By Becca Wise

When it gets to be that time of year, when the snow starts to fall and vacation draws near, everyone starts to get the holiday cheer, no matter how Scrooge-like they appear.

One person who tends to get the most holiday spirit in our school is Mr. Scott Vining. Mr. Vining runs a charity drive every December called “Stockings for Kids” where any person can fill up a stocking with toys and give that stocking to an underprivileged child for Christmas.

Mr. Vining got the idea for Stockings For Kids five years ago when he was listening to the radio station B101. B101 had been doing Stockings For Kids for quite some time. “I just thought it would be a good idea to do it at a school,” said Mr. Vining.

All the stockings that are filled go to underprivileged families in the Phoenixville area, since there are many unfortunate people here. “There’s a lot of kids in our area who, unfortunately, on Christmas morning won’t receive anything…You know the old saying ‘It’s better to give then to receive.’ ” said Mr. Vining

Mr. Vining managed to collect 455 stockings last year, and his goal for this year is to fill up five hundred stockings or more before Christmas rolls around. “If every student and teacher in the school fill up one stocking,” said Mr. Vining, “then we would have over one-thousand stockings to donate…It’s not un-realistic, considering we also involve other schools like the Middle School and Schuylkill.”

Along with Stockings For Kids, there is another charity drive taking place in Phoenixville High School: Toys for Tots. Any person interested can drop off unwrapped toys in the main office or room F1 by Monday, December 15th. Mrs. Groff runs Toys For Tots and any presents received will also go to underprivileged families.

Any student interested in helping the Stockings For Kids drive can stop by Mr. Vining’s room, F19, and pick up a stocking. Just think, you can give a kid something to be excited about when they wake up on Christmas morning. You’ll be able to feel the holiday joy.

The National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes students who excel in scholarship, leadership, service and character. The National Honor Society members are a very important part of Phoenixville High School because not only do they represent our high school in a positive way, but they also represent our community.

The students who are invited to join NHS must first meet the standard for scholarship. The previous standard was a GPA of 3.6, but this year the requirements were changed to the top 50 students of the junior and senior classes. Students who are invited complete an application packet and construct two essays which portray their character, leadership, and service accomplishments. Students are then selected by a council of five faculty members. The advisor of NHS is Ms. Rock; she and the officers conduct the NHS meetings. The 2008-2009 officers are as follows: President- Steve Ng, Vice President- Kara O’Donnell, Secretary- Kelly Lynch, and Treasurer- Natalie Latshaw.

The academic NHS club reaches out to the Phoenixville community as a way to show their service and character. This past November, NHS held a candy drive to benefit the Phoenixville Area Community Services which gives support to needy families in the Phoenixville Community. Last year, they had a collection of canned goods and toiletries for the troops in Iraq. NHS members are also required to tutor a student from any grade in a subject of their choice.

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All of the new inductees will attend an induction ceremony on Monday, January 5. Miss Gentile sends out these words to the new members of NHS, “Congratulations for being part of the cream of the crop; continue working hard and reach for the stars!”

Posted by
Marissa Rock

By Emma Cordes

“I became a teacher because I believe that seeing a student learn and succeed in class is one of the most fulfilling things, and knowing you played a role in their lives is very gratifying, ” said Phoenixville Area High School’s in-school substitute Mr. Gnias on teaching high school students. Originally from Phoenixville, he has come back to make an impact on students’ lives at his old high school. “It is very weird working where I went to high school,” said Gnias, “[I] get a different point of view. Instead of looking [at PAHS] as a student, [I am] seeing a teacher’s perspective.”

Growing up, Mr. Gnias had a very different picture of the high school than what he sees today. The difference: “There are walls and doors on the classrooms and the cameras actually work in the hallways so students get in trouble when they try to leave school. When I went to Phoenixville the building was under construction.” With the addition of new teachers and principals, it is hard for Mr. Gnias to realize he is even in the same school. Before graduating from Phoenixville in 2002, Mr. Gnias made an impact on the school athletically. Aside from being on the golf team, he was also a part of the baseball team that attended the 2001 Pennsylvania state championships. His experience with athletics at the school was an inspiration for him to help out with the school’s golf team. He said, “I wanted to help out with the golf team because I knew that I could contribute a lot to the development of their games.”

After graduating high school, Mr. Gnias attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Not knowing where college would take him, he decided to take a few education courses. It was in those classes he realized teaching was for him and he knew exactly where he wanted to teach. “I always wanted to come back to where I went to school because I love the school and the faculty is great.” Mr. Gnias prefers teaching high school students over middle school students. “They understand more about what’s going on in the world today and most of the time they more mature,” he claims.

What are Mr. Gnias’ plans for the future? “I plan on hopefully getting a full time job teaching history close to home, with my own classroom and students.” Mr. Gnias has always favored teaching history over any other subject due to his interest in the Revolutionary War. This could be due to the inspiration he received as a student at Phoenixville from one of our own staff members today. He stated, “Mr. Coyne inspired me because of his exciting lessons and how he would engage students in the classroom. I guess I should also give Mr. Winnick some credit too.”

In his spare time Mr. Gnias likes to hang out with friends, play golf and watch his favorite movies which include GoodFellas and Casino. And although Mr. Gnias is interested in history, he has nothing but good plans for the future. Now that golf season is over, Mr. Gnias has time to help him push toward his goal of becoming a full time teacher. Who knows, maybe in the near future we will be no longer be seeing Mr. Gnias taking the places of other teachers in the classrooms, but assuming his own place in his own classroom as a full time teacher at Phoenixville Area High School.

After a huge loss of starting players, the question on everyone’s mind was, would the Phantoms football team be any good this year? That question was answered when Phoenixville Phantom Football team went 7-2 Pac-10 and 8-4 overall. After graduating ten of the starters from last year, it was easy to see why Mr. Furlong, the head coach, was worried about this year’s season, but to his pleasure the season went well. He said, “I didn’t know how well the season would go and it ended up exceeding my expectations.” The team was headed by Mr. Furlong, along with assistant coaches Don Jackson, Dave Nester, Bubba Gray, Sean Arnold, Nick Rotondo, and Billy Thornton.

Possibly the team’s biggest accomplishment was qualifying for districts. The team was seeded eighth and in the first round they played Upper Moreland, the first seeded school. Mr. Furlong explained that, “The boys started off a little nervous, but once they saw they could play they did really well.” The team was up with only five minutes left in the game, when Upper Moreland ended up scoring a touchdown and winning the game. Although the loss was a big disappointment for the team, they came really close to beating the number one seed at districts. It was almost a really huge upset!

Overall, the boys played well as a team and they worked well together. The boys were able to sacrifice their individual goals and put their team goals first. Although they didn’t have team captains, they had game captains, but many of the players were captains often. They included Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Mike Cress, Dave Eggeling, and Will Killeen.

Some of the standout players this year included: Mike Cress, Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Vince Ciaverelli, Ricky Yenchick, Derek Ryan, Sam McQuiston, Dave Eggeling, and sophomore Tom Romano, who really progressed as quarterback. The seniors on the team were Anthony Nattle, Abdul Kelly, Dave Eggeling, Mike Cress, Khalil Ervin, A.J. Ryan, and Will Killeen. Senior Abdul Kelly commented on the season and gave some advice: “The season was good. It was just disappointing that we got to the same point this year that we did last year. Teammates: It’s been real. Work hard.” Senior Anthony Nattle was awarded the Sportsmanship award. The award was voted on by the referees who said that he had the best sportsmanship in the Pac-10. Anthony Nattle also commented on how the season went: “It was really surprising, because everyone was saying how we weren’t going to be good and we ended up being third in pac-10.”

The biggest challenge for the team was its small size. Numbers were small and there were a lot of positions to fill. The team consisted of only thirty-two varsity and JV players, which created the challenge of keeping all the players healthy and keeping everyone injury free. Luckily, the team was able to overcome this challenge, and none of the varsity players missed a single game all season. This dedication was definitely crucial to the success of the team.

Next year seems promising with many up and coming stars, including Ricky Yenchick, Vince Ciaverelli, Kenny Cenci, Tom Romano, Matt Viscuso, Derek Ryan, and Sam McQuiston. The experience that all of these players got this year should go a long way next year. Many of the juniors and sophomores show good leadership skills which will be important for making the playoffs next year. Mr. Furlong is confident that the team will make the playoffs next year and hopes they will also advance past round one. In order to accomplish these goals it will take off season commitment from the whole team.

The JV team gained a lot of valuable skills and playing time despite a 2-7 record. The freshman team had a lot of success this year with an 8-1 record. So congratulations to all three teams on a great season!

Posted by:
Rebecca McCulloch

School is where we spend most of our time. We sleep, eat, and sometimes do school work here at PAHS five days a week, from 7:30 am to 2:35 pm. Some would even say it’s a second home. Now, imagine walking into a new school, full of people you have never seen before. All the classes are different, and worse, no one speaks your language. For the ESL (English as a Second Language) students here at Phoenixville, they have to go through this and more every day.

Phoenixville may just be a small town school, but it houses students from around the world. Ms. Hindenach, Phoenixville’s ESL teacher for the past three years, is dedicated to helping these students succeed in school by teaching them English. After taking Latin and French in school, she understands their struggles to learn a new language. She teaches English to students in the high school and also at East Pikeland Elementary whose first language is Spanish, Gugarati, Kui, Russian, Korean, and Portuguese.

Learning a new language is always tough and Ms. Hindenach thinks that the hardest part for her students is that, “sometimes they are expected to be on level with their peers.” This is regardless of whether they speak English or not. Even if they don’t speak English, they are sometimes expected by their teachers to be able to do the same things as everyone else.

Another major obstacle that ESL students have to overcome is the differences between their old schools in Guatemala, Mexico, India, Africa, Russia, and here. For example, in India and Guatemala, the students don’t change classes like they do here. Instead, the teachers change classes. They also have to wear uniforms everyday to school. However, they have more freedom than we do because most schools get an hour off to go home during lunch or even just sit outside to eat because in some schools they don’t even have a cafeteria!

Another major difference between the schools is the school times. In Guatemala, they go to school from 7:30am to 12:30pm; however, their school year is longer. Also, they don’t have computers. So next time your computer is frozen, think about how much longer is would take to find the capital of Kazakhstan in a book.

Schools around the world are different from each other in many ways, which makes it hard for the students to come here and experience something completely different. One part of coming to a new school that is really hard is the different curriculums. Evon Dennis, from Africa, is a taking a different math class than what she used to take. She explained, “In 9th grade we took basic math and algebra in 10th grade.” All of the seniors in the ESL class agreed that Economics is the hardest class because they don’t have any of the background knowledge that we usually learn in middle school about the history of the United States. Instead, they learned about the history of their own country. However, Krista, from India, doesn’t mind math and science because it is the same, only easier here. Back in India, the classes were harder and, she said, “you have to pay for everything (books) at a good school.” Also, the teachers [in India] won’t stay after school to help, so you have to pay for a tutor.

Although we may not like all of the teachers here, they are all willing to help. However, you have to ask for help, which can be hard if you don’t understand what you’re asking about. But most people understand and do their best to help. Krista likes our school because, “people don’t make fun of you here, they correct and help you.” This makes it easier to make friends, but is still hard because of the language barrier and it is hard to overcome shyness.

High school is supposed to be one of the best parts of our lives, but learning a new language can make everything even harder. “I’d like to see everyone contribute to help these students achieve their goals and dreams” said Ms. Hindenach.

Posted by
Katherine Babinchak

On Wednesday, the 17th of December, 2008, the Phoenixville Area High School choir and band will be having its annual vocal and instrumental winter concert in the auditorium at 7:00 pm.

It is a night full of fun and cheer, getting us ready for the anxiously awaited holidays we all love. The choir, led by Mrs. Nice, will be spreading some holiday spirit by singing a few carols including some favorites, “Carol of the Bells” and “Sing Noel,” and introducing some new ones. The band, led by Ms.Moll, will also be a part of this winter celebration as they play some Christmas tunes. The concert is free and it is open for anyone to come and enjoy.

Not too long after this winter celebration, Phoenixville is hosting the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) District 12 Choral Festival. For those not familiar with the PMEA, it is a service organization to music education in the Commonwealth and offers special opportunities for musical development to school students. The District 12 PMEA serves Philadelphia, Delaware, and Chester Counties and each year the PMEA has festivals for band, orchestra and choir held at district, regional and state levels. The 2009 festival is taking place in January from the 15th to the 17th at the Phoenixville Area High School. Congratulations and good luck to the students representing Phoenixville in the festival- Andrew Cappelli and Thomas Cappelli in the tenor one section, Liam Snead and Andrew Williams in the bass one section and Sarah Schafer in soprano two. Others who auditioned placed very high in their individual sections including Marcus Tavani, Owen Howson , Julie Weicheld , Kelsey Hodgkiss and Jessica Mahan.

Along with the many activities the choir is involved in, the choir members will be taking a trip to Boston, Massachusetts in April from Thursday the 2nd to Sunday the 5th. During this trip, the students will perform as a group in front of a panel of judges at a school and will be critiqued on their singing and style. They will be judged on balance and performance; of course, our choir will do great! The last night of the trip finishes with a nice awards ceremony and dinner, along with a dance banquet.

Again, good luck to all the students participating in the PMEA Choral Festival and do not forget to mark your calendar for Wednesday, December 17th as the choir and band kicks off the holidays with the winter concert.

Posted by
Annet Cherusseril

Dedication. Diligence. Discipline. All of these descriptive terms describe Talia DeMartinis’ approach to her education and schoolwork. One of the most intelligent sophomores here at the high school, Talia has indulged herself in a sea of learning. In school, out of school, and over the summer she has attended elevated and enriched courses, while also participating in extracurricular activities. Talia has also donated portions of her time to local charities and community programs. She is no doubt one of (if not THE) kindest, most devoted student and human being I have ever met.

Doing well in school is not a game of luck or chance. It takes hard work, consistent effort, an expansive memory, and of course, flat out, God-given intelligence. Talia exhibits all of these illustrious qualities, which has led to her enrolling in high-level courses. Talia currently participates in Geometry Honors, English Honors, Introduction to Business, and Latin 3. She also takes AP US History and Anatomy and Physiology Honors…as a sophomore! Choosing not to play favorites, Talia says she enjoys all of her classes and teachers. She stated, “[I] like the teachers and the lengths they will go to [in order] to help you.” Along with in depth studies during the school year, she challenged herself to learn over the past summer.

In the summer of 2008, Talia attended chemistry and biology classes at nearby West Chester University. As daunting an adventure as that may seem, the girl-genius herself does think much of it. She admits it was “a lot of information to remember,” but somehow, someway, she survived.

In addition to being involved in different programs and classes, Talia stays involved in extracurricular activities. Currently, Talia is a member of the Mock Trial Club here at the high school. Along with all of her education-related activities, Talia has also committed herself to the community. For example, this past month Talia was involved with “Bear Fair.” This November marked the 12th annual “Bear Fair,” which is non-profit program run by volunteers and students at nearby West Chester University. The group collects teddy bears in good condition and gives them to children in local hospitals and shelters during the holiday season. Talia is also a member of the Chester County Futures, which is a non-profit organization that selects students in Chester County and helps them prepare for college. “We do little workshops for leadership” said Talia, who sets her standards high when it comes to college aspirations. She hopes to attend either Harvard or Stanford, both of which will certainly require academic excellence. As is typical for Talia, I am sure she will go above and beyond expectations.

In addition to all of her time spent on schoolwork, Talia also finds ways to relax and have fun. She enjoys watching TV and surfing the internet. She also takes pleasure in tormenting her brother and sister, including rampant popcorn fights (take cover!).

Talia DeMartinis, a current sophomore here at the school, clearly possesses the dedication, devotion and discipline required to succeed academically. In addition to her spectacular in-class performance, Talia involves herself in the community and in extracurricular activities. On top of it all, she is also pretty darn nice.

Posted by
Zack Weber

Many of you probably know Mrs. Lachenmeyer. She teaches Child Development, Working with Children, and Foods. Her Child Development classes are sewing footballs and pillowcases for Mr. Vining’s Stockings for Kids. Mrs. Lachenmeyer says that this activity is “similar to when toddlers learn to use their hands with crayons and puzzles.” Since the students in that class haven’t sewn in a long time, it’s a new experience for them.

The pillowcases being made are associated with the Conkerr Cancer Organization. This organization was started by Cindy Kerr, whose son was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. She started sewing pillowcases to brighten his room and he loved it, so she started doing it for the other kids. She started the organization and in just two years, Cindy and thousands of volunteers have sewn over 50,000 pillowcases for kids in hospitals across North America and South Africa. This year Cindy Kerr was chosen as L’Oreal’s Woman of the Year. This award honors women who serve others in their community.

The footballs are purple and white and stuffed with fluff. These toys will help children develop their gross motor skills in the form of throwing and catching. “It’s a relatively safe toy and little kids playing with it will practice gross motor skills,” said Mrs. Lachenmeyer. Most of the kids in the class enjoyed the activity. Emily Cooney explained, “It got easier as it went along.” Mrs. Lachenmeyer included this activity in the curriculum so students can relate to young children. “It shows how frustrating it can be for a child to learn new things,” stated Rebekah Worley. If you want to get involved, you can buy a kit at any local craft store. Or if you want to do it in school, you can take Mrs. Lachenmeyer’s course as an independent study here at Phoenixville. By doing this, you will be creating Christmas memories that children will remember for years to come.

Your browser may not support display of this image. A cross-dressing female, mistaken identities, love triangles, up-tight servants, drunken knights, and swashbuckling sword fights characterize the Phoenixville Theater Guild’s 2008 production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Mr. Tavani (husband of Frau Tavani), is the director of the play. Opening night for the play is Friday Dec. 19 and is followed by performances on the 20th and 21st.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Your browser may not support display of this image. The plot is both confusing and complex. When Viola (Sonia Tavani) is shipwrecked and lost in a foreign land, she decides to dress up as a man named Cesario in order to get know the local Duke. The Duke Orsino (Brendan Farrell) has fallen in love with the Countess Olivia (Rebecca Wise), and he sends his best servant Cesario to woo the countess. Olivia falls in love with Cesario instead of Orsino, while Viola searches for the love of the Duke. When Viola’s brother Sebastian (Scott Carr) shows up, the characters begin to see double!

Your browser may not support display of this image. Twelfth Night also features a humorous subplot based around the straight-laced puritan Malvolio (Marcus Tavani). Maria (Alex Babinchak), Sir Toby Belch (Owen Howsen), and Andrew Aguecheek (Dylan Unruh) set forth a thrilling (and humorous) scheme to embarrass the unsmiling servant.

Your browser may not support display of this image. This year’s play raises the bar for Phoenixville Theater because of the complexity of Shakespeare. The language has presented several problems for the talented cast, including odd vocabulary and memorization struggles. This year’s play was moved to December to accommodate the challenges.

Your browser may not support display of this image. Despite the challenge presented by Shakespearean language, the cast remains optimistic that the play will be a success. Mike Zolovich (Feste the Clown) believes that the Shakespearean language and humor helps “to expand your theater experience and learn new things… Overall, I think the audience will enjoy it!”

Your browser may not support display of this image. According to Rebecca Wise, co-president of Theater Guild and also Olivia in the play, “[Twelfth Night] is a different more difficult production from what the Fall Play usually involves. There’s a lot of new faces and new people involved, so there’s a very large, but talented cast. It’s great to see the amount of interest the high school has in its theater program.”

This year’s play is very similar to last year’s production of The Love of Three Oranges. It uses ensemble acting, unnamed servant characters known as “zanni”, as well as a heavy reliance on musical talent.

However, in one way, Twelfth Night is absolutely different from Three Oranges: CAPPIES! The high school theater critics known as the Cappies will be reviewing Phoenixville’s outstanding production. At the end of the year, outstanding plays and musicals are nominated and invited to an awards gala. The 2006 production Three Musketeers was nominated for seven Cappie awards, and won one for Best Ensemble (The Three Musketeers). This year’s cast is positively excited about the Cappies, and they want their own chance to win after last year’s disappointment.


Posted by
Charles Hanlon

Welcome To America

What would life be like without football, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball or softball? What about not having Wendy’s, KFC or Taco Bell down the street? Ask Anette Servan!

Anette has joined our high school this year as an exchange student from Norway. Norway is located west of Sweden and Finland on the west coast of Russia. She said she came to America because, “I wanted to learn more about American culture, speak better English, make new friends, and be more independent.” She was really excited to become a student here; she is currently a senior and loves America. She says it’s just as she expected. “It feels like what I’ve seen in movies; people are so outgoing and nice.” Anette learned how to speak English in second grade, but it wasn’t until eighth grade that she was able to speak the language well.

Annette says that her high school in Norway is not as strict as Phoenixville High School. The students do not have to sign out of school if they have to leave; they can just leave. They are not only allowed to call their teachers by their first names, but are also allowed to call them and say they’re not going to be in school on a certain day. If an absence note is needed, the students can write their own without a parent signature required. Passbooks are not used in Anette’s school either…If you have to go to the bathroom, you just ask the teacher and go. As for seating arrangements, the students do not sit in single desks, they have three desks put together. Another big difference is the block scheduling (when core classes last the whole year, but are about an hour and a half long) that Norway schools have. This contrasts to Phoenixville’s regular period scheduling where the core classes last all year long and are 50 minutes each period.

Although Norway has sports, they don’t have nearly as many or even the same sports we do. Instead, Norway has sports such as handball, skiing, soccer and orientation (hiking). However, Anette enjoyed playing field hockey in the fall for Phoenixville High School and has been able to make many friends through sports and church. Anette stated, “Students here are more involved with sports and activities than in Norway.” Anette feels that American teenagers are also more outgoing than Norwegian teenagers.

As for food…What do Norwegian people eat?? Anette stated that they eat a lot of boiled potatoes, rice, pasta, fish, and meat. That’s not too different from our culture, but one thing Anette doesn’t like is how American food is full of sugar and fat.

Back home in Norway Anette lives with her mother and stepdad. Her stepdad has three sons older than Anette; one of the sons lives in Montana. She keeps in touch with her family through “Skype,” which is a type of e-mail/MSN messenger that allows people to talk for free through the computer.

Anette loves her host family. She has a mother and a father along with four siblings (two boys, twelve and six, and two girls, ten and five). There is also another exchange student, Franzi from Germany, living with them who is a junior at Phoenixville as well.

Overall, Anette Servan likes living in America and enjoys her host family, friends and classes. As for her future, Anette said, “I want to work in Africa to improve their living standards. I am considering going to college here, but I have to go back to Norway to finish high school and get a scholarship.” We certainly enjoy having Anette as a student here, and wish her luck with the rest of her senior year at Phoenixville and her second senior year in Norway!

Posted by
Marissa Rock

By Becca McCulloch

Recently, junior Alex Kray was nominated as a semi-finalist out of tens of thousands of essays in the national Ayn Rand Institute essay contest at the end of last year. The Ayn Rand Institute (named for novelist- philosopher Ayn Rand, who is best known for her novels Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged) seeks to organize a cultural renaissance that will reverse the anti-reason, anti-individualism, anti-freedom, anti-capitalist trends in today’s culture. Ayn Rand’s philosophy- known as Objectivism- holds that to reverse the current political and economical trends in America and throughout the world requires a reversal of our society’s fundamental philosophy.

The contest’s essays had to demonstrate an understanding of the philosophical meaning of the novel, Anthem. Alex said that, “In Anthem, Rand creates a society with no individualism, one that is ruled by the government. The purpose of this society is to help people realize what they have, and be thankful for the freedom that so many people have fought hard to provide for us.” The essays were evaluated in an unbiased, multi-round judging process. Students’ names remained unknown to the judges and didn’t appear on their essays. Alex’s essay closed with the following profound thought: “Individualism not only allows individuals to live to their fullest potential by using their quest for knowledge, but it allows society to benefit from the diverse talents of its individuals.” A big congratulations goes out to Alex Kray for placing in the contest and good luck with qualifying for finals!