Exciting things are coming with this year’s Red Ribbon Week. New events and amusing themes are in store for GS.
The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Club’s mission at GS is to make a positive change. During Red Ribbon Week the club focuses on preventing drug abuse.
“Red Ribbon Week is the week that we promote all students to be drug free,” SADD Club Advisor Mrs. Alyssa Lukatch said.
SADD Club members feel Red Ribbon Week is an important part of their mission and make it a point to host it every year. This year it takes place from Oct. 21-25.
Red Ribbon Week themes.
Poster made by: Cora Lehman
“Red Ribbon Week is important to SADD Club because it helps our mission to prevent destructive decisions,” secretary of SADD Club Lola Slavnik said.
Red Ribbon Week isn’t just for SADD Club. There are plenty of opportunities for students to get involved.
“We do themes every single day and we’re going to do a school wide game,” Mrs. Lukatch said.
The themes this year are meant to be fun and serve as a reminder to students to live a drug free lifestyle.
“Monday, we have Adam Sandler Day, be a grown up and don’t do drugs,” vice president of SADD Club Riley Campbell said. “Tuesday, we have PJ Day because drugs kill dreams. Wednesday is Red Day as it is every year. Thursday is Jersey Day, team up against drugs. Then Friday is Halloween Costume Day because drugs are scary.”
The game is a new event this year and will take place on Oct. 23. Each advisory will pick a team captain and will be given 40 drug related questions to answer. From there the team captains will be let out into the hallway to check their answers before heading to the gym to lock those answers in and win a pizza party for their advisory.
“Students can learn a lot from the game that we created to teach the impact of drugs,” social media manager of SADD Club Cora Lehman said. “This will hopefully lead them to think their decisions through and realize when they could be making a bad decision.”
While the new game is bound to get students engaged, there are plenty of other ways for students to get involved all week.
“Wear your bracelets every day, dress up in the themes, have school spirit, be supportive and follow what we teach,” Campbell said.
Participating in Red Ribbon Week is more than just fun, it helps SADD Club make a difference.
“Supporting Red Ribbon Week can help raise awareness about the dangers of drug use,” Slavnik said. “The more people that participate the better.”
SADD Club members are very passionate about helping their peers and this event is proof of their passion.
“I love being a part of SADD Club,” she said. “It feels good to be able to help people make good decisions.”
Greensburg City Council approved an Active Transportation Plan blueprint to help improve safety within the city.
On September 9, the Active Transportation Plan was approved for development by City Council. The plan will provide a road map for funding and implementing projects to remove any physical barriers that prevent pedestrians from safely walking, biking or using any mobility aid to get from place to place.
The city put out an interactive map, provided by the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, and surveys for citizens to participate in. Pins could be stuck on specific locations of the online map that the community believed needed improvement.
“There were so many great suggestions from the public for this Active Transportation Plan,” Director of Planning and Development for the city of Greensburg Alec Italiano said. “Some specific suggestions we received concerned traversing through the two main railroad tunnels in town. We took that into consideration when prioritizing the final projects for this study.”
College Avenue Railroad Tunnel.
Photo by: Kerrick Shaw
WalkWorks funded the plan with a $20,000 grant, and it was prepared by Gibson-Thomas Engineering.
WalkWorks is an initiative between the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center that provides funding to Active Transportation Plans to increase the opportunity for safe, accessible and active routes in communities.
“The most important aspect of the plan was to gather information from the citizens and the City Administration on what projects were needed for the city,” Gibson-Thomas Project Manager Mark Szewcow said.
Italiano and Szewcow worked together, along with an assisting staff, to establish a budget, schedule and the final product. Szewcow was responsible for all quality control, project budgets and deadlines.
“I think people will be inclined to walk more; it’s going to be good for people in general,” senior Ryan Ashley said. “Some sidewalks throughout the city need upgrading, with the overgrowth and damage; some crosswalks need to be a lot safer, too.”
Five priority projects were identified by the City Council with 34 total, all of which had their cost, complexity and timeframe determined as well.
The priority projects include implementing safe crossings on Tunnel Avenue, enhancing the Arch Avenue tunnel for pedestrian safety, enhancing the College Avenue tunnel, cyclist safety improvements on College Avenue and pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements on Main Street.
“It has the possibility of revitalizing downtown Greensburg,” social studies teacher Robert Lehman said. “We as a community have to embrace it.”
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.”
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. 17during 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.
Students at the high school are experiencing technical difficulties.
The district changed its technology company this summer when their contract ended, causing a shift throughout the schools.
This resulted in things going a little differently this year such as distribution being delayed, kids not getting the same laptop and some devices being dirty.
Abegail Spaugy’s school laptop this year.
Photo By: Emma Helmick
“It was going to take an awful lot of time to get laptops back in the hands of the same student that it came from,” Superintendent Dr. Ken Bissell said. “So that’s where I made the decision and said, ‘get them ready as best as you can and let’s get them out to the students.’”
The plan was to put in new software, clean them up and organize them to be returned to the same student, but there was not enough time.
“Last year my computer worked as it was supposed to and also had a touch screen,” junior Andrew Lehnhardt said. “I can tell I was given a much older one that doesn’t function nearly as well.”
Next year there is a plan to get all new touch screen computers that have double memory and will run faster to all grade levels to fix the problem of slow and older devices.
“The computers that I have had in the past are super slow,” senior Joshua Nepple said. “I didn’t get the right one when I got my computer this year, but I heard they are getting faster computers for next year which I think is good.”
Another change that has been made is that there is now a tech line that students can call at any time to get issues resolved.
“I like how the tech line is 24/7,” senior Abegail Spaugy said. “Last school year, the tech office was only open a few days a week, and if you had an issue, you had to wait until the tech company workers were in their office.”
There is currently no in-person tech office available to students during the school day, but as of right now the plan is to have someone in the tech office eventually along with the tech line to try to minimize any possible issues that students could face.
“My job is, I have to look at what’s best for the student body, for the staff, and the community and the taxpayers, and how we make that happen,” Dr. Bissell said. “That’s why we made the decisions that we made, with the plan for next year being we’re going to get new devices across our system.”
As the election approaches students and teachers discuss their options.
Many people do not pay attention to politics and how it is affecting their everyday life, but if you look around at the world today, it is quite different than it used to be.
The republican nominees for president are former president Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance, and the democrat nominees are Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
English Teacher Mrs. Mary Logan said that in her classes there is a lesson where she shows her students how news sources can make things biased. She shows them the headlines and how things are embedded into the articles and how they can be persuasive.
A poster outside the Library encourages students to register to vote.
Photo by: Emma Helmick
The election is November 5th, 2024.
Having different news sources showing each side of politics can be helpful, but it also be hard to find the truth. They can make the other nominees seem different and might use their own opinion and make one seem better than the other, which can cause outrage from supporters of both parties.
“I think it is important for students to see how different places like the media and news may be attempting to manipulate them, but from there, I hope they can see the bias and make their own decisions and know when the persuasive techniques are working,” Mrs. Logan said.
Being able to understand politics and being too involved in them are quite different. When teachers talk about politics in a classroom, students could listen to the teacher and get informed instead of taking it personally and getting mad about other people’s opinions. It is perfectly fine to have your own views and beliefs on politics and the candidates.
I do not have an opinion on either side of the parties, but I do follow along with them,” junior Olivia Humberger said. “I believe it is interesting seeing the different sides even though I don’t have my own opinion.”
Being able to be open-minded helps to hear both sides of the parties. It helps to gain factual knowledge and being able to understand the election. Going to factual news sources that are unbiased also helps to get full knowledge from both sides.
“The election will be very close again; I think no matter what, whoever wins half of America will be upset no matter what,” accounting Teacher Mr. Lou Downey said. “Most of the election is all about debating and not what the nominees are going to do better for America.”
Many people find a lot of information on online bulletin boards, commercials, ads, and most social media. Harris is ahead of the polls by about two percent according to The New York Times. Some people are basing their information off what they hear and say they are going to do with the country. Most adults are voting and some seniors at GS are, too.
“I will be voting because I personally feel that there is a lot at stake this election,” senior Lily Slavnik said.
Every school year brings new changes, and this year is no different.
During the class meetings held the first day of school, High School Principal Mr. Adam Jones and Dean of Students Mr. Jeff Kronenwetter reminded students of old and changing rules in the school. These included the returning cell phone rule, a change in second run bussing and the attendance policy.
The cell phone rule, initiated last year, dictates that each student is required to place their phone into numbered and assigned pockets before class. All students are prohibited from using phones during classes and exceptions must be approved prior to implementation.
A typical phone holder hangs on a door.
Photo by: Ari Case
“We did it [to] get kids more engaged in their learning,” Mr. Jones said.
Teachers have varying opinions on it, but most appreciate the value in removing classroom distraction.
“The teacher part of me loves it, [because] it is a distraction for students that have them out in class,” Mr. Kronenwetter said.
Student views on the rule are hard to quantify, but many agree with the idea—just not the execution. Some students aren’t normally on their phones but prefer to have them in backpacks or pockets.
“It’s not that I like being on my phone, but I like it being near me,” junior Nico Bortz said. “So at least I know if I need it in any case of emergency, it’s there.”
The rule has not changed since last year, but its application is stricter. Previously, many teachers did not mind if students kept their phones away in their bags or used them to listen to music during independent work time. This year, however, students felt some teachers had been rude or overbearing about their cell phones even if they did not want to be.
Bortz shared that the rule can distract them from learning more than their phone at times. One class they accidentally put their phone in the wrong numbered pocket, which prompted the teacher to disrupt class and have them move the phone.
Students, like senior Leia Felmley, feel the rules are causing “unnecessary mayhem” and extra stress.
This added stress, for students like Bortz, takes away from their learning.
“I come to school and I want to learn,” they said. “I don’t want to have to worry about making sure my phone’s put away so I don’t get a detention.”
Some have raised concerns about the potential negative impact on student learning when there is reliance on only school-provided technology. Historically, school devices and Wi-Fi networks are unreliable and cause consistent issues for many students and teachers.
“A lot of our classes depend on technology,” Felmley said. “A lot of us went through Covid, and [technology] was our only source of education.”
According to Jones, teachers are expected to have a backup plan for all lessons that can be completed without technology.
Reportedly, the blame would fall on teachers if students were caught with their phones during classes. This has increased classroom tension, and Felmley disagrees with the choice to broadly pressure teachers when only some behaviors are truly disruptive or problematic.
Education has changed drastically in large part due to the pandemic, coupled with technological advancements—many teachers have had to shift how they teach in recent years.
“The teacher’s job is to educate their students,” Felmley said. “They should not be punished for it [because] it’s making them feel like they aren’t doing a good job of teaching when they’re trying their best just to learn how to redo everything again.”
The high school also changed the procedure for second run bussing this year.
Previously, students who rode second run buses waited in the auditorium lobby or outside after school. This year, they are assigned seating areas in the auditorium based on which bus they ride and dismissed accordingly.
It was explained that the reason for changing the bussing procedure was initially unrelated to students. In previous years, the buses were often clumped and out of order, sometimes blocking the road. Along with some conflicts between students, the main goal was to organize things for the sake of safety and efficiency.
Students wait in the auditorium for their buses.
Photo by: Quinn Isenberg
Jones explained that “it just streamlines the process” of getting students home safely. He also said that it is important they are able to find students in case of emergency.
Second run bus riders have decidedly less positive views about the change.
“I absolutely hate it because [it] is wickedly hot in the auditorium, even though we have an air conditioning unit in there, and it seems like they aren’t applying something that they put lots of money towards,” Felmley explained.
She believes the air conditioning has been on some days, but it has not seemed like it most days.
Bortz expressed frustration at losing the freedom of standing outside.
“It feels like they’re treating us like elementary schoolers,” they said. “I don’t like being treated like that when I’m 16 years old in high school. It’s kind of annoying and demeaning.”
Both Bortz and Felmley resent being separated from friends and social groups.
“It feels like you’re being isolated, away from those people you normally would bond with,” Felmley said.
The bus procedure is new this year, but the attendance policy remains the same on paper as it has been for years.
In recent years, several unexpected challenges disrupted the attendance policy at GS. Now, Kronenwetter hopes to get attendance more consistent.
“We’re trying to help establish good habits,” he explained.
He expressed that during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, he was just glad to see students attending school at all.
The district policy is that any absences after 12 missed days count towards sanctions. A student on the sanctions list must make up two hours for every day missed over the limit and may not participate in school-related activities like sports or dances.
The school legally excuses any absence with a note, but notes from parents still mean an absence counts toward sanctions. Any absence excused by a third party, like a doctor, does not count toward the sanctions limit. Neither do pre-approved absences for vacations, college visits, job shadows and senior projects.
Bortz expressed concerns for specific medical and family situations, and the appearance of transcripts for college. Kronenwetter explained that he isn’t concerned about potential issues, because they can be handled on a case-by-case basis—and the rules aren’t the important part to him.
“I know the academics come first,” he said.
The policy has not significantly changed this year, so any grievances are largely the same as last year. General frustration at the scheduling of school is the most common, with such an early start in the morning.
“There’s so many reasons for being tardy to school that should be excusable, but to the school are not,” Bortz said, mentioning car and health problems.
Both Bortz and Felmley expressed concerns about COVID-19, considering the recent surge in cases. Current Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines do not have a set quarantine, though they were previously five days at least. Now, quarantining until fever-free and limiting contact while wearing a mask for several days are recommended.
According to Jones, the district has no current policy on COVID-19, and “it’s treated as any illness.” If you do not have a doctor’s note, days missed because of it will count towards the sanctions limit.
Amid student frustration and added stress from new rules and policies, most students just want to be treated like their opinions and experiences matter.
“I know that as a young adult, I hope that our voices will be heard,” Felmley said.
With fall sports in full swing, the Salem Psychos are busy showing their support.
The student section at sports events is there to bring fun to games and encourage the teams. These students are led by five leaders.
“Lauryn Swierczynski is our main leader,” Salem Psychos Advisor Mr. Nick DeMary said. “Then we have Kayla Ramer, Grace Sybesma, Dom Rosensteel and Cooper Dann.”
These leaders do their best to ensure that students have fun at sports events. But beyond this, they make sure that student athletes always have someone supporting them.
The HS student section at the GS vs. Valley football game.
Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Andrea Redinger
“The student section is a major driving factor of school spirit, no doubt,” Swierczynski said. “As an athlete, having your peers come to your games really does make a difference. It gives you another reason to play, to push through and gives the team a wave of school pride.”
While the student section works to keep them supported outside of school, they are also working to arrange in school support.
“I want to get involved in the school,” Mr. DeMary said. “Maybe a pep rally. We are also trying to get t-shirts made and stuff like that.”
Getting the students involved may draw bigger crowds to school events. The leaders and DeMary are working hard to get advisory meetings set up. This would open the opportunity to get more ideas and opinions.
“Hopefully we see student athletes from all grades and sports come down to Mr. DeMary’s room and have some input on future themes, chants and ways to get more involvement at games,” Swierczynski said.
Having student input can be helpful when trying to gain involvement. If students like the themes and chants there will be more of a turn out.
“Everything is truly for the students and your voice matters,” DeMary said. “What students want is important because I’m a teacher and what was cool six years ago isn’t anymore.”
Although DeMary works to make things happen for students, the leaders play a role in keeping things up to date.
“Right now, we are working on Gold Rush t-shirts that will most likely be free,” Swierczynski said. “Another thing the other leaders and I are working on is a short video to go over different chants and traditions we do at each game.”
The chants are a way to keep the students having fun and interested at games. This video could help students be prepared for the games and louder when chants are called.
Although all students are in the same general area, it can be hard for some groups to hear and stay involved due to the grade sectioning. In the student section seniors are in the front and it goes by grade level all the way to the back.
“I think they could do a little better trying to involve the freshmen,” freshman Sophia Ginder said. “I think it’s awkward sometimes because they already know what they are going to do in the front and no one in the back knows what’s going on.”
While it may be hard to hear chants, there are still fun things for the younger students participate in, such as themes.
“I like the themes because I feel like it’s a way we can all be connected,” Ginder said.
Another thing that has been updated this year is the location of the middle school student section. Instead of being on the other side of the field, it is now next to the band which is in between the two sections.
“I personally like this change,” Swierczynski said. “Another section can hear the band better, and it creates connectivity between the middle and high school.”
Introducing the middle school students to the high school section can help show them what they have to look forward to. It can get them excited for what they get to be involved with soon.
“What I really want to see happen after I leave is the revival of the old days,” Swierczynski said. “What I mean by this is it being competitive to become a psycho. Bring back the passing of the torch culture. And keep the energy for all sports, not just football. Pack the section.”
Overall, this year’s group of senior leaders have a lot of goals, and the hope is that they can achieve them all. But it’s also important that there is other students’ interest in carrying on the Salem Psycho traditions.
“We are one at GS and I’m excited to see what the future holds,” DeMary said.
The community is soaking up the sounds that carried them through the past three months as the summer season events end.
The summertime was packed full of concerts, markets and other events to keep locals busy over break. The festivities kicked off with Elton Rohn, the Elton John tribute band, at St. Clair Park for SummerSounds.
Elton Rohn performs at St. Clair Park for SummerSounds.
Photo Courtesy: David Baldinger
SummerSounds is an annual free concert series put together entirely by 50 volunteers who present Greensburg with a wide variety of musicians over 14 weeks. Preshows lasted from 6:15 to 6:45, the main show then starting at 7 p.m.
“It’s a very exciting thing,” junior Maddox Kunkle said. “I think it’s done very professionally, it’s more top-of-the-line.”
The SummerSounds lineup included various tributes and original acts to appeal to music lovers of all ages. This summer’s end marks 24 years of concerts for SummerSounds with more to come under new management from the Greensburg Community Development Corporation.
“Because it’s free, anyone could go if they wanted,” Kunkle added. “People might’ve even been in for a surprise with what bands they saw.”
Once a month on select Thursdays from April through December, the Greensburg Night Market is active across four city blocks with over 140 vendors selling foods, art, jewelry and much more.
A typical view of the street during the Greensburg Night Market.
Photo Courtesy: Alex Newill
“The turnout for all the markets was pretty good this year,” owner and founder of the Night Market Ms. Jessica Hickey said.
The Greensburg Vintage Market was also active throughout the summer season. Over 50 vendors gather throughout St. Clair Park and the parking lot behind the Amphitheatre, selling vintage décor, collectables, clothing and other vintage items along with food and plants.
The vintage market set up.
Photo Courtesy: Alex Newill
“The heat can be a bit of a challenge during the summertime,” Ms. Hickey said. “We had a couple hot markets, but our water refill station and being in the park for some shade helped a lot.”
On August 16, GS held the annual Back to School Bash at Offutt Field to kick off the 2024-2025 school year.
“It seemed pretty crowded, and everyone had a great time,” Associate to the Superintendent and Back to School Bash Coordinator Mrs. Kayla Tamer said. “It was an exciting night.”
The Bash was in conjunction with Mini-THON, which provided students and families with the dunk tank and cornhole fundraiser at the event. There were over 25 community vendors, 10 student organizations and five food vendors.
Mr. Nick DeMary sits in the dunk tank.
Photo Courtesy: Mrs. Tamer
“It was a team approach,” Mrs. Tamer added. “The layout this year was a little bit different, we recognized the athletes and activities in the middle. I think the weather kept some people away, but overall, it was really fun.”
On August 24, the Greensburg Music Fest was back for the 6thconsecutive year. This year’s festival was spread throughout three locations with five stages total and 15 bands who played throughout the day. The Music Fest is presented by the Westmorland Cultural trust in partnership with Green Beacon Gallery and Band Together Pittsburgh.
“It was a fantastic experience,” senior Wesley Heverly said. “The talent from the kids who are a part of Band Together was mind blowing.”
Band Together Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that creates music with musicians on the autism spectrum. Heverly had the pleasure of participating in the event at St. Clair Park and helped promote it with posters he made himself.
Greensburg always has something to look forward to, but especially during the summertime. Each of these events will be back around next year, with an all-new lineup of bands with SummerSounds for students and Greensburg locals to enjoy.
“It’s always tough to see the summer end because of the events that occur during the season,” Greensburg Mayor Robert Bell said. “I couldn’t be more happy with the results of this past summer’s event calendar. Hopefully, we’ll be able to announce a few new events for next year.”
With school back in session, GS’ National Honors Society can begin helping the community once more.
NHS is a group of senior students that helps other students become active leaders in their school and community.
“It’s an organization that promotes and celebrates the character, scholarship, leadership and service courses,” NHS advisor Mrs. Cheryl Harper said.
Each activity helps the participating students reach the criteria to become a better leader, while also reaching the standards to be in NHS.
The students have the opportunity to use these skills while volunteering during different events or activities like the Croquet Tournament, Match-O-Matics, GS Threads and other school functions.
GS Threads is up and running and being added to continuously.
Photo by: Samarah Guy
“The main event that we take part in every September is the croquet tournament held at the WCCC, where NHS members take part as referees and staff,” senior Nick Reinhart, NHS President, said.
NHS has received a donation from this tournament for several years, but the main reason the students help at these events is to be a part of their local community.
“The reason we perform so much service is to help our local community and make an impact on what we see around us,” Reinhart added.
GS Threads is the major opportunity that NHS does throughout the school year to help students get clothes if they need them.
“GS Threads is probably our biggest ongoing project,” senior Sabrina Kasic, NHS Vice-President said. “We get bags of clothes donated, we sort through them to make sure everything is good for students to take when they need.”
NHS also offers great scholarship opportunities for those involved. This is another reason that drives many students to become active members in NHS.
“A lot of people joined NHS for the scholarships at the end because if you have consistent good grades while also helping people you can get a scholarship,” Kasic added. “NHS is a group for people who like to help people, while also helping your chances of scholarships.”
Besides the scholarships and leadership skills, NHS opens a whole new world for teens to get involved with their community and build good social skills.
“NHS is a great program to be a part of, and it will benefit you in more ways than one could imagine,” senior Emily Ruggieri said.
The Lions' Den 