“Not a lot was expected of us this year,” said Nora Gerstenberger, senior captain, “and for the girls to step up was really big.” The girls who made up this year’s field hockey team received nothing but praise from both Coach Tornetta and senior captain Nora Gerstenberger. Although this team may have started out young and inexperienced, they definitely worked together to become a solid team. The team’s record for regular season was 9-7-0 and overall they were 10-8-0. During districts, the team’s record was 1-1. They beat Jenkintown in their first game 3-1, but against Villa Maria they lost 3-0. “We made them earn it!” said Nora Gerstenberger.

Coach Tornetta has been coaching field hockey for 20 years and of those years and he has been head coach for ten of them. Ashley Dvorak also helps the team as the assistant coach. Throughout the year, the team has steadily improved. “The whole team went from JV to a varsity team,” said Coach Tornetta, due to the fact that they lost a lot of their starting seniors from last year. The team’s captains, Nora Gerstenberger, Miranda Peto and Jenna DeLeone, along with senior Kathleen Mizii, have helped lead the team this year. Some underclassmen also stepped up their game to make it a great season including Maggie Kochinsky, Molly Ferguson and Monicka Fosnocht. Coach Tornetta said Rachel Yacovett was a great goalie for the team this year.

There have been many outstanding moments for the field hockey team this year. The team worked hard to come from behind in a game against Upper Perk. The final score was 2-1, with Maggie Kochinsky and Katie Benner scoring one goal each in the last five minutes. Phoenixville’s toughest opponent this year has been Methacton, who they lost to 4-0. Another great accomplishment for the team this year was making the Final Four, which they haven’t done in the past two years. Despite making the Final Four and beating some hard teams along the way, Coach Tornetta thinks the biggest accomplishment this year was becoming a unified team. “[The team] slowly and steadily improved,” explained Coach Tornetta.

Although the team will once again lose some key seniors to college, Coach Tornetta believes they have “a nice returning core group of girls.” Coach Tornetta thinks this year’s JV team will have to step it up for next year. Throughout the year, the field hockey team has worked really hard to turn a young group into a winning varsity team. Great job this year girls!

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By Laura Gronski

By Alex Miller

How would you like to earn half an academic credit and at the same time travel to Europe? Mrs. Weinstein is accepting signups for her overseas nine day tour of England, Wales, and Ireland. All you need to do is complete the pre-requisite requirements, listed in the informational packet that you can get from Mrs. Weinstein, and complete a travel journal while you are there. The dates for the trip are April 4th to the 12th, 2009. You will visit many popular tourist attractions while in Europe. For example, Big Ben and Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, The Globe Theatre, Piccadilly Circus, The Changing of the Guard, Hyde Park, Oxford and Trinity Colleges, Stratford, Blarney Castle, Bunratty Castle, and much more! The cost of the trip is $2,480 (airfare included) for students and $2,770 (airfare included) for adults. All entrance fees and lodging fees are included.

Your browser may not support display of this image. Credit for the trip is optional. You do not need to do the work for credit. You can just attend the trip without doing any work, and receive no credit. To get the half a credit for the trip you must read four approved books before the trip, such as Clay by David Almond, or I Will Plant you a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman, keep a travel journal while overseas and then set aside twenty hours after the trip for meetings and post-trip assignments. A list of books and various rules and regulations can be found in the curriculum packet that is being given out by Mrs. Weinstein. To sign up or for more information, please see Mrs. Weinstein in room D3.

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Big Ben in London

Your browser may not support display of this image. Blarney Castle

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Bunratty Castle The changing of the guards

By Nicole Risell

It is safe to say that gay marriage has been a hot topic for awhile. Politicians around the world have debated this topic. People have protested for and against gay marriage. The fight for gay marriage has become an issue of civil rights. Why should certain people have the right to marry just based on which sex they prefer? I believe everyone should have the right to spend the rest of their life with who they choose. Love is love whether it is between a man and a woman, or a man and another man, or a woman and another woman. Whoever said love is blind was obviously a genius, in my eyes anyway.

Let me familiarize you with some of the laws of gay marriage. Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, (and even Canada) have legalized gay marriage, though due to the Defense of Marriage Act, they are not considered “real” marriages outside these states. The Defense of Marriage Act says that the federal government cannot treat same-sex relationships as marriages. The act defines marriage as “a union between a man and woman.” The 4-3 ruling in the Connecticut case earlier this month is the first time in history that a state had been told by a court that civil unions aren’t enough to protect the rights of same-sex couples. New Jersey is one of the states that recently created legal civil unions that offer the same rights and protections of straight marriages. Pennsylvania has not legalized gay marriage or same-sex unions, but hopefully the Keystone State will do so in the near future.

The main reason some people are against gay marriage is religion. It says in the Bible that God created Adam and Eve. Gay marriage protesters say that same-sex marriages are an insult to what God created. Some people say that same-sex marriage promotes sex that doesn’t create life. The only sex that creates life is between a man and a woman. However, in every religion it is stated that God is all about love and acceptance. Why would God create people who are different if they were going to be hated by a group of people? If people are going to start taking the Bible literally, then most of us are sinners. None of us should be eating pork or working on Sundays. It is ridiculous that people take one thing from the Bible so literally and blow it so out of proportion that they deny people common rights.

Another reason some people are against same-sex marriage are that they believe children will grow up differently in a same-sex marriage. They think that children who grow up in a same-sex based home will be more likely to want to attain a same-sex partner in adulthood. However, no research has shown any major differences between being brought up in a same-sex household and a “traditional” family setting, consisting of a mother and a father. If anything, I believe that children who grow up in these types of households will become more open- minded and accepting to things that are out of the ordinary.

People can’t help who they fall in love with. People should not be stripped of their right to marry someone just because they have the same gender. They also have the right to have their union legally recognized. I support gay marriage because nobody has the right to tell anyone else how to live their life or who they can spend the rest of their life with.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. “Ughhh, what am I going to wear today?! “ Sound familiar? How many of us wake up in the morning and have no idea what to wear to school and spend most of our time just getting ready? I know I do. It’s a really hot topic for schools these days: Yea or nay to school uniforms.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. I think having school uniforms is a great idea. It would solve a lot of problems that go on in schools. First, having matching outfits can make all students feel equal. Students with less money would no longer feel excluded because they are not wearing name brand clothing as the kids with more money. For example, if someone is wearing clothes from somewhere like Goodwill, they might feel embarrassed sitting next to people who get all their clothes from Abercrombie and Fitch. Social status would be less of an issue because everyone would be wearing the same clothing. School uniforms are also a good idea for safety reasons. When everyone looks the same, it is easy to pick out someone in the school that does not belong there. They would also eliminate the problems that occur with the school dress code, which is tough to enforce anyway.

One of the biggest arguments against school uniforms is that students would lose their sense of individuality. However, I believe that uniforms will improve students’ individuality because they will have to express themselves through their personality and attitude, rather than through an expensive pair of shoes or a brand name pair of jeans. Uniforms will improve self-esteem in the students because they will not feel pressured to dress in expensive clothes from the mall.

School uniforms are not that expensive and they don’t even have to be formal. Who really wants to wear the whole tie and vest combo? That’s just taking school uniforms to a whole new level. You have to buy shoes and matching socks anyway for school so what’s wrong with using them for a uniform? You only need to buy one outfit instead of buying a whole outfit for each day. A pair of fitted jeans and a knit shirt would be fine. Students can express themselves with the accessories they add like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. Clothing is just something you wear and doesn’t always express who you are. Students can express who they are outside of school with the clothes they wear instead of at school, which is a place we come to get our education. With school uniforms, students find better ways to express themselves and be unique. Of course, the uniforms don’t have to be worn every single day. There could be dress down days like every Friday or near holidays.

Now don’t start panicking everyone. This school uniform thing isn’t really going to happen at PAHS,it’s just an interesting idea. A lot of people are quick to say “no” when it comes to school uniforms. But think about what you could be doing in the morning when you’re wasting all that time picking out what to wear: SLEEPING!

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Annet Cherusseril

By Jon Wheel

A rain-drenched Citizen’s Bank Park did not stop the Phillies from ending the Tampa Bay Rays’ magical season. After the first suspended World Series game in baseball history, the Phillies pitching, along with timely hitting, earned Philadelphia its first World Series championship since 1980.

The Phillies’ pitching was dominant…to say the least. The Phillies held the power bats of Carlos Peña and Evan Longoria to just three hits combined in the five game set. The Phillies pitchers also did something that the White Sox and Red Sox pitchers couldn’t do…keep the Rays in the park. The Rays hit just four home runs in the series, after hitting 22 long balls in the ALDS and ALCS. World Series MVP Cole Hamels was his dominant self, and Joe Blanton contributed with his arm, and his bat, hitting his first home run since high school. And fittingly, Brad Lidge recorded the final out of the series, finalizing his perfect season. Remember, Lidge gave up a game-winning two-run home run to Albert Pujols in the NLCS in 2005. So it was a relief for the Phillie faithful to see Lidge nail down the game five win.

Though the Phillies’ hitters took a back seat to their pitching, they certainly made their presence felt. Even though it took about three and a half games for them to get an RBI with runners in scoring position, they still managed to be just good enough to defeat the heavily-favored Rays. An early home run from Chase Utley helped Philadelphia in game one, home runs from Ryan Howard, Blanton, and Jayson Werth powered the Phillies in game four, and an important RBI single in the seventh inning in game five by Pedro Feliz earned Philadelphia its second world championship in 126 years.

Game five of the World Series was an extremely important game for both sides. For Tampa Bay, they needed a win to keep their fairytale season alive. For the Phillies, they almost had to win it at home, or else they would have to face, arguably, the Rays two best pitchers: “Big Game” James Shields and Matt Garza. Not to mention, they would have to play two more games at the Trop, where the Rays were a Major League best 57-24. In the end, the Phillies were able to hold off the pesky Rays, winning the series four games to one.

So after 28 years without a championship, the only professional sports franchise with 10,000 losses won the World Series. The Phillies also held their championship parade on Halloween, giving many fans a reason to skip work or school. So for now, Philadelphia fans can relax, knowing that one of their teams has finally brought them a much-needed championship.

By Charles Hanlon

Have you ever wondered what job opportunities there are in the field of technology? Have you ever felt the urge to program a computer? Have you ever dreamed about working with animation and webpages? If you answered yes, then Techies Day is the trip for you.

Techies Day is an annual event run by the Chester County Intermediate Unit sponsored by the Innovative Technology Action Group of Southeastern Pennsylvania to help students explore the technology field. This year, on October 8th, a group of 14 students attended Vanguard in Malvern. Vanguard is a local business and investment firm. The bulk of their business is “virtual,” which naturally requires a lot of computers. Vanguard is the largest employer in Chester County, servicing almost 12,000 jobs.

The day began with an introduction from the main presenter, Damian Pizzo, Manager of
Vanguard Web Technical Support Services. Mr. Pizzo showed the two student groups (Phoenixville and Coatesville) around the building of 45 Liberty Blvd which features cubicles, group work areas, usability test areas, and an amazing lobby that features fountains and neat architecture.

One of the highlights of the tour included the demonstration of usability testing. This is where customers get to try out new software. Testers are shown the Vanguard website and asked to do simple things like create an account or search for information. Testers make $150 per visit, and all they have to do is say whether or not they found their experience to be easy and why.

After the tour of the building, Mr. Pizzo brought us to the presentation room. He made a short presentation about Vanguard. Some topics of the presentation included the Founder, Careers at Vanguard, and Vanguard’s mission as a company.

Lunch was supposed to be served after Mr. Pizzo’s presentation. Unfortunately, lunch was running late. The presentations about different parts of the company that were supposed to be after lunch were bumped forward.

Thankfully, lunch eventually came. One of the best parts of the entire trip, lunch consisted of a Caesar salad bar, twelve boxes of pizza (Plain, Pepperoni, Sausage, and Pepper/Onion), and cookies and brownies for dessert. With plenty of food to spare, the students were encouraged to go back for seconds, and thirds. I happilly obliged!

After lunch, Gina Puzo held a hands-on group exercise. As an information architect, Ms. Puzo organizes information to make it easily accessible for everyone. To exemplify this, we were given animal crackers and we had to sort them according to different personas (made up people). The exercise was edible, and we went home with more than a few bowls of animal crackers.

This concluded Techies Day ’08. The highlights of the trip included Animal Crackers, lunch, and some really neat goodies. I look forward to the next Techies Day trip. To get involved, see Mr. Barron, Secondary Instructional Technology Specialist in his office in the library.

This school year has brought the addition of the Freshman Academy, about which many teachers seem to have positive feedback. The Freshman Academy gives freshman the attention necessary to have a successful transition from middle school to high school. The academy has four teams within it, which allows the teachers to coordinate their plans. Ms. Levin (a freshman English teacher) really enjoys the setting and feels that she knows the students better than before. The teachers are also better able to give students the help they need.

The Academy hasn’t been easy to initiate, as there have been many obstacles and limitations. For the teachers, time has been the most restricting aspect of the Academy. They try to get together and coordinate lesson plans, but this takes extra time. It’s difficult for the teachers to plan each week and match each lesson for English, history, science, etc. The class scheduling issue early in the year was another obstacle for the academy teachers, but they were able to overcome this predicament.

With the addition of the Academy also came the new mandatory elective (for freshman only) called Success in High School. The title of the course may soon change to “Freshman Seminar” to give the course the weight it deserves. The course is designed to give students organization, research, and note taking skills. Currently, the freshmen are working on a Middle Eastern Project which involves doing research in the library, interviewing, and creating a podcast. They are also teaming up with technology coordinator Mr. Barron to create the podcast.

It seems as if the teachers are enjoying the Academy, but the true test is the students’ response. The freshmen gave the academy mixed reviews, but most agreed that it seems to be getting better. One student, Alix Cangialosi, said of the academy, “[In the past] I haven’t been able to study well, but I’ve finally found a study skill which is really helping me.” Ms. Levin feels that the Academy has made the students’ transition from middle school to high school easier. She also thinks that the students feel especially comfortable asking questions and problems because they have her for class so often.

The program has been created to give students basic building blocks and a foundation for high school. They have been taught how to use Noodle Tools for research so they know how to use this resource all through high school. This will help teachers in future years skip directions on how to research and use programs like Moodle, Noodle Tools or Destiny, to name a few.

From a teacher’s perspective, Ms. Levin feels that this class “makes the students more confident and successful.” She is able to create stronger relationships with the students by getting to know them better. Overall, it sounds like the Freshman Academy is a program in the process of becoming a huge success. For me personally, freshman year was difficult and it is nice to see the staff getting involved and helping make middle to high school a smoother transition.

By Charles Hanlon

Have you ever wondered what job opportunities there are in the field of technology? Have you ever felt the urge to program a computer? Have you ever dreamed about working with animation and webpages? If you answered yes, then Techies Day is the trip for you.
Techies Day is an annual event run by the Chester County Intermediate Unit sponsored by the Innovative Technology Action Group of Southeastern Pennsylvania to help students explore the technology field. This year, on October 8th, a group of 14 students attended Vanguard in Malvern. Vanguard is a local business and investment firm. The bulk of their business is “virtual,” which naturally requires a lot of computers. Vanguard is the largest employer in Chester County, servicing almost 12,000 jobs.
The day began with an introduction from the main presenter, Damian Pizzo, Manager of
Vanguard Web Technical Support Services. Mr. Pizzo showed the two student groups (Phoenixville and Coatesville) around the building of 45 Liberty Blvd which features cubicles, group work areas, usability test areas, and an amazing lobby that features fountains and neat architecture.
One of the highlights of the tour included the demonstration of usability testing. This is where customers get to try out new software. Testers are shown the Vanguard website and asked to do simple things like create an account or search for information. Testers make $150 per visit, and all they have to do is say whether or not they found their experience to be easy and why.
After the tour of the building, Mr. Pizzo brought us to the presentation room. He made a short presentation about Vanguard. Some topics of the presentation included the Founder, Careers at Vanguard, and Vanguard’s mission as a company.
Lunch was supposed to be served after Mr. Pizzo’s presentation. Unfortunately, lunch was running late. The presentations about different parts of the company that were supposed to be after lunch were bumped forward.
Thankfully, lunch eventually came. One of the best parts of the entire trip, lunch consisted of a Caesar salad bar, twelve boxes of pizza (Plain, Pepperoni, Sausage, and Pepper/Onion), and cookies and brownies for dessert. With plenty of food to spare, the students were encouraged to go back for seconds, and thirds. I happilly obliged!
After lunch, Gina Puzo held a hands-on group exercise. As an information architect, Ms. Puzo organizes information to make it easily accessible for everyone. To exemplify this, we were given animal crackers and we had to sort them according to different personas (made up people). The exercise was edible, and we went home with more than a few bowls of animal crackers.
This concluded Techies Day ’08. The highlights of the trip included Animal Crackers, lunch, and some really neat goodies. I look forward to the next Techies Day trip. To get involved, see Mr. Barron, Secondary Instructional Technology Specialist in his office in the library.

Not only do the freshmen have to acclimate to a new school and being on their own, but so does new English teacher Mrs. Hall. You might recognize Mrs. Hall because she was here last year student teaching for Ms. Levin. Mrs. Hall explained, “I really enjoyed student teaching for Mrs. Levin. It helped me get to know the students and all the teachers in the English Department. By working here I don’t have to get used to different grading system, which helps me a lot.”
While growing up Mrs. Hall lived on an eighty six acre farm not too far away in Bloomsburg Pennsylvania. She lived there with her parents and her two brothers. Her high school was a lot different from PAHS. It was a small high school called Benton High. She had thirty kids in her graduating class. Even though it was small, Mrs. Hall was all about extracurricular activities. She participated in tennis, threw javelin on the track team, and she was the editor in chief of the school’s newspaper and yearbook. She was also a part of student council and the ecology club. When she wasn’t participating in school activities she enjoyed roller skating. “Not inline skating, I would never do that. There must always be four wheels on the ground,” she explained.
Mrs. Hall always knew she wanted to become an English teacher and work with youth, but before she took on teaching as a long term career she wanted other experiences. After attending Bloomsburg University Mrs. Hall joined the AmeriCorps VISTA program and moved to New Mexico for three years. She worked with disadvantaged youth in job training and GED tutoring. After that Mrs. Hall moved to Washington State and became a counselor for the mentally ill. In 2003 she attended Westchester University to get her Master’s degree. While she was at WCU she became interested in health education. She spent a year before getting her second Master’s degree at Villanova being a Drug and Alcohol Prevention Specialist for Chester County. Mrs. Hall explained, “The only reason I didn’t want to be a teacher at first is because my father always wanted me to be a teacher and I wanted to be rebellious and do something else.”
While attending Bloomsburg University there was a professor by the name of Dr. McCully who taught English. Dr. McCully had such an inspiration on Mrs. Hall. She explained, “Dr. McCully was the first teacher that I ever had who made me believe that teaching English could make a difference in the world. I feel that if a person can read and write well then they will have more opportunities in their life.” Perhaps due to her favorite college professor, Mrs. Hall does not only teach here at PAHS, she also teaches courses in Memoir Writing and Grant Writing at Delaware County Community College.
Here at PAHS, Mrs. Hall teaches a new class called Success in High School. This is a course that freshmen take to acquire better study skills that will help them throughout high school. She also teaches ninth and eleventh grade English. The academy is a big help to all ninth grade English teachers. “My favorite part about the academy is the fact that we get to combine classes and I get to work with the Global Studies teachers with all the research projects,” she stated.
When Mrs. Hall isn’t here at school teaching she lives with her husband and her two mini hamsters named “Little Dudes.” Mr. and Mrs. Hall enjoy playing basketball and they really enjoy playing the Wii. When Mrs. Hall gets some time to herself she enjoys reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.
Mrs. Hall’s favorite thing about teaching is how much fun she gets to have while she is working. “I’m very happy with my decision to become a teacher because I get to laugh every day.” As much fun as it is, the biggest challenge is all the paperwork that she has to do. It’s a big step going from a student teacher to becoming an official teacher. Last year Ms. Levin took on all the papers to grade, and it was a big shock to Mrs. Hall when she had to do it all herself. Her main goal for this year is to make sure that all her students do well. She also hopes to eventually come in the morning without a cup of coffee, and to survive this year on her own. So if you spot Mrs. Hall in the hall, wish the her best of luck as she starts her journey as a teacher.

This school year has brought the addition of the Freshman Academy, about which many teachers seem to have positive feedback. The Freshman Academy gives freshman the attention necessary to have a successful transition from middle school to high school. The academy has four teams within it, which allows the teachers to coordinate their plans. Ms. Levin (a freshman English teacher) really enjoys the setting and feels that she knows the students better than before. The teachers are also better able to give students the help they need.
The Academy hasn’t been easy to initiate, as there have been many obstacles and limitations. For the teachers, time has been the most restricting aspect of the Academy. They try to get together and coordinate lesson plans, but this takes extra time. It’s difficult for the teachers to plan each week and match each lesson for English, history, science, etc. The class scheduling issue early in the year was another obstacle for the academy teachers, but they were able to overcome this predicament.
With the addition of the Academy also came the new mandatory elective (for freshman only) called Success in High School. The title of the course may soon change to “Freshman Seminar” to give the course the weight it deserves. The course is designed to give students organization, research, and note taking skills. Currently, the freshmen are working on a Middle Eastern Project which involves doing research in the library, interviewing, and creating a podcast. They are also teaming up with technology coordinator Mr. Barron to create the podcast.
It seems as if the teachers are enjoying the Academy, but the true test is the students’ response. The freshmen gave the academy mixed reviews, but most agreed that it seems to be getting better. One student, Alix Cangialosi, said of the academy, “[In the past] I haven’t been able to study well, but I’ve finally found a study skill which is really helping me.” Ms. Levin feels that the Academy has made the students’ transition from middle school to high school easier. She also thinks that the students feel especially comfortable asking questions and problems because they have her for class so often.
The program has been created to give students basic building blocks and a foundation for high school. They have been taught how to use Noodle Tools for research so they know how to use this resource all through high school. This will help teachers in future years skip directions on how to research and use programs like Moodle, Noodle Tools or Destiny, to name a few.
From a teacher’s perspective, Ms. Levin feels that this class “makes the students more confident and successful.” She is able to create stronger relationships with the students by getting to know them better. Overall, it sounds like the Freshman Academy is a program in the process of becoming a huge success. For me personally, freshman year was difficult and it is nice to see the staff getting involved and helping make middle to high school a smoother transition.