fun to the school day.” 

And lastly, the final activity was the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, September 21. The dance started at 7pm and went on until 10pm. 

“We had somewhere around 390 students show up to the dance,” Gazze said. “Since we’ve started it it’s the biggest one we’ve had.” 

The dance was held in the high school cafeteria and gym. In the gym students could listen to music provided by a DJ as well as play cornhole. In the cafeteria, food and tables were set up for students who wanted a break. There was also an area outside for students to get fresh air and cool off. 

“I think it was super fun,” Sybesma said. “I liked the fact that there were cornhole boards in the gym so you could take a break but still listen to the music.” 

Last year’s Homecoming Dance was the first one in four years at GS. Last year, SCA got feedback from the students so they could ensure they included everything they could to make it a memorable night. 

“I think compared to last year’s dance this year was awesome,” Topper said. “I liked the DJ and although it was really hot, I still had a good time with my friends.” 

Club Overview

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Quinn Isenberg

Clubs across GS have started up and have exciting things planned for their members.  

From interacting with the community to getting together with students who share interests, there is something for everyone to get involved in. 

 Students looking to gain community service hours and make a difference will be interested in checking out the Interact Club. 

“The cool thing about Interact is that it’s networking around the world since the Interact Club is an international organization,” president of the Interact Club Ian Smith said. “You learn a lot about volunteer opportunities in other countries and how you can help.”  

The GS Interact Club has begun helping across the globe, starting with orphaned children in Ukraine. The club has already distributed 15 tags that include the name of a Ukrainian orphan and a list of items they need to club members. 

 “We have already distributed them, so at this point we are not sure if there’s any more to give,” Smith said. “If people really want to do it, we certainly could have students collaborating to buy stuff for the same orphan.”  

The club will be attending a conference with other Interact Clubs in the area to discuss more community service opportunities in the future.  

“On Oct. 17 during school we have our district interact conference with the Rotary Club at Greensburg Country Club,” he said.  

Interact Club isn’t the only club looking to better the community. Another wonderful option for students looking to get involved is the SADD club.  

“SADD Club has Red Ribbon Week, which is very exciting, lots of club meetings and fundraisers,” vice president of the SADD Club Riley Campbell said.  

Red Ribbon Week is a campaign that focuses on preventing drug use. Joining SADD Club allows students to play a part in keeping their peers drug free. 

“Red Ribbon Week is Oct. 21-25, and the theme is: Life is A Movie, Film Drug Free,” Campbell said. 

SADD Club’s community involvement doesn’t end with Red Ribbon Week. The club is also very involved with projects relating to Sage’s Army.  

“We work with people who run school therapy sessions and do a lot of community outreach,” she said. “We will work with them and also do our own community outreach.”  

Not all students feel their communication skills are strong enough to participate in community wide events such as those in Interact Club or SADD Club. Students looking to improve these skills should look to join the Speech and Debate Club.  

Speech and Debate officers promote GS for T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights Sweepstakes.

Photo By: Mrs. Andrea Redinger

“A big part of Speech and Debate is that it’s an opportunity to work on yourself, work on your emotions and work on your speaking skills,” vice president of Speech and Debate Emily Ziska said.  

The club also hosts festivals for those looking to expand upon their skills and compete against other Speech and Debate members.  

“Festivals are where people are finding what they like, what they want to do and working on whatever makes them happy,” Ziska said. “There is also the more competitive stuff like debating.”  

The open-endedness of the club allows for many different types of students to find their place within Speech and Debate.  

Students who find the competitive aspect of Speech and Debate particularly exciting should consider joining the Chess Club. Like debating, chess can help students become more calculated and innovative.  

“It helps you look ahead on your future plans, because in chess you have to plan your moves ahead of time,” president of the Chess Club Elijah Miller said. 

To enhance these skills, the Chess Club maintains a very competitive nature during their meetings.  

 “We have Mr. Lenzi make us a bracket and every Tuesday we come together and do the tournament,” Miller said.  

Students who do well in the club will have the chance to attend a tournament between other highly skilled chess players in the area.  

“We have a chess tournament planned for November and will have in-house tournaments to determine who’s going to the big tournament,” secretary of the Chess Club Lucy Giovannelli said.  

There are also plenty of options for students who like more relaxed environments where they can collaborate with others who share their interests. One of these clubs is the Guitar Club.  

“Sometimes we have members who have been with it for a while who like to jam with each other and it’s always exciting when out of nowhere a song starts to happen and they’re all combining their efforts,” Advisor of the Guitar Club Mr. Darryl Audia said.  

For those who aren’t as experienced at the guitar, the club serves as motivation to get better.  

“The goal is to at least learn a couple chords and stuff like that,” Mr. Audia said. “The hope by the end is, if people want to continue to come, that they do some of their own research.”  

Experienced members in the club will even come together on occasion to put on performances for other students.  

Members of guitar club preform in the Library.

Photo Courtesy: Mr. Audia

“The thing we’ve done historically the last two years is the week right before holiday break we will have a coffee shop-like performance that will be in the library probably during lunches,” he said.  

Like Guitar Club, French Club members come together over a shared interest and orchestrate an incredible performance every year. This performance is none other than Culture Day. 

“The officers themselves go on stage and announce any sort of French speaking activities during Culture Day,” vice president of the French Club Alyssa Barber said. “The food taste testing that went on last year was entirely run by French Club.”  

French Club has a lot to offer students interested in French even outside of Culture Day. 

“We do a lot of fun things,” Barber said. “This year we’re planning on going to the French bakery in South Greensburg, get together to play games and do things for the trip.” 

Students looking to improve their experience at GS should look for a club that interests them and begin making connections with their peers.  

“Really it’s about networking and getting these friendships to grow,” Mr. Audia said.  

FCCLA State Leadership Conference and STAR Event 

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw 

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Morgan Ferczak

GS FCCLA members were rewarded for their efforts in the State Leadership Conference and STAR Event. 

On March 20th, Students were recognized for their achievements and proficiency in chapter and individual attributions such as projects, leadership skills and career preparation. 

“FCCLA means ‘Family, Career and Community Leaders of America,’” Dr. Tiffany Smietana-Lysell, GS FCCLA Advisor of 5 years, said. “It’s a leadership organization for grades five through twelve … it focuses on personal development with students while doing community service and planning for their future.”  

They participated in the STAR state competition, which stands for “Students Taking Action and Recognition.” 

State leaderboard placements are determined using a point system with 90 through 100 earning Gold, 75 to 89 earning Silver and the remainder earning bronze. The more points a student earns, the higher up they are on the leaderboard. 

Three students qualified for nationals, each earning Gold in their respective categories: junior Lisa Leeman in National Programs in Action, junior Karma Schall in Chapter Service Display and junior Brenna Kohl in Chapter Service Display. 

Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Morgan Ferczak

“It’s given me the opportunity to be more involved in the community, helping me with paying more attention to what other people need,” Kohl said. “We all try to tag team helping out in any way that we can.” 

Juniors Emily Ruggeri and Azreal Franklin earned Silver in Event Management and Professional Presentation, respectively.  

Along with them, junior Thomas Kohl was awarded for student timekeeper and voting delegate. 

All preparation and work that comes before the competition is primarily done outside of school, with their efforts being just as rigorous as what senior projects bring, according to Dr. Smietana-Lysell. 

Although everything is student led, the Advisors are able to keep them going in the right direction. 

“As Advisors, we act as guides and a resource for our student leaderships and officers,” Mrs. Morgan Ferczak, GS FCCLA Advisor of 3 years, said. “We work with our administration to do fundraising and events; we also make sure we can get in contact with our state and national representatives.” 

Students who made nationals will be attending the National Leadership Conference in Seattle this summer from June 29th through July 3rd.  

The conference is an opportunity for them to work with other members and Advisors from across the nation, as well as working with industry experts to further explore their career paths.    

“They did amazing, all placing Gold and Silver,” Dr. Smietana-Lysell said. “Azreal took third place in the whole state. … Karma and Brenna made second place … and Lisa got first in all of Pennsylvania. It was all absolutely remarkable.”