highschoolprom

GS’ 2025 Prom | “Meet Me at Midnight”

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Theresa Schuetz

GS’ prom 2025 had a theme tailored for students, made by students.  

At the end of last school year, SCA met and started to plan homecoming and prom as well as their themes. The president of SCA, senior Lauryn Swierczynski, helped to pick the theme of “Meet Me at Midnight.”  

The event was held on May 9, starting at 6 pm and ending at 10 pm.  

Teachers and students dine as dinner is served at Stratigos.

Photo by: Emma Helmick

“Me and my other group partners, one of them being Anna Spigarelli, are big Taylor Swift fans,” Swierczynski said. “We thought why not put two and two together and make a subtle Taylor Swift reference while also making the general vision purple and blue.”  

Prom was held at Stratigos this year, just as it has been for years. The banquet facility was recently renovated as well, providing more space for attendees to enjoy the night.  

“Prom is the nice end of the year event for all schools,” physics teacher Christopher Gazze said. “It’s a very prototypical high school event.”  

Everyone who attended voted for prom king and queen out of a list of seniors picked out by the seniors through a form. The students nominated to be prom queen were Sloane Potter, Anna Shevchik, Ksena Spencer, Lauryn Swierczynski, Grace Sybesma and Tymara White. Students nominated for prom king were Logan Dunkerly, Azreal Franklin, Gregory Paravate, Nick Reinhart, Dominic Rosensteel and Keegan Young. 

On each ticket bought for prom there was a spot to vote for prom king and queen. The winner for prom king was Gregory Paravate and the winner for prom queen was Anna Shevchik.  

“I did not expect to win prom queen, but it was a nice surprise to wrap the night up with,” Shevchik said. 

“Meet Me at Midnight” proved to be a fitting theme for an evening that was as magical as it was memorable, marking a highlight in the high school journey for students who attended.  

“Seeing and hanging out with the students in my grade all in one place before graduation was the most memorable part of the night,” Paravate said.  

The Purpose of School Sanctions

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Theresa Schuetz

GS enforced punishments this year for students who played hooky.  

Sanctions go into play when a student misses 13 or more days of school. The main premise of sanctions is to make it more of a priority for students to be present in school. When a student is put on sanctions, attending prom, walking at graduation or attending extracurriculars is not allowed. 

GS 2025 prom advertisement posted throughout the halls.

Photo by: Theresa Schuetz

“Fundamentally, they are a goal to get kids to make up the academics that they miss when they miss school, especially when they miss a lot of school,” Dean of Students Mr. Jeff Kronenwetter said. “And in order to go on sanctions in and of itself, you’re missing 12, 13, 14 days of school. And there’s going to be an academic consequence to that.” 

When a student is put on sanctions, they can be reduced by staying after school for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  

“The punishments could be fair for the people who genuinely skip school,” senior Josselyn Blawas said. “To knock off an absence you have to stay after school for two hours, and you have to do that twice to get one absence off. So, if you’re someone who just skips school, you could use that time to do work.” 

When students stay later for two of those days, it removes one absence from the record. When students stay at the school they are not allowed to be on their phones, and they must be working on schoolwork. However, this way of removing absences may be hard for students who have jobs outside of school. 

“Each student should be able to pick what day of the week they want to stay to make up for an absence,” senior Gregory Paravate said. “It’s unfair for students who work outside of school.”  

To be put on the list requires 12 unexcused absences. Excused absences that do not count towards sanctions include doctor’s appointments, funerals and college visits. When students are out because of illness, parents can write them an excuse, but it still gives one point towards sanctions. 

“If we don’t know where you were or even if a parent sends a note that explains, ‘this student was absent on this date because she was sick,’ it does count towards sanctions,” Mr. Kronenwetter said. 

Students are not required to make up unexcused absences through participating in detentions, but if they do it allows them to participate in extracurriculars, dances and the graduation ceremony. 

“We’re just trying to establish a routine like there is in the workforce when it comes to sanctions,” Kronenwetter said. 

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.”